LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 13:3 March 2013
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Copyright © 2012
M. S. Thirumalai
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The Arabic Origins of "Air and Fire" Terms in English, German, and French:
A Lexical Root Theory Approach

Zaidan Ali Jassem

Abstract

This paper investigates the Arabic origins of air and fire terms in English, (German, French, Latin, and Greek), using a lexical root theory approach. The data consists of about 140 common English words for air (80) and air (60) terms. The results show that all such words in Arabic and English, for example, are true cognates with the same or similar forms and meanings. However, their different forms are shown to be due to natural and plausible causes of phonetic, morphological and semantic change. For example, Latin and Greek aer, French air(e), English air, and Arabic air (iar, uiar) (also raiya in reverse) 'air' are identical cognates; Greek pyr, German Feuer, English fire (inferno) come from Arabic naar/noor 'fire, light' where /n/ became /f (p)/. This entails that Arabic and all these languages belong not only to the same family but also to the same language, contrary to traditional Comparative (Historical Linguistics) Method claims. This proves the adequacy of the lexical root theory for the present analysis according to which Arabic, English, German, French, Latin, and Greek are dialects of the same language with the first being the origin due to its lexical variety and multiplicity.

Keywords: air and fire words, Arabic, English, German, French, Greek, Latin, historical linguistics, lexical root theory

1. Introduction

The genetic relationship between Arabic, English, German, French, Latin, Greek and Sanskrit has been clearly and firmly established in several papers (Jassem 2012a-f, 2013a-d). In his seminal study of the numeral words from one to trillion in Arabic, English, German, French, Latin, Greek and Sanskrit, Jassem (2012a) showed that all exhibit the same or similar forms and meanings in general, forming true cognates with Arabic as their end origin. For example, three (third, thirty, trio, tri, tertiary, trinity, Trinitarian) derives from a 'reduced' Arabic thalaath (talaat in Damascus Arabic (Jassem 1993, 1994a-b)) 'three' through the change of /th & l/ to /t & r/ each. This led him to reject the claims of the Comparative 'Historical Linguistics' Method which classifies Arabic and English, German, French, and so on as members of different language families (Bergs and Brinton 2012; Algeo 2010; Crystal 2010: 302; Campbell 2006: 190-191; Crowley 1997: 22-25, 110-111; Pyles and Algeo 1993: 61-94). Therefore, he proposed the lexical root theory to account for the genetic relationships between Arabic and English, in particular, and all (Indo-)European languages in general for three main reasons: namely, (a) geographical continuity and/or proximity between their homelands, (b) persistent cultural interaction and similarity between their peoples over the ages, and, above all, (c) linguistic similarity between Arabic and such languages (see Jassem 2013b for further detail).

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Zaidan Ali Jassem
Department of English Language and Translation
Qassim University
P.O. Box 6611, Buraidah, KSA
zajassems@gmail.com
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Language in India

LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 13:3 March 2013
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

HOME PAGE

Click Here for Back Issues of Language in India - From 2001

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REFERENCE MATERIAL

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  • E-mail your articles and book-length reports in Microsoft Word to languageinindiaUSA@gmail.com.

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  • The Editorial Board has the right to accept, reject, or suggest modifications to the articles submitted for publication, and to make suitable stylistic adjustments. High quality, academic integrity, ethics and morals are expected from the authors and discussants.

Copyright © 2012
M. S. Thirumalai
Custom Search

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Custom Search
  • Click Here to Go to Creative Writing Section

  • Send your articles
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  • Please ensure that your name, academic degrees, institutional affiliation and institutional address, and your e-mail address are all given in the first page of your article. Also include a declaration that your article or work submitted for publication in LANGUAGE IN INDIA is an original work by you and that you have duly acknowledged the work or works of others you used in writing your articles, etc. Remember that by maintaining academic integrity we not only do the right thing but also help the growth, development and recognition of Indian/South Asian scholarship.