Swahili Ajami herufi za Kiarabu حٖرُوفِ زَ كِعَرَبُ | |
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Script type | |
Time period | c. 16 c. to the present |
Direction | Right-to-left |
Languages | Swahili |
Related scripts | |
Parent systems | |
The Swahili Ajami script refers to the alphabet derived from the Arabic script that is used for the writing of the Swahili language. [1]
Ajami is a name commonly given to alphabets derived from Arabic script for the use of various African languages, from Swahili to Hausa, Fula, and Wolof.
In the 2010s, there has been work on creating new Unicode characters, on keyboard mapping, and on coding script conversion programs, so that typing in Swahili Ajami Script can become as accessible as typing in Latin Script, so that texts from either script can easily and accurately be converted to the other, and to have a tool digitize and upload historic texts and manuscripts in Swahili for the sake of their preservation. Dr. Kevin Donnelly of SOAS has worked on that and on digitizing historic Swahili manuscripts. [2] [3]
Up until the latter half of the 19th century, there was no specific "Swahili script". It was Arabic script with no modification that was used. [1]
Starting from the later half of the 19th century, continuing into the 20th century, and going on in the 21st century, a process of "Swahilization" of the Arabic script has been under way by Swahili scribes and scholars. The first of such attempts was done by Mwalimu Sikujua, a scholar and poet from Mombasa. Below are Mwalimu Sikujua's innovations in the adaptation of Arabic script for Swahili phonology: [4]
The poetry and texts written by Mwalimu Sikujua were published by W.E. Taylor, a Swahili literature scholar of British origin, in the late 19th century. This was probably the first time ever that Swahili in Ajami script was printed and published as opposed to being handwritten. However, the spread of a standardized indigenous variation of Arabic script for Swahili was hampered by the colonial takeover of East Africa by the United Kingdom and Germany. The usage of Arabic script was suppressed in German East Africa and to a lesser extent in British East Africa. Nevertheless, well into the 1930s and 1940s, rural literacy rate in Arabic script as well as a local preference to write Swahili in this script was high. [4] But it's important to note that literacy at the time was in unmodified Arabic script, and not the modified scripts that were thus far proposed by the likes of Mwalimu Sikujua. [4]
In the mid 1940s, 3 prominent Swahili literature scholars of British origin noted on the writing of Swahili in the urban centre of Mombasa. They noted that at the time, a standardized reformed Arabic script had been adopted by writers of the city. While they only made use of the three original vowels, they had consistency in indicating the stressed syllable by writing Arabic long vowels using alif, wāw, and yāʼ (ا, و , ی). Colonial administrators as well as prominent Swahili scholars, despite recognizing the need for implementation of reform in the script, citing local opposition and conservativity, were anxious to do so and impose it on the populace in a top-down manner. [4]
The process of standardization of Swahili Ajami script continued into the 20th century. However, scholars didn't always follow or propose the same standard. For example, Hajj Nur b. Muhammad Hajj Nur, being from Barawa in Somalia, worked based on the local Chimbalazi dialect of Swahili. In his proposal, he maintained the use of tiny letters for representing prenasalized consonants just as Mwalimu Sikujua had done. Whereas, Mu’allim Sheikh Yahya Ali Omar from Mombasa decided to do what is done in the Latin script, namely to just write the letters mīm (م) or nūn (ن) as part of the word. For example, the number two (mbili) will be written as مبِيلِ and بِۘيلِ respectively in either standard. [1] [4]
