The government of the State of Ohio determined to design several mandatory programs in regular classes to help NRC’s female in mates to prepare themselves upon their release back to the community; one of the programs is Islamic teaching. It is a chance to insert and implement the innovated peaceful Islamic propagation beside the conventional one, especially in western countries like the United States of America. The chance for an innovated dakwah is open upon observing that a lot of non- (...) Muslimah in mates were curious about Islam in an inter-religious meeting. The Arabic script classis not a part of mandatory NRC programs, it is voluntary for non- Muslimin mates designed and implemented by the author. They learn to write and pronounce the Arabic alphabet from “alif’ to ‘ya’ within six weeks. This free class is to support the government programs in order to reduce recidivism among in mates, and upon completing this class they are encouraged to attending the Islamic teaching class. This paper is qualitative research using a sociology approach. The data collection for this research is using participative observation, voluntary interview, and documentation; the collected data were analyzed in the descriptive-qualitative method. The effectiveness and efficacy of the research should be measured in a quantity of non- Muslimah in mates who gradually and peacefully convert to become Muslimah after attending the Arabic script class. The benchmark of effectiveness should be affirmed in mathematic formula i.e. the effectiveness is equal to the number of Muslimah converts divided by the total participant time 100; it is x 100 = 33.33%. Among 9 non- Muslimah participants of free Arabic script class,3 of them converted to be Muslimah. (shrink)

For many centuries Jews in Arabic-speaking lands have transcribed books written by non-Jews into the Hebrew alphabet; the language remains Arabic, but the writing is Hebrew. This was done mainly for the benefit of those who knew the Arabic language but not the script. The majority of these transcriptions are scientific or philosophical texts. Transcriptions are of value to scholars for two reasons. Some entire texts, or more complete or accurate versions of texts, are preserved only (...) in transcription. In addition, the choice of texts transcribed is very instructive concerning the cultural and intellectual interests of Jews. A century ago the great bibliographer Moritz Steinschneider published a description of the transcriptions known to him. We have undertaken to prepare a full catalogue. In this article we offer a preliminary relisting of those manuscripts that we have examined recently. (shrink)

For many centuries Jews in Arabic-speaking lands have transcribed books written by non-Jews into the Hebrew alphabet; the language remains Arabic, but the writing is Hebrew. This was done mainly for the benefit of those who knew the Arabic language but not the script. The majority of these transcriptions are scientific or philosophical texts. Transcriptions are of value to scholars for two reasons. Some entire texts, or more complete or accurate versions of texts, are preserved only (...) in transcription. In addition, the choice of texts transcribed is very instructive concerning the cultural and intellectual interests of Jews. A century ago the great bibliographer Moritz Steinschneider published a description of the transcriptions known to him. We have undertaken to prepare a full catalogue. In this article we offer a preliminary relisting of those manuscripts that we have examined recently. Pendant plusieurs siècles, des juifs des pays arabophones transcrivaient en caractères hébraïques des ouvrages rédigés par des savants non juifs: la langue restait l'arabe, mais l'écriture était hébraïque. Ces transcriptions étaient faites à l'intention des juifs qui connaissaient la langue arabe mais pas son écriture. La plupart des textes ainsi transcrits sont scientifiques ou philosophiques. Ils présentent un intérêt pour la recherche pour deux raisons. Il y a des textes qui ne sont préservés qu'en transcription, et d'autres dont les manuscrits en caractères hébraïques renferment des versions plus complètes ou plus exactes que les manuscrits connus en caractères arabes. De plus, le choix des textes ayant été transcrits en caractères hébraïques est très instructif quant aux intérêts culturels et intellectuels des juifs. Il y a un siècle, le grand bibliographe Moritz Steinschneider avait publié une liste descriptive des manuscrits renfermant des transcriptions qui lui étaient connus. Nous-même avons entrepris d'en rédiger un catalogue complet. Dans le présent article nous proposons une liste préliminaire des manuscrits que nous avons examinés récemment. (shrink)

Summary As a divinatory device based on the numerical values of names, onomancy requires a system of letter-number equivalents. In Greek and the Semitic languages, a unique system is used, which consists of ascribing the first nine letters of the alphabet to the units (1–9), the following nine letters to the tens (10–90), and the remaining letters to the hundreds (100-). Given the structural similarities between those languages, the transfer of onomancy between Greek and Semitic cultures does not pose (...) particular problems. Difficulties arise when onomancy is translated into Latin, where there is no such system of letter-number equivalents. This article examines the various solutions put forward by the translators and authors of the earliest Latin onomantic texts of Arabic origin, the so-called Alchandreana. (shrink)

In order to assess the unique reading processes in Arabic, given its unique orthographic nature of natural inherent variations of inter letter spacing, the current study examined the extent and influence of connectedness disparity during single word recognition using the optimal viewing position paradigm. The initial word viewing position was systematically manipulated by shifting words horizontally relative to an imposed initial viewing position. Variations in recognition and processing time were measured as a function of initial viewing position. Fully connected/unconnected (...) Arabic words were used. It was found that OVP effects occurred during the processing of isolated Arabic words. In Arabic, the OVP may be in the center of the word. No OVP was found in three-letter words; for four- and five-letter words, the OVP effect appeared as a U-shaped curve with a minimum towards the second and third letters. Thus, the OVP effects generalize across structurally different alphabetic scripts. (shrink)

Study of Islamic philosophy of Yaḥyá ibn Ḥabash Suhrawardī, 1152 or 1153-1191.

Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900--Criticism and interpretation. ; Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900--Views on ethics.

This study is defined within the context of the critical posthuman project of decentring humanist subjectivity. We argue that because agential realism, and the agency and performativity that go with it, do not enable non-human matter to be accountable, only human matter, in its intra-active becoming with non-human matter, can support an ethical project. Secondly, we map our understanding of Barad’s agential realism, explaining the importance of agential cuts in phenomena-in-their-becoming that are the world worlding itself, and evaluate ethics, agency, (...) and performativity in this material-discursive framework. Thirdly, understanding the material-discursive to underpin storied matter, we engage it via some clarification of narrative, and narrative agency. We conclude that much organic or inorganic nature as non-human matter is directional and responsive, so alive and generative and, in this sense, capable of worlding itself. However, it does not tell its own stories in the process. (shrink)

In recent years, preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) of IVF embryos have gained much traction in clinical assisted reproduction for preventing various genetic defects, including Down syndrome. However, such genetic tests inevitably reveal the sex of IVF embryos by identifying the sex (X and Y) chromosomes. In many countries with less stringent IVF regulations, information on the sex of embryos that are tested to be genetically normal is readily shared with patients. This would thus present Muslim patients with unintended opportunities for (...) sex selection based on personal or social biases without any pressing need or valid medical reason. Additionally, there are other patients who claim using PGT for preventing genetic defects as a pretext or “convenient excuse,” with a secret intention to do sex selection when it is banned in their home country. Currently, non-medical sex selection is a highly-controversial and hotly debated issue in Islam, because there is generally a strong preference for having sons over daughters due to widespread cultural norms of elderly parents depending on their sons for financial support, as well as the need for male heirs to continue the family lineage within the backdrop of local patriarchal cultures. There is a risk of gender imbalance and social disequilibrium occurring in Islamic societies due to prevalent sex selection. Hence, the question is whether opportunistic sex selection with PGT would contravene Islamic ethics and principles, which will thus be discussed here. (shrink)

