Sparabic

I think I've been neglecting this thing a bit too long now, don't you agree? The semester is almost over though, yay! I recently joined the M.E.Ch.A. club on campus, and went to help with a fundraiser sale yesterday. This elderly woman came by and bought one of the pan dulces and some of the Mexican hot chocolate that we were selling, and wow. This woman. That's all I can really say. She asked me what I was studying and I told her that I'm majoring in Japanese and Spanish. She said that she was there taking a Spanish class, a non-credit one, and told me I should study Arabic so that we (America) will know what "those arabs are saying about us." Her words, not mine. It might be fascinating to study Arabic some day, but given the current conditions, I don't think I would want the government calling me here at home asking me if I would be interested in helping translate. Blegh.

The whole "conversation," if you could even call it that because she was mostly talking and I was not wanting to get involved in it, made me realize that I've neglected my whole discussion of Spanish on here (I figured I would pass it up since most people will probably have a superficial knowledge of it, especially if you are from the United States), but I figured that one area with which most people would not be familiar would be the Arabic influence in Spanish. Yes, that is right! Spanish has roughly 4,000 words of Arabic origin, due to the Moor rule of Spain from 711 to 1492. I started to compile a list of some words that I could think of that were of Arabic origin, but of course, I probably won't reach the 4,000 words unless I put my whole effort into it. For now I only have 60 words, but I figured that I would share the list here. So enjoy!

Guadalajara ~ River of Rocks
almohada ~ pillow
tarea ~ task, chore, homework
azúcar ~ sugar
azul ~ blue
azulejo ~ tile
barrio ~ neighborhood, "hood"
alcalde ~ mayor
arroz ~ rice
ojalá ~ (followed by imperfect subjunctive) "If only..." otherwise, "God willing ~!" or "Would God want ~!" or "I hope ~"
hasta ~ until
chupa ~ vest(?)
ajedrez ~ chess
fulano ~ what's-his-face
jirafa ~ giraffe
aceite ~ oil
algodón ~ cotton
toronja ~ grape fruit
café ~ coffee
alcoba ~ alcolve, room
alquiler ~ rent, leasing
cero ~ zero
jaque ~ expression used in chess, "check"
guitarra ~ guitar
rincón ~ corner
adobe ~ adobe
alfalfa ~ alfalfa
alcohol ~ alcohol
aldea ~ village
alfombra ~ carpet, rug
álgebra ~ algebra
azafata ~ flight attendant (female, usually)
espinaca ~ spinache
limón ~ lime
máscara ~ mask
sorbete ~ sherbert
almacén ~ department store, storage
aduana ~ customs
azar ~ chance
sofá ~ sofa
nuca ~ nape of the neck
alfiler ~ common pin; brooch; (plural) pin money
alfil ~ (chess) bishop
alférez ~ second lieutenant; ensign
algoritmo ~ algorithm
alhelí ~ gillyflower
alhaja ~ jewel, gem
alheña ~ henna
alfeñique ~ sugar paste
alfajor ~ name for various pastries with a cream or honey filling
alfarda ~ joist, light beam
alfanje ~ cutlass
alfóncigo ~ pistachio
alforja ~ saddlebag, knapsack, provisions for a journey
alforza ~ hem, tuck
algarrobo ~ carob tree
aldaba ~ door knocker, hasp
cifra ~ cipher, number, code, sum, figure
jarope ~ syrup
alcachofa ~ artichoke
azucena ~ white lilly
laúd ~ lute, catboat
alquimia ~ alchemy
zanahoria ~ carrot
alharaca ~ confusion, fuss, ruckus
alacrán ~ scorpion
alcolba ~ bedroom
jábega ~ seine

You will probably notice that many of these begin with al-. This is because this is the article in Arabic. Essentially, then, you are saying, "the" with each of these words, if you were to use them to a person who spoke Arabic back between the 700s and 1400s. For example, almohada comes from the Arabic al mihaddah, which when broken down means "The small bed for the cheek" (al = the; mi = cheek; hadda = small bed), if I'm not mistaken.