SCFA delegation visits Arabic Language Academy
The Academy organised a lecture for the delegation presented by the Secretary-General of the Academy, Professor Dr. Amhamed Safi Al Mustaghmani, who welcomed the delegation and expressed his happiness at the completion of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language.
Al Mustaghmani stressed that the credit for this achievement goes to His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, who provided all material and moral support and daily follow-up to see what the work committees have achieved in this historic project.
Al Mustaghmani added that Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language received a certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records, on Thursday, being the largest and most massive historical linguistic project in the world, with 127 volumes of linguistic knowledge.
The project managers explained the stages of preparing the dictionary and its importance in documenting the history of the Arabic language and its development throughout the ages. They stressed that the historical dictionary is not limited to documenting words only, but also traces their roots from their first use in the pre-Islamic era until the modern era.
The number of roots in the dictionary reached 12 thousand roots, which makes the dictionary the first comprehensive and historical dictionary of the Arabic language. Therefore, its importance lies in preserving the cultural identity of the nation and highlighting the antiquity of its Arabic language.
Engineer Basil Hayek, the technology officer at ALA, provided a quick overview of the beginnings of the work and the technical methods used in building the historical dictionary and the special treatments for old pages and panel discussions.
Hayek explained that the dictionary includes 21 million words, the work of about 1200 specialists, including 500 scholars of the Arabic language, becoming one of the most important scientific projects in the world.
The delegation included a number SCFA Cultural Office employees, Emirati writers, journalists, and a number of people interested in the project, which includes all the words of the Arabic language, shows its styles, clarifies the history of its use or neglect, and the development of its meanings and structures throughout the ages.
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