Linguistic Expansion in Al-Fayumi's (d. 770 AH) Al-Misbah Al-Munir

Abstract

Linguists have discussed the phenomenon of al-Ittisa' (linguistic expansion/flexibility), viewing it as a key linguistic cause and a driving factor behind language development and growth across all linguistic levels: phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic. Regarding this phenomenon—similar to their positions on synonymy, antonymy, and polysemy—linguists took two contrasting stances. The first is a rejective stance that accepts only the well-known and standard forms of the language. Researchers refer to adherents of this view as traditionalist or strict scholars, a stance stemming from their utmost care to preserve the Arabic language, led by Al-Asma'i (d. 215 AH) alongside like-minded linguists. The second stance is permissive or flexible; scholars belonging to this stream accept linguistic rulings as long as eloquent Arab speakers articulated and used them, whether common or uncommon, frequent or rare. Leading this trend was Abu Zayd al-Ansari (d. 215 AH), to whom linguistic expansion was largely attributed. These two opposing views yielded positive outcomes in linguistic studies by drawing attention to various structural levels of language, broadening scholarly interest in the dialects of different Arab tribes across diverse geographic regions, and illuminating their specific characteristics.

This research paper titled "Linguistic Expansion (Al-Ittisa') According to Al-Fayyumi in Al-Misbah Al-Munir" explores this phenomenon within his renowned and highly acclaimed dictionary. Al-Fayyumi holds a distinguished standing among linguists. The paper opens with an introduction covering two main aspects: a brief biography of Al-Fayyumi and the definition of al-Ittisa' lexically and idiomatically. The research is then structured around the following thematic axes: expansion in synonymy, expansion in antonymy, expansion in the patterns (Fa'ala and Af'ala), expansion in derivatives, expansion in lexical diacritics/vocalization, and expansion in semantic development. The paper concludes with a summary highlighting its key findings