The use of Arabisms in the poem “Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)” by Egemberdy Ermatov

Бюллетень науки и практики / Bulletin of Science and Practice

UDC 82-2                                          

The poem “Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)” was written by Egemberdy Ermatov and first published in 2001. It has been translated into Russian, Turkish, Uzbek and English so far. It has been reprinted several times in the Kyrgyz language. The author mentioned in one of his interviews that he studied a biography of the prophet Muhammad, historical development of Islam and its foundation on reliable sources for nine years and only after that he started writing his poem. It’s interesting to study the idiolect of the poet so this time Arabism used in the poem will be our concern. After gaining sovereignty, religious liberty was extended and people started practicing any religion they liked in the result they began using lots of Arabic expressions in everyday life. The main question is if an ordinary reader can understand everything described in the poem.

In the study descriptive method (to describe distinctive features of lacunas of activity) was used.

There can be no language that didn’t borrow any words from other languages as it was marked by Thomason “there is no evidence that any languages have developed in total isolation from other languages” [1].

This process was highlighted by Crystal “there is no such thing as “pure” language. All languages have always borrowed from other languages. And no language community has ever succeeded in stopping this process taking place” [2].

Language contact is defined as the “use of more than one language in the same place at the same time” [1].

Languages contact directly because of invasions and conquests in the result they influence each-other mutually. Languages contact indirectly as well due to which some changes happen in the language. Accordingly, in direct contact the speakers of one language turn up in the midst of speakers of another due to certain reasons such as invasion or immigration. The second type of language contact is labelled as indirect contact which is resulted from mediation of literature or nowadays thorough new technology such as TV, radio, internet, etc… [1].

Three main linguistic results of language contact such as “contact-induced language change, extreme language mixture (resulting in pidgins, creoles, and bilingual mixed languages), and language death” were identified by Thomason. And the most common specific type of influence -the borrowing of words will be our concern.

Borrowing has been defined by Arlotto as "the process by which one language or dialect takes and incorporates linguistic elements from another" [3].

Bloomfield defines linguistic borrowing as "the adoption of features which differ from those of the main tradition" [4].

The central idea in both these definitions is that "borrowing" is "the attempted reproduction of patterns previously found in another" [5].

Hockett expresses the same opinion as Haugen and warns us to use the term "borrowing" with some caution. Thus that which is "borrowed" does not have to be paid back, the donor makes no sacrifice and does not have to be asked for permission. Indeed, nothing changes hands: the donor goes on speaking as before, and only the borrower’s speech is altered [6].

Lehmann is very clear when he says "The vocabulary and grammatical patterns of a language can be separated into two categories : native elements which we can take back to the earliest known stages of a language and borrowed elements which were imported at same time from a different language" [7]

The period of introduction of Arabic words into the Kyrgyz language hasn’t been thoroughly studied, but the majority of scholars attribute Arabisms to the Kyrgyz language in the 16th century especially in the XIX and the beginning of the XX century. For example, B. Yunusaliev studied Arabisms and Iranianisms carrying out a comparative study of the languages closely related to the

Kyrgyz language and came up with the conclusion that Arabisms were introduced into the Kyrgyz language in the 12th-13th centuries, and perhaps later in the XIV-XV centuries [8]. Here his conclusion was based on academician V. V. Bartold's opinion that Kyrgyz people who came to Karategin in the winter of 1635-36 were not Muslims, and their tribal leaders accepted Islam later and borrowed words from Arabic and Iranian languages can be found in other Kyrgyz dialects and they might have been borrowed into the language of the northern Kyrgyz even later [8].

Indeed a Kazakh scientist, Chokan Valikhanov who came to the northern Kyrgyz region in the middle of the 19th century, noted that Arabic and Persian words can’t be found in the language of Bugu and Sarbagysh tribes, but there are old Turkic and Mongolian words.

According to some scientists, some of the Iranian words were borrowed directly but there wasn’t direct borrowing from Arabic. Since Kyrgyz people never had close relations with Arabic people, Arabic words were borrowed through Tajik, Uzbek, Uyghur and Tatar languages. The fact that every Arabic word found in the Kyrgyz language can be met in other Central Asian languages proves that. In addition, such words as amalköy, kadyrman, ilimpoz whose roots are Arabic but the suffixes of which - köy, -man, -ker, -kech, -dar, -poz belong to the Iranian language. It can be concluded that these words were borrowed in such ready forms through other languages. Thus, the influence of the Arabic language was less and the number of Arabisms was less compared to other Central Asian languages. For example, according to the information of Z. Akylbekova, 500 frequently used Arabisms in Uzbek and Uyghur languages are complete and there are 450 of them in the Karakalpak language, Turkmen, Kazakh and 400 in Kyrgyz languages, 15 in Altai, 12 in Tuva, Khakas only 10 are used in the language [9].

Approximately in VIII-X centuries when Arabs were dominant in Central Asia, Kyrgyz people didn’t inhabit in this territory. Moreover Arabic borrowings found in the Kyrgyz language can be met in other central Asian languages [10].

