The Arabic Origins of Common Yoruba Words

[Farooq A. Kperogi]

Sunday, May 13, 2012

The Arabic Origins of Common Yoruba Words

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,” 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).  

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 15^th 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-words.html

Personal website: www.farooqkperogi.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

[akin...@rci.rutgers.edu]

Dear Dr. Kperogi,
I dont do public media, but I find this compelling to respond to.

I found your posting very informative. It also constitutes an important
addition to the body of growing work on Yoruba loan words, especially the
ones from Arabic.

My brief response is on two points.

First, I observe that the very first publication on Arabic loans in Yoruba
is missing from your write-up. It is by M.O.A. Abdul, "Arabic loan words
in Yoruba". YORUBA: Journal of the Yoruba Studies Association of Nigeria,
volume 2. 1976. pp 37-46. This paper was cited in the Baldi 1995 paper
that you cited. I am assuming that you did not cite it because you could
not obtain a copy of it. I'd be happy to send you a scanned copy.

Secondly, while I agree with your judgment on most of the words you
discussed. I doubt two of the words: atele "following" and asiri "secret".

Atele "following" The word "tele" "follow" is completely native. It is
from two verbs "te" "press"/"step", and le "drive"/"come after". It has to
be a compound because the phono-tactics of the word disobeys the regular
harmony, because the two vowels [E] and [e] normally do not co-occur in
the same root. (The initial [a] is just a noun-forming prefix.). Finally
the stem "tele" undergoes normal reduplication, as in tele-n-tele "one
after another". No other "LOAN" you cited behaves this way.

Asiri "secret", is at best questionable. The reason is that the stem again
has been argued to consist of two verbs: si "open", ri "see". Again, the
initial [a] is just a noun-forming prefix.

Sincerely,

Akinbiyi AKINLABI
Professor of Linguistics
Rutgers University
President, World Congress of African Linguistics

> Sunday, May 13, 2012 The Arabic Origins of Common Yoruba

> Words<http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2012/05/arabic-origins-of-common-yoruba-words.html>
>
> *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-words.html
>
> 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
>

> --
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[Emeagwali, Gloria (History)]

Has anyone done recent research on the influence of the languages of ancient northeast Africa (including ancient Egyptian)
on Yoruba and also Arabic?


Dr. Gloria Emeagwali
www.africahistory.net<http://www.africahistory.net/>
www.esnips.com/web/GloriaEmeagwali<http://www.esnips.com/web/GloriaEmeagwali>
emea...@ccsu.edu<mailto:emea...@ccsu.edu>

________________________________
From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com [usaafric...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Farooq A. Kperogi [farooq...@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2012 10:57 AM
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - The Arabic Origins of Common Yoruba Words

Sunday, May 13, 2012
The Arabic Origins of Common Yoruba Words<http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2012/05/arabic-origins-of-common-yoruba-words.html>

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>).

Personal website: www.farooqkperogi.com<http://www.farooqkperogi.blogspot.com>
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/farooqkperogi
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/farooqkperogi<https://twitter.com/#%21/farooqkperogi>

"The nice thing about pessimism is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised." G. F. Will

[Olabode Ibironke]

10 May 2012

• Comment
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

opinion

It is with a deep sense of regret that in this 21st century Africa is still suffering from a political and economic backlash that it once experienced during colonialism. It is indeed a sorry state and African leaders, academics and the general African populace must reflect on this.

This week's instalment is meant to generate debate on the findings by Professor Mamadou Koulibaly in his book, "The Servitude of the Colonial Pact." For those who did not manage to get the Tuesday May 8, 2012 copy of The Herald we therefore reproduce the gist of the article.

"Just before France conceded to African demands for independence in the 1960s it carefully organised its former colonies (CFA countries) in a system of 'compulsory solidarity' which consisted of obliging the 14 African states to put 65 percent of their foreign currency reserves into the French Treasury, plus another 20 percent for financial liabilities. This means these 14 African countries only ever have access to 15 percent of their own money! If they need more they have to borrow it from the French at commercial rates! And this has been the case since the 1960s."

