PRONCON: Concordance of Pronunciations
| PRONCON: Concordance of Pronunciations | |
|---|---|
| Category | Linguistic Embellishments (ʿilm al-badīʿ) |
| Subcategory | Wordplay & Phonetic Styling |
| Built upon | 4 sources |
| Annotation Unit | |
| ARDT Code | PRONCON |
| Level | 1 (Rhetorical device) |
| ↳ Has 2 subtypes | |
| Included in Taxonomy | |
| ARDT | v0.1.1 v0.1.0 |
| External Identifiers | |
| BALAGHAScore | CD-4 |
| BalaghaBase | Q127 |
| OpenAlex | W4415412878 |
| Applications | |
| BalaghaCorpus | See examples |
| About this page | |
|---|---|
| Created | 22 April 2024 |
| Modified | 2 November 2026 |
| Cite this page | |
| 🔗 DOI | https://doi.org/10.64393/balagha.Q127 |
| Use this page | |
| Download | PDF JSON  HTML  |
Definition
Concordance of Pronunciations (iʾtilāf al-lafẓ maʿa al-lafẓ) is an Arabic rhetorical device in which the words of an utterance are selected so as to be fitting and harmonious with one another.[1][2][3][4]
Background Information
The Arabic name iʾtilāf al-lafẓ maʿa al-lafẓ means "the harmonious agreement of wording with wording". The term iʾtilāf (ائتلاف) refers to the compatibility of different elements, while al-lafẓ maʿa al-lafẓ (اللفظ مع اللفظ) specifies that the agreement is between expressions. The name thus describes the selection of words that fit harmoniously together, whether through semantic appropriateness[1][4] or consistency in lexical familiarity and rarity.[1]
Linguistic Operations
- When several expressions could appropriately complete the intended meaning, the speaker selects the wording that is most fitting to what comes before or after it.[1][2][3]
- The words must suit one another (tulāʾumu) and preserve appropriateness (munāsaba).[1]
- Rare words are paired with rare words, and common words with common words, so that the lexical register remains internally consistent.[5][1]
- The resulting expression is well-established in its wording and avoids lexical repulsion or discord.[1]
Communicative Enhancements
- The speech becomes firmly woven and internally harmonious (muḥkam al-sudā), with the words reinforcing one another in composition.[1]
- Lexical consistency preserves harmony and prevents discord between adjacent expressions.[5][1]
- Al-ʿAlawī notes that grand meanings call for grand wording and delicate meanings for delicate wording; this matching is among the finest forms of rhetorical composition.[1]
Recognition
Concordance of Pronunciations may be present when:
- Several alternative expressions could convey the required meaning, but the selected expression is especially well suited to the lexical or associative field established elsewhere in the utterance.[1][2][3]
- The wording appears mutually harmonious and fitting, with no single word seeming alien to its surroundings.[1]
- The words of a passage are of a similar degree of rarity or familiarity.[5][1]
- Replacing the selected expression with one from a different semantic or associative field would weaken the harmony of the utterance.[1][2][3]
- Replacing one word with another of a different lexical register would disturb the balance of the utterance.[5][1]
Applying the Recognition Framework
The 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:
Subtypes of Concordance of Pronunciations
PRONCON-SFC: Concordance of Pronunciations by Semantic Field Coherence (iʾtilāf al-lafẓ maʿa al-lafẓ fī al-maʿnā)
| Annotation Unit | |
|---|---|
| ARDT | PRONCON-SFC |
| Level | 2 (Subtype) |
| BalaghaBase | Q398 |
| Official Arabic name | iʾtilāf al-lafẓ maʿa al-lafẓ fī al-maʿnā[6] |
A form of Concordance of Pronunciations in which a choice is made, from several expressions capable of completing the intended meaning, of the word or expression whose wording is most fitting to the lexical or associative field already established in the discourse.[1][2][3][4]
كَالقِسِيِّ المُقَطَّفَاتِ بَلِ الأَسْهُمِ مُبَرَّيَةً بَلِ الأَوْتَارِ
"Like clipped bows — rather arrows sharpened — rather bowstrings."
