Palabras de orígen árabe- Huellas del pasado

[macocael]

Moro, the rice dish, comes from the same set of notions -- it is called in full "moros y cristianos" (black beans/white rice). (OOPS, Mirador you beat me to it. Well, let it stand)

Isnt the word "azúcar" also Arabic? Figures they get to name all my favorite things -- sugar, coffee, and women too (mujer, or muler in Portuguese, is also Arabic).

Fascinating post -- Lesley you are right, it is important to remember -- and to enjoy the fact -- that language, culture and history are all bound up together and the study of one invariably leads to understanding the others.

Chiri: so be it, then: Shalom! My childhood friends from the Upper West Side of NYC will be pleased to learn that I am one of the fold after all.

Mofi: you have friends here in DR who speak Arabic? I need to find someone who might one day help me out with conversation. I went out and bought some grammars but sheesh! I can figure out the grammar, the structure of which is really quite interesting, but pronunciation of certain sounds is proving to be very difficult. I listen to lots of Arabic pop music, and I still have trouble.

[Norma Rosa]

Originally Posted by Lesley D

The origin of words in any language is interesting to study and Spanish words certainly have an interesting history. The fact that Spanish originated from Latin is one way to trace the origin of a large percentage of words. However, there is a small percentage of Greek origin, borrowed words from English (including the letters [k] and [w]), indigenous words from various Latin American countries and significant foreign lexicology content in Spanish is of Arabic origin which became official Spanish words long before any of the other foreign contributions.

Knowing the etymology (word origin) of certain words in Spanish justifies its phonetic sound, its grammatical category and irregularities and its relationship to other words in a sentence in Spanish. An essential part of studying Spanish is the study of its words and the Arabic influence was significant which dates back to when the Moors inhabited Spain (also referred to as
la invasión musulmana in some textbooks) for eight centuries. Of their numerous cultural contributions one was definitely its contribution to the Spanish language and some of the adopted words remained in original form for the most part.

Some may find it easier than others to recognize foreign words in Spanish but I would like to highlight a few aspects that I find interesting about words in Spanish that have been adopted from other languages. We have had discussions about Taino words in Dominican and Caribbean Spanish in addition to indigenous words that are inherent to Latin countries such Guatemala, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador just to name a few. However, we can't forget Arabic words that have been adopted into Spanish centuries ago (prior to all the other adoptions) that are so recognizable once you decipher certain trademarks of words of Arabic origin in Spanish.

Words of Arabic origin range from daily everyday words (that replaced Latin ones) to names of places (topónimos) as well as last names. According to studies done many words of Arabic origin begin with [a] and the stress patterns (accentuation) don't always follow those of Latin origin. For example the stress on the very last syllable of a word that ends in a vowel. Words such as or 'ojalá', 'almorí' etc. exemplify this. These stress patterns are not characteristic of words of Latin origin.

I) Here is a sample list of words of Arabic origin that I find very interesting that are currently in my (and surely other people’s) everyday speech:

aceite/ aceituna/ adoquín/ alajú/ alarde (I was surprised. I did not know that alarde was of Arabic origin) albóndiga / alcántara / alcaparra / alcohol / alfalfa / alfombra / álgebra / alicate/ almacén/ almíbar/ almohada/ alfaguara/ amén/ albur/ atún/ arrabal/ arroba/ ataúd/ auge/ avería/ azabache/ azafrán/ azar/ azotea/ azúcar/ azucena/ azulejo

I listed words beginning with [a] because there are many however, this list is by no means exhaustive.

One should not be surprised that these words of Arabic origin crossed continents are used and heard in the DR and Latin America still today. Key examples: azabache (which many may have believed was a Taino word), alcántara (which is a last name of many means puente),
guitarra, naranja- yes, even naranja is of Arabic origen and the list continues.

II.) Some trademarks of foreign words:

1) Words of Greek origin adopted in Spanish are masculine gender nouns. For example: 'el poema', 'el poeta', 'el programa', 'el clima' etc.

2) Words of Latin origin that are diseases or medical conditions are always feminine (usually ends in [is] or [es]). For example: 'la diabetes', 'la nefritis','la celulitis', 'la fibrosis' etc.

3) [k] and [w] are foreign letters that were adopted into the Spanish alphabet. All words in Spanish that have either of these letters are foreign words. If you browse through the dictionary you will see that there is not a long list of words for either letter.

4) Some words of Arabic origin are easily identifiable by the ending. For example: [che], [je], [ja], [jo] [ya] and an accented vowel on the last syllable.