The crux of the matter is that these French colonies are only independent in name (sham independence) and have been subjected to an international crime which if not completely disbanded will keep them enslaved forever as Western proxies. It is important for us to start by defining dependency.

Dependency theorists like Andre Gunder Frank, Walter Rodney, Prebisch and others have defined dependency as an explanation of the economic development of a state in terms of the external influences -political, economic, and cultural-on national development policies. Theotonio Dos Santos emphasises on the historical dimension of the condition which shapes a certain structure of the world economy such that it favours the developed countries to the detriment of developing countries and limits the development possibilities of the subordinate economies. This, therefore, entails a situation in which the economy of a certain group of countries is conditioned by the development and expansion of another economy, to which their own is subjected.

What is very disturbing is that this daylight robbery has been legalised and African leaders and their people have been made to erroneously believe that external forces are of great importance to the economic activities within the developing states.

These external forces include multinational corporations, international commodity markets, foreign assistance, communications, and other means by which the advanced industrialised countries can represent their selfish and heinous economic interests abroad. The relations between developed and developing states have a tendency of not only reinforcing but also intensifying the unequal developmental patterns.

Paradoxically dependency is embedded in historical processes which are rooted in the internationalisation of capitalism. It is therefore not surprising that dependency has been diabolically made to appear as a very legal process. This is why revolutionaries like Patrice Lumumba, Thomas Sankara, Agustino Neto, Che- Guevara and others were ruthlessly eliminated.

Empirical research demonstrates that contemporary underdevelopment is in large part the historical product of past and continuing economic and other relations between the satellite underdeveloped and the now developed metropolitan countries.

This unequal relationship does not haunt French colonies only but the whole of Africa. We have always argued in our instalments that multinational companies picked up the mantle and are exacerbating and stifling Africa's development. One other thing that has necessitated this under-development of the continent is the colonial legacy of divide and rule.

Francophone Africa cannot undertake policies that are independent for they have always been dictated from France and have become an albatross on Africa's struggle to unite and improve the African citizens' social and economic livelihoods. This also explains why the African leaders have allowed demonisation and forceful removal from power of some African leaders while others are hailed "as the good African leaders".

The major reason is that these treacherous "good Africans" cannot bite the hand that feeds them. What they are failing to comprehend is that the pittance that they are being given as "aid" will never be able to sustain Africa or to lift it to higher level. In other words, some African Judases are keeping the continent in a state of "indentured servitude" while pretending to be in the same political plane with revolutionary and nationalist African leaders at African Union forums.

Another example is that of Zambia whose vast copper resources were not benefiting the Zambian general populace. Dear reader, can you imagine that Zambia realised almost about three billion United States dollars from the copper sales but only around seventy million was remitted to the Zambian government. In such circumstances how can Africa develop from its own natural resources?

At times one wonders why some African leaders do have shut minds that they cannot even see through the whole IMF-centric Greek debacle. There is absolutely nothing that the IMF has done to resuscitate the once thriving Greek economy. Portugal and Spain are also in the same predicament. We also wonder if these African leaders are aware of the mass exodus of Portuguese citizens to Brazil, Angola and Mozambique due to the economic crisis bedevilling their country which the IMF has failed to rescue.

Why are some of our leaders so myopic and parochial? It is beyond dispute that the 50 percent devaluation of the Malawian currency will actually exacerbate its ailing economy. Empirical evidence abounds that devaluation is not the solution to a country's economic problems. Samir Amin actually argues that devaluation of a country's currency is a big advantage to tourists and all those who have access to foreign currency.

Zimbabweans can remember how those who had British pounds and US dollars actually benefited immensely from the 2008 economic crisis. South Africa as the economic powerhouse in the region with its robust economy, Angola with its vast oil resources, Botswana with its diamonds and Zimbabwe now recovering from the Western induced economic crisis have all lacked the political will to bail Malawi out of its economic problems.

Our African leaders are continually losing the plot as they are failing to promote Africa's continental interests as envisioned by the founding fathers of the Organisation of African Unity and the African Union. Are the African leaders and their people fully aware of whom their enemy is?

