Linguistic Correction in Al-Muḥīṭ fī al-Lughah by al-Ṣāḥib Ibn ʿAbbād (d. 385 AH): A Study and Lexicon

Abstract

Arabic occupies a prominent position among the world’s languages, serving as both a vast repository of linguistic heritage and the language of the Holy Qur’an. As a living language that continuously interacts with social and cultural developments, it is inevitably influenced by linguistic change. This underscores the significance of linguistic correction as a normative practice aimed at preserving the integrity of the language and protecting it from linguistic errors. Accordingly, the present study investigates the phenomenon of linguistic correction in the works of Ibn ʿAbbād, with particular reference to his lexicon Al-Muḥīṭ fī al-Lughah, which preserves a wealth of rare and valuable linguistic evidence. The study is divided into an introduction and two main sections. The first section presents a concise account of Ibn ʿAbbād and his lexicon Al-Muḥīṭ fī al-Lughah, followed by a discussion of the concept of linguistic correction and the research methodology. It also provides an analytical examination of linguistic correction across the four principal levels of linguistic analysis: the phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic levels. The second section comprises the collected text illustrating linguistic correction, systematically arranged according to the traditional order of Arabic phonetic articulation, and presented with full scholarly documentation. The study concludes with a comprehensive list of the references and sources consulted.