2011 International Conference on Languages, Literature and Linguistics
IPEDR vol.26 (2011) © (2011) IACSIT Press, Singapore
Methods of Creating and Introducing New Terms in Arabic
Contributions from English-Arabic Translation
Ramadan Ahmed Elmgrab
University of Benghazi, Libya1
Abstract. As terminology and modern neologisms are the main theme of this paper, it is worth mentioning
that the key to understanding any piece of information is to know the terminology it counts. Terminology is
an essential compound of information transfer. Today, English maintains itself as the language of science and
technology worldwide whereas Arabic, which was the language of science and technology during the middle
ages, is trying to resume its position in order to regain its role in disseminating civilization and to take
advanced steps towards modern science and technology. The main aim of this paper is to investigate the
applicability of some methods put forward d by early Arab grammarians to create and introduce new Arabic
terms in order to cope with the modern terminologies which are being created almost every day. The study is
based on a comparative study between these methods, derivation, arabicization, blending, to see their
workability and suitability in handling the problem of finding Arabic equivalents of foreign terms. The
results showed that each methods could play its role in solving the inevitable penetration of foreign terms
which created almost every day by creating and introducing the most appropriate Arabic counterparts of such
terms.
Keywords: scientific and technical terminology, neologisms, methods, translation, Arabic, English
1. Introduction
The most obvious influence of language on our world view appears in the case of vocabulary [1]
Scientific and technical translation is part and parcel of specialized translation. The predominance enjoyed
today by pragmatic translation with its heavy use of its specialized terminology can be attributed primarily to
the international advances made in the natural and technical sciences since 1945 [2]. Technical translation is
also distinguished from other forms of translation by terminology which plays a major role in a text. One
must also consider other characteristics, such as grammar, the use of passive voice, nominalization, third
person, empty verbs and tense. Needless to say, the spread of English scientific terminology is no longer tied
closely to British culture but is more universal and therefore the benefits of technology are not limited to one
language. In addition, if there is more than one version of a scientific text, a failure of communication may
occur because technical and scientific translation deals with documents of highly specialized nature that
require accuracy and faithfulness. Therefore, the slightest error in such translations may be a major factual
error.
Due to the fact that Arabic and English are incongruent languages, linguistically and culturally, the
translator is bound to face difficulty in the process of translation between them. The difficulties are likely to
increase, especially when the texts involve new terms, neologisms, lack of equivalence and other linguistic
and cultural mismatches. Most of the problems in this field are related to scientific and technical terminology
which is the professional translator's biggest problem.
Tel: +218 91 376 8880; Fax: +218 61 2228824
E-mail: [email protected]
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Terminology is the study of terms which refer deliberately to specific concepts within particular subject
fields. In other words, terms are always studied in relation to the conceptual system to which they belong and
in which they function as depositors of knowledge [3]. Neologisms can be defined as newly coined lexical
units or existing lexical units that acquire a new sense [4], and although they cause a lot of trouble to
translators, they are at the same time popular with both writers and readers. Moreover, finding equivalents in
Arabic for technical English terms causes many problems owing to the different nature of both languages.
These problems are likely to be manifested in the continuous development in the field of science and
technology as well as the effect of mass media on people who almost, everyday, receive new ideas and
innovations. Some of these problems can be identified as follows:
First, English utilizes Latin or Greek compound morphemes to express some of these technical terms, e.g.
television which is a term made up of two free morphemes telos, meaning remote and vision meaning sight
or image. This compound term is used for a set that brings images from a distance, thus, denoting its function.
English also encompasses terms which are built of Greek or Latin roots or combination of the two such as
automobile, telephone. Experience has shown that apart from changes in orthography, scientific terms taken
from Greek or Latin are admissible by the entire scientific world regardless of language. Arabic, in contrast,
is not as flexible as English in either borrowing from other languages or in using compound morphemes.
This could be attributable to its rigorous grammatical rules which were formulated in the medieval period.
Second, many of these technical terms are the products of the West, i.e. they stand for products invented
in Europe or America which made it easier for the inventors to name them either after their own names, or
resorting to European languages instead of Latin or Greek. For instance, Watt stands for the electric current
unit which is named after the person who invented this unit of measurement and the term pasteurization
which refers to a method of sterilizing, especially milk, devised by the French scientist Louis Pasteur.
