Arabic-L:LING:Daad

[Dilworth Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Thu 06 Mar 2003
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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1) Subject:Daad
2) Subject:Daad

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1)
Date: 06 Mar 2003
From: "Schub, Michael" <Michael.Schub at trincoll.edu>
Subject:Daad

FYI:  Prof. Richard Steiner of Yeshiva U. wrote his doctoral
dissertation on the "original" pronunciation of the Daad.

                            Mike Schub

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2)
Date: 06 Mar 2003
From: RamonNorman at aol.com
Subject:Daad

You are correct in that it refers to  a particular sound, but mistaken
in assuming that it is the sound of Daad in MSA now.  The sound of Daad
in MSA is an emphatic alveolar stop.  It is exactly the voiced
counterpart of Taa'.  Firstly, we know the original sound was lateral
by the description of the Arabic grammarians including, Sibiwayhi and
Khaleel.   Even until this day those who are careful in tajweed of the
Qur'aan pronounce Daad from the side of the mouth because that is its
agreed upon point of articulation.  Pronouncing from the left side
being more common than the right.  The scholar of tajweed ibn Jazaree
even has a poem that mentions this.    The description given is that it
was pronounced by the molars, again this is an exact description of a
lateral.   The tongue lowers from the molars to allow a lateral flow of
air.

Next we have all of the correspondences in Arabic and other Semitic
languages.  Our next hint is that in certain dialects of Arabic Daad
became a Laam with emphasis (tafkheem).  It also exactly corresponds to
the emphatic lateral still found to this day in the Modern South
Arabian languages.

Another clue is the structure of the Semitic languages.  Where there is
a clear tendency to divide the phonemes into the category of voiced,
voiceless, and emphatic.  The emphatic phonemes in the Arabic for the
most part were categorized as majhuur and were probably optionally
voiced as they are now in the Modern South Arabian Languages.   Thus
there was no contrast between voiced and voiceless in the emphatic
phonemes.

Finally we have the appellation lughat Ad-Daad which points to a unique
and uncommon sound.  Alveolar stops are rather common.  But fricative
laterals, such as the Welsh ll are notoriously difficult for foreigners
to get a hang of.

These are just some of the factors but they are sufficient to establish
Daad as a lateral

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End of Arabic-L:  06 Mar 2003