Abstract

Statement of the Problem and Objective: Language is a natural and social human phenomenon and is the most essential component of the identity of every nation. It is the vessel that encompasses a nation's thought, culture, and civilization and preserves the connection between its past and present. Language has two forms: spoken (which is primary) and written. In antiquity, human being was specifically defined as a “rational animal.” However, in classical philosophy, rationality was regarded not merely as the capacity for speech but as a symbol of the power of reason and ability to apprehend universals and abstract concepts. According to Descartes, we can construct a robot capable of uttering words and showing certain reactions. For example, if a specific point of its body is touched, it will ask what one wants, or if another point is touched, it will simulate the sensation of pain. However, it will not be able to organize its utterances in various ways so as to respond appropriately to any question that may be asked, whereas even the simplest human beings possess this ability.
Methodology: This research was been conducted using descriptive, analytical, and comparative methods: through the descriptive method, the seven constitutive units of language as well as the seven stages of embryonic formation are described, and through the analytical-comparative method, the hypothesis of parallelism between the structure of human languages and the structure of human being is demonstrated.
Discussion and Analysis: Although language for ancient linguists was merely a tool for communication with others and played no role in the essence of the human soul, in modern linguistics it has been elevated to the level of the human being itself, for it has come to be understood as human thought. Language is thus divided into articulated language during communication with others (dialogue) and silent language during moments of solitude (monologue). If language is identical with thought, and thought is identical with the human being, then language and human being are parallel to each other. However, the secret that the researcher claims to disclose here for the first time is that the seven constitutive units of language are parallel to the seven stages of human embryonic development. These stages, according to the Holy Quran, are: clay (ṭīn), drop of fluid (nuṭfah), clot (‘alaqah), lump (muḍghah), bones (‘iẓām), flesh (laḥm), and final creation (khalq ākhar). This research was conducted within the framework of the monotheistic school of linguistics, which was presented in 2011 during a promotional academic session at the University of Isfahan. The school emphasizes the parallelism and resemblance between the system of creation and the system of language and literature, arguing that language is a divine trust through which human beings disclose the secrets of the universe, and therefore the structure of language must resemble the structure of the system of creation. In addition, these two sets of seven resemble the seven heavens of the universe emphasized in the verses of the Holy Quran. Unlike ancient linguists, who limited the significance of language to its function as a means of communication with others, the researcher supports the argument of modern linguists that human being is thought and thought is language. Nevertheless, he differs from them in that they have separated linguistics from the study of human structure in order to establish their argument. Therefore, in this article the researcher attempts to demonstrate the hypothesis of the parallelism of language and human being by showing the complete resemblance between the units of language and the stages of human embryonic development. Elevating the definition of language from a tool for communicating with others to thought itself implies that language constitutes the identity of human being, and this requires parallelism between the structure of language and the structure of the human being. What is meant by linguistic units are seven units: phoneme, morpheme, word, phrase, sentence, text, and meaning. The stages of human embryonic metamorphosis are also seven stages as mentioned in the Holy Quran. This research aims to prove the similarity between these two indices. The aim of this research is to compare the seven constitutive units of language with the stages of human development in order to reveal the resemblance between the structure of language and the structure of the human being. The hypothesis of a complete resemblance between units of language and the stages of human embryonic developmental led the researcher to several results, the most important of which is: The well-known proposition that “language is a living entity,” although has been widely accepted among both ancient and modern linguists, they have not paid attention to the parallelism between the units constituting language and the stages of human development. In this respect, this research offers an innovative contribution. Modern linguists have emphasized this equation that the human being is thought and thought is language; therefore, the human being and language are two sides of the same coin. Nevertheless, they have not attempted to demonstrate parallelism between the structure of language and the structure of the human being.
Findings: Among the most significant results of this research are the following: the discovery of a new interpretation of the Qur’anic expression “sab‘ al‑mathānī”, with emphasis on the idea that the human being is the comprehensive and all-encompassing word of God, and that language is the true essence of human being. Furthermore, the study demonstrates the statement of Islamic philosophers that the two domains of speech and writing correspond to the two domains of subjective existence and objective existence. This parallelism is demonstrated through the following correspondences: the phoneme in the structure of language corresponds to clay in the structure of the human being; the morpheme corresponds to drop; the word corresponds to the lump; the phrase corresponds to the bone; the sentence corresponds to the flesh; the text corresponds to the formed body; and meaning corresponds to the stage of the final creation.