Arabic, Spanish History

[Abu-Salman]

In the Muslim regions of Spain, the use of Arabic quickly spread. By the tenth century, elementary education was commonplace 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 in the Arab controlled areas 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.

 

 

R. Dozy in Spanish Islam explains how the Christians were captivated by the glamour of Arabic literature and that men of taste despised Latin authors, and wrote only in the language of their conquerors. He cites Alvaro de Córdoba, a contemporary writer of the 9th century, who deplores this fact with these words:

 

“'My fellow-Christians,' he says, 'delight in the poems and romances of the Arabs; they study the works of Mohammedan theologians and philosophers, not in order to refute them, but to acquire a correct and elegant Arabic style. Where today can a layman be found who reads the Latin Commentaries on Holy Scriptures? Who is there that studies the Gospels, the Prophets, the Apostles? Alas! The young Christians who are most conspicuous for their talents have no knowledge of any literature or language save the Arabic; they read and study with avidity Arabian books; they amass whole libraries of them at a vast cost, and they everywhere sing the praises of Arabian lore. On the other hand, at the mention of Christian books they disdainfully protest that such works are unworthy of their notice. The pity of it! Christians have forgotten their own tongue, and scarce one in a thousand can be found able to compose in fair Latin a letter to a friend! But when it comes to writing Arabic, how many there are who can express themselves in that language with the greatest elegance, and even compose verses which surpass in formal correctness those of the Arabs themselves!'”

 

 

The fact that the non-Muslim inhabitants preferred Arabic to their own language made it inevitable that the impact of Arabic on Spanish would be tremendous. Arabic words began to move into Spanish dialects, especially in the scientific and technical fields. This borrowing did not enter the Spanish and later 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 which represented scholasticism in almost every discipline, including the arts. Year after year the borrowing of these words gathered momentum until the Reconquista stemmed the tide.

 

From the tenth century onwards, Arabic words and terms entered the Romance dialects in the Iberian Peninsula 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. Even though many Western historians have, through the centuries, been reluctant to admit this great role the Arabs had in the evolution of Christian Europe, Arabic words in European languages are the evidence of this tremendous contribution.

 

Even when the Spaniards attempted after the Re-conquest to cleanse Arabic words from their language, today there are perhaps 8,000 words and some 2,300 place-names of Arab origin. It will surprise many to know that after Latin, Arabic has made the greatest contribution to the Spanish tongue.

 

 

 

Besides Spanish, Arabic contributed to the vocabularies of all the European idioms and saturated many of the languages in the Muslim countries, e.g. 57% Pushto, 42% in Urdu, and 30% of Persian are made up of Arabic words and terms.

 

 

However, of all the languages in the world outside the Muslim lands, it is Spanish, which includes the greatest number of Arabic borrowing. In this language's vocabulary Arabic words are to be found under every letter of the alphabet. In addition to thousands of others, an examination of a Spanish etymological dictionary will reveal that a vast number of words beginning with al are of Arabic origin. Many, although not common in the everyday tongue, are still used to some extent. Perhaps there is no better way to appreciate the great impact Arabic has had on Spanish than to visit the Spain of today.

 

 

 

http://www.alhewar.net/Basket/Habeeb_Salloum_Spanish_Language.htm

[sharma-arke451]

history repeats itself. We do wait and long for such golden times, in this gloomy days of sorrow.

Civilization is what muslims brought and not otherwise, as many think.