The Arabic stimulus to the Swahili language: A post-colonial balance sheet
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Date
2017
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Namibia
Abstract
It is generally accepted that Arabic has had a major impact on the
growth of the Swahili language over the centuries. The meaning of
this linguistic stimulus of Arabic, however, has been a matter of far
lesser consensus in both the colonial and postcolonial dispensations.
Does the Semitic influence reduce Swahili’s African credentials,
and does it amount to some degree of linguistic Islamization? If so,
is the development an argument in favor of or against Swahili in
relation to its role as a language of Christianity and, later of national
belonging and expression? And can one be anti-Arab and anti-
Islam but pro-Swahili at the same time without having to dis-Arabize
Swahili? These are some of the central questions addressed in this
article, reflecting conflicting positions of various interest groups,
even as Swahili’s own momentum and dynamism have increasingly
neutralized the contestation over its identity.
Description
Keywords
Swahili, Arabic stimulus, Islamization
Citation
Mazrui, A. (2017). The Arabic stimulus to the Swahili language: A post-colonial balance sheet. JULACE: Journal of University of Namibia Language Centre, 2(2), 51-67.