SPECIAL ISSUES

Guidelines for Special Issues

Al-Ḍād: The Journal of Arabic Language and Linguistics, published by the Department of Arabic and Middle Eastern Languages, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya, welcomes proposals for Special Issues on significant and emerging topics within the journal's scope.

1. Scope

Special Issues should address a focused theme related to Arabic language and linguistics or other areas covered by the journal, including:

Linguistics, grammar, morphology, phonetics and phonology, semantics, and pragmatics
Literary criticism, rhetoric, and stylistics
Lexicography and dictionary studies
Language teaching and learning
Historical and contemporary linguistic studies
Discourse analysis and sociolinguistics
Translation and interdisciplinary language studies
Civilization, culture, and related areas
Corpus, computational, and digital approaches to Arabic

Proposals should demonstrate a clear scholarly contribution and encourage critical, theoretical, empirical, methodological, or applied perspectives.

2. Special Issue Proposal

Guest Editor(s) should submit a proposal 9–12 months before the intended publication date. The proposal should include:

Proposed Special Issue title
Names, affiliations, and brief biographies of Guest Editor(s)
Background and rationale
Aims and scope
Key themes/topics
Expected scholarly contribution
Draft Call for Papers
Proposed timeline
Expected number of articles

3. Number of Articles

A Special Issue should normally contain 6–10 research articles, in addition to a brief introductory editorial by the Guest Editor(s).

All articles must be relevant to the approved theme and collectively form a coherent scholarly contribution.

4. Manuscript Requirements

Manuscripts must:

Present original and unpublished research.
Make a clear and significant contribution to the field.
Demonstrate critical engagement with relevant scholarship.
Follow the journal's formatting, referencing, and ethical requirements.
Be 15–25 pages in length.

Articles may be submitted in Arabic, English, or Malay.

5. Peer Review

All manuscripts will undergo the journal's standard peer-review and editorial procedures. Approval of a Special Issue proposal does not guarantee acceptance of individual manuscripts.

Manuscripts submitted by Guest Editors will be handled independently by the journal to avoid conflicts of interest.

6. Responsibilities of Guest Editors

Guest Editors are expected to:

Prepare and circulate the Call for Papers.
Conduct an initial assessment of submissions.
Assist in identifying suitable reviewers.
Coordinate revisions with authors.
Ensure adherence to the agreed timeline and journal requirements.
Prepare a brief introductory editorial for the Special Issue.

7. Publication Schedule

Al-Ḍād is published online twice annually, in July and December.

Special Issue proposals should therefore be submitted 9–12 months in advance to allow sufficient time for submission, peer review, revision, editing, and production.

8. Editorial Authority

The Editorial Board of Al-Ḍād retains final authority over all manuscripts and Special Issues. It may request revisions, reject manuscripts that do not meet the journal's standards, or postpone a Special Issue when necessary.

The primary criterion for publication is the academic quality, originality, relevance, and scholarly contribution of the Special Issue and its individual articles.