HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
Nov. 24, 2005 Before the westward expansion of Rome, the Iberian peninsula had hosted Celts and Carthagininians, but around 218 BC Rome invaded and defeated the latter people, occupying Northern Spain. In the decades and centuries to come the Roman Empire would annex the entirety of the peninsula. Naturally, any words from Celtic languages or the Semitic Phoenician language of Carthage that were adopted by the Iberians during the Roman ascendancy there would have become part and parcel of Latin, which was the official language of the Roman Empire. Rome fell in 476 AD, and at that time Latin was the everyday language of the peoples of Spain and Portugal. Somewhat before the Roman fall, Visigoths invaded Spain. The Visigoths were a Germanic people speaking a Germanic language. Today’s Germanic languages—German, English, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Icelandic—share a common origin with the Gothic language of the new rulers of Spain, who would remain in power until the arrival of the Moors, in 711 AD. As a consequence of the Gothic presence in Spain, several Germanic words have entered the Spanish language. Most notable are the directions. Compare: Latin: Septentriones, Auster, Oriens, Occidens Spanish: Norte, Sur, Este, Oeste English: North, South, East, West The English-Spanish similarity is explained by the Visigothic invasion of Spain. Some other Germanic words in Spanish are: guerra—war; izar—to hoist; mástil—mast; espía—spy; Adolfo—Adolph; Rodolfo—Rudolph; guadaña—scythe; lastre—ballast. Such words would not have existed in Latin. Thus the Latin word for ‘war’ is ‘bellum’ rather than anything like ‘guerra’; Latin for ‘to hoist’ is ‘levare’ rather than ‘izare’. The Moorish presence in Spain brought a whole host of Arabic words into Spanish. Here is a fairly good list: aceite—oil; aceituna—olive; acequia—canal; acelga—chard; acicate—incentive; adobe—adobe; aduana—customs; ajedrez—chess; alacena—cupboard; alacrán—scorpion; albacora—albacore; albahaca—basil; albañil—mason; albatros—albatross; albérchiga—peach; albóndiga—meatball; alboroto—hubbub; alcalde—mayor; alcancía—piggy bank; alcanfor—camphor; alcaparra—caper; alcachofa—artichoke; alcalá—fortress; alcatraz—pelican; alcázar—fortress; alcoba—alcove; alcohol—alcohol; aldea—village; alfalfa—alfalfa; alférez—ensign; alfiler—pin; alfombra—rug; algarabía—hubbub; Algeciras—(city in Spain=the islands); algodón—cotton; algoritmo—algorithm; alguacil—justice of the peace; aljibe—cistern; almacén—store; almanaque—almanac; almíbar—syrup; almirante—admiral; almohada—pillow; alquiler—rent; alquimia—alchemy; arrabal—suburb; arrayán—myrtle; arrecife—reef; arroz--rice atalaya—watchtower; ataúd—coffin; atún—tuna; azafrán—saffron; azar—chance; azote—whip; azotea—flat roof; azúcar—sugar; azucena—lily; balde—bucket; baño—bath; barrio—neighborhood; berenjena—eggplant; café—coffee; calabaza—pumpkin; calabozo—dungeon; carcajada—guffaw; cenit—zenith; cero—zero; Cid—Spamish hero=Milord); cifra—code; cimitarra—scimitar; chaleco—vest; chisme—gossip; cumino—cumin; dados—dice; embarazo—pregnancy; Fulano—So-and-So; Gibraltar—(mountain in Spain=blacksmith’s mountain) Guadalajara—(cities in Spain and Mexico=Rock River) Guadalquivir—(river in Spain=Big River) harén—harem; hasta—spear; hazaña—exploit; hola—hello; imán—magnet; jabalí—boar; jaqueca—migraine; jarabe—syrup; jinete—horseman; jirafa—giraffe; lima—lime; limón—lemon; marfil—ivory; máscara—mask; momia—mummy; mono—monkey; naranja—orange; ojalá—hopefully; olé—hello; paraíso—paradise; quiosco—kiosk; rehén—hostage; rincón—corner; rubio—blonde; sandía—watermelon; sésamo—sesame; sorbete—sherbet; sultán—sultan; talco—talc; tamarindo—tamarind; tambor—drum; tarea—task; tarifa—tariff; taza—cup; toronja—grapefruit; valija—suitcase; zanahoria—carrot. Such words generally would not have existed in Latin. But there cases when a Latin word was adopted into Arabic, transformed somewhat, and then handed over to Spanish. One example would be the Spanish word ‘alcázar’ (fortress), from Arabic ‘al-qasr’ (the fortress), which in turn came from Latin ‘castrum’ (military camp). Strangely enough the suffix ‘-chester’ as in ‘Winchester’, ‘Dorchester’ and ‘Chichester’ has the same origin. Foreign words in Spanish often represented new goods or ideas for which the Latin of those times had no words. In other cases, foreign words supplanted Latin words or coexisted with them. So Spanish, between the fifth and tenth century, is basically an evolving Later Latin, in which many changes in vocabulary and grammar arose spontaneously, as they generally do in a cohesive nation community with a degree of isolation from other groups. To this evolving Latin was added an influx of Germanic and Arabic words. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
