Arabic Phonology in Tajweed Studies (A Study in Light of Phoneme Theory)

Abstract

This article examines phonology as a fundamental stage in linguistic studies, focusing on the functions of sounds and their role in conveying meaning, unlike phonetics, which concentrates on the physical aspects of articulation. The article highlights that the Arabic heritage, particularly books on Tajweed (the science of Quranic recitation) and Quranic readings, includes in-depth studies of sounds, their points of articulation, and their functions, closely resembling modern phonological concepts. It also discusses the concept of phonology, the various Arabic terms proposed for it, and its key areas, such as phoneme, syllable, stress, and intonation. The article emphasizes that scholars of Tajweed preceded modern linguists in identifying functional phonetic phenomena, such as contextual changes in sounds, assimilation, vowel shift, lengthening, and elision, with a keen awareness of the relationship between adjacent sounds and their impact on meaning and performance. The article concludes that the efforts of scholars of Tajweed made a significant scientific contribution to preserving Arabic and standardizing its phonetic system, and deserve re-evaluation and recognition of their value in contemporary linguistic studies.