Semantic change of Hijab, Halal and Islamist from Arabic to English
This paper explores the interrelationship between culture, language and communication. English language has established a position for itself as a widely spoken language in the world in many aspects of people’s lives regardless of race, creed or religion. Many Islamic specific terms have been bor...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2021
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17316/1/45970-159451-1-PB.pdf http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17316/ https://ejournal.ukm.my/3l/issue/view/1407 |
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| Institution: | Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | This paper explores the interrelationship between culture, language and communication. English language has
established a position for itself as a widely spoken language in the world in many aspects of people’s lives
regardless of race, creed or religion. Many Islamic specific terms have been borrowed into English as a result of
continuous contact between Muslims and English-speaking communities. This study analyzes the semantic change
of three commonly used Islamic terms by English speakers in daily life: hijab, halal, Islamist, and their definitions
in English dictionaries. It aims to investigate their definitions and explore their associated meanings both in
dictionaries and language in use. The definitions of the terms were compared in two reliable English dictionaries,
Collins English Dictionary (CED) and Oxford Learner’s Dictionary (OLD). A well-known Arabic dictionary, Al
Mu‘jam Alwasıt Dictionary (AAD), was used for reference of the original Arabic meaning. The Intelligent Web
corpus (iWeb) was used to provide information on the use of the examined terms in daily language, and the words
they collocate with. The study adopts a semantic change framework for data analysis. Findings of the research
suggest that all three terms have undergone semantic changes, and their new meanings in English do not include
the extra levels of social and religious meanings as in the original Arabic language. In particular, the term
Islamist has developed negative connotations. Language in use has a strong influence on connotations associated
to culture-specific terms. |
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