ALA reviews importance of 'Arabic Language Historical Dictionary'

The symposium addressed the importance of the “dictionary” launched and sponsored by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and its role in protecting the Arabic language.

The symposium, hosted by Al Assad National Library in Damascus, was attended by Dr. Lubana Mashouh, Minister of Culture of Syria, Dr. Mohammed Amer Mardini, Dr. Bassam Ibrahim, Minister of Education Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Buthaina Shaaban, Special Advisor to the Presidency of the Republic, and representatives of ALA in Sharjah, members of the Arabic Language Academy in Damascus, a number of presidents of public and private universities, and a number of ambassadors, intellectuals and specialists.

In his speech during the symposium, His Excellency Dr. Bassam Ibrahim appreciated the efforts of the Arabic Language Academy in Damascus in consolidating the position of the Arabic language in the Syrian education system through the Arabisation of sciences and scientific terminology, and the writing of curricula in the Arabic language. He praised the role and efforts of Arabic scholars, whom he described as an example and role model in ensuring the integrity of the language. 

Dr. Hassan Al Shafi’i, President Union of Arab Scientific Linguistic Academies said in his remote speech that preparing the historical dictionary of the Arabic language represents a scientific civilisational work not only for Arabic speakers, but also for all other global languages, indicating the importance of coordinating efforts, and working to complete the historical dictionary of the Arabic language.

Dr. Mohammed Safi Mustghanmi, Secretary-General of ALA in Sharjah, discussed the steps involved in implementing the “Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language” project, pointing out the cooperation between ALA and its counterparts in the Arab academies, training of workers, and formation of two scientific and executive committees that include senior experts to develop plans and chart the timeline for the project. He stressed that the historical dictionary of the Arabic language will be a dictionary of dictionaries and a reference for academics, researchers and linguists.

Dr. Abdel Hamid Madkour, Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Scientific Linguistic Academies, stated that the dictionary, when completed, will represent the jewel of linguistic academies, ancient and modern, and said that it “achieves a great collection that the Arabic language has never seen before, and it will be a major reference at the world level.”

Dr. Mahmoud Al Sayyid, Head of the Arabic Language Academy in Damascus pointed out that the historical dictionary of the Arabic language collected the language’s words, forms, and structures from its living sources in all ages, and in all fields of knowledge, tracing the Arabic linguistic origins in ancient Arabic inscriptions, and the languages of the ancient kingdoms in the Levant, Iraq and others, such as Akkadian, Aramaic, and Syriac, which makes this dictionary a source for studies in semantics, terminology, structures, and studies interested in enriching the language and increasing its balance, and paves the way for further research.

Dr. Mamoun Wajih, Scientific Director of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language, considered that the dictionary is the achievement of the century and that Arab linguists and intellectuals everywhere have been waiting for, especially after several attempts. Then the initiative was adopted by His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, who sponsored and supported this project from A to Z. 

Dr. Mamoun Wajih pointed out that the most prominent feature of this dictionary is its uniqueness in history, as it is a linguistic record that chronicles the story of the language and shows the linguistic genealogy of each word and how the origins branched out, developed, and gave birth to generations of words and connotations throughout the ages.

To date, the “Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language” has issued 67 volumes covering 15 letters of the Arabic language, and about 500 researchers, linguists and academics from 13 linguistic academies participated in its preparation. It includes thousands of research and studies related to language, grammar, rhetoric, literature, thought, arts, social affairs, aspects of civilization, and other areas of creativity. Scientific knowledge witnessed in the Arabic language.