Reading list

ARA4506
Stephan Guth
Key Concepts of Arabic Language and Culture
A Comparative Analysis
Course Curriculum
References
Background Reading
Master course ◆ 10 credits
Spring 2013
(as of 6-Dec-12)
The course’s wiki (registered users only):
https://wiki.uio.no/hf/ikos/ara4506concepts
F = Fronter

Classroom reading (“pensum” texts) will mainly consist of

entries in all kinds of dictionaries, encyclopedia, lexica etc., on the concepts in
question (incl. their wider semantic fields)
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selected European and Arabic source texts.
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The selection of classroom readings will to a large degree depend on the student’s own
choice, guided by the teacher, of concepts to focus on. Since finding, as well as not
finding (and trying again), appropriate material for the study of concepts is a course aim in
itself, obligatory reading can only be defined in advance as far as basic knowledge is
concerned. Taken general information about the cultural history of the Arab peoples as
more or less given, the “common grounds” to build upon and acquired during the first
meetings will consist of a fair idea of the history of the Arabic language, of European
cultural history, of Begriffsgeschichte (history of concepts) and a knowledge of relevant
reference works, such as appropriate dictionaries, encyclopedias, lexica, handbooks, etc.
(see respective sections below).

Week-by-week curriculum will be specified in the “detaljert undervisningsplan” (as far as
possible).
The (Cultural) History of the Arabs: Overview
For reference only – not included in pensum (cf. MØNA1001, 1505, ...)
Hourani, Albert (1992 and later editions): A History of the Arab Peoples. Faber and Faber,
London. – Norsk utgave: De arabiske folks historie / oversatt av Lise Lian. [Oslo]: Gyldendal,
2002.
Vikør, Knut (1993, 2004): Ei verd bygd på Islam: Oversikt over Midtaustens historie. Samlaget.
Cleveland, William L. (2004): A History of the Modern Middle East. Westview, Boulder,
Colorado.
Utvik, Bjørn Olav: The MØNA1500 lectures => F
ARA4506 spring 2013 – p. 2
History of the Arabic Language: Main Periods of Development
article “al-ʿArabiyya”, in: Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd ed., Brill, Leiden. esp. sections i.-ii.1. (C.
Rabin) and ii.4. (H. Wehr). => Link in F !!!
Ferrando, Ignacio (2006): “History of Arabic”, in: Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and
Linguistics [EALL] (see Standard references below).
Owens, Jonathan (2006): A Linguistic History of Arabic. Oxford University Press.
Sawaie, Mohammed (2006): “Language Academies”, in: Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and
Linguistics [EALL] (2006; see Standard references below).
Versteegh, Kees (1977): Greek Elements in Arabic Linguistic Thinking. Brill, Leiden.
Versteegh, Kees (1997, 2nd ed. 2001): The Arabic Language. Edinburgh UP.
esp. ch. 11: ‘The Emergence of Modern Standard Arabic,’ 173-188. F
History of the English Language: Main Periods of Development
Hitchings, Henry (2008): The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English. John
Murray, London. [chs. 1-3 = pp. 1-73]. F
What is “Begriffsgeschichte” (begrepshistorie) / History of concepts, Conceptual history?
