The Phonetic Thought of Muhammad Hasan Jabal: A Study within the Framework of Heritage and Modern Phonetic Analysis

Abstract

   This study examines the phonetic renewal in " Muhammad Hasan Jabal’s" Al-Mukhtasar fī Aṣwāt al-Lughah al-ʿArabiyyah by analyzing three major sound groups: plosive sounds, emphatic sounds, and non-sonorant (muṣmat) sounds. The research aims to uncover the foundations of Jabal’s methodology in interpreting phonetic features and to clarify his contribution to Arabic phonetic studies through integrating classical concepts with modern phonetic analysis.

The study adopts a descriptive-analytical and comparative approach, tracing Jabal’s views and conducting precise phonetic analyses, while comparing them with classical scholars (al-Khalil, Sibawayh, Makki) and modern linguists (Ibrahim Anis, Kamal Bishr) to identify similarities, differences, and aspects of renewal in understanding sound features and articulation mechanisms.

Findings indicate that Jabal did not dismantle traditional classifications but reinterpreted them articulatorily, clarifying the role of the speech organs, airflow, and independence of phonetic features. His renewal in plosive sounds emphasizes separating intensity from voicing and linking it to air retention. In emphatic sounds, Jabal presents them as a complex articulatory process involving coordination of the tongue’s tip, middle, and back. Regarding non-sonorant sounds, he reinterprets them in terms of lightness and heaviness, linking them to word structure.

The study recommended that researchers apply Jabal’s methodology in future phonetic studies by conducting experimental laboratory analyses of plosive, emphatic, and non-sonorant sounds to validate theoretical findings. Expanding research on phonetic renewal to include other sound features such as qalqala, ghunna, and spreading. And using the findings as a basis for comparative studies between classical Arabic phonetics and modern phonetic analysis.