The Concept and Term of Vowel Lettes among The Ancients: A study in light of Functional linguistic

Abstract

Functional linguistics is one of the modern trends that has paid great attention to the relationship between linguistic structure and its communicative function. It sees language not only as a set of formal rules, but as an integrated system that aims to achieve communication and meaning. Among the most prominent phonetic phenomena that can be studied according to this trend are the long vowels (alif, waw, ya), because of the roles they play that go beyond pronunciation to expression, meaning, and rhythm. Early Arab scholars paid attention to these letters in their phonetics and grammar books, but modern linguistics has reframed this interest within a precise functional perspective that links form to function and meaning.

This study examines the concept and terminology of vowel letters in Arabic from a historical and functional perspective, reviewing the views of both classical and modern scholars and analyzing them according to modern functional linguistics. The results indicate that classical scholars focused on the phonetic and metrical dimensions, while modern scholars broadened the concept of vowel lengthening to include the textual and rhetorical dimensions, clarifying its role in rhythm, eloquence, and conveying meaning.

Since functional linguistics is a science that studies language in terms of the functions performed by its elements, whether sound, word, sentence, or text, it seeks the purpose for which the linguistic structure is used. André Martinet saw language as "a tool apparatus serving the purpose of communication between individuals," and Michael Halliday demonstrated that language functions in three major ways: the ideological function (ideas and meanings), the personal function (self-expression), and the textual function (organizing discourse). Thus, any linguistic element— Even a single sound—not studied in isolation from its communicative function within the system

The study concluded that the ancients, although they did not use modern linguistic terminology, deeply understood the relationship between sound and meaning, and established a conception close to the modern functionalist concept.