THE FOLK NOVEL SIRAH OF ZAHIR BAYBARS AND THE TURKISMS WITHIN IT

Abstract

Borrowed words in the Kazakh language, including those from Arabic and Persian, can be considered widely studied in domestic science. However, Turkisms in the Arabic language, i.e., borrowed words from Turkic languages, remain one of the under-researched areas by domestic scholars. In this article, we will examine Turkic loanwords in the folk novel «Biography of Zaher Baybars», one of the prominent works of Arabic oral literature, which narrates the life of Sultan Baybars, a Kipchak steppe native who ruled Egypt, Sham, and Hijaz for 17 years between 1260 and 1277.

The reason for choosing this novel is that the Egyptian dialect is used more frequently in the work. Loanwords are more commonly found in works written in Arabic dialects and in the spoken language of the people, rather than in works in the Arabic literary language. Additionally, although this work has been translated into several languages, it remains one of the less-studied works. By examining the Turkic loanwords in this novel, we can determine the extent of influence neighboring peoples had on Arab countries and the Arabic language, highlighting the significance of this research work.