ChristopherB Triglot Senior Member New Zealand Joined 6305 days ago 851 posts - 1074 votes 2 sounds Speaks: English*, German, French
| Message 1 of 7 01 April 2012 at 5:35am | IP Logged |
I have read figures indidcating that roughly one third to one quarter of modern Castillian vocabulary has its roots in Arabic, owing to past colonization. To my surprise, I cannot locate any modern reference works that deal with this aspect of the Spanish lexicon. Does anybody know of any books, preferably dictionaries, that deal with this subject? I am aware there is a fairly comprehensive list on Wikipedia, but I am specifically after physical, authorized reference works.
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Cabaire Senior Member Germany Joined 5588 days ago 725 posts - 1352 votes
| Message 2 of 7 01 April 2012 at 9:10am | IP Logged |
You may consult etymological dictionaries. E.g.
- Coromines, Joan / Pascual, J.A. (1980-91): Diccionario crítico-etimológico
castellano e hispánico, 6 Bde., Madrid: Gredos (= Biblioteca románica
hispánica / 5).
- García de Diego, Vicente (²1985): Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico,
Madrid: SAETA.
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tractor Tetraglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5442 days ago 1349 posts - 2292 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, Catalan Studies: French, German, Latin
| Message 3 of 7 01 April 2012 at 10:15am | IP Logged |
In addition to etymological dictionaries, you could also consult books about the history of the Spanish language. A
good one in English is Ralph Penny: A History of the Spanish Language.
Edited by tractor on 01 April 2012 at 10:15am
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ChristopherB Triglot Senior Member New Zealand Joined 6305 days ago 851 posts - 1074 votes 2 sounds Speaks: English*, German, French
| Message 4 of 7 02 April 2012 at 2:26am | IP Logged |
Thank you for the replies. I suppose I will have to consult a general eytmological dictionary, then. Perhaps the Arabic influence isn't quite enough to warrant a reference work in itself?
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kman543210 Diglot Newbie United States Joined 4653 days ago 26 posts - 73 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, German
| Message 5 of 7 02 April 2012 at 11:13am | IP Logged |
You also may want to see if you can locate a copy of Los 1,001 años de la lengua española by Antonio Alatorre. There's an entire chapter dedicated to the influence of Arabic on the Spanish language. It discusses both the history of the Muslim presence starting with the Moorish invasion in 711 and a very detailed explanation of the vocabulary. I skimmed through the chapter but couldn't find any total sum given of Arabic words in Spanish, but it gives many examples and explanations. It's written in Spanish, but I don't think it's a difficult read unless you're just a beginner at Spanish.
Now when you say "owing to past colonization," are you specifically referring to the Muslim presence in Spain or Spain's colonization of other territories? The influence of Arabic in Spanish was overwhelming due to the Muslim presence in the Iberian peninsula (for at least 700 years I believe).
Edited by kman543210 on 02 April 2012 at 11:14am
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ChristopherB Triglot Senior Member New Zealand Joined 6305 days ago 851 posts - 1074 votes 2 sounds Speaks: English*, German, French
| Message 6 of 7 02 April 2012 at 2:23pm | IP Logged |
kman543210 wrote:
Now when you say "owing to past colonization," are you specifically referring to the Muslim presence in Spain or Spain's colonization of other territories? The influence of Arabic in Spanish was overwhelming due to the Muslim presence in the Iberian peninsula (for at least 700 years I believe). |
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Yes, it was the Muslim presence I was referring to, and the consequential influx of Arabic-originate words.
I'll look into getting a copy of that book, thanks.
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Zireael Triglot Senior Member Poland Joined 4640 days ago 518 posts - 636 votes Speaks: Polish*, EnglishB2, Spanish Studies: German, Sign Language, Tok Pisin, Arabic (Yemeni), Old English
| Message 7 of 7 06 March 2013 at 7:09pm | IP Logged |
There is also a list of Arabic-derived words in Spanish on Wikipedia.
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