PRONOUN: Forward-Pointing Pronoun
| PRONOUN: Forward-Pointing Pronoun | |
|---|---|
| Category | Sentence Construction & Syntactical Stylistics (‘ilm al-ma‘ānī) |
| Subcategory | Referential Switches |
| Balaghascore.com | |
| Code | A-13 |
| BalaghaBase.org | |
| Code | Q50 |
| OpenAlex | |
| ID | W4415329655 |
| Cite this page | |
| 🔗 DOI | 10.64393/balagha.Q50 |
| Download PDF | |
| Taxonomy | |
| ARDT | v0.1.0, v0.1.1 |
Definition
Forward-Pointing Pronoun (al-iḍmār maqām al-iẓhār) is an Arabic rhetorical device where a pronoun is used in place of a more explicit referential expression, particularly by introducing the pronoun before its referent or explanatory content has been fully disclosed.[1] In Arabic, the unmarked use of language (al-aṣl fī al-kalām) requires that a pronoun refer back to a noun already established in the discourse; a pronoun that instead points forward to a noun introduced only later is therefore a marked, rhetorically motivated departure from this norm.[1] When so motivated, Forward-Pointing Pronoun serves to heighten the addressee's interest, generate a sense of anticipation, and — once the referent is finally named — lend it greater prominence and impact.[1][2]
Mechanism
- In Arabic, the unmarked norm (al-aṣl fī al-kalām) is that a pronoun refers backward to a noun already present in the discourse. Any departure from this norm that is rhetorically motivated constitutes a marked use.[1]
- In Forward-Pointing Pronoun, a pronoun appears in the discourse before its referent — the noun it points to — has been named. This creates a temporary gap in the addressee's understanding, which is held open until the referent is subsequently provided.[1]
- The temporary withholding of the referent is the operative mechanism: it produces a state of uncertainty and expectation in the addressee, and when the referent is finally named, it is received with heightened attention and is more firmly retained.[1]
- Al-ʿAlawī (as cited in Akkāwī, 1992) describes the two named subtypes of this device — ḍamīr al-shaʾn and ḍamīr al-qiṣṣa — as operating through the deliberate act of first concealing the referent and then explicating it (iḍmāruhu awwalan wa-tafsīruhu thāniyan). The ambiguous element thereby invites longing and reflection (tashawwuq wa-tafkīr) in the addressee.[2]
Recognition
Forward-Pointing Pronoun may be present when:
- A pronoun appears in the discourse without any preceding noun or nominal expression that could serve as its referent.[1]
- The noun to which the pronoun refers is introduced only after the pronoun — that is, the pronoun precedes its referent in the text.[1]
- The pronoun is a third-person form (huwa, hiya, innahu, innahā) standing as the subject or topic of the sentence, with the substantive content that clarifies its referent following immediately.[3][2]
The following diagnostic tests aid identification:
- Ask whether the pronoun has an antecedent earlier in the same passage. If no prior noun has been named that the pronoun could refer back to, and the referent instead appears later in the same sentence or immediately following clause, Forward-Pointing Pronoun may be in operation.
- Ask whether the sentence remains fully intelligible if the pronoun is replaced by the noun that follows it. If the substitution produces a more explicit but less striking formulation, the forward-pointing pronoun is functioning rhetorically.
Diagnostic Rhetorical Effects
- Generating uncertainty and thereby heightening the addressee's interest and anticipation, by creating a temporary gap in reference that is held open until the referent is named.[1]
- Enhancing the retention of the referent in the mind of the addressee: once the referent is provided, it is received with greater attention and more firmly remembered than if it had been stated directly from the outset.[1]
- Creating prominence and noteworthiness (tafkhīm) for the referent, by first withholding it and then revealing it — the ambiguity produces a state of longing and reflection (tashawwuq wa-tafkīr) before resolution.[2][3]
- Producing the sense that what follows is especially weighty, extraordinary, or newsworthy — the pronoun signals to the addressee that something significant is about to be disclosed.[1][3]
- The lack of explicit prior referent compels the mind to search for meaning and produces a stronger impression than the explicit noun would have done in its place.[3]
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:
Types of Forward-Pointing Pronoun
The sources distinguish two rhetorically motivated subtypes of Forward-Pointing Pronoun.[1][2][3]
Type 1: Pronoun of Prominence (ḍamīr al-shaʾn)
The Pronoun of Prominence is a pronoun whose referent is the matter, affair, or proposition that follows it. It denotes something strange or remarkable (gharāba), causing the mind to reach forward in anticipation of what is to come.[3] Al-ʿAlawī (as cited in Akkāwī, 1992) holds that it serves the purposes of exaggeration and glorification (tafkhīm) by concealing the referent first and revealing it second.[2] The pronoun in this subtype is typically masculine singular (huwa), though it may also appear in the feminine (hiya).[3]
- Source Example
قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ
Say: "He is Allah — The One and Only."
Qur'an 112:1
- Explanation
- The pronoun huwa precedes its referent Allāh. No noun has been named before it; the addressee is momentarily held in suspense until the referent is disclosed. The prominence and noteworthiness of what follows — the oneness of God — is thereby underlined.[1][2]
- Constructed Example
هُوَ الصِّدْقُ — ذَلِكَ مَا يَبْقَى.
It is honesty — that is what endures.
- Explanation
- The pronoun huwa opens the sentence before its referent al-ṣidq (honesty) has been named, creating a moment of anticipation. The quality being praised — honesty — is received with greater weight once revealed.
- Constructed Example
إِنَّهُ الْحَقُّ وَاضِحٌ.
Indeed — the truth is clear.
