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This is a sociolinguistic investigation that focuses on variation and change in Medini Arabic (Saudi Arabia). Data in the form of sociolinguistic interviews were collected from 58 speakers, and analysed quantitatively within the framework of the quantitative variationist paradigm using Rbrul. The study investigates the correlation between two linguistic variables and the social variables of age, gender and community (urban and Bedouin). The dialects under investigation originate from two different norms: ‘Bedouin’, in this study a sub-type of Najdi; and ‘Sedentary’, the traditional dialect of Medina (viz. Medini). The Bedouin group share the same origin and culture whilst the urban group come from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The first linguistic variable is (ʤ), which has two realisations in both communities: a traditional affricate [ʤ] and an innovative fricative [ʒ]. The second linguistic variable is resyllabification, which is precipitated by syncope or epenthesis. The innovative variant for the urban group is syncope whereas for the Bedouin group it is epenthesis. Overall, the results indicate that both dialects are undergoing levelling of marked linguistic features and change in progress towards the adoption of koineised or supra-local forms. In the case of (ʤ), the change towards the innovative form is led by the younger women in both communities. With respect to the resyllabification variable, the age group of adult (30-44) urban and Bedouin men take the lead in syncope and epenthesis, respectively. The interpretation of the results is twofold: (i) linguistic, where the results are interpreted within the principles of Optimality Theory and Moraic Theory; (ii) sociolinguistic, where the focus is on social structure, socio-political and socioeconomic change in the locality.

The present study of Fatḥ al-Mannān bi-Tafsīr al-Qur'ān, is based on the writing of ʻĀkish, as well as on other books and documents. My study is divided into two sections, the one in Arabic and the other in English. The Arabic section consists of the actual text of ʻĀkish which comprises his introduction, his exegesis of al-Fatih'ah, al-Baqarah, Al 'Imran, and al-Nisa'; it also contains an Epilogue which is followed by Footnotes, Bibliography, Index and an Appendix, which contains photographs and letters. The English section consists of an introduction which indicates the importance of the manuscript and the difficulties that I faced during my analysis of the manuscript. Also included in this section is a biography of the author and his work, highlighting characteristics of his tafsir, enumerating errors and drawing a comparisons between him and his teacher al-Shawkani.

In Chapter III I take a first step towards Identifying Margah's account of God's nature, by expounding his conception of divine oneness. Margah regards God as one, both in the sense that He is unique and in the sense that He lacks internal plurality. I trace this conception of divine oneness back through Philo to Aristotle. Certain implications of divine oneness are discussed, namely, the spacelessness, timelessness and incorporeality of God, and Marqah's position on these conceptions is shown to be the same as those of earlier philosophers. In Chapter IV I discuss, with special reference to Philo, Marqah's account of the unknowability of God. His account is based conceptually on his conception of God's oneness. I show how passages in which Marqah speaks of men knowing God can be squared with his doctrine of God's unknowability; we can know that ; God is, but not what He is. On this matter Margah's position is identical with Philos. In Chapter VI discuss Marqah's apparent inconsistency in holding both that God is internally one and that He has many attributes, such as justice, mercy, knowledge and power. I argue that all these attributes, which can be regarded as the powers of God, are God's "properties" in the Aristotelian logical sense of the term; they are not part of God's essence but belong to Him by virtue of His essence. Various characteristics of God's. powers, and the question of the knowability of those, powers, are discussed. Philo’s writings are frequently referred to since they shed a great deal of light on the teaching of the Memar on the divine powers. On this topic the positions of Philo and Marqah are almost identical. In Chapter VI I discuss Marqah's conception of God's personhood, contrasting his position with Aristotle's and showing its similarity to Philos. Margah speaks of God as just, merciful, compassionate, loving and so one I discuss the various ways in which Marqah's position can be defended against the charge of anthropomorphism, and then examine: various of the personal qualities Marqah attributes to God. Special attention is payed to the nature of divine knowledge and of the divine will. It is argued that Marqah held that divine knowledge and the divine will are in crucial respects wholly unlike human knowledge and will. Chapter VII deals with Marqah's account of the creation and of the nature of the created world. His position is contrasted with that of Hellenic philosophers from Thales to Aristotle, who either ignore the possibility of creation ex nihilo (Thales and Anaximander) or reject its possibility (Aristotle), Plato's Timaeus doctrine, involving the idea of the demiurge employing a model in creating, is expounded, and it is suggested that Plato was Marqah's target when Marqah attacks the idea that God used a model. Marqah's account of the ac? of creation, seen as an act of divine will, is examined. His acceptance of miracles is discussed, and Is squared with his idea that the systematicity of the world testifies to the oneness of God.

