In view of the great upsurge of interest in syntax in recent years it is remarkable that there
are so few studies of Arabic syntax and the works of a diachronic orientation are virtually
nonexistent. The main portion of this book is historical dealing with fundamental mechanisms
of syntactic and semantic change. Here Bloch has made a substantial contribution to the
historical syntax of Arabic. Throughout the book the phenomena are viewed form a broad
perspective that takes into account evidence not only from all periods and genres of Arabic
(Ancient Poetic Koranic Classical Middle Modern Literary and Colloquial) but also from
other Semitic (and occasionally non-Semitic). In the second printing are almost exclusively
corrections of misprints and other minor alterations made.
