British Society for Middle Eastern Studies

Arabic Loanwords in Ethiopian Semitic by Wolf LeslauReview by: Alan S. KayeBritish Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 22, No. 1/2 (1995), pp. 226-229Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/196026 .

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Reviews: Bibliography and Works of Reference Reviews: Bibliography and Works of Reference

where necessary compares them with Muslim Baghdadi and Jewish Baghdadi. It is interesting to note that two-consonant clusters in initial position occur frequently in Christian Baghdadi (CB)(35), a feature common in Maltese (Mal), e.g. CB kteb: Mal kt[b 'book', CB Isen: Mal Ismn 'tongue'; CB qlhb: Mal qlup 'hearts'. But the main feature in Christian Baghdadi is the unusual assimilation of the definite article /1/ (a) with uvular plosive /q/, velar plosive /k/, velar fricative /x/, labial nasal /m/, labial plosive /b/ and palatal fricative /y/ (35). In the morphology section (42-83) one notices a total absence of Form IV verbs and a straight structure built on two morphemic patterns in the mdid[, i.e. CaCaC and CoeCC. The syntax section (84-142) is exhaustive and presents a clear and succinct description of each part dealt with. 'The verbal sentence' (123-126) appears to be complex. One important point is the typical unmarked word order in Arabic dialects which is SV(O) order. But what happens if the subject has the higher degree of communicative dynamism in the sentence? Would the order still be SV or, perhaps, VS as with adverbial links, i.e. spatial, temporal, or modal expression serving as link, or clauses with indefinite subjects where the SV order could not work and VS order is obligatory? What about VOS order? Like Classical Arabic, Christian Baghdadi must have examples that contain a topic-link where emphasis is marked by the direct or indirect object preceding the subject, or impersonal verbs such as aSgab 'it was pleasing' or instances where the object may be followed by a relative clause in which the subject is pushed further out to the end of the sentence. Arabic dialects, though they have been described as having strongly unmarked SV order, should be re-examined through the principle of Functional Sentence Perspective which interferes with word order and the new (theme) and old (theme) information.

Abu-Haidar's study is rich with examples, generally descriptive but also occasionally analytical, comparing her data with other Iraqi varieties. There is a useful selective glossary of terms (some 540 lexemes) common to Christian Baghdadi, a large part of which is non-Arabic (184-200). A list of abbreviations would have been helpful. Totally lacking is an index of all the grammatical and syntactic terminology used throughout the book. I find Abu-Haidar's work an invaluable and authoritative research tool, while the general reader is given exhaustive clues for further study and reading.

UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS DIONISIUS A. AGIUS

ARABIC LOANWORDS IN ETHIOPIAN SEMITIC. By WOLF LESLAU. Wiesbaden, Harrossowitz, 1990. xvii, 373pp. DM98.-

This volume is a most welcome addition to the library of Arabists, or, for that matter, Islamists and general linguists of all theoretical persuasions. It reprints twelve of Leslau's previous studies on the general theme of Arabic loanwords. Among the various languages studied are Amharic, Ethiopia's national language, and Geez, its classical language, plus (Northern) Argobba (closely related to Amharic), Gurage (in essence, both a language and dialect cluster), and Harari (the language of the city of Harar, 350 miles east of Addis Ababa). Tigre and Tigrinya, spoken in northern Ethiopia, are also included. Many of these (classic) reprinted articles originally appeared in some of the field's leading periodicals, such as the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Journal of Semitic Studies, Arabica, Word, and various Festschriften as well (the latter for some of the twentieth century's leading Orientalists, such as Giorgio Levi della Vida, Oscar Lofgren and Maria Hofner).

This book has a new, nine-page introduction, especially prepared for this volume, which presents some ideas on much-needed future research in this intriguing field plus