Popular poetry, under various names, is composed in many of the Arabic speaking countries. Bedouin poetry is an important element in the daily life of any Arab tribal society, and the poet is highly respected as he is considered to be the voice of the tribe. Poetry is composed and recited by poets on every occasion and covers every aspect of tribal society. It reveals their feelings and needs, reminds them of their history and depicts their culture. It is the most usual form of entertainment for any gathering of men in a majlis, and at wedding parties poetry is recited in the evenings, for at least three days; for several hours, poets chant and recite poems to accompany the men's dance. They celebrate the deeds of warrior ancestors, battle victories and love. In the past, this sort of poetry was not written down, it was inherited orally. We have very little of it, and what we have is often altered or incomplete, as is common in undocumented cultures. Some poets have written or dictated their poems, but few have been published. Occasionally, poems are heard recited among other tribes, due to the importance of their subject matter - perhaps criticising the authorities, or giving a political point of view. Some of this poetry, if it had been composed early this century, might have led to fighting between tribes, as in the case of the insults that were traded in the poetry about Attubayg, in which war of words the authorities of Jordan and Saudi Arabia were obliged to intervene. Neither the authorities nor the universities are interested in this poetry, partly because the dialects make it difficult to understand, and partly because the rules of censorship prevent the publication of anything contentious. There are two elements which will endanger the survival of this poetry; sedentarisation and education. Sedentarisation has a physical and psychological effect on poets. Away from the desert, living in houses with doors that close, people have less contact with each other than they used to. There are fewer discussions and so less poetry (women's social life has suffered even more than men's: see the comments of Dihma Faris in Chapter 2). Education has an impact on tribal poetry because children are taught classical poetry at school, by teachers who are mainly from an urban background. They would not be likely to encourage a child to compose popular poetry, and might even humiliate him for his lack of culture. These negative attitudes do nothing to help the survival of this form of poetry.

This thesis consists of an edition of the section on Marriage and Divorce entitled AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF A SECTION OF AL-SHRZ'S AL-NUKAT F AL-MAS'IL AL-MUKHTALAF FH BAYNA AL-SHAFI' WA ABU HANFA (al-Nika wa al-talaq) by Abu Ishaq al-Shraz 393/1002-3 = 476/1082. This work is concerned with differences of practice in the Shafi'ite and Hanafite Schools of Law. A study of the author's life and times is included, as is also a section on 'Divine controversy' ('ilm al-Khilaf).

With the increasing mobility of the Chinese to the West, there has been an increase in publication and popularity of literary works by ethnic Chinese writers living in the West. This thesis proposes to investigate the image of China and the West in ethnic Chinese writing focusing on autolbiographies and novels, and to explore the role of 'representation' in the diffusion of these texts, a topic that has not yet been systematically and substantially studied. Since ethnic Chinese writers are immigrants or descendants of immigrants who live in-between nations, cultures or languages, the representational issue is examined from both Western as well as Chinese standpoints, using theories developed by Michel Foucault, interpreted by Edward Said and Xiaomei Chen. Different representations of China and the West affect divergent, and often contradictory, receptions of these texts between Western audiences and Chinese readers. The thesis suggests that through negative depictions of China, ethnic Chinese bestsellers in the West concede to a Western positional superiority which assigns China to the position of culturally and politically inferior Other. This in turn often entails criticism of the West and a rejection of these books in China or in the ethnic Chinese community in the West.

This thesis deals with the phenomenon of assimilation, a natural phonological process, in classical Arabic. It consists of three chapters: The first chapter of the thesis deals with the Arabic sounds in isolation: their points of articulation and manners of articulation with reference to the views of both Arab linguists and scholars of Tajw{=i}d. Secondary sounds, both accepted and rejected, are mentioned too. A brief discussion is devoted to the distinctive features, with particular reference to those that seem to have been described inaccurately by some early or modern linguists. The second chapter deals with the definition and different types of assimilation. The term idgh{= a}m, which has been rendered as `lq assimilation is, in fact, narrower in application than the English term; other topics and sub-topics in Arabic grammar that subsume aspects of assimilation are also discussed. The direction of assimilation, whether the influence comes regressively or progressively or in both directions is dealt with, with detailed examples, mostly from the Qur'{= a}n. A brief discussion of both complete and partial assimilation is given followed by a discussion of distant assimilation, with particular attention being given to the so called `lq al-Idgh{= a}m al-Kab{=i}r. The last sub-chapter here deals with the history of sound changes in Arabic. The third chapter is the main part of the thesis. It deals with Arabic sounds in combination. Consonants are discussed first, from two points of view: the occurrence or non-occurrence of certain consonants with each other within the same roots, and the influence of certain sounds upon others when these occur adjacently. Vowels are then discussed in detail, particularly with respect to the best-known phenomena associated with them: im{= a}lah, vowel harmony, lengthening and shortening, and tafkhim. Under im{= a}lah, we consider whether the alif al-im{= a}lah is an independent phoneme, a dialectal variant, or an allophone of the actual /= a/. When this alif is likely to occur and when it is likely to be inhibited is also seen. In the section on vowel harmony the question as to whether there is systematic harmony is confronted. In the section on lengthening and shortening, the circumstances in which these two phenomena occur are discussed, with particular attention to the over-lengthened vowels. Finally, alif at-tafkh{=i}m is investigated, to see whether this vowel /bar >/ is an independent phoneme, a dialectal variant, or an allophone of the actual /=a/.