O JEZIČKOJ SVIJESTI U SVJETLU ISKUSTAVA O ARAPSKOJ NAUCI O JEZIKU
ON LANGUAGE AWARENESS IN THE LIGHT OF ARABIC LINGUISTIC SCHOLARSHIP

Summary/Abstract: In considering links between language and scholarly developments it should be born in mind that all scholarly activity takes place within language. In Muslim civilisation, the period between 8th-10th centuries was a time of scholarly flowering, the period between the 11th-13th centuries was an age of scholarly stabilisation, the period between 14th-19th centuries was a period of decline, while the late 19th and early 20th century were a period marked by revival of scholarship. The decline in material fortunes in Muslim countries was accompanied by the weakening of awareness about the importance of language and identity. This trend resulted in the stagnation of scholarly output, as reflected in the rehashing of earlier works and in the production of voluminous lexicons. That period is known as the age of encyclopaedism. The shortcomings of the science of language do not stem from the language itself, but from a lack of responsibility towards the language. In order to be a worthy heir to the classical period, modern Arabic linguistic scholarship needs to take the lead through other forms of social change. The unique Arabic language has been preserved without major contribution from modern Arab linguists. Besides the rich literature from the classical period, the preservation of Arabic language was made possible thanks to the fact that it also happens to be the best preserved Semitic language. Classical Arabic scholarship on Arabic language proved to be the initiator of science and scholarship in general. Due to the difficulties created by the disunity of its speakers, its achievements in modern times fall well behind the achievements of the classical period.

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