where necessary compares them with Muslim Baghdadi and Jewish Baghdadi. It is interesting to note that two-consonant clusters in initial position occur frequently in Christian Baghdadi (CB)(35), a feature common in Maltese (Mal), e.g. CB kteb: Mal kt[b 'book', CB Isen: Mal Ismn 'tongue'; CB qlhb: Mal qlup 'hearts'. But the main feature in Christian Baghdadi is the unusual assimilation of the definite article /1/ (a) with uvular plosive /q/, velar plosive /k/, velar fricative /x/, labial nasal /m/, labial plosive /b/ and palatal fricative /y/ (35). In the morphology section (42-83) one notices a total absence of Form IV verbs and a straight structure built on two morphemic patterns in the mdid[, i.e. CaCaC and CoeCC. The syntax section (84-142) is exhaustive and presents a clear and succinct description of each part dealt with. 'The verbal sentence' (123-126) appears to be complex. One important point is the typical unmarked word order in Arabic dialects which is SV(O) order. But what happens if the subject has the higher degree of communicative dynamism in the sentence? Would the order still be SV or, perhaps, VS as with adverbial links, i.e. spatial, temporal, or modal expression serving as link, or clauses with indefinite subjects where the SV order could not work and VS order is obligatory? What about VOS order? Like Classical Arabic, Christian Baghdadi must have examples that contain a topic-link where emphasis is marked by the direct or indirect object preceding the subject, or impersonal verbs such as aSgab 'it was pleasing' or instances where the object may be followed by a relative clause in which the subject is pushed further out to the end of the sentence. Arabic dialects, though they have been described as having strongly unmarked SV order, should be re-examined through the principle of Functional Sentence Perspective which interferes with word order and the new (theme) and old (theme) information.

Abu-Haidar's study is rich with examples, generally descriptive but also occasionally analytical, comparing her data with other Iraqi varieties. There is a useful selective glossary of terms (some 540 lexemes) common to Christian Baghdadi, a large part of which is non-Arabic (184-200). A list of abbreviations would have been helpful. Totally lacking is an index of all the grammatical and syntactic terminology used throughout the book. I find Abu-Haidar's work an invaluable and authoritative research tool, while the general reader is given exhaustive clues for further study and reading.

UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS DIONISIUS A. AGIUS

ARABIC LOANWORDS IN ETHIOPIAN SEMITIC. By WOLF LESLAU. Wiesbaden, Harrossowitz, 1990. xvii, 373pp. DM98.-

This volume is a most welcome addition to the library of Arabists, or, for that matter, Islamists and general linguists of all theoretical persuasions. It reprints twelve of Leslau's previous studies on the general theme of Arabic loanwords. Among the various languages studied are Amharic, Ethiopia's national language, and Geez, its classical language, plus (Northern) Argobba (closely related to Amharic), Gurage (in essence, both a language and dialect cluster), and Harari (the language of the city of Harar, 350 miles east of Addis Ababa). Tigre and Tigrinya, spoken in northern Ethiopia, are also included. Many of these (classic) reprinted articles originally appeared in some of the field's leading periodicals, such as the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Journal of Semitic Studies, Arabica, Word, and various Festschriften as well (the latter for some of the twentieth century's leading Orientalists, such as Giorgio Levi della Vida, Oscar Lofgren and Maria Hofner).

This book has a new, nine-page introduction, especially prepared for this volume, which presents some ideas on much-needed future research in this intriguing field plus

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Reviews: Bibliography and Works of Reference

a summary of Leslau's past research accomplishments in the field of Arabic loanwords. One of these fascinating areas needing further investigation is the problem of the doublets, i.e. an Arabic loanword which means the same thing as a native Ethiopian word, such as kursi 'chair' (<Arabic kursi) = Amharic widmbidr. Leslau is correct to emphasize that 'special investigation would also be required to ascertain how many Arabic loanwords are familiar to speakers of Amharic who have no contact with Arabs or Muslims' (p.xvi). Of course, other languages which have borrowed Arabic vocabulary extensively have similar doublets, often in free variation. Persian qabl az 'before' (<Arabic qabla - qablu 'before'), for instance, is equivalent to pis az (cf. Tigre qdbal 'in front of' and Geez man qdblu 'formerly'). Both of the aforementioned Persian synonyms are used interchangeably by all speakers of the language. This linguistic situation is reminiscent of the situation in Turkish, Urdu, and other languages heavily indebted to Arabic for many of their lexical items.

Out of all the Ethio-Semitic tongues, it is Tigre which has most extensively borrowed from Arabic. Perhaps the major reason for this is the 'fervency' toward Islam among its speakers, although Leslau observes that 'Islam is more rooted in Harar than in any other region' (p.x). Some of the Arabic loanwords occurring in Tigre include verbs which are not even found in our best modern Arabic-English dictionary (Hans Wehr, A Dictionary of Modern Literary Arabic, edited by J. Milton Cowan, 1974). Leslau lists the following rarities: wadasa 'lie in ambush', zahifa 'blow', kasa'a 'drive to pasture', and kasaba 'twist a rope' (ibid.). As any Arabist will readily confess, Arabic vocabulary is truly 'infinite', requiring more than one lifetime for its study.

