Department of Arabic Language
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- ItemBorrowing and Clipping as Means of Language Enrichment: A Study of Arabic Personal Names in Baatonum(Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Maiduguri, Nigeria, 2013) Ahmad, Aliyu OkutaBorrowing and Clipping are two important and most common sources of new words in many languages. History has shown that languages have adopted and adapted lexical items and other linguistic elements from other languages; this being the consequence of cultural contact between speakers of the donor and receiving languages. Baatonum, as one of the minority languages in West Africa, through contact with different languages (English, French, Dendi, Hausa, and Yoruba) and with Islam has adopted a vast number of words from these languages and more significantly from Arabic. The advent of Islam among the ethnic entity in the name of Baatombu in the 16th century, and subsequent embracing of the faith by the people had opened the gate for Arabic terms including those concerning commerce, education, religion etc. to penetrate into Baatonum. The concern of this present study therefore is to examine the adoption and clipping of Arabic personal names in Baatonum and how these have contributed to the enrichment of the receiving language. The study adopts the Qualitative Descriptive Analysis in analyzing the data. The paper observes that, the adaptability of the source language on one hand, and the receptivity of the recipient on the other have both contributed to the large scale vocabularies of Arabic origin in Baatonum. The paper finally recommends that subsequent researchers do more studies in this aspect to reveal more personal names of Arabic origin in Baatonum.
- ItemRudimental Principles of Interaction in the Holy Qur’an:Surah Al-Hujraat as Case Study(Humas, Dokumentasi & Publikasi of Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang, 2022) Yusuf, Tajudeen & Ahmed, Aliyu OkutaThe way in which people interact and address one another is crucial to expressing their social relationship; it encodes the relationship between interlocutors and reflects cultural values. Proper use of words in addressing a fellow or people strengthens peaceful coexistence among individuals and groups within and outside a given cultural setting. On the contrary, the unguarded use of words has been the primary cause of conflicts and disharmony around the world. The Holy Qur’an, as a divine revelation and guide from the Almighty, advocates good social relationships through speech and encourages respect for individual differences through words. At the same time, it warns against aggressive and unhealthy language. This present study examines the principles of communication and interaction contained in Surah Al-Hujraat (Qur’an, chapter 49) as a tool for a peaceful and harmonious relationship among individuals and groups. The study adopts the qualitative content analysis approach to analyze the chapter’s extracted verses. The findings of the study reveal that the chapter provides some rudimental principles of interaction that promote the language of respect, and peaceful communication among individuals and groups in the society that enhance interpersonal relationships, regardless of race, color, rank, or tribe.
- ItemLanguage Borrowing and Semantic Change: A Study of Arabic Loanwords in Baatonum(Department of Languages and Culture, Federal University, Gusau, 2024) Ahmad, Aliyu OkutaSemantic change in language borrowing is a general phenomenon among living languages. When a language borrows lexical items from the other, some modifications occur, thus, affecting the meanings of some of the borrowed items. Scholars at different times have examined semantic change in loanwords across different languages. This current study investigates semantic change in Arabic loanwords within the Baatonum language. Through a comprehensive linguistic analysis, the study explores how Arabic loanwords have been incorporated into Baatonum, focusing on shifts in meaning and usage. The study identifies patterns of semantic transformation and sociocultural factors influencing the changes through analysis of a corpus Arabic loanwords. Adopting a qualitative case design, the study employs the native speaker intuition of the writer and interviews with fellow Baatonum speakers to gather nuanced insights into the semantic transformation of Arabic loanwords. Data for the study is collected a corpus of loan words collected by the author for a PhD dissertation. Findings have revealed that while some borrowed words have retained their original meanings, others undergo significant changes. This study is significant in the sense that it contributes to broader understanding of language contact phenomena and semantic evolution, highlighting the importance of native speaker perspectives in language research, as well as the dynamic interplay between languages in contact.
- Itemعناصر غير العربية في "نيل المرام بزيارة مدينة درهام" لمشهود محمود جمبا: دراسة معجمية(The Arab Institute for Education, Science and Arts, 2023) Ahmad, Aliyu Okutaإنّ من عادة اللغات الحيّة الأخذ والعطاء على سبيل الاقتراض، وخاصة المفردات. ولقد أخذت اللغة العربية من اللغات الأخرى ألفاظا متعددة في شتى مجالات الحياة الإنسانية، فأصبحت جزءا منها دخيلا. وهناك ألفاظ أخرى أجنبية لم تتسرب إلى اللغة العربية بل يستخدمها الناس في محادثاتهم كتاباتهم عشوائيا متى دعت الحاجة. فكتاب "نيل المرام بزيارة مدينة درهام" يحتوي على عناصر كثيرة غير العربية والتي قد تشكل عائقا أمام الفهم الدقيق لمضمونه. وهذا البحث يهدف إلى تعرّف تلك العناصر لإلقاء الضوء على مدلولاتها وبيان أصول الدخيل منها بقصد إزالة العقبات أمام القارئ وتخليصه مما قد يحوله عن فهم ما يحتويه الكتاب. ولتحقيق الهدف يسلك البحث المنهج الوصفي الذي يدرس ظاهرة أو مشكلة ويصفها بطريقة علمية للوصول إلى تفسيرات منطقية. تكشف نتائج البحث أن الكتاب يحتوي على أكثر من مأتين عنصرا غير عربي، وأنها تحتاج إلى تفسيرات لفهم حقيقي ومناسب لمضمون الكتاب.
- Itemوضع اللغة العربية بين اللغات العالمية(Department of Arabic, University College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, 2022) Ahmad, Aliyu Okuta