They must become aware that they are fighting against an exploitative system and for them to survive this onslaught they must together understand the objective around which they must unite. What some African leaders are accepting is a culture of political and economic injustice on the continent as well as the crushing of the black men carried to extreme perfection and systematic refinement by the white world.

One renowned scholar, Jose Miranda contends that "The philosophy of oppression, perfected and refined through civilisation is a true culture of injustice . . . which is so deeply rooted in the oppressors themselves and their ideologues . . . capitalist oppression carries with it thousands of years of injustice . . . Africa is a victim of force and injustice."

The question that requires being reflected on is why Africa is allowing itself to capitulate before this exploitative system, a system that has become institutional, a system that has encircled Africa with immiseration and hunger.

Paradoxically the answer is that not even South Africa, despite being economically sound owns the means of production. Owners of the means of production are the very people who withdrew aid from Malawi. It is a reality that African leaders as well as its citizens must comprehend.

Arguably, as long as we do not own the means of production we will never be able to raise a finger to support our own African brothers and sister who are groaning under the yoke of poverty and multinational oppressive vices. What is worrisome and disturbing is the fact that the money that Africa is getting from the donors is actually part of the money from the continent's resources.

l Darlington Mahuku and Bowden Mbanje are lecturers in International Relations, and Peace and Governance with Bindura University of Science Education

[Farooq A. Kperogi]

Dear Dr. Akinlabi,

Thanks for your insightful intervention. It's also kind of you to offer to send me a scanned copy of M.O.A. Abdul's "Arabic loan words in Yoruba." I really appreciate it. But note that mine was just a "popular" reflection inspired only by Baldi's paper. It was not a serious scholarly interrogation.

Not being a native Yoruba speaker or a professional linguist, I defer to your judgment on the untenability of claims of Arabic origins for "atele." But evidence from other Nigerian languages challenge your conclusions on "asiri." It isn't only in Yoruba that asiri means "secret." The word is also present in Batonu (my native language spoken in Nigeria's Kwara state and northern and central Benin Republic), Hausa, Kanuri, and several languages in central and northern Nigeria. So it's unlikely that it is native to Yoruba. The case for the word's Arabic origin seems to me compelling.

Farooq

Personal website: www.farooqkperogi.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

[Olayinka Agbetuyi]

I think Professor Akinlabis etymological arguments are far more compelling here.  We must remember that Yoruba civilization once was an imperial power with forages into Benin Republic.  (See the late I.A Akinjogbins DAHOMEY AND ITS NEIGHBOURS).  We must always remember that the encounter between civilizations isnt always a one-way trafficfrom the more powerful to the less powerful. An example is the encounter between the Roman civilization and the Etruscan civilization it displaced and the encounter between Philstinic and Jewish civilizations.

Olayinka Agbetuyi

 

 

 

---

From: farooq...@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2012 18:05:09 -0400
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - The Arabic Origins of Common Yoruba Words
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com

[Olayinka Agbetuyi]

This is a very salient question given the theory of origin of the Yoruba from Egypt - the Lamurudu connection etc.

Olayinka Agbetuyi

[Anunoby, Ogugua]

Islam has been a potent vehicle for the injection of Arabic words into the languages of non-Arabic speaking converts to Islam. Conquest, education, and trade are other vehicles.

How confident can one be that the claims made about the Arabic root of so many words in the "Yoruba" and other West African languages are correct? Do these claim take full account of the following among others for example:

i)   common/shared origin of the languages however distant?

ii)  coincidences however many and unlikely they may be/

 

One understands that if the needle and onion were introduced to the Yoruba by non-Yoruba's, the Yoruba word- names for them may be borrowed from the languages of the "introducers". Is it the case that there was native Yoruba words for 'prayer", "following", and "disease" hence the adoption of their Arabic language corruptions? Is it not the case that if something or the consciousness of it exists with a people, they are likely to have a word-name for it?

