The Arabic Origins of "Question and Modal Words" in English and European Languages: A Lexical Root Theory Approach

Zaidan Ali Jassem

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijll.20140201.13

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The Arabic Origins of "Question and Modal Words" in English and European Languages: A Lexical Root Theory Approach

Zaidan Ali Jassem

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 2, Issue 1)

Received: 27 December 2013 Accepted: Published: 20 February 2014

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Abstract

This paper examines the Arabic origins of question and modal words in English, German, French, Latin, Greek, Russian, and Sanskrit from a lexical root theory perspective. The data consists of 21 terms like who, what, why, when, where, which, how; can/could, will/would, shall/should, may/might. All such words, the results exhibit, have true Arabic cognates, with the same or similar forms and meanings. Their different forms, however, are all found to be due to natural and plausible causes and different courses of linguistic change. Moreover, all the wh-question words in the so-called Indo-European languages developed from one form- viz., hu- in Germanic languages (English how, German wie, Gothic hvaiwa), qu- in Romance (Latin, French, Italian quis/que), Slavic (Russian kto), Sanskrit (kah), and Greek ti (tos), to which gender, number, and case endings were added, leading to different forms and different meanings like who, what, why, how, when, where in English. All such forms descended eventually from Arabic kaifa/kai 'how' via different routes of sound change, turning /k/ into /q/ in Latin and French, /h/ in English, and /t/ in Greek while /f/ became /w (u)/ in all. That is, Arabic kaifa (kai) → (i) kwa in Latinate → (ii) haifa, haiwa/wa in Germanic → iii) ta/sa in Greek/Irish or something similar. Also the auxiliary or modal words had true Arabic cognates. Consequently, the results indicate, contrary to Comparative Method claims, that Arabic, English, and all (Indo-)European languages belong to the same language, let alone the same family. They, therefore, prove the adequacy of the lexical root theory according to which Arabic, English, German, French, Latin, and Greek are dialects of the same language with Arabic being their origin all because of its phonetic complexity and huge lexical variety and multiplicity (10 v. 1).

Published in	International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 2, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijll.20140201.13
Page(s)	19-30
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Question & Modal Words, Arabic, English, German, French, Russian, Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, Historical Linguistics, Lexical Root Theory

References

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Zaidan Ali Jassem. (2014). The Arabic Origins of "Question and Modal Words" in English and European Languages: A Lexical Root Theory Approach. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 2(1), 19-30. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20140201.13

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Zaidan Ali Jassem. The Arabic Origins of "Question and Modal Words" in English and European Languages: A Lexical Root Theory Approach. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2014, 2(1), 19-30. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20140201.13

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Zaidan Ali Jassem. The Arabic Origins of "Question and Modal Words" in English and European Languages: A Lexical Root Theory Approach. Int J Lang Linguist. 2014;2(1):19-30. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20140201.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20140201.13,
  author = {Zaidan Ali Jassem},
  title = {The Arabic Origins of "Question and Modal Words" in English and European Languages: A Lexical Root Theory Approach},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {2},
  number = {1},
  pages = {19-30},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20140201.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20140201.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20140201.13},
  abstract = {This paper examines the Arabic origins of question and modal words in English, German, French, Latin, Greek, Russian, and Sanskrit from a lexical root theory perspective. The data consists of 21 terms like who, what, why, when, where, which, how; can/could, will/would, shall/should, may/might. All such words, the results exhibit, have true Arabic cognates, with the same or similar forms and meanings. Their different forms, however, are all found to be due to natural and plausible causes and different courses of linguistic change. Moreover, all the wh-question words in the so-called Indo-European languages developed from one form- viz., hu- in Germanic languages (English how, German wie, Gothic hvaiwa), qu- in Romance (Latin, French, Italian quis/que), Slavic (Russian kto), Sanskrit (kah), and Greek ti (tos), to which gender, number, and case endings were added, leading to different forms and different meanings like who, what, why, how, when, where in English. All such forms descended eventually from Arabic kaifa/kai 'how' via different routes of sound change, turning /k/ into /q/ in Latin and French, /h/ in English, and /t/ in Greek while /f/ became /w (u)/ in all. That is, Arabic kaifa (kai) → (i) kwa in Latinate → (ii) haifa, haiwa/wa in Germanic → iii) ta/sa in Greek/Irish or something similar. Also the auxiliary or modal words had true Arabic cognates. Consequently, the results indicate, contrary to Comparative Method claims, that Arabic, English, and all (Indo-)European languages belong to the same language, let alone the same family. They, therefore, prove the adequacy of the lexical root theory according to which Arabic, English, German, French, Latin, and Greek are dialects of the same language with Arabic being their origin all because of its phonetic complexity and huge lexical variety and multiplicity (10 v. 1).},
 year = {2014}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Arabic Origins of "Question and Modal Words" in English and European Languages: A Lexical Root Theory Approach
AU  - Zaidan Ali Jassem
Y1  - 2014/02/20
PY  - 2014
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20140201.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20140201.13
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 19
EP  - 30
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20140201.13
AB  - This paper examines the Arabic origins of question and modal words in English, German, French, Latin, Greek, Russian, and Sanskrit from a lexical root theory perspective. The data consists of 21 terms like who, what, why, when, where, which, how; can/could, will/would, shall/should, may/might. All such words, the results exhibit, have true Arabic cognates, with the same or similar forms and meanings. Their different forms, however, are all found to be due to natural and plausible causes and different courses of linguistic change. Moreover, all the wh-question words in the so-called Indo-European languages developed from one form- viz., hu- in Germanic languages (English how, German wie, Gothic hvaiwa), qu- in Romance (Latin, French, Italian quis/que), Slavic (Russian kto), Sanskrit (kah), and Greek ti (tos), to which gender, number, and case endings were added, leading to different forms and different meanings like who, what, why, how, when, where in English. All such forms descended eventually from Arabic kaifa/kai 'how' via different routes of sound change, turning /k/ into /q/ in Latin and French, /h/ in English, and /t/ in Greek while /f/ became /w (u)/ in all. That is, Arabic kaifa (kai) → (i) kwa in Latinate → (ii) haifa, haiwa/wa in Germanic → iii) ta/sa in Greek/Irish or something similar. Also the auxiliary or modal words had true Arabic cognates. Consequently, the results indicate, contrary to Comparative Method claims, that Arabic, English, and all (Indo-)European languages belong to the same language, let alone the same family. They, therefore, prove the adequacy of the lexical root theory according to which Arabic, English, German, French, Latin, and Greek are dialects of the same language with Arabic being their origin all because of its phonetic complexity and huge lexical variety and multiplicity (10 v. 1).
VL  - 2
IS  - 1
ER  -

