In this classic of Arabic linguistics, A. F. L. Beeston explains the principles underlying the phonology, morphology, syntax, script, and grammar of modern written Arabic, which has changed little since Arabic grammarians outlined the language in the eighth century. Originally published in 1970, The Arabic Language Today begins with a useful introduction to the development of the language from the fifth and sixth centuries through the nineteenth century. Beeston goes on to describe the logical structure of the language, to consider the development of the lexicon, and to comment on how the language has diverged from the Classical. For general and comparative linguists who want to know how Arabic works and for people with some working knowledge of the language who want to know more about the theory behind it, Beeston's work is a fine structural analysis and careful examination of Standard Arabic from a theoretical standpoint. Concise and brief in length, this book presents a wealth of information and is a challenging yet rewarding read for linguists, scholars, and students of Arabic. It includes an appendix of script styles and a bibliography.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Preface 1. Introduction and Historical Background 2. Phonology The phonemic repertorySyllable structureNeutralization of lengthAccentWord Juncture 3. The ScriptTransliteration 4. The Word 5. Entity Terms: I Verbal AbstractParticiplesDerivational nounsDefinitionNumber and genderPronounsDemonstratives 6. Amplification of SubstantivesAdjectivesThe annexion structurePrepositional amplificationAdjectival clauses 7. Syntactic Markers of Nouns 8. Entity Terms: IISubstantive clausesThe intensified nounDesignations of colour, etc.Numerals 9. Theme and PredicateThemePredicate 10. The VerbVerb stemsVerb setsModifying verbsThe non-specific verbSyntactically determined variations in the verbCommands, etc.Conclusion 11. Amplification of the Predicate Circumstancial clauses 12. Clause Conversion Substantive clausesAdjectival clausesCircumstancial clauses 13. Functionals CoordinationSubordinationNegationQuestionsEmphasis 14. Conditional Structures 15. Word Order16. Lexicon and StyleAppendix: Script Styles Bibliography Index