ABSTRACT
Thischapterandthenextonewillbedevotedtowhatcanbe consideredasthetwocentralfieldsoftheArabiclinguistic tradition:syntax('ilmal-na~w,'ilmal-i'rab)andmorphophonology('ilmal-ta~rifJ,suchastheywereexpoundedwithin whatwehavedefinedasthe'canonical'theoreticalframework. Thiscentralpositionismeasurednotsomuchintermsof 'universal'relevanceorinterest(sincewecanquitelegitimately feelthattextlinguisticsorgrammaticalsemanticsareatleastas importantfromthispointofview)asitisintermsofenduring socialandintellectualinfluenceontheoverallculturalsystemof ClassicalIslam.Bythen,athoroughknowledgeofgrammar(in therestrictivesenseofmorpho-phonologyandsyntax)was consideredasafundamentalprerequisiteforanyotherintellectual pursuit,religiousorsecular.Everybodywhohadanykindof culturalpretensionwasexpectednotonlytoknowhowtoapply thebasicrulesofgrammarsoastoavoidgrosserrors,butthey werealsosupposedtobeabletoexpoundarticulatelythemost difficultpointsofgrammaticaltheory,andtoapplyittothemost complexandreconditekindsofdata.
