Formal-Functional Approach in Sibawayh's The Book'

The contemporary linguistic schools whether formal, functional, or cognitive have established some principles in language studies that are unique; however for various reasons, such as emphasis on a special case and inattentiveness to other aspects, we encounter some shortcomings. Many years ago Muslim linguists determined a set of rules for the Arabic grammar that after 1400 years rarely has anyone been able to challenge it. These rules consider both formal and functional matters. This article analyzes these cases in Sibawayh's 'The Book' and searches for the analytical methods in initial writings of the Arabic grammar. It evaluates the achievements of this valuable work from the perspective of contemporary linguistic schools (developed in late second millennium and the early of third millennium) especially generative transformational and functional schools. This article concludes that Sibawayh has used a combination of formal and functional approaches in terms of syntax, semantics, and usage.