According to Orientalist Historian Bernard Lewis, there is no word
in Arabic for this country's name; what country is it?
Etymology, Etymology, and more Etymology
as well as grammar, usage, euphemism, slang, jargon, semantics (meaning), linguistics, neologism, idiom, word origin, syntax, dialect, lexicon (vocabulary), diction, pidgin, synonym, antonym, homonym, cant, argot, lingo, and redundancy.
The critically-acclaimed board game
MooT
consists of tough questions about the nuances of the English language.
Answer:
Saudi Arabia
According to Lewis: "Most remarkable of
all, there is no word in the Arabic language for "Arabia," and modern Saudi
Arabia is spoken of instead as "the Saudi Arab kingdom" or "the peninsula of
the Arabs," depending on the context.
This is not because Arabic is a poor language-quite the
reverse is true - but because the Arabs simply did not think in terms of
combined ethnic and territorial identity.
Indeed, the caliph Omar, the second in succession
after the Prophet Muhammad, is quoted as saying to the Arabs, "Learn your
genealogies, and do not be like the local peasants who, when they are asked who
they are, reply: 'I am from such-and-such a place.' "
Source: The Revolt of
Islam by BERNARD LEWIS.
For
further info, see: http://www.newyorker.com/printable/?fact/011119fa_FACT2
Please note that these are draft questions for the board game MooT.
If you spot an error or disagree with anything I've said here,
please let me know and I'll fix it.
(the Mootguy)
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