Arabic Rhetoric
Arabic Rhetoric (known in Arabic as al-balāgha) refers to the science associated with the "study of aesthetic effectiveness," or the "conveying of meaning in the best of verbal forms."[1] It may be used to enhance the persuasiveness of speech, although it does not have the negative connotations associated with the English word "rhetoric."
Arabic Rhetoric overlaps with "eloquence" (faṣaha) which refers to the clarity of speech, and is a distinct field in Arabic linguistics alongside grammar, morphology, stylistics, logic and poetics. Arabic Rhetoric has been described as the "flesh and blood of the Arabic language."[2] In simple terms, it is the use of rhetorical devices such as metaphor, simile, alliteration, and modifications to word order to change the meaning of the sentence, as a means to more effective, engaging and efficient communication.
Arabic Rhetoric has existed since the era of pre-Islamic poetry (prior to approximately 650 AD) up to the present day. The oral sciences of this field underwent a process of classification, consolidation and written documentation between 750 AD and 1400 AD. This resulted in a broad division of Arabic Rhetoric into three categories that remains to the present day:
- Word Order & Sentence Construction (‘ilm al-ma‘ānī),
- Figurative Speech (‘ilm al-bayān) and
- Linguistic Embellishments (‘ilm al-badī‘).
References
- ↑ Kate Zebiri, ‘Towards a Rhetorical Criticism of the Qur’an’, Journal of Qur’anic Studies 5, no. 2 (2003): 95–120, https://doi.org/10.3366/jqs.2003.5.2.95.
- ↑ Hussein Abdul-Raof, Arabic Rhetoric: A Pragmatic Analysis (Oxford: Routledge, 2006), i, ISBN 9780415386098. DOI: 10.4324/9780203965399
