Center Journals

This study attempts a detailed discussion of the phenomenon of I’rab (conjugation) between linguistic conventions and relations of proximity through three levels: I’rab and linguistic conventions, I’rab and normative linguistic interaction, and I’rab and the task of communication and expression. The paper argues that the phenomenon of I’rab is related to the two poles of clarification and revelation—clarifying the phonetic signs and revealing the linguistic conventions—in order to fulfill the “manifest” and the “immanent” needs of the speaker, in accordance with the traditions and norms that govern the laws of linguistic communication between this speaker and the listener. The I’rab phenomenon has become rooted in the Arabic language, which means that it did not content to stay faithful to the origins, but went beyond that to investigate the codes of speech by referring phonetics to laws and purposes; thus, the Arabic language is proof of the academic theory that is based on the duality of the conjugated language and the mental structure. In order to employ it in a manner that best serves the Arabic language and its future prospects, this study argues that the I’rab phenomenon is specific to the Arabic language par excellence and that it is not only in need of further investigation, but also a rethinking.

Held by the University of Copenhagen, this conference addressed the changing perspectives in old testament studies. An opening address of around 60 minutes was delivered by Jack Sasson who spoke at length about Mari and our knowledge of the details of life there, including relations between the components of society, archaeological digs, preservation, trade, palace intrigue, and peasant conflicts over irrigation water. The American scholar explained the potential of archaeology to present an expansive image of life in archaeological sites going back 4,000 years. Overall, there was consensus among the conference participants that the conference was constructive, of very high academic standard and that discussions on the papers were conducted according to rigorous academic principles.

This study begins with a historical introduction of the evolution of the “Amazigh question” from the late 1960s to the present, and its role in shaping an individual’s consciousness, culture, history, identity, and awareness of self and surrounding. For some, the Amazigh language has become the essence of the entire Amazigh question. This paper discusses the controversies surrounding the language and the complexities embedded in the question of linguistic identity for the population of the Greater Maghreb. This study is an endeavor to answer questions such as: is Amazigh a single language with different dialects, or is it composed of multiple and different languages that are bound by common traits? Can we even speak of a unified Amazigh language in the context of the great linguistic diversity characterizing the Greater Maghreb? What is behind the oft-repeated calls to standardize and regulate this language in preparation for its unification?

What is history? A question undoubtedly arduous to answer, but the task of solving and explicating it is undertaken by researcher Qais Madi Ferro in this book. Over four chapters, he reviews the methods, schools, and tools that have dealt with this field of knowledge, which covers many contexts and times, given the fact that history in an idea that combines current reality and events in the past, and a method that combines facts and reorders then in imagined images to construct a narrative that describes what happened at a time absent from the human present.

It should be known that language, as the term is customarily used, is the expression by a speaker of his intention. Such expression is an act of the tongue which originates in an intention to convey the meaning of speech. Therefore, language must become an established habit located in the part of the body that produces it, namely, the tongue. In every nation, the formation of language takes place according to their own terminology. The linguistic habit that the Arabs obtained in that way is the best there is. It is the one most clearly expressing the intended meaning, since many ideas are indicated in it by something else than words. There are, for instance, vowels to distinguish the subject from object and i-case – that is, the genitive – and there are letters to transform actions (verbs) – that is, motions – into essences, without need of other words.

The main concern of this book focuses on the attempt to unify the methodological tools that have accumulated over the past six decades for discussing the subject of communications/media, or more accurately, to investigate the theory of media in the knowledge tradition produced around the media since it took on a central place in the reproduction of political and social structures, that is since World War II.

When dealing with Kamal Salibi’s research contribution to the field of the modern and contemporary history of Lebanon, I am struck as a reader and researcher in this field, by two main issues that he dealt with in all his books and articles on Lebanese history over the years. The first issue concerns the Lebanese emirate, whose problem is apparent when the following question, an exceptionally problematic question, is posed: Did this emirate have any special feature or features to give it enough specificity to justify saying that it was the historical form or the historical nucleus that founded or paved the way for the modern Lebanese state? And that the founding hero was Fakhreddin al-Maani? Kamal Salibi reached his view via empirical research in the sources, namely that he does not see any basis for this specificity.