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1. Introduction After the initial conquest of al-Andalus by the Muslim armies, a process of Arabization both linguistic and cultural started (Andalusi Arabic). Arabic culture remained a crucial factor on the Iberian Peninsula in the period between the invasion of the Muslims in 711 and the expulsion of the Moriscos at the beginning of the 17th century. The fundamental question is to what degree Arabic was used, or not used, among the inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula (Christians, Jews, and Muslims), in different periods and different regions. Sources are relatively spa…

Biography Almost nothing is known about Pedro de Alcalá. Since at least four places bear the name Alcalá – Alcalá de Guadaira, Alcalá de Henares, Alcalá del Río and Alcalá la Real – his origins are uncertain. More details can be inferred from his grammar. He informs his readers that when he wrote it, he was ‘between the first and second third of the average male lifespan’. Since he finished it in 1501, this means that he would have been born around 1455 (Pezzi,  Vocabulario, p. 12). When the publisher Juan de Varela moved to Toledo, he handed his stock over to Pedro de Alcalá,…

Arte para ligeramente saber la lengua arauiga'The art of gently learning Arabic' Pedro de Alcalá Date: 1505 Original Language: Spanish Description This grammatical work contains 96 folios and describes colloquial Arabic as it was spoken in Granada, followed by religious texts, such as sermons, a catechism and other material. Most of these have the Spanish in the left-hand column and the Arabic translation on the right. Some sections, particularly the  articuli fidei are bilingual (Latin and Arabic). There are two editions of the  Arte. According to Norton ( A descriptive catalogue)…

Otto Zwartjes [email protected] Last modified: October 2021IntroductionThis article provides an overview of the most important linguistic works composed by Jesuits during the modern age, a…