Furthermore, on top of orthographic variations, it is noteworthy to mention the dialectical variation within Swahili. Traditionally, dialects from Lamu (on the Kenyan Coast) have been the basis for Swahili literary heritage and dominate Swahili poetry. [6] This dialect was the basis for the Swahili Ajami script. However, this came to be challenged by the Kiunguja dialect of Zanzibar City. This dialect was used by Christian missionaries and British colonial officials as the basis for the Latin Script. [1]
In the most recent and most widely acknowledged orthographic standard, devised by Mu’allim Sheikh Yahya Ali Omar, the dialect of his hometown Mombasa has been chosen as the basis. This is, according to Yahya Ali Omar himself, because this dialect has historically been affected by all vernacular varieties of Swahili and it has formed the basis of literary Swahili. This dialect is in his opinion, best fitted for accurate Swahili prose. [4]
Letters in Yahya Ali Omar's orthography are based on the dialect of Mombasa. There are several consonants that represent sounds present in Mombasan dialect but not necessarily elsewhere in the Swahili-speaking world. There are 48 consonants in Swahili Ajami. Digraphs are counted as separate letters. [4]
Although the Roman orthography does not distinguish between syllabicity and prenasalized sounds, both Sheikh Yahya's manuscripts and Yahya Omar's convention make a distinction between a syllabic nasal followed by a voiced plosive (e.g. [m̩ɓ]) and a prenasalised voiced plosive (e.g. [ᵐb]). Both of these are written as mb in Roman orthography. The former is seen in Swahili noun class 1 (the M-wa class), and the first letter of the word is written as mīm (م), such as mbrazilمْبرَزِل (Brazilian person). The later is seen in Swahili noun class 9. For this class, in Roman script, either a prefix of m or n is used, reflecting pronunciation. In Ajami script, nūn (ن) is used all the time, reflecting grammatical consistency. An example being mbaziنْبَازِ (beans). [4] [2]
Aspirated as opposed to non-aspirated consonants are also marked in Swahili Ajami, with a "two-eyed" hāʾ (ھ) similar to what's done in the Urdu alphabet. This is not indicated in Swahili Roman script.
Dental as opposed to alveolar [t] and [d] consonants, sounds unique to Mombasa Swahili, are also marked in Swahili Ajami. The dental forms are represented with Arabic letters tāʼ (ت) for [t̪] and dāl (د) for [d̪], whereas the alveolar ones are represented with unique letters, similar in shape to Urdu letters Ṭe (ٹ) for [t] and Ḍal (ڈ) for [d]. Dental versus alveolar [t] and [d] are not distinguished in Swahili Roman orthography, nor in unmodified Arabic script.
Unfortunately, online script conversion tools are unable to distinguish between the above nuances unique to Ajami script, and they render all text as they'd correspond to Roman. Manual editing of text will be required. [2]
Name | Forms | Sound represented | Roman equivalent | Example | Notes | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Isolated | Final | Medial | Initial | Ajami | Roman | Meaning | ||||
alifu أَلِيفُ | ا | ـا | ا | /a/ | a | أَنَسٖيمَ سَاسَ ڤِئَازِ | anasema sas viazi | he is speaking now potatoes | The alifu has two functions: first, to indicate the vowel [a] when stressed; second, to be the carrier of the hamzah as word initial and at vowel sequences. | |