The poem “Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)” consists of 16 041 lines and 59093 words. It describes the whole life of the prophet, all historical events which happened during the establishment and spread of Islam religion. Kyrgyz-Russian dictionary of Arabisms compiled by K. K. Yudahin was published with the foreword of T. Abdiev in 2020. Overall 1100 words borrowed from Arabic were included. Out of 1100 words, 365 ones were used to narrate the story. The most frequently used Arabic words are Muslims which were used 193 times; mystery was repeated 157 times, Mecca 139 times while the word life can be seen 133 times.

In the poem nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs were used most of which are completely and partially assimilated that young learners acquire them as native words. Words related to every field such as literacy, education, culture, food, provisions, things and tools, flora and fauna and of course religion can be found in the poem. Let’s look at some examples:

Amanatka kyanattyk kylbagyn Azaptaba Kudai Taala kuldaryn.

Baldaryna tarbiya ber, bilim ber, Kӧzű acylyp bilsin aalam syrlaryn. [11]. Remember that death is inevitable.

Don’t cause suffering to others.

Educate your children so that they can Unlock the mysteries of the world [12].

Only in one quatrain we see 8 words borrowed from Arabic. Here we see such abstract nouns as Kudai – God, Taala – another word for God, amanat – safety, reliable storage, kyanattyk – misuse, abuse, tarbiya – education, upbringing, aalam – world, universe, syr – mystery, and from abstract noun azap – torment was derived verb. All these words kept their initial meanings.

Dӧӧlӧtűndű chachpa ashykcha maktanyp, Sharyatta jok jӧrӧlgӧnű atkaryp.

Ookatyndy kyla berbe ysyrap,

Kor bolosun bir kűn ӧzűn ach kalyp [11].

Learn to control your expenditure.

Don’t follow trends blindly.

If you look after your money, You will never go hungry [12].

In this quatrain 4 words borrowed from Arabic were used. Here the word dӧӧlӧt sounded davlat in Arabic with the meaning government changed its initial meaning and in Kyrgyz it means wealth. The word ookat with the meaning meal, food sounded like akvat in Arabic. As it entered into the Kyrgyz language orally, it changed phonetically. Sharyat is the body of canonical law based on the Koran that lays down certain duties and penalties for Muslims.

Ar bir űidӧ ayattaryn Kurandyn Űirӧnűshӧt daarat alyp ir aldyn. Sharyattyn erejesin jattashat, Ayirmasyn bilip alal, aramdyn [11] After performing their ablutions, They learnt the ayahs of the Quran By heart, and studied the sharia laws To differentiate between good and bad [12].

In these lines out of 6 words four of which are about religion. Kuran — Quran is a noble book, ayat — an ayah is a smallest unit of a Quran. Adal and its variety alal — something permitted and aram — something forbidden — adjectives were substantivised here.

Jashyrbastan bűdӧműk bűt oilorun, Sharijkattyn tataal, tuyuk joldorun. Tarikattyn chieleshken tűyűnűn, Marifattyn ӧtmӧ katar torlorun [11]. His mind was filled with disturbing thoughts. The twists and turns and complicated ways of sharia, Of purifying human soul, were wreathed in mystery; Posing as obstacles on the way to enlightenment [12].

From the whole poem only these three terms might not be clear to contemporary readers. Sharikat – sharing and participation, joint ownership, Tarikat — road, path or way - the Muslim spiritual way through direct knowledge of Allah and Marifat — knowledge acquired through experience. From the lines readers understand that here about laws and rules are spoken. These very words can’t be found in the dictionary by K. Karasaev.

Oo kalaiyk! Oo, musulman momundar!

Karyz alsan tӧlӧshűndű moiunga al.

Tanyp ketpe, Kudai turat tӧbӧndӧ, Bilip turat jada kalsa oiundu al [11]. Dear Muslims!

Always repay your debts.

Don’t ignore them, for the Lord above

Sees everything, including your thoughts [12].

In these lines we see that there are four words borrowed from Arabic, but our concern will be musulman was assimilated and shown in the dictionary as busurman , these two distinct words were derived from the same source but by different routes. Usage as musulman is the result of bilingualism i.e. the influence of Russian language.

From the examples introduced here it’s clear that the poem narrates not only the story of Islam religion and the life of the prophet but also shows the right way of this life. It calls the people to educate their children that they could learn the mysteries of this world and that they could differentiate between what is permitted and forbidden. To be true Muslims, apart from living according to the canonical law, first of all it’s necessary to be a good person, to understand the law of life and serve your people.

As the poem was addressed to the entire nation, unfamiliar terms that are awkward for readers weren’t used by the author. Sharia - fulfillment of the laws of Islam, tariqa - obedience, marifat -knowledge of God, haqiqat - complete comprehension of the truth which are considered to be the main steps may not be clear for ordinary readers. The presence of etymological doublets may be explained with the religious democracy after gaining sovereignty and bilingual influence.