Third, there is no agreement among the Arabs on the rendering of scientific and technical terms. For
instance, the English term engine which is of a Latin origin has no agreed-upon Arabic term; in some parts of
the Arab world it is transliterated as mūtūr and in other parts where people are reluctant to use foreign names
they instead prefer to give it the Arabicized name muHarik. However, the problem is that this term literally
means a mover, a term that can be used vaguely for even a person moving something. Another example of
this problem is the term mobile which has about eight Arabic equivalents: sililūr, mubāyl, burtāble, maHmūl,
jawwāl, hātif mutaHarik, khilyawī and naqqāl the matter that give rise to the abundance of terms.
Fourth, most of the foreign terms are strange and new to the Arab environment and culture making it
difficult if not possible to find equivalents for every term in Arabic. For example, the term satellite causes a
lot of trouble for translators; some translators opted for keeping its original Latin name satalayit others
translated it semantically as qamar Sinā Cī and recently, it has been given an Arabic term sātil by the Arabic
Academy in Tangeer.
Fourth, the overuse of transliterated terms into Arabic by some Arab translators who are reluctant to find
Arabic equivalents to these terms which coming mainly from English and French. The difference between
the alphabetical systems of English and Arabic, poses one of the barriers to translation and paves the way to
the over/use of transliteration. Transliteration is the process of rendering the letters of one alphabet in the
letters of another with different alphabetical systems [5]. Nowadays, transliteration is mainly from the Latin
alphabets into Arabic alphabets, due to the fact that Arabic has almost become a receptor language. Also, it is
obvious that Indo-European languages (mainly English and French) have been for the last two centuries the
main sources from which Arabic draws its new scientific and technical terminology [6]. Therefore,
transliteration plays its role in the translation process especially when it is used in scientific and technical
terms, mathematical symbols, trademarks and proper names.
However, unlike English, standardized transliteration and transcription systems are still not wellestablished in Arabic. This problem can be attributed to the impact of foreign languages, mainly English and
French, on Modern Standard Arabic (the written Lingua Franca). This is because the colonial language was
an agent of 'modernization' or 'westernization', and it made for a kind of ambivalence or even split
personality, individually and collectively [7]. That is to say, the Arab world is divided into two main blocks;
one occupied by Britain and the other by France and despite the departure of the English and French
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colonialists, the influence of their languages still exists in most of their past colonies. These languages and
others, like Italian and Turkish penetrated into Arabic and have affected the pronunciation of some
transliterated terms especially those that have either French or English origins, i.e. when English and French
terms do not have Latin or Greek roots in common, their transliteration is bound to produce different
equivalents. The following are good examples of the effect of this factor on the rendition of terms into
Arabic:
English term
Arabic term
French term
Arabic term
Billionaire
bilyunīr
Milliardire
milyardīr
Mobile phone
mubile
cellular
sililūr
Nitrogen
naytrujīn
Azote
azut
AIDS
iydz
Sida
sīdā
August
aghusTus
Aout
'ūtt
Another aspect of inconsistency is the diversity of orthographic rendition of some technical and nontechnical borrowing because standardized transliteration and transcription systems still do not exist in Arabic.
These differences are illustrated by the following instances:
Hydrogen
haydrujīn
hāydrugīn
dīmūqrāTiyah
Democracy
dīmuqraTiyah
Biology
bayuluji
bāyulūjī
atlas
Atlas
aTlas
Geography
jughrāfiyah
jughrāfiyā
As it can be seen, transliteration in Arabic lacks standardization (unified terms). Nevertheless, it
should be added that transliteration is another option when an equivalent term is lacking in the target
language and the translator should only resort to transliteration after making sure that the source
language term has no exact, acceptable and concise Arabic equivalent.
2. Methods of Creating and Introducing New Terms in Arabic
Before the end of the first Islamic century, the Arabs had already expanded the area of their empire
outside the Arab peninsula to include the major centers of civilizations of the time. This, of course, meant
new challenges to their language as it had to compete with well-established languages such as Greek and
Persian. During this time which was referred to as the golden age, Arab scholars and scientists came into
contact with these languages through translation as they were rendering medical, scientific and technical
books from Greek and Latin into Arabic. As a result, new expressions and new technical terms started to
penetrate the language because of the transference of these sciences. This phenomenon had made it
necessary for Arab grammarians and philologists to create and introduce new methods in order to face the
challenge of foreign terms, d neologisms and to protect the purity of the language. The main methods are: (i)
derivation al-ishtiqāq; (ii) Arabicization al-taCrīb and (iii) blending al-naHt which can also be referred to as
(compounding and coining). In the following discussion, we shall look into their contribution in introducing
and creating new terminology in Arabic. It remains to be mentioned that these methods were developed by
early Arab scholars and grammarians in order to customize these new terms to suit the properties of Arabic.
