ABSTRACT
In this chapter we will outline some important factors that contributed to the Siculo Arabic character as a
result of the Arabo-Islamic and Latin ethnic and social mixtures which dynamically transformed the make-up of Sicily during the Arab and Norman rules. It is not intended to present an exhaustive study but an attempt is made to highlight some essential factors such as colonization, settlement and conversion that led to the formation of a Siculo Arabic symbiosis. The term "Siculo Arabic" is used here in a strict cultural sense. IISiculo ll
signifies the Latin-cultured ethnics and IIArabic" refers to the Arabic-cultured Muslims, both of whom assimilated with the locals, the Sicilians.