Andersen, Niels Åkerstrøm (2003): “2. Reinhart Koselleck’s history of concepts”. In: Discursive
Analytical Strategies: Understanding Foucault, Koselleck, Laclau, Luhmann. The Policy Press,
Bristol, 33-48. F
Braun, Hermann [1992] (2011): ): “Verden”. In: Verden, ed. H. Jordheim & E. Sandmo, Oslo:
Unipub, 2011: 41-158 (oversatt fra tysk: H.B., “Welt”, in: Geschichtliche Grundbegriffe :
historisches Lexikon zur politisch-sozialen Sprache in Deutschland, ed. O. Brunner, W. Conze,
R. Koselleck, vol. 7, Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1992: 433-510). SB N10 Bra (ikke utlån)
Fernández Sebastián, Javiér & Francisco Fuentes, Juan (2006): “Conceptual history, memory,
and identity: An interview with Reinhart Koselleck.” contributions to the history of concepts
2.1 (march): 99-127. F (in “contributions2_2006.pdf”)
Gumbrecht, Hans Ulrich (2007): “Åndens pyramider – om den begrebshistoriske bevægelses
hastige fremkomst, den usynlige dimensioner og pludslige aftagen”. Slagmark – tidskrift for
idéhistorie 48 (2006 [publ. forår 2007]): 51-80. (oversatt fra tysk: H.U.G., “Pyramiden des
Geistes. Über den schnellen Aufstieg, die unsichtbaren Dimension und das plötzliche
Abebben der begriffsgeschichtlichen Bewegung”, in: Dimensionen und Grenzen der Begriffsgeschichte, München: Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 2006: 7-36).
Harbsmeier, Christoph (n.d.): “Concepts that make multiple modernities: The conceptual
modernisation of China in a historical and critical perspective”. F – Also online:
www.hf.uio.no/ikos/forskning/forskningsprosjekter/harbsmeier/concepts.pdf
Ifversen, Jan (2003): ”Om den tyske begrebshistorie”. Politologiske Studier 6.1: 18-34. F – Also
online: www.politologiske.dk/numre/17/ps_0103_004.pdf (retrieved 06Dec09).
ARA4506 spring 2013 – p. 3
Koselleck, Reinhart (2007): “Dannelses antropologiske og semantiske struktur – til minne om
Carl Dahlhaus”. Slagmark – tidskrift for idéhistorie 48 (2006 [publ. forår 2007]): 11-48.
(engelsk version: “On the Anthropological and Semantic Structure of Bildung“, in: R. K.,
The Practice of Conceptual History. Timing History, Spacing Concepts / transl. by Todd S.
Presner [et al.], Stanford UP, 2002, 170-207).
Nevers, Jeppe (n.d., 2006>): Træk af den nyere begrebshistorie. F – Also online: www.erslevandersen.dk/Begrebshistorie.pdf (retrieved 06Dec09).
Syrjämäki, Sami (n.d.): What is Conceptual History? pdf in F – Also online: www.conceptanet.org/conceptual_history (retrieved 06Dec09).
Valkhoff, Rudolf (2006): “Some Similarities between Begriffsgeschichte and the History of
Discourse.” contributions to the history of concepts 2.1 (march): 83-98. F (in
“contributions2_2006.pdf”).
In German
Brunner, Otto & Koselleck, Reinhart (1972): Vorwort zu Geschichtliche Grundbegriffe: historisches
Lexikon zur politisch-sozialen Sprache in Deutschland, ed. O. Brunner, W. Conze, R.
Koselleck. Klett, Stuttgart.
Bödeker, Hans Erich (ed., 2002): Begriffsgeschichte, Diskursgeschichte, Metapherngeschichte.
Wallstein, Göttingen.
Haas, Stefan (n.d. [2002?]): Begriffsgeschichte als theoretischer Ansatz – Reinhart Koselleck.
www.geschichtstheorie.de/3_10_5a.html (retrieved 06Dec09). F
For more material see also
www.concepta-net.org/links, the website of Concepta –International Research School in
Conceptual History and Political Thought. (retrieved 06Dec09). pdf from website in F.
Lehmann, Hartmut & Richter, Melvin (eds., 1996): The Meaning of Historical Terms and
Concepts: New Studies on Begriffsgeschichte / with contributions by Donald R. Kelley,
Reinhart Koselleck, James Van Horn Melton, Gabriel Motzkin, J. G. A. Pocock, Melvin
Richter. (German Historical Institute Washington, D.C.; Occasional Paper, no. 15). – pdf
in F. (“OccasionalPapers15_1996.pdf”)
ARA4506 spring 2013 – p. 4
Main sources
Arabic-Arabic and Arabic-European dictionaries (arranged chronologically)
Ibn Manẓūr [d. 711/1311]: Lisān al-ʿarab.
al-Fīrūzābādī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb [d. 1414]: al-Qāmūs al-muḥīṭ. => al-Zabīdī.
al-Zabīdī, Murtaḍā [d. 1205/1791]: Tāj al-ʿarūs min jawāhir al-qāmūs.
