Neologism in Arabic Language: The Example of Al-Jazeera News Site
Emine Bağmancı, Abdulhakim ÖnelLanguage has changed from past to present in line with the unique developments of each period. In today’s rapidly changing conditions, this inevitable influence of language has become more visible. Linguistic mobility that started with the need to name new situations paved the way for the emergence and development of the concept of neologism. Since languages can’t stay away from this concept, they are expected to give importance to deriving words by their structures. Neologism, which is one of the main indicators of the vitality of the language, is of great importance as it allows us to put the internal dynamics of the language to work. Although neologism is a new linguistics subject, the theoretical basis for creating a new element in Arabic dates back to the early years of İslam. Studies that started with the effort to preserve the essence of the language as a result of the interaction with different nations have created an important infrastructure in this field. Nowadays, there is an intense flow of words transferred from English to Arabic due to its dominance in the technological field. In this context, it is possible to say that modern studies carried out within the scope of Arabic neologisms have the opportunity to take advantage of the existing conceptual framework and move the subject to a better point. In this study, the neologisms in the Al-Jazeera news site were taken as basis by using the concepts mentioned. The identified neologisms were examined from different perspectives and the current neologism status of Arabic was tried to be revealed. In the study, neologies were examined in terms of thematics and formation methods. Accordingly, neologisms in the fields of technology, politics, and social development are included. Six methods have been identified in the formation of neologies. By supporting these methods with examples, the tendency of Arabic to derive new words has been tried to be revealed. This study is based on the lexicography approach, which accepts new expressions that have not entered the dictionary. Accordingly, the neologisms given as examples in the study are expressions that are not included in the dictionary.
Arap Dilinde Neolojizm: el-Cezire Haber Sitesi Örneği
Emine Bağmancı, Abdulhakim ÖnelDil, geçmişten günümüze her dönemin kendine özgü gelişmeleri doğrultusunda değişikliğe uğramıştır. Günümüzün hızla değişen koşulları içerisinde, dilin bu kaçınılmaz etkilenme durumu daha görünür bir hale gelmiştir. Yeni durumları adlandırma ihtiyacıyla başlayan dilsel hareketlilik, neolojizm kavramının ortaya çıkıp gelişmesine zemin hazırlamıştır. Bu bağlamda neolojizm, ortak kullanıma girip de görece yeni kabul edilen türetilmiş sözcük veya sözcük grupları olarak tanımlanmaktadır. Dildeki canlılığın başlıca göstergelerinden biri olan neolojizm, dilin iç dinamiklerini işe koşmaya olanak sağlaması açısından büyük önem taşımaktadır. Neolojizm yeni bir dil bilim konusu olmakla birlikte Arap dilinde yeni öge oluşturmaya ilişkin kuramsal temel, İslamiyet’in ilk yıllarına dayanmaktadır. Farklı milletlerle yaşanan etkileşim sonucu dilin özünü koruma gayretiyle başlayan çalışmalar, bu alana dair önemli bir alt yapı oluşturmuştur. Bu çalışmada bahsi edilen kavramlar kullanılmak suretiyle el-Cezire haber sitesindeki neolojiler esas alınmıştır. Tespit edilen neolojiler farklı açılardan incelenerek Arapçanın mevcut neolojizm durumu ortaya çıkarılmaya çalışılmıştır. Çalışmada neolojiler, tematik ve oluşma yöntemleri açısından incelenmiştir. Buna göre teknoloji, politika ve toplumsal gelişmeler alanındaki neolojilere yer verilmiştir. Neolojilerin oluşum biçimlerinde ise altı yöntem tespit edilmiştir. Bu yöntemler de örneklerle desteklenerek Arapçanın yeni sözcük türetmeye ilişkin eğilimi ortaya çıkarılmaya çalışılmıştır. Bu çalışmada sözlüğe girmemiş ifadeleri yeni kabul eden sözlükçülük yaklaşımı esas alınmıştır.
Every language is constantly organizing and sorting its internal dynamics, to the extent required by social conditions. In parallel with social developments, the formation of new words has inevitably occurred in every period. However, the dynamic of language change is accelerating today due to fundamental reasons such as social media and computer use. For this reason, knowing the concept of neologism allows innovations in the language to be made in a controlled manner.
Neologies are an important concept that reveals both linguistic and social dimensions. As a matter of fact, on the one hand, it makes the language alive by allowing it to operate its internal dynamics, and on the other hand, it reflects scientific and social developments. In this context, neologisms are important in terms of revealing both the internal dynamics of the language and its social dimension. Although it is known that language has a close relationship with society, both the formation and dissemination of neologisms are largely dependent on social factors such as migration, economy, politics, tourism, and scientific developments.
