ABSTRACT
This chapter shows how Sibawayhi uses coalescence as a focal point in his grammatical analysis of certain forms and structures, and how he justifies linguistic usage by reference to this concept, thus covertly arguing for the presence of veritable causes for actual usage, the function of grammarian being primarily to unveil them and demonstrate the "wisdom" behind their presence. It also shows Sibawayhi's consistency in analyzing his material, i.e. forms, structures, etc. attributable to coalescence, and his use of crossreferences in order to illustrate the interrelatedness of the various components of this material. Coalescence or fusion, in sense of merging two linguistic elements, particularly two morphemes, features in several disparate parts of Sibawayhi's Kitab. Although Sibawayhi does not devote a special heading to the description of the rules goveming coalescence or the nature of the resulting blend, he does not fait to see how the very concept of coalescence can be used as an extremely helpful tool of grammatical analysis.
