An ancient cultural relationship that brings together the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent. Arabic is not a foreign language in India since the ancient connections between Indians and Arabs in the pre-Islamic era, then the time of the great conquests that carried along with Islam the language of the Qur’an, as mentioned by the founder of the science and study of Indian women, Abu Rayhan Al-Biruni (362 AH / 973 AD - 440 AH / 1048 AD).
Al-Biruni wrote "Achieving what India says in terms of acceptable or rejected," exploring aspects of Indian culture and focusing on society, religion, history, geography, and science rather than narrating political history.
After nearly a thousand years, and following in the footsteps of Al-Biruni, who brought together the Indian and Arab cultures, and because creativity thrives on the borders of cultures, the Indian professor Abd al-Ghafur al-Hadawi Konatodi continues the task of bridging the two cultures. He has published many books in Arabic, including “Arabization and Generation in Arabic Vocabulary.” Since the beginning of the twenty-first century”, (Beirut, Arab House for Science Publishers, 2021 AD), and “Arabic Prosody, Ancient and Modern”, (Cairo: Modern Academy for University Books, 2021 AD), and he also worked as a professional translator in Arabic, English and Malayalam (an Indian language). ).
He has a number of research articles published in the Arabic and Indian press.
Abdul Ghafoor Alhadvi Konatodi, born in (1989 AD), in Punmala, Mallapuram district, Kerala state, India, works as an assistant professor in the Department of Arabic Language at the Government University College of the University of Kerala in India, and was a professor in the Department of Arabic Language at Haji Ahmed College for Girls in Kerala previously. In addition to being a lecturer at Dar Al Huda Islamic University, Kerala, (2010-2013).
Konatodi has a Ph.D. in Arabic Linguistics and a pre-doctoral degree in Arabic Prosody, from the Center for Arabic and African Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India, as well as a Master’s degree in English Language and Literature from the Indira Gandhi National Open University, India (2016). , and a master's degree in Islamic studies with first rank - Dar Al-Huda Islamic University, Kerala, India (2010).
And Al-Jazeera Net had this dialogue with him, to comment on the presence of the Arabic language in the world and the Indian subcontinent in particular, and the conflict between languages in the world.
The beauty of language
What attracted you to the Arabic language and its literature?
What attracted me to the Arabic language and its literary world are two things: one is the importance of this language, and the second is the beauty of this language and the ease of learning it and understanding its grammar.
I learned Arabic and mastered it from Dar Al-Huda Islamic University.
The professor was Dr.
Bahaa al-Din Muhammad al-Nadawi, my professor at the university, is the best example for me in embracing this language.
Although Arabic is not among the 22 official languages of India, it enjoys a high status in academic circles in India.
The status of Arabic in Indian universities
Is your follow-up to the Arabic language, learning it, and your interest in it in academic circles part of your personal efforts?
Or are there specialized centers and organizations that provide support for those wishing to learn the Arabic language?
Although Arabic is not among the 22 official languages of India, it enjoys a high status in academic circles in India.
More than 40 public universities have special departments for Arabic language and literature, including prestigious universities such as Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of New Delhi, Aligarh University and others. These universities grant higher academic degrees such as masters and doctorates in the Arabic language.
As for the pre-university stage, Arabic is taught in public schools in some states, where Arabic is taught here as a secondary language even from the first grade.
These are all in the government sector.
As for the private sector, there are a number of Islamic universities and thousands of religious schools that teach the Arabic language, the most important of which are Dar Al-Huda Islamic University, from which I graduated, Dar Al-Ulum Deoband, Dar Al-Ulum Nadwat Al-Ulama and others.
It should be noted that the Government of India provides a large scholarship for researchers in various subjects, including the Arabic language. I completed my PhD in the Arabic language with the support of this scholarship from the government.
Doors are open and roads are paved for Indians who wish to pursue and learn the Arabic language.
Islam.. the parallel role
What is the role of Islam in India, which is home to 200 million Muslims, in relation to the spread of the Arabic language outside religious frameworks - that is, in the Indian social and cultural sectors?
It is believed that Islam arrived in India at the time of the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him himself, as his messages reached southern India at the hands of Arab merchants, while they arrived in northern India at the hands of Muhammad ibn al-Qasim al-Thaqafi in the year 92 AH, who came to conquer Indian lands.
Muslim sultans ruled India for 800 years until the British occupied it.
However, we cannot say that this relationship between Islam and India has a role in the spread of the Arabic language outside religious frameworks. Rather, it has a role in the entry of hundreds of Arabic words into the various Indian languages.
Arabic in India
Are there synagogues for the Arabic language in India, similar to some countries in which there are Muslims who constitute an important percentage of the population?
As you know, India is a big country, it is the seventh largest country in the world in terms of area.
