Lexical Challenges of Islamic Concepts in Early Malay-English Dictionaries by Thomas Bowrey and William Marsden
Abstract
Islamic lexicon played an important role in shaping the early Malay-English dictionaries compiled by Western scholars such as Thomas Bowrey (1659–1713) and William Marsden (1754–1836). This paper explores how these early lexicographers integrated Islamic terminology into their bilingual dictionaries, revealing Islam’s profound cultural and intellectual influence on the Malay language from the 17th to 19th century. Through a comparative analysis, this study delves into Bowrey and Marsden’s choices when documenting the following Arabic-derived terms and Islamic concepts: Allah, haram, nabi, and neraka. This method allows for an in depth look at how these dictionaries balanced the accurate representation of native meanings with Western interpretations influenced by the colonial context. The study finds that while these dictionaries functioned as valuable linguistic bridges that facilitated communication and understanding between cultures, they also reflected the biases and limitations of their time. This research highlights the challenges of accurately documenting Islamic knowledge and its lasting impact on understanding and preserving the Malay language and its religious heritage.
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Proceedings, Papers Read at the EURALEX International Congress, University
of Zürich (pp. 9-14).
Winterbottom, A. (2016). Linguistic Landscapes: Early English Studies of Malay
and the EIC in Maritime Southeast Asia. In: Hybrid Knowledge in the Early
East India Company World (pp. 54-81). Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial
Studies Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Zgusta, L. (1971). Manual of Lexicography. Mouton, The Hague.
35, 1201-1223.
Adelaar, K. A., Prentice, D. J., Grijns, C. D., Steinhauer, H., & van Engelenhoven,
A. (2011). Malay: Its History, Role and Spread. In Atlas of Languages of
Intercultural Communication in the Pacific, Asia, and the Americas (pp. 673
694). De Gruyter Mouton.
Ajmi, H., & Otaibi, A. (2006). The Treatment of Terms Relating to Islam and the
Arab World in English Dictionaries. Lexikos, 16(1), 1-12.
Al-Faruqi, I. R. (1986). Toward Islamic English. International Institute of Islamic
Thought (IIIT).
Alimuddin Hasan Palawa. (2017). Raja Ali Haji: Pelindung Budaya Dan Pemelihara
Bahasa Melayu. Al-Fikra: Jurnal Ilmiah Keislaman, 10(1), 182-215.
Amriah Buang. (1990). Mengapa kalimah Allah? Satu percubaan menjelaskan
pengertian ketuhanan dalam Islam. Bahagian Hal Ehwal Islam Jabatan Perdana
Menteri.
Blagden, C. O. (1917). Malay. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African
Studies, 1(1), 97-100.
Bowrey, Thomas. (1701). A Dictionary: English and Malayo, Malayo and English.
London: Sam London.
Cohn, B. S. (2016). The command of language and the language of command. In The
Rise and Fall of Modern Empires, Volume II (pp. 49-102). Routledge.
Dazdarevic, S., Fijuljanin, M. F., and Rastic, M. A. (2016). Investigating Lexical
Gaps in Translation of Islamic Terms in the Holy Qur’an. Islamic Review
(Islamska Misao), Vol. 9, 299-309.
De Vries, L. (2018). Iang Evangelivm Ul-Kadus Menjurat kapada Marcum: The First
Malay Gospel of Mark (1629–1630) and the Agama Kumpeni. Bijdragen tot de
taal-, land-en volkenkunde/Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of
Southeast Asia, 174(1), 47-79.
ElShiekh, A. A. A., and Saleh, M. M. A. (2011). Translation versus Transliteration of
Religious Terms in Contemporary Islamic Discourse in Western Communities.
International Journal of English Linguistics, 1(2), 141-147.
Ening Herniti. (2017). Islam dan perkembangan bahasa Melayu. Jurnal Lektur
Keagamaan, 15(1), 81a-96.
Hoogervorst, T. G. (2024). Seventeenth-century Malay wordlists and their
potential for etymological scholarship. Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of
Indonesia, 25(3), 7, 531-575.
Hunt, R. A. (1989). The History of the Translation of the Bible into Bahasa
Malaysia. Journal Of The Malaysian Branch Of The Royal Asiatic Society, 62(1
(256)), 35-56.
Izzati Mohd Yusop. (2014). Impak Kolonial Terhadap Pendidikan Orang Melayu. In
23rd International Conference of Historians of Asia 2014 (IAHA2014), 23 - 27
August 2014, Alor Setar, Kedah.
Laffan, M. (2003). New charts for the Arabic ocean Dictionaries as indicators of
changing times. Bijdragen tot de taal-, land-en volkenkunde, 159(2/3), 351
387.
