Degrees of Textual Impact of Sound Sequences in the Arabic Phonological System: Toward a Structural-Classificatory Model Based on Selected Examples from the Qur’anic Readings

Abstract

This paper studies the grades of textual impact of phonetic sequences in the Arabic phonological system across selected Quranic readings, starting from the shortcomings of previous treatments in differentiating between impact levels within the text. The paper looks to build a structural taxonomic model that links the type of phonetic relationship to the level and grade of its impact in the context. It adopts a descriptive and analytical methodology based on an analytical matrix that directs the reading position, the phonetic phenomenon, the type of relationship, and the classification criterion. The applied and complex models show that the impact does not remain at one level, but rather varies between performance, rhythm, morphological structure, syntactic relations, and textual semantics. The study reaches that the textual impact of phonetic sequences are different according to their nature, position, and context.