Al-Kitab
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The first complete grammar of Arabic derives the whole language from a small set of governing principles, and is so decisive that later grammarians refer to it simply as The Book.
- syntax organised around governance, each element determining the next
- attested usage quoted as evidence, including speech as well as poetry
- irregular but genuine usage distinguished from what the system predicts
- articulatory phonetics described by place and manner
Sibawayh, a Persian by origin, set out Arabic syntax, morphology and phonology as a system in which each element governs the case or mood of what follows it. He argued from attested usage, quoting Bedouin speech, poetry and the Qur'an, and marked what is heard but irregular as distinct from what the system predicts. The treatment of phonetics describes places of articulation with an accuracy not matched in Europe for a thousand years. No comparable grammar of any language had been attempted at this scale, and it became the permanent foundation of Arabic linguistic science.
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