Jun 3, 2005 05:46
18 yrs ago
3 viewers *
Arabic term
Germany
I talk Turkey... and so will you!
Native in: Turkish 
Works in: English to Turkish, Turkish to English, German to Turkish, and 1 more.
barak and barakah
Arabic to English
Art/Literary
Linguistics
The text I am translating is a fictitious address by Christoph Columbus to US Army Captain John Whyte, who will be learning Arabic once he'll have joined Columbus on the 'other side'.
I know I should've asked one term at a time, but these two seem related, and I need your help to understand the meanings, and possible puns here. The verses they appear:
all the words you did not think to use
Captain John Whyte
all the names you did not know
not even your own
white barakah
barakah related to barak blessing
I understand that 'blessing' is given as a hint to the meaning of barak - and we have a similar word -derived from Arabic- in Turkish, my native language, in the form of 'bereket'=blessing (among other things). So, I understand that 'barak' means blessing. Am I right?
As for 'barakah', the dictionary tells me that it means 'lightning', but as the author puts it next to white (which obviously is a pun with the name Whyte), I cannot help thinking if it might also mean 'white' in Arabic. Also, why does he say that barakah is related to barak? Does he mean etymology, or are they used in some connection in Arabic? (Note that, though, the author doesn't speak Arabic, so there's also the chance that he might have made a mistake here!)
Thank you in advance for any help.
I know I should've asked one term at a time, but these two seem related, and I need your help to understand the meanings, and possible puns here. The verses they appear:
all the words you did not think to use
Captain John Whyte
all the names you did not know
not even your own
white barakah
barakah related to barak blessing
I understand that 'blessing' is given as a hint to the meaning of barak - and we have a similar word -derived from Arabic- in Turkish, my native language, in the form of 'bereket'=blessing (among other things). So, I understand that 'barak' means blessing. Am I right?
As for 'barakah', the dictionary tells me that it means 'lightning', but as the author puts it next to white (which obviously is a pun with the name Whyte), I cannot help thinking if it might also mean 'white' in Arabic. Also, why does he say that barakah is related to barak? Does he mean etymology, or are they used in some connection in Arabic? (Note that, though, the author doesn't speak Arabic, so there's also the chance that he might have made a mistake here!)
Thank you in advance for any help.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 5 +10 | blessing, benediction |
Fuad Yahya
|
| 5 | Lightning |
Sam Berner
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| 4 +1 | barq / baraq can mean lightning but barak /barakah =blessed/blessing |
eliuri
|
| 5 | verb and noun |
Dina Abdo
|
Proposed translations
+10
16 mins
Selected
blessing, benediction
As these words are written in Roman letters, they lack the vowel specificity that would indicate which cognate is intended.
The stem B-R-K carries the meaning of "blessing" or "benediction" and is related to the Hebrew word BARUCH. In other words, this is an old Semitic root.
The basic verb form in standard Arabic morphology is the past tense, conjugated to the third person singular masculine, which in this case would be بارَك, and is pronounced BAraka (long first syllable, short second and third syllables).
The noun form is written بَرَكة, and is pronounced baraka (all short syllables, with slightly stressed first syllable).
The H in BARAKAH is sometimes added to the noun form when romanized in order to indicate the presence of a silent T.
"Lightning" is pronounced BARQ, and is unrelated to BARAKA altogether.
It is possible that the writer of this passage had a smattering of Arabic and wanted to use it but failed to consult with an Arabic linguist, or intentionally made the passage garbled to ridicule the linguist (as in the movie).
The stem B-R-K carries the meaning of "blessing" or "benediction" and is related to the Hebrew word BARUCH. In other words, this is an old Semitic root.
The basic verb form in standard Arabic morphology is the past tense, conjugated to the third person singular masculine, which in this case would be بارَك, and is pronounced BAraka (long first syllable, short second and third syllables).
The noun form is written بَرَكة, and is pronounced baraka (all short syllables, with slightly stressed first syllable).
The H in BARAKAH is sometimes added to the noun form when romanized in order to indicate the presence of a silent T.
"Lightning" is pronounced BARQ, and is unrelated to BARAKA altogether.
It is possible that the writer of this passage had a smattering of Arabic and wanted to use it but failed to consult with an Arabic linguist, or intentionally made the passage garbled to ridicule the linguist (as in the movie).
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Hassan Al-Haifi (wordforword)
1 hr
|
| agree |
Nesrin
2 hrs
|
| agree |
AbdulHameed Al Hadidi
: I fully agree.
3 hrs
|
| agree |
neuneutek
4 hrs
|
| agree |
Abby Gomaa
6 hrs
|
| agree |
Mohamed Gaafar
12 hrs
|
| agree |
sktrans
14 hrs
|
| agree |
Awad Balaish
22 hrs
|
| agree |
Nancy Eweiss
1 day 1 hr
|
| agree |
AhmedAMS
16 days
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you, Fuad."
19 mins
Sam Berner
Australia
Australia
Native in Arabic
&
English
Australia
Craftsmanship, ideas, expert knowledge
Native in: Arabic (Variants: Standard-Arabian (MSA), Syrian, Egyptian, Palestinian, Lebanese, Sudanese) 
, English (Variants: US, British, Australian)
Works in: English to Arabic, Arabic to English
Lightning
Ok, I solved the problem - which is one of transliteration. It is not "baraka" but "baraqa" - to flash, to shine. It is a verb, the noun of which is "barq" - lightning (the one with thunder. I hope this helps.
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Note added at 20 mins (2005-06-03 06:07:39 GMT)
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Apologies, I did not see Fuad\'s note before posting.
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Note added at 20 mins (2005-06-03 06:07:39 GMT)
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Apologies, I did not see Fuad\'s note before posting.
