ABSTRACT
The Arabic grammatical tradition, over 1,000 years old, continues to serve as the basis of Arabic grammatical practice in the Arabic world, and through translations such as Howell's of Ibn Ya'ish and Caspari/Wright's reliance on Arabic grammars, has had a fundmental influence on the Western study of Arabic grammar as well. Though old, the Arabic tradition is not anachronistic, as I will attempt to show. I divide this chapter into four parts. The first discusses the development of Arabic grammatical thinking, the second sketches grammatical theory and methodology, the third Arabic lexicography, and the final briefly looks at it in relation to Semitic studies. I would note that the dates of death of the Arabic grammarians are given in the Islamic/Christian calendars. Literal translations of Arabic linguistic terminology are provided in quotes.
