Maritime Terminology of the Saudi Arabian Red Sea Coast: A Lexical Semantic Study PDF
Preview Maritime Terminology of the Saudi Arabian Red Sea Coast: A Lexical Semantic Study
Muhammad Zafer Alhazmi Maritime Terminology of the Saudi Arabian Red Sea Coast ISLAMKUNDLICHE UNTERSUCHUNGEN • BAND 331 begründet von Klaus Schwarz herausgegeben von Gerd Winkelhane ISLAMKUNDLICHE UNTERSUCHUNGEN • BAND 331 Muhammad Zafer Alhazmi Maritime Terminology of the Saudi Arabian Red Sea Coast A Lexical Semantic Study Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliohek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the internet at http://dnb.dnb.de Cover: Baghla (ancient boat style) by Xavier Romero-Frias, CC by SA 3.0 www.klaus-schwarz-verlag.com All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. © 2016 by Klaus Schwarz Verlag GmbH Berlin First Edition Producer: J2P Berlin Printed in Germany on chlorine-free bleached paper ISBN 978-3-87997-455-9 To Professor Dionisius Agius Who inspired me to work on maritime life Abstract This book will analyse a sample of maritime terminology used along the Saudi Red Sea coast and attempt to understand why lexica are lacking in such terms; an issue which can be linked to the language change was a consequence of the interaction between Arabs and other ethnic com- munities since the advent of Islam. This change raised alarm among lex- icographers and linguists at the time of documenting the terminology, who set off on long journeys to collect the pure language. In their word collecting they selectively documented the language, ignoring a huge amount of spoken registers because their aim was to collect the classical form of Arabic in order to help Muslims gain a deeper understanding of the Qurʾān and Ḥadīth. This created gaps in Arabic lexicography, which lacks terminology for material culture. The information about maritime material cultural terminology in the mainstream lexica is disappointing. Although a few terms are listed, lex- icographers have failed to provide unambiguous definitions. This study demonstrates why a great number of such terms since the classical time period has not been listed in the available lexica, and what the factors are which led to this situation. Hence, this study is based on maritime terms extracted from informal meetings I had with mariners and fishermen on the Red Sea Saudi coast about their life at sea before the introduction of the engine to vessels. The collected terms are to be investigated against their presence in lexica both synchronically and diachronically. Understanding the meanings of such ignored terms is one of the most important puzzles and this study attempts to solve it by investigating the semantic links between words and the conceptual meanings of their roots following a hypothesis based on Ibn Fāris (d. 395/1004); which assumes that all terms derived from Arabic roots should share a general conceptu- al meaning. While in the absence of maritime terms in lexica a hypothes- is devised from Agius’s theoretical framework was applied to search such terms in literary and non-literary works, which assumed to be an altern- ative source to lexica and examine their occurrence in text and context by reconstructing their origin, function and use. 7 Acknowledgments First of all, I am grateful to Almighty Allāh for establishing me to achieve this stage. I also would like to express my deepest appreciation to my supervisor Dr. Dionisius Agius Al Qasimi Professor of Arabic Studies and Islamic Material Culture at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, who in- spired me to explore this novel area. He spared no effort in supervising my work since my first meeting with him, patiently and humbly. It is my pleasure to use this opportunity to express my thanks to sail- ors, fishermen and many other active members of the Saudi Red Sea com- munities. They were generous and cooperative during my fieldwork, of- fering valuable information, which constituted the core point of this re- search. I single out my wife Ghada with great appreciation and thanks for her unlimited support and sacrifice for the sake of achieving this research project. I also thank my father and my mother for their patience and sup- port. Finally, I would like to thank Ms. Jaime Robles for reading my thesis and making stylistic suggestions. 8 Table of Contents Abstract..............................................................................................................................7 Acknowledgments...........................................................................................................8 Table of contents..............................................................................................................9 List of figures, tables and maps..................................................................................11 Symbols............................................................................................................................12 Library of Congress Arabic Transliteration System.............................................12 Chapter 1: Introduction..........................................................................................13 Statement of the problem............................................................................................13 Research questions........................................................................................................14 Aims..................................................................................................................................14 Theoretical framework.................................................................................................15 Methodology...................................................................................................................18 Fieldwork ethnography................................................................................................18 Written sources..............................................................................................................20 Breakdown of the chapters.........................................................................................24 Chapter 2: Literature Review................................................................................26 Medieval works..............................................................................................................28 Early modern works.....................................................................................................34 Modern works................................................................................................................38 Historical-linguistic-cultural inquiry of maritime terms.....................................39 Chapter 3: Word-Collecting...................................................................................42 General aims of dictionary making...........................................................................44 Specific aims for compiling lexica.............................................................................45 Who were the targeted users?....................................................................................46 The lack of an etymological Arabic dictionary......................................................47 Early attempts at etymology.......................................................................................51 An etymological investigation...................................................................................57 Conclusion......................................................................................................................61 Chapter 4: Criteria for Word-Collecting..........................................................63 Criteria related to speakers.........................................................................................63 Criteria related to time.................................................................................................70 Criteria related to place or environment.................................................................72 Does Arabic belong to the Bedouins?......................................................................76 Classifying terms...........................................................................................................77 9 Words classified as dakhīl............................................................................................77 Words classified as muʿarrab......................................................................................79 Words classified as aʿjamī............................................................................................82 Words classified as muwallad/a or muḥdath/a.......................................................82 Words classified as maʿrūf...........................................................................................84 Conclusion......................................................................................................................86 Chapter 5: The Role of Arabic Moulds.............................................................87 Efforts of linguists and lexicographers to study Arabic moulds........................89 Classifying maritime and nautical terminology under linguistic moulds.......90 Chapter 6: Non-linguistic Factors that Shaped Lexicography................96 The shuʿūbiyya movement..........................................................................................96 The status of Arabic usage..........................................................................................97 Historical events............................................................................................................99 Chapter 7: Arabic Lexica.......................................................................................104 A thematic system.......................................................................................................104 The anagrammatical system.....................................................................................109 The rhyme system.......................................................................................................113 The alphabetical order...............................................................................................123 Conclusion....................................................................................................................135 Chapter 8: A Sample of Maritime Terminology Listed in Mainstream Lexica...............................................................................137 Chapter 9: Fieldwork Case Study......................................................................151 Boat types......................................................................................................................151 Ship parts.......................................................................................................................161 Ship equipment............................................................................................................172 Fishing equipment.......................................................................................................182 Chapter 10: Conclusions and Final Thoughts.............................................191 Appendix.....................................................................................................................204 Glossary of terms documented in the fieldwork.................................................204 Bibliography.................................................................................................................207 List of consulted informants.....................................................................................220 Index General...............................................................................................................221 Index Persons...............................................................................................................223 Index Places..................................................................................................................226 10
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