- Explanation
- The pronoun innahu precedes the disclosure of the statement’s central content. The addressee is briefly held in suspense before the proposition concerning the truth is clarified.
Type 2: Pronoun of Disclosure (ḍamīr al-qiṣṣa)
The Pronoun of Disclosure is a pronoun whose referent is the narrative, disclosure, or report that follows. Hatim (1997) describes this subtype as creating the tellability or newsworthiness of what follows: the pronoun signals that what is about to be said is of significance, generating uncertainty that is then resolved by the content of the disclosure.[1] The pronoun in this subtype typically appears in the feminine singular (innahā), referring to the qiṣṣa (story, narrative, or matter) that follows.[1][2]
- Source Example
فَإِنَّهَا لَا تَعْمَى ٱلْأَبْصَارُ وَلَٰكِن تَعْمَى ٱلْقُلُوبُ ٱلَّتِي فِي ٱلصُّدُورِ
For truly it is not the eyes that are blind, but the hearts within the breasts.
Qur'an 22:46
- Explanation
- The pronoun innahā precedes the disclosure — that it is the hearts, not the eyes, that are blind. The addressee is momentarily held in uncertainty before the content of the disclosure is revealed, lending the statement its arresting, newsworthy quality.[1]
- Constructed Example
أَلَا إِنَّهَا الشَّجَاعَةُ لَيْسَتْ غِيَابَ الْخَوْفِ، بَلْ هِيَ التَّقَدُّمُ رَغْمَهُ.
Know that truly — courage is not the absence of fear, but advancing in spite of it.
- Explanation
- The pronoun innahā opens the statement before the subject of the disclosure — the nature of courage — has been named. The form signals that a significant revelation is coming, and the addressee receives the definition with heightened attention.
- Constructed Example
إِنَّهُ مَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَنْجَحْ.
Truly — whoever fears God succeeds.
- Explanation
- The pronoun innahu does not refer to a previously mentioned noun. Instead, it points forward to the entire proposition that follows — namely, that whoever fears God succeeds. The addressee is momentarily held in anticipation before the content of the disclosure becomes clear.
- Constructed Example
هِيَ الْحَيَاةُ لَا تَدُومُ لِأَحَدٍ.
It is the nature of life — it lasts for no one.
- Explanation
- The pronoun hiya appears before the content it introduces has been disclosed. Rather than referring back to an earlier noun, it prepares the addressee for the proposition that follows, lending the statement greater weight and reflective force.
Different From
- NOUNPRO: Nominal Prominence (al-iẓhār maqām al-iḍmār) — the inverse device: an explicit noun is used where a pronoun would be the expected, unmarked form. Forward-Pointing Pronoun introduces a pronoun before its referent has been named; Use of Noun in Place of Pronoun repeats an explicit noun after its referent has already been established.[1]
Notes
Technical
- Hatim (1997) notes that in Arabic grammar, certain constructions involve a pronoun that appears before its referent as a matter of grammatical necessity rather than rhetorical choice. Three such constructions are identified: the genitive of rubba (e.g. rubbahu rajulan); nouns following niʿma and biʾsa; and the construction known as al-maʿmūl li-awwal al-mutanāziʿayn. These are part of the grammatical system of Arabic and carry little if any rhetorical value; they are therefore distinct from the rhetorically motivated Forward-Pointing Pronoun described on this page.[1]
- Akkāwī (1992) also discusses the ḍamīr al-faṣl (also called ḍamīr al-ʿimād), a pronoun inserted between the subject and predicate of a nominal sentence to serve the function of specification and exclusivity (ikhtisāṣ). This pronoun does not point forward to an unnamed referent; it functions within a fully established nominal sentence and is therefore treated as a separate phenomenon from Forward-Pointing Pronoun.[2]
Historical
- The classical grounding for the principle that pronouns in Arabic are essentially backward-pointing — and that forward-pointing pronoun use therefore constitutes a departure from the norm — is traced by Hatim (1997) to al-Zarkashī's al-Burhān fī ʿUlūm al-Qurʾān (vol. 2, p. 482).[1]
- The terms ḍamīr al-shaʾn and ḍamīr al-qiṣṣa are established classical Arabic grammatical and rhetorical terms. Akkāwī (1992) attributes the account of their rhetorical function specifically to Yaḥyā ibn Ḥamza al-ʿAlawī.[2]
References
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Basil Hatim, Arabic Rhetoric: The Pragmatics of Deviation from Linguistic Norms, LINCOM Studies in Communication 04 (Munich: Lincom Europa, 2010), 73–75, ISBN 9783929075731.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Inʿām Fawwāl ʿAkkāwī, Al-Muʿjam al-Mufaṣṣal fī ʿUlūm al-Balāgha: Al-Badīʿ wa-al-Bayān wa-al-Maʿānī (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1996), 156.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Faḍl Ḥasan ʿAbbās, Al-Balāgha: Funūnuhā wa-Afnānuhā - ʿIlm al-Maʿānī (Irbid: Dār al-Furqān lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ, 1997), 299–301.
Page history
- 2026-05-16 - Renamed from PRONOUN: Use of Pronoun in Place of Noun to PRONOUN: Forward-Pointing Pronoun to reflect wider scope of the Arabic definition of the device.
- 2026-02-10 - Migration to Semantic Device Identifiers: Renamed from A-9: Use of Pronoun in Place of Noun to PRONOUN: Use of Pronoun in Place of Noun.
- 2025-11-20 - Page incorporated into the Arabic Rhetorical Device Taxonomy (v0.1.1).
- 2025-04-15 - Page created: Use of Pronoun in Place of Noun.
