Iyyāka wa-l-mas’ala z-zunbūriyya: On a Widely Debated Mediaeval Grammatical Issue

The mas’ala zunbūriyya (“the question of the wasp”) is one of the most famous disputes (munāẓara) between the grammarians of Baṣra and Kūfa. Besides its character as an entertaining anecdote, the story is highly important from a grammatical point of view. The article analyses the arguments of the two grammarians, Sībawayhi and al-Kisā’ī, thereby shedding light both on the difference between the two grammarians’ methodology and – in a broader sense – on the major distinguishing factors between the grammatical schools of Baṣra and Kūfa.