Aug 03 , 2019
Influence of Arabic language over Others
Arabic has had a great influence on other languages, especially in vocabulary. The influence of Arabic has been most profound in those countries dominated by Islam or Islamic power.
For example, the Arabic word for book(كتاب kitāb) is used in most of the languages.
Did you know that some languages around the world like English, French and Spanish are greatly influenced by the Arabic language?
Many centuries ago, the main language of politics and commerce was internationally known as Arabic. When the Islamic Empire grew into the Mediterranean sometime between the 8th and 12thcenturies, Arabic became hugely influential among other cultures and is continuing to expand its popularity and demand today.
The following are the top languages that have been greatly inspired by the Arabic language.
English
The English language has many words descending from Arabic influences. Over the centuries many English words were either borrowed directly from the Arabic vocabulary or indirectly through other languages which were influenced by Arabic.
Even today, you will hear English speaking people say Arabic words like; ‘hummus’, ‘kebab’, falafel’, and ‘couscous’ and not even realize where these words originate from. Such words are even making there way into the English dictionary!
French
The Arabic language has made its way into many European cultures, especially among the French peoples. There are literally hundreds of French words that are derived from the Arabic terms; abricot, alcool, alembic, dame, divan, fakir, harem, magasin, mesquin, safari, tarif and tableau are just some examples
Spanish
Spanish has the largest Arabic influenced vocabulary outside the Islamic world due to Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula from 711 until 1492 known as Al-Andalus, although Spain's re-Christianization and resulting loss of contact with Quranic Arabic has led to a significant shift in both meaning and pronunciation of Spanish words of Arabic etymology.
Arabic is a vibrant language reflecting not only its influence among other languages like English, French and Spanish, but it’s a language of international diplomacy as well as a global business language. There are many benefits to learning Arabic that can help you to advance in many opportunities around the world.
Urdu
Nevertheless, contrary to popular belief, Urdu did not borrow from the Turkish language, but from Chagatai, a Turkic language from Central Asia. Urdu and Turkish borrowed from Arabic and Persian, hence the similarity in pronunciation of many Urdu and Turkish words.
Urdu is written right-to left in an extension of the Persian alphabet, which is itself an extension of the Arabic alphabet. Urdu is associated with the Nastaʿlīq style of Persian calligraphy, whereas Arabic is generally written in the Naskh or Ruq'ah styles.
(The above article is written by Anfa Aziz , She is the regional head of The Islamickidstore West & North region.
Alhamdulillah she Has been associated with The Islamic Kid Store from last 1 and half yr .Currently based in Mumbai. Previously she had been working in a telecom sector but post her marriage and childbirth she has been a homemaker . Her work at The Islamic kidstore is not just limited to sale of products but she likes to add some value to her post for benefit for cutomers. Her research above aptly confirrms it.)