As for the Muslims, they are scattered all over the country.
Just as there is no single social or political movement that brings together all Muslims in India, there has not yet been found in India a comprehensive collective movement to look into the affairs of the Arabic language for the whole of India.
There were some attempts by some of the honorable professors, but it could not spread its activities all over India, for example, the Arab-Indian Scientific Academy, which was founded in 1976 in northern India by Professor Mukhtaruddin Ahmed, Head of the Arabic Language Department at Aligarh University.
It is worth noting that there are some associations for Arabic language teachers in India, such as the Association of Professors and Scholars of the Arabic Language for All India, the Union of Arabic Teachers in Kerala, and the Arabic Language Association in the state of Tamil Nadu, which are making great efforts to promote the Arabic language in India.
The origins of languages
Remember that linguists differed in the origin of the word "language", is it Arabic in origin or is it Arabized foreign?
If it is of Arabic origin, what is its origin and weight?
Yes, linguists disagreed about the origin of this word. Some of them consider it an Arabized word. According to their claim, it is the Arabized word of the Greek word “Logos” meaning “word” and “speech.” They infer their opinion that it is not mentioned in the Holy Qur’an.
As for those who claim that it is of Arabic origin, some of them refer it to the Arabic word "uvula", which denotes what is called "the epiglottis", i.e. the epiglottis.
As if the similarity between “Lughah” and “Lahah” with the fact that “Haa” and “Ghain” are from the letters of the throat incited the people of this opinion to this saying, just as among them are those who see it as derived from “Lugh” or “Lagha” in the sense of something that does not count.
The proponents of this saying are also of two opinions, as some of them see its origin as “nonsense” on the weight of “a verb” that omitted its lam with the opening of what preceded it, when some see its origin as “nonsense” or “nullity”, where the lam was omitted with compensation for it with the tied ta’.
An intellectual and human phenomenon
She says that Arabic is the origin of all languages, as other languages emerged from it in forms of dialects, which later turned into independent languages.
Is this view accepted by historians?
This opinion is the opinion of some religious scholars, and it was conveyed by Professor Muhammad Abd al-Shafi al-Qusi in his book “The Genius of the Arabic Language.”
The basis for this opinion is some of the Quranic verses and hadiths of the Prophet, for example, the people of this opinion infer the hadith narrated by Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak: “On the authority of Ibn Abbas (may God be pleased with them both), he said: The Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said: “Love the Arabs for three reasons because I am an Arab, the Qur’an is Arabic, and the speech of the people of Paradise is Arabic They claim that since the father of mankind used to live in Paradise before he descended to earth, as stated in the holy divine books, he must have spoken the Arabic language.
The book "Arabization and Generation in Arabic Vocabulary since the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century" (communication sites)
When the Arab culture flooded with new sciences and arts from different cultures, it was inevitable that the Arabs would be ready to absorb the new meanings.
Language challenges
Remember that in the Umayyad and Abbasid eras, when the doors of different cultures and treasures of new sciences and arts were opened to the Arabs, it was the task of the Arabic language to prepare itself, heart and soul, to accommodate the new meanings resulting from the new conditions in society.
How did that happen in your opinion?
We know that in the Umayyad and Abbasid eras, the area of the Islamic and Arab state expanded, and the Arabs were forced to mix with different cultures.
When the Arab culture overflowed with new sciences and arts from different cultures, it was inevitable that the Arabs would be ready to absorb the new meanings.
Translation movements, especially in the Abbasid era, made the Arabic language a language capable of accepting new meanings and connotations that the Arabs had no time with.
Historians point out that when translators were exposed to a new meaning, they searched first in the existing Arabic vocabulary, then they chose a word and expanded its meaning to include the new meaning.
Translation movements, especially in the Abbasid era, made the Arabic language a language capable of accepting new meanings and connotations that the Arabs had no time with.
Historians point out that when translators were exposed to a new meaning, they searched first in the existing Arabic vocabulary, then they chose a word and expanded its meaning to include the new meaning.
For example, in the Al-Ain dictionary of Al-Farahidi, we see a large number of Arabized words explained and attributed to their language, with an indication of some of the rules that he established to distinguish between Arabic speech and authentic speech.
Creativity and innovation.. New vocabulary
In your book, “Arabization and Generation in Arabic Vocabulary,” you provide an important research look at the new linguistic vocabulary that is still being developed and fused into the treasury of contemporary classical Arabic written in the 21st century, with the intention of finding the role of Arabization and generation in modernizing Arabic vocabulary, how to deal with that in Contemporary discourse?
The twenty-first century is described as the century of creativity and innovation, where modern science comes to human life every day with new types of inventions and discoveries.
The scientific and technological field is more developed in the new century.
To keep pace with these new developments, hundreds of words have been formed in the Arabic language since the beginning of this century alone.
