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Sibawayh

Philology and Decipherment

Sibawayh (c. 760 - c. 796) was a Persian-born grammarian from Shiraz who produced the foundational grammar of the Arabic language, Al-Kitab (The Book), and is regarded as the greatest of all Arabic linguists and one of the greatest linguists of all time in any language. Al-Kitab was the first formal and analytical grammar of Arabic written by someone who was not a native speaker of the language, applying logical analysis to the structural mechanics of Arabic in a way that was wholly innovative for its time. The five-volume work grew out of the scholarly tradition centered in Basra, driven partly by the need of non-Arab Muslims for correct interpretation of the Quran, and it established systematic principles of Arabic grammar and phonology, illustrated with extensive poetic examples, that shaped the formal study of the Arabic language for centuries afterward.

Facts
Partially Attested
Birth Year
760 1
Source gives only a circa range for his lifespan (c. 760-796 CE); no source found stating an exact birth year.
Death Year
796 1
Source gives only a circa range for his lifespan (c. 760-796 CE); no source found stating an exact death year.
Role
Grammarian 1
Connections

Associated With

Arabic, Languages

Influenced

Ibn Malik, Linguists
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Sibawayh
Lead paragraph
Quote, Lead paragraph
Sibawayh (Arabic: Sibawayh; Persian: Sebuyeh; c. 760-796), whose full name is Abu Bishr Amr ibn Uthman ibn Qanbar al-Basri, was a Persian leading grammarian of Basra and author of the Third book on Arabic grammar.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Sibawayh
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