Distorted and Limiting Semantically Divergent Translated Meaning of Arabic Loanwords in the Malay Language as Educational Instrument

Abstract

Historically, the language contact contributed by Muslim preachers among the Arab traders of diverse origins that some of them opted to migrate and intermarry with the local Malays, thus, intermingled with the locals that had influenced the Malay/Malaysian language to borrow more Arabic words. Some semantic properties of the loanwords are adopted, but some are adapted. This study concerns with the divergent meaning of some adapted ones. 18 Malay-Arabic homophonous loanwords were purposely sampled – (the limited sample is due to the journal words limit). It is observed that despite of their similar utterance and spelling/transliteration but they have partially or fully dissimilar meanings when being compared between the two languages. Generally, it may confuse users of both languages, specifically the Arabian students who are compulsory to pass the Malay language in order to pass their study in Malaysia as well as Malay students who are studying in Arabian countries. Moreover, it may affect their meaning in the Malay translation for the Holy Qur’an/Prophetic Tradition (Hadith). So, it is essential to engage academics of the Islamic studies, and the Malay-Arabic linguists alike with the crucial issue stemmed from the bilingual mastery level that involved both languages departing from the rising movement of re-examining and re-envision criticality in language studies. Henceforth, the Malaysian Muslim society could dynamically develop further ahead after more than 10 centuries exposed to the Arabic language rather than being stagnant in minimalism evermore.