This area of Spanish studies in my opinion is one of the most interesting to pursue because out from understanding the origin of words comes the understanding of many historical and cultural aspects and this study reveals how words transcend and evolve over time. I find it extremely interesting how some Arabic words remained in original form without any phonetic changes and are very much part of contemporary Spanish vocabulary still today.

-LDG.

Thanks for the link. I joined DR1 Feb. of this year, therefore was not familiar with this thread. Very interesting and worth revisiting. It is believed that 8% of Spanish vocabulary is of Arabic origin.

I wonder if "abur" (good-bye) is Arabic.

I am surprised to see the word "amén" on this list. I believe it is Hebrew for "be it".

Norma

[Nyeden]

I had a Spanish literature teacher said that most words in Spanish that begins with "AL" are of derived from the Arabic language.. because of "ALAH" meaning GOD. Also a very common expression Oju-alah ( god willing)

[Lesley D]

Yes, indeed it is an interesting topic and as I mentioned in my first post not enough linguistic historical material is dedicated to the Arabic contribution which is significant and still very visible in Spanish after so many decades.

Although I had historical knowledge of the Moors in Spain and the resulting linguistic contributions, it took me hours of research to prepare my opening post because I wanted to verify every detail of what I wrote. It was nice to go back and read it after a long time and see that the information is accurate. Please note that the thread is from February 2006, thus this was written over a year and half ago.

I used two sources for my word examples. One is a book I have that has one chapter dedicated to words of Arabic origin. It is a grammar book with cultural details. The other source is a link, which I found interesting at the time. Here it is for you to review (Avizora Publicaciones. Literatura: Patrimonio Linguístico de Origen Arabe) You will see 'amen' is on the list of words. Now since you inquired about it, I did a quick search and most links say that the word amen is of Hebrew/ Arabic origin. It is used in Hebrew but the name is that of an Egyptian God.

I don’ t have any more details to add to this thread but I figured you would want to read it based on your comment in the other one, Para los amantes de la buena lectura II.


-LDG.

Originally Posted by Norma Rosa

Thanks for the link. I joined DR1 Feb. of this year, therefore was not familiar with this thread. Very interesting and worth revisiting. It is believed that 8% of Spanish vocabulary is of Arabic origin.

I wonder if "abur" (good-bye) is Arabic.

I am surprised to see the word "amén" on this list. I believe it is Hebrew for "be it".

Norma

[Squat]

Fascinating thread ! It makes me want to learn Arabic !

Of course, in the Americas it would be useless, but in Europe, it becomes an interesting language to master... Plus it triggers my curiosity as a real challenge, since most European languages tend to be the same after a while...

[2LeftFeet]

I love this stuff!!!

Ojalá!!!!----Oh allah!

[Alyonka]

This is very interesting. I tried learning Arabic some years back - it is fascinating language full of history and culture. Interesting fact I just learned that even tradition in Spain of giving two family names (mather's and father's side) to a person comes from Arabic. And if they get married - they just add spouse's name to the name they already have making it even longer. In the US people tend to follow general - father's name rule. I noticed in the Dominican Republic some families keep this tradition.

[rolfdog]

Im glad to see this forum is kicking again. Etymology is very interesting to me also. I have started looking at German again since I used to speak it as a child. One can see where the other half of English words come from! Im not sure of the percentage, but it seems like an awful lot. I know English is a combination romance and german/saxon languages from the saxon invasion of England. It seems that if a common english word (come, good, well, drink, water) does not have a close resemblance to the romance equivalent, its probably germanic.

I know this is a spanish forum, but I thought it was interesting since english seems to be spoken here.

Steve

[Norma Rosa]

Originally Posted by 2LeftFeet

I love this stuff!!!

Ojalá!!!!----Oh allah!

¡¡¡Fantástico!!! Now I am wondering about it!

[Norma Rosa]

Originally Posted by Alyonka

Interesting fact I just learned that even tradition in Spain of giving two family names (mather's and father's side) to a person comes from Arabic. And if they get married - they just add spouse's name to the name they already have making it even longer. In the US people tend to follow general - father's name rule. I noticed in the Dominican Republic some families keep this tradition.

Not just some families in the DR. Latin-America inherited this rule from Spain.

If Alyonka Pérez marries Chip Gringo, the child's name is:
Alyonkita Gringo Pérez (Father's last name first). If Alyonkita gets married to Mr. 2leftfeet, then her full name is:
Alyonkita Gringo Pérez de 2LeftFeet