ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses various forms of Arabic literary translingualism from the pre-Islamic period to modern times, adopting a broadly chronologically approach. It shows how literary translingualism in the pre-modern period is intimately connected with the spread of Islam after the death of Muḥammad (a.d. 632), which carried Arabic into areas where a variety of vernaculars were spoken. These areas included Spain, where between 711 and 1492 Arabic, Hebrew, and Romance speakers from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim backgrounds were brought together in a unique cultural mix. In more modern times, political developments have thrown together Arabic speakers with speakers of European languages, particularly in North Africa, Israel/Palestine, and in the Mahjar (émigré) communities of North and South America.
