Arabic loan-words in modern English and their interpretation

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Arabic loan-words in modern English and their interpretation

Eremin Alexander Sergeevich

Postgraduate student of the Department of Romance and Germanic philology and intercultural communications, Belgorod State National Research University, Russia, Belgorod

Abstract

This article discusses the most common loan-words from the Arabic language in English. The main ways of penetration of Arabisms into European culture are briefly considered. Many words penetrated into English directly from Arabic, but the other part firstly came into other European languages, and then intoEnglish. This explains the significant phonetic changes of individual loan-words in comparison with the original source. The characteristic of 21 loan-words on the basis of the Oxford dictionary is given.

Keywords: Arabism, Arabic loan-words, Koran, Islam, meaning, middle ages, English

arabic english borrowing phonetic

Аннотация

В данной статье рассмотрены наиболее общеупотребительные заимствования из арабского языка в английском. Коротко рассмотрены основные пути проникновения арабизмов в европейскую культуру. Многие слова проникли в английский напрямую из арабского, однако другая часть сначала вошла в обиход других европейских языков, а затем и английского. Этим объясняются значительные фонетические изменения отдельных заимствований в сравнении с первоисточником. Дана характеристика 21ого заимствования на основе Оксфордского словаря.

Ключевые слова: Арабизмы, арабские заимствования, Коран, ислам, значение, средние века, английский язык

Each language enriches its vocabulary by borrowing words from other languages, and English is not an exception. It borrowed hundreds of words from Arabic, although few of them came into the language directly. Due to the lack of direct contact with Arabic-speaking countries, many borrowings have come in through intermediary languages, then most of them penetrated into English though French, Spanish, Italian and Latin. Over the past 1000 years, the English language eagerly absorbed foreign lexical units. [2, c. 86] Words of French and Latin origin currently are more than half of the vocabulary of modern English. The evidence of this fact is in vocabulary articles in the New Oxford English Dictionary, published by the Oxford University Press in 1993.

In the middle Ages, Arabic words penetrated into English mainly through French. The reason for this is that French was the language of the English court, aristocracy and parliament for 300 years after the Norman Conquest of 1066 and remained the language of English law, right up to 1731. But some Arabic words in English were borrowed through Persian, Turkish, and Urdu - one of the main languages of India. [1, c. 112]

In the context of studying the problem of language contacts and the interaction of languages there is a great scientific interest in studying influence of the Arabic language on other languages. After the conquest of several countries of Western Asia in the VII-VIII centuries by the Arab Caliphate, local languages were pushed out and Arabic became the official language. Certain influence of the Arabic language to other languages of the Muslim world is not only due to the fact that these languages were in contact with Arabic, but also because in all madrasas it was the language of teaching. Moreover, Muslims prayed in the language of the Koran. [4, c. 70]

At the time of Elizabeth I (1533-1603), English sea merchants opened a new world for Europe and brought home from the Middle East and more distant lands not only expensive and exotic items and materials, but also traditions and many Arabic words.

Borrowed Arabic words refer to various aspects of Arabic and Islamic way of life. First of all, English has been enriched by words related to the religious-theological sphere. It was associated with the need to study the Quran, Hadith and Muslim legislation. Then the words of political, clerical and economic purposes have come.

It should be noted that a number of Arabic words that are associated with the Islamic religion, have come into English directly in the period of the Arab-Islamic civilization in the Middle Ages. They are: Alcoran, al-Hajj, Allah, azan, bismillah, caliph, hegira, imam, Islam, minaret, muezzin, mufti, Muhammad, muharram, mujahidin, mujtahid, mullah, muslim, mosque, shahada, shahid. [5, c. 3]

Based on the vocabulary articles of The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary in this article we will characterize borrowings related to the religion of Islam. This dictionary gives the pronunciation of these words, interpretation of their meanings and information about the ways of their penetration into English.

The word «Alcoran», which has two pronunciation variants [?lk??r?:n] and [? ?lk?ran], as well as «Alkoran», penetrated into Britain by the end of the Middle English period (1350-1469) through old and modern French [4, c. 8]. At the beginning of the XVIIth century (1600 - 1629) this word changed its form to «Koran» [k?:?r?:n] or [k??r?:n], and then it found the spelling option - «Qur'an». In Arabic, it sounds «kur'an», in the sense of «reading, public reading».