Freytag, Georg Wilhelm (1835): Lexicon Arabico–Latinum. 4 vols. C.A. Schwetschke et filium,
Halis Saxonum.
Bustānī, Buṭrus al-. (n.d./1870): Kitāb muḥīṭ al-muḥīṭ. Qāmūs muṭawwal li’l-lugha al-ʿarabiyya.
Maktabat Lubnān, Beirut. [Håndbibliotek IKOS]
Kazimirski, A. de Biberstein (1875): Dictionnaire arabe–français. 4 vols. Revu et corrigé par Ibed
Gallab. Cairo.
Wahrmund, Adolf (1877): Handwörterbuch der neu-arabischen und deutschen Sprache, Bd. 1:
Neuarabisch-deutscher Theil. J. Ricker, Giessen. (3rd ed. 1989, reprinted Beirut: Librairie du
Liban, 1974).
Lane, Edward William (1863-93): An Arabic–English Lexicon. 8 vols. Williams and Norgate,
London. http://www.laneslexicon.co.uk/
Dozy, R. P. A (21927): Supplément aux dictionnaires arabes. Leiden. [Håndbibliotek IKOS].
Wehr, Hans (51985): Arabisches Wörterbuch für die Schriftsprache der Gegenwart: arabisch-deutsch.
5. Aufl. Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden.
Wehr, Hans / Cowan, J. Milton (ed.) (41994): A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic. 4th ed.
Spoken Language Services, Ithaca NY.
Sakhr. Online dictionary. http://dictionary.sakhr.com/
European-Arabic dictionaries
Bocthor, Ellious (1828-29): Dictionnaire français–arabe. Revue et augmenté par A. Caussin de
Perceval. Firmin Didot, Paris. – Quatrième édition 1869.
Wahrmund, Adolf (1877): Handwörterbuch der neu-arabischen und deutschen Sprache, Bd. 2:
Deutsch-neuarabischer Theil. J. Ricker, Giessen. (3rd ed. 1989, reprinted Beirut: Librairie
du Liban, 1974).
Schregle, Götz (1982): Arabisch-Deutsches Wörterbuch / hrgb. i.A. der Deutschen
Morgenländischen Gesellschaft unter Mitwirkung von Kamal Radwan und Sayed
Mohammad Rizk. Franz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden.
Sakhr. Online dictionary. http://dictionary.sakhr.com/
ARA4506 spring 2013 – p. 5
Etymological dictionaries of European languages
English: The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. (1989), prepared by J. A. Simpson & E. S. C.
Weiner. 20 vols. Claredon Pr., Oxford.
Online Etymological Dictionary. http://www.etymonline.com/
deutsch: DUDEN Etymologie. Herkunftswörterbuch der deutschen Sprache (1963 and later
editions). Bearbeitet von Günther Drosdowski, Paul Grebe [et al.]. Bibliographisches
Institut, Mannheim/Zürich. (Der große Duden; 7).
Kluge. Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, bearb. von Elmar Seebold. Berlin & New
York: Walter de Gruyter, 242002.
norsk: Harald Bjorvand, Fredrik Otto Lindeman (22007): Våre arveord: etymologisk ordbok.
Novus Instituttet for sammenlignende kulturforskning, Oslo.
Hjalmar Falk, Alf Torp [1903-06] (52006): Etymologisk ordbog over det norske og det danske sprog.
Ords røtter og opprinnelige betydning. Utkom første gang i 1903-06. Utgitt i faksimile 1991,
5. opptrykk 2006. Bjørn Ringstrøms Antikvariat, Oslo.
Standard references for Arabic concepts (and their semantic history)
The Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd ed. [EI2] / ed. P. Bearman [et al.]. Leiden: Brill, 19602009. Online access from within UiO net via BibSys.
Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics [EALL] / general editor Kees Versteegh; ass.
editors Mushira Eid ... [et al.]. Leiden: Brill, 2006- .
Ali, Kecia & Leaman, Oliver (2008): Islam: the Key Concepts. Routledge, London. Boka
anbefales kjøpt.
ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, Muḥammad Ḥasan (ed., 2008): al-Muʿjam al-tārīkhī li’l-lugha al-ʿarabiyya:
wathāʾiq wa-namādhij. Dār al-Salām, Cairo. F
Arabic Wikipedia. http://ar.wikipedia.org/
Etymology of Arabic words (Semitic, Persian, ... loanwords)
articles “English loanwords” (A. Atawneh), “Ethiopic loanwords” (S. Weniger), “Greek
loanwords” (D. Gutas), “Italian loanwords” (G. Cifoletti), etc., in: Encyclopedia of Arabic
Language and Linguistics [EALL] (2006; see Standard references above). F
Asbaghi, Asya (1988): Persische Lehnwörter im Arabischen. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden.
Cohen, David (1970 ff.): Dictionnaire des racines semitiques ou attestées dans les langues
sémitiques, comprenant un ficher comparatif de Jean Cantineau. Peeters, [Leuven] / Mouton,
Paris.
Hebbo, Ahmed Irhayem (1970): Die Fremdwörter in der arabischen Prophetenbiographie des Ibn
Hischam (gest. 218/834). Diss. Heidelberg [superv. by A. Schall].
Jeffery, Arthur [1938] (1977): The Foreign Vocabulary of the Qurʾān. Oriental Institute, Baroda.
(reprint Lahore: Al-Biruni, 1977).
ARA4506 spring 2013 – p. 6
Leslau, Wolf (1987): A Comparative Dictionary of Geʿez (Classical Ethiopic). GeʿezEnglish/English-Geʿez with an index of the Semitic roots. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
Zammit, Martin R. (2002): A Comparative Lexical Study of Qurʾānic Arabic. Brill, Leiden [etc.].
Standard references for semantic history of European/western concepts
Geschichtliche Grundbegriffe. Historisches Lexikon zur politisch-sozialen Sprache in Deutschland, ed.
Otto Brunner, Werner Conze, Reinhart Koselleck. 8 vols. Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 19721997.
New keywords : a revised vocabulary of culture and society / ed. Tony Bennett, Lawrence
Grossberg, Meaghan Morris. Malden/Mass.: Blackwell, 2005. [Builds on Williams
1976/1983, see below].
Ritter, Harry (1986): Dictionary of Concepts in History. Greenwood Press, Westport/Conn.
(Reference Sources for the Social Sciences and Humanities, no. 3). Excerpts in
GoogleBooks (unfortunately only very restricted access).
Williams, Raymond (1976/1983): Keywords : a vocabulary of culture and society. Fontana/Croom
Helm, London. Rev. and exp. edition London: Fontana Press, 1983.
English wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org
German wikipedia:
http://de.wikipedia.org
Norwegian wikipedia: http://no.wikipedia.org
Reception/Appropriation of foreign, esp. European concepts in the Arab world
General introduction to the study of the history of the Arabic lexicon
Schall, Anton (1982): “Der arabische Wortschatz”, in: Grundriß der arabischen Philologie, vol. I:
Sprachwissenschaft. Reichert, Wiesbaden, 142-53.
Foreign words in the Qurʾān
Fraenkel, Siegmund (1886): Die aramäischen Fremdwörter im Arabischen. Brill, Leiden.
Jeffery, Arthur (1938): The Foreign Vocabulary in the Qurʾān. The Oriental Institute, Baroda.
General history of Middle Easternes discovering Europe
Lewis, Bernhard (1980): The Muslim Discovery of Europe. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London.
The 19th century and later
Ayalon, David (1987): Language and Change in the Arab Middle East: the Evolution of Modern
Political Discourse. Oxford University Press, New York.