2.1. Derivation
Derivation al-'ishtiqāq is a term used in morphology to refer to one of the two main categories or
processes of word formation (derivational morphology), the other being inflectional [8]. Basically, the result
of derivational process is a new word, for instance: nation (n.) and national (adj.) whereas inflectional
process results in a different form of the same word, for example: nation (noun) and nations (noun).
However, the lexical meaning of derivation in Arabic is to create a new word from another. That is to say, it
is the creation of new terms from word roots (radicals). Al-Marghani and Ibn Faris are among Arab scholars
who gave derivation special importance as one of the unique techniques employed to enrich Arabic
vocabulary with new neologisms and as an important method to improve Arabic vocabulary. Derivation from
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existing Arabic roots has always been considered the most natural way of growth for the language [9], it is
also described as a treasure as it is an inventive process for creating new terms in Arabic. Thus, Arabic is
always looked upon as the language of derivation al-ishtiqāq [10]. Arabic philology distinguishes three main
forms of derivation: (i) simple derivation al-ishtiqāq al-Saghīr; (ii) wider derivation (metathesis) al-ishtiqāq
al-kabīr [9]. Metathesis involves a change in the position of the root consonants and the retention of the
original meaning. However, in the following discussion we shall deal with the first form (simple derivation)
as it is the most practical method of creating new terms in Arabic. In addition, a relatively new form of
derivation well be introduced which is circumlocution/paraphrasing al-ishtiqāq bil-tarjamah as one of the
methods of producing numerous terms since the first Abbasid period.
2.1.1. Simple Derivation
Simple derivation al-ishtiqāq al-Saghīr was used extensively during the Abbasid period for creating
new vocabulary in the fields of philosophy, science and technology. This method is the most practical
process in creating new terms which has been used throughout the history of language. In this process, the
radical consonants are not altered but are derived from and built upon. The roots of an Arabic word are
traditionally represented by the three consonants, fā',(f) Cayn (C)and lām (l) (f- C -l) according to the
morphological pattern al-mizān al-Sarfī. The simplest way of derivation is that all words share the same
trilateral root of the verb faCala (literally: did) and they only vary in additional letters that function as
morphemic indicators, for instance from the radicals (D-r-b) we can derive the following forms:
Darb (beat) (n.)
maDrib (place (n.)
miDrab (bat) Dārib (hitter)
maDrūb
(beaten).
The derived forms of the trilateral verb are usually fifteen but the last three forms are rarely used:
ix
ifaCalla
i
faCala
ii
faCCala
x
istafCala
C
xi
ifāCalla
iii
fā ala
C
xii
ifCawCala
iv
fā ala
C
v
afa ala
xiii
ifCawwla
vi
tafāCala
xiv
ifCanlala
C
vii
infa ala
xv
ifCanlā
C
Viii
ifta ala
[11].
Despite the fact that derivation should be made from verbal root only according to the classical rules, a
new type of derivation was added to the existing one during medieval times. This kind is based on derivation
from abstract nouns by adding a final suffix like āniyah or iyah in order to coin a new word. Consider the
following examples:
qur'āniyah
(Quranic)
from
qurā'n
(Qur'an)
(budget)
from
mīzān
(scale)
mizāniyah
mas'ūliyah
(responsibility)
from
mas'ūl,
(responsible)
(spirituality)
from
rūH
(spirit).
ruHāniyah
Many primary concrete nouns, however, are contrary to the rule put forward by Arabic philology which
indicated that the criterion of al-qiyās (analogy) should not be allowed to be applied from nominal roots.
