ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I will discuss the tools that provide us with everything we know about the language of pre-Islamic Arabia. I will, for the sake of analysis, mention the different varieties of pre-Islamic Arabic in isolation, although they were, from what we have seen in the previous chapter, certainly not separate from one another in the real world. The discussion will be evaluative of the worth of these varieties from the point of view of traditional grammarians. In general, linguistic varieties in a particular geographical area are not separate or isolated, especially in an area like the Arabian Peninsula with a demography like the pre-Islamic Arab tribes. Please note as well that the titles given in this and the following chapters to linguistic varieties were not the same ones given to the corresponding varieties of pre-Islamic Arabic. In fact, we do not know if the pre-Islamic Arabs were aware of the existence of varieties as such, or if they considered them different and distinct.
