ABSTRACT
As is generally well known, the first grammatical treatise of unquestionable authenticity is Sibawayhi's Kitab (this title means 'The Book' or 'Sibawayhi's Book'). This work, whose author died in or about 177/798, is most probably the first attempt at a comprehensive and systematic description of the Arabic language at every level (phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics). In spite of the great originality of its approach, notably in syntax (see Chapter 2), the breadth of its scope and the depth of its insights clearly point to at least some kind of preexistent reflection on grammar, even if this reflection had perhaps not yet crystallized into an autonomous discipline.
