The Historian on Language: Ibn Khaldun and the Communicative Learning Approach

Abstract

Long regarded as a landmark historian, sociologist and philosopher, Ibn Khaldun has entered Islamic tradition as a giant figure of learning. His Muqaddimah marked the earliest attempt by any historian to build a framework to explain the political and social structure of civilization. While much has been written about his views on history and society, very little recognition has been granted to his writings on the Arabic language. Ibn Khaldun dedicated the last third of his Muqaddimah to the study of language, yet this portion of his work has been barely examined by scholars. This is all the more unfortunate since an examination of his work reveals a remarkable depth of knowledge and learning. A study of Ibn Khaldun's views on language exposes a “cutting-edge” approach, one that is in line with the most current thought on contemporary second language acquisition. Rather than promoting language learning through grammar, Ibn Khaldun projected a vision embraced by linguists today. Advocating learning language through conversation, Ibn Khaldun was one of the earliest supporters of communicative language learning.