Turkish and Persian Loans in English Literature

Abstract

Of the 600 Persian and 284 Turkish loans collected from standard English dictionaries, at least 319 have been used by 98 significant literary figures throughout the centuries. These demonstrate that literary writers directly affect the English language by providing the first known record of a given loan, or by creatively using a previous borrowing to introduce a new sense, a different form as in a derivation or compound, or a different form class (as in Jonson's noun chouse, from Shirley's original verb). Literature and linguistics are thereby more closely, naturally linked in interdisciplinary research. Sir William Jones, Gibbon, Byron, and a few others provided rich raw materials for later literature. The data reveal a progression toward greater accuracy and authenticity, which add to the reputation and stature of the work. Poets like Byron, utilizing rhyme and subtle internal definitions to explain exotic words, enhanced their literary artistry and charm by employing actual Oriental words. Without the words, the writers might never have gained fame in Oriental aspects of Romanticism and Victorianism. The numerical rank is surprising, led by Byron with 94 different words, followed by James Morier, Thomas Hope, Thackeray, Thomas Moore, Jones, Purchas, Disraeli, Gibbon, William Beckford, Scott, and Kipling with 34.