Objective:To describe the professional values of the nurse lectures according to 241 nursing students, who participated voluntarily, in three different universities of Bogotá.Methodology:This is a quantitative, descriptive cross-sectional study that applied the Nurses Professional Values Scale—permission secured—Spanish; three dimensions of values were applied: ethics, commitment, and professional knowledge.Ethical consideration:Project had ethical review and approval from an ethics committee and participants were given information sheets to read before they agreed to participate in the project.Findings:It was concluded that nursing students, in general, (...) do perceive these values in their professors, and they give priority to the dimension of ethics, followed by the knowledge dimension, and finally, commitment.Discussion:It is evident that professional values are transmitted by professors and students place importance to such values. Values related to the other’s care are paramount in nursing training in Colombia as well as in other countries.Conclusion:It was found that participating students observed professors directly in relation to values focused on direct patient care, respect for privacy, respect for life, while matters related to professional improvement, participation in unions were not actually analyzed may be due to poor promotion activities and unions during undergraduate studies. The results obtained are primary approach to the study of values related to nursing, a topic which needs to be researched, something vital to all the country offering nursing training programs. (shrink)

(1996). The Conradian inheritance in the African novel. The European Legacy: Vol. 1, Fourth International Conference of the International Society for the study of European Ideas, pp. 101-108.

(1996). The Conradian inheritance in the African novel. The European Legacy: Vol. 1, Fourth International Conference of the International Society for the study of European Ideas, pp. 101-108.

بالحرف نفهم الوجود، ونكتشفُ مُعَمَّيَاتِه وملابساته.فالوجود حرف، والحرف وجود، فهما معا يتماهيان، وهما معا يتبادلان الأدوار في مرآة الحياة والذاكرة والدين والأسطورة و المخيال، وفي فضاء الترميز بالقوة القَوَوِيَّةِ والتجريد المتعالي. وإذا كانت حبة الرمل تختزن الصحراء وتؤشر عليها، وقطرةُ الماء تختزل البحرَ وتومئ إليه، ونبضةُ العِطر تحوز الأزهارَ وتدل عليها، فإن الحرف هو كذلك يمثِّل كثافة الوجود في أعالي أعاليها، فهو الشجرة الرامزة إليه أونطولوجيا. إذْ من هذه الشجرة خرج الأمر الإلهي، فصار كونا ووجودا هو عبارة عن شجرة الكون (...) التي يُجَسِّد كل جزء من أجزائها حرَكِيَّةَ الوجود، وتوهجَ اختلافاته، وتناغمَ إيقاعاته، وتشابكَ دلالاته. إن الوجود حرف لا تكون الكتابة إلا به، والخلْق كتابة، والكتابة غرْسٌ، والغرس نفْسٌ، والنفْس وجود.وهكذا تبتدئ دائرة الوجود بالحرف وتنتهي به وإليه، فخلْقُ آدم وتركيبُه له دلالة على هذا المَنْحَى، فهو وسلالته يشبهان رمزيا في حياتهما حروفَ الأبجدية في بدايتها ونهايتها، فهما يدخلان إلى هذه الحياة على شكل ألِفٍ، ويخرجان منها على شكل ياءٍ.فالعِلم بالأسماء موضوع في قلب آدم، وتصْويرُها في صدره، وتعبيرها فيما بين حلْقه إلى شفتيه، فالقلبُ طَرَفٌ للعلْم، والصدر طَرَفٌ للتصاوير، والفم طَرَفٌ للتعبير. فالعالمُ في أول ظهورٍ له كان على صورة الإنسان، وصورة الإنسان هي صورة الحق. فصورتُه التي على صورة الحق تُؤَهِّلُه لمعرفة الحق من خلال معرفته لذاته الإنسانية. (shrink)

Kitāb al-Mabādiʼ wa-al-ghāyāt fi-̄mā tataḍammanah ḥurūf al-muʻjam min al-ʻajāʼib al-āyāt -- Kitāb Mīm wa-al-wāw wa-al-nūn -- Kitāb al-Alif, wa-huwa kitāb al-aḥadīyah -- Kitāb al-bāʼ, wa-huwa Kitāb al-ḥaqāʼiq al-ilahīyah -- Risālat al-ḥarf wa-al-maʻná, wa-huwa tafhīm maʻānī al-ḥurūf -- Kitāb al-yāʼ, wa-huwa Kitāb al-hūw -- Risālat al-kalām fi ̄ḥurūf al-muʻjam wa-maʻānīhā -- Risālat al-ʻiqd al-manẓūm fī khawāṣṣ al-ḥurūf.

The translation of the Bible into Turkish as a whole was made in Istanbul in 1665-1666 by Wojciech Bobowski (Ali Ufki Bey), who was of Polish origin, spoke 17 different languages, later became a Muslim, served in the Ottoman palace for many years. Among the languages he could speak were mainly Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Polish, English, French, Italian, Arabic, Turkish. He is also known as Albert Bobowski and Albertus Bobovius in European sources. The translation was planned by a group (...) of Dutch Protestants, while Dutch ambassador Levinus Warner followed the work in Istanbul. The translation texts were checked and sent immediately to the Netherlands for printing, but could be printed in Paris in 1827 due to the adverse condition. In this edition, M. Jean Daniel Kieffer has revised some on Ali Ufki Bey's translation. This translation, with some changes and corrections in the Arabic alphabet (Ottoman) in 1878, 1885, 1886, 1901was printed in Latin alphabet in 1941.The style and language properties of the 1941 edition made it difficult to understand the Bible, so it was reprinted in 2001 with the more contemporary words under the name Kutsal Kitap (Yeni Çeviri).The background of the Turkish translations of the Bible, the contributions of the Bible Society (English and Foreign Bible Society) to these studies, the change of the words used in the translations, the translation of Wojciech Bobowski used as the source text and the follow-up of this translation process are important. Because the original text of the translations of the Bible in Turkish is based on the translation of Wojciech Bobowski. (shrink)

