Detail after summarization (al-tafṣīl baʿda al-ijmāl) as an intertextual mechanism in Naguib Mahfouz’s respected sir
Keywords:
text linguistics, intertextuality, intertextual mechanisms, detail after summarizationAbstract
Intertextuality, within the framework of text linguistics, refers not only to the interaction between a present text and absent texts, but also to the semantic relationships that link different parts of the same text. One such internal intertextual mechanism is Detail after Summarization (al-tafṣīl baʿda al-ijmāl), which establishes semantic dependency by expanding condensed statements through subsequent elaboration. Despite increasing scholarly interest in intertextuality, this mechanism has received limited focused analysis in modern Arabic narrative from a text-linguistic perspective. This study employs a qualitative descriptive–analytical approach to examine the function of detail after summarization in Naguib Mahfouz’s novel Respected Sir (Ḥaḍrat al-Muḥtaram), drawing on Beaugrande’s concept of intertextuality as a relation among textual segments. The analysis demonstrates that this mechanism operates as a structural device that enhances semantic coherence, narrative progression, and character construction by transforming abstract summaries into detailed textual expansions. The study contributes to text-linguistic research on modern Arabic fiction by highlighting the analytical value of internal intertextual mechanisms and their role in narrative coherence.
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