A problem which has long intrigued me in this intricate arena of linguistic borrowing concerns the diachrony of semantic change. For example, Arabic markab 'boat' has been borrowed as mdrkib in Geez, Tigrinya, Amharic, Harari and Gurage. This seems relatively uncomplicated and straightforward enough since Arabic markab also (and still) means 'ship; boat' with its feminine markaba meaning 'vehicle; carriage; cab'. Yet when one compares Turkish merkep 'donkey' (A.D. Alderson and F. iz, Thle Oxford Turkish-English Dictionary, 1984, p.336), one sees an older meaning (or nuance) preserved. This, in turn, is relatable to the basic meaning of the Arabic triconsonantal verbal root, rakiba 'ride an animal', also giving rikcdb, pi. rikdb&t, rukub, rakd?ib, 'riding camel; riding animal' (Wehr, op. cit., p.356). It is fascinating to compare not only what the very same Arabic etymon means in Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Malay, Swahili, Sindhi, Kashmiri, or Uighur, all of which have borrowed extensively from Arabic, but also to examine the differences within the Ethio-Semitic languages themselves. Consider as another example Arabic marjfin or murjdn (free variants) 'coral', which preserves this meaning in Tigrinya and Amharic; however, there is a semantic shift in Tigre 'chain of red beads' and Harari 'kind of ornament' (p.352). The Arabic marjidn has yielded Tigrinya miirjidn, whereas the u-form has yielded the u or e forms of the other languages: Amharic mnurjan, Harari mnurjdn, and Tigre mnarjan. (It is well known that Semitic short i and u have become schwa in Geez and elsewhere in Ethiopian Semitic.) Leslau only notes mnarjciin (ibid.); however, Wehr (op. cit., p.902) also lists tnurjdn. This situation is also reflected in Egyptian Colloquial Arabic murgdn - miargrdn 'coral'.

Although Leslau states that he uses Classical Arabic as the point of comparison with the various loanwords 'for the sake of convenience' (p.x), it seems clear that many loanwords derive ultimately from one colloquial Arabic dialect or another, occasionally through the intermediary of a Semitic or Cushitic Ethiopian language. As an illustration, consider that Gurage jEnez (also jinayC') 'corpse' looks as if it derives from an 7imidla- form of the Arabic pi. jand?7iz (p. 106), or that Geez widsc'iid 'pillow' comes from the spoken Arabic pl. wasdvyid, and not from the Classical Arabic wasd7?id. Further, it seems a reasonable hypothesis to conclude that Harari gcidrd 'fresh' does not derive from the Classical Arabic jadid (p. 122), but rather from Egyptian Colloquial Arabic gadld (or some such dialect in which lgl is the reflex of Arabic jim. Yet Leslau does point to the

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Classical Arabic borrowing badrun 'full moon' with the nominative tanwrn, appearing exactly as such in Amharic (p.xv and p.327). I do not know (nor does Leslau offer us an explanation) why this lexeme was borrowed with the very puzzling -un ending. It remains mysterious why the nominative indefinite was chosen rather than the commonly borrowed accusative indefinite -an. This word, as one might expect, shows up as badr (without any case ending) in Egyptian Colloquial Arabic.

As another illustration that different Arabic dialects must be postulated as the ultimate etyma for some of the loanwords discussed, consider that Arabic ?abadan 'never' remains unchanged in Harari ?abadan, whereas its pausal form (without -n) has, seemingly, netted Tigre ?abidd. Conceivably, it is also possible that Tigre has dropped the final nasal. Also, Tigre, Tigrinya, and Amharic niibit 'wine' cannot derive from Classical Arabic nabtO as postulated (p.353), but rather must derive from Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (or possibly another dialect) nib[t (<*nibTd with final consonant devoicing, common in other African Arabic dialects such as Nigerian [cf. Jonathan Owens, A Grammar of Nigerian Arabic, Wiesbaden, 1993, pp.21 ff.]), and Maltese niket (=Classical Arabic nakd) 'sorrow', kelb [kelp] (=Classical Arabic kalb) 'dog', or bieb [bI:p] (=Classical Arabic bab) 'door'. Similarly, Tigrinya and Amharic almaz 'diamond' < Colloquial Arabic ?almaz (cf. Egyptian) and not Classical ?almas (p.322). Tigre ?almas is difficult to account for, however, unless one assumes this is a direct borrowing from Classical Arabic. Yet why would Tigre and Tigrinya each borrow from different dialects? Or could Tigre have borrowed this directly from Persian almas 'diamond'? These sorts of abstruse problems require additional research.

