The Terminology of “Al-siaq” in the Old and Modern Arabic Linguistic Studies

Abstract

A challenge of modern studies is terms. On one hand, terms have different implications in different sciences and on the other hand, authors usually use a specific term for different implications. Thus, the variety of terms is due to various issues. Sometimes, despite the existence of common terms, authors and translators establiesh new terms, and sometimes, while neglecting the semantic delicacy of each term, they are used in a quite different sense. One of these terms is “Al-siaq”. This term has an entirely different implications in the old Arabic linguistic studies in comparison with its implications in modern studies. In the old studies, this term has just been used for linguistic context by different authors; however, there were some other common terms such as Al-hal, Al-hal al-moshahedeh, Maqam, and Siaq al-qesse among old linguists for non-linguistic context. But, in modern studies, the term “siaq” has been applied for linguistic context, non-linguistic context, and context in general, whether linguistic or non-linguistic, as numerous terms have been established for each of these categories. This issue has made the understanding of the ultimate meaning much complicated.