Ibn Khaldun: On Arabic Linguistics and Language as an Artificial Faculty

Abstract

It should be known that language, as the term is customarily used, is the expression by a speaker of his intention. Such expression is an act of the tongue which originates in an intention to convey the meaning of speech. Therefore, language must become an established habit located in the part of the body that produces it, namely, the tongue. In every nation, the formation of language takes place according to their own terminology. The linguistic habit that the Arabs obtained in that way is the best there is. It is the one most clearly expressing the intended meaning, since many ideas are indicated in it by something else than words. There are, for instance, vowels to distinguish the subject from object and i-case – that is, the genitive – and there are letters to transform actions (verbs) – that is, motions – into essences, without need of other words.