Vowel Harmony in Qurʾānic Readings: Between Phonetic Explanation and Dialectal Variation

Abstract

This study examines vocalic assimilation (al-Ittibāʿ al-Ḥarakī) in the Qur'anic readings as one of the most prominent phonological phenomena reflecting the diversity of Arabic dialects and their influence on Qur'anic recitation. It also highlights the role of this phenomenon in facilitating pronunciation within the Arabic phonological system. The study aims to define vocalic assimilation, explain its phonetic foundations, identify its major manifestations in the Qur'anic readings, analyze the explanations provided by grammarians, linguists, and Qur'anic readers, and clarify its relationship to the variation among Arabic dialects.

The study adopts a descriptive-analytical approach by collecting examples of vocalic assimilation from the classical works on Qur'anic readings, Qur'anic syntax, Arabic grammar, and linguistics, and analyzing them in light of both classical and modern phonological studies. It also compares the views of early scholars regarding the phonetic and dialectal motivations underlying this phenomenon.

The study concludes that vocalic assimilation constitutes a phonological process aimed at achieving articulatory ease and reducing the effort required in speech production. The diversity of its patterns in the Qur'anic readings is closely associated with the authentic Arabic dialects in which the Qur'an was revealed. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that early Arab scholars paid considerable attention to this phenomenon, interpreting it through the principles of phonetic harmony and vowel assimilation while linking numerous reading variants to their dialectal origins. This confirms the authenticity of the Qur'anic readings and underscores their importance in preserving the phonological characteristics of Classical Arabic dialects. The study also highlights their significant contribution to Arabic phonological and linguistic scholarship and to understanding the precision of the Arab linguistic heritage in explaining and analyzing phonological phenomena.