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Qur'an: Difference between revisions
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=== Orality === | === Orality === | ||
Archer (2020) when discussing the Qur'an in relation to Professor [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_J._Ong Walter J. Ong]'s classical studies on orality and oral cultures (where literacy was either low or non-existent - like much of the ancient world), states that much of the Quran, shows signs of oral composition stylistically (as opposed to beginning as a written text), noting several common trends recognised by Ong.<ref>He also heavily expands upon these and other factors in a more comprehensive and up-to-date work focusing solely on the Qur'ans relation to orality in: ''The Prophet's Whistle: Late Antique Orality, Literacy, and the Quran, University of Iowa Press 2024,'' ''George Archer.''</ref>{{Quote|<i>A Place Between Two Places: The Quranic Barzakh (Islamic History and Thought). pp. 77-78 footnote 33.</i> George Archer. Published by Gorgias Press, 2020. ISBN 10: 1463239874 / ISBN 13: 9781463239879|• <i>“Additive rather than subordinate”</i>: Unlike written language which switches terms and grammatical constructions to break monotony, oral performances create much longer strings of repeating combinations. For example, consider the “and...and...and...” so typical of the books of the Pentateuch, the Gospel of Mark, or classical Arabic generally. | Archer (2020) when discussing the Qur'an in relation to Professor [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_J._Ong Walter J. Ong]'s classical studies on orality and oral cultures (where literacy was either low or non-existent - like much of the ancient world), states that much of the Quran, shows signs of oral composition stylistically (as opposed to beginning as a written text), noting several common trends recognised by Ong.<ref>He also heavily expands upon these and other factors in a more comprehensive and up-to-date work focusing solely on the Qur'ans relation to orality in: ''The Prophet's Whistle: Late Antique Orality, Literacy, and the Quran, University of Iowa Press 2024,'' ''George Archer.'' E.g. | ||
Memory (p. 31). Kindle Edition. | |||
Repetition (p. 33) Kindle Edition. | |||
Significance and Embodiment (p. 34). Kindle Edition. | |||
Eloquence and Abstraction (p. 36). Kindle Edition. | |||
Ownership and Variant Tellings (p. 37). Kindle Edition. | |||
Familiarity (p. 37-38). Kindle Edition.</ref>{{Quote|<i>A Place Between Two Places: The Quranic Barzakh (Islamic History and Thought). pp. 77-78 footnote 33.</i> George Archer. Published by Gorgias Press, 2020. ISBN 10: 1463239874 / ISBN 13: 9781463239879|• <i>“Additive rather than subordinate”</i>: Unlike written language which switches terms and grammatical constructions to break monotony, oral performances create much longer strings of repeating combinations. For example, consider the “and...and...and...” so typical of the books of the Pentateuch, the Gospel of Mark, or classical Arabic generally. | |||
• <i>“Aggregative rather than analytic”</i>: Oral peoples prefer fixed expressions and formulas that create totalizing pictures, such as ‘the swift-footed Achilles’ or ‘the glorious October revolution.’ To the literate mind these come across as cliché, but to people who cannot look anything up references must come pre-loaded with maximal content. A simple Qurʾānic example is the Christology densely packaged in the phrase ‘Jesus, son of Mary’ and its variations. | • <i>“Aggregative rather than analytic”</i>: Oral peoples prefer fixed expressions and formulas that create totalizing pictures, such as ‘the swift-footed Achilles’ or ‘the glorious October revolution.’ To the literate mind these come across as cliché, but to people who cannot look anything up references must come pre-loaded with maximal content. A simple Qurʾānic example is the Christology densely packaged in the phrase ‘Jesus, son of Mary’ and its variations. | ||