Studies on Arabic Language and Literature
Year:2017 | Volume:8 | Issue:25 |Papers Count:7

Focusing on the relationship between calligraphy and Arabic writing, this paper studies the effect of Ottoman calligraphy on Arabic grammar. It also deals with the rules of Ottoman calligraphy, mentioning some of its forms and modifications. The paper, moreover, studies the relationship between Quranic readings and Ottoman calligraphy as well as between grammatical mistakes and calligraphy and word play.Quranic calligraphy did not differ from common calligraphy during the Prophet's times. Modifications of Arabic calligraphy took place afterwards. Linguists accepted the modifications that Ottoman calligraphy has undergone; however, they have disagreed, both in the past and recently, over Quranic writing using modern rules. Some totally rejected the new writing; some mildly accepted it; some others thought it should be adopted. Ottoman calligraphy was not consistent; some words were in one place in one form and spelled differently in another place. Moreover, Ottoman calligraphy was influenced by different linguistic schools and there are differences between Bousris and Koufis in Quranic calligraphy.Ottoman calligraphy has exclusive advantages, including specification of different readings; supporting the right recitation; preservation of the Quran and shielding against deviation and change, with the result of every generation handing over the same form of the Quran, leading to unanimity of writing and pronunciation. Other advantages include the provision of information about some forms of Standard Arabic and indexing the origin of the letters and sounds in the words.

This study aims to deals with the problematic issue of documenting the modern Arabic terminology in lexical resources so that there are favorable outcomes particularly in relation to the communicative process in educational and scientific fields. Considering the need for standardizing and removing lexical ambiguities, the study attempts to offer Arabic or Arabized terms for the newly introduced concepts and neologisms. It also applies the principle of linguistic economy which prefers single-word expressions to multiple-word ones. Exploring the theoretical foundations of any field of science without having the proper terminology does not yield valid scientific outcomes. Arguably, all theories have their specific terms to demarcate their boundaries with other theories; so frivolous treatment of these terms would lead into a dysfunction of the respective theory. Accordingly، this research tries to provide some acceptable solutions by specifying Arabic equivalents for the western terms in order to establish an Arabic lexical base that is informed by both theory and practice of the western modern lexicography. These equivalents are not all the harvest of individual efforts of this author, but also the outcome of a survey for whatever is available or suggested in the relevant lexicons and reference books.

Orientalism, apart from being an attempt to introduce “the Orient”, and a manifestation of liaison between the East and the West, also has aimed to control and colonize. Therefore ،Colonial Orientalism is a familiar term for the educated eastern writers, who are concerned about identity issues and work for resolving them. Confronting colonial orientalism happens in various forms, the most important of which is exploiting the potentials and possibilities available in literature, especially in novels. The novel Ard As- Sawaad (the Land of blackness) is an example of this confrontation in which Abdulrahman Munif attempts to create events and characters that portray a picture of the colonizing and the colonized in a way that the artistic features of the work are also preserved. Munif reminds the readers of the goals of colonization and how the people of the Orient confront those goals. Rich symbolizes the Colonizing West and Dawood Pasha represents the Colonized East. The conclusion which can be drawn is that colonizing forces would never succeed in their domineering goals if they are resisted by Easterners who are cognizant and knowledgeable and take sensible action.

Banat Qebli by Maher Mehran, the Egyptian literary figure, employs special narrative techniques, which makes it impossible to subsume under classic novels. He composed the novel artistically in fragmented format. Text fragmentation means that the novel is divided into several coherent parts in coordination with other topics and stories the author wants to narrate. The artistic element is that the author creates a new pattern of narration by intermingling different stories to build up the novel and text. Coherence is brought about by interweaving textual pieces. The present study tries to discover and specify the narrative techniques of this author in his novel according to the descriptive-analytic method and identifies the major motivations for these techniques. The novel of Banat Qebli (the girls of south) includes two stories, the story of “Fahim Al-Aghili” and the story of “Al-soafa”. The former is about a revenge case in Saeed, Egypt, and the latter is about cruelty and repression against women in the region. The most important conclusions are that the story of “Fahim Al-Aghili” is based on “text fragmentation” technique and Maher Mehran uses this technique in congruence with the content, characters, the intentions of the author and in order to involve the reader in the story developments. The story of “Al- Soafa” is narrated according to the traditional narrative methods which involve a beginning, an ending, and other classic elements, as these elements are appropriate to reveal the oppression of women in this society.

Characterization is one of the important elements in fiction. The study of this element and the way it is accomplished can reflect the authors' perspectives and feelings toward the society where he lives in. Yusuf Alsibai, a modern Egyptian novelist, has produced literary works in different genres including novels, short stories and plays, with realistic and romantic slants. This study attempts to survey one of his novels Alsaqa Mat and investigate its character development the influence character development has on the development of the stories' events. There are several characters in this novel that have been modelled on lower class people in the society and have little effect in the stories' events. The author's method of characterization is an analytical-allegorical blend. He initially describes the characters' traits from the narrator's point of view; then, he corroborates the characters' explicitly mentioned qualities by their actions, speech in the course of the story.

Literature plays a major role in the cognitive and mental world. Poetry, among other things in literature, may overcome many of the limitations in literature which structural barriers impose. Literature also has non-literary implications concerning historical and social issues at critical periods. The issue of time is not ubiquitous not just in dealing with social events, but is necessarily interwoven in contemporary Arab poetry as it requires some kind of communication which includes all the three elements of Past, Present and Future. Modern Palestinian poetry uses the concept of as a source when hopes about the future and returning to home from exile are expressed. This potentiality has opened new doors to the Palestinian poets such as Mahmoud Darwish, who incorporates his exile in Beirut in his work with many different time dimensions. The developments in Beirut and the Arab-Zionist conflict have taken away the poet from his own self and plunged him into resistance and confrontation. This research uses a descriptive-analytical method and the results suggest that time plays a major role in "Madih ul-Zell el-Ali” ode by Mahmoud Darwish. The thematic focus revolves around Beirut which means the events take place in this city; Different temporal elements have been resorted to in harmony with the goals of the author, such as foreshadowing, anticipation, flashback, and sequence. The employment of these techniques reflects Mahmoud Darwish’s concern about the events of his time and sufferings which he observes in Beirut.

Muhammad al-Maghut, the contemporary Syrian poet, novelist, and script writer, has played a central role in the presentation of contemporary literature in a new format. The present analysis, employing a descriptiveanalytical method, first tries to elucidate the nature of alienation and its relation with psychology, philosophy, and literature; it also attempts to describe alienation as manifested in Maghut’s poetic experience, at individual, social, and innovative levels. The article attributes the elements in the poet’s identity to such issues as "women", "poverty", and "horror". The article also aims to develop a relation between different types of alienation in Maghut’s poetic experience and his ode, Alhuia Al'iilktrunia (Electronic Identity), emphasizing that this reveals his cognitive and psychological approach to the audience. In other words, alienation as the reflection of the poet’s emotional and psychological makeup in his poetry and prose, deeply influences the formation of his personality, in the same way that the poet's character largely affects the formation of his literary practice. The results indicate that the ode, Alhuia Al'iilktrunia, as a poetic work, has not only profound implications about the poet’s personal identity but also transcends that and captures the spirit and identity of the contemporary man.