ضوابط مقترحة لتغير دلالة الألفاظ في اللغة العربية

Abstract EN

Language development is considered one of the most important language issues in modern time.

Abundance of research has been published on this issue and many views have been presented explaining or calling for language development.

Arabic is a developing language in terms of its vocabulary and structure and is a language that keeps up with modern developments.

For hundreds of years, it has absorbed and incorporated the science and knowledge of every era.

This paper offers a new proposal to measure vocabulary development in Arabic.

This proposal calls for tracing a vocabulary item from the pre-Islamic era, or Jahiliyya, to the present time in order to explore the development it has undergone, making use of classical dictionaries and sources.

This has already been proposed by the German orientalist August Fischer.

To Fischer’s proposal we add the view that if a lexical item undergoes some semantic change, whereby its meaning changes in a way different from the usage found in classical dictionaries and sources, and if this word is neither an antonym nor a homonym, nor has it acquired a metaphorical meaning, the new and old usage are examined.

If they have any link or relationship, the word is accepted and adopted.

Otherwise, it is rejected.

The basis of this view is that the links between the classical and modern Arabic have been disconnected.

In case of a rejected word, an alternative lexical item from the dictionary should be suggested in order to revive it.