Samina Dazdarević, Mersija Camović i Adnan Hasanović

811.111'373.45
Samina Dazdarević, [email protected]
Mersija Camović
Adnan Hasanović

INTEGRATION OF ARABISMS
INTO ENGLISH ON
THEMORPHOLOGICAL AND
SEMANTIC LEVEL
INTEGRACIJA ARABIZAMA U
ENGLESKOM JEZIKU NA
MORFOLOŠKOM I
SEMANTIČKOM NIVOU
ABSTRACT
This study is very significant because we want to emphasize a considerable
influence of the Arabic language on the English language and to prove linguistically
that Arabisms adapted and integrated into English on the morphological and
semantic level. What is absolutely specific is that this study attains a completely
different dimension because various linguists have occupied themselves mainly with
the influence of English on the other languages, but the influence alsoflows the other
way, and we will show that a certain language can influence the language that is
known as a global language.
Key words - English language, Arabic language, language contact, linguistics
borrowings, Arabisms, adaptation, integration, morphological level, semantic level.
Apstrakt - Ova studija je veoma značajna jer se njome ističe značajan uticaj
arapskog jezika na engleski jezik i jer se lingvistički dokazuje da su se arabizmi

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adaptirali i integrirali u engleski jezik na morfološkom i semantičkom nivou.Ono što

je veoma specifično je to što ova studija dobija drugu dimenziju time što su se do sada
lingvisti uglavnom bavili uticajem engleskog jezika na druge jezike, a ovom studijom
se pokazuje koliko i u kojoj mjeri neki drugi jezik može uticati na jezik koji ima status
svjetskog jezika.
Ključne riječi – engleski jezik, arapski jezik, jezički kontakt, jezičke
pozajmljenice, arabizmi, adaptacija, integracija, morfološki nivo, semantički nivo.

INTRODUCTION
Languages, like cultures, are rarely sufficient unto themselves. The
necessities of communication bring the speakers of one language into direct or
indirect contact with those of neighboring or culturally dominant languages. The
interaction may be friendly or hostile. It may move on the ordinary plane of
business and trade relations or it may consist of a borrowing or interchange of the
more specialized products and issues of art, science, religion. Whatever the degree
or nature of contact between neighboring peoples, it is generally sufficient to lead
to some kind of linguistic inter influencing. Frequently the influence runs heavily in
one direction.
The simplest kind of influence that one language may exert on another is the
“borrowing” of words. When there is cultural borrowing there is always the
likelihood that the associated words may be borrowed too.
Languages use various strategies in borrowing: perhaps adopting and
preserving the form used in the donor language, sometimes adapting the borrowed
word to conform more closely to their own phonological and morphological
systems, and sometimes creating a new word through loan translation. Not
surprisingly, the extent and nature of borrowing between two languages reflect the
extent and nature of the contact between the corresponding cultures.
There is practically no language which has not been influenced by another
language or even by several languages as the English language has been. The
English language is a complex, flexible and highly expressive one. It is constantly
changing, responding to the world around it and absorbing elements from every
other language and culture that it comes into contact with.
As it is well known, English is basically a Germanic language, deriving its
principal grammatical and syntactical characteristics, as well as a large part of its
vocabulary, from its Germanic forerunners. But it has also borrowed thousands of
words from non-Germanic languages, as evidenced by the inclusion of such words
in Standard English dictionaries. Although a large percentage of these loanwords
derive from Greek, Latin and the various Romance languages, many lesser known
and, to Americans, rather exotic languages are also well represented.

