English Arabic Contact - A Cultural Bridge

Abstract

Interaction between languages is a sign of cultural contact. The Arabic contact with English has been going on for more than a thousand years. Arabic made its way into English either through direct contact or through other languages. The immediate sources of Arabic words in English were Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. However, the largest group of Arabic words in English came through direct contact through the centuries.

Arabic made its way into English through several channels: Spain, which was a home for Arabic for eight centuries; translation from Arabic into Latin from the 10th century onwards; the Crusader Wars from the 10th till the fourteenth century; English travelers and merchants who came into personal contact with Arabic speaking people as a result of colonial and mercantile expansion; the community of scholars in England who began to study Arabic and teach Arabic at Oxford University in the sixteenth century. Arabic contributions to the English language and culture cover all fields of life.