As a matter of interest, are there Arabic words with Yoruba or other West Africa languages' origin in the Arabic language? It is not unreasonable to expect a "cross fertilization" of languages when two or more people who speak different languages interact as a result of  education, religious conversion, conquest, or trade among others.

 

oa

---

From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com [usaafric...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Farooq A. Kperogi [farooq...@gmail.com]

Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2012 5:05 PM
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - The Arabic Origins of Common Yoruba Words

[Farooq A. Kperogi]

Olayinka,

Of the many languages I mentioned that deploy "asiri" to denote "secret," you singled out only one language (Baatonun) that I said is spoken in Benin Republic and Nigeria and then proceeded to make the astonishingly parochial claim that the word's presence in that language is a vestigial linguistic remnant of the Yoruba colonial heritage of the speakers of the language. You conveniently ignored the other languages I mentioned, perhaps, because reckoning with them would vitiate the validity of your claims.

 Well, first, go and read your West African history properly. Central and northern Benin Republic, that is, Alibori, Atakora, Borgu and Donga departments (states are called "departments" there) were at no time in history under Oyo (or what you call "Yoruba") suzerainty. In precolonial times, the name "Dahomey" referred only to the southern third of what is now Benin Republic. French colonialists adopted the name and applied it to the whole area--at the displeasure of other parts of the country.

 When Matthew Kerekou, a northerner from Atakora  Department, seized power in the early 1970s he changed the name of the country to the culturally neutral "Benin" (culturally neutral, that is, in the context of the country's politics)-- in the tradition of other West African countries that renamed their countries after precolonial African empires even when those empires didn't have any geographic or cultural affinities with the modern countries after which they were named.

So don't confuse "Dahomey" and "Benin Republic." They evoke different significations. "Yoruba influence in Dahomey" isn't the same thing as "Yoruba influence in Benin Republic." The Fon of Dahomey do indeed share many linguistic similarities with the Yoruba and were, according to many historical accounts, under the suzerainty of Oyo Empire at some point. So are the Aja and many Yoruboid groups in the country. The Baatonum of Borgu, Donga and Alibori departments, however, were never under Oyo suzerainty. Nor were the Somba of Atakora. That's not to say, though, that there are no linguistic interchanges between the Yoruba and the people of northern and Central Benin; it is just to say that if such interchanges exists--and they do exist--they are not a consequence of any fictive "imperial power" of one group. But that's even by the way.

Would you also say that Kanuri and Hausa people's use "asiri" to mean "secret" is a holdover from their Yoruba colonial heritage? Or that Arabs use "as-sir" to denote "secret" because of the irresistible cultural force of "Yoruba civilization"? What point, exactly, are you trying to make?

Farooq

Farooq A. Kperogi, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Journalism & Citizen Media
Department of Communication
Kennesaw State University
1000 Chastain Road, MD 2207 

Kennesaw, Georgia, USA 30144
Cell:  (+1) 404-573-969:
Personal website: www.farooqkperogi.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

[Olayinka Agbetuyi]

Oga Farooq:
 
I did not expect to degenerate into such pugilistic usage as ' go and read your West African history properly' over a marginal dissension from your main thesis.  first of all, like Akinlabi, Im an avid reader of your blogs and agree with quite a lot of them.  If I did not quite put my point across lucidly, I think Anouby did a better job since we seem to be making similar points about your posting. As mutual veteran journalistic I thinl the first hurdle that must be passed is the test of 'growing a thick skin' against unpalatable criticism and events.  I never implied that african states did not borrow from Arabic, but we want more scholarship on the unacknowledged borrowing of Arabic from its client states.  Because your work is criticized takes nothing away from a distinguished researcher.  Ask Oga Falola, for exmaple; not everyone agrees with his findings.

Olayinka Agbetuyi





 

---

From: farooq...@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2012 05:24:29 -0400

[Farooq A. Kperogi]

Oga Olayinka,

Please, accept my apologies if I come across as pugilistic. That was not my intention. I also wasn't trying to deflect criticisms. I only took issues with your suggestion that the Baatonu of Benin Republic (and Nigeria) use asiri to mean secret because they were once colonized by the Yoruba to whom the word is original. That is entirely historically inaccurate.