bee بٖئٖ | ب | ـب | ـبـ | بـ | /ɓ/ | b | بُويُ مْبرَزِل | buyu mbrazil | fruit Brazilian person | |
mbee نْبٖئٖ | نْب | ـنْب | ـنْبـ | نْبـ | /ᵐb/ | b | نْبٖيلٖ | mbele | in front | Not applicable to Swahili noun class 1 (the M-wa class) and other instances of syllabic "mb" consonant sequence. (meaning instances when "mb" is pronounced as [m̩ɓ] as opposed to [ᵐb]) |
pee پٖئٖ | پ | ـپ | ـپـ | پـ | /p/ | p | كُپَاكَ | kupaka | paint | |
p'ee پھٖئٖ | پْھ | ـپْھ | ـپْھـ | پْھـ | /pʰ/ | p | پْھَاكَ | paka | cat | Not distinguished from [p] in Roman orthography. |
tee تٖئٖ | ت | ـت | ـتـ | تـ | /t̪/ | t | هَتُؤَ | hatua | action | Dental [t]. |
t'ee تھٖئٖ | تْھ | ـتْھ | ـتْھـ | تْھـ | /t̪ʰ/ | t | تْھُوپَ | tupa | bottle | Dental aspirated [t]. Not distinguished from [t̪], [t], or [tʰ] in Roman orthography. |
tee ٹٖئٖ | ٹ | ـٹ | ـٹـ | ٹـ | /t/ | t | ٹُونْڈُ | tundu | chicken coop | Alveolar [t], unique to Mombasa Dialect. Not distinguished from [t̪], [t̪ʰ], or [tʰ] in Roman orthography. |
t'ee ٹھٖئٖ | ٹھ | ـٹھ | ـٹھـ | ٹھـ | /tʰ/ | t | ٹھُونْدُ | tundu | a hole | Alveolar aspirated [t], unique to Mombasa Dialect. Not distinguished from [t̪], [t̪ʰ], or [t] in Roman orthography. |
thee ثٖئٖ | ث | ـث | ـثـ | ثـ | /θ/ | th | ثٖمَنِينِ | themanini | eighty | |
jimu جِيمُ | ج | ـج | ـجـ | جـ | /ʄ~dʒ/ | j | جَانَ | jana | yesterday | |
njimu نْجِيمُ | نْج | ـنْج | ـنْجـ | نْجـ | /ⁿd̥ʒ̊/ | nj | نْجٖيمَ | njema | good | |
chimu چِيمُ | چ | ـچ | ـچـ | چـ | /tʃ/ | ch | چُونْڠوَ | chungwa | orange | Historically, some manuscripts used kafu with two dots ػ as well. |
ch'imu چھِيمُ | چھ | ـچھ | ـچھـ | چھـ | /tʃʰ/ | ch | چھُونْڠوَ | ch'ungwa | medium-sized orange | Not distinguished from [tʃ] in Roman orthography. |
hee حٖئٖ | ح | ـح | ـحـ | حـ | /h/ | h | حَسَن وَسوَحِيلِ | hasan waswahili | Name "Hasan" Swahili people | Only used in loanwords from Arabic. As the original Arabic pronunciation doesn't exist in Swahili phonology, Swahili speakers pronounce it as [h]. |
khee خٖئٖ | خ | ـخ | ـخـ | خـ | /χ~h/ | h (kh) | خَبَارِ | habari | news | Only used in loanwords from Arabic. Most Swahili speakers pronounce it as [h]. |
dali دَالِ | د | ـد | د | /d̪/ | d | دَنْڠَانْيَ | danganya | deceive | Dental [d]. | |
ndali نْدَالِ | نْد | ـنْد | نْد | /ⁿd̪/ | nd | مْوٖينْدٖ | mwenḏe | go | Prenasalized Dental [nd]. | |
dali ڈَالِ | ڈ | ـڈ | ڈ | /d/ | d | ڈُو | du | Large bucket | Alveolar [d], unique to Mombasa Dialect. Not distinguished from [d̪] in Roman orthography. | |
ndali نْڈَالِ | نْڈ | ـنْڈ | نْڈ | /d/ | d | نْڈَانِ | ndani | Inside | Prenasalized Alveolar [d], unique to Mombasa Dialect. Not distinguished from [nd̪] in Roman orthography. | |
dhali ذَالِ | ذ | ـذ | ذ | /ð/ | dh | ذَهَابُ | dhahabu | gold | ||
ree رٖئٖ | ر | ـر | ر | /ɾ/ | r | كِرَاكَ | kiraka | patch | ||
zee زٖئٖ | ز | ـز | ز | /z/ | z | كُزِيمَ | kuzima | to extinguish | ||
zhee ژٖئٖ | ژ | ـژ | ژ | /ʒ/ | zh | ژِينَ | Zhina | Personal name "Zhina" | Nonexistent in most Swahili dialects and in most literature. Only seen in vernacular of Northern dialects. | |
sini سِينِ | س | ـس | ـسـ | سـ | /s/ | s | كُسِكِئَ | kusikia | to hear | |
shini شِينِ | ش | ـش | ـشـ | شـ | /ʃ/ | sh | كُشِيكَ | kushika | to hold | |
sadi صَادِ | ص | ـص | ـصـ | صـ | /s/ | s | صَحِيبُ | sahibu | friend | Only used in loanwords from Arabic. Most Swahili speakers pronounce it as [s]. |
dhadi ضَادِ | ض | ـض | ـضـ | ضـ | /ð/ | dh | ضِيكِ | dhiki | distress | Only used in loanwords from Arabic. Swahili speakers pronounce it as [dh]. |