This is because some of these derivational patterns described by some early Arab scholars as rather limited
and not always applicable to the modern language. Accordingly, patterns alone cannot cope with the radical
changes in the grammatical features that Arabic has experienced at the present time. Certain measures have
been taken by way of prompting and encouraging certain evolutionary features, thus aiming at stepping up
the process of creating new vocabulary. However, derivation from concrete nouns was immediately rejected
in the past and it is hard to find noun-based derivations [6]. At present noun derivation is used widely
because it is considered as one of the practical ways of creating new terms in Arabic. For instance, from the
following nouns we can derive these verbs:
asad (lion)
ista'sada
(to be brave like a lion)
Salb (solid)
Sallaba
(to solidify)
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ward
sijil
(flowers)
(record)
tawarrada
sajjala
(to turn red with embarrassment)
(to write down)
In this respect, the Arabic academy in Cairo has established some nominal templates alqawalib alismiyyah to be used analogically for neologisms. Some instances are given as follows:
The template fiCālah should be used for creating professions or type of activity, such as tijārah
(trading), TibāCah (printing), Cimārah (art of building) and SināCah (industry).
y The template faClān should be used for terms denoting movement or emotion, like Tayarān
(aviation), hayajān (fury); ghalayān (boiling) and ghathayān (nausea).
y The form fuCāl should be applied for terms expressing illness, such as zukām (cough), juthām
(leprosy) and nukāf (parotitis).
y The template faCCāl is to be used in deriving terms that denoting profession or characterize
habitual activities, like jarrāH (surgeon), Tayyār (pilot), sawwāq (driver) and baHHār (sailor)
[12].
y Other useful templates to be used in denoting machine names such as maf Cal like maCmal
(factory), mif Calh like misbaghah (dye house) and mif Cāl like mithqāhb (drill).
It is notable that this type of derivation is broadly used in other languages such as English especially in
creating new scientific and technical terminology such as
Computer
computerize
Volcano
vulcanize
Standard
standardize
Hydrogen
hydrogenise
Television
televise
y
The verb Enthuse is also derived instead of the phrase to be enthusiastic or to be excited. Proper nouns
are also been sometimes used for similar purposes e.g. from the noun Pasteur the verb pasteurize is derived.
The proper name Boycott is used as a verb in English to avoid the long phrase to refuse to take part.
2.1.2. Circumlocution
Circumlocution al-ishtiqāq bil- tarjamah is a method of introducing new terms into Arabic by giving the
meaning of the foreign term. It is a universal phenomenon in natural languages covering all aspects of
vocabulary [13]. This approach is also called in Arabic al-ishtiqāq al-maCnawī. (literally: derivation of
meaning). This method which was one of the methods of producing numerous terms since the first Abbasid
period has been formally recognized by Arab academies. This recognition comes as a result of the abundance
of foreign terminology especially compound neologisms where conventional attempts to reduce them to oneword terms have failed, for instance the word ideal is translated as al-mathal al-aClā. Sometimes an English
word is translated into Arabic through a whole statement, for example the term burglar is rendered according
to Oxford English-Arabic dictionary as liS yasTu Cala al-manāzil laylan (a thief breaks into houses during
the night). Similarly the following examples are also approved by the academies:
Cartoon
rusūm mutaHarrikah
Brakes
makābiH al-Harakah
Video
jihāz tasjīl mar'ī
Microphone
mukabbir al-Sawt
Despite the fact that circumlocution is used to solve the problem of composite neologisms, it has also led
to the problem of dualism of terminology in Arabic. This is because the translator or the neologizer is not
bound by any rules while translating foreign terms. Many composite Arabic terms have variants or are not
sufficiently current in their literary usage. for example: the phrase conditioned reflex is translated into Arabic
sometimes as aI-inCikās al-sharTī and sometimes as al-inCikās alZarfī [9]. In summary, it has been observed
from the discussion above that circumlocution, unlike other methods, seems to be less adequate and leads to
the multiplicity of terms due to the following:
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y
y
It produces longer terms than the original.
It is usually a phrase and not a word that presents syntactic problems. In addition, translation of these
neologisms often deviates from their real functional meaning.
y Some translators invent their own arbitrary translation which does not go with the Arabic molds and
rules.
y Arab academies as well as some other prominent translators are influenced by different foreign
cultures (English and French) which result in different translated terms. Therefore, the Arab
academies should take into consideration the following factors in translating foreign terms:
y They should consider the social use of language because people usually prefer easily
pronounceable terms to difficult ones.
y Compound terms with difficult structures should be avoided. Short terms are more preferable than
long ones. Although there is Arabic equivalents to the English prepositions, on and off which are
tashghīl and iyqāf many people are reluctant to use the Arabic versions and still prefer to use the
English terms because they are shorter and easier to pronounce. In medical sphere, people still
prefer to use the transliterated English acronym AIDS rather than its Arabic counterpart maraD
naqS al-manāCah al-muktasab.
y If the old Arabic term is suitable there is no need to be replaced with another new one as people
are already familiar with the old term. For instance, the term car has an old term as sayyārah
which indeed, is more preferred than the new ones rakūbah and/or Markūb (vehicle).
