In mentioning the Yoruba Language we should not forget it's
adaptations and modifications in the vast Yoruba diaspora – updating
studies about the migration/s of Yoruba words/ language must be an
everlasting challenge to Yoruba Language specialists an sociolinguists
Interesting that the Yoruba word for onions comes from the Arabic as
you say;
"*3.* *Alubosa.* This Yoruba word for "onion" was borrowed from the
Hausa
"albasa," which in turn borrowed it from the Arabic "al-basal."
In Sierra Leone Krio, onions is "yabas" and as there has always been a
significant Yoruba presence in Freetown and lots of Yoruba loan words
(especially related to the Yoruba cuisine, hunting, music,
clothing,Yoruba customs and social relations) constitute a large part
of the Krio language as "loan words"; so "Yabas" probably comes
directly from the Yoruba
In Themne "onions" is "kʌ yaba " - could have also come directly from
the Arabic, or the Yoruba or Krio....
The latest Yoruba loanword to gain popular currency in Sierra Leone
was SWEGBE ( fool) – it surfaced in Emerson's hit " Borbor Bele" a few
years ago – and in the beginning most of the resident Sierra Leone
fora linguists were at a complete loss as to the meaning of the
word....
probably passed on through the peace-keeping Yoruba in ECOMORG who
were stationed in Sierra Leone for a while...
On Jun 7, 4:57 pm, "Farooq A. Kperogi" <
farooqkper...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> Sunday, May 13, 2012 The Arabic Origins of Common Yoruba
> Words<
http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2012/05/arabic-origins-of-common-yoruba-...>
>
> *By Farooq A. Kperogi *
>
> I am taking a break from English grammar this week to discuss a
> fascinating 22-page article I read on the Arabic roots of many contemporary
> Yoruba words. Titled "On Arabic Loans in
> Yoruba,"<
http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED394282.pdf>it was written by
> Professor Sergio Baldi, a well-regarded Italian linguist,
> who presented it at the Annual Conference on African Linguistics in
> California, USA, in March 1995.
>
> The article lists scores of common Yoruba words that are derived from
> Arabic sometimes by way of Hausa, at other times by way of Songhai (Zarma
> and Dendi languages in present-day Niger, Mali, and Benin republics are
> examples of Songhai languages), and occasionally directly from Arabic. (To
> read the full article, click here <
http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED394282.pdf>).
>
> In this essay, I isolate only words that, from my modest knowledge of
> Yoruba, enjoy widespread usage and that are not limited to the vernacular
> of Yoruba Muslims. It is noteworthy that different versions of many of the
> words below are also used widely in Hausa, Kanuri, Igala, Ebira, Batonu,
> Nupe, and many Niger-Congo languages in northern and central Nigeria. In
> fact, "wahala," a common Nigerian Pidgin English word, has Arabic origins,
> as you will see shortly.
>
> *1. Abere.* This Yoruba word for "needle" traces its etymology to the
> Arabic "ai-bra," which also means needle.
>
> *2.* *Adura.* This is the Yoruba word for prayers. In fact, there is a
> popular syncretic Christian sect in Yorubaland that goes by the name
> "aladura," meaning "people who pray" or "praying people." Many other
> northern and central Nigerian languages have some version of this word to
> denote prayers. It is derived from the Arabic "du'a," which also means
> prayers.
>
> *3.* *Alubosa.* This Yoruba word for "onion" was borrowed from the Hausa
> "albasa," which in turn borrowed it from the Arabic "al-basal."
>
> *4.* *Alufa/Alfa.* This is a widely used word for a Muslim scholar (and
> occasionally any Muslim) not just in Yorubaland but in Nupeland, Borgu,
> Igalaland, Ebiraland, etc. It is now increasingly used by Yoruba Muslim
> women as a term of respect for their husbands.
>
> Surprisingly, the word is absent in the Hausa language. It came as no
> surprise therefore when Professor Baldi suggested that the word came to the
> Yoruba language—and many other central Nigerian languages—through the
> Songhai. It is derived from the Arabic "khalifah," which means a
> "successor" or a "representative" (of the prophet of Islam). It was first
> corrupted to "Alfa" by the Songhai who later exported their version of the
> word to western and central Nigeria—and to other parts of West Africa. Many
> Songhai were itinerant Islamic preachers who traveled all over West Africa.
>
> *5.* *Atele/itele.* It means "following" in Yoruba, and it is derived
> from "at-talin," which also means "following" in Arabic.
>
> *6.* *Amodi.* It means "disease" in Yoruba and is derived from "al-marad,"
> the Arabic word for disease.
>
> *7.* *"Amo."* It is a conjunction in Yoruba, which performs the same
> function that the word "but" performs in English; it introduces contrast.
> It is rendered as "amma" in Hausa, which is the way it is rendered in its
> original Arabic form.
>
> *8.* *Anfani.* This Yoruba word for "utility" or "importance" also occurs
> in Hausa, Batonu, and many northern and central Nigerian languages. It is
> derived from the Arabic "naf," which means "advantage, profit."
>
> *9.* *Ara/ apaara.* The word means "thunder" in Yoruba, and is derived
> from the Arabic "ar-ra'd."