In the «Alkoran» and «Alcoran» forms, the initial element «al-» is a definite article of the Arabic language. In English, the word Koran and all its other forms are used as a noun that stands for a holy book containing the dogmas and Islam and Muslim law [8, c. 1335].

The word «Al-Hajj» [?l?h?: d?], as well as its variant «Al-Hadj», which penetrated into English in the middle of the nineteenth century (1830 - 1869) is used as a noun. It has been borrowed from the Arabic language directly. In English, it means «hajj» - pilgrimage to sacred sites in Mecca [8, c. 1337].

In the middle of the 20th century, English borrowed another word from Arabic with the same root «hajj». It sounds like «Al-Hajji» [?l?h?d?i], or «Hadji» [? h?d?i:]. This lexical unit mainly used in West Africa and refers a Muslim who committed pilgrimage to Mecca [8, c. 1337].

The Arabic word «Allah» [??l?] and its variant [??la:] is another loanword in modern English. It was borrowed directly at the end of the 16th century (1570 - 1599). In Arabic, it sounds «'Allah» and has another possible option which is «al-'ilah» - the combination of Arabic definite article «al» - and the noun 'ilah - God. In English among Arabs and Muslims, as a noun, it refers to the concept of God [8, c. 1200].

In modern English, there is the Arabic word «azan», pronounced [??z?: n]. This word penetrated into English in the middle of the 19th century (1830 - 1869) directly, and in Arabic it sounds ['??вn], which means «ad» [8, c. 1202].

This lexical unit is used as a noun, denoting the call of Muslims for praying, often proclaimed by a muezzin from the minaret. The word «bismillah» [bэs?mэl?] is used in English as a noun and interjection. This Arabic word is directly translated into English in the end of the XVIIIth century (1770 - 1799), where it sounds like «bi-smi-llвh» (i) and means "In the name of Allah". And in English, it is used as a reference to Allah, whose name is pronounced with exclamatory intonation. This word is used by Muslims before each act [8, c. 1566].

In the vocabulary of modern English, there is the word «caliph» [?keэlэf] and its phonetic variation [?ka:lэf]. This Arabic word was borrowed in the medieval Latin in the forms of «calipha» and «caliphates». Later it penetrated into the old and the modern French, where it sounds like «caliphe». In the late Middle English period (1350-1469) this word was borrowed by the English. In Arabic, this word sounds like «?alоfa» - a representative of God, more precisely «?alоfat Allвh» - successor, heir, vicar of Allah (Muhammad). This word comes from the verb «kalafa», meaning "to be the successor, the heir". It is also used to designate titles in the phrase «осalоfat rasыl Allвh», which translates as "successor, Messenger of Allah." In English, this lexical unit in the form of «caliph» was mainly used as a historical concept and had a meaning "The main civil and religious leader of the Muslim community" at the beginning of XVIII century (1700 - 1729) [9, c. 151]. The second meaning of this language unit (from the middle XIX century (1830 - 1869)) in the form of khalifa denotes the Malay ceremony in which the dancer pierces the sword himself. This ceremony is held in South Africa [1, c. 149].

Another Arabic word is «hegira» [?h??эr?], which also has the forms «Hegira», «Hejira», «Hijira» and «hijrah», was borrowed by the British at the end of the XVI-th century (1570 - 1599). In English it is the word that came into the language through the medieval Latin (late Latin). In Arabic, it sounds like «hijra», which means leaving (departure) from the house of friends. Apparently, this unit derived from the Arabic verb «hajara» - to separate, to move. And in English it is a noun and used in two meanings:

1) the relocation of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622; the Muslim era begins with this event (at the end of the 16th century (1570 - 1599);

2) Any mass exodus or departure (in the middle of the 18th century (1730 - 1769)) [8, c. 1216]

In modern English, there is the word «imam» [э?ma:m]. At the beginning of the 17th century (1600 - 1629) this unit was directly borrowed from the Arabic language where the word «'imвm» means "leader". It is associated with the verb «'amma» - to be a leader». In English, the word «imam» is used as a noun, and at the beginning of the 17th century it meant "the spiritual head of people praying in the mosque." And since the middle of the XVIIth century (1630 - 1669), the word began to denote any spiritual head of Muslims, especially the heirs of Mohammed as the leader of the Shiites. At the beginning of the XVIIIth century (1700 - 1729) the word imamate formed from this lexeme, denoting the office or the great post of Imam [9, c. 71]