In short, it is agreed that coining of new vocabulary through the realm of derivation should proceed
according to three principles: (i) actual derivation from existing roots; (ii) derivation through the revival of
archaic words to mean new concepts and (iii) coining neologisms through the paraphrasing of foreign terms.
It is clear that noun derivation is broader than verbal derivation. In practice, however, verbal derivations may
constitute between 10 and 25 percent of a given root [9]. Theoretically speaking, verbal derivation is
confined to the standard fifteen trilateral root forms which give a small percentage of derived words from
verbs, the rest fall into the category of the Arabic noun.
2.2. Arabicization
In this domain we are confused with two English terms refer to al-taCrīb: arbicization and arabization.
Although some researchers use them interchangeably, the former is more appropriate due to the fact that it
refers to Arabic whereas the latter refers to the Arab people. Arabicization by definition is the adaptation of
non-Arabic terms to Arabic by applying the rules of the phonological and sometimes morphological systems
of the language to the terms. It is also one of the most important factors which contributed to the rapid
modernization of the Arabic language was the assimilation of vocabulary of foreign origin [9]. Arabicization
is looked upon as an adopted method for introducing new terms into Arabic, i.e. it is the process of
translating foreign terms using Arabic forms. For instance:
Philosophy
falsafah
Drachma
dirham
Asphalt
isfalt
Translation of foreign works into Arabic is not a new phenomenon in the Arab world, it goes back in
antiquity to the period extending from the beginning of the eighth century up to the end of ninth century.
There were two famous schools of translation. The first was in Baghdad school and the second one was
established in Muslim Spain where interest in collecting translated works continued unabated. Arabicization
comes as a result to revive Arabic in order to assume its position as the medium of administration, education
and cultural activities. Among the methods of lexical expansion by Modern Standard Arabic is the one
traditionally known by the name of al-taCrīb (Arabicization) [6]. For some Arab scholars arabicization is
considered to be the most appropriate technique in creating and introducing foreign neologisms in Arabic
and it. can fulfill the following objectives: (i) to preserve the purity of Arabic and considered as a means of
developing Arabic in terms of vocabulary; (ii) to standardize the scientific and technical terminology and (iii)
to revive the Arabic-Islamic cultural heritage [14].
However, arabicization is looked upon from different angles: Anti-arabicization scholars claim that
arabicization may dilute the language with foreign terms whereas for the pro-Arabicization, it is enrichment
to the language and as a means through which Arabic can regain its pioneer role in the modern world of
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today. This role can be procured by advocating Standard Arabic as a medium of instruction and research in
higher institutions. Arab scholars have set certain rules in order to find out whether the term is either
Arabicized or of Arabic origin. The criteria are summarized as follows:
y
If the term is originally Arabic it should follow the Arabic morphological pattern. For instance the
foreign term birsīm (fodder) does not follow the Arabic morphological pattern as it is not sharing the
same Arabic trilateral root. Therefore, it is considered a foreign term lafZ aCjamī.
y Arabic terms should follow Arabic phonotactics; the following are considered non-Arabic: Arabic
terms do not start with the letter (n) followed by the letter (the letter r) as in the female names: narjis
and nirmīn which are borrowed nouns.
Arabic terms should not end with the letter (d) followed by the letter,) (z) as in muhandiz. This term
should be written as muhandis (engineer) because the letter (d) is followed by the letter (s)
y Arabic terms should not be derived from the following morphological forms:
fuCalān
as in khurasān
(a city in Iran)
C
fā īl
as in hābīl
(Abel)
faCāwīl
as in banāTil
(trousers)
faCalān
as in salmān
(male name)
However, such terms will remain Arabic words as long as they used the roots of their derivation, and as
long as they are derived according to the patterns of the Arabs.
In compliance with what we have seen above, the process of Arabicization has to undergo certain
changes in order to suit the Arabic phonotactics and graphological rules. This is also called naturalization
which is the process of subjection of the foreign term to the Arabic phonological and grammatical systems.