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One such fertile source has been Arabic. At first thought, this may seem
surprising, given the differences in structure and phonetics that exist between
English and Arabic. People all over the world, however, have long had the habit of
borrowing the words they need, or think they need, where they find them, without
much regard for such esoteric subjects as structure and phonetics. They may have
to change the borrowed words both in form and meaning, but they still borrow
them. When the situation is viewed in this context, the presence in the English
lexicon of many Arabic loanwords is quite natural.
It will surprise many to know that some scholars have made a study of the
Skeat's Etymological Dictionary (1978) and found that Arabic is the seventh on the
list of languages that has contributed to the enrichment of the English
vocabulary. Rober Deveux turned up 600 loanwords by leafing through the pages
of the Random House Dictionary of the English Language (RHD), Webster's Third
New International Dictionary (W3) and the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary
(SOED).
James Peters and Habeeb Salloum (1996: X) state that some scholars have
made a study of the Etymological Dictionary and found that Arabic is the seventh
on the list of languages that has contributed to the enrichment of the English
vocabulary. Only Greek, Latin, French, German, Scandinavian and the Celtic group
of languages have contributed more than Arabic to the English idiom. According to
Peters and Salloum there are over 3,000 basic words, along with perhaps some
4,000 derivatives, of Arabic origin or transmitted through Arabic in the English
language. Upwards of 500 of the basic words are common in the everyday
language. These Arabic loanwords employed in the everyday vocabulary indicate
that in almost all areas, the Arabs contributed to the English way of life. Some
examples of these common words with their Arabic origin will give an insight into
this
English today has thousands of words in all fields of human endeavor which
are of Arabic origin: in architecture, agriculture, art, astronomy, commerce,
geography, industry, literature, mathematics, mechanics, medicine, music, and
physics.
We have to emphasize that there are many studies about Arabisms in
various languages and in the English language too, but up to now there has not
been any linguist who has analyzed Arabisms as we have done, based on the
methods that Filipovic and the other linguists analyzed Anglicisms.
The objectives of this study are to attain scientific knowledge about the role
and influence of the Arabic language on the development of the English language,
the adaptation of loanwords that enables them to fit easily into the language
system of the receiving language.
One of the aims is to follow the adaptation, as it is a gradual process and
progresses in small steps: a foreign word, in our case - Arabic word - must adapt to
a language system, to the morphological and semantic systems of the receiving

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language, English; certain loanwords become integrated in the borrowing language

to such an extent that they are no longer recognized as being of foreign origin. Also,
a new lexical unit always enriches the vocabulary of the borrowing language: it
names a new concept, product, or invention, or replaces an obsolete native word.

INFLUENCE OF THE ARABIC LANGUAGE ON EUROPEAN

LANGUAGES
Arabic was one of the most important vehicles which carried culture from
the East to the Europe of the Dark Ages. In the deserts of Arabia, before the Islamic
conquest, this Semitic language had become a beautiful language of poetry. In that
inhospitable land it had developed an enormous vocabulary. For any object to be
found in their desert, the Arabs had many words.
When Islam was established and moved out of its Arabian homeland, Arabic
was the language which carried its message. Every converted Muslim wanted to
learn the tongue of these desert men for it was believed that Arabic was the
mother of all tongues first taught to Adam in Paradise.
Anwar Chejne (1969:52) writes that an Arab author, Ibn Manzur (14th
century), in the introduction of his book Lisan, states that God made the Arabic
language superior to all other languages, and enhanced it further by revealing the
Qur’an through it, therefore making it the language of Paradise. Ibn Manzur further
relates a tradition of the Prophet Muhammad who said:
“They (people) loved the Arabs for three reasons: “I am an Arab; the Qur’n is
Arabic; and the language of Paradise is Arabic.”
However, this pride of language did not stop the Arabs from enhancing their
tongue after the conquests. From the newly-conquered peoples Arabic borrowed a
whole range of scientific and technical terms. These words enriched the desert
tongue with its many synonyms to produce a world language par excellence.
Soon after the Islamic conquests, Arabic emerged as a full-fledged language
of empire and an instrument of thought which was to last well into medieval times.
Perhaps there is no language in the world today that has survived some 1,400
years in its original form as has Arabic, molded in that century of Arab
greatness. (Chejne, 1969:52)
In our times, it is the only language in the world where an ordinary person,
even Arabs who are semi-educated, can pick up a book of poetry written in the 6th
century and understand its contents. All ancient languages have either died out or
have vastly changed, and all other languages came into existence long afterward.
From the 8th to the 12th centuries, Arabic became the scientific language of
mankind. During this period anyone who desired to advance in the world and

