IL "SICULO-ARABIC" E GLI ARABISMI MEDIEVALI E MODERNI DI SICLIA

«SICULO ARABIC» AND ARABIC LOAN-WORDS IN MEDIEVAL AND MODERN SICILIAN DIALECTAmong the several studies on the complex socio-linguistic situation of medieval Arabic-Norman Sicily [cf. Vàrvaro (1979; 1981)], the work of Agius (1996) points at the Treatise of Ibn Makkī, Taṯqīf al-lisān wa talqīḥ al ǧanān, as an example of “laḥn works” (laḥn = ‘mistake’), useful to signal the linguistic mistakes of Arabic speakers unable to use the correct and classical model. Since the work of Ibn Makkī is probably referred to Arabic spoken in Sicily during 10th century, the comparison of its features with the ones of medieval and modern arabic loan-words of Sicilian dialects will permit to detect what phonetical and morphological changes we can observe in medieval and modern Sicilian wors of Arabic origin had already taken place in Arabic of medieval Sicily described in the Treatise. On the other hand, the analisys of data taken from Ibn Makkī work and “filtered” by Agius will also permit to discuss the possible Arabic origin of a further little group of lexemes still alive in Sicilian dialects.