On a rare occasion, one may quibble with the author regarding a few of the entries and/or their glosses. For example, Tigrinya naYnaS, Amharic na7na? is said to derive from Arabic naS-naX 'sweets', yet in Arabic this has the basic meaning 'mint'. Tigre ?ilahi (but Gurage and Harari alla, p.321) looks as if it derives from the Arabic indefinite ?ildh 'god' rather than ?allah (cf. Arabic ?ilahi 'divine'), as postulated (ibid.). Amharic kok 'peach', Tigrinya kux, is said to come from Arabic xux (p.xii), yet Wehr (op. cit., p.264) lists only xawx which corresponds to colloquial xox (say, Egyptian Colloquial). Further, Leslau (p.73) states that the Arabic xawx > Geez kok 'apple; prune'. Also, Harari arus (p. xiii), 'bridegroom' is said to derive from Arabic -arus, whereas the opposite is stated on p.326 (and it is the latter version which is, in fact correct, since both Arabic Sar/us and ~ar[s mean 'bridegroom').

We now turn to one substantive issue awaiting a solution regarding the entire matter of Arabic loanwords in various languages. Leslau himself is aware of the seriousness of the problem when he states 'a puzzling phenomenon is the feminine -at ... '

(p.xiv), as in Tigre and Tigrinya hag/it 'thing, matter' or Harari hulbat 'fenugreek'. The -t of the Arabic status constructus (?iddfa), absent in spoken Arabic dialects in a non-construct environment, is retained (but not consistently) in the various Ethio-Semitic languages, especially in Tigre. Leslau tries to explain this by stating: 'it is quite possible that the marker -at, which occurs in the original nouns of the various Ethiopian languages, is transferred to the loanwords' (pp.xiv-xv). However, this -at (or -at) is even more vexing as it also frequently and inconsistently shows up in the Arabic loanwords in Persian, Turkish, etc. Persian janat 'paradise', for example (< Arabic janna) must be compared with Amharic, Harari, and Tigrinyajdanndt and Gurage jeniet. Furthermore, Tigre haqiqat ~ hagigdt 'truth' (Harari haqlqa) (p.342), should be compared with Persian haqlqat and Turkish hakikat (all are < Arabic haqrqa). Some words may have originally, in fact, been borrowed with the -t because they were used in status constructus environments when they were initially borrowed. There is even the pair fotat 'cloth of white or blue cotton' andfota 'napkin', both from Arabic f/ta 'apron; napkin; towel' (pp. 12 and 335). As a final comparison, Tigre hormiit 'woman, wife' may be likened to Persian hurmat 'reverence, respect', both friom Arabic hurma, the status constructus of which is hurmat- 'reverence; woman, wife'. Then, too, we encounter in Leslau's data such enigmas as Geez 5amdt 'year' < Arabic 'a-m (p.77), in which the -ait seems to be there via analogy.

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Reviews: Bibliography and Works of Reference Reviews: Bibliography and Works of Reference

A final word on some technical matters is in order. Sometimes, one wishes the author had corrected the few misprints of the original published versions (e.g., their for there on p.28) making these valuable studies even more valuable; however, this would have involved the considerable expense of retypesetting. The newly prepared material has an occasional typographical error as well; yet the book remains highly readable, as nothing really interferes with intelligibility. The index of the individual languages (pp.240-320) plus the glossary of Arabic words (pp.320-373) make this tome user-friendly.

Summing up, then, we can say that any linguist interested in borrowing will find in this volume a treasure chest of interesting data, compiled, impeccably analysed, and carefully scrutinized by one of the most erudite Semitists working today. This genre of research is important, stimulating, and not apt to be outdated with the appearance of a new linguistic paradigm. Leslau's distinguished reputation is well deserved, as these studies conclusively demonstrate.

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, ALAN S. KAYE FULLERTON

THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA 1995. London, Europa Publications, 1994. xx, 1022pp. ?160.

