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"definition": "From the sources\nReferential Shift (al-istikhdām) is an Arabic rhetorical device involving the use of a word shared between two meanings (lafẓ mushtarak) with one of its meanings intended, after which a pronoun referring back to it carries the other meaning; or alternatively, two pronouns referring back to it are used, the second carrying a different meaning from the first.[1][2]\nHeinrichs (1998) describes this as \"employing (both meanings of a homonym)\", either by using the word in one meaning and referring back to the other meaning with a pronoun, or by using the word with both meanings such that it must be repeated in translation.[3]. Heinrichs (1998) notes that this second sense is not found in al-Qazwīnī.[3]",
"linguisticOperation": "From the sources\nA word shared between two meanings (lafẓ mushtarak) is introduced with one of its meanings intended.[1][2]\nA pronoun (ḍamīr) subsequently refers back to that word while carrying its other meaning — not the meaning originally intended.[1][2]\nAlternatively, two pronouns refer back to the word: the first carrying one meaning, the second carrying a different meaning from the first.[1][2]",
"recognition": "Encyclopedia Interpretation\nThe following diagnostic tests aid identification:\n\nTest 1: Identify the antecedent word and its intended meaning at first use. Then locate any pronoun referring back to it and ask: does the pronoun carry the same meaning, or a different one? If different, al-istikhdām may be present.\nTest 2: Where two pronouns refer to the same antecedent, check whether they carry the same or different meanings. If the second pronoun carries a meaning distinct from the first, this is the second subtype.",
"diagnosticCommunicativeEnhancements": "Encyclopedia Interpretation\nRetrospective semantic reactivation: The shared lexical form is initially anchored in one meaning, but the later pronoun reactivates an alternative meaning latent within it. This causes the audience to revise their understanding retrospectively, producing a layered semantic effect within a single utterance.\nConcealed semantic transition: The anaphoric function of pronouns creates an expectation of referential continuity, and it is this expectation that the device exploits. The shift in meaning is absorbed seamlessly rather than signalled explicitly, giving the utterance a sense of smoothness and concealed craftsmanship.\nSemantic economy: The device allows two meanings or referential frames to be carried by a single lexical form without repeating the word itself. This creates expressive density and permits semantic expansion without lexical expansion.\nSustained semantic tension: In the second subtype, where two pronouns activate different meanings of the same antecedent, both meanings are held in interpretive tension across a single utterance. This creates a sustained interplay between the referential possibilities of the original word.\nAudience participation through lexical recognition: The effect depends on the audience recognising the semantic range of the shared lexical form and tracking the shift in reference. Successful recognition produces a sense of interpretive participation and rhetorical reward.\n\nApplying the Recognition Framework\nThe information on this page can be used to evaluate whether this device is present in a candidate lexical item using the Specific Device Recognition part of the Universal Framework for Identifying Arabic Rhetorical Devices:\n\nUse the Definition, Mechanism, and Recognition sections of this page in Step 1.\nApply the substitution test in Step 2.\nConsider contextual indicators in Step 3.\nUse the Diagnostic Communicative Enhancements section of this page in Step 4.",
"notes": "The gloss of the pronoun referent in the Quranic example (Quran 2:185) differs between sources: Nāṣif et al. (2012) use \"الزمان المعلوم\" (the known time/period); al-Hāshimī (2019) use \"أيام رمضان\" (the days of Ramadan).\nThe assignment of the al-Buḥturī verse differs between sources: Heinrichs (1998) classifies it under his first kind, whereas Nāṣif et al. (2012) and al-Hāshimī (2019) classify it under the second subtype.\nHeinrichs (1998) explicitly states that the second sense of the device (using the word with both meanings) \"is not in al-Qazwīnī.\" This source-critical remark is retained as a note rather than incorporated into the definition.Encyclopedia InterpretationThe term lafẓ mushtarak is translated here as \"shared lexical form\" to reflect the Arabic grammatical concept of a single phonological form bearing multiple distinct meanings.\nHeinrichs (1998) gives an additional example from Abū Tammām (وسواس), illustrating his broader second sense of the device in which the word operates with both meanings such that it must be repeated in translation.[3] This broader sense is not present in Nāṣif et al. (2012) or al-Hāshimī (2019).",
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"text": "W. P. Heinrichs, ‘Rhetorical Figures’, in Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature, ed. Julie Scott Meisami and Paul Starkey (London: Routledge, 1998), 657, ISBN 0415068088. DOI: 10.4324/9780203020425",
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"english": "Muʿāwiya ibn Mālik — When the sky descends upon the land of a people, we graze it even if they are angered.",
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"english": "I visited the spring near the village and drank from it.",
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"english": "al-Buḥturī — May [the rain] drench the euphorbia grove and its inhabitants, even though they kindle it [i.e. the fire of euphorbia wood] between my front and rear ribs.",
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},
{
"@id": "https://project.balaghascore.com/#website"
},
{
"@id": "https://al-balagha.com/#website"
},
{
"@id": "https://balaghabase.org/#website"
},
{
"@id": "https://balagha-corpus.com/#website"
}
]
}
]
}