ARABS, BERBERS AND NATIVES IN THE PROCESS OF LINGUISTIC ARABIZATION OF AL-ANDALUS (8th-10th CENTUR IES) II. THE NATIVES: CHRISTIANS, JEWS AND MULADIS

Abstract

We devote this second part of the study1 to the analysis of the process of linguistic Arabization of the three indigenous communities that shared the Andalusian political and cultural space: Christians, better known as Mozarabs, indigenous Jews and Muladis, converted to Islam and forgotten by history. Each of the three communities devised its own strategies for adapting to the new political situation and launched mechanisms of cultural resistance. In the case of Christians and Jews, these mechanisms contributed to preserving the use of their community languages: Latin and Hebrew. However, the adoption of Arabic and the recognition of its official language status was the price they had to pay to integrate as minority communities within an Arab and Islamic state.