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become a skilled and learned man had to study Arabic, just as in nowadays English
opens the door to technical and scientific advancement for ambitious men and
women. (Salloum and Peters, 1996: X).
During these centuries more works were produced in Arabic at that time
than in all the languages of the world. One of the many libraries in Cordova alone
had some 400,000 volumes of handwritten manuscripts; this at a time when
Europe was in the middle of the Dark Ages, and washing the body was considered
a dangerous custom. (Chejne, 1969:54)
By the eighth century in North Africa, Arabic had ousted Latin as the
dominant language; by the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Arabic civilization had
fully spread through Spain. In fact, even by 724, John, bishop of Seville, was
translating the Bible into Arabic (Metlitzki, 1977:5). This Muslim conquest of the
mainland influenced medieval European scholars who began to take an interest in
Arabic learning, most notably in mathematics and astronomy.
According to Habeeb Salloum and James Peters (1996: X) by the 10th
century elementary education was general throughout Arab Spain. With the
exception of the very poor, all boys and girls attended school. Unlike the Christian
parts of Spain and the countries of northern Europe, the vast majority of people
were literate. Arabic, the language of this literate population, reached dazzling
heights.
In less than a century even the Christians living under Muslim rule became
so proficient in Arabic that they neglected their own tongues.The fact that the
Arabic language was being preferred over their own language by the non-Muslim
inhabitants made it inevitable that the impact of Arabic on the Spanish Romance
languages would be tremendous. Arabic words began to move into the Spanish
dialects, especially in the scientific and technical fields.
This borrowing did not enter the Spanish and later the other European
languages only by chance or due to an enchantment with the Arabic tongue, but as
a result of European Christians trying to emulate Arabic culture - the uppermost in
the world of that era. Year after year the borrowing of these words gathered
momentum until the time when Arab culture in Spain began to decay.
Salloum and Peters (1996: XI) consider that from the tenth century onwards
Arabic words and terms entered the Spanish dialects on a massive scale. This rich
vocabulary of Arabic words was a great stimulant in the evolution of European
thought. When, in Toledo, after its re-conquest by the Christians, Arabic works
were translated into the European languages, Christian thinking was
revolutionized and Europe was put on the path to advancement. There is no doubt
that many Arabic words entered numerous European languages after these
translations. Although, through the centuries, western historians have been
reluctant to admit this great role the Arabs had in the evolution of Christian
Europe, Arabic words in European languages indicate that this contribution was
considerable.

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Today, as Salloum and Peters (1996: XI) assume, in spite of the fact that
after the re-conquest the Spaniards tried to cleanse the Arabic words from their
language, over 8,000 words and over 2,300 place-names remain. However, Spanish
and the other European languages were not the only tongues enriched by Arabic.
Although Spain was the principal point of the Arab impact, Arab influences
also spread to Europe from Sicily after its conquest and Arabization. In addition,
the Crusaders returning from the civilized Arab East brought back to the Europe of
the Dark Ages many new products and ideas. After these soldiers of the cross
returned, English and other European languages were enriched with numerous
words in the fields of architecture, agriculture, food, manufacturing, the sciences
and trade. There is no doubt that many of the Arabic loanwords in the languages of
Europe had their origin in the vocabulary of these returning warriors. (Salloum
and Peters, 1996: XI).
Indeed, it was only natural that the borrowing of words would travel from
east to west since in that epoch the Muslim lands were the most advanced in the
world. In the same fashion today, English being the language of industry and
science, its words creep into foreign tongues, so it was with Arabic in the era of the
Crusades.
Salloum and Peters consider that all of the northern Europeans took part in
these religious conflicts. In the main, the crusaders made their wars in the Middle
East but sometimes they unsheathed their swords in Sicily and Spain. In any case,
wherever these soldiers of the cross had contact with the Muslims, they always
became familiar with new products produced in the richer Arab lands. As the taste
for these products grew, merchants travelled to the Arab lands for trade. Hence,
both merchants and warriors were instrumental in the transmission of Arabic
words into the European idioms.
All the Arabic contributions as reflected in the Arabic loan words had an
impact on western society, but the introduction of the Arabic numerals with the
decimal system revolutionized life itself. There is no question that before their use
became prevalent in Europe, the clumsy Roman numerals had obsructed the
evolution of mathematics. Between the 13th and 17th century, Latin Europe
became gradually acquainted with Arabic numerals. This was mostly
accomplished through the trade between the Christian and Islamic worlds.
(Versteegh, 2003:62)
It took five long centuries before Christian Europe would fully accept these
numerals, introduced by the Arabs - the custodians of the knowledge of antiquity.
However, when they were accepted, Europe left the dark ages behind.
The translation of the works of Al-Khuwarizmi - the greatest of Arab
mathematicians who invented algebra; Jabir ibn Aflah of Seville; Masluma al-
Majriti, whose name is taken from the Arabic name for Madrid (Majrit); and others

