It includes words that are deep in the past. How has the vocabulary of the Iraqi dialect been shaped over time?

The Iraqi dialect is characterized by many unique words, terms and contexts, some of which date back to the dawn of civilization in Mesopotamia.

The vocabulary of the Iraqi dictionary was greatly influenced by the invasions of the country throughout the ages, as it exchanged linguistic influence with those civilizations. Sumerian, the oldest written language in the world, has left its mark in many agricultural, commercial and legal terms.

Distinctive accent

Academic and researcher Dr. Faleh Hassan al-Asadi believes that it is okay to read and archive the local dialects of the region and delve into their history and changes over time, but the Iraqi colloquial dialect should not be replaced by classical Arabic.

Al-Asadi points out – in an interview with Al Jazeera Net – that the Iraqi dialect is unique in a large number of vocabulary and styles that distinguish it from other dialects.

The reasons why Iraqis adhere to some ancient words and merge them with Arabic and other Iraqi languages are due to the composition and temperament of the Iraqi, as it maintains its originality on the one hand and merges with the conversation on the other.

Al-Asadi explained that what is meant here is the oral language common among the public, as it varies according to the regions of Iraq, while the language used in the media is closer to the classical language.

The local dialect in Iraq today is unique in a large number of vocabulary and styles that distinguish it from other dialects (Al-Jazeera)

Old words

The Iraqi dialect includes a collection of common words that have been passed down through generations and whose origins date back thousands of years.

Examples of ancient words - according to al-Asadi - are the use of the word "Zaqnabut" when praying for a person with evil, which means in the Akkadian language "poison", as well as from the words on the tongue of Iraqis the word "Shawat", an Aramaic word that means "the smell of fire", and there is the word "Santa" used by Iraqis to mean calm and tranquility, and its origin is an Aramaic word with the same meaning.

Akkadian is an ancient Eastern Semitic language that is one of the closest languages to ancient Arabic.

The Iraqi academic added that one of the uses is also the word "tanbal" and its plural "tanbal", which means lazy in Sumerian, and Iraqis call it a person who sleeps a lot and is unemployed.

Al-Asadi explains that some old words may wear a new semantic dress at all times and times, for example, the suffix "Ji" has its old connotation indicating the word respect, but the Iraqi added it to the profession, such as "Baja Ji" and others.

All Iraqis prefer to revive classical Arabic, because Dhad is the common language with Arab countries, and there is no strong tendency to ancient dialects, although there are specialists who study ancient languages, according to al-Assadi.

Strange vocabulary

Akkadian and Sumerian (an isolated language of anti-Semitic and does not share its origins with the Arabized languages) are among the oldest written languages from which we received a clay number, written in cuneiform letters, dating back to 5,<> BC, followed by Aramaic, an ancient Semitic Arabized language that is still used to a limited extent among the followers of the Syriac Christian churches in Syria and Iraq, and some of the vocabulary of these languages is still used to this day, especially in the Iraqi dialect, explains linguist Majid al-Khayyat.

The tailor confirms – for Al Jazeera Net – that the list of vocabulary goes on, including the farmer's tool for the rise of the palm "Tabliyeh", as well as the name of the small palm "Tala", and "love", a large bowl of clay in which water is kept, and "Halloub" for freezing rain, as well as the word "Zuri" which is a small fish, and "running" for a type of fish that has no scales, and the names of some plants such as "leeks, cumin, Shanan", these are all Sumerian words are still alive in the Iraqi dialect.

There are other words in the Iraqi dialect of Akkadian and Aramaic origins, such as "carp", a type of large-sized fish, "Akrouk" meaning frog, "mullet" meaning pipe, "jarkh" meaning wheel or circular cylinder, "hiss" meaning now, and "kettle" meaning kettle, according to the tailor.

Al-Khayyat pointed out that there are many Arabic words of Sumerian and Akkadian origins (Al-Jazeera)

Al-Khayyat attributed the reason why the Iraqis kept some old words because they took them from the mouths of areas that were not urbanized, and did not come into contact with other people, and the Iraqis did not like some Arabic words, in addition to the decline in education in those areas, in addition to the fact that Arabic is not an authentic language for the inhabitants of Iraq.

The linguist pointed out that some Arabic words are of Sumerian and Akkadian origins, including the word "comb", which is Aramaic, the word "jar", which is Sumerian, "flute", which is Sumerian, "doll", which is Sumerian, which meant the small statue, and "peeping" and its origin is Sumerian, as well as the word "Scorpion", which is Akkadian, was pronounced "Akruba" and the Iraqis until now call it "Akkarba".

Al-Khayyat pointed out that some researchers in the field of philology are working to publish some of the origins of these words, to renew their definition, as they were collected in more than one book, and there are some heritage programs on radio and television that are keen to remind them.

Important legacy

For his part, writer and social researcher Alaa al-Wardi asserts that the ancient Iraqis circulated many unwritten spoken languages, including the language of the early Euphrates who had settled in southern Iraq before the Sumerians.

He adds pink – in his speech to Al Jazeera Net – that the Sumerian language remains the oldest language in the world in terms of the history of codification, and can not be compared to any other language, being the only language in the ancient world that was spoken and then written later.

Al-Wardi: The vocabulary of the ancient Iraqi dialect was the first diplomatic language in the ancient world (Al-Jazeera)

It is noteworthy that the invention of bacteric writing (pictorial), and then its development into cuneiform letters, made the Sumerian language the language of communication between the Sumerian city-states and the peoples inhabiting Mesopotamia.

The social researcher points out that the vocabulary of the ancient Iraqi dialect was the first diplomatic language in the ancient world, as many letters exchanged between the Egyptian pharaohs, Assyrians, Babylonians and others were written in Akkadian and Sumerian cuneiform script, and were known as the "Amarna" letters.

Al-Wardi points out that the Sumerian language and vocabulary moved the ancient world from prehistoric times to posthistoric times, as it was the beginning of codification, which recorded the achievements of the first civilizations of mankind that reached us written on the number, clay tablets in Sumerian and cuneiform script.