Levant: Difference between revisions

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In the [[13th century|13th]] and [[14th century|14th]] centuries, the term ''levante'' was used for Italian maritime commerce in the Eastern Mediterranean, including Greece, [[Anatolia]], [[Syria (region)|Syria-Palestine]], and [[Egypt]], that is, the lands east of [[Republic of Venice|Venice]].<ref name=OEAGR /> Eventually the term was restricted to the Muslim countries of Syria-Palestine and Egypt.<ref name=OEAGR /> The term entered English in the late [[15th century]] from French.<ref name=ODO2015/> It derives from the Italian {{lang|it|levante}}, meaning "rising", implying the rising of the Sun in the east,<ref name=OEAGR /><ref name=Encarta/> and is broadly equivalent to the term ''[[Mashriq|al-Mashriq]]'' ({{lang-ar|ٱلْمَشْرِق}}, {{IPAc-ar|ʔ|a|l|.|m|a|ʃ|.|r|i|q|}}),<ref>{{harvnb|Gagarin|2009|p=247}}; {{harvnb|Naim|2011|p=921}};

* Jeff Lesser (1999), ''Negotiating National Identity: Immigrants, Minorities, and the Struggle for Ethnicity in Brazil'' p. 45</ref> meaning "the eastern place, where the Sun rises".{{sfn|Naim|2011|p=921}}

 

 

As a name for the contemporary region, several dictionaries consider Levant to be archaic today.<ref>LEVANT ''archaic'' The eastern part of the Mediterranean with the islands and neighbouring countries. ''New Oxford Dictionary of English'', 2nd ed., revised, 2005.</ref><ref>"LEVANT, THE". "A general term formerly given to the E shores of the Mediterranean Sea from W Greece to Egypt". ''The Penguin Encyclopedia'', revised 2nd ed., 2004.</ref><ref>LEVANT, (''vieilli'') ''Le Levant'': les pays, les régions qui sont au levant (par rapport à la France) et spécialt. les régions de la Méditerrranée orientale. ''Le Nouveau Petit Robert de la langue française'', (1993 revised ed.).</ref> Both the noun ''Levant'' and the adjective ''Levantine'' are now commonly used to describe the ancient and modern culture area formerly called Syro-Palestinian or Biblical: archaeologists now speak of the Levant and of [[Levantine archaeology]];<ref>Thomas Evan Levy, ''Historical Biblical Archaeology and the Future: The New Pragmatism'', Routledge, 2016 {{isbn|1134937466}}. Thomas E. Levy, "The New Pragmatism", p. 8: "after 1994, it is possible to see an increase in the use of the less geographically specific and more political [sic] neutral words 'Levant' or 'Levantine' in scholarly citations.... It is important to highlight the pedigree of the term 'Syro-Palestinian' and its gradual replacement by the term 'Levant' or 'Levantine' because the latter is a more culturally and politically neutral term that more accurately reflects the tapestry of countries and peoples of the region, without assuming directionality of cultural influence.". Aaron A. Burke, "The Archaeology of the Levant in North America: The Transformation of Biblical and Syro-Palestinian Archaeology" p. 82''ff'': "A number of factors account for the gradual emergence during the past two decades of what is now widely identified as Levantine archaeology in North America... a growing consensus regarding the appropriate terminology... archaeological field research in the Levant"</ref><ref>William G. Dever, ''The Lives of Ordinary People in Ancient Israel: When Archaeology and the Bible Intersect'', 2012, {{isbn|0802867014}}, p. 249: "Today, however, the discipline is often called Palestinian, Syro-Palestinian, or Levantine archaeology."</ref><ref>Steiner & Killebrew (2013). p. 1-2.</ref> food scholars speak of [[Levantine cuisine]];<ref name=MG/> and the [[Latin Church|Latin Christians]] of the Levant continue to be called [[Levantines (Latin Catholics)|Levantine Christians]].<ref>Michel Elias Andraos, "Levantine Catholic Communities in the Diaspora at the Intersection of Many Identities and Worlds", in Michael L. Budde, ''Scattered and Gathered: Catholics in Diaspora'', 2017 {{isbn|1532607091}} p. 24: "The word 'Levantine' in the title is used on purpose instead of the 'Middle East' or the 'Near East'.... I use 'Levantine' more than the two other designations, because this is the term being used more often nowadays by Christian communities in the Middle East to describe their shared identity as ''al-maseeheyoun al-mashriqeyoun'', Levantine Christians"</ref>

 

 

==Etymology==

[[File:Map Arabic in the Levant.jpg|alt=|thumb|Map representing the distribution of the Arabic dialects in the area of the Levant]]

 

 

Of the [[languages of Cyprus]], the two official languages are Turkish and Greek. The most used languages by population are Greek in the south followed by Turkish in the north. Two minority languages are recognized: [[Armenian language|Armenian]], and [[Cypriot Maronite Arabic]], a hybrid of mostly medieval Arabic vernaculars with strong influence from contact with Turkish and Greek, spoken by approximately 1,000 people.<ref name=Versteegh>{{cite book |last=Versteegh |first=Kees |title=Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics |year=2011 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |isbn=978-90-04-14976-2 |pages=541}}</ref>

[[Category:Historical regions]]

[[Category:Regions of Asia]]