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in the 12th and 13th centuries, by Adelard of Bath, Robert of Chester, Gerhard of
Cremona and Johannes Campanus, was instrumental in putting Europe on the road
to progress. (Salloum and Peters, 1996: XIII).

THE STUDY OF ARABISMS

For the purpose of this study, first we have to define Arabismsand we
followed Filipovic and his definition of Anglicism. Filipovic (1996: 20) states that
according to a basic definition, an Anglicism is a word borrowed from English
which in the course of the transfer is adapted to the receiving language in order to
be integrated into its linguistic system. This basic definition, which is called narrow
definition, requires an answer to another question: When and why is an English
word transferred into another language? According to Filipovic a word is
borrowed from a language, in his case, English, when there is a need to fill empty
spaces in the vocabulary of the receiving language.
Since in languages which are in contact with Arabic there do not exist
equivalent words for the transferred objects and concepts which have to be
named, the simplest way of naming them is to borrow their names from the donor
language. The transfer of their names from Arabic into the receiving language –
English - belongs to the process of borrowing, which is regulated by the laws and
rules of the theory of languages in contact (Filipovic, 1986).
The answer to the second question leads us to a third question which,
according to Filipovic, has to be answered: Can every word in the vocabulary of
Arabic be transferred into the English language? In order to answer this question,
we have to define the Arabic vocabulary. It consists of three groups of words: a)
native words of Arabic origin; b) loanwords borrowed from Turkish, Persian, Urdu,
etc. c) loanwords borrowed from languages spoken in non-Arabic countries. Words
belonging to the second and the third groups have been been borrowed in the way
described above: they were transferred into Arabic to name objects and concepts
imported from non-Arabic speaking countries.
According to this division of the words in the vocabulary of Arabic we have
determined the following: (a) that words belonging to the first group can be
borrowed from Arabic in their original forms, (b) that words in the second and the
third groups are borrowed in their (already) adopted forms which have been
completely integrated into the Arabic linguistic system. For this reason, words in
all three groups are potential Arabic loanwords and they can be transferred into
any European language, in our case, the English language.
The above-mentioned definition of Arabisms is however too narrow; it has
to be broadened into what Filipovic (1996:206) calls, a broad definition of
Arabisms. The broad definition covers all native Arabic words of Arabic origin and
all loans which are integrated into the system of the Arabic vocabulary from
whatever language they have been borrowed into Arabic. What matters is only that

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they are names of elements (objects and concepts) that are present in Arabic
civilization.
Therefore, the new broad definition of Arabisms runs as follows: An Arabism
is any word borrowed from the Arabic language denoting an object or a concept
which is at the moment of borrowing an integral part of Arabic culture and
civilization; it need not be of Arabic origin, but it must have been adopted to the
linguistic system of Arabic and integrated into the vocabulary of Arabic.
Our analysis of Arabisms in the English language is primarily based on how
Filipovic (1990) analysed Anglicisms in European languages using his methods
that he briefly worked out in his book Teorija jezika u kontaktu. Uvod u lingvistiku
jezičkih dodira. (Theory of Languages in Contact. An Introduction to Contact
Linguistics).
Filipovic introduces his new terminology: adaptation on the morpgological
level is called transphonemization (phoneme substitution) and is further analyzed
as zero, partial and free and concerning adaptation on the semantic level, we have
loanwords with one meaning, restriction of meaning and words with expansion of
meaning.

