The other Side of the Coin of Lexical Borrowing from Arabic into English

Abstract

The present paper investigates Arabic lexical borrowings in terms of the new signifieds accrued in the receptor language (English) drawing on Venuti’s (1998) notions of ‘domestication’ and ‘foreignization’. The paper shows that SL meanings are at loggerheads with those in the receptor language. The paper argues that lexical borrowings are consequence of cultural transfer in intercultural communication situations and they can be a double-edged sword. Whilst the shift from the original meaning(s) via borrowing may be considered a gain for the receptor language, it can do injustice to the source language.

Keywords

• domestication
• foreignization
• lexical borrowing