Nos ancêtres les Arabes: ce que notre langue leur doit by Jean Pruvost

Abstract

Reviewed by: Nos ancêtres les Arabes: ce que notre langue leur doit by Jean Pruvost Amanda Dalola Pruvost, Jean. Nos ancêtres les Arabes: ce que notre langue leur doit. Lattès, 2017. ISBN 978-2-7096-5941-3. Pp. 300. With the goal of revealing the reach of Arabic influence in the present-day French lexicon, this book brings to light the longstanding cultural, social, and historical contact situations occurring between French and Arabic. Beginning with a short historical survey, the author swiftly dispels the myth that modern-day French has been largely shaped by the oft-praised Gaulish ancestors (nos ancêtres les Gaulois), and instead recenters the discussion on the many Arabophone influences that have occurred over two thousand years of contact and yielded such steady contributions to the French language that many forms are no longer identifiable by French speakers as exotic (artichaut, bougie, café, douane). Broken into six chapters, the work is centered around a 200-page pièce de résistance—an annotated list of French lexemes of Arabic origin—organized into themed cultural subgroups (Je m'alimente; J'achète, je paie; Je m'habille de pied en cap!), with descriptions that offer information on each item's etymology, French pronunciation, and Arabic source forms. Supporting chapters supplement the list with personal and historical anecdotes detailing social and cultural contexts of bygone and present-day eras that have conditioned the recurring contact (e.g., mathematics, commerce, poetry). Then, as a demonstration of the sheer robustness of Arabic words in present-day French, the author brings to life an alphabetized list of [End Page 228] lexemes by ordering them into subgroups with illustrative subtitles (letters N–P: Du Nénuphar à la Pastèque en passant par l'Orange; letters S–T: Du Sucre et à quel Tarif?) and explaining their origins. The discussion culminates in a forward-looking chapter that conjectures about the future of the languages, suggesting they have more in common than frequently believed. Both are languages of high society and sizeable international presence, both cover vast territories and possess a powerful body of literature, and both would benefit, the author contends, from a respectful coexistence marked by bidirectional translation and equal educational recognition. Throughout the book, one message is clear: Arabic's cultural and linguistic influence on French has always been one of great prestige, from foundational translations of Arabic mathematics texts inspiring early theoreticians to later translations of Arabic poetry inspiring the likes of Voltaire—it is only recently, in the glow of politicized prescriptivism, that its influence has been reinterpreted as something else. As such, the value of this text for linguists and French educators is considerable. On the one hand, it is the ideal format for diachronists to begin their inquiry on Arabic-French contact, while on the other, its comprehensive chapters and word lists boast reference-level quality for incorporation into undergraduate and graduate courses. Teachers, Francophiles, and wordsmiths alike will appreciate this work for its vibrant contextualized examples and historically complete portrayals of French-Arabic contact across the ages. Nos ancêtres les Arabes arrives at just the right moment to lead us on a delightful stroll through the miscellany of the French lexicon and remind us that cultural and linguistic influence is and has always been enriching, multidirectional, and enduring, even in the face of opposition. Amanda Dalola University of South Carolina Copyright © 2018 American Association of Teachers of French