Iconicity in Arabic grammatical tradition: Al-Suhaylī on the correspondence between form and meaning

Iconicity, the correspondence between form and meaning, was seldom discussed in Arabic grammatical tradition. The grammarian best known for his interest in this issue in Arabic is Ibn Jinnī. Here it will be demonstrated that iconicity is even more prominent in the thought of another grammarian, the Andalusian al-Suhaylī. The present paper will analyze linguistic phenomena which al-Suhaylī explains as iconic. It will be shown that not only did al-Suhaylī's use of iconic explanations exceed what one generally encounters in the writings of Arab grammarians, both in extent and explicitness, but also that for him iconicity is deeply grounded in a philosophical-theological principle, linked with his view on the origin of language. It will be argued that within the Arab grammarians' framework of linguistic "causes" (ˁilal), iconic explanations are, by definition, "ultimate", as they need no further explanation.