For instance, the noun oxide uksīd can be applied to Arabic morphological rules so we can derive the
following: yu'aksid (oxidize), ta'aksada (oxidation/oxidization), mu'aksad (oxidated/oxidized) and mu'aksid
(oxidant/oxidizer)
2.3. Blending
More often than not Arab as well as non-Arab writers use the term 'compounding' to refer to a wordformational process traditionally known in Arabic by the name of al-naHt [6]. Blending is a term widely
used in descriptive linguistic studies to refer to a linguistic unit which is composed of elements that function
independently in other circumstances [8]. It is the merger of two words into one to mean a new concept. For
instance: electromagnetic kahrumaghnāTisī is coined from two words electric kahrabāī' and magnetic
maghnaTisī.
There is some disagreement between Arab linguists as to the exact meaning of blending. For some, it
must involve contraction and is therefore analogous to the English term blending whereas others use it to
refer to straight forward compounding. In fact, blending is not a phenomenon peculiar to Arabic only but
also to other languages such as English from which we extract the following: compound noun such as
walking stick, keyhole, teatime, bedroom, rainfall and washing machine as well as compound verbs as come
in, check out and so on. Furthermore, The term compounding or compound may be accurately applied to
blending or mixed compounding which in Arabic is referred to as almurakkab al-majzī.. Jesperson gives
some examples in English [6]:
blunt
blind + stunt
origin unknown
glaze
glare + gaze
(coined by Shakespeare)
from glass
slide
slip + glide
from Anglo-Saxon slidan
We may add: brunch from (breakfast + lunch), smog from (smoke + fog), and motel from (motor + hotel).
On the other hand, blending is seen as only the emergence of two words to form a word with a new
meaning, for instance, biology bayuluji which comes from two Greek words bios meaning life and logos
meaning science. Another word geography jughrafiyā derives from the Greek words ge meaning the earth
and graphei meaning to write. Moreover, the Arab scholar Farihah opposed the idea of blending or as it is
known al-murakkab al-majzī in Arabic. His argument is that if any of the original letters of a word have been
dropped, its meaning will be completely violated. He maintains that despite the fact that there are some
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useful words which are created by blending such as the famous Arabic term barma'ī (amphibious) which is
coined from barr (land) and ma' (water)., we may not benefit from this linguistic phenomenon in Arabic [12].
Al-Maghribi gives special consideration to al-naHt to the extent that he regarded it as a form of
derivation. However, it can be said that blending cannot be a form of derivation because in the process of
derivation a new word is derived from another word whereas blending is to derive a new word out of two
words or more. He divides blending into four classes: (i) verbal blending al-naHt al-fiCli; (ii) adjectival
blending al-naHt al-waSfī; (iii) nominal blending al-naHt al-ismī; (vi) reference blending al-naHt al-nasabī.
[15].
First, verbal Blending is the formation of a verb representing a group of words that can be either nominal
or verbal sentences. Consider the following verse from the Holy Qur'an: {wa iTHā alqubūr burthirat} (30/4)
(ِA
ِ nd when the Graves are turned upside down;). Here, the verb baCthara (turned upside down) is coined
from the verbs baCatha (resurrected) and uthīra (stir the dust). Other examples such as Hawqala from lā
Hawla wa lā quwwata illa bil-lāh. (There is neither might nor strength save in Allah); sabHala as to say (We
praise almighty Allah) and basmalah as bismi al-lāh al-raHmān al-raHīm (In the Name of Allah, Most
Beneficent, Most Merciful).
Second, adjectival blending is the formation of an adjective out of two words. These words may
complete each other, providing the desired connotation or emphasis. Consider the following examples:
Sildam (strong hoofed) is composed of Sald (hard) and Sadam (striking); DabTara (strong man) is coined
from DabaTa (to control) and Dabara (tall and strong well built person.
Third nominal Blending consists of the formation of a noun out of two mutually complementing words,
for instance: julmūd (big rock) is composed of Jaluda (to become strong) and jamuda (to become solid);
shaqHaTab (a ram with long horns) is coined from shaqqa (cut) and HaTab (wood).
Fourth, reference Blending is the relation of someone or something to disparate places, schools, and so
forth, for instance: al-shafCantī is a person belonging to the al-shāfiCiyah school and Hanfantī is a person
belonging to the abu-Hanifah school. These two schools represent slightly different Islamic doctrines.