tee طٖئٖ | ط | ـط | ـطـ | طـ | /t/ | t | كُطَهِرِيشَ | kutahirisha | to purify | Only used in loanwords from Arabic. Swahili speakers pronounce it as [t]. |
dhee ظٖئٖ | ظ | ـظ | ـظـ | ظـ | /ð/ | dh | أَظُهُورِ | adhuhuri | noon | Only used in loanwords from Arabic. Swahili speakers pronounce it as [dh]. |
aini عَئِينِ | ع | ـع | ـعـ | عـ | /-/ (/ʕ/) | - | مَعَانَ | maana | meaning | Only used in loanwords from Arabic. Not pronounced in Swahili. Vowel sequences in Roman orthography can correspond to this letter. |
ghaini غَئِينِ | غ | ـغ | ـغـ | غـ | /ɣ/ | gh | غَضَابُ | ghadhabu | anger | Only used in loanwords from Arabic. |
gaini ڠَئِينِ | ڠ | ـڠ | ـڠـ | ڠـ | /ɠ~ɡ/ | g | ڠُنِئَ | gunia | sack | |
ngaini نْڠَئِينِ | نْڠ | ـنْڠ | ـنْڠـ | نْڠـ | /ᵑɡ/ | ng | مْچَانْڠَ | mchanga | sand | |
ng'aini نݝَئِينِ | نݝ | ـنݝ | ـنݝـ | نݝـ | /ŋ/ | ng' | نݝٗومْبٖ | ng'ombe | cattle | |
fee فٖئٖ | ف | ـف | ـفـ | فـ | /f/ | f | فِيڠٗ | figo | kidney | |
vee ڤٖئٖ | ڤ | ـڤ | ـڤـ | ڤـ | /v/ | v | كُڤِيمْبَ | kuvimba | to swell | |
qafu قَافُ | ق | ـق | ـقـ | قـ | /q/ | q | وَقفُ | waqfu | endowment | Only used in loanwords from Arabic. Swahili speakers pronounce it as [k]. |
kafu كَافُ | ك | ـك | ـكـ | كـ | /k/ | k | كُوكُ | kuku | large hen | |
k'afu كھَافُ | كھ | ـكھ | ـكھـ | كھـ | /kʰ/ | k | كھُوكُ | k'uku | medium-sized hen | Not distinguished from [k] in Roman orthography. |
lamu لَامُ | ل | ـل | ـلـ | لـ | /l/ | l | كُلِيمَ | kulima | to dig | |
mimu مِيمُ | م | ـم | ـمـ | مـ | /m/ | m | مِيمِ | mimi | I (first person singular pronoun) | |
nuni نُونِ | ن | ـن | ـنـ | نـ | /n/ | n | نَانِ | nani | who? | |
waw وَو | و | ـو | و | /ʋ~w/ /ɔ/ /u/ | w o u | كُوَ مْكٗونْڠَ كُسُڠُؤَ | kuwa mkonga kusugua | to be elephant trunk to rub | The waw has three functions: first, to be a consonant, represented in Roman orthography as [w]. Second is to indicate the vowels [o] or [u] when stressed; third, to be the carrier of the hamzah at vowel sequences. | |
hee هٖئٖ | ه | ـه | ـهـ | هـ | /h/ | h | هَيُوپٗ | hayupo | he/she is not there | |
hamza هَامزَ | ء | ـاء ـؤ ـئ | ـأ ـؤ ـئـ | أ إ | - | - | إٖنْدٖلٖئَ كُسُڠُؤَ مَفَاءَ | endelea kusugua mafaa | go on to rub usefulness | Hamza is used in conjunction with either alif, waw, or yee as its career as word initial and at vowel sequences. |
yee يٖئٖ | ي | ـي | ـيـ | يـ | /j/ /ɛ/ /i/ | y e i | يَاكٗ كٖلٖيلٖ | yako kelele | your scream | The yee has two functions: first, to be a consonant, represented in Roman orthography as [y]. Second is to indicate the vowels [e] or [i] when stressed. A dotless letter yee is used as the carrier of the hamzah at vowel sequences. |
nyee نْيٖئٖ | نْي | ـنْي | ـنْيـ | نْيـ | /ɲ/ | ny | نْيٗوكَ | nyoka | snake |
-a | -e | -i | -o | -u |
---|---|---|---|---|
◌َ | ◌ٖ | ◌ِ | ◌ٗ | ◌ُ |
fataha فَتَاحَ | kasiri ya kusimama كَسِيرِ يَ كُسِمَامَ | kasiri كَسِيرِ | dhuma ya kupindua ضُومَ يَ كُپِنْدُؤَ | dhuma ضُومَ |
However, these diacritics cannot be written on their own and independent of a letter. When a word begins with a vowel, a letter alifu is used as the carrier, with a hamza on the top (for [a], [u], [o]) or on the bottom (for [e], [i]). The writing of Hamza in handwriting is optional. [4] [2]
A | E | I | O | U |
---|---|---|---|---|
أَ | إٖ | إِ | أٗ | أُ |
In Swahili Ajami, vowels in the middle of the word are shown differently depending on whether the syllable is stressed on unstressed. In Swahili, stress patterns are predictable, as almost always they fall on the second-to-last syllable of a word. The exceptions to this rule are extremely rare, and are usually found in words borrowed from other languages, mostly Arabic (for example, maalum).