Ottoman Turkish or Ottoman –as a mumpsimus – is basically Turkish language, over time it has been substantially influenced by Arabic and Persian. Its alphabet is based on Arabic letters. It has borrowed letters from Persian as well. Its vocabulary is essentially Turkish; however, it has borrowed words from Arabic and Persian at a substantial level. Arabic language attracted attention in mosques because it was the language of the religion, and in madrasahs because it was (...) the language of science. As for Persian, it spread in Turkish states as the literary language and this lifted its effectiveness especially in Seljukian palaces. Arabic writing, which is the common writing form for both languages, became the writing form for virtually the entire Islamic world, and thus, Turks employed Arabic writing form to be able to write in their own languages. According to resources, the first written Turkish language grammar book is Muyassiratu’l-ulum by Bergamalı Kadri. Apart from this book, the earliest sources on Ottoman Turkish grammar and principles were started to be written after 1840. While writing activities about Ottoman Turkish grammar increased in late 19th and early 20th centuries, they have gained further acceleration nowadays. In fact, the statement about a generation who cannot read the grave stones of their ancestors has been influential. After providing education on Ottoman Turkish as a compulsory or elective course as part of high school syllabus by the Ministry of National Education, and due to the natural increase in the numbers of students in Theology and Literature Faculties of universities which are, nowadays, almost in every city, writing activities about Ottoman Turkish have become desirable and a sector has been formed in this field. Many researchers who teach this course started to write an Ottoman Turkish grammar book to use in their own lessons, and this caused the number of Ottoman Turkish publications to increase in the market. According to our findings, grammar books of Turkey Turkish were also written in foreign languages, in late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through writing Turkey Turkish grammar work in German, French, English, Italian, Latin, Hungarian, Russian and Greek, foreign authors aimed to teach Turkish to their own nations. Although all of these works were produced in order to contribute teaching of Ottoman Turkish, efforts to generate solutions for certain problematic issues became a lot more complicated. To illustrate, when case about kaaf (ك) letter, which is the subject of this study, is examined either in grammar books written after 1840s, or in the books written by contemporary researchers, two aspects are noteworthy. One of these is the change in the number of letters forming the alphabet, the other one is the classification and nomenclature regarding kaaf (ك) letter, which effects this number. That Ottoman Turkish consists of three languages and uses Arabic alphabet and vocabulary from three different languages resulted in problems like difference in the number of letters in the alphabet and problems in the articulation of certain letters. It has been determined that one of the reasons why the number of letters in the alphabet is different is directly letter kaaf and that there are problems in both articulation and classification of the letter kaaf used in Arabic, Persian and Turkish words. When the books written on Ottoman Turkish grammar starting from the 19th century until today are analysed, no studies have ever been done either about the changes in the numbers forming the alphabet, or about the classification and articulation problems of letter kaaf (ك) and about the solution offersed to these. In this article, by attracting attention to both the number of letters in the alphabet, and to the classification and articulation problems of letter kaaf (ك), findings regarding the solutions of these problems are presented. The study consists of three main chapters. In the first chapter, the function of various letters is presented and especially the effect of kaaf on the number of letters in Ottoman Turkish alphabet is elaborated and after the analyses, the number of letters is determined. In the second chapter, triplet, quartet and quintet classifications of letter kaaf are examined and its nomenclature and articulations are analysed. In the last chapter, problems about classification and articulation of kaaf are evaluated and a new classification is suggested. Yet, it is obvious that either this classification or the previous ones do not contribute to the question of which sound to use while pronouncing kaaf. Therefore, at the end of the study, some determinations have been made for solving the problem of kaaf’s articulation. (shrink)

The Qurʾān was taught in the letter method for many years. After the names of the letters in the Arabic alphabet are memorized in this method, the teaching of origins and signs begins. The syllabic method was developed over time as an alternative to this method, and the letters were taught directly with their superior vowel signs without memorizing their names. Unlike these two methods, the sound-based alif ba method has begun to be used in recent years. This (...) method coincides with the primary literacy teaching method based on the sounds thatwere adopted in Turkish teaching since 2005. Basic principles such as teaching the letters one-by-one, following the sound learning stages in teaching each sound, conducting the lessons in class, reading the syllables and words formed with the learned letters from the first day are adopted in both teaching methods. The purpose of the present study was to find out how the Qurʾān can be taught by applying the sound-based alif ba method and to draw attention to the original aspects of this method for learning the Qurʾān with the right sounds. Since the correct teaching of the Qurʾān is closely related to the teacher’s content knowledge and teaching skills, the alif ba that will be used and the method to be applied are important in reaching the target more systematically and faster. The case study design was used in the study in which the qualitative method was employed. The primary data of the study were Sound-Based Alif ba, for which I was the project assistant of, and the book with the title A New Approach in Teaching the Qurʾān: Sound based Alif baand Tajwīd Method, which was an editorial book of which I was one of the authors, and the thirty-episode series We Are Children and We Are Reading the Qurʾān, published on Diyanet TV, for which I was the production coordinator. Also, to see the applicability of the method, interviews were conducted with eight instructors who used Sound-Based Alif ba in their lessons. The study received ethical approval from Ankara Social Sciences University Rectorate Social and Human Sciences Research and Scientific Publication Ethics Committee on 8 July 2021 with the decision no 12450. The main thing in the sound-based alif ba method is the correct vocalization of the Qurʾān. The letters in alif ba are arranged differently from the classical alphabet order and are divided into six groups considering the frequency of occurrence in the Qurʾān and the degree of difficulty of origins. Each letter is taught in a separate lesson with the support of the ḥarakas and the sukūn (such as اَلْ, اِلْ, اُلْ). During the teaching, attention is paid to the sound learning steps, and the student is expected to feel the sound of the letter to be learned, distinguish it from other letter sounds, and then pronounce it from the correct origin as much as possible. In the sound-based alif ba method, the teaching of the shape of the letter is done after the sound of the letter is pronounced. During the teaching of the shapes of the letters, the part of the letter that does not change when written within a word is emphasized, and the writing is used so that the shape of the letter can be placed in the mind of the student. In the sound-based alif ba teaching, reading from the Qurʾān is done in every lesson, starting from the teaching of the first letter. During the teaching of alif ba, educational games, question-answer, and narration methods are used, primarily with the taʿlīm method. In this way, the teaching of Sound-Based Alif ba is spread over a period of 40 lessons. The study findings showed that the sound-based alif ba method has similar characteristics with the sound-based primary literacy teaching method; however, Arabic has its own unique aspects with its language structure. Among these originalities, which is adopted in the teaching of letters, firstly teaching the letter with the sukūn and with the support of movable ا and then showing the shape of the letter is carried out. As a matter of fact, the teachers have the opinion that this vocalization method, which is adopted, facilitates the learning of the correct sounds, and that teaching the letters in line with the sound learning steps increases the efficiency of the lesson. Although most of the instructors pointed out to the positive aspects of teaching tajwīd sounds in alif ba, one of the instructors did not find it necessary. The opinions of the teachers showed that the sound-based alif ba method can be applied efficiently in online lessons, but the teacher-student relation is affected negatively when compared to the classroom setting. All of the instructors said that the materials used in the lessons and demonstration and educational game methods increased the quality of the course, and that the We Are Children We Are Reading the Qurʾān program is an important resource for them. (shrink)

