The Theoretical, Semantic and Aesthetic Aspects for Analyzing and Grammaticalizing Diminution in Sibawaih's Book

Abstract

This paper aims at investigating the extent to which the different types of diminution explained in Sibawayh's Book give support to the linguistic, semantic, aesthetic, and intellectual aspects. The phonetic aspect is excluded here as it was dealt with independently in another study. In this paper, the meaning and the significance of diminution are studied in connection with establishing letters' etymologies. The study highlighted that the intellectual aspect is grounded on a set of rules and standards operative in Arabic, and how this aspect is highly featuring in the various cases presented here. In particular, the study focused on the semantic side of diminution, insofar as it is associated with the idea of smallness or belittling. The analysis revealed that the grammatical category of any given word determines the diminutive form to be adopted, e.g., masculine vs. feminine, or being a noun, adjective a summative or non-summative plural, person or neuter, and whether or not the word permits undergoing the process of diminution. The study closes by discussing the aesthetic value which manifests itself upon opting for one particular lexical construction but not another, especially when the two constructions can be used. The choice here does seem to depend on certain phonetic, semantic, auditory, or, even intellectual standards.