Doha, December 22 (QNA) - Linguists and lexicography experts involved in the Doha Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language have described its completion as a major milestone in the history of Arabic language scholarship.
They told Qatar News Agency (QNA) that the project's rigorous scientific methodology traces Arabic words in their historical and cognitive contexts from the earliest documented sources.
The experts said the dictionary goes beyond linguistic documentation, reconstructing the historical memory of the Arabic language. They noted that the project combined collective expertise with modern technology, strengthening Arabic's role in contemporary research.
Dr Azzeddine Bouchikhi, executive director of the dictionary, said work began in 2013 with over 500 experts. The dictionary divides the history of Arabic into three main periods: up to 200 AH, 201-500 AH, and 501 AH to the present, with smaller sub-periods in between. The project has produced around 300,000 entries and a digital corpus containing nearly one billion words.
Bouchikhi highlighted the dictionary's historical focus, which maps each word and its meanings along a timeline. He said achieving this required collecting Arabic texts spanning 20 centuries, creating a searchable digital corpus, and recording the evolution of words and roots.
Dr Ramzi Baalbaki, head of the dictionary's scientific council, said the project overcame significant challenges, including tracing the origins and developments of multiple word roots and verifying their historical usage. He praised Qatar's support for the project, noting it reflects the country's ongoing commitment to major scientific and linguistic initiatives.
Dr Ali Ahmed Al Kubaisi, a member of the dictionary's scientific council, said the project documents the evolution of Arabic words from their earliest recorded usage to the present day, supported by historical evidence. He said this allows readers to trace semantic changes over time and understand how meanings developed within their original contexts.
He added that the dictionary presents closely related meanings and draws on sources including the Quran, Prophetic traditions and classical poetry, making it a significant linguistic resource. Al Kubaisi credited Qatar's leadership for its sustained support of the project, noting the scale of collaboration among linguists, editors and reviewers.
Dr Moqbel Al Tam Al Ahmadi, head of lexicographic editing, said the richness of the Arabic language posed one of the project's biggest challenges, given its vast vocabulary. He said strong institutional support helped overcome these difficulties, resulting in a large digital corpus that reconstructs the historical memory of the language.
He stressed the importance of continuously updating the dictionary, noting that a historical dictionary is only fully complete when its material continues to reflect linguistic change.
Dr Abdulsalam Al Massadi, also a member of the scientific council, described the dictionary as a unique achievement rooted in advanced research and specialisation, saying Arabic must remain connected to its historical depth to maintain its global relevance.
Meanwhile, Dr Mohammed Hassan Al Tayyan said the dictionary represents the memory of the nation, praising the rigorous verification processes applied to its entries and Qatar's role in supporting the project despite its scale and complexity. (QNA)