An Analysis of the Phenomenon of Asālat al-Lugha and the Paradigm of the Superiority of the Quraysh Vernacular

This study focuses on the concept of aṣālat al-lugha that emerged during the compilation and codification period of Arabic vocabulary and its impact on linguistic activities. The issue of whether the language of the Quraysh is a dialect or not and the discussion of the claim of the superiority of the language of the Quraysh tribe, which are related to the understanding of aṣālat al-lugha, constitute the problem of the study. Critically questioning the traditional approach to the dialects of Arabic in language studies was also among the problems discussed. In the study, the data compiled using literature review, one of the qualitative research techniques, were analyzed with the principles of critical thinking. One of the fundamental elements of the witness method in Arabic grammar is semāʿ and naqil (auditory transmission and citation). A crucial component of semāʿ and naqil is spatial limitation. This doctrine, which entails the restriction of language material to a specific geographic region, is predicated on the premise that Arabic, in general and the Quraysh dialect in particular are transcendent forms of language. This concept has been articulated in linguistic studies through the construct aṣālat al-lugha. In order to accurately determine the position of Arabic in the era when linguistic studies began, the understanding of dialect in that period was re-examined in the light of the data of modern linguistic studies. As a result of the examination it was seen that all kinds of linguistic differences between the tribes including dialects dialects and accents were called dialects during the period of compilation and editing. This convention was subsequently perpetuated by subsequent scholars. Again, it was concluded that the Arabs achieved linguistic unity to a great extent in the early Islamic period and before. In this period, the idea that the linguistic differences among the Arabs were not deep enough to constitute a dialect and that it would be more accurate to characterize these differences as dialects is among the findings obtained. The evaluation of the linguistic differences among the Arab tribes within the framework of the socio-linguistic definition of dialect and the approaches that suggest a new classification model for dialects have made this study privileged.