Mabruroh Mabruroh and Rosyidatul Khoiriyah. (2019). Islamization of Malay
Language and its Role in the Development of Islam in Malaya. AJIS: Academic
Journal of Islamic Studies, 4(1), 13-28.
Mashudi Kader (2009) Some Aspects of 17th Century Malay via Thomas Bowrey’s
Bilingual Dictionary Published in 1701. Jurnal Kemanusiaan 16 (2009), pp.
83-114.
Marsden, W. (1812). A Dictionary of the Malayan Language. Cox and Baylis.
Md. Mahmudul Hasan. (2014). Islam’s Encounter with English and Ismail al-Faruqi’s
Concept of Islamic English: A Postcolonial Reading. American Journal of
Islamic Social Sciences, 31(2), 1-21.
Mohd. Zariat Abdul Rani. (2006). Kehadiran Barat dan kesannya terhadap
kesusasteraan Melayu. Jurnal Pengajian Melayu, 17, 330-361.
Mohd Tarmizi Hasrah (2010). Sistem Bilangan Bahasa Melayu Pada Abad Ke
17: Tinjauan Terhadap Kamus Thomas Bowrey 1701. Menemui Matematik
(Discovering Mathematics), 32(1), 45-55.
Moon, R. (2014, July). Meanings, Ideologies, and Learners’ Dictionaries. In
Proceedings of the XVI EURALEX International Congress. The User in Focus.
Bolzano: EURAC/Institute for Specialised Communication and Multilingualism
(pp. 85-105).
Muhammad Kurnia and Rahmat Hidayat. (2022). The Miracle of Arabic Language:
From Pre-Islamic To Islamization. Jurnal Ilmu Agama: Mengkaji Doktrin,
Pemikiran, dan Fenomena Agama, 23(2), 129-141.
Muller, M. (2020). Glotto-Colonial Debates: Language, Nations, Races, and
Civilization in William Marsden’s and John Crawfurd’s Ethno-Linguistics.
Journal of Postcolonial Linguistics 3, 1-21.
Nazilah Mohamad and Nor Hasimah Ismail. (2017) “Malay Science: A Study on
the 17th Century Dictionary,” International Journal of Academic Research in
Business and Social Sciences, vol. 7(6) (June), pp. 1061-1071.
Nor Azizah Othman. (2022). Berkeliling Dunia dengan Kata: Iktibar daripada
Kamus Bahasa Melayu Abad Ke-17. Melayu: Jurnal Antarabangsa Dunia
Melayu, 16(1), 105-124.
Rafael, V. (1988). Contracting Colonialism: Translation and Christian Conversion
in Tagalog Society under Early Spanish Rule, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University
Press.
Richards, G. (2021). The Travelling Text: Manuscripts, Print Culture and Translation
in the Making of the Malay World. Discourses, Agency and Identity in Malaysia:
Critical Perspectives (pp. 59-103). Springer, Singapore.
Salina Ahmad. (2013). The Role of Language in the Process of Islamization: A
Brief Analysis of Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas’ Thought,”. In Seminar
Kebangsaan Isu Ketamadunan dan Cabaran Semasa (SIKCAS) (pp. 88–89).
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
Sneddon, J. N. (2003). Indonesian language : its history and role in modern society.
University of New South Wales Press.
Supriono, I. A. (2015). Islam di Nusantara dan Transformasi Kebudayaan Melayu
Indonesia. Jurnal Madania, 5(2), 177-199.
Suratminto, L. (2011). Strategi Perdagangan dengan Pendekatan Linguistik Oleh
Frederck De Houtman Sebagai Model Untuk Menguasai Nusantara Oleh
Pemerintah Kolonial. Proceedings from the International Conference and
Summer School on International Studies (ICSSIS), 1(2). 221–231.
Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas (1993). Islam and Secularism. International
Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC), IIUM.
Tomaszczyk, J. (1986). The Bilingual Dictionary under Review. In ZüriLEX’86
Proceedings, Papers Read at the EURALEX International Congress, University
of Zürich (pp. 9-14).
Winterbottom, A. (2016). Linguistic Landscapes: Early English Studies of Malay
and the EIC in Maritime Southeast Asia. In: Hybrid Knowledge in the Early
East India Company World (pp. 54-81). Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial
Studies Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Zgusta, L. (1971). Manual of Lexicography. Mouton, The Hague.
Published
2025-01-27
How to Cite
MOHD NOOR, Norazlina.
Lexical Challenges of Islamic Concepts in Early Malay-English Dictionaries by Thomas Bowrey and William Marsden.
Melayu: Jurnal Antarabangsa Dunia Melayu, [S.l.], v. 18, n. 1, p. 49-72, jan. 2025.
ISSN 2682-8049.
Available at: <https://jurnal.dbp.my/index.php/Melayu/article/view/9029>. Date accessed: 02 feb. 2025.
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