Faculty journals are one of the necessary platforms for qualified academic production. Since 2018, the number of the published journals of theology faculty has reached 56. The purpose of this study is to analyze the articles on religious education published at journals of theology faculty between 1925 and 2017 by virtue of the used research methods such as qualitative and quantitative, and numerical distribution according to the journals, subject area diversity, scientific research methods used, contributions of different science branches, number (...) of author and foreign language writing. Research is a type of descriptive and cross-sectional screening based on document analysis and content analysis. There are 604 articles on religious education published in journal of theology faculty. According to the results of the research, the religious education articles have a very wide subject network and the majority of the articles are the theoretical studies. Research is important in terms of revealing the current state of published works on religious education.SummaryReligious education is quite old as the practice, but as a scientific discipline is an area that can be considered new in Turkey. However, it should be noted that religious education has left behind a process that lasts nearly 40 years and has been making a rapid progress towards becoming a scientific discipline. In Turkey, the first journal of the Republican period in theology is The Journal of Dârü'l-Fünûn Faculty of Theology. it published 25 issues until 1933 in which the Dârü’l-fünûn Faculty of Theology ended its education. In this research, covering the 92-year period between 1925-2017, articles on religious education published in the journals of the faculty of theology have been evaluated by document analysis and content analysis. During the research, databases of all theology journals were examined through their web pages. There are 604 articles on religious education published in journals of theology faculty. There are only a limited number of studies in the literature that subject the articles in the field of religious education to assessment. The most relevant one to this research is the article by Kaymakcan and Ünsal about the religious education published in the journals of the theology faculty in 1952-2003. A total of 213 articles published in 18 journals of faculties were listed in alphabetical order.The purpose of this study is to analyze the religious education articles published at journals of theology faculty between 1925 and 2017 by virtue of the used research method such as qualitative and quantitative, and numerical distribution according to the journals, subject area diversity, scientific research methods used, contributions of different science branches, number of author and foreign language writing. Research is a type of descriptive and cross-sectional screening based on document analysis and content analysis. The scope of the research is limited to 57 faculties. All articles of all academicians working / had worked in main science branch of religious education were included in the research. In addition, articles of title of religious education / religious teaching which were written by academicians from other fields were also included in the study.The evaluation process of the published articles on religious education in the journals of theology faculty from 1925 to 2017 is divided into three parts. The first is the period from 1925 to 1980. In this period, a total of 17 articles have been published and each year an average of 0.3 percent of articles. The second part is between the years 1995 and 1995 when the new divinity magazines began to be published. In this process, 55 religious education articles were published in the journals of the faculty of theology. In this period, the average number of articles per year is 3,4. The third part is from 1996 to the present. In this period, a total of 532 articles were published and the average of articles per year was 24. One of the results of the study is that the articles on religious education published in the journals of the Faculty of Theology have a wide range of topics. When the subject classification of the articles is examined, it can be seen that the articles are divided into 10 main subject / problem areas. Foundations of religious Education history of religious education, formal religious education, common religious education, informal religious education, ethics and values education, education based on religion, development and religious education, religious education in the countries, person surveys are from these main subject areas. Formal religious education is the area where the most articles are produced (189 article). When we look into the faculty journals the most studies were published in the Journal of Faculty of Theology of Ankara University with 86 articles. With 59 articles Uludag, with 52 articles 19 May, with 51 articles The Republican Journal of Theology follow Ankara University Faculty of Theology Journal. 65% of the articles (368) were written based on the literature review method. 23% of the articles were quantitative, 10% were qualitative and 2% had mixed methods. The number of articles using the qualitative method is 54 and the number of articles using the hash method is 14. According to the academic studies of the authors, the distribution of articles related to religious education is given. According to this, religious education branch constitutes 85% of all articles with 510 articles. 15% of them are composed of 89 articles which are contributed by 23 branches such as theology, philosophy, sociology, literature, educational sciences, and social services. When we look at the distribution of the articles according to the academic study areas of their authors, it is revealed that the science of religious education has an interdisciplinary aspect. It seems that there is an article level contribution to the field of religious education from almost every discipline in theology. When we analyze the articles about religious education published in the faculty of theology journals in terms of the number of authors, it is seen that only 43 of the 604 articles were carried out by more than one researcher. Of the 43 articles with more than one author, 8 were theoretical and the other 35 used empirical methods. When we look at the publication of the articles published in the journals of Theology Faculty in foreign languages, only 12 articles were published in foreign languages. This ratio corresponds to 2%. 7 of the 12 articles were published in German, 4 in English and one in Arabic. According to the results of the study, the rate of writing in a foreign language on the religious education is clearly insufficient. These two problems not only belong to the field of religious education, but also to all the disciplines of theology. In particular, production of articles in foreign languages is obvious that pose a problem for all academic fields in Turkey. In this issue, individual and institutional developments are highly needed. (shrink)

