THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN VOCABULARY IN ARABIC
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN VOCABULARY IN ARABIC

Summary/Abstract: The beginnings of Christian literature in Arabic and the use of Arabic in a liturgical setting go back to the early 8th century. During its history, the Arabic Christian vocabulary underwent several stages of formation. The earliest common Christian vocabulary was much influenced by Aramaic, which co-existed with Arabic in the region for centuries. In addition, different lexical peculiarities developed within the vocabulary specific for each Middle Eastern Christian community (Melkites, Copts, Jacobites, Nestorians, Maronites),reflecting their religious traditions and their cultural history. The Arabic Christian Orthodox vocabulary developed under the strong influence of Byzantine tradition. As the manuscript sources witness, in the 17th-18th centuries a large number of Church terms (especially from the liturgical domain) were Greek loanwords that circulated widely and were in common use among the Melkites. If compared with the contemporary texts, it can be observed that many original Greek terms became archaisms and were replaced with Arabic equivalents. At the same time, the majority of the terms used since the Ottoman epoch coincide with the contemporary variants. It can be concluded that the bulk of Arabic Christian Orthodox terminology was formed in the 17th century, in the period of the “Melkite Renaissance”.

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