The Concept of Arabization
Arabization
The concept of Arabization :
Arabization is used in the literature in four different senses:
1) It could be used to mean borrowing foreign words without changing them like أكسجين and نانو. These words are described as دخيلة . Sometimes these words are adapted to the phonological and morphological systems of Arabic; e.g., تلفزيون and they are described as معربة. (linguistic dimension)
2) It could be used to mean translating from other languages into Arabic. In this sense, Arabization started in the Arab world approximately 1200 years ago when Arab scholars in the Umayyad and Abbasid eras were engaged in translating Greek, Roman and Persian books in different fields of knowledge such as medicine and philosophy. Their efforts in translation as well as their own achievements gave rise to the Islamic civilization. (linguistic dimension)
3) It could be used to mean using Arabic as the language of administration in a country.
4) It could be used to mean using Arabic as the language of the country in all aspects of life (education, administration, everyday conversation, etc.), representing its Islamic and Arabic identity.
The first meaning is the one used in the Arab East (المشرق العربي) and the last one in the Arab West (المغرب العربي). Arabization in the Arab West gained importance and was extended to include these political, national social and cultural dimensions because they felt that their Arabic culture, their language, their identity and their own existence were endangered by the colonizers,
The political and national dimensions of Arabization:
Arabization is important on these levels for the following reasons: 1. Reinforcing national identity: Arabization aims at reviving and developing the unique national Arab identity and emphasizing all that distinguish Arabs as an independent social race. This notion is more strongly felt in the Arab West because it is considered a national cause that is related to national identity,
The concept of Arabization :
Arabization is used in the literature in four different senses:
1) It could be used to mean borrowing foreign words without changing them like أكسجين and نانو. These words are described as دخيلة . Sometimes these words are adapted to the phonological and morphological systems of Arabic; e.g., تلفزيون and they are described as معربة. (linguistic dimension)
2) It could be used to mean translating from other languages into Arabic. In this sense, Arabization started in the Arab world approximately 1200 years ago when Arab scholars in the Umayyad and Abbasid eras were engaged in translating Greek, Roman and Persian books in different fields of knowledge such as medicine and philosophy. Their efforts in translation as well as their own achievements gave rise to the Islamic civilization. (linguistic dimension)
3) It could be used to mean using Arabic as the language of administration in a country.
4) It could be used to mean using Arabic as the language of the country in all aspects of life (education, administration, everyday conversation, etc.), representing its Islamic and Arabic identity.
The first meaning is the one used in the Arab East (المشرق العربي) and the last one in the Arab West (المغرب العربي). Arabization in the Arab West gained importance and was extended to include these political, national social and cultural dimensions because they felt that their Arabic culture, their language, their identity and their own existence were endangered by the colonizers,
The political and national dimensions of Arabization:
Arabization is important on these levels for the following reasons: 1. Reinforcing national identity: Arabization aims at reviving and developing the unique national Arab identity and emphasizing all that distinguish Arabs as an independent social race. This notion is more strongly felt in the Arab West because it is considered a national cause that is related to national identity,