Among direct loanwords from the Arabic in English there is a known everyone the word Islam, which is pronounced in some different ways: [?эzla:m], [эs?la:m] or [эz?la:m]. This noun was converted to English at the beginning of the 17th century (1600-1629). In Arabic, it sounds like «'islвm». It is closely related to the verb «'aslama» - to obey, surrender (namely to God). In English, it has two meanings: 1) the religious system established by the Prophet Muhammad; Muslim religion; Muslim world; 2) outdated meaning: Orthodox Muslim (at the beginning of XVII - XIX centuries). In the vocabulary of the English language there are also words such as Islamic (adjective) - Muslim; «Islamism» - Islamism, Islam;

Islamite: 1) Muslim; 2) Muslim, Islamic;

Islamize: 1) convert to the Muslim faith; 2) take Islam.

Naturally, for all these lexical units, the source word is Islam [7, c. 1315].

The Arabic word «manвra», which means "lighthouse" or "minaret" comes from the Arabic verb «nвra» - glow. To get into vocabulary of modern English, this word has come a long way through Turkish, Italian, Spanish and French. In Turkish, it had the spelling «minaret», and in Italian - «minaretto». In Spanish and French, the word sounded like «minarete». In modern English, during its historical development, this word changed its spelling and pronunciation. It has taken the form of «minaret», which has two pronunciation variants [?mэn?ret] and [mэn??ret]. This lexical unit may be used as a noun. At the end of the 17th century (1670 - 1699), this word had the value of the «high tower attached to the mosque», which is surrounded by one or more number of balconies, from where the muezzin proclaims «adhan». And from the middle of the XIXth century (1830 - 1869) this unit began to denote an object or building of a similar form [9, c. 98]

The word muezzin, which means "a herald of azan" from minarets or from the roof of a mosque, is also an Arab loanword. This lexical unit came into English directly in the form of muezzin [mu:?ezэn] at the end of the 16th century (1570 - 1599). In Arabic, it is formed from the present participle form «mu'a??in» of the verb «'a??ana» - to call for prayer, or rather the word «'u?n» - ear [6, c. 111].

The word mufti [? m?ftэ] was borrowed from the Arabic language at the end of the 16th century (1570 - 1599). In Arabic it sounds like «mufti», which is a participle of the present tense of the verb «'?ftв» - solve legal issues. This word is also associated with the word Fatwa. In English, this lexical unit is used as a noun and means a Muslim spiritual or legal person authorized to manage religious affairs; in the Ottoman Empire, it designated the representative of the main legal authorities, especially the big city (there is a phrase Grand Mufti). Modern English has the equivalent of this word - mufti [6, c. 1266].

The word Muhammad [mu?h?med] itself is a loanword from the Arabic, which sounds like «mu?ammad». It penetrated into English at the beginning of the 17th century (1600-1629) and is a noun denoting (name) of an Arab prophet in Islam (Mohammed or Mahomet - about 570 - 632 AD). His revelations make up the Quran, and in Islam he is considered the last Messenger of Allah, warning mankind about the consequences of disobedience to orders of God. In modern English there is also a variant -Mohammed [m?u?h?m?d], which is the basis for the words:

- Mohammedan - 1) Mohammedan, Muslim, Mohammedan, Muslim; 2) Mohammedan, Muslim;

- Mohammedanism (as well as Muhammadism, which penetrated in the early 17th century (1600-1629) and mid-nineteenth century). It means "Mohammedanism, Islam."

But these words are obsolete forms [7, c. 1454].

In the vocabulary of modern English, there is the word «Muharram», and also another version of «Moharram», which are pronounced the same way [m??h?r?m]. This Arabic word penetrated directly into English at the beginning of the 19th century (1800 - 1829). In Arabic it sounds like «muarram», which means "holy, inviolable." And in English

This unit is used in two meanings as a noun:

1) the first month of the Muslim lunar calendar;

2) an annual holiday held within ten days of this month [7, c. 1454].

