Interpreting the Theory of ‘Abd al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī from the Perspective of Cognitive Linguistics

‘Abd al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī (d. 471/1078 or 474/1081) was a grammarian and literary theorist whose two works Dalā’il al-i‘jāz (Proofs of the Inimitability of the Qur’ān) and Asrār al-balāgha (The Secrets of Eloquence) laid the groundwork for ‘ilm al-balāgha (the science of eloquence) in Arabic literary theory. Al-Jurjānī began his work by focusing on the concept of the inimitability of the Qur’ān (i‘jāz al-Qur’ān) and extended it by devising a comprehensive theory of eloquence. He claims that naẓm (construction) is the basis of eloquence, which is not a random combination of sounds but requires the operation of the mind to organize the intended words. The structure of a grammatical composition is determined by its meaning, and the determinant of eloquence is the interrelationship of syntax and semantics. In his theory of majāz (figurative language), al-Jurjānī claims that it occurs when the underlying meaning is diverted to another or when one intends to broaden the scope of meaning. Al-Jurjānī introduces two types of majāz: majāz lughawī (a lexical trope) and majāz ‘aqlī (a mental trope). The former occurs when the majāz happens in the muthbat (the affirmed object) and the latter when it happens in the ithbāt (affirmation). Every isti‘āra (metaphor) is a majāz, and the process of creating an isti‘āra is not merely the transference of a name; it expresses a unique relationship between two entities by borrowing a meaning from one entity and attributing it to another. As for his notion of kināya (descriptive periphrasis), al-Jurjānī defines it as the intentional use of one or more words to convey a meaning other than the words’ conventional literal meaning; meanwhile, the literal language itself does relate to reality.Cognitive linguistics emerged in the 1970s as an approach to the study of linguistic thought and practice. Since the publication of George Lakoff and Mark Johnson’s Metaphors We Live By (1980), analyses of the use of figurative language, particularly metaphor and metonymy, have been one of the more fruitful areas of cognitive linguistic study. Cognitive linguists view discourse as the means of human knowledge and of the communication of human consciousness. The words used in discourse should be constructed in a particular pattern that is meaningful and presupposed by the intellect. Metaphor is an inherent part of the human conceptual system, an element of everyday language that involves a cognitive process that enhances comprehension via mapping between domains. On the other hand, metonymy is not considered a linguistic substitution but does involve a cognitive process through which we are able to access a mental entity by means of another entity. This dissertation examines al-Jurjānī’s theories to engage them in a dialogue with Cognitive Linguistics. Both al-Jurjānī and cognitive linguists agree that grammar is meaningful, emphasize the process of “conceptualization” in the production of meaning, stress the interrelationship of semantics and syntax, and underscore how grammatical construction itself functions in figurative speech to evoke hidden meanings. I demonstrate that both traditions view metaphors as relating to intellectual concepts rather than reflecting only a linguistic aspect. I also examine the “blind translation” of metonymy, which is generally considered equal to the Arabic kināya, but I argue that majāz ‘aqlī and one branch of majāz lughawī that al-Jurjānī illustrates could be other options. Adopting a cross-linguistic and cross-cultural perspective, this dissertation provides a comprehensive guide to how figurative language functions and is understood both in the framework of al-Jurjānī’s theory and in the cognitive linguistic approach. It shows that language is not independent of the mind but rather reflects the human perceptual and conceptual understanding of the world.

Advisor: Larkin, Margaret