Less Form, More Meaning: A Case Study of al-IẖtibÄ k in the Qur’an Through the Prism of Dependency Grammar

Hamada Hassanein

SAGE Open, 2023, vol. 13, issue 4, 21582440231199921

Abstract: Ellipsis pervades the Qur’anic discourse. One pervasive form of it is al-iẖtibÄ k (“interchangeable ellipsis†). In terms of the interface between Qur’anic exegesis and Arabic rhetoric, the phenomenon of al-iẖtibÄ k is far more than a rhetorically heuristic technique for surface-structure analysis. It is a fruitful tool for pragmasemantic inferences of discursive implicatures defined as a fundamental mode of text construction and a logical hermeneutic of text consumption. The veracity of al-iẖtibÄ k has received little attention in non-Arabic research. Consequently, this article revisits the typology of al-iẖtibÄ k through the lens of Osborne’s dependency grammar to argue for its relevance to Qur’anic epistemology and axiology. Using a dependency grammar approach to al-iẖtibÄ k , the article conducts a qualitative content analysis of representative Qur’anic verses to highlight the symbiotic relationship between Qur’anic exegesis and Arabic rhetoric. Al-iẖtibÄ k is found to be related to givenness and newness of information structure which impact its interpretation and resolution—a finding in line with Winkler’s argument. Al-iẖtibÄ k proves to be a central discourse marker of interaction between the Qur’an and its recipients who take part in filling the elliptical slots co(n)textually.

Keywords: Al-iẖtibÄ k; interchangeable ellipsis; dependency grammar; ellipsis resolution; information structure; the Qur’an (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:sagope:v:13:y:2023:i:4:p:21582440231199921

DOI: 10.1177/21582440231199921

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