2.3.1. The Applicability of Blending in Creating Arabic Terms
With regard to the possibilities of blending in the present state of the language it can be applicable in the
sphere of modern terminology. Some Arab scholars see blending as a useful device that should be employed
not only in the field of science and technology but also for the language in general. Arabic can exploit this
method to form compound words by means of prefixes [15]. For instance the practical negative device la (no)
is used as a prefix to form useful Arabic terminology. It does similar function to that of such English
negative prefixes as: a-, ir-, de-, in-, non-, un-, anti-, etc and the suffix less.
lā-akhllāqī
(Amoral)
lā-dinī
(Irreligious)
lā-markaziyah
(Decentralization)
lā-silkī
(Wireless)
lā -fikriyyah
(thoughtlessness)
It is worth noting, that formation such as these may also be used with the definite article al (the) as in all lāwaCī (unconsciousness) and al-l lāshuCubiyyah (anti-Arabism). Similarly, the word ghibb (after) can
replace the English suffix post as in ghibmadrasī or ghibmadrasa (post-school) and ghibjalīdī or ghibjalīd
(postglacial). The English prefix pre can be replaced by the Arabic prefix qab from the word qabla (before).
Thus, we should obtain qabtārīkhī or qabtārīkh instead of māqabla al-tārīkh (prehistory) and qabis1ām
instead of māqabla al-'islām (pre-Islamic) [15]. On the whole, it is interesting and indicative to note that
some of these words which are created by blending or as it is called al-manHūt (the coined term) is generally
accepted among Arab speakers despite the fact that there are almost no certain rules governing the process
of blending.
It can be said that blending can help in creating new terms in Arabic because it also has a wide range of
usage to express different concepts. One of these concepts is to create Arabic acronyms. In this respect,
Standard Arabic benefits from the recent attempts to use some Arabic letters to replace their items. In recent
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years blending has produced the Arabic modified acronyms. It is used for creating new Arabic terms, names
of establishments and bodies such as:
istamataCa which stands for (listen) and (enjoy), Hamās which stands for Harakah musalaHa
islāmiyah Armed Islamic Movement (HAMAS) and wafā which stands for wakālat al-Anbā' alfilisTiniyah (Palestinian News Agency).
It remains to be added that despite all examples given above derivation remains the least effective
technique in creating new terminology in Arabic. This seems to be attributable to three main reasons: first,
the nature of Arabic itself which has fixed rules and patterns that cannot be altered or ignored easily for the
sake of this process. Second, blending, unlike other techniques, is not used exhaustively in Arabic because
there are no agreed upon rules to govern its process. Third, Arabic, as we stated earlier, is looked upon as the
language of derivation therefore, in some instances, it does not accept new words that are coined by the
process of blending as they seem to be awkward and ambiguous due to the fact that most of the words which
created by blending do not follow the pattern of the trilateral root.
3. Conclusion
As it transpires, the problem of terminology is compounded in Arabic due to the lack of standardization
which springs from the different varieties of Arabic (classical Arabic, modern standard Arabic, Arabic
vernacular) because such varieties have made the phonological connection between the foreign term and its
Arabic equivalent confused in newly-coined Arabic term. As a result, the semantic connection is sometimes
also lost as the relationship between the foreign term to which Arabic speakers are already exposed to and
the newly-coined equivalent is not readily obvious.
It is axiomatic that derivation has played its role in dealing with the creation of Arabic terms. This
method is the most natural and practical one in Arabic because the applicability of derivation comes as a
result of the recent technological developments which have taken place in the Arab World. A need has arisen
for the transfer of technical concepts into Arabic in many fields. However, derivation might be seen a less
attractive option owing to the lack of coordination among Arab neologizers and academicians which has led
to the abundance synonymous terms.
Arabicization has also has served Arabic as one of the most practical method of creating Arabic
neologisms and terminology since the beginning of the nineteenth century when the role of Arabic as a
transmitter language began to decline. Arabicization is more effective in handling new technical and
scientific terms than both derivation and blending. This is because it can deal with a mono-morphemic word
by applying certain rules whereas in a compound morpheme it seems to be difficult to apply the same rules.
For instance, we cannot derive an Arabic equivalent with a single word for the following terms: interdialogue, sociolinguistics, intercontinental, centrifuge and so forth. In addition, arabicization is more flexible
and less obstructed by the Arabic morphological patterns and templates.