Hourani, Albert (1983): Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age: 1798-1939. CUP, Cambridge.
Kraemer, Joel L. (1986): Humanism in the Renaissance of Islam. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
Lewis, Bernard (1988): The Political Language of Islam. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
ARA4506 spring 2013 – p. 7
Rebhan, Helga (1986): Geschichte und Funktion einiger politischer Termini im Arabischen des 19.
Jahrhunderts (1798-1882). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden.
Sawaie, Mohammed (1987): ‘Jurji Zaydan (1861-1914): a modernist in Arabic linguistics’.
Historiographia Linguistica 14: 283-304. F
Stetkevych, Jaroslav (1970): The Modern Arabic Literary Language: Lexical and Stylistic
Developments. University of Chicago Press. (Publications of the Center for Middle Eastern
Studies; 6).
Example 1: Politeness, høflighet / Höflichkeit, ʾadab
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tables of contents of medieval ʾadab books
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entry “al-ʾadab” in al-Marṣafī’s al-Kalim al-thamān
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Entries in all kinds of reference works (dictionaries, encyclopedia, lexica), plus:
Bonebakker, Susan A. (1990): “Adab and the Concept of Belles-Lettres”. In: [The Cambridge
History of Arabic Literature –] ʿAbbasid Belles-Lettres, ed. Julia Ashtiany et al., Cambridge
University Press, 16-30.
Guth, Stephan (2010): “Politeness, Höflichkeit, ʾadab: A Comparative Conceptual-Cultural
Perspective”. In: Edzard, Lutz & Guth, Stephan (eds.), Verbal Festivity. Harrassowitz,
Wiesbaden, 1-19. Offprints from the author. Also in wiki
Nallino, Carlo-Alfonso (1950 [1948]): “Sens pris par le mot adab aux divers siècles”. In: id., La
littérature arabe des origines à l’époque de la dynastie umayyade. Leçons professées en arabe à
l’Université du Cairo. Traduction française par Charles Pellat d’après la version italienne de
Maria Nallino [Roma 1948], Paris: Maisonneuve, 1950 (Islam d’hier et d’aujourd’hui; 6), 728.
Example 2: conscience, Gewissen, samvittighet, ḍamīr

Entries in all kinds of reference works (as in Example 1), plus:
Hofheinz, Albrecht (1992-93/2009): “Der Scheich im Über-Ich, oder Haben Muslime ein
Gewissen? Zum Prozeß der Verinnerlichung schriftislamischer Normen in Suakin im
frühen 19. Jahrhundert”. Wuqûf 7-8: 461-81; post-publication version (2009):
http://folk.uio.no/albrech/Hofheinz_Gewissen.pdf . Also in wiki
Leirvik, Oddbjørn (2009): “Conscience in Arabic and the Semantic History of ḍamīr”. Journal of
Arabic and Islamic Studies, 9/2: 18-36, accessible online under
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/jais/volume/docs/vol9/v9_2_Leirvik_18-36.pdf . Also in wiki
Example 3: Critical reading of some sample entries in al-Muʿjam al-tārīkhī..., ed. Muḥ. H.
ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz [see Standard references for Arabic concepts (and their semantic history) above]

siyāsa – wazīr/wizāra – ḥājib/ḥijāba – ḥukūma
ARA4506 spring 2013 – p. 8
Example 4: waṭan

entry “waṭan” in al-Marṣafī’s al-Kalim al-thamān

Entries in all kinds of reference works (as in Example 1), plus:
Guth, Stephan [forthcoming]: »Concepts that Changed the World: “waṭan” as one of Ḥusayn
al-Marṣafī’s “Eight Words” (al-Kalim al-thamān, 1881)«. In: Prodeedings of the workshop
Visions and Representations of ‘Homeland’ in Modern Arabic Poetry and Prose Literature,
University of Göttingen & Lichtenberg-Kolleg / Germany (July 2011).
Example 5: (to be agreed upon later between students and teacher)