Did Our Arabic Tradition Ignore Its Semitic Roots?

Ramaḍān ʿAbd al-Tawwāb (d. 2001), an Egyptian professor of linguistics, translated Theodor Nöldeke’s The Semitic Languages (1887, “Die semitischen Sprachen”) to Arabic (1963). The original is in German, and no English translation exists as far as I am aware, so this serves as a unique work that students of knowledge who know Arabic can utilize.

ʿAbd al-Tawwāb points out, in the introduction to the translation, that the classical scholars of Arabic didn’t pay attention to comparative Semitic studies. This led to some severe misunderstandings about Arabic grammar amongst some scholars. Certain unresolved disputes in Arabic grammar, could have been resolved through comparative Semitic analysis.

I very much agree with this point, as I have noticed the same in my comparative Semitic studies. The logic being that if an opinion of the classical Arabic linguists matches with the same concept present in other Semitic languages, it is likely more correct. This keeps in mind that there is a common proto-Semitic root in the background.

Another point I would like to mention, is that comparative Semitic linguistics is more natural in Arabic than in English, because Arabic is a Semitic language and the study of Arabic is extremely systematized. There are therefore immense benefits in studying other Semitic languages through the lens of Arabic as the Semitic logic is easily transferrable. It is a sad reality that the Arabic resources in the field are scarce, and one is forced to utilize the English resources. The best method, though, is to combine both English and Arabic sources.