Semantic Change of Hijab, Halal and Islamist from Arabic to English

Abstract

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.

Pembangunan Prototaip: Peluasan Makna Kata Pinjaman Bahasa Arab dalam Bahasa Melayu

“…Pada aras fonologi, Crawford (2009) menyatakan bahawa bahasa penerima akan menerima sesuatu kata tersebut tanpa melakukan perubahan sekiranya mempunyai kesamaan fonemik dengan bahasa sumber manakala sekiranya tidak ada, elemen ini akan digantikan dengan fonem yang sama dalam inventori bahasa penerima. Sementara itu, pada aras semantik, perubahan makna merujuk kepada adaptasi budaya bahasa penerima (Almarwaey & Ahmad, 2021;Hassan, 2016). Penyataan ini bermaksud bahawa budaya sebagai konteks dapat memberikan makna setempat yang khusus kepada sesuatu kata dengan menambahkan makna konotatif kepada makna denotatif kata yang berkenaan (Hassan, 2016;Liddicoat, 2009;).…”

Understanding urgent projects: unraveling meanings and management challenges

“…In the pursuit of comprehending the concept of "urgent", this part draws upon the Lexical Semantic Analysis (LSA) - (Almarwaey and Ahmad, 2021;Aslam and Chaman, 2020;Vanhove, 2008). It was chosen because no lexical semantic study explicitly addresses the word urgent, and the lack of a precise urgent project definition in the top scientific management literature, as observed by Zidane et al (2018).…”

“…It was chosen because no lexical semantic study explicitly addresses the word urgent, and the lack of a precise urgent project definition in the top scientific management literature, as observed by Zidane et al (2018). To address this void, the data analysis to the SRQ1 followed the method presented by Almarwaey and Ahmad (2021). We focused on the key aspect of the definition within Lexical-Semantic Analysis and its ability to explore the nuances of the term "urgent.…”

“…This investigation delves into their definitions of the words and explores their associated meanings in dictionaries and linguistic nuances (Almarwaey and Ahmad, 2021), despite theories of lexical decomposition assume that lexical meanings are complex (Engelberg, 2011). This analysis intends to fully understand the concept and pursuit go beyond boundaries of conventional dictionary interpretation attempting to bridge the gaps by aligning practical, conceptual, and theoretical perspectives.…”

“…By following these methods we aim to provide reliable insights into the concepts of "urgency" and "urgent projects," by examining the conceptual nuances of urgency and refining its definition to align with scientific perspective in the project management domain. As "urgent" is a common knowledge word and not a specific scientific concept, we specifically opted for LSA due to its inherent connection among language usage, individuals' worldviews, and attitudes (Almarwaey and Ahmad, 2021). Moreover, LSA offers fundamental principles (or conceptual truths) of what is urgent, a notion equally pertinent in the management domain.…”