- Explanation
- ʿAkkāwī (p. 10) explains that the poet's likening of camels to a bow could have been expressed through comparisons to tents, family, ropes, and tent-pegs. But having chosen the bow as his image, he selected arrows (al-ashum) and bowstrings (al-awtār) — words that belong to the same semantic field as bow — for the sake of lexical harmony (al-ittilāf al-lafẓī) and appropriateness. The device operates here through coherence of semantic field rather than register-matching.[1]
أُحِبُّكَ يَا شَمْسَ النَّهَارِ وَبَعْدَهُ / وَإِنْ لَامَنِي فِيكَ السُّهَى وَالفَرْقَدُ
Al-Mutanabbī (al-Ṭawīl): "I love you, O sun of the day and after it, even if al-Suhā and al-Farqad blame me for you."
- Explanation
- ʿAkkāwī (p. 10) explains that al-Mutanabbī achieved iʾtilāf al-lafẓ between al-shams (sun) and al-nahār (day) — both belonging to the domain of daytime luminaries — and between al-badr (full moon), al-suhā (a dim star), and al-farqad (a pole star) — all belonging to the domain of night-sky phenomena. The selection of each word is governed by the semantic and associative field established by the others.[1]
أَصَحُّ وَأَقْوَى مَا رَوَيْنَاهُ فِي النَّدَى / مِنَ الخَبَرِ المَأثُورِ مُنْذُ قَدِيمِ
أَحَادِيثُ تَرْوِيهَا السُّيُولُ عَنِ الحَيَا / عَنِ البَحْرِ عَنْ جُودِ الأَمِيرِ تَمِيمِIbn Rashīq al-Qayrawānī (al-Ṭawīl): "The soundest and strongest account we have narrated of generosity, from the transmitted report since ancient times — tales narrated by the floods, from the rain, from the sea, of the generosity of Amīr Tamīm."
- Explanation
- ʿAkkāwī (p. 11) explains that there is mulāʾama between al-ṣiḥḥa wa al-quwwa (soundness and strength) and al-riwāya wa al-khabar (narration and report); the aḥādīth (accounts) follow the akhbār (reports); al-suyūl (floods) follow al-ḥayā (rain); then al-baḥr (sea) follows; then the generosity of the Amīr. All these things are semantically proximate, so the speech became muʾtilaf al-alfāẓ and its composition became firmly structured (muḥkam al-sudā).[1]
وَقَفَ الطَّبِيبُ يُشَخِّصُ الدَّاءَ وَيَصِفُ الدَّوَاءَ وَيُحَدِّدُ الجُرْعَةَ
"The doctor stood diagnosing the illness, prescribing the medicine, and determining the dosage."
- Explanation
- The three verbal phrases are selected from the same semantic field — medical practice — so that tashshkīṣ (diagnosis), waṣf (prescription), and jurʿa (dosage) are mutually harmonious and none appears alien to its surroundings. Had a word from a different domain been introduced — such as ijtihād (legal reasoning) or ḥukm (judgement) — the lexical harmony would be disturbed. The device operates here through coherence of semantic field rather than register-matching.
The investigation uncovered a trail of clues, unearthed hidden connections, and finally brought the truth to light.
- Explanation
- The expressions "uncovered", "unearthed", and "brought the truth to light" draw on a shared associative field of revealing what is hidden. Each expression contributes to the intended meaning while maintaining lexical harmony with the others. Alternative expressions such as "identified" or "established" could convey similar information but would weaken the coherence of the imagery.
PRONCON-RGC: Concordance of Pronunciations by Register Consistency (iʾtilāf al-lafẓ maʿa al-lafẓ fī al-gharāba wa-l-tadāwul)
| Annotation Unit | |
|---|---|
| ARDT | PRONCON-RGC |
| Level | 2 (Subtype) |
| BalaghaBase | Q399 |
| Official Arabic name | iʾtilāf al-lafẓ maʿa al-lafẓ fī al-gharāba wa-l-tadāwul[6] |
A form of Concordance of Pronunciations in which there is a matching of words by degree of familiarity or rarity, so that unusual wording is paired with unusual wording and common wording with common wording.[1]
وَتَاللَّهِ تَفْتَأُ تَذْكُرُ يُوسُفَ
"By Allah, you will not cease remembering Joseph." (Qurʾan 12:85)
- Explanation
- The oath particle tāʾ (tāʾ al-qasam) is the rarest of the oath letters (aghrab ḥurūf al-qasam), and taftaʾu is the rarest of the verbs of continuation (aghrab afʿāl al-istimrār); because one rare element was selected, the other was selected to match it in register.[5][1]
وَأَقْسَمُوا بِاللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَانِهِمْ
"And they swore by Allah their strongest oaths." (Qurʾan 24:53)
- Explanation
- The wording is composed entirely of commonly circulating expressions, with no strangeness in any of them, and they are therefore equal in placement and suitable in composition — exemplifying the matching of common wording with common wording according to al-Suyūṭī's formulation as cited by Ibn Ḥijja.[1]
لَا يَزَالُ الفَكْرُ يَجُوبُ الآفَاقَ وَيَرْتَادُ المَجَاهِيلَ وَيَسْبَحُ فِي اللُّجَجِ
"Thought continues to roam the horizons, explore the unknowns, and swim in the deep waters."