>
> *10.* *Asiri.* It means "secret" in Yoruba, Hausa, and in many other
> Nigerian languages. It is derived from the Arabic "as-sirr" where it also
> means "secret."
>
> 11. *Barika*. This is the Yoruba word for "congratulations." It is
> rendered as "barka" in Hausa. The word's original Arabic form is
> "al-baraka," which means "greetings."
>
> *12.* *Borokinni*. It means a "gentleman, respected man in a secure
> financial position." The word is also found in many Borgu languages, such
> as Batonu and Bokobaru, where "boro" means a "friend." It is derived from
> the Arabic "rukn," which means "support, corner, basic element."
>
> *13.* *Faari.* It means "showing off" or "boastfulness" or "ostentatious
> display" in Yoruba. It has the same meaning in many Borgu languages. It is
> derived from the Arabic "fakhr," which means "glory, pride, honor." (Note
> that "kh" is a guttural sound in Arabic, which is close to a hard "h" in
> English. That sound was dropped by Nigerian languages).
>
> *14.* *Fitila.* It means any kind of lamp. Its roots are located in the
> Arabic word for lamp, which is "fatil."
>
> *15.* *Ijamba.* Professor Baldi defines this word as "bodily harm," but
> the meaning of the word I'm familiar with is one that associates it with
> cunning, cheating, deceit. It is derived from the Arabic "danb," or
> "danba," which means "sin, crime." (Note that Arabic frequently dispenses
> with end vowels (that is, a, e, i, o, and u) in words, whereas many
> Nigerian languages almost always end words with a vowel—and add them to
> words they borrow from other languages if such words lack an end vowel).
>
> *16.* *Imale**.* This is the Yoruba word for "Muslim." I read previous
> interpretations of this word from Yoruba scholars who say it is Yoruba for
> "that which is difficult" to underscore the difficulty of Islamic practices
> like praying five times a day, fasting for 30 days during Ramadan, etc.
> Other Yoruba scholars said the word initially denoted "people from Mali"
> since the Songhai people who Islamized Yoruba land in the 15th century were
> from Mali.
>
> But Baldi argues that "imale" is the corruption of the Arabic "Mu'alim,"
> which means a teacher. In the Hausa language, the word is rendered as
> Maalam. It's interesting that "Mallam" has become the synonym for Hausa (or
> northern) Muslim in southern Nigeria.
>
> *17.* *Iwaju.* It's the Yoruba word for "front part." I didn't imagine
> that this word had an Arabic origin until I read Baldi's article. It is
> derived from the Arabic "al-wajh," which means "front" or "face."
>
> *18*. *Iwaasu.* It is the Yoruba term for "preaching" or "sermon." It is
> used by both Christians and Muslims in Yorubaland, and is derived from the
> Arabic "waz," which means "admonition" or "sermon." (The Yoruba language
> has no "z" sound, so it substitutes "z" with "s" when it borrows words from
> other languages with "z" sounds).
>
> *19.* *Suuru.* It means "patience" not only in Yoruba but in many
> languages in central and northern Nigeria. It is derived from the Arabic
> "sabr," which also means "patience."
>
> *20.* *Talaka.* It means the poor. It came to Yoruba by way of Hausa,
> which borrowed it from the Tuareg (where it is rendered as "taleqque" and
> where it means "a poor woman"). It's also used in Mandingo, Songhai
> languages, Kanuri, Teda, and many West African languages. Baldi says this
> word has no Arabic origins. On the surface, this may be true. After all,
> the Arabic word for a poor person is "fakir" (plural: "fuqura").
>
> However, "talaq," as most Muslims know, is the Arabic word for divorce.
> (The chapter of the Qur'an that deals with the subject of divorce is called
> Suratul Talaq). Talaq is derived from the verb "talaqa," which means to
> "disown," to "repudiate." In times past (and it's still the case today in
> many Muslim societies) if a woman was divorced, she was invariably thrown
> into poverty. Thus, Tuaregs used the term "taleqque" to denote a "poor
> woman." But Hausa, Kanuri, Yoruba, Mandingo, and other West African
> languages expanded the original Tuareg meaning of the word to include every
> poor person. This is my theory.
>
> *21.* *Tobi*. This Yoruba word for "women's knickers" is derived from the
> Arabic "taub," which means "garment," "dress," "cloth." Another tonal
> variation of this word leads to a different Yoruba word, which means "big."
>
> *22*. *Wahala.* Well, this isn't just a Yoruba word by way of Hausa; it's
> made its way into most Nigerian languages—and into West African Pidgin
> English. It means "trouble," and it's derived from the Arabic "wahla,"
> which means "fright," "terror."
>
>
http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2012/05/arabic-origins-of-common-yoruba-...
>
> Personal website:www.farooqkperogi.com<
http://www.farooqkperogi.blogspot.com>
> Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/farooqkperogi> Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/farooqkperogi>
> "The nice thing about pessimism is that you are constantly being either
> proven right or pleasantly surprised." G. F. Will
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit
http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue For previous archives, visit
http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html To post to this group, send an email to
USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
No comments:
Post a Comment