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Zaidan Ali Jassem

Department of English Language and Translation, Qassim University, P.O.Box 6611, Buraidah, KSA

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Zaidan Ali Jassem. (2014). The Arabic Origins of "Question and Modal Words" in English and European Languages: A Lexical Root Theory Approach. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 2(1), 19-30. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20140201.13

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Zaidan Ali Jassem. The Arabic Origins of "Question and Modal Words" in English and European Languages: A Lexical Root Theory Approach. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2014, 2(1), 19-30. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20140201.13

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AMA Style

Zaidan Ali Jassem. The Arabic Origins of "Question and Modal Words" in English and European Languages: A Lexical Root Theory Approach. Int J Lang Linguist. 2014;2(1):19-30. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20140201.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20140201.13,
  author = {Zaidan Ali Jassem},
  title = {The Arabic Origins of "Question and Modal Words" in English and European Languages: A Lexical Root Theory Approach},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {2},
  number = {1},
  pages = {19-30},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20140201.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20140201.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20140201.13},
  abstract = {This paper examines the Arabic origins of question and modal words in English, German, French, Latin, Greek, Russian, and Sanskrit from a lexical root theory perspective. The data consists of 21 terms like who, what, why, when, where, which, how; can/could, will/would, shall/should, may/might. All such words, the results exhibit, have true Arabic cognates, with the same or similar forms and meanings. Their different forms, however, are all found to be due to natural and plausible causes and different courses of linguistic change. Moreover, all the wh-question words in the so-called Indo-European languages developed from one form- viz., hu- in Germanic languages (English how, German wie, Gothic hvaiwa), qu- in Romance (Latin, French, Italian quis/que), Slavic (Russian kto), Sanskrit (kah), and Greek ti (tos), to which gender, number, and case endings were added, leading to different forms and different meanings like who, what, why, how, when, where in English. All such forms descended eventually from Arabic kaifa/kai 'how' via different routes of sound change, turning /k/ into /q/ in Latin and French, /h/ in English, and /t/ in Greek while /f/ became /w (u)/ in all. That is, Arabic kaifa (kai) → (i) kwa in Latinate → (ii) haifa, haiwa/wa in Germanic → iii) ta/sa in Greek/Irish or something similar. Also the auxiliary or modal words had true Arabic cognates. Consequently, the results indicate, contrary to Comparative Method claims, that Arabic, English, and all (Indo-)European languages belong to the same language, let alone the same family. They, therefore, prove the adequacy of the lexical root theory according to which Arabic, English, German, French, Latin, and Greek are dialects of the same language with Arabic being their origin all because of its phonetic complexity and huge lexical variety and multiplicity (10 v. 1).},
 year = {2014}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Arabic Origins of "Question and Modal Words" in English and European Languages: A Lexical Root Theory Approach
AU  - Zaidan Ali Jassem
Y1  - 2014/02/20
PY  - 2014
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20140201.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20140201.13
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 19
EP  - 30
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20140201.13
AB  - This paper examines the Arabic origins of question and modal words in English, German, French, Latin, Greek, Russian, and Sanskrit from a lexical root theory perspective. The data consists of 21 terms like who, what, why, when, where, which, how; can/could, will/would, shall/should, may/might. All such words, the results exhibit, have true Arabic cognates, with the same or similar forms and meanings. Their different forms, however, are all found to be due to natural and plausible causes and different courses of linguistic change. Moreover, all the wh-question words in the so-called Indo-European languages developed from one form- viz., hu- in Germanic languages (English how, German wie, Gothic hvaiwa), qu- in Romance (Latin, French, Italian quis/que), Slavic (Russian kto), Sanskrit (kah), and Greek ti (tos), to which gender, number, and case endings were added, leading to different forms and different meanings like who, what, why, how, when, where in English. All such forms descended eventually from Arabic kaifa/kai 'how' via different routes of sound change, turning /k/ into /q/ in Latin and French, /h/ in English, and /t/ in Greek while /f/ became /w (u)/ in all. That is, Arabic kaifa (kai) → (i) kwa in Latinate → (ii) haifa, haiwa/wa in Germanic → iii) ta/sa in Greek/Irish or something similar. Also the auxiliary or modal words had true Arabic cognates. Consequently, the results indicate, contrary to Comparative Method claims, that Arabic, English, and all (Indo-)European languages belong to the same language, let alone the same family. They, therefore, prove the adequacy of the lexical root theory according to which Arabic, English, German, French, Latin, and Greek are dialects of the same language with Arabic being their origin all because of its phonetic complexity and huge lexical variety and multiplicity (10 v. 1).
VL  - 2
IS  - 1
ER  -

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