Blending can also play its role effectively in handling foreign affixation and as a useful device for
abbreviating long-winded Arabic terms, but the Cairo based Arabic Academy have put forward some
restrictions to be followed during the process of blending: firstly, it must be used only for scientific necessity
lilDarūrah al-Cilmiyah and secondly it must be coined according to Arab taste al-dhawq al-Carabī.
Nevertheless, the process of blending is less productive than the other two methods due to the fact that it has
not been described by the Arab grammarians as a customary method of forming new terms. Furthermore,
there has been no direct statement by Arab philologists as to the acceptability of blending as a productive
method of enriching the language with new terms.
Finally, most of the Arab linguists regard these methods as written in tablets of stone, immune from any
further modification. This attitude seems to be superficial and narrow because language is not only an
emblem of heritage but also a sociological organism whose growth and evolution are analogous to the
growth and evolution a people or nation [9]. In modern times we find, among the first tasks of the Arabic
academies, the attempt to investigate the theoretical basis of the classical attitude to this problem by
revitalizing the static rules in order to offer Arabic extra flexibility to become more practical and more
functional.
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4. References
[1] R. Elmrab, Linguistic and Cultural Boundaries in English-Arabic-English Translation. Conference Proceedings
Travelling Languages: Culture, Communication and Translation in a Mobile World. Leeds: Waterstones 2011.
[2] W. Wilss, The Science of Translation, Problems and Methods. Stuttgart: Gunter Tubingen, 1982.
[3] M. Baker, K. Malmkjær, Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. London: Routledge, 2001.
[4] P. Newmark, A Text Book of Translation. London: Prentice Hall, 1988.
[5] I. Pinchuck, Scientific and Technical Translation. London: Andre Deutsch Limited, 1977.
[6] A. Ali, A Linguistic Study of the Development of Scientific Vocabulary in Standard Arabic, .London: Kegan Paul,
1987.
[7] C. Ferguson, Come Forth With a Surah Like It: Arabic as a Measure of Arab
Society. In: M. Eid (ed),
Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics 1. Amsterdam: John Benjamin, 1990, pp. 39-51.
[8] D. Crystal. A dictionary of linguistics and phonetics. Cambridge: Blackwell. 1991.
[9] J. Stetkevych, The Modern Arabic Literary Language, Lexical and Stylistic Development. Chicago: Chicago
University Press, 1970.
[10] A. Farihah, nadhariyat fi al-lughah. Beirut: Dar Al-Kitab Al-lubnani, 1973.
[11] W. Wright, A Grammar of Modern Arabic, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
[12] A. Al-Hashirni, aI-qawaCid al-asasiyah fi al-lughah al-Carabiyyah. Beirut: dar al-kutub 1354 Hijra..
[13] M. Farghal, Arabic Euphemism in English Translation. IJAES, Vol. 6 2005, 57-70.
[14] H. Ghazala, Stylistic Translation English Arabic, FIT News Letter, 2005 XIV No 12 pp 7-38.
[15] S. Al-Husari fil-lughah wa al-adab wa Calaqatuhuma bil qawmiyyah. Beirut: Markaz Dirast al-wahdah alC
arabiyyah, 1985.
5. Arabic Transliteration System
Throughout the present work, the transliteration system has been consistently employed whenever an
Arabic expression is quoted. The following table explains the Arabic transliteration system for Arabic
consonants and vowels.
Arabic letters
Transliteration
Arabic letters
Transliteration
‫ا‬
a
‫ط‬
T
‫ء‬
'
‫ظ‬
Z
C
‫ب‬
b
‫ع‬
‫ت‬
t
‫غ‬
gh
‫ث‬
th
‫ف‬
f
‫ج‬
j
‫ق‬
q
‫ح‬
H
‫ك‬
k
‫خ‬
kh
‫ل‬
l
‫د‬
d
‫م‬
n
‫ذ‬
TH
‫ه‬
h
‫ر‬
r
‫و‬
w
‫ز‬
z
‫ي‬
y
‫س‬
s
‫ش‬
sh
‫ص‬
S
‫ض‬
D
Arabic short vowels
Long Vowels
_
a
‫ﺁ‬
ā
_____
_____
_
i
‫و‬
ū
u
‫ﻴ‬
ī
____‫و‬
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