Synonymy in Arabic: Illusion and Reality

Abstract

This paper investigates the phenomenon of synonymity in natural languages, with a special reference to Arabic. In addition, it explicates the views of both ancient and modern linguists and philologists concerning such a phenomenon. Some of them, like Fakhr Al-Dīn Al-Razī (d. 478/1085), Al-Zajjāj (d. 310/922) and Al-Fayrūzabadī (d. 817/1415), argue for the existence of synonymy, and others, like Abū Helāl Al-‘Askarī (d. 395/1005), Ahmad ibn Faris (d. 395/1004) and Al-Tha’ālebī (d. 429/1038), reject the existence of synonymy. Obviously, the phenomenon of synonymity divided linguists and scholars into two groups, namely proponents, who defended synonymy and argued for its occurrence in languages, in general, on one hand, and opponents, who denied its existence in general, and in the Holy Qur?ān in particular, like Al-Khattabī (d. 388/988) and Bint Al-Shāti? (d. 1419/1998), on the other hand.