Arabic names of Gregorian months
The Arabic names of the months of the Gregorian calendar are usually phonetic Arabic pronunciations of the corresponding month names used in European languages. An exception is the Syriac calendar used in Iraq and the Levant, whose month names are inherited via Classical Arabic from the Babylonian and Hebrew lunisolar calendars and correspond to roughly the same time of year.[1]
Though the lunar Hijri calendar and solar Hijri calendar are prominent in the Mideast, the Gregorian calendar is and has been used in nearly all the countries of the Arab world, in many places long before European occupation.[citation needed] All Arab states use the Gregorian calendar for civil purposes. The names of the Gregorian months as used in Egypt, Sudan, and Yemen are widely regarded as standard across the Arab world,[citation needed] although their Classical Arabic names are often used alongside them.[citation needed] In other Arab countries, some modification or actual changes in naming or pronunciation of months are observed.
Iraq and the Levant
These names are used primarily in Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine, as well as by Arab citizens of Israel. Classical Arabic inherited the names from the Babylonian and Hebrew calendars, which are lunisolar. Although the Arabic names are cognate, they do not refer to the lunar months, as when the names are used in their original Babylonian or Hebrew context (indeed, the names of the Gregorian months in Hebrew are based on the German names of the Gregorian months, rather than the months of the Babylonian and Hebrew Calendars.) Nine of these names were used in the Ottoman Turkish calendar, of which five remain in use in the modern Turkish calendar.
| No. | Month | Arabic name | Transliteration | Syriac cognate | Hebrew cognate | Transliteration | Hebrew name | Transliteration | German name | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | كَانُون ٱلثَّانِي | Kānūn aṯ-Ṯānī | ܟܢܘܢ ܒ | טֵבֵת | Ṭēḇēṯ | יָנוּאָר | Yānūʾār | Januar | |
| 2 | February | شُبَاط | Šubāṭ | ܫܒܛ | שְׁבָט | Šḇāṭ | פֶבְּרוּאָר | P̱ebrūʾār | Februar | |
| 3 | March | آذَار | ʾĀḏār | ܐܕܪ | אֲדָר | ʾĂḏār | מֵרְץ | Mērṣ | März | |
| 4 | April | نَيْسَان | Naysān | ܢܝܣܢ | נִיסָן | Nīsān | אַפְּרִיל | ʾAprīl | April | |
| 5 | May | أَيَّار | ʾAyyār | ܐܝܪ | אִיָּר | ʾĪyyār | מַאי | Máy | Mai | |
| 6 | June | حَزِيرَان | Ḥazīrān | ܚܙܝܪܢ | סִיוָן | Sīwān | יוּנִי | Yūnī | Juni | |
| 7 | July | تَمُّوز | Tammūz | ܬܡܘܙ | תַּמּוּז | Tammūz | יוּלִי | Yūlī | Juli | |
| 8 | August | آب | ʾĀb | ܐܒ | אָב | ʾĀḇ | אוֹגוּסְט | ʾÔḡūsṭ | August | |
| 9 | September | أَيْلُول | ʾAylūl | ܐܝܠܘܠ | אֱלוּל | ʾĔlūl | סֶפְּטֶמְבֶּר | Sepṭember | September | |
| 10 | October | تِشْرِين ٱلْأَوَّل | Tišrīn al-ʾAwwal | ܬܫܪܝܢ ܐ | תִּשׁרִי | Tišrī | אוֹקְטוֹבֶּר | ʾÔqṭôber | Oktober | |
| 11 | November | تِشْرِين ٱلثَّانِي | Tišrīn aṯ-Ṯānī | ܬܫܪܝܢ ܒ | מַרְחֶשְׁוָן | Marḥešwān | נוׁבֶמְבֶּר | Nôḇember | November | |
| 12 | December | كَانُون ٱلْأَوَّل | Kānūn al-ʾAwwal | ܟܢܘܢ ܐ | כִּסְלֵו | Kislēw | דֵּצֶמְבֶּר | Dēṣember | Dezember |
Egypt, Sudan, and Eastern Arabia
The names of the Gregorian months in Egypt, Sudan and Eastern Arabia are based on the old Latin names.[citation needed]
| No. | Month | Arabic name | Transliteration | Latin name | Egyptian pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | يناير | Yanāyir | Ianuarius | [jæ'næːjeɾ] |
| 2 | February | فبراير | Fibrāyir | Februarius | [febˈɾɑːjeɾ] |
| 3 | March | مارس | Mārs/Māris | Martius | [ˈmæːɾes] |
| 4 | April | أبريل / إبريل | ʾAbrīl / ʾIbrīl | Aprilis | [ʔɪbˈɾiːl, ʔæb-] |
| 5 | May | مايو | Māyū | Maius | [ˈmæːju] |
| 6 | June | يونيو / يونية | Yūnyū / Yūnyah | Iunius | [ˈjonjæ, -jo] |
| 7 | July | يوليو / يولية | Yūlyū / Yūlyah | Iulius | [ˈjoljæ, -ju] |
| 8 | August | أغسطس | ʾAğusṭus | Augustus | [ʔɑˈɣostˤos, ʔoˈ-] |
| 9 | September | سبتمبر | Sibtambar | September | [sebˈtæmbeɾ, -ˈtem-, -ˈtɑm-] |
| 10 | October | أكتوبر | ʾUktūbar | October | [okˈtoːbɑɾ, ek-, ɑk-] |
| 11 | November | نوفمبر | Nūfambar | November | [noˈvæmbeɾ, -ˈvem-, -ˈfæm-, -ˈfem-, -ˈvɑm-, -ˈfɑm-] |
| 12 | December | ديسمبر | Dīsambar | December | [deˈsæmbeɾ, -ˈsem-, -ˈsɑm-] |
Libya (1969–2011)
The names of months used in the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (1977–2011) were derived from various sources, and were assembled after Muammar Gaddafi's seizure of power in 1969 and abolished in 2011 after the 17 February Revolution. The decision of changing calendar names was adopted in June 1986.[2] Although the Libyan calendar followed the same sequence of renamed Gregorian months, it counted the years from the death of the prophet Muhammad.[3] This reckoning was therefore ten years behind the Solar Hijri calendar used in Iran and Afghanistan.
