Dragoman
Encyclopedia
A dragoman was an interpreter, translator and official guide between Turkish
, Arabic
, and Persian
-speaking countries and polities
of the Middle East
and Europe
an embassies, consulates, vice-consulates and trading post
s. A dragoman had to have a knowledge of Arabic, Turkish, and European languages.
The position took particular prominence in the Ottoman Empire
, where demand for the mediation provided by dragomans is said to have been created by the resistance on the part of the Muslim
Ottomans to learn the languages of non-Muslim nations. The office incorporated diplomatic
as well as linguistic duties — namely, in the Porte's relation with Christian countries
— and some dragomans thus came to play crucial roles in Ottoman politics. The profession tended to be dominated by ethnic Greeks
, including the first Ottoman Grand Dragoman Panayotis Nicosias, and Alexander Mavrocordatos
.
It became customary that most hospodar
s of the Phanariote rule (roughly 1711–1821) over the Danubian Principalities
(Moldavia
and Wallachia
) would previously have occupied this Ottoman office, a fact which did not prevent many of them from joining conspiracies that aimed to overthrow Turkish rule over the area.
the word is ترجمان (tarjumān), in Turkish
tercüman. Deriving from the Semitic
quadriliteral root t-r-g-m, it appears in Akkadian
as "targumannu," and in Aramaic
as targemana. Hebrew
makes a distinction between מתרגם (metargem) - referring to a translator of written texts - and מתורגמן (meturgeman) referring to an interpreter of spoken conversation or speeches. The latter is obviously more closely related to the other languages mentioned, though both are derived from the same Semitic root.
During the Middle Ages the word entered European languages: in Middle English
as dragman, in Old French
as drugeman, in Middle Latin
as dragumannus, and in Middle Greek
δραγομάνος. Later European variants include the German
trutzelmann, the French
trucheman or truchement (in modern French it is drogman), the Italian
turcimanno, and the Spanish
trujamán, trujimán and truchimán; these variants point to a Turkish or Arabic word "turjuman", with different vocalization. In Hungarian
it becomes tolmács, which is further loaned into German as Dolmetscher, the standard present day word for "translator of spoken language". Webster's Dictionary
of 1828 lists dragoman as well as the variants drogman and truchman in English.
The family name of Franjo Tudjman, the first post-Communist President of Croatia
, indicates that one of his ancestors might have been a dragoman.
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, and Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
-speaking countries and polities
Polity
Polity is a form of government Aristotle developed in his search for a government that could be most easily incorporated and used by the largest amount of people groups, or states...
of the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an embassies, consulates, vice-consulates and trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
s. A dragoman had to have a knowledge of Arabic, Turkish, and European languages.
The position took particular prominence in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, where demand for the mediation provided by dragomans is said to have been created by the resistance on the part of the Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
Ottomans to learn the languages of non-Muslim nations. The office incorporated diplomatic
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
as well as linguistic duties — namely, in the Porte's relation with Christian countries
Christendom
Christendom, or the Christian world, has several meanings. In a cultural sense it refers to the worldwide community of Christians, adherents of Christianity...
— and some dragomans thus came to play crucial roles in Ottoman politics. The profession tended to be dominated by ethnic Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
, including the first Ottoman Grand Dragoman Panayotis Nicosias, and Alexander Mavrocordatos
Alexander Mavrocordatos
Alexander Mavrocordato was a member of the Greek family Mavrocordatos, a doctor of philosophy and medicine of the University of Bologna, and dragoman to Sultan Mehmed IV in 1673 - notably employed in negotiations with the Habsburg Monarchy during the Great Turkish War.Alexander Mavrocordatos was...
.
It became customary that most hospodar
Hospodar
Hospodar or gospodar is a term of Slavonic origin, meaning "lord" or "master".The rulers of Wallachia and Moldavia were styled hospodars in Slavic writings from the 15th century to 1866. Hospodar was used in addition to the title voivod...
s of the Phanariote rule (roughly 1711–1821) over the Danubian Principalities
Danubian Principalities
Danubian Principalities was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th century. The term was coined in the Habsburg Monarchy after the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in order to designate an area on the lower Danube with a common...
(Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
and Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
) would previously have occupied this Ottoman office, a fact which did not prevent many of them from joining conspiracies that aimed to overthrow Turkish rule over the area.
Etymology and variants
In ArabicArabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
the word is ترجمان (tarjumān), in Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
tercüman. Deriving from the Semitic
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
quadriliteral root t-r-g-m, it appears in Akkadian
Akkadian language
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
as "targumannu," and in Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
as targemana. Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
makes a distinction between מתרגם (metargem) - referring to a translator of written texts - and מתורגמן (meturgeman) referring to an interpreter of spoken conversation or speeches. The latter is obviously more closely related to the other languages mentioned, though both are derived from the same Semitic root.
During the Middle Ages the word entered European languages: in Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
as dragman, in Old French
Old French
Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...
as drugeman, in Middle Latin
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration. Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors,...
as dragumannus, and in Middle Greek
Medieval Greek
Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, is the stage of the Greek language between the beginning of the Middle Ages around 600 and the Ottoman conquest of the city of Constantinople in 1453. The latter date marked the end of the Middle Ages in Southeast Europe...
δραγομάνος. Later European variants include the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
trutzelmann, the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
trucheman or truchement (in modern French it is drogman), the Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
turcimanno, and the Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
trujamán, trujimán and truchimán; these variants point to a Turkish or Arabic word "turjuman", with different vocalization. In Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
it becomes tolmács, which is further loaned into German as Dolmetscher, the standard present day word for "translator of spoken language". Webster's Dictionary
Webster's Dictionary
Webster's Dictionary refers to the line of dictionaries first developed by Noah Webster in the early 19th century, and also to numerous unrelated dictionaries that added Webster's name just to share his prestige. The term is a genericized trademark in the U.S.A...
of 1828 lists dragoman as well as the variants drogman and truchman in English.
The family name of Franjo Tudjman, the first post-Communist President of Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, indicates that one of his ancestors might have been a dragoman.