Disambiguation page for Repetition Devices

    From The Encyclopedia of Arabic Rhetoric

    Overview

    These four devices can involve identical wording or multiple meanings, but differ in whether the relevant word occurs once or more than once, and whether repeated occurrences retain the same meaning and application.

    One-Sentence Discriminators

    • Pun (al-tawriya) — one occurrence with two possible meanings: a single word carries a near apparent meaning and a distant intended meaning.
    • Tikrār (al-tikrār) — two or more occurrences with the same meaning and application: the same lexical item or expression is repeated without a relevant change in meaning or application.
    • Tardīd (al-tardīd) — two or more occurrences with different applications: the same lexical item is repeated with a different application; its lexical meaning may also change, but need not do so.
    • Complete Paronomasia (al-jinās al-tāmm) — two components identical in form but different in lexical meaning.

    Comparison Table

    Device Occurrences Form Lexical meaning Application
    Pun 1 One lexical occurrence Two meanings available Near meaning apparent; distant meaning intended
    Tikrār 2+ Same item/expression repeated Same Same
    Tardīd 2+ Same lexical item repeated Same or different Different
    Complete Paronomasia 2+ Identical form Different Different

    Decision Tree

    1. Is there only one occurrence of the relevant word?

    • Yes → If that word activates a near apparent meaning and a distant intended meaning → Pun.
    • No → Continue.

    2. Do the repeated occurrences retain the same lexical meaning and the same application?

    3. Do the formally identical components have different lexical meanings?

    • Yes → Complete Paronomasia. If the same lexical item is also being repeated with different applications, Tardīd may additionally apply.
    • No → If the same lexical item is repeated with a different application → Tardīd.

    Core Distinction

    The four mechanisms can be distinguished by asking whether there is one lexical occurrence or multiple occurrences, and then whether lexical meaning or contextual application changes:

    one occurrence + two possible meanings → Pun
    multiple occurrences + same meaning + same application → Tikrār
    multiple occurrences + different application → Tardīd
    multiple identical forms + different lexical meanings → Complete Paronomasia

    Tardīd and Complete Paronomasia are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Where the same lexical item is repeated with both a different application and a different lexical meaning, the criteria for both may be satisfied; Nābulsī explicitly observes that in such cases the distinction between al-tardīd and al-jinās may disappear.[1]

    References

    1. ↑ Pierre Cachia, The Arch Rhetorician: Or The Schemer’s Skimmer: A Handbook of Late Arabic Badīʻ Drawn from ʻAbd al-Ghanī an-Nābulsī’s Nafaḥāt al-Azhār ʻala Nasamāt al-Asḥār, Studies in Arabic Language and Literature 3 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1998), pp. 33-34; §54, ISBN 9783447040327.

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