Qu'est-ce que l'arabe du Coran ? Réflexions d'un linguiste
Résumé
What is the Arabic of the Qur'ân ? A linguist's thought
Last year marked the 100th anniversary of the publication of Volksprache und Schriftsprache im alten Arabien by Karl Vollers (1859-1906), who opened the still ongoing debate over the language of the Qur'an. The aim of the present article is to remind that one should refrain from ‘classicising' the Arabic of the Qur'an, as it is ordinarily done at school, without respecting the pauses and the chainings of the Qur'anic reading tradition. On the contrary, a linguist will keep an eye on the ductus (rasm) and the other on the qirâ'ât (readings) especially the two that were in use in the Arabic Islam, the one of H'afs' ‘an ‘Âs'im (the Cairo Qur'ân) and that of Warsh ‘an Nâfi' (the Maghreb Qur'ân). Subsequently, pause phenomena will be examined along with the complex relations between the pause and the rhyme, as well as the questions concerning the desinential inflection and the uncertainties of visible inflection. Finally, it will be suggested, through a syntactical fact, that if Qur'anic Arabic cannot be classified as ‘classical', it could be referred to as ‘pre-classical'.
Last year marked the 100th anniversary of the publication of Volksprache und Schriftsprache im alten Arabien by Karl Vollers (1859-1906), who opened the still ongoing debate over the language of the Qur'an. The aim of the present article is to remind that one should refrain from ‘classicising' the Arabic of the Qur'an, as it is ordinarily done at school, without respecting the pauses and the chainings of the Qur'anic reading tradition. On the contrary, a linguist will keep an eye on the ductus (rasm) and the other on the qirâ'ât (readings) especially the two that were in use in the Arabic Islam, the one of H'afs' ‘an ‘Âs'im (the Cairo Qur'ân) and that of Warsh ‘an Nâfi' (the Maghreb Qur'ân). Subsequently, pause phenomena will be examined along with the complex relations between the pause and the rhyme, as well as the questions concerning the desinential inflection and the uncertainties of visible inflection. Finally, it will be suggested, through a syntactical fact, that if Qur'anic Arabic cannot be classified as ‘classical', it could be referred to as ‘pre-classical'.
Il y a cent ans, l'ouvrage de Karl Vollers (1859-1906) Volksprache und Schriftsprache im alten Arabien ouvrait un débat sur la langue coranique, qui n'est pas clos. L'objet du présent article est de rappeler qu'il faut se garder de « classiciser » l'arabe du Coran, comme on le fait ordinairement dans les classes, en ne respectant pas les pauses et les enchaînements de la tradition de lecture du Coran. A l'inverse, un linguiste aura un œil fixé sur le ductus (rasm) et un autre sur les qirâ'ât, notamment les deux en usage dans l'islam arabe, celles de H'afs' ‘an ‘Âs'im (Coran du Caire) et de Warsh ‘an Nâfi‘ (Coran du Maghreb). On examinera successivement ici les phénomènes de pause et les relations complexes qu'elle entretient avec la rime, ainsi que les questions qu'elle pose sur la flexion désinentielle et les incertitudes de la flexion visible. En conclusion, on suggérera, à travers un fait de syntaxe, que si l'arabe coranique ne peut pas être qualifié de « classique », il peut éventuellement l'être de « préclassique ».