| No. | Month | Arabic name | Transliteration | Meaning[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | أي النار | Ayy an-Nār | that of the fires |
| 2 | February | النوار | an-Nuwwār | the mornings |
| 3 | March | الربيع | ar-Rabīʿ | the spring |
| al-Mirrij was also used[5] | ||||
| 4 | April | الطير | aṭ-Ṭayr | the bird |
| 5 | May | الماء | al-Māʾ | the water |
| 6 | June | الصيف | aṣ-Ṣayf | the summer |
| 7 | July | ناصر | Nāṣir | from Gamal Abd el-Nasser |
| 8 | August | هانيبال | Hānībāl | from Hannibal Barca |
| 9 | September | الفاتح | al-Fātiḥ | the lightened |
| 10 | October | التمور / الثمور | at-Tumūr / aṯ-Ṯumūr | the dates |
| 11 | November | الحرث | al-Ḥarṯ | the tillage |
| 12 | December | الكانون | al-Kānūn | the canon |
Algeria and Tunisia
The names of the Gregorian months in Algeria and Tunisia are based on the French names of the months, reflecting France's long colonisation of these countries (1830–1962 in Algeria; 1881–1956 in Tunisia).
| No. | Month | Arabic name | Transliteration | French name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | جانفي | Jānfī | Janvier |
| 2 | February | فيفري | Fīfrī | Février |
| 3 | March | مارس | Mārs / Māris | Mars |
| 4 | April | أفريل | ʾAfrīl | Avril |
| 5 | May | ماي | Māy | Mai |
| 6 | June | جوان | Juwān | Juin |
| 7 | July | جويلية | Juwīliyyah | Juillet |
| 8 | August | أوت | ʾŪt | Août |
| 9 | September | سبتمبر | Sibtambir | Septembre |
| 10 | October | أكتوبر | ʾUktūbir | Octobre |
| 11 | November | نوفمبر | Nūfambir | Novembre |
| 12 | December | ديسمبر | Dīsambir | Décembre |
Morocco
As Morocco was long part of the Roman Empire, the long-standing agricultural Berber calendar of the country preserves the Julian calendar and (in modified form) the names of its months. There are regional variations of the Berber calendar, since some communities did not recognise the Julian 29 February in century years where the Gregorian calendar had no equivalent date. When Morocco adopted the Gregorian calendar for civil purposes, the names of the months were taken from this local tradition.
| No. | Month | Arabic name | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | يَنايِر | Yannāyir |
| 2 | February | فِبرايِر | Fibrāyir |
| 3 | March | مارس | Mārs |
| 4 | April | أبريل | ʾIbrīl |
| 5 | May | ماي | Māy |
| 6 | June | يونيّو | Yūnīyū |
| 7 | July | يوليّوز | Yūlīyūz |
| 8 | August | غُشت | Ğušt |
| 9 | September | شُتَنبِر | Šutanbir |
| 10 | October | أُكتوبِر | ʾUktūbir |
| 11 | November | نُوَنبِر | Nuwanbir |
| 12 | December | دُجَنبِر | Dujanbir |
See also
References
- ^ . Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2007.
- ^ "Libya Changes Names Of Months On Calendar - Sun Sentinel". Articles.sun-sentinel.com. Agence France-Presse. 23 June 1986. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- ^ . Library.princeton.edu. Archived from the original on 20 June 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- ^ "Libyan Arab Jamahiriya - الموقع غير الرسمى للقنصلية الليبية بالاسكندرية". Sites.google.com. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- ^ "Tratamiento del árabe". Conf-dts1.unog.ch. Retrieved 25 March 2013.