Al-lugha al-fuṣḥâ : archéologie d’un concept « idéolinguistique »

Every French Arabicist knows that the expression al-lugha al-fuṣḥâ designates the Arabic variety that they themselves call Classical Arabic. But today, we have forgotten this expression comes from and what was its original meaning. In the first part of this paper, entitled « Theology and philology o...

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Main Author: Pierre Larcher
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Université de Provence 2008-11-01
Series:Revue des Mondes Musulmans et de la Méditerranée
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/remmm/6035
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author Pierre Larcher
author_facet Pierre Larcher
author_sort Pierre Larcher
collection DOAJ
description Every French Arabicist knows that the expression al-lugha al-fuṣḥâ designates the Arabic variety that they themselves call Classical Arabic. But today, we have forgotten this expression comes from and what was its original meaning. In the first part of this paper, entitled « Theology and philology of Medieval Islam » we will recall that the expression is primarily a rewritting of ’afṣaḥ al-lughât al-‘arabiyya (« the most polished Arabic way of speaking »), which designs the lughat Quraysh, to whom the Quranic language is identified on a scriptural basis and not on a linguistic one. In a second part, entitled « Ideology and Linguistics at the Modern Period » we examine how and when this medieval expression was revitalized to design what a famous Arab nationalist thinker described as a lugha muwaḥḥida wa-muwaḥḥada (« a unifying and unified language»). In both cases, we will point out that the concept is at the crossroad of ideology and linguistics; a reason why we suggest to define it as ideolinguistic, on the model of sociolinguistic.
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spelling doaj-art-7ae385f65e204883a5dc68af8a76de6a2025-01-09T13:22:07ZengUniversité de ProvenceRevue des Mondes Musulmans et de la Méditerranée0997-13272105-22712008-11-0112426327810.4000/remmm.6035Al-lugha al-fuṣḥâ : archéologie d’un concept « idéolinguistique »Pierre LarcherEvery French Arabicist knows that the expression al-lugha al-fuṣḥâ designates the Arabic variety that they themselves call Classical Arabic. But today, we have forgotten this expression comes from and what was its original meaning. In the first part of this paper, entitled « Theology and philology of Medieval Islam » we will recall that the expression is primarily a rewritting of ’afṣaḥ al-lughât al-‘arabiyya (« the most polished Arabic way of speaking »), which designs the lughat Quraysh, to whom the Quranic language is identified on a scriptural basis and not on a linguistic one. In a second part, entitled « Ideology and Linguistics at the Modern Period » we examine how and when this medieval expression was revitalized to design what a famous Arab nationalist thinker described as a lugha muwaḥḥida wa-muwaḥḥada (« a unifying and unified language»). In both cases, we will point out that the concept is at the crossroad of ideology and linguistics; a reason why we suggest to define it as ideolinguistic, on the model of sociolinguistic.https://journals.openedition.org/remmm/6035
spellingShingle Pierre Larcher
Al-lugha al-fuṣḥâ : archéologie d’un concept « idéolinguistique »
Revue des Mondes Musulmans et de la Méditerranée
title Al-lugha al-fuṣḥâ : archéologie d’un concept « idéolinguistique »
title_full Al-lugha al-fuṣḥâ : archéologie d’un concept « idéolinguistique »
title_fullStr Al-lugha al-fuṣḥâ : archéologie d’un concept « idéolinguistique »
title_full_unstemmed Al-lugha al-fuṣḥâ : archéologie d’un concept « idéolinguistique »
title_short Al-lugha al-fuṣḥâ : archéologie d’un concept « idéolinguistique »
title_sort al lugha al fusha archeologie d un concept ideolinguistique
url https://journals.openedition.org/remmm/6035
work_keys_str_mv AT pierrelarcher allughaalfushaarcheologiedunconceptideolinguistique