+1
27 mins
barq / baraq can mean lightning but barak /barakah =blessed/blessing
In arabic, the Qaf and Kaf are distinctly different letters. When they occur in words, their meanings are not interchangeable.
It is possible that a pun was was intended by "White Lightning", but in order for it to denote that, it would use the Arabic Qaf and not the Kaf.
Non-native speakers sometimes incorrectly interchange the sound of these two consonants.
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Note added at 32 mins (2005-06-03 06:18:49 GMT)
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My sincere apologies.
I had failed to see Fuad\'s and Sam\'s comment on this prior to my posting.
It is possible that a pun was was intended by "White Lightning", but in order for it to denote that, it would use the Arabic Qaf and not the Kaf.
Non-native speakers sometimes incorrectly interchange the sound of these two consonants.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 32 mins (2005-06-03 06:18:49 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
My sincere apologies.
I had failed to see Fuad\'s and Sam\'s comment on this prior to my posting.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
AbdulHameed Al Hadidi
: I fully agree with Faud Yahya in what he said.I was going to five the same explanation but he preceeded. I studied Enlish literature, Old & modern and up till now a broad reader of it and I'm also and an Arab with a broad cultural background.
3 hrs
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6 mins
verb and noun
barak is the past form of the verb. It means blessed
barakah is the noun, it means the bless itself
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Note added at 3 hrs 54 mins (2005-06-03 09:41:37 GMT)
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The correction in my answer should be as follows: \"the blessing itself\" instead of \"the bless itself\". This doesn\'t mean that my answer is wrong wordforword, I still think that Barak stands for \"blessed\" and Barakah stands for \"blessing\" as a NOUN.
See the link: http://www.bartleby.com/61/18/B0321800.html :
TRANSITIVE VERB: Inflected forms: blessed or blest ( blst), bless·ing, bless·es
1. To make holy by religious rite; sanctify. 2. To make the sign of the cross over so as to sanctify. 3. To invoke divine favor upon. 4. To honor as holy; glorify: Bless the Lord. 5. To confer well-being or prosperity on. 6. To endow, as with talent.
IDIOM: bless you Used to wish good health to a person who has just sneezed.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English blessen, from Old English bltsian, to consecrate. See bhel-3 in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS: blesser —NOUN
WORD HISTORY: The verb bless comes from Old English bldsian, bldsian, bltsian, “to bless, wish happiness, consecrate.” Although the Old English verb has no cognates in any other Germanic language, it can be shown to derive from the Germanic noun *bldan, “blood.” Bldsian therefore literally means “to consecrate with blood, sprinkle with blood.” The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, the early Germanic migrants to Britain, used bldsian for their pagan sacrifices. After they converted to Christianity, bldsian acquired new meanings as a result of its use in translations of the Latin Bible, but it kept its pagan Germanic senses as well.
barakah is the noun, it means the bless itself
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Note added at 3 hrs 54 mins (2005-06-03 09:41:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
The correction in my answer should be as follows: \"the blessing itself\" instead of \"the bless itself\". This doesn\'t mean that my answer is wrong wordforword, I still think that Barak stands for \"blessed\" and Barakah stands for \"blessing\" as a NOUN.
See the link: http://www.bartleby.com/61/18/B0321800.html :
TRANSITIVE VERB: Inflected forms: blessed or blest ( blst), bless·ing, bless·es
1. To make holy by religious rite; sanctify. 2. To make the sign of the cross over so as to sanctify. 3. To invoke divine favor upon. 4. To honor as holy; glorify: Bless the Lord. 5. To confer well-being or prosperity on. 6. To endow, as with talent.
IDIOM: bless you Used to wish good health to a person who has just sneezed.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English blessen, from Old English bltsian, to consecrate. See bhel-3 in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS: blesser —NOUN
WORD HISTORY: The verb bless comes from Old English bldsian, bldsian, bltsian, “to bless, wish happiness, consecrate.” Although the Old English verb has no cognates in any other Germanic language, it can be shown to derive from the Germanic noun *bldan, “blood.” Bldsian therefore literally means “to consecrate with blood, sprinkle with blood.” The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, the early Germanic migrants to Britain, used bldsian for their pagan sacrifices. After they converted to Christianity, bldsian acquired new meanings as a result of its use in translations of the Latin Bible, but it kept its pagan Germanic senses as well.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Sam Berner
: :-) Great minds think alike - but at the same time??
2 mins
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thx sweet Sam :)
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| disagree |
Hassan Al-Haifi (wordforword)
: bless is not a noun! See link: http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=ble... function: transitive verb; no noun! b-l-e-s-s is not a noun, period! No need to feel upset. I note your recognition of correction.
1 hr
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yaa wordforword: I'm not saying you're wrong ya 3ammy!!! read what i wrote!! i sent a correction!! yeeeee??
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Discussion
white barak
barak related to barakah blessing
The author also kindly confirmed that he meant it as a pun on white lightning, and suggested the below correction to make things clearer - also to be added in any subsequent edition or translation:
white barq like a flash of lightning
barq yes and also barakah
the word for blessing
He also added that he did consult speakers of Arabic, but they were not linguists anyway, and worse the consultation was made on the phone - very unfortunate in the case of a language that is highly inflected and nuanced in pronounciation.
Another unfortunate thing is that there's no Q sound in Turkish, nor any alphabet letter corresponding it, so I won't be able to render the distinction between barq and barakah in full, but at least I'll get the meanings correct.
My thanks to all of you who have been equally helpful at solving the puzzle. The reason I choose Fuad's answer is that he has also provided detailed pronounciation help, which is essential as I have to transliterate. I am also thankful to AMT, eliuri, and Sam, who has especially been helpful about the lightning bit and drawn attention to a transliteration problem.