Grammatical anomalies in the accusative cases among commentators on Ibn Malik's Alfiyyah

A comparative study

Abstract

Scholars have described some words and phrases as anomalous, referring to those that do not adhere to their rules. The term "anomaly" thus provides a justification for understanding certain linguistic phenomena, without using it as a basis for benchmarking others. Anomalous is that which deviates from the norm (Ibn Jinni's Views on Anomalous Arabic Words and Phrases, p. 200, published research). This study addresses the phenomenon of grammatical anomaly by analyzing the positions of seven commentators on Ibn Malik's Alfiyyah, published up to the end of the eighth century AH, focusing on examples of the accusative, which some of them considered anomalous. I selected three applied models representing examples of accusative cases that violated analogy or were reported contrary to the rule. I also explained the commentators' interpretations of these examples and their varying judgments on them, ranging from acceptance to interpretation to rejection. I also discussed the connotations of the term "anomaly" and the differences between it and synonymous terms, such as necessity and opposition, and similar terms such as rarity and paucity. The aim was to clarify the approach of the ancients in dealing with examples that deviated from grammatical analogy.