Translation as the instigator of a new Arabic discourse in Islamic intellectual history

Abstract

Arabic is a Semitic language that originated in the Arabian Peninsula and, until the seventh century, functioned as an oral language of tribes who were primarily nomadic. This was dramatically changed, however, by the advent of Islam, which not only transformed how language was utilized, but also provided a scriptural text and afforded it a certain sacrality. With the spread of Islamicate territories, Arabic eventually replaced Greek as the lingua franca of the eastern Mediterranean and became an administrative language under the Umayyad dynasty (r. 661-750). It was under their successors, Abbasids (r. 750-1258), however, that Arabic became a target language for the translation of scientific and philosophical texts originating in Greek, Persian, and Sanskrit and ushered in a ‘Golden Age’ of learning under the auspices of the ‘Translation Movement’. This chapter traces the genesis of Arabic discourse and highlights the role of translation in transforming it into a conduit for the philosophy and science of the ancient world during the medieval period.