Bias and its Impact on Grammarians' Flawed Understanding of Arabic Grammar Rules

Abstract

We find in grammar books, since the earliest period of their composition, the recurrent use of words such as "error," "mistake," or "wrong." Rarely does a debate or grammatical discussion between linguists conclude without revealing bias on one side against the other, accusing the opponent of error—some scholars even went so far as to dismiss the works of others as wrong or mistaken outright. This did not arise from nothing; rather, it resulted from the investigation of facts and the pursuit of grammatical rule, which convinced those who pursued the matter of the existence of error in a given point. Despite the multiplicity of causes that led many grammarians into error, whether intentionally or unintentionally, bias stood foremost among them. Indeed, bias is what divided the ranks of grammarians and separated their paths on many grammatical issues, giving rise to different doctrines and schools. Since political and intellectual considerations dominated their thinking, it is unreasonable to expect grammar to have remained immune to this bias, being itself a product of that environment—especially given that grammar is the key to understanding many literary and legal texts. Consequently, through their biased understanding, they bent grammatical rules to conform to their beliefs, even where those beliefs were clearly mistaken. This bias obscured the truth for a significant number of them, burdening our heritage and weighing down the language, and led many students—and even teachers—to turn away from the study of grammar, as students become confused by a range of opinions, some of which are incorrect. The present research therefore aims to address this problem by identifying one of the causes of this flawed understanding: bias.