The lexicon of the Arabic prosody has a symbolic value that often draws inspiration from the pre-Islamic Bedouin experience in the desert, evoking actions or conditions in a specific context. In 1959, Blachère wondered if it was possible to trace the guidelines indicating the path through which the terminology of the ancient Arab prosody had taken form. The philologists who formulated the principles of Arabic prosody believed that lexicon has not been created from the scratch, but most took inspiration from the Bedouin vocabulary (bayt, ‘arūḍ, ikfā’, iqwā’). Starting from the study of Blachère, this article focuses attention on the ziḥāf term and his multiple applications, highlighting the special relation they have with the daily-life terms of the desert. Through the study of some of the most important sources such as Lisān al-‘arab by Ibn Manẓūr, or the works by Ibn Rašīq al-Qayrawānī, Ibn Barrī, Qudāma ibn Ǧa‘far and al-Aṣma‘ī, among others, we can presume that this term is related to the meaning “to walk on the belly, slithering”. The snake slithering in the sand creates a movement which changes the existing landscape, giving a different look to the dunes on which the snake slithers on. Metaphorically the ziḥāfāt would recall the idea of something slithering (like a snake) into a given prosodic form and changing it. Many other terms used in the prosody with a specific meaning have a connection with the desert. For this reason the article is supported by a table from which it is possible to get the close meaning, sometimes only metaphorical, between the terms borrowed from the Bedouin life and their corresponding prosodic use, showing their symbolic representation (ḥabn, iḍmār, ṭayy, qabḍ, ‘aql, ‘aṣb, kaff, ḫabl, ḫazl, šakl, naqṣ). al-Ḫalīl, the first who created an Arabic prosodic lexicon, linked some of technical terms to the Bedouin tents. His choice is dictated by the desire to maintain a strong linkage between the poetry of the early centuries and the poetry of the following periods. The idea behind that was probably to entrust the old Arabic language with an original meaning applicable to different realities.

"Una tenda di parole" Osservazioni sulla terminologia della metrica araba

Capezio, Oriana
2011-01-01

Abstract

The lexicon of the Arabic prosody has a symbolic value that often draws inspiration from the pre-Islamic Bedouin experience in the desert, evoking actions or conditions in a specific context. In 1959, Blachère wondered if it was possible to trace the guidelines indicating the path through which the terminology of the ancient Arab prosody had taken form. The philologists who formulated the principles of Arabic prosody believed that lexicon has not been created from the scratch, but most took inspiration from the Bedouin vocabulary (bayt, ‘arūḍ, ikfā’, iqwā’). Starting from the study of Blachère, this article focuses attention on the ziḥāf term and his multiple applications, highlighting the special relation they have with the daily-life terms of the desert. Through the study of some of the most important sources such as Lisān al-‘arab by Ibn Manẓūr, or the works by Ibn Rašīq al-Qayrawānī, Ibn Barrī, Qudāma ibn Ǧa‘far and al-Aṣma‘ī, among others, we can presume that this term is related to the meaning “to walk on the belly, slithering”. The snake slithering in the sand creates a movement which changes the existing landscape, giving a different look to the dunes on which the snake slithers on. Metaphorically the ziḥāfāt would recall the idea of something slithering (like a snake) into a given prosodic form and changing it. Many other terms used in the prosody with a specific meaning have a connection with the desert. For this reason the article is supported by a table from which it is possible to get the close meaning, sometimes only metaphorical, between the terms borrowed from the Bedouin life and their corresponding prosodic use, showing their symbolic representation (ḥabn, iḍmār, ṭayy, qabḍ, ‘aql, ‘aṣb, kaff, ḫabl, ḫazl, šakl, naqṣ). al-Ḫalīl, the first who created an Arabic prosodic lexicon, linked some of technical terms to the Bedouin tents. His choice is dictated by the desire to maintain a strong linkage between the poetry of the early centuries and the poetry of the following periods. The idea behind that was probably to entrust the old Arabic language with an original meaning applicable to different realities.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11574/50460
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