English also borrowed the word Mosque [?m?sk] from Arabic through several intermediary languages. First of all, it penetrated into Greek in the form «Moschee», and then into Italian - in the form «Moschea». From the Italian language it was borrowed by French in the form «mosque», after which it penetrated into English vocabulary in Middle English period [7, c. 1455]. In Arabic it sounds like «masjid» - literally "Place of worship." In English, this unit is used in two meanings:

1) Muslim place of worship;

2) a group of assembled Muslims; Islamic power (from the end of the 18th century) (rarely).

On page 1853 (1st volume) of the "Oxford Dictionary" there is another Arabic word - «mujahidin» [?mu??:hэ?dэ:n]. This Arabic word originally penetrated into Persian, and then from Persian, was borrowed by the British in the middle of the 20th century. This word in colloquial Arabic is a plural form of a noun «mujвhid» - a person who fights in the ranks of «jihad» (holy war).

This word in English also has two forms: «mujahedin» and «mujahideen», and means guerrilla fighters fighting for Islam in a Muslim country [7, c. 1301].

The word «mujahidin» goes back to the root word «jihad», which means:

1) jihad, ghazavat - holy war

2) campaign, (crusade) campaign (against something)

At the beginning of the 19th century (1800 - 1829) one more word fell into the vocabulary of the English language - «mujtahid». It sounds [mu??ta: hэd]. This word in Arabic is the present participle of the verb «ijtahada», which means "to fight". From Arabic it was borrowed first by the Persians, and then by the British. In English, as a noun it means "the person who was accepted in Shiism as authority in the field of Islamic law [7, c. 1315]. In this meaning, it is mostly used in Iran.

The Arabic word «mullah» has come a long way to get into the vocabulary of English. It originally penetrated into Turkish in the form of «molla», and then into Urdu and Persian in the form of «mullв», after that it was converted to English at the beginning of the 17th century (1600 - 1629). In English, it is a noun and has two pronunciation options: [?m?l?] and [?mul?]. This lexical unit denotes a Muslim (who is given such title), who studied Islamic theology and the sacred law [7, c. 1116].

The well-known Arabic word «Muslim» has different pronunciation options: [?muzlэm], [?m?zlэm] and [?m?slэm]. This word also has the form «Moslem», which sounds different: [? m?zl?m] or [?muzlэm]. Both options can become plural by adding the suffix -s. It should be noted that its plural form is formed in Arabic using the «-in» morpheme: «Muslimin». But such word form is rarely used. In Arabic, this lexical unit occurred from the present participle of the verb «?aslama», meaning «to be in Islam». In English from the beginning of the XVII century (1600 - 1629) it was used as a noun with the meaning "person following the Islamic religion." For example: (The Times)

1. «Within the Soviet borders there are more than 40 million Moslems».

2. «You aren't a Hindu?» - No, ... I am a devout muslim. ?

Starting from the end of the 18th century (1770 - 1799), this lexical unit began to be used as an adjective and denote "Muslim."

In English, there is also a noun Muslimism [?muslэmэzm], meaning "Islam like the religious system of Muslims," which is synonymous with Islam, and it also penetrated into English at the end of the XVIIIth century [7, c. 1260].

The Oxford Dictionary [6, c. 1302] contains the article devoted to the word «shahada», which sounds like [?a?ha:da]. According to this dictionary, this lexical unit has penetrated into English at the end of the 19th century (1870 - 1899). In Arabic, it sounds like «ѕahвda» that means "scripture, testimony". In English, this word means «Muslim entry into religion (or creed), the expression «La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad Rasul Allah ". It means: «There is no God but Allah (and) Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

On the same page of our source [7, c. 1204] there is another Arabic loanword «shahid» [???hэ: d]. It penetrated English directly at the end of the 19th century (1870 - 1899). In Arabic, it sounds: «ѕahоd», and means "witness, martyr." In English as a noun it also means a Muslim martyr or sufferer.

Thus, in a distorted or undistorted form, words that have come from the Arabic considerably enriched the vocabulary of English. The influence of Arabic on other languages is not equal due to differences in geographical and historical conditions. Arabic words that have been included in English have undergone phonetic and semantic changes that obviously were justified by two factors: first, loanwords were taken with the transliteration method; second, the transcription method was used. 21 loanwords from Arabic indicated in this article belong to the category of nouns denoting concepts of Arab and Islamic life. The main reason for the penetration of the considered words into English is obviously the absence of the denotations of these words in the times of their borrowing.

Список литературы

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