Best,

Farooq

Personal website: www.farooqkperogi.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

[mfatu...@gmail.com]

Dr Farouq
You are right, there is no establish fact, that the Yorubas once colonized any region or empire, outside their contemporary domain.

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN

---

From: "Farooq A. Kperogi" <farooq...@gmail.com>

Sender: usaafric...@googlegroups.com

Date: Sat, 9 Jun 2012 06:22:35 -0400

To: <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>

ReplyTo: usaafric...@googlegroups.com

[Cornelius Hamelberg]

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>

[Chidi Ezegwu]

Considering that 'asiri' refers to rumor (false) in Igboland, where did it originate or was it imported also? Chidi --- On Sat, 9/6/12, Cornelius Hamelberg <cornelius...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Olayinka Agbetuyi]

Your amplification on yabas sounds quite interesting to me.  The more I look at these analyses the more I begin to suspect an Arabic link to the collective definite noun 'Yoruba' itself.  This may not be entirely impossible or unique since the name Africans was not originally self-referrential by the people to which it refers but was externally determined.  In my research into Ifa studies over a decade ago (still an ongoing engagement by the way) I came across suggestions of people around Mali/Songhai axis referring to the Yoruba as the Yariba.  The Yoruba originally referred to themselves as Omo- Oduduwa.  could it be that there was a time that merchants from the area dominated the onion trade?
 
We know people from the Senegambia probably gave the world the ubiquitous word OK, which is more associated with West even by the continent of origin.  This again brings to the fore the dialogic exchanges in the colonial encounter.  And it is also known that words like 'bungalow' passed into the English lexicon from the less powerful in the encounter  (India) to the more powerful.

Olayinka Agbetuyi

 

 

 

> Date: Sat, 9 Jun 2012 06:23:10 -0700
> Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: The Arabic Origins of Common Yoruba Words
> From: cornelius...@gmail.com
> To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com

[Olayinka Agbetuyi]

No ill-feelings my friend.  We are all engaged in the same pursuit- the elucidation of the truth.  As someone put it ina diary I came across when I reimmersed myself in graduate studies(I always keep going back dont I; the eternal student) 'research is what  I am involved in when nI dont know where i am going'

Olayinka Agbetuyi

 

 

 

---

From: farooq...@gmail.com
Date: Sat, 9 Jun 2012 06:22:35 -0400

[Folu Ogundimu]

Farooq,

Fascinating contribution, as usual. One question, what does it mean to say a word is derived from another language when the etymology of the word is not clearly established? How do linguists determine the order of direction or origin in such matters - say as in a Yoruba, Igbo, or Batonu word having origin in Arabic or another language? Thank you for your clarification. 

Folu

Sent from my iPad

[Farooq A. Kperogi]

Oga Folu,

I know your question is intended to prod us to problematize notions of derivation, borrowing, and linguistic nativism. I am entirely in agreement with your understated but nonetheless apparent skepticism about what I like to call vulgar etymologies. If we can't determine with certainty that a particular word is native to a language (and what, by the way, is nativism given the labyrinthine interconnectedness of languages?), how can we make claims that it has "loaned" a word to another language? What if the "loaned" word is itself loaned to that language by another language?

I am no professional linguist, but my sense is that when linguists say a word in one language is derived from another language, they mean nothing more than that the word's immediate (and not necessarily its deep) roots are traceable to that language. Oga Cornelius' "yabas" example in Krio is apt here. That word is "derived" from the Yoruba "alubosa." The Yoruba alubosa, in turn, is "derived" from the Hausa "albasa," which is itself "derived" from the Arabic "al-basal." It is entirely conceivable that "al-basal" isn't, in fact, native to Arabic. I recently read a fascinating article about Greek and Latin loans in Arabic.

Glottochronologists and lexicostatisticians also claim to be able to scientifically map the evolution of languages. Maybe they can also give insights into the origins and circulations of words across languages.

I hope the