Two Examples of Arabic Texts in Sicily, Between Linguistics and Philosophy

My contribution aims to illustrate two exemplar texts of cultural relations between Sicily and the Islamic civilization. The first is entitled Taṯqīf al-lisān wa talqīḥ al-ǧanān (Guide on the language and the fecundation of the spirit) by Ibn Makkī al-Ṣiqillī, grammarian and linguist and it’s an example of the Arabic language spoken in Siciliy in the 10th century, when the island was an Emirate under Islamic rule. The second, written three centuries later, is a collection of letters between the emperor Frederick II of Hoenstaufen and the sufi philosopher ‘Abd al-Ḥaqq Ibn Sab‘īn. The Taṯqīf al-lisān, comprising of 50 chapters, the treaty lists grammatical errors made by sicilians whether common people (al-‘amma) or learned speakers (al-muḫaṣṣiṣūn). Each listed error is followed by its correct form. The grammarian classifies errors according to some categories: paradigms and word structures, conjugation and ethimology, the specialists’ errors in reciting the Qu’ran, errors made by the ahl al-ḥadīṯ and those pertaining to the medical science. To strengthen his lingusitic theories he uses verses of poetry and Arab proverbs that add value to his scientific work making the text a true guide on the language and a «fecundation of the spirit ».