Disciplines
• Languages
• French
• Italian
• Portuguese
• Spanish
Cultural knowledge: Those with an understanding
of Romance languages and the current social,
business, political and economic climates
of nations influenced by these languages are
at an advantage when engaging in business
or other professions in these regions. Romance
languages are descended from Latin, with more
than 600 million native speakers worldwide,
mainly in the Americas, Europe, and Africa,
as well as in smaller regions scattered through
the world. Knowledge of the practices, customs,
languages and "intangibles" in areas
where French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish
are spoken is important in gaining an accurate
interpretation of events, in business, education
and media.
The regions where these languages
developed are influenced by a long history
of religious events, from wars between Catholics
and Protestants throughout Europe, the expulsion
of Jews from France during World War II and
Spain during the Spanish Inquisition, Muslim
rule of Spain for several centuries, and the
rise of Roman Catholicism that would eventually
be based at the Vatican in Italy. Latin, the
language of the Roman Empire, spread with
Christianity throughout Europe, penetrating
new lands and evolving into Romance languages
we know today.
Language and religion:
Fluency in Romance languages means being
able to read influential works in their
original texts, which can lead to a deeper
understanding of philosophical and religious
ideas. Examples include: Dante Alighieri's
"The Divine Comedy," which was
written in his native Italian. The account
of the inferno, purgatory and paradise,
based on a vision he claimed to have had
in 1300, describes his travels through hell,
purgatory and heaven. Dante's vivid descriptions
of the descent into hell and ascension to
heaven have influenced religious thought
and artistic interpretations for centuries.
French philosophers Albert Camus, Jean-Paul
Sartre and Michel Foucault offered more
modern critiques of the search for truth
and meaning, from existentialist or post-modernist
views. In 1948, the Roman Catholic Church
placed Sartre's complete works on the Index
of prohibited books. Their philosophies
explored the search for a meaning of life
- and though they came to different conclusions
- their questions are ones religions attempt
to address as well.
Translations and influences:
During the Protestant Reformation and with
the rise of the printing press, the Bible
was translated into vernacular languages
so that regular people - not only priests
or Church leadership - could read the texts.
The first complete translation from the
originals into Spanish was published in
1569; French in 1530; Italian in 1471; and
Portuguese, beginning in 1644 and completed
some 60 years later. These translations
occurred during times of prosperity and
colonization for these nations, which spread
Christianity and its texts to the Americas,
Africa and Asia. The influence of this colonization
and Christian faith is evident today as
both Christianity and Spanish are long established
in Latin American countries. Mexico, for
example, has the largest population of Spanish-speakers
in the world and is home to some 75 million
Catholics.
In addition to Latin, the Spanish
language was influenced by Arabic during
the time of the Moors, who were Muslim and
ruled Spain and much of the Iberian Peninsula,
beginning in the year 711. Many places on
the peninsula have names derived from Arabic,
most commonly on the Eastern Coast and region
of Andalusia in Spain and southern Portugal.
Over the centuries, Spanish borrowed many
words from Arabic, including: alcoba (alcove,
room), alfombra (carpet), guitarra (guitar);
alcazar (fortress), alcalde (mayor); asesino
(assassin), tarifa (tariff, fee); arroz
(rice), espinaca (spinach), naranja (orange),
café (coffee); alcohol (alcohol),
alkali (alkali), adobe (adobe), laca (lacquer);
cero (zero), cifra (cipher, figure), álgebra
(algebra), cénit (zenith); and expressions
such as ojalá ("may it be that...",
originally "May Allah want...").
An estimated 5,000 words in Spanish are
of Arabic origin. Many of these words, especially
in the scientific field, were passed on
to other languages, including English, which
received most of them by way of French.
Issues today: Languages
change and adapt to reflect the population
and times in which they develop. They reflect
their origin, as well as the blending of
cultures that occurs when they move to new
regions, such as French in the Caribbean,
Spanish in much of Latin America and the
Philippines, and Portuguese in Brazil. Understanding
the history and foundation of Romance languages
and how they developed leads to insight
into cultures that is useful in today's
globally diverse socio-political, religious
and business environment.
American
Academy of Religion Syllabi Search
Religion
and the French State Since Revolution
Dr. Paul Cooke
University of Exeter
Association of Muslim Social Scientists of North America
North American Christian Foreign Language Association
• See a full list of professional associations and resources here.
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