Inflectional Deviation of Number in the Qur’an

Inflectional morphology has its own rules that govern the combinations of
morphemes in words and the relationships between parts of speech within a text.
Yet, inflection rules including those of number can vary across different linguistic
systems. Arabic and English notably contrast in number-based relations. More
specifically and within Arabic itself, the Qur’an displays striking cases of number
disagreement between grammatical categories within a text, which are only one facet
of the Qur’anic multifarious utilization of rhetoric to convey or elucidate a particular
message. Translationally, such deviant number-related forms, e.g. using the third
person singular verb with the first person plural pronoun as a subject, a plural
imperative verb with a singular pronoun or a dual verb with a singular noun etc., can
cause unbridgeable a gap. The paper addresses this rhetorical device of numberbased deviation linguistically and translationally as well as the functions it purports
to perform in the Qur’anic discourse…

Source: Journal of Islamic Studies and Culture

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