- Explanation
- Each element is drawn from a register of elevated, uncommon diction: yajūbu (to traverse, roam) is rarer than the prosaic yantaqilu; yartādu (to scout, venture into) is rarer than yaktashifu; and al-lujaj (the deep waters, abysses) is rarer than al-biḥār. Because an elevated and uncommon verb of continuation was selected at the outset, the subsequent vocabulary was matched to it in register, exemplifying the pairing of rare wording with rare wording.
The committee deemed the proposal untenable and thereupon resolved to terminate the proceedings.
- Explanation
- The expressions "deemed", "untenable", "thereupon resolved", and "terminate the proceedings" belong to a consistently formal and relatively uncommon register. More familiar alternatives such as "thought", "unworkable", "then decided", and "end the meeting" could convey similar meanings, but mixing these with the elevated expressions would disturb the consistency of the diction. The linguistic operation is the matching of words by degree of familiarity or rarity.
Notes
- Terminology: Nāṣif uses gharāba and taʾahhul, while ʿAkkāwī uses gharīb and mutadāwal; both refer to the contrast between rare and familiar lexical usage.
- Subtype structure: ʿAkkāwī (p. 10) reports Ibn Abī al-Iṣbaʿ's observation that this device has two formulations (taʿrīfayn). The first concerns selecting wording that is semantically appropriate to surrounding expressions; the second, attributed to al-Suyūṭī, concerns matching words by rarity or familiarity. The ARDT subtype names describe these two source-attested linguistic operations.[1]
- Muḥkam al-sudā: This phrase, used by ʿAkkāwī (p. 11) in the analysis of Ibn Rashīq's verses, is a weaving metaphor: sudā refers to the warp threads of a fabric. The phrase conveys that the composition is as firmly interlocked as a well-woven textile.
- No explicit contrastive device: The provided sources do not explicitly distinguish this device from another named rhetorical device, so no "Different from" section is included.
References
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Inʿam Fawwal ʿAkkawi, al-Muʿjam al-Mufassal fi ʿUlum al-Balagha: al-Badiʿ wa-l-Bayan wa-l-Maʿani (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1996), 9-11.
- ↑ a b c d e 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); §156, ISBN 9783447040327.
- ↑ a b c d e 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), p. 114-115, ISBN 9783447040327.
- ↑ a b c Badawī Ṭabāna, Muʿjam al-Balāgha al-ʿArabiyya, 3rd rev. and expanded ed. (Jeddah: Dār al-Manāra; Riyadh: Dār al-Rifāʿī, 1988), 43.
- ↑ a b c d e Ḥafnī Nāṣif, Muḥammad Diyāb, Sultan Muḥammad and Muṣṭafā Ṭammām, Durūs al-Balāgha (Beirut: Dār Ibn Ḥazm, 2012), 121, ISBN 9786144162798.
- ↑ a b Inʿam Fawwal ʿAkkawi, al-Muʿjam al-Mufassal fi ʿUlum al-Balagha: al-Badiʿ wa-l-Bayan wa-l-Maʿani (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1996), 10.
Page History
- 2026-02-11 - Migration to Semantic Device Identifiers: Renamed from CI-3: Concordance of Pronunciations to PRONCON: Concordance of Pronunciations.
- 2025-11-20 - Page incorporated into the Arabic Rhetorical Device Taxonomy (v0.1.1).
- 2024-04-22 - Page created: Concordance of Pronunciations.
