Arabic: logic terminology

[Ali Smith]

Hi,

I've noticed that some logic terms in Arabic seem to be loan translations from Latin. Thus, we have قضية شرطية متصلة, where the last term seems to be a literal translation of Latin coniūnctus (whence English conjunctive). Similarly, we have قضية شرطية منفصلة, whose last term seems to be a loan translation of Latin disjūnctus (whence English disjunctive).

con- 'together'
dis- expresses reversal
iungere 'to join'

Does anyone know if this is just a coincidence?

Thank you

 

[djmc]

Traditional logic is taken from Aristotle's Prior Analytics. Both Arabic and medieval Scholastc philosophers refer to him and use him as an authority. Much of medieval knowlege of Aristotle comes from Latin translations of Arabic commentators of Aristotle such as Averroes or Avicenna to the extent that Thomas Aquinas has been called a Latin Averroist.

 

[fdb]

Hi,

I've noticed that some logic terms in Arabic seem to be loan translations from Latin.

Greek, not Latin, via Syriac.

 

[Platytude]

I'd bet on Latin via English or French. The phrases sound like modern jargons of logics.

 

[WadiH]

Ali, are you referring to medieval terminology used by theologians and philosophers, or modern textbooks in universities? The latter may be influenced by European languages like French and English.

Greek, not Latin, via Syriac.

Is the intermediate Syriac stage actually attested for all these terms, or is it just an assumption because many of the early translators were Christians who knew Syriac?

 

[fdb]

Ali, are you referring to medieval terminology used by theologians and philosophers, or modern textbooks in universities? The latter may be influenced by European languages like French and English.

Is the intermediate Syriac stage actually attested for all these terms, or is it just an assumption because many of the early translators were Christians who knew Syriac?

The Syriac versions are not on the whole attested. But we do have the testimony of Hunain that he always translated first from Greek to Syriac, and then from Syriac to Arabic, never directly from Greek to Arabic. Of, course, one has to ascertain how many of these technical terms actually occur in the extant mediaeval Arabic translations, and other writings.

 

[WadiH]

Why would Hunayn need to do that?

 

[djmc]

In some ways logical vocabulary has not changed that much and earlier writers such as Aristotle, the Arabic writers and the scholastics still have interesting things to say about the subject.

 

[fdb]

Why would Hunayn need to do that?

Presumably because there was no tradition of direct translation from Greek to Arabic.