In this study, the words that Abū al-Ṭayyib al-Lughawī did not consider as aḍdādwhile his predecessors accepted the same words as aḍdād(contronym), are examined. These words are examined with the purpose of determining his approach towards contronmy words (aḍdād). There is disagreement about the definition and the number of aḍdāds, which can shortly be defined as the word which has two opposite meanings. In this study, brief information about the definition and limitation of aḍdādand the reasons that produce aḍdādare given, (...) and then the words that Abū al-Ṭayyib does not accept as aḍdād are analysed under the four titles – based on the classification made by himself. The author does not accept the words which have the same ism al-fāʿil(active participle) and ism al-mafʿūl(passive participle) format because of the verb’s being ecwefor the middle letter’s being combined with the final letter of the verb as aḍdād. Besides, he does not accept the words that have two opposite meanings due to their figurative meaning as aḍdād. He also states that he does not take the words included inaḍdādcategory just because their meanings are reversed by Arabs as aḍdād. With this attitude, the author has rendered the concept more comprehensible by showing what is not aḍdād. In this study, Abū al-Tayyib’s work named Kitāb al-aḍdādis taken as the primary text, and the pieces of poetry and prose shown as examples by the author are stated with their primary sources.SummaryThere are many scholars who worked on aḍdād, which is a terminological expression for the words that have two opposite meanings. Abū al-Ṭayyib al-Lughawī is one of the scholars to write a work about this subject. The author had the opportunity to examine most of the studies about aḍdādand making a comparison between these studies, he wrote Kitāb al-Aḍdād fı̄ kalām al-ʿArab. The work was composed by arranging the words, which had been accepted as aḍdādby the former scholars, in an alphabetical order according to their initial letters alone. The author completed his work by using expressions showing his objection or confirmation about the words’ being aḍdādor not while mentioning the words. Abū al-Ṭayyib added an addendum to the end of the work and in this section, he noted some words which the former scholars had accepted as aḍdādbut he did not. Although he explained the reason of adding this addendum as not to be thought of unaware of these words, he aimed to correct a mistake made by the previous linguists by identifying it thanks to the mentioned addendum.The words الجَوْن(used both with the meaning of black and white), النوء(to arise and to set), الصَّرِيم(night and day), جَلَل(big and small) and السُّدْفَة(dark and light) can be given as examples for the concept of aḍdād, which is terminologically used for the words having two opposite meanings. The words such as البَيْع(to sell and to buy), بَصِير(sighted and blind), ثَلَّ(to repair and to bring down), الأخْضَر(green and black), الخَلّ(well- fed calf/camel and undernourished calf/camel, which have two opposite meanings at the same time, are among the words that Abū al-Ṭayyib presents as aḍdādin his work. Although there are various definitions of aḍdād, the clearest and most comprehensive one belongs to Abū al-Ṭayyib. He makes the following definition which distinguishes aḍdādfrom common wording: “Aḍdādis the plural form of didd(antonym). Antonym means the opposite of something, such as black and white, generosity and meanness, courage and cowardice. Everything that is opposite of something is not necessarily the antonym of it. For example, although strength and ignorance are two opposite words, they cannot be taken as antonyms. Because, the antonym of strength is weakness and the antonym of ignorance is knowledge. This difference arises from the fact that the term opposite is more comprehensive than the term antonym. Although all aḍdādwords are opposites, not all the opposite words are antonyms (aḍdād).” The biggest controversy about aḍdādis about the number of the words that are accepted as aḍdād. While some scholars represent the numbers of aḍdādwords in Arabic language as four hundred, they are not more than twenty for some other scholars. In spite of the controversy about the numbers of aḍdādwords in the language, the existence of aḍdādin Arabic language is an accepted situation.There are some reasons leading to aḍdādin Arabic language, one of which is dialect difference. The word السُدْفَةwhich is used for the meaning of “dark” by Temı̄m clan means “light” in Ḳays tribe. Some changes in language are also stated among the reasons causing aḍdād. It is stated that the original meaning of the word الصَّرِيمwas “interrupted,” but then it was used with the meaning of both night and day for the reason that night is interrupted by day and day is interrupted by night. Another reason is purported as being psychological and social factors. Using the term الكَرِيم“generous” to make fun of a mean person is an example for this situation. One of the reasons causing aḍdādis the morphological structures of the words. As it is the case with the word خائِفٌ“frightened/frightening,” the use of ism al-fāʿiland ism al-mafʿūlmodes in the same form has caused to using the same word with two opposite meanings. There are also some scholars who accept the words that gain two opposite meaning to each other because of rhetorical factors like metaphor. Using the word إِرَةٌboth with the meaning of fireand metaphorically the pit where fire is lightedis an example for this sort. The scholars’ acceptance or rejection of the reasons leading to aḍdādhas resulted in their expanding or narrowing the numbers ofaḍdādwords in the language. In this context, the numbers of aḍdādwords are more for a scholar who accepts most of the reasons mentioned. Abū al-Ṭayyib is among the scholars to cast a wide scope for aḍdādwords. Since the author accepts the aḍdādwords arising from dialect and metre difference, the words that he takes as aḍdādare quite many. In Kitāb al-aḍdād, he states that there are total of 320 aḍdādwords and at the same time he collects the words that he does not accept as aḍdād but which were accepted so by the former scholars under four headings. In the first group, there are the words thought as aḍdādbecause of being an ecwefverb. For the author, the reason these words are supposed to be aḍdādis that ism al-fāʿil(active participle) and ism al-mafʿūl(passive participle) modes of these words turn into the same structure as a result of ʿilālrules. The fact thatالمُجْتَابmeans both “the one who wears” and “the thing that is worn”; المُبْتَاعis used as ism al-fāʿilwith the meaning of “the one who buys stuff” and as ism al-mafʿūl with the meaning of “the stuff sold” is an example for this situation. In the second group, there are the words which are taken as aḍdādbecause of merging (idghām) middle letter of the word to its final letter. It is seen that ism al-fāʿiland ism al-mafʿūl forms of these words are the same due to various reasons. The fact that مُكْتَنٌّis used both for disguisedand the place to disguise; مُحْتَشٌّis used for “the one who gathers grass” and “the grass gathered” is of this sort. In the third group, there are words which are assumed to be aḍdādas they are named after their reasons. There is mostly metaphorical meaning in the words that are placed in this group. One of the words that Abū al-Ṭayyib presents as an example to this group is العَقِيقَة. ʿAqı̄qameans the hair on the head of the baby when it is born. An animal is sacrificed when this hair is shaved. In time, the animal sacrificed has begun to be called as ʿaqı̄qa, as well; and so, ʿaqı̄qais used both for the hair and the sacrifice. Abū al-Ṭayyib argues that such words are absolutely not aḍdād. In the fourth group, there are expressions that result from fāʿil’s replacing mafʿūland mafʿūl’s replacing fāʿilor the words that appear in similar ways. For instance, using the expression “the lizard climbed up the tree” not with the common usage اِنْتَصَبَالْحِرْبَاءُفِيالْعُودِbut by changing the places of fāʿiland mafʿūlاِنْتَصَبَالْعُودُفِيالْحِرْبَاءِis an example for this group. Abū al-Ṭayyib objects to the acceptance of the words used in this way as aḍdād, and argues that aforesaid usages do not comply with the definition of aḍdād. (shrink)

The first eulogies (Qaṣāīd) about the Prophet Muḥammad (pbuh) appeared when he was still alive. Ḥassān ibn Thābit (d. 60/680 [?]), ʿAbd Allāh b. Rawāḥa (d. 8/629) and Kaʿb b. Mālik (d. 50/670), important Muslim poets of the period, praised the Prophet and inspired future generations of poets. Depending on the developments in the following centuries, there had been a great increase in the number of poems sung to express enthusiastic feelings towards the Prophet and to defend him and his (...) Prophethood. Andalusia is one of the places where this genre increased the most. The first examples of the praise of the Prophet appeared in Andalusia during the Mulūk al-Ṭawāʾif period (1031-1090). The praises of the Prophet, which were processed in the poems of asceticism, dirge and elegy until the end of the 5th/11th century, became an independent genre called al-Madāʾiḥ al-Nabawiyyah/Nabawiyyāt thanks to the ever-increasing Ṣūfī thoughts penetrating literary circles. The turning point of the praise of the Prophet in Andalusia, as in the East, is the period of the The Almohads (1147-1238), which coincides with the 7th/13th century. The mawlid celebrations, which were first initiated by the Fāṭimids in the 4th/10th century to give legitimacy to their rule, and held every year in North Africa on the twelfth of the month of Rabi'ulawwal, moved to Andalusia at the end of the The Almohad period and gradually became one of the largest official and religious holidays in Andalusia. Giving awards to high-quality poems read on the mawlid festival and celebrations made all over Andalusia has greatly contributed to the literary richness in this field. In praise of the Prophet, talented poets such as Abū Zayd al-Fāzāzī (d. 627/ 1230), Ibn al-Jannān al-Anṣārī (d. 650/1252), Ibn Jābir (d. 780/1378) and Ibn Zumruk (d. 797/1395) emerged. Abū Zayd al-Fāzāzī, one of the most distinguished Prophetic ode poets of the Almohad period is said to have first pioneered the spread of Prophetic praises in Andalusia before the Iraqi poet Yaḥyā al-Ṣarṣarī (d. 656/1258) and the Egyptian poet Būṣīrī (d. 695/1296). He has a dīvān called al-Wasā’il al-mutaqabbalah, which he wrote in alphabetical order and dedicated to the praise of the Prophet. The fame of the odes he uttered about the Prophet spread as far as North Africa, and it has become a tradition to read his odes on special days. Because of the abundance and quality of Prophetic odes, Ibn al-Jannān, who witnessed the glorious days and the collapse of the The Almohad state, also commemorated the poet Ḥassān ibn Thābit, The Prophet’s Odic Poet. Ibn Jābir al-Andalusī, on the other hand, wrote the second ode in this field after Ṣafī al-Dīn al-Ḥilli (d. 749/1348), the inventor of the axiomatic odes, and became the pioneer of axiomatic odes in Andalusia. The effect of political instability on Prophetic odes in Andalusia, which entered its collapse with the end of the Almohad state, is obvious. According to many poets, salvation from this plight of Muslims in Andalusia is possible by once again adhering to the Sunnah of the Prophet. Probably as a reflection of this idea, many poets from 7th/13th centuries onwards devoted their odes to narrating the Prophet and his Sunnah. Poets who describe the Prophet elaborately in their poems hope to be saved from the troubles they have fallen into and to reach the highest rank in heaven. Poets who touched upon the physical characteristics of the Prophet often likened his smiling face to a bright sun and a full moon. In terms of oratory, they stated that he had a fluent language and never uttered bad words. Andalusian poets, who praised the Prophet with moral virtues such as tolerance, justice and courage, stated that there was nobody more merciful and generous than him due to the abundance of his blessings resembling torrential rain. Andalusian Prophetic ode poets adhered to the traditional forms of Arabic poetry in terms of the structure of eulogy. In the introductory parts of odes, they generally express longing for the Prophet and the holy places. The main theme is mostly the Prophet and his outstanding virtues, and they usually end their eulogies with salutation to the Prophet. Save a few Sufi poets, it can be said that they used simple and understandable language in their poems. The sources of inspiration for their poems are the Qur'an and hadiths. Andalusian poets used non-material axiomatic arts in their poems without disturbing the structure of eulogy. In addition to the art of pun, they provided musicality in the poem with the ‘tent-frame’ meter and rhyme scheme, sometimes supporting it through repetition. It is possible to see all kinds of repetitions in, Ibn al-Jannān's odes. In this study, the place of the Prophet in Andalusia and odes, which are reflections of the love for him, will be examined. In addition, the concept of the Prophet in Andalusia will be explained within the political, social and cultural framework of the period. (shrink)

