Eight Boat Names: A Corpus-based Study of Arabic Nautical Terminology in the Mediterranean Migration Context

This paper examines how Arabic-speaking migrants name the boats used to cross the Mediterranean Sea. Based on a 50,000-word corpus of vernacular and mixed Arabic texts collected from social media and video testimonies, it analyses eight nautical terms (balam, šqaf, sumbuk, ṭarrād, ǧarrāfa, gomma, fāybir, zūdyāk), associated with distinct migratory routes from Türkiye, Libya, and Tunisia to Italy, and from Morocco to Spain. Integrating historical lexical analysis with corpusbased evidence, the study reconstructs the etymology of these terms and traces their resemanticization within the migration context. The findings highlight how traditional nautical terminology has been reshaped by migrant communities and smuggling networks, reflecting migratory dynamics, technical aspects, and social practices inherent to the crossings of the Mediterranean Sea.