Broken Plural Forms in the Diwan of Abd al-Muhsin al-Suri (d. 419 AH): A Morphological Study

Abstract

The broken plural is a fundamental branch of morphology, as it involves changes in word structure through addition, omission, or vowel alterations. This type of plural has been extensively studied by scholars, both ancient and modern. Sibawayh's "Al-Kitab," Al-Mubarrad's studies, and Ibn Aqil's commentary on Ibn Malik's Alfiyya are among the most prominent references in this field. By reviewing these sources, it was possible to extract the broken plural patterns from the collected poems of Abd al-Muhsin al-Suri. The collection reveals a diversity of patterns and forms for both plurals of paucity and plurals of abundance. This diversity reflects the richness of the poet's language and his ability to choose forms appropriate to the meaning and rhythm. The paucity patterns examined in this research are: afʿul, afʿāl, fiʿlah, and afʿilah, which denote a number ranging from 3 to 10. As for the patterns of abundance (which are not standard), the most frequent was *fuʿūl*, along with *faʿlāʾ*, *afʿilāʾ*, *fawāʿil*, *faʿāʾil*, *fuʿul*, *fiʿal*, and *fuʿal*, among others that denote absolute abundance. Some of these patterns are rare, such as *fiʿal* and *fuʿal*, while others, like *fuʿʿal*, *faʿālil*, and *similar to *faʿālil*, are not found in the collected works. The absence of some patterns of abundance from the poet's texts was also noted