The Evolutionary Development Of Stative Verb Research In Arabic Linguistic Traditions: From Classical Naḥw To Modern Semantic Analysis

Abstract

This article examines the evolutionary trajectory of stative verb (al-afʿāl al-ḥāliyya) research within Arabic linguistic traditions, tracing its development from classical medieval grammarians through modern structural and semantic approaches. While the Arabic verb (fiʿl) has consistently occupied Received: 10-05-2026 a central position in Arabic grammatical theory, the specific category of stative Accepted: 28-05-2026 verbs remained subsumed under broader verbal classifications until the twentieth Published:09-06-2026 century. This study analyzes the contributions of foundational figures including Sibawayh, al-Zamakhsharī, and the Kufa and Basra grammatical schools, demonstrating how classical nahw prioritized morphological patterning over semantic distinction between dynamic and stative verbal classes. The article Copyright: © 2026 by the authors. then examines pivotal modern reconceptualizations proposed by scholars such Submitted for open access publication as Mahdī Makhzūmī, Tammām Ḥasan, and ʿAlī al-Qazwīnī, who challenged under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution traditional temporal categorizations and advanced semantic-based classifications. (CC BY) license Furthermore, the study integrates European and Russian Arabists’ contributions– (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ from Thomas Erpenius’s seventeenth-century grammatical framework to Viktor by/4.0/) Vinogradov’s semantic typology. Special attention is given to Central Asian scholarship, particularly the legacy of Maḥmūd al-Zamakhsharī and subsequent Uzbek Arabists. The article argues that despite significant advances in semantic verb classification, Arabic stative verbs remain insufficiently systematized as an independent research domain, necessitating comprehensive studies that move beyond comparative English-Arabic frameworks toward autonomous Arabic semantic analysis.