An Analysis of the Syntactic Structure and Semantic Functions of the Relative Pronoun in the Didactic Poem Lisān al-ʿArab fī ʿUlūm al-Adab by Shaʿbān al-Āthārī

Abstract

The didactic poem Lisān al-ʿArab fī ʿUlūm al-Adab, composed by Shaʿbān ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Āthārī, is one of the lesser-known educational poems of the fifteenth century, written with the aim of teaching a collection of literary and linguistic sciences in verse form. One of the grammatical topics addressed in this work is the relative pronoun and its syntactic and semantic rules, which, despite being presented concisely, demonstrate pedagogical coherence and scholarly precision. Using a descriptive-analytical method and drawing on the critically edited text of the poem, the present study examines the syntactic structure of the relative pronoun and analyzes its semantic functions. The findings indicate that, in his treatment of the relative pronoun, al-Āthārī adheres to the principles of classical Arabic grammar while seeking to organize its fundamental rules in a concise and pedagogically effective form. He also establishes a coherent relationship between the syntactic structure and semantic implications of the relative pronoun, highlighting its role in achieving textual cohesion, resolving referential ambiguity, and completing meaning. A comparison of this approach with classical grammatical sources demonstrates that Lisān al-ʿArab fī ʿUlūm al-Adab, in addition to its pedagogical value, possesses distinctive features in the organization of subject matter and the presentation of grammatical rules, which place it among the noteworthy didactic poems devoted to the literary and linguistic sciences.