Arabisms and taxation in the Kingdom of Granada

Abstract

This paper analyzes and studies six Arabisms poorly documented in current databases (CORDE, CREA, CDH) and related to the taxation system in the Kingdom of Granada after its conquest (late fifteenth century-late sixteenth century) through a corpus of records related to the Granada municipal life. Despite the emerging standardization of Castilian as a language of culture and the social rejection to the Muslim world and language, in this geographical area survive and even new words of Arabic origin are incorporated, as presented, due to the particular historical context caused in Granada in its many facets. That fact marks the Spanish from the Kingdom of Granada as clearly differentiated with respect to other Spanish regions. Taxation system of the Kingdom of Granada is characterized in part by the continuity of the old Nazari structures imposed by the Castilian crown; that is why we find a rich technical area full of voices of Arab origin who largely have not been covered by existing lexicographical studies.