-a | -e | -i | -o | -u |
---|---|---|---|---|
◌َ | ◌ٖ | ◌ِ | ◌ٗ | ◌ُ |
Vowels in stressed (second-to-last) syllable of the word are marked with diacritic as well as a carrier letter, namely alifu (ا) for vowel [a], yee (ي) for vowels [e] and [i], and waw (و) for vowels [o] and [u]. The diacritic for the vowels [a], [i], or [u] can be omitted, but this is not recommended. This practice of indicating the stressed syllable also helps to delimit individual words in the Ajami script.
-a | -e | -i | -o | -u |
---|---|---|---|---|
◌َا | ◌ٖي | ◌ِي | ◌ٗو | ◌ُو |
Below are some sample words where the above principles can be observed.
Ajami | Latin | Meaning |
---|---|---|
أَنَسٖيمَ | anasema | he is speaking |
أٗكتٗوبَ | oktoba | October |
أُڠَالِ | ugali | porridge |
إٖلٖكٖيڤُ | elekevu | reasonable |
كِسوَحِيلِ | kiswahili | Swahili language |
In Swahili Ajami script, to denote vowel sequences, hamza and either alifu (ا), yee (ي), or waw (و) are used. There are different conventions depending on whether the vowel sequence occurs in the middle of the word or at the end of the word.
If the vowel sequence occurs in the middle of the word:
And in addition to above conventions, if the second syllable in the vowel sequence is the stressed (second-to-last) syllable of the word, alifu (ا), yee (ي), or waw (و) are also written in correspondence with the vowel of the syllable. [2]
Below are some sample words where the above principles can be observed.
Ajami | Latin | Meaning |
---|---|---|
مَأَنْدِيشِ | maandishi | manuscripts |
ڤِئَازِ | viazi | potatoes |
كُؤَنْدِيكَ | kuandika | to write |
شَئِيرِ | shairi | poetry |
كِئِينِ | kiini | pith |
كُئِيتَ | kuita | to call |
شَؤُورِ | shauri | advice |
مٖؤُوپٖ | meupe | White (class 6) |
كُؤٗونَ | kuona | to see |
If the vowel sequence occurs at the end of the word, meaning that the first syllable in the sequence is the stressed syllable of the word:
Below are some sample words where the above principles can be observed.
