Many of the languages spoken today have similarities in some terms or expressions. This is due to the long history behind each country. In which we can witness the influence of one language on others. That is why today we will talk about the similar words in Arabic and Spanish.
A few centuries ago Spain was dominated by an invasion of Arabs who were dominating the territory, mainly the Iberian Peninsula. This led to a large number of Arabs arriving in the country and coming into contact with many Spaniards.
As a result of this, a series of Arabic expressions began to be used in Spain, which are still used today. According to various linguistic studies, there are approximately 4,000 terms of Arabic origin in the Spanish language. This is due, precisely, to the large number of years that the Arabs were in Spanish territory.
However, this is not the only reason why there are similarities between the two languages. It is also important to highlight the fact that each language takes words that originate from other languages. This is known as linguistic borrowings or foreignisms and is something that can be seen in any language.
Well, because of this, there are some similar terms that both Spanish and Arabic borrowed from other languages. In addition, of course, to the ones they took from each other. Hence, there are expressions that sound the same in Arabic and Spanish.
This is because, in most cases, when this happens, the pronunciation remains the same, but the spelling of the words is changed. This is a process of adaptation to the language that is borrowing the word to avoid confusion between the two languages.
Taking into consideration the reasons why this happens, it is time to talk about those words that are the same in Arabic and Spanish as far as their pronunciation is concerned. We will take care to explain which languages they came from in the first place.
- Blouse (in Arabic, bloosa): This is a word that comes from the French word blouse, which, at the same time, could have a Germanic origin.
- Trousers (Arabic, bantalon): This is a term that both Spanish and Arabic adopted from the French patanlon which at the same time was adopted from the Italian pantalone.
- Shirt (Arabic, kamis): This word referring to a garment is a term taken from the Latin camisia which is believed to have Celtic origins.
- Sugar (Arabic, sookar): The term in English was borrowed from Arabic. Within Arabic, it was borrowed from a Greek term that comes from Persian which was originally Sanskrit.
- Guitar (in Arabic, qithara): This is another term that, within Spanish, was borrowed from Arabic. Within Arabic, it was a term borrowed from Aramaic. Within Aramaic it was borrowed from the Greek khitára which originally referred to a zither.
- Oil (Arabic, zayt): In English the word oil comes from Arabic as well. In this case it was specifically taken from Hispanic Arabic.
- Alacrán (in Arabic, aqrab): The word alacrán in Spanish also has an Arabic origin. It is another of the many terms that Spanish has taken from this language.
- Hasta (in Arabic, hata): In Spanish, this term was taken from Arabic, which at the same time was taken from Latin.
- Music (in Arabic, moseka): This term was originally taken from the Latin musicus which comes from the Greek term mousikós.
As you can see, both languages have impressive similarities in terms. The influence of both languages on each other can be noticed quite clearly. Especially in the fact that the pronunciation remains exactly the same. So, in the same way that Arabs and Spaniards understood each other centuries ago, it is still possible today. To a lesser extent, but it can be done.
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