5.1. Arabic
Contact between French and Arabic
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A large majority of the words of Arabic origin in French arrived via other languages. Arabic lexical influence reached its zenith in the 16th century when Arabic influence in so many areas of culture was also at its highest. About quarter of the Arabic terms in French entered the language at that time. A resurgence occurred in the 19th century, largely as a result of renewed interest in North Africa and the beginnings of colonialisation by French and other European settlers.Early and late examples
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The earliest Arabic word to be used in French was amiral = admiral.•
The 20th-century terms document the re-emergence of Islam as a world force, with such words as ayatollah, fedayin = fedayee, moudjahid, ramdam = ramadam, and a renewed interest in the Arab way of life, especially food- stuffs, such as merguez = sausage.Arabic as mediated and intermediary language
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Many of the earlier arrivals were mediated by other languages. In fact only just over a third of the Arabic words arrived directly in French – most of these referred to specifically Arab phenomena, Islam and religious practice and Arab customs and civilisation.•
Of the major contributors to French, Arabic is the language which has seen its words follow the most diverse of routes into the receiver language.•
The major intermediary languages, accounting mainly for terms of a less localised nature, were Italian, Latin, Spanish.•
Arabic has been instrumental in mediating words from the Middle East to French.•
From Persian tasse = cup, but more often Arabic figures in combination with a European language in the mediation of Persian words into French – azur = blue, douane = customs, échecs = chess, épinard = spinach, jasmin = jasmine, sucre = sugar.Proper names
Personal name – ottomane = ottoman (furniture). Place names – fez, mousseline = muslin, oasis.
Béni-oui-oui = yes-man is a hybrid, consisting of Arabic béni = son of + redu- plication of French oui.
Semantic associations
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The vast majority of the words clearly evoke the Arab world.Human types– these provide an intimate summary of the structure of Arab society – ayatollah, bédouin, cheik = sheik, chiite = Shiite, musulman = Muslim, toubib = doctor.
Human characteristics– maboul = crazy; human activities – masser = to massage and nouba = spree (originally designating an Algerian military band).
Islam– Coran = Koran, islam, ramadan.
Domestic objects– divan, tasse, cosmetics – khôl = kohl, clothing – caftan, djellaba, fez, food and drink – couscous, élixir, merguez, buildings – harem, médina, souk.
Militaryterms – baroud = fight, matraque = club, razzia = raid.
Scientific or technicalterms – alcali = alkali, azimut = azimuth (a bearing in astronomy).
Fate– baraka, nadir, zénith.
Natural world: animals – gazelle, plants – haschisch, henné = henna, moka = mocha, topography – bled = rolling countryside, erg = dune.
Materials– laiton = brass, ouate = cotton-wool.
5.2. Hebrew
Semantic associations
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The early borrowings from Hebrew, usually via Latin and / or Greek, tend to have a Christian connotation, the later ones a Jewish / Israeli one, but on the whole it is Christian terms that are the most notable from a semantic point of view – alléluia, amen, Pâques = Easter, sabbat = sabbath.•
In addition there are some examples of calques, all of which have a Christian connotation – ange (Hebrew mal’ak = messenger > Greek aggelos = messenger, then Latin angelos), calvaire = calvary (Hebrew golgotha = place of the skull > Latin calvariae locus).•
General words – canne = cane, cidre = cider, sac = bag.•
German accounted for two borrowings – sémitique = Semitic, yod.•
The earliest Hebrew borrowing in French is chérubin from the 11th century and the latest kibboutz from the 20th.5.3. Persian
Contact between French and Persian
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A relatively large number of words of Persian origin have been borrowed into French, most having been mediated by other languages.•
Although Persian words from all sources have entered French in all centu- ries, the summit was reached in the 15th and 16th.Persian as a mediated language
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Most Persian words arrived in French after a circuitous journey, often involving more than one intermediary language.A single language: Arabic tasse = cup, Italian bronze, Latin pêche = peach, persienne = blind, Turkish kiosque = kiosk.
Two languages were involved in the following cases: Arabic and Italian douane = customs, Arabic and Latin épinard = spinach, Greek and Latin paradis = paradise, Hindi and English tigre = tiger, Hindi and Portuguese bazar = bazaar, Hindoustani and English pyjama = pyjamas, Turkish and
Italianturban = turban.
The place name pârs = Persia is involved in pêche, pers = sea-green, perse = Persian, persienne.
5.4. Sanskrit
Contact between French and Sanskrit
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There has been a steady flow into French of words from Sanskrit since the 12th century, with a notable increase in the 19th century, and, as with Persian, only a few, and most of these of recent date, have arrived in French direct from Sanskrit. The others have had complicated journeys, with quite often three earlier ports of call (sucre = sugar boasts five!).Sanskrit as a mediated language (a selection)
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Persian and Arabicare the common denominators in a certain number of cases, together with Greek and Italian for cramoisi = crimson, with Greek andLatinfor muguet = lily of the valley, with Greek, Latin and Italian for sucre, with Latin for nénuphar = waterlily, poivre = pepper, with Italian for orange = orange (orange arrived in French from Italian where it had the form arancia; the French town Orange, being famous for the sale of such fruit, exerted phonetic influence upon its form, hence orange); Persian, Greek, Latin and
Italianprovided riz = rice.
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Quite often an Indian language is involved: Bengali and English for jute,Hindi and Englishfor punch, Hindi, English and Portuguese for sangria,
Hindoustani and Englishfor jungle.
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Words that have arrived directly in French often have a religious association, whether through philosophy – nirvana, svastika = swastika, yoga, zen, or through the names of practitioners – gourou = guru, yogi.5.5. Turkish
Examples of Turkish as a mediated and intermediary language
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Only a few words of Turkish origin have entered French directly – chagrin = leather, yaourt / yoghourt.•
Various languages have acted as intermediaries for other words – Italian caviar, Arabic and Spanish gilet = waistcoat.•
Turkish itself has been the means whereby a number of Persian words in particular have gained access to French – kiosque, tulipe, turban.5.6. Various other Hamito-Semitic languages
Mediated languages and semantic associations
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The words from these languages in French tend, as might be expected, to be mediated by other languages (usually Arabic, Greek or Latin) and to have alocalflavour.
Egyptianébène = ebony, oasis, pharaon = pharaoh.
Syriacdamas = damask (from Damascus).