Arabic language: pre-classical - Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE
General Material Designation
[Article]
First Statement of Responsibility
al-Sharkawi, Muhammad
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
Place of Publication, Distribution, etc.
Leiden
Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.
Brill
GENERAL NOTES
Text of Note
(2,688 words)
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
The pre-classical phase of the Arabic language is the term generally used to describe the stage in the development of the language between the first century C.E. and the emergence of Islam and the Arab conquests during the first/seventh century. The specifics of whether that language was a spoken language, a particular dialect, a koine (a common standard language), or a purely poetic language are questions of continuing scholarly dispute. Even the particulars of the time period the term covers are unclear. Three definitions are currently prevalent