The Foreign and Neo-Arabic Vocabulary in Al-Rusafi's Poetry: Between the Familiar and the Unfamiliar – A Linguistic Study

Abstract

This study investigates the use of borrowed and newly coined words in the poetry of Al-Rusafi, aiming to uncover a linguistic phenomenon that reflects the breadth and flexibility of the Arabic language in assimilating lexical items from foreign languages, as well as accommodating neologisms. The research highlights Al-Rusafi’s linguistic and communicative competence, which enabled him to incorporate such elements effectively—unlike many of his contemporaries, for whom this phenomenon posed a barrier. These poets often overlooked the socio-political and cultural dimensions that Al-Rusafi addressed with considerable care and sought to express throughout his poetic work.

Al-Rusafi lived through significant political and cultural events and endured their hardships, documenting them in poetry with striking realism. This sometimes required literal expression, devoid of rhetorical embellishment.

The study raises two interrelated questions: First, did Al-Rusafi’s commitment to realism limit his emotional impact on the audience? Second, did this commitment come at the expense of lexical familiarity? The research leaves these questions open for readers to assess based on the evidence presented.

The structure of the study consists of a methodological preface followed by two main sections: a theoretical framework and an applied analysis. The theoretical section addresses the concepts of borrowing and coinage in Al-Rusafi’s poetry, exploring their effects in terms of accessibility and alienation. The applied section presents an inventory of borrowed and coined terms—most of which remain unassimilated linguistically—based on a descriptive and comparative approach. It also incorporates etymological tracing and contextual analysis, while maintaining objectivity and avoiding subjective bias or prior judgments.