INTEGRATION OF ARABISMS ON THE MORPHOLOGICAL

AND SEMANTIC LEVEL
The integration of a great number of Arabisms into English - the receiving
language, whose linguistic system is different from that of Arabic, requires a
linguistic analysis to explain how the process is performed. Arabic source words in
passing from one system into several others must be adapted before they can be
integrated. The analysis is performed on two levels:
 the morphological level, to show how the citation form of the Arabism
(and, if it is a noun, its gender, indicated by sb-m/f/n) are determined,
 the semantic level, to determine which meaning of the Arabic source word
is transferred into the corresponding Arabism (see more in Dazdarevic, 2010: 52).

The morphology of Arabisms

(1) The citation form of an Arabism can have the same form as the Arabic
source word. This means that no suffix (bound morpheme) of the receiving
language is added. This process is called zero transmorphemisation:
Arabic 'abā, n; gr. – fam. — English: aba, n; gr. – neut.
Arabic mufti, n; gr. – masc. — English: mufti, n; gr. – masc.
Arabickabāb, n; gr. - masc — English:kebab, n; gr. – neut.

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Form of this arabism kebabhas the same form as the Arabic source word.
This means that no suffix of the English language is added. This process is called
zero transmorphemisation. It is a noun and has a plural form: kebabs.

(2) If the Arabism preserves the Arabic suffix or prefix of the source word,
the process is called compromise transmorphemisation:

Arabic qandiy, adj.. – masc. — English: candy, n; gr. – neut.

Arabic mu'athin, n; gr. – masc. — English: muezzin, n; gr.- masc.
Arabic al-kuḥl, n; gr.- masc. — English: alcohol, n, gr.- neut.

We have the loanword alcohol which preserves the Arabic prefix al- that is
the Arabic definite article corresponding to the in English, so it belongs to
compromise transmorphemisation. In Arabic gender it is masculine but in English
neuter. It is completely adapted since it was a noun and now a verb (having
inflectional suffixes: -ed, -ing, -s), an adjective, adverb and new compound nouns
are formed by word formation or adding derivational suffixes (-ly, -ic, -ism, -ate, -
ise, etc.): alcoholic (n./adj.), alcoholate (v.), alcoholics (n.), alcoholism (n.),
alcoholise (v.), alcoholically (adv.), alcoholic beverage, alcohol addiction, alcoholic
abuse, etc.

(3) The Arabic suffix or prefix of the source word can be replaced by a suffix
or prefix of the English - receiving language with the same function and meaning as
the original Arabic suffix or prefix. This process is called complete
transmorphemisation:

Arabic sharbah, n. ; gr. – fem. — English: sherbet, n; g. – neut.

Arabic kamīs, n.; gender – masc. — English: kameeze, n.; g. – neut.
Arabic kammūn, n., gender – masc.—English: cummin, n., g. – neut.

Analyzing the loanword coffee, we found that it is formed under the

influence of other languages, so itdoesn't have the same form of an Arabism and
didn't preserve the Arabic suffix or prefix of the source word, and it is completely
different; it belongs to complete transmorphemisation. This word adapted so it
forms other compound nouns and adjective: coffee bean, coffee mug, coffee cup,
coffee can, coffee cream; an adjective can be simple coffee or coffee-coloured. Some
60 derivative words and phrases can be found in English dictionaries.

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The semantics of Arabisms

Arabisms form two groups:
(1) The first consists of words adapted from Arabic which have only one
meaning:

Arabic julāb (1 meaning) — English: julep (1 meaning)

Arabic khurshūf (1 meaning) — English: artichoke (1 meaning)
Arabic al-kīmiyā', (1 meaning) — English: alchemy (1 meaning)
This arabism alchemywhose meaning is adapted from an Arabic source
word, which has only one meaning.
Arabic al-kīmiyā' (alchemy)
English alchemy (the medieval chemical science and
speculative philosophy whose aims were the transmutation of the base metals into
gold, the discovery of a universal cure for diseases, and the discovery of a means of
indefinitely prolonging life).

