The Arabic Language and Syro-Lebanese National Identity Searching in Buṭrus Al-bustānī's Muḥīṭ Al-Muḥīṭ
Over centuries, Arabic lexicography had operated under a solid myth of pure linguistic origins rooted in the terra prima of the Arabian Desert. Buṭrus al-bustānīʾs Muḥīṭ al-Muḥīṭ is the earliest Arabic lexicon that breaks with this tradition. In this modern lexicon, al-Bustānī recollected the biblic...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2017]
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| In: |
Journal of Semitic studies
Year: 2017, Volume: 62, Issue: 2, Pages: 465-484 |
| IxTheo Classification: | AG Religious life; material religion BJ Islam CG Christianity and Politics HB Old Testament KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history KBL Near East and North Africa |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Over centuries, Arabic lexicography had operated under a solid myth of pure linguistic origins rooted in the terra prima of the Arabian Desert. Buṭrus al-bustānīʾs Muḥīṭ al-Muḥīṭ is the earliest Arabic lexicon that breaks with this tradition. In this modern lexicon, al-Bustānī recollected the biblical origins of key Arabic words. By introducing the Bible into the Lexicon, al-Bustānī revolutionized some conventions of Arabic lexicography which usually operated under a solid — mainly Quranic — notion of what constitutes a legitimate source for lexical elaboration. The inclusion of the Bible competitively decentred the foundational texts of the classical lexicon. Although al-Bustānī relied on conventional methodologies in his approach to lexicography, he succeeded in constructing an alternative, rival narrative about the biblical origins of the civilization of the Arabs. These changes went in tandem with al-Bustānīʾs contribution to the Christianization of Syro-Lebanese national identity in the nineteenth century. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-8556 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of Semitic studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jss/fgx010 |