Andalusian Arabic

Infobox Language
name=Andalusian Arabic
nativename=
states=Al-Andalus
region=Iberian Peninsula
extinct=After the expulsion of the Moriscos from Iberia.
familycolor=Afro-Asiatic
fam2=Semitic
fam3=West Semitic
fam4=Central Semitic
iso3=xaa

Andalusian Arabic (also known as Andalusi Arabic, Spanish Arabic, or Moorish Arabic) was a variety of the Arabic language spoken in Al-Andalus, the regions of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar) under Muslim rule. It became an extinct language in Iberia after the expulsion of the Moriscos following the Christian Reconquest (Reconquista), though it is still used in Andalusi music and has significantly influenced the dialects of such towns as Tetouan, Fez, Rabat, Tangiers and CherchellFact|date=September 2007.

It also exerted some influence on Mozarabic, Spanish (particularly Andalusian), Catalan, Portuguese and the Moroccan Arabic dialect.

Andalusian Arabic appears to have spread rapidly and been the general oral use in most parts of Al-Andalus between the 9th and 15th centuries. It reached its highest peak of users, which can be roughly estimated at 5-7 million, during the 11th and 12th centuries. It then dwindled as a consequence of the gradual but relentless takeover by the Christians, although it remained in use in certain areas already under Christian political control until the final expulsion of the Muslims at the beginning of the 17th century. [Kees Versteegh, et al. Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics, BRILL, 2006.] In 1567, Philip II of Spain issued a royal decree in Spain which forced Moriscos to abandon using Arabic on all occasions, formal and informal, speaking and writing. Using Arabic in any sense of the word would be regarded as a crime. They were given three years to learn the language of the Christian Spanish, after which they would have to get rid of all Arabic written material.

As in every other Arabic-speaking land, the Andalusian people were diglossic i.e. spoke their local dialect in all low-register situations, but only Classical Arabic was resorted to when a high register was required and for written purposes as well.

Andalusian Arabic belongs to Early Western Neo-Arabic, which does not allow for any separation between Bedouin, urban, or rural dialects, nor does it show any detectable difference between communal dialects, such as Muslim, Christian and Jewish.

The oldest evidence of Andalusian Arabic utterances can be dated from the 10th and 11th century, in isolated quotes, both in prose and stanzaic Classical Andalusi poems (muwashahat), and then, from the 11th century on, in stanzaic dialectal poems (zajal) and dialectal proverb collections, while its last documents are a few business records and one letter written at the beginning of the 17th century in Valencia.ref|BRILL.

See also

* Aljamiado

References