The forty-first edition of this reference work remains head and shoulders above any possible competitors. The price tag in fact becomes almost cheap when one delves into the wealth of information the book offers. This information is both detailed and up-to- date, covering just about anything that one might want to seek information about. As usual, the 'General Survey' (pp.1-194) contains articles relating to the region as a whole, and dealing with the Arab-Israeli confrontation 1967-94 (including an extensive section of documents on the Palestine issue), religion, hydrocarbons and water, and Islamic banking and finance. Among other things, it also includes a useful section on calendars, time reckoning, weights and measures, and a selected but quite extensive bibliography. New this year is an article by George Joff6, 'Algeria: The Failure of Dialogue'. It seems peculiar, though, to place this here rather than under the section for Algeria; it also did not justify dropping the chapter on Islamic politics which had featured in previous editions.

Part two (pp. 195-249), an overview of regional organizations in the Middle East and North Africa, remains a particularly useful, comprehensive survey, not to be found anywhere else. It ranges from international organizations such as the UN and associated bodies, over the European Union, to pan-Arab ones such as the League of Arab States and the various Arab funds, and functional or regional bodies and groupings such as the GCC, OPEC and OAPEC. In all cases one is given the necessary historical information, along with organizational, financial and statistical detail, and a description of activities.

The country surveys in Part three (pp.251-2022) have retained their usual form, covering each country's physical and social geography, followed by sections on history (political and foreign affairs) and the economy; next comes the statistical survey with the latest available data, and the Directory, containing quick-reference information on the constitution, the government, political organizations, diplomatic representation, religion, the media, finance, trade and industry, transport, tourism, defence and education. A brief bibliography concludes each country survey.

The publishers have persisted, however, in their exclusion of Sudan from this volume. This is a pity, as the country and its politics are inextricably linked with the rest of the Arab world (and indeed Iran), and anyone wanting an all-in-one reference work on the region will probably look to it for information on Sudan as well. On a different point,

A final word on some technical matters is in order. Sometimes, one wishes the author had corrected the few misprints of the original published versions (e.g., their for there on p.28) making these valuable studies even more valuable; however, this would have involved the considerable expense of retypesetting. The newly prepared material has an occasional typographical error as well; yet the book remains highly readable, as nothing really interferes with intelligibility. The index of the individual languages (pp.240-320) plus the glossary of Arabic words (pp.320-373) make this tome user-friendly.

Summing up, then, we can say that any linguist interested in borrowing will find in this volume a treasure chest of interesting data, compiled, impeccably analysed, and carefully scrutinized by one of the most erudite Semitists working today. This genre of research is important, stimulating, and not apt to be outdated with the appearance of a new linguistic paradigm. Leslau's distinguished reputation is well deserved, as these studies conclusively demonstrate.

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, ALAN S. KAYE FULLERTON

THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA 1995. London, Europa Publications, 1994. xx, 1022pp. ?160.

The forty-first edition of this reference work remains head and shoulders above any possible competitors. The price tag in fact becomes almost cheap when one delves into the wealth of information the book offers. This information is both detailed and up-to- date, covering just about anything that one might want to seek information about. As usual, the 'General Survey' (pp.1-194) contains articles relating to the region as a whole, and dealing with the Arab-Israeli confrontation 1967-94 (including an extensive section of documents on the Palestine issue), religion, hydrocarbons and water, and Islamic banking and finance. Among other things, it also includes a useful section on calendars, time reckoning, weights and measures, and a selected but quite extensive bibliography. New this year is an article by George Joff6, 'Algeria: The Failure of Dialogue'. It seems peculiar, though, to place this here rather than under the section for Algeria; it also did not justify dropping the chapter on Islamic politics which had featured in previous editions.

Part two (pp. 195-249), an overview of regional organizations in the Middle East and North Africa, remains a particularly useful, comprehensive survey, not to be found anywhere else. It ranges from international organizations such as the UN and associated bodies, over the European Union, to pan-Arab ones such as the League of Arab States and the various Arab funds, and functional or regional bodies and groupings such as the GCC, OPEC and OAPEC. In all cases one is given the necessary historical information, along with organizational, financial and statistical detail, and a description of activities.

The country surveys in Part three (pp.251-2022) have retained their usual form, covering each country's physical and social geography, followed by sections on history (political and foreign affairs) and the economy; next comes the statistical survey with the latest available data, and the Directory, containing quick-reference information on the constitution, the government, political organizations, diplomatic representation, religion, the media, finance, trade and industry, transport, tourism, defence and education. A brief bibliography concludes each country survey.

The publishers have persisted, however, in their exclusion of Sudan from this volume. This is a pity, as the country and its politics are inextricably linked with the rest of the Arab world (and indeed Iran), and anyone wanting an all-in-one reference work on the region will probably look to it for information on Sudan as well. On a different point,

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