[Holbrook's] is one of the keenest and deepest critical minds in the field of Islamic literature. She provides for the reader (scholar and lay persona alike) fascinating insights into the genre, poetic functions, mystical allegory, narrative technique, audience response, etc. Many of her analyses are scintillating.... The Holbrook volume is a landmark in Ottoman literary scholarship. --MESA Bulletin... a major contribution to Ottoman and Turkish literary study--I frankly am at a loss to describe how major.... Dr. Holbrook's book will make (...) its own category and subsequent publication in the field will be judged in relation to it. --Walter G. Andrews, professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization, University of Washington When the Ottoman Turkish Empire was divided into modern states after World War I, in Turkey a change of alphabet and radical linguistic reform aimed to free modern Turkish literature from intellectual ties to the East. Holbrook recuperates Ottoman debates on the existential status of language and social value of art with a poetics of Beauty and Love, the philosophical fairy tale in verse by Seyh Galib. Where does language come from? How does a poet conceive imagery? What rights to interpretive authority does Muslim law accord the individual when God's word is law? Holbrook's lively analysis ranges an intertext of genres in Arabic and Persian as well as Turkish. The romance of separated lovers is a paradigm of journeys that lead beyond discourse. A poet's quest for originality reveals an archaeology of modernism. Holbrook traces the revolutionary polemic and Orientalist philology that de-aestheticized Ottoman poetry, bringing the critique of Orientalismto bear upon the Ottoman center Orientalism suppressed. (shrink)

Hertz, J. H. Saadya gaon.--Altmann, A. Saadya's theory of revelation.--Herzog, D. The polemic treatise against Saadya.--Krauss, S. Saadya's Tafsir of the seventy hapax legomena explained and continued.--Leveen, J. Saadya's lost commentary on Leviticus.--Markon, I. explained by Saadya and his successors.--Marmorstein, A. The doctrine of redemption in Saadya's theological system.--Mittwoch, E. An unknown fragment by Gaon Saadya.--Rabin, C. Saadya gaon's Hebrew prose style.--Rawidowicz, S. Saadya's purification of the idea of God.-- Robertson, E. The relationship of the Arabic translation of the (...) Samaritan Pentateuch to that of Saadya.--Rosenthal, E. I. J. Saadya's exegesis of the Book of Job.--Stein, S. Saadya's Piyyuṭ of the alphabet.--Weis, P. R. The anti-Ḳaraite tendency of R. Saadya gaon's Arabic version of the Pentateuch.--Wieder, N. Fourteen new Genizah-fragments of Saadya's Siddur together with a reproduction of a missing part. (shrink)

This paper discusses the relation between letters and numbers in the case of ancient Greek and, other writing systems and, supports that priority must be given to the numbers, that is to say the use of letters of the alphabet was constrained, by the necessities of mathematics. In the case of Ancient Greece the ‘24 letters of the alphabet’ plus ‘3 additional signs’ were used to notate the numbers. These 27 signs formed the three enneads of the Greek (...) Numeral System, which was in use in Eastern Mediterranean and parts of Europe for almost 2,000 years. So, the 24 letter-signs were also digit-signs. The arithmetic use of letters is considered by epigraphologists and Hellenists a later development, occurring two or three centuries after the invention of the Greek alphabet. This paper supports that, from the very beginning, the alphabet should, have had, 27 signs in order to meet the needs of mathematics, that is to meet the necessity of using the enneads of the Egyptian numeral system, which probably was transferred, to Greeks via the Semitic writing system. This hypothesis is based, on the contradictions which arise between the choice of signs and their use, from ancient Greek ‘Logistikē’, from archaeological finds and from the examples of other writing systems, which were also created so as to serve the needs of mathematics — namely Hebrew, Arabic, Coptic, Armenian, Georgian, and, other alphabets. Consequently, the alphabet should, not be considered, as a secondary system of signs, which was created, in order to record, the spoken word, but as a subset of a broader semiotic system that attempts to express human Reason in general. (shrink)

Yūsuf al-Nabhānī (d. 1932) became famous in the world of science with many works he wrote in the fields of Hadith and Kalam. On the other hand, he is a person who has proven himself with his works and poems in the field of madīh nabawī. For this reason, he was also referred to as Hassān and Busīrī of the period in which he lived. His diwan named al-Sābiqātu'l-jiyād fī madhi seyyidi'l-'ibād is an important work that contains the poems he (...) sang in the type of prophetic madīh nabawī. The divan in question consists of ten couplet odes in which each letter of the alphabet is determined as a rhyme. In these odes, which he wrote to express his love for the Prophet and for some other religious reasons, the influence of classical Arabic poetry and especially Būsīrī can be found. Mystical thought also has a great influence on the poems of Yūsuf al-Nabhānī. As a matter of fact, the narration of the Prophet in his poems is generally shaped in line with the concept of al-Haqīqa al-Muhammedī/al-Nūr al-Muhammedî. In this study, Yūsuf al-Nabhānī will be discussed as a madīh nabawī poet within the framework of his divan. In this context, the content and stylistic structure of his poems will be examined in the axis of literary criteria, and the effect of mystical thought on his poems will be tried to be explained in general terms. (shrink)

