Sound Reduction in [Fuʿul] and [Fuʿūl] Patterns in the Frequent Qur’anic Readings: A Comparative Analytical Study

Abstract

This study explores a linguistic phenomenon in the Arabic language observed in the seventh sequential Qur’anic readings reflecting dialectal variations. It focuses on the successive occurrence of the [dammah] (short /u/ vowel) in the patterns [Fu‘ul] and [Fu‘ūl], which represents phonetic heaviness in pronunciation. The significance of this research lies in several aspects: identifying the different ways this phonetic sequence is mitigated. The importance of this study appears in its attempt to understand the reasons behind the occurrence of this phonetic sequence by analysing how modern phonetic researchers view the claim that phonetic heaviness was the primary reason for eliminating this sequence, as suggested by early linguists.

The findings of the study showed that there was no consensus among Qur’anic readers regarding the perception of phonetic heaviness in the [Fu‘ul] and [Fu‘ūl] patterns, and those who opted for vowel reduction through [sukūn] (vowel suppression) perceived the sequence as heavy, whereas those who maintained the original form, with consecutive /dammahs/, found no problem in that, and the evident is the variation in their reading approaches between maintaining and easing the phonetic load. Modern phonetic scholars also share a similar view with early linguists, acknowledging that heaviness was a reason for eliminating consecutive /dammahs/ by using [sukūn]. Therefore, modern phonetic analysis also attempted to show that words adopting the [Fu‘ūl] pattern, such as [buyūt] (houses), exhibit greater structural harmony and phonetic coherence compared to alternative pronunciations, particularly when the /fā’/ of the word is altered. This is because the original form maintains a balanced phonetic structure, aligning the /dammah/ in the first syllable with the [wāw] in [Fu‘ūl], whereas an alternative pronunciation (breaking the /fā’/) disrupts this harmony by introducing a phonetic contrast between the /dammah/ and the initial [yā’] of the second syllable.