What leads to a miraculous preservation of sounds and meanings: A comparative study of Classical Arabic phonology

Abstract

This study aims to find the linguistic features and patterns which help Classical Arabic words retain their original sounds and meanings. The eminent features discussed are vowel and consonant variation, dependence on vowels, tone, stress, structural ambiguity, and lexical density of Arabic words with comparison to English language. The findings reveal that Quranic Arabic has fewer vowels that can change the meaning hence which can be classed as vowel phonemes. This is a great advantage, as it reduces the dependence on vowel sounds to change the minimal pairs. Fewer vowels means that the Arabic language can be properly taught with accuracy of sounds and their articulation, as the manner and place of articulation for consonants is easier to teach and explain as compared to vowels. Moreover, Quranic Arabic has specialized system of diacritics, which change, add, or modify meanings. Their presence helps ensure correct tone and fixity in allowed accents. The study also finds that translation of Quranic words into English language cannot be done easily as one to one equivalence of words is not possible.