OVERVIEW

ARABIC PHILOLOGY I

This module aims at providing students with the fundamentals of Arabic linguistics and the study of the structure of Arabic. A special focus will be placed on Arabic dialectology and the formal features of the Levantine dialect.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After completing the course students will have acquired knowledge regarding the origin, development and structure of the Arabic language, as well as the relationship between language and culture. Particular importance will be given to the science of language in the Arab-Islamic cultural context, to the structure of classical Arabic in the Arabic grammatical tradition, Arabic philological thought as cultural heritage, and to the attitude of the Arabic linguistic community towards the Arabic language, Arabic as a cultural landmark, the issue of diglossia, the relationship between spoken and written language, Middle Arabic as spoken and written expression, ancient and modern, in the linguistic continuum.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

This course aims at providing students with a general knowledge of the linguistic history of the Arabic language and the sociolinguistic phenomena that characterize Arabic dialects. A major focus will be given to the study of the Arabic Levantine dialect.

PREREQUISITES

A fair knowledge of Arabic writing and grammar as well as some general linguistics basic notions are required.

TEACHING METHODS

The course includes 36 hours of lectures and / or seminars. Attendance is recommended.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

• Arabic as a semitic language: the historical profile of semitic languages
• The early stages of Arabic and the development of Classical Arabic
• Diglossia and Arabic dialects
• Linguistic features of the Arabic Levantine dialect

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

• DURAND Olivier, Dialettologia araba, Carocci, Roma, 2009
• VERSTEEGH Kees, The Arabic Language, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 1997
• DAHMASH Wasim, Elementi di arabo damasceno, Edizioni Nuova Cultura, Roma, 2010

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

MARCO AMMAR (President)

NASSER AHMED ISMAIL AHMED

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Term Two.

Class schedule

ARABIC PHILOLOGY I

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The final exam is an oral test.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The final oral exam consists of an interview aimed at verifying acquired knowledge and skills.

Exam schedule