Ḥattā throughout the centuries: Origin and history of this particle in Classical Arabic

Abstract

The main objectives of this article are, on the one hand, to propose a methodology for the study of language change in Classical Arabic, and, on the other hand, to explore the specificities of grammaticalization and language change in this Semitic language. This work analyses the processes of evolution and grammaticalization undergone by the particle ḥattā (‘until’, ‘even’) in Classical Arabic between the 7th and the 20th centuries. 731 examples of ḥattā in fuṣḥā have been examined, using one of the most complete historical corpora of the Arabic language, the hAdC, still unpublished. The study considered 30 different variables that have been organized in a relational database. The results are presented in a conceptual map showing the semantic bonds of the five values of ḥattā, as well as the evolutionary pathways of this particle in Classical Arabic. The main conclusions are that fuṣḥā does indeed undergo language change; its evolution is, however, constrained by the Quranic norm and its attachment to the written form. Results also reveal some of the specificities of grammaticalization in Classical Arabic, such as the marked layering, persistence and divergence, or the relevance of including variables such as the origin of the author or the types of text when dealing with language change.