The Pragmatics of the Interpretive Method of Sibawayh

Abstract

Some researchers, both Arab and non-Arab, have observed certain similarities between Arabic grammar and the generative linguistic theory introduced by Noam Chomsky beginning in the mid-1950s. Some of these scholars have gone beyond merely noting this resemblance to argue that Chomsky drew the fundamental concepts of his theory from Arabic grammar, whether directly or indirectly. It is not possible here to present everything that has been said about the existence of this similarity or about the claim that Chomsky borrowed from Arabic grammar; rather, I will limit myself to citing representative examples of these views. Anyone who reads The Book of Sibawayh and engages with its chapters and linguistic issues will find that Sibawayh dealt with concepts—along with his students and followers—without using the same terminology that became known in the twentieth century through Chomsky and the transformational approach that spread worldwide. This can be observed in many linguistic and grammatical phenomena.