Mamluks reigned in Egypt a long time is an era of Kipchak Turks that have influence management, and Kipchak Turks has been influential in a period in the administration there. During this period, that Turkish rulers do not know Arabic language well, Turkish language is spoken in the palace and also idea of being closer to Turkish manager screated an interest in learning. One of the famous scholars realizing that interest is Abū Ḥayyān al-Andalusī. Abū Ḥayyān by learning Turkish (...) language especially from Fakhr al-dīn Divrigi and analysing written previously works, wrote Kitāb al-Idrāk li-lisān al-Atrāk. This book has consisted of introduction, vocabulary and grammar section. We also aimed in our study to examine Kitāb al-Idrāk in terms of content and than in terms of lexicography of the linguistic branch. -/- SUMMARY Mamluks reigned in Egypt a long time and in its reign Kipchak Turks had influence in management. Because of the Turkish rulers who have military background did not know Arabic language well, Turkish language was spoken in the palace and also idea of being closer of scholars and notable people to Turkish rulers got brought an interest in learning Turkish. One of the famous scholars realizing that interest is Abū Ḥayyān al-Andalusī (d. 745/ 1344). The true name of Abū Ḥayyān is Muḥammed b. Yūsuf b. Ali b. Ḥayyān al-Tawḥīdī and he is an Andalusian linguist and exegete. Abū Ḥayyān who came from a Berber family born in the Matahsharesh village of Granada in 654/1256 and died in Cairo in 28th time 745 (11 July 1344). There is not much information about his family in the sources, but it is mentioned that he has a daughter whose name is Nada, a son named Hayyân in his name, and some grandchildren which are named Muḥammad and Ummu Ḥayyān. Abū Ḥayyān became a famous as Ethīr al-dīn and at the same time, he is also known as Naḥvī, Ghirnātī (Granadian), Ceyyānī, and Nafzī. He took lessons in Granada from great scholars such as Abd al-ḥaķ b. Ali al-Anṣarī, Abū Ḥasan al-Ubbezī, Abū Cafer Aḥmed b. Ibrahīm b. Zubair, Ibn Abū al-Ahvas and became a proficient scholar and teacher in matters such as morphology, syntax, language, commentary, hadith, methodology of Fiqh and Kalām. He wrote about 18 works in different sciences and if we mention some of that are al-Baḥr al-muhīt, al-Nahr al-mād, Tuhfat al-arīb bimā fī al-Qur'ān min al-gharīb and some of his works have reached to our time and some of those did not. Abū Ḥayyān left Andalus for various reasons and visited many centers of science and eventually continued his scientific activities in Cairo. Abū Hayyān, who is a great interest in learning languages, has learned Turkish language with the other popular languages ​​such as Persian, Amharic and Himyarite language and written books about these languages. His mainly works about Turkish language are the Kitāb al-Idrāk li-lisān al-Atrāk, Zehv al-mulk fi naḥv al-Turk, al-Af'al fi lisān al-Turk and al-Durret al-mudiyye fi lughat al-Turkiyye. These works did not reach to our days except Kitāb al-Idrak. Kitāb al-Idrāk consists of three sections, namely introduction, dictionary which includes 2200 words, and grammar that is composed of morphology and syntax and this book which is known as al-Idrāk is written in the Turkish which is spoken in XIV-XVI century tongue and named as Middle Turkish Period-Mamluk Kipchak Turkish. The first chapter begins with basmala and continues with detailed his genealogy, personal record, praise to Allah and salawat and salaam to Prophet Muhammad. After this introduction, it is explained the intention of writing this work. The second chapter is a dictionary which the words are explained in alphabetical order. Although Abū Ḥayyān speaks about 23 letters in the Kipchak alphabet, he does not explain the words related to all, but examines 19 items. In this dictionary, it does not take part some letters, that is letters sā, zāl, zā (letters of lips which is written in English th); letters dâd, ayn, fa (letters of throat) which Arabs use. In the third chapter, there is a part of the tasrif (knowledge of morphology) which is generally called knowledge of morphology today. In this section, it is dealt with about the types of words namely, name of diminutive, name of belonging name, plural, agent name, passive name, exaggerated factor name, infinitive, name indicating the location, name of device, arbitrary name, and idâd (which adds are derivation of noun from name like lık, lik at the end of the word) and then it comes to the end with shadda. Section of syntax which is called by the author as consisted of compound and is prepared according to systematic of Arabic grammar begins with the sentence structure in Kipchak language. After that it continues with definite-ambiguous names, verb (orders, past, imperfect verbs), subject-predicate in nominal sentence, nevāsiḫ (additional actions helped change the meaning of the noun phrase), Arabic leyte which express by the actual wish mold and the like, such as two mef'ūl area of ​​the heart of verbs in Arabic told (I think) were deaf ( Turkmen thinks he), acts like it yet scientists (verb phrase in), acts offender (verb-subject), the abutment of the verb nefiy prepositions, prepositions, the nehiy (ban), passive verbs and naib-i fail (so-called subject); other elements of the sentence, called the act müteallakat are: cognate accusativ, direct object, time period (time complement), the envelope space (located complement), state (envelope), causative object, the exception, the specification, conflict of laws, the annexation, the oat, the dependencies: adjective, conjunction, confirm, the apposition; conditional structure. After these, he mentions to letters of meanings (huruf al-maani), and concludes this chapter with information about the date, place, and name of the author of the book. Abū Hayyān used induction method in the book. Since he gave the forms of the words in double, then the triple, quadruple, quintet and other forms. He tried to teach the pronunciation of words by explaining the etymology of word sand the changes of the voices. He examined the words which are synonyms/ contrasted, synonym voice, singular/plural, and words that are passed by foreign languages into Turkish dialects then they are turned into Turkish word structure; brought out witnesses from proverbs and poetries. As a result, in this work, which consists of dictionary and grammar sections, it can be said that it is used predominantly in linguistic information - translation method . (shrink)

The alphabet effect that showed that codified law, alphabetic writing, monotheism, abstract science and deductive logic are interlinked, first proposed by McLuhan and Logan, is revisited. Marshall and Eric McLuhan’s insight that alphabetic writing led to the separation of figure and ground and their interplay, as well as the emergence of visual space, are reviewed and shown to be two additional effects of the alphabet. We then identify more additional new components of the alphabet effect by demonstrating (...) that alphabetic writing also gave rise to Duality, and reductionism or the linear sequential relationship of causes followed by effects. We then review McLuhan’s claim that electrically configured information reversed the dominance of visual space over acoustic space and led to the reversals of cause and effect, and figure and ground. We then demonstrate that General System Theory first formulated by Ludwig von Bertalanffy, which also includes chaos theory, complexity theory and emergence and Jakob von Uexküll’s notion of umwelt also entail the reversal of many aspects of the alphabet effect such as the reversals of cause and effect, and figure and ground. (shrink)

This scholarly discussion on the inextricable links between Arabic and Western philosophy features six eminent experts in the field.