The field of journalism, as well as the linguistic academies, play an important role in making Arabic a suitable language for use in contemporary discourse.
Between originality and modernity
How did Arabization and generation play a prominent role in modernizing Arabic vocabulary in the new era?
In order to find new words in the new era, the Arabic language relies either on Arabization, which means borrowing words from foreign languages, or on generation, that is, creating new formulas from existing roots in the language to denote new meanings.
These two processes are found in all fields, but their quantity varies from one field to another.
For example, we find that Arabization is increasing in the field of science and technology, while we find that generation is increasing in the cultural and social field.
Likewise, we find that Arabized and foreign words abound in new media such as newspapers and magazines, when we find that new words generated from Arabic origins abound in decisions made by various academies with regard to terminology and vocabulary.
It should be noted that Arabization was limited to necessity according to the decisions of the various linguistic academies. However, this general rule is neglected these days, as words are borrowed from foreign languages, whether there is a need for them or not, and whether or not there are eloquent Arabic words in return.
As for generation, it may also fall into modern vocabulary with the intention of mastering expression only, without any need to generate it.
Organism
She says that if we follow the history of the Arabic language since its usual era, we will verify that this language has not ceased and is still a living being growing and renewing, so does it still keep pace with the requirements of the ages?
Yes, languages are the means of communication and dialogue between individuals.
Because it is suitable for expressing the developments of the era, it must be capable of developments that occur in societies, by putting words that correspond to these new meanings.
From this point of view, it is not an exaggeration to say that languages, including Arabic, are living beings that grow and renew.
The media is coining new words more than councils these days
desired role
In your opinion, what is the role played by the various Arabic linguistic academies in the Arab world in modernizing the vocabulary of the Arabic language and spreading it in the world?
Arabic linguistic academies such as the Arabic Language Academy in Cairo, the Arabic Language Academy in Damascus, the Arabization Coordination Office and others have a great role in modernizing Arabic vocabulary and spreading it around the world.
Unfortunately, more often than not, the task of synods is limited to issuing decisions about the acceptance or rejection of common words in society, rather than finding new words or reviving old words for new meanings.
The media has created and coined new words more than synagogues these days.
Presence or absence?
The common belief that teaching the Arabic language in India is the monopoly of religious schools, in order to graduate scholars in the Arabic language. Does this approach still exist today, and what about the presence of Arabic in Indian academic circles?
This belief has become incorrect these days, because the teaching of the Arabic language in India is no longer confined to religious schools, as these schools still graduate scholars in the Arabic language on the one hand, while on the other hand, the Arabic language is taught and deals with an academic subject in governmental and non-governmental colleges and universities. government in India, as mentioned earlier.
Expatriates when they return to India, they bring with them not only the Arabic language but also different elements of the Arabic culture to the Indian people.
immigrant language
Did the immigration of Indians to the Arab Gulf countries help in the spread of the Arabic language and its promotion among the Indian people on a large scale?
Yes, this immigration has an undeniable role in spreading the Arabic language among the Indian people and making it an acceptable language even for non-Muslims.
Expatriates, when they return to India, bring with them not only the Arabic language but also different elements of the Arab culture to the Indian people.
Language wars
What about the threat that comes from the central government against Al-Arabiya, how do you see that?
Since its independence, the Government of India has been recognizing the importance of the Arabic language culturally and economically at the global level.
However, during the past several years, lovers of the Arabic language in India have seen some attempts threatening the spread of this language on the part of some government officials, for example, stopping the publication of a cultural magazine called “The Culture of India” that was officially issued by the government in Arabic since 1950, as well as introducing or canceling the language. Arabic is among the list of foreign languages that will be taught in schools, according to the new national educational policy.
However, as the government, on the other hand, continues its support for Arabic students and researchers, we are optimistic that it will prevent its officials from carrying out such movements that threaten this rich language.
Absence of support
Is there organized support from Arab countries to spread the Arabic language throughout the Indian subcontinent?
Educational programs are sometimes conducted by the embassies of some Arab countries in India to promote the Arabic language, such as seminars and training courses for Arabic teachers, but there is no organized support for this purpose.
The status of Arabic.. "the language of Adam"
According to new UNESCO statistics, 43% of human languages face perishing.
What about the position of the Arabic language among the world languages?
The Arabic language has received great attention and great care from the rest of the languages because it is the language of God’s book, so it remains as long as the great Qur’an remains on the face of the earth.
Since the existence of this language, it has been able to expand according to the needs of ages and ages.
Today, it is one of the six official languages of the United Nations and an official language in 22 countries around the world. It is also a language spoken by 422 million people worldwide.
Accordingly, we can confirm that it is in a position that does not suffer from the destruction and collapse that afflicts other languages.