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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Qur'anic exegesis in old Kanembu: linguistic precision for better interpretation |
Author: | Bondarev, Dmitry |
Year: | 2013 |
Periodical: | Journal of Quranic studies = Magallat al-dirasat al-Quraniyya (ISSN 1465-3591) |
Volume: | 15 |
Issue: | 3 |
Pages: | 56-83 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Nigeria |
Subjects: | Koran Kanembu language Bornu polity translation |
External link: | http://www.euppublishing.com/doi/pdfplus/10.3366/jqs.2013.0114 |
Abstract: | The way the traditional Borno scholars represent Qur'anic Arabic in Old Kanembu testifies to their understanding of Arabic grammatical structures based on traditional grammatical treatises. The function of Old Kanembu is motivated by the grammatical module of tafsir studies, which includes i?rab,?arf, na?w and other related disciplines. However, the Borno?ulama? do not strictly adhere to Arabic linguistic theory and also exploit the distinctive linguistic properties of the Old Kanembu language. In its elaborated output form, tafsir in Old Kanembu incorporates four explanatory levels: (a) morphosyntactic; (b) phrase by phrase / lexical; (c) sentential and (d) interpretative. Thus, it is built on two interrelated platforms: metalanguage (i.e. language designed for description of language) and exegesis (i.e. interpretation of the text). This combination makes Old Kanembu a very powerful 'software' with a solid foundation in the science of tafsir, that allows its users to check their own knowledge of the Qur'an with the precision required by the Arabic grammatical sciences. In its basic grammatical format, Old Kanembu is a platform for the exegete who provides tafsir in full format. Thus, Old Kanembu serves both grammatical and interpretative purposes perfectly. |