[Lexicog] A prototypical blessing

[Peter Kirk]

On 21/04/2004 13:15, Mali Translation wrote:

> Wayne,
>
> Whether one is a believer or not, the word "blessing" is widely used.
> In English and French "to bless" can be used in the following way:


Fritz, here is what is done in Azerbaijani (Turkic, but lexically
heavily influenced by Arabic, especially in religious terminology):

>
> 1) God blesses a human being


There seem to be two distinct concepts. An abundant material blessing
from God e.g. rain, crops, is barakat, an Arabic loan. A non-material
blessing e.g. something spiritual or merely good wishes, is xeyir-dua,
from two Arabic words meaning "benefit" and "prayer", i.e. this kind of
blessing is a prayer for someone's benefit. It seems odd that a prayer
can come from God, but this usage is acceptable.

> 2) A human being blesses God


This doesn't seem to be a well-known concept. In our translation we had
to use words meaning "praise".

> 3) A human being blesses another human being


This is usually xeyir-dua, i.e. prayer for one's benefit. Barakat can
also be used when something material is given in abundance.


--
Peter Kirk
peter at qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk at qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/




Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lexicographylist/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
     lexicographylist-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
     http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/