All students of Greek epigraphy are familiar with the abecedarium discovered in 1805, ‘prope Bastam ruri quodam dicto Melliche,’ by Luigi Cepolla, amongst whose papers Mommsen found and published it in his Unteritalische Dialekte . Cepolla's copy, though inaccurate, is not so bad, as I hope to show, as has usually been supposed. To be sure, he proposed to interpret an alphabet as a complete inscription, and actually ‘translated’ it! Nor, I think, could it be properly deciphered until more (...) Messapic inscriptions than were known to Mommsen had been collected and their alphabet more closely studied. It has, however, long been recognized that the Vaste alphabet should be rightly regarded as essentially a Messapic alphabet, although, as is well known, the alphabet of the Messapic inscriptions agrees in the main with the Tarentine-Ionic variety of the Western Greek alphabet; but the proposed explanations of Cepolla's transcript of the Vaste alphabet have been most diverse, not to say perverse—certainly they have been largely arbitrary. They may be sought in the places cited in the footnote below. (shrink)

As children in elementary school we were taught to recite the alphabet in order: “Aay, Bee, See, Dee, Eii, Eff, Ghee, Aaych, …, Why and Zee”. There is nothing natural about this particular ordering: it is strictly a matter of convention. (When and where it was settled upon I haven’t the remotest notion.) Then, having mastered the ordering, we were taught to apply that knowledge to alphabetize lists of words. The procedure is surprisingly complex, and its mastery by mere (...) eight-year olds attests to the elevated intellectual capacities of human beings. One merely has to try to write down the procedure in a flow chart to see how complex it truly is. In any event, most of us probably emerged from the exercise of learning to use a dictionary believing that we knew all there is to know about alphabetizing. If only that were all there is to it. The trouble is that our third-grade teachers had not reckoned on our having to program computers to alphabetize.. (shrink)

In the middle of the eighteenth century, Carl von Linné, Johann Christoph Gatterer, and Christian Wilhelm Büttner attempted to realize the old idea of deciphering the alphabet of the world, which Francis Bacon had raised as a general postulate of science. This article describes these attempts and their interrelations. Linné used the model of the alphabet to classify plants according to the characters of this fruiting body. Gatterer, one of the leading German historians during the Enlightenment, adopted the (...) botanical method of classification by genus and species to classify the history of scripts. He used the forms of the alphabetic characters to measure the age of manuscripts and to map the process of history as a genealogy of culture. Gatterer collaborated closely with Büttner, the first Göttingen professor of natural history. Büttner constructed a general alphabet of languages which connected the phonetics of language with the historically known alphabets. Early on, diplomatics and ethnography combined the natural order of natural history and the cultural order of the alphabet with the attempt to register development and to document development by the evolution of forms. Based on the shared model of the alphabet and on the common necessity to classify their empirical material, natural history and the description of culture were related attempts in the middle of the eighteenth century to comprehend the alphabetically organized nature and a naturally ordered culture. (shrink)

Different writing systems in the world select different units of spoken language for mapping. Do these writing system differences influence how first language (L1) literacy experiences affect cognitive processes in learning to read a second language (L2)? Two groups of college students who were learning to read English as a second language (ESL) were examined for their relative reliance on phonological and orthographic processing in English word identification: Korean students with an alphabetic L1 literacy background, and Chinese students with a (...) nonalphabetic L1 literacy background. In a semantic category judgment task, Korean ESL learners made more false positive errors in judging stimuli that were homophones to category exemplars than they did in judging spelling controls. However, there were no significant differences in responses to stimuli in these two conditions for Chinese ESL learners. Chinese ESL learners, on the other hand, made more accurate responses to stimuli that were less similar in spelling to category exemplars than those that were more similar. Chinese ESL learners may rely less on phonological information and more on orthographic information in identifying English words than their Korean counterparts. Further evidence supporting this argument came from a phoneme deletion task in which Chinese subjects performed more poorly overall than their Korean counterparts and made more errors that were phonologically incorrect but orthographically acceptable. We suggest that cross-writing system differences in L1s and L1 reading skills transfer could be responsible for these ESL performance differences. (shrink)

En este artículo damos cuenta de las propuestas de grafemarios -más conocidas y diferenciadas entre sí- para escribir la lengua mapuche y discutimos sus fundamentos y las tensiones que subyacen en ellas. Con ello esperamos contribuir a abrir la actual discusión para una toma de conciencia de las alternativas posibles, de las representaciones que se encuentran en disputa y de lo que generan estas concreciones cuando se llevan al plano de la educación intercultural. La aparición de grafemarios mapuche huilliches y (...) la defensa de unos y resistencia a otros muestra que incluso en aquellas zonas aparentemente más “objetivas y técnicas” de la lengua lo político tiene lugar, evidenciando que lo lingüístico está irrenunciablemente atado a las relaciones de poder que involucran a los sujetos y a las comunidades de habla. In this paper, we discuss some of the different and best known grapheme alphabet proposals for writing the Mapuche language, and discuss their rationale and the tensions that underlie them. With this, we hope to contribute to open the current debate to a new awareness of possible alternatives about the representations that are in dispute and about what these concretions generate when they are used in intercultural education. The appearance of Mapuche Huilliche grapheme alphabets, the adoption of some of them and the resistance to others show that even in language areas seemingly more “objective and technical”, politics takes place. This shows that linguistics is undeniably tied to power relations involving individuals and speech communities. (shrink)

This monograph explores the logical systems of early logicians in the Arabic tradition from a theoretical perspective, providing a complete panorama of early Arabic logic and centering it within an expansive historical context. By thoroughly examining the writings of the first Arabic logicians, al-Fārābī, Avicenna and Averroes, the author analyzes their respective theories, discusses their relationship to the syllogistics of Aristotle and his followers, and measures their influence on later logical systems. Beginning with an introduction to the (...) writings of the most prominent Arabic logicians, the author scrutinizes these works to determine their categorical logic, as well as their modal and hypothetical logics. Where most other studies written on this subject focus on the Arabic logicians’ epistemology, metaphysics, and theology, this volume takes a unique approach by focusing on the actual technical aspects and features of their logics. The author then moves on to examine the original texts as closely as possible and employs the symbolism of modern propositional, predicate, and modal logics, rendering the arguments of each logician clearly and precisely while clarifying the theories themselves in order to determine the differences between the Arabic logicians’ systems and those of Aristotle. By providing a detailed examination of theories that are still not very well-known in Western countries, the author is able to assess the improvements that can be found in the Arabic writings, and to situate Arabic logic within the breadth of the history of logic. This unique study will appeal mainly to historians of logic, logicians, and philosophers who seek a better understanding of the Arabic tradition. It also will be of interest to modern logicians who wish to delve into the historical aspects and progression of their discipline. Furthermore, this book will serve as a valuable resource for graduate students who wish to complement their general knowledge of Arabic culture, logic, and sciences. (shrink)