Superfluous ‘Wāw’ in Arabic: “Relative's ‘Wāw’” as an Example

Abstract

Abstract

The researcher's main concern is with the use of "wāw" in Arabic language that is rejected by a group of modern Arab researchers. It is reflected in the position of wāw (وَ) – said to be superfluous wāw - before a relative, in a way thought to be contradictory to Arabic uses (e.g. sayabda'-u qriib-an 'al-faSl-u ddiraasiyy-u θθaaniiwa-llaðii muddat-u-huθalaaθat-u 'ashhur-en, The Second Semester will start soon, and which lasts three months), considering that the position of the relative phrase (the relative+its subordinate) in the structure replaces the adjective's position. Though it is not permissible to separate between the relative and its subordinate using wāw (وَ), and that the structure would be grammatically correct upon removing this wāw (وَ), as in (sayabda'-u qariib-an 'al-faSl-u ddiraasiyy-uθθaanii llaðii muddat-u-hu θalaaθat-u 'ashhur-en, The Second Semester will start soon, whose duration is three months), the researcher addresses this structure from a historical linguistics perspective. In this response, he detects its ancient uses, and assumes that "the relative", in terms of its relation with its subordinate, has structurally passed through five different linguistic phases. The researcher also hints that adding this "wāw" (وَ) to such structures added a structural accuracy and an endless semantics.