(2) The second group consists of those Arabisms whose meaning is

adapted from Arabic source words which have more than one meaning. Most
common are those cases when an Arabism takes over one of several meanings
(indicated in dictionaries by sense numbers) of the Arabic source word. This
process is called restriction of meaning in number:

Arabic kabāb, (3 meanings) — English: kebab, (1 meaning)

Arabic suffah, (12 meanings) — English: sofa (1 meaning)
Arabic hashīsh (3 meanings) — English: hashish (1 meaning)

This word takes over one of several meanings of the Arabic source word.
This process is called restriction of meaning in number:

Arabic ṣ uffah (a stone bench, floor, covered with carpets and cushions,
period, part, shelf,etc,)
English sofa (a long, upholstered couch with a back and two arms or
raised ends).

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(3a) There are also cases when an Arabism expands the number of its
meanings after it has been integrated into the receiving language. This process is
called expansion of meaning in number:

Arabic qutun (cotton)

English cotton (1. cloth, thread, a garment, etc., of cotton, 2. any
soft, downy substance resembling cotton, but growing on other plants, 3.to get on
well together; agree, etc.)
Arabic līmūn (lemon)
English lemon (1. a person or thing that proves to be defective,
imperfect, or unsatisfactory: His car turned out to be a lemon, 2. having the color,
taste, or odor of lemon, etc.)
Arabic sifr (empty place, desert, naught)
English zero (1. A sight setting that enables a firearm to shoot on
target, 2. the exact time fixed for something to happen, eg. an explosion, the
launching of a spacecraft etc. 3. to aim (a rifle, etc.) at the precise center or range of
a target, etc.)

(3b) If the expansion of meaning takes place within a semantic field, then
the word acquires a new meaning which is different from either the source word
or the original Arabism. This process is called expansion of meaning in a semantic
field (Filipovic, 1986, 37-41):
Arabic al-kuhl (the powdered antimony, the distillate)
English alcohol (1. a colourless volatile liquid compound which is
the intoxicating ingredient in drinks such as wine, beer, and spirits. 2. drink
containing this. 3. Chemistry any organic compound containing a hydroxyl group)

CONCLUSION
With this study we endeavor to demonstrate the Arabic influence on English
and how arabisms are dealt with in the language systems of English. The sources
for our analysis are primarily based on the prevailing general monolingual
dictionaries where we find Arabic words or Arabic transmitted words in all facets
of life.
This study has dealt with the analysis of only on the morphological and
semantical level.Concerning morphology, most of the Arabisms have been
integrated into English because they apply to inflectional morphology in the
English language system (having inflectional suffixes: -ed, -ing, -(e)s) and
derivational morphology. Derivational morphology, in this study, primarily
concerns assimilated forms of Arabisms – since Arabic loanwords assimilated on

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this level have undergone a native process of word formation by means of creating
new words of different categories out of a borrowed stem by adding derivational
morphemes (verbs, adjectives, adverbs and new compound nouns are formed by
word formation or adding derivational suffixes (-ly, -ic, -ism, -ate, -ise, etc.):
alcoholic (n./adj.), alcoholate (v.), alcoholics (n.), alcoholism (n.), alcoholise (v.),
alcoholically (adv.), alcoholic beverage, alcohol addiction, alcoholic abuse). This
shows that Arabisms were adapted at the morphological level. Only directly
borrowed arabisms have the same form and don't have any suffixes.
As far as semantics is concerned, our observation results in some direct
lexical borrowings from Arabic tending to only adopt one original meaning: Arabic:
khurshūf (1 meaning) — English: artichoke (1 meaning) but most Arabisms
expand the number of its meanings after integration into the receiving language.
This process is called expansion of meaning in number: Arabic:qutun (cotton) -
Englishcotton (1. cloth, thread, a garment, etc., of cotton, 2. any soft, downy
substance resembling cotton, but growing on other plants, 3. to get on well
together; agree, etc.). This means that Arabisms were adapted at the semantical
level.
In light of the sample of words, which have been considered, it becomes
clear that Arabic, in the past and to a much lesser degree at present, has
contributed and is continuing to contribute, although on a smaller scale, to the
advancement of mankind.

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