Hi everyone!
It is a know fact that the first European translation of the 'Thousand
and One Nights' (in French at least) was done by Antoine Galland in
1704-1711. Three hundred years back.
My question is: where did one go or what did one do at that time if one
was a Westerner willing to learn the Arabic language, at least in its
classical form?
Even in 2004, three hundred years later, and in spite of the relative
abundance of resources (textbooks, radio and television programs,
newspapers, university courses, institutes, frequent contacts with
emigrants, Internet, etc.), it is still quite a feat to master Arabic
enough to be able to understand the classical literature (never mind
translate it properly). But back then, how could one manage to learn
Arabic? Given the relative complexity of the Arabic grammar and the
almost absolute lack of lexical resemblance with Western languages of
the language, a sojourn abroad alone cannot have been enough to learn
it, even for an enlightened, brilliant and curious mind. For instance,
how could one gain an understanding of the ten (or twelve or fifteen)
form system of the Arabic verb without any kind of theoretical
explanation?
I thought that the first opening of the West to the East dated back to
Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798 (then again, this 'opening' was a
mere military action). Nonetheless, hundred years before that
expedition, Galland must already have been learning Arabic. How did he
do?
It is also a very well know fact that the Arabs manifested interest for
the European culture a long time ago (for instance medieval translations
of Greek classical authors and philosophers), but are there any examples
of early interest of the Europeans for the Arabic culture? For that
matter, are there any examples of *recent* interest of the Westerners
for the Arabic culture?
In other words, does a 'History of the teaching/learning of the Arabic
language in the West (Europe)' exist?
Thanks.
Raymond
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