Ajami | Latin | Meaning |
---|---|---|
مَفَاءَ | mafaa | usefulness |
تَاءِ | tai | vulture |
بَاءٗ | bao | plank |
كُپٗكٖئَ | kupokea | to receive |
كُتِئَ | kutia | to place |
كُپٗؤَ | kupoa | to call |
كُسُڠُؤَ | kusugua | to rub |
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: [7]
Translation | Latin Script | Swahili Ajami Script |
---|---|---|
All human beings are born free, (sic) there are equal status and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. | Watu wote wamezaliwa huru, hadhi na haki zao ni sawa. Wote wamejaliwa akili na dhamiri, hivyo yapasa watendeane kindugu. | وَاتُ وٗوتٖ وَمٖزَلِيوَ حُورُ، هَاذِ نَ حَقِ زَاءٗ نِ سَاوَ. وٗوتٖ وَمٖجَلِيوَ عَقِيلِ نَ ضَمِيرِ، هِيڤْيٗ يَپَاسَ وَتٖنْدٖئَانٖ كِنْدُوڠُ. |
A prose by Yahya Ali Omar [4]
Translation | Latin Script | Swahili Ajami Script |
---|---|---|
... All of a sudden we saw a very high mountain which blocked the road. So we climbed the mountain: its sand was like gold, and its stones were like rubies and seed-pearls. Well then, as we continued on our way, we came across a tree the like of which I had never before seen. Beneath it was a youth tending goats. The horns of those goats were green like emeralds, and their silken fleeces were of divers colours, while their milk which dripped down was as white as the milk of the riven of Paradise. | ... Mara tukaona mlima unkingama ndiyani, mrefu sana. Tukapanda; mtanga wake ni wa dhahabu na mawe yake ni yakuti na marjani. Basi tukatika kwenda, mara tukaona mti, sijaona mfano wake. T'ini yake kuna barobaro mmoja atunga mbuzi, na hao mbuzi p'embe zao ni za zumurudi ya kijani kibiti; na manyowa yao ni hariri ya rangi kulla namna; maziwa yawatumzika, meupe kama maziwa ya mito ya P'eponi. | ... مَارَ ٹُكَؤٗونَ مْلِيمَ أُنْكِنْڠَامَ نْدِيَانِ، مْرٖيفُ سَانَ. ٹُكَپَانْدَ، مْتَانْڠَ وَاكٖ نِ وَ ذَهَابُ نَ مَاوٖ يَاكٖ نِ يَكُوتِ نَ مَرجَانِ. بَاسِ ٹُكَٹِيكَ كْوٖينْدَ، مَارَ ٹُكَؤٗونَ مْٹِ، سِجَؤٗونَ مْفَانٗ وَاكٖ. تْھِينِ يَاكٖ كُونَ بَرٗبَارٗ مْمٗوجَ أَتُونْڠَ نْبُوزِ، نَ هَاءٗ نْبُوزِ پْھٖيمْبٖ زَاءٗ نِ زَ زُمُرُودِ يَ كِجَانِ كِبِيتِ، نَ مَنْيٗوَ يَاءٗ نِ حَرِيرِ يَ رَانْڠِ كُلَّ نَامْنَ، مَزِيوَ يَوَتُرُزِيكَ، مٖؤُوپٖ كَمَا مَزِيوَ يَ مِيٹٗ يَ پْھٖپٗونِ. |
The Arabic alphabet, or the Arabic abjad, is the Arabic script as specifically codified for writing the Arabic language. It is written from right-to-left in a cursive style, and includes 28 letters, of which most have contextual letterforms. The Arabic alphabet is considered an abjad, with only consonants required to be written; due to its optional use of diacritics to notate vowels, it is considered an impure abjad.
A diacritic is a glyph added to a letter or to a basic glyph. The term derives from the Ancient Greek διακριτικός, from διακρίνω. The word diacritic is a noun, though it is sometimes used in an attributive sense, whereas diacritical is only an adjective. Some diacritics, such as the acute ⟨ó⟩, grave ⟨ò⟩, and circumflex ⟨ô⟩, are often called accents. Diacritics may appear above or below a letter or in some other position such as within the letter or between two letters.
A mater lectionis is any consonant that is used to indicate a vowel, primarily in the writing of Semitic languages such as Arabic, Hebrew and Syriac. The letters that do this in Hebrew are aleph א, he ה, waw ו and yod י, with the latter two in particular being more often vowels than they are consonants. In Arabic, the matres lectionis are ʾalif ا, wāw و and yāʾ ي.
The Arabic script has numerous diacritics, which include consonant pointing known as iʻjām (إِعْجَام), and supplementary diacritics known as tashkīl (تَشْكِيل). The latter include the vowel marks termed ḥarakāt.
Comorian is the name given to a group of four Bantu languages spoken in the Comoro Islands, an archipelago in the southwestern Indian Ocean between Mozambique and Madagascar. It is named as one of the official languages of the Union of the Comoros in the Comorian constitution. Shimaore, one of the languages, is spoken on the disputed island of Mayotte, a French department claimed by Comoros.
The Azerbaijani alphabet has three versions which includes the Arabic, Latin, and Cyrillic alphabets.
Aljamiado or Aljamía texts are manuscripts that use the Arabic script for transcribing European languages, especially Romance languages such as Old Spanish or Aragonese. This alphabet is also called the Morisco alphabet.
Maore Comorian, or Shimaore, is one of the two indigenous languages spoken in the French-ruled Comorian islands of Mayotte; Shimaore being a dialect of the Comorian language, while ShiBushi is an unrelated Malayo-Polynesian language originally from Madagascar. Historically, Shimaore- and ShiBushi-speaking villages on Mayotte have been clearly identified, but Shimaore tends to be the de facto indigenous lingua franca in everyday life, because of the larger Shimaore-speaking population. Only Shimaore is represented on the local television news program by Mayotte La Première. The 2002 census references 80,140 speakers of Shimaore in Mayotte itself, to which one would have to add people living outside the island, mostly in metropolitan France. There are also 20,000 speakers of Comorian in Madagascar, of which 3,000 are Shimaore speakers.
Aleph is the first letter of the Semitic abjads, including Arabic ʾalifا, Aramaic ʾālap 𐡀, Hebrew ʾālefא, North Arabian 𐪑, Phoenician ʾālep 𐤀, Syriac ʾālap̄ ܐ. It also appears as South Arabian 𐩱 and Ge'ez ʾälef አ.
Serer, often broken into differing regional dialects such as Serer-Sine and Serer saloum, is a language of the Senegambian branch of the Niger–Congo family spoken by 1.2 million people in Senegal and 30,000 in the Gambia as of 2009. It is the principal language of the Serer people, and was the language of the early modern kingdoms of Sine, Saloum, and Baol.
The Ottoman Turkish alphabet is a version of the Perso-Arabic script used to write Ottoman Turkish until 1928, when it was replaced by the Latin-based modern Turkish alphabet.
Wolofal is a derivation of the Arabic script for writing the Wolof language. It is basically the name of a West African Ajami script as used for that language.
Wadaad's writing, also known as Wadaad'sArabic, is the traditional Somali adaptation of written Arabic as well as the Arabic script as historically used to transcribe the Somali language. Originally, it referred to a non-grammatical Arabic featuring some words from the Somali language, with the proportion of Somali vocabulary varying depending on the context. The Somalis were among the first people in Africa to embrace Islam. Alongside standard Arabic, Wadaad's writing was used by Somali religious men (Wadaado) to record xeer petitions and to write qasidas. It was also used by merchants for business purposes and letter writing.
The hamza is an Arabic script character that, in the Arabic alphabet, denotes a glottal stop and, in non-Arabic languages, indicates a diphthong, vowel, or other features, depending on the language. Derived from the letter ʿAyn, the hamza is written in initial, medial and final positions as an unlinked letter or placed above or under a carrier character. Despite its common usage as a letter in Modern Standard Arabic, it is generally not considered to be one of its letters, although some argue that it should be considered a letter.
The Pashto alphabet is the right-to-left abjad-based alphabet developed from the Arabic script, used for the Pashto language in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It originated in the 16th century through the works of Pir Roshan.
Pegon is a modified Arabic script used to write the Javanese, Sundanese, and Madurese languages, as an alternative to the Latin script or the Javanese script and the Old Sundanese script. It was used in a variety of applications, from religion, to diplomacy, to poetry. But today particularly, it is used for religious (Islamic) writing and poetry, particularly in writing commentaries of the Qur'an. Pegon includes letters that are not present in Modern Standard Arabic. Pegon has been studied far less than its Jawi counterpart which is used for Malay, Acehnese and Minangkabau.
The Khowar alphabet is the right-to-left alphabet used for the Khowar language. It is a modification of the Urdu alphabet, which is itself a derivative of the Persian alphabet and Arabic alphabet and uses the calligraphic Nastaʿlīq script.
The Balochi Standard Alphabet or Balòrabi(Arabic Scripts), Balòtin(Latin Scripts), also known as Balorabi, is an abjad-based writing system developed from the Arabic script, used for the Balochi language spoken in the Balochistan region of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.
Cham Jawi is a variant of the Jawi adaptation of the Arabic script used to write the Cham language.
Hausa Ajami script refers to the practice of using the alphabet derived from Arabic script for writing of Hausa language.