Pedro de Alcalá facts for kids
Pedro de Alcalá was a Hieronymite monk and a very important writer of dictionaries. He was born around the year 1455. He is famous for creating the very first Spanish-Arabic dictionary.
After the conquest of Granada by the Christian armies of Castile, Pedro de Alcalá worked with another monk, Fray Hernando de Talavera. Their goal was to help the moriscos (people who were forced to become Christians) in Granada understand their new religion better.
Some people think Pedro de Alcalá might have been a morisco himself, or that his family came from mudéjares (Muslims who stayed in Christian Spain). Others believe he might have been a Jewish converso (someone who converted from Judaism to Christianity).
Contents
What Did Pedro de Alcalá Write?
Pedro de Alcalá wrote two very important books. Both were published in Granada in 1505.
Arte para ligeramente saber lengua araviga
This book was a grammar guide. Its full name in Spanish was Arte para ligeramente saber lengua araviga. It means 'Art to slightly learn Arabic'. This book helped people learn the Arabic language spoken in Granada at that time.
Vocabulista aravigo en letra castellana
This was a dictionary. Its full name in Spanish was Vocabulista aravigo en letra castellana. It was the very first dictionary that translated words between Spanish and Arabic. This book was a huge help for people who needed to understand both languages.
Some experts say that Pedro de Alcalá didn't know a lot about how Arabic grammar worked in detail. He used a system for writing Arabic sounds that was based on how ancient Greek and Latin were written.
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