The origin of words in any language is interesting to study and Spanish words certainly have an interesting history. The fact that Spanish originated from Latin is one way to trace the origin of a large percentage of words. However, there is a small percentage of Greek origin, borrowed words from English (including the letters [k] and [w]), indigenous words from various Latin American countries and significant foreign lexicology content in Spanish is of Arabic origin which became official Spanish words long before any of the other foreign contributions.
Knowing the etymology (word origin) of certain words in Spanish justifies its phonetic sound, its grammatical category and irregularities and its relationship to other words in a sentence in Spanish. An essential part of studying Spanish is the study of its words and the Arabic influence was significant which dates back to when the Moors inhabited Spain (also referred to as
la invasi?n musulmana in some textbooks) for eight centuries. Of their numerous cultural contributions one was definitely its contribution to the Spanish language and some of the adopted words remained in original form for the most part.
Some may find it easier than others to recognize foreign words in Spanish but I would like to highlight a few aspects that I find interesting about words in Spanish that have been adopted from other languages. We have had discussions about Taino words in Dominican and Caribbean Spanish in addition to indigenous words that are inherent to Latin countries such Guatemala, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador just to name a few. However, we can't forget Arabic words that have been adopted into Spanish centuries ago (prior to all the other adoptions) that are so recognizable once you decipher certain trademarks of words of Arabic origin in Spanish.
Words of Arabic origin range from daily everyday words (that replaced Latin ones) to names of places (top?nimos) as well as last names. According to studies done many words of Arabic origin begin with [a] and the stress patterns (accentuation) don't always follow those of Latin origin. For example the stress on the very last syllable of a word that ends in a vowel. Words such as or 'ojal?', 'almor?' etc. exemplify this. These stress patterns are not characteristic of words of Latin origin.
I) Here is a sample list of words of Arabic origin that I find very interesting that are currently in my (and surely other people?s) everyday speech:
aceite/ aceituna/ adoqu?n/ alaj?/ alarde (I was surprised. I did not know that alarde was of Arabic origin) alb?ndiga / alc?ntara / alcaparra / alcohol / alfalfa / alfombra / ?lgebra / alicate/ almac?n/ alm?bar/ almohada/ alfaguara/ am?n/ albur/ at?n/ arrabal/ arroba/ ata?d/ auge/ aver?a/ azabache/ azafr?n/ azar/ azotea/ az?car/ azucena/ azulejo
I listed words beginning with [a] because there are many however, this list is by no means exhaustive.
One should not be surprised that these words of Arabic origin crossed continents are used and heard in the DR and Latin America still today. Key examples: azabache (which many may have believed was a Taino word), alc?ntara (which is a last name of many means puente),
guitarra, naranja- yes, even naranja is of Arabic origen and the list continues.
II.) Some trademarks of foreign words:
1) Words of Greek origin adopted in Spanish are masculine gender nouns. For example: 'el poema', 'el poeta', 'el programa', 'el clima' etc.
2) Words of Latin origin that are diseases or medical conditions are always feminine (usually ends in [is] or [es]). For example: 'la diabetes', 'la nefritis','la celulitis', 'la fibrosis' etc.
3) [k] and [w] are foreign letters that were adopted into the Spanish alphabet. All words in Spanish that have either of these letters are foreign words. If you browse through the dictionary you will see that there is not a long list of words for either letter.
4) Some words of Arabic origin are easily identifiable by the ending. For example: [che], [je], [ja], [jo] [ya] and an accented vowel on the last syllable.
This area of Spanish studies in my opinion is one of the most interesting to pursue because out from understanding the origin of words comes the understanding of many historical and cultural aspects and this study reveals how words transcend and evolve over time. I find it extremely interesting how some Arabic words remained in original form without any phonetic changes and are very much part of contemporary Spanish vocabulary still today.
-LDG.