Various definitions have been made regarding the concept of neology. These concepts are generally formed around a new way of saying or a new meaning in the language. Therefore, neologism is known as the field of deriving new words in linguistics. Although it is seen that the concepts of neology and neologism are used interchangeably in studies on the subject, in this study, the concepts of neologism for the field of new word derivation and neology for the new word are preferred. It has been observed that the innovation in Arabic neologisms is semantic rather than formal.
Adding a new element to a language; In general, this is achieved by attributing new meanings to existing words, creating words according to the derivation rules of the language, and quoting. It is seen that neologisms in Arabic are formed similarly. Although neologism is a new subject of linguistics, the foundations of this concept date back to the early periods when Islam spread among non-Arabs for the Arabic language. The rapid and intense flow of “new words” entering the language in the mentioned period paved the way for research on this subject. The issue of transferring new words to the Arabic language is discussed around concepts such as “taʿrīb, dakhīl, and tawlīd”. Therefore, it is possible to talk about a conceptual infrastructure regarding neologism in Arabic.
Conceptual confusion regarding neologism in Arabic continues today, as it did in the classical period. When we look at the studies on Arabic neologisms, it is noticeable that the subject is approached from a usage perspective rather than a theoretical one. In this context, the difficulties encountered in neologism translations from English to Arabic are addressed and some solutions are produced. However, the problems mentioned in the translation will continue as long as the issue is not grounded conceptually.
For this reason, the subject of neology in Arabic needs a theoretical framework. As the Arabic equivalent of the concept of neology, the expressions tawlīd (توليد), al-kalimāt almostahdatha (المستحدثة الكلمات), or neyolocīzm (نيولوجيزم), which is the direct translation of the word into Arabic, stand out. However, it is noteworthy that the concept of tevlid has widespread use in recent studies. There are organizations in various Arab countries that carry out studies on coining new words. However, the lack of coordination between these organizations poses a major obstacle to systematizing the concept.
Although there are various definitions regarding the concept of neology, the idea of innovation is at the core of the concept. However, various approaches have been put forward regarding the criterion of this innovation. This study is based on the lexicography approach, which accepts new expressions that have not entered the dictionary. Accordingly, the neologisms given as examples in the study are expressions that are not included in the dictionary. Dictionaries scanned to determine these neologisms; Moʿjam al-lugha al- arabiyya al-muʿasira, Moʿjam ad-dakhīl fī al-lugha al-arabiyya al-hadītsah wa lahajātihā, Takmilat al-maʻājim al-ʻArabiyya, al-Maany and Tevakku. Of these, Moʿjam al-lugha al- arabiyya al-muʿasira, Moʿjam ad-dakhīl fī al-lugha al-arabiyya al-hadītsah wa lahajātihā and Takmilat al-maʻājim al-ʻArabiyya are printed dictionaries, while al-Maany and Tevakku are digital dictionaries. The feature of the mentioned dictionaries is that they are modern and can be considered an important criterion in determining neologisms.
The area where new words are used most intensively is undoubtedly the media. Neologisms are frequently encountered in the press language, as media tools aim to convey current developments and are willing to use new elements to attract attention. In this context, press language is an important tool in the use and dissemination of neologisms. Therefore, with the idea that examining the neologisms mentioned on a news site would be more convenient in terms of the scope of the subject, the study was limited to the neologisms on the al-Jazeera news site. The reason why al-Jazeera was chosen as the news site is that this channel adopts a broadcast policy that aims to use the Arabic language correctly and to ensure its use.
In the study, neologies were examined in terms of thematics and formation methods. Accordingly, neologisms in the fields of technology, politics, and social development are included. Six methods have been identified in the formation of neologies. By supporting these methods with examples, the tendency of Arabic to derive new words has been tried to be revealed. It is thought that the fact that most of the source language of neologies is English has led to more use of quotation and translation methods in Arabic neologies. In addition, these methods have become the choice of news channels as they facilitate and accelerate the transfer of neologisms. On the other hand, the derivation of Arabic neologisms using grammatical methods requires a certain amount of time, so they remain few. In addition, since the institutions that work on new word creation think that taking words from another language will harm the essence of Arabic, there is a serious need for time to create neologisms appropriate to the language. However, since this attitude of language institutions lags behind the pace of the emergence of neologisms, speakers of the language prefer to quote the English neologisms that they hear first and find more attractive. Therefore, it is important not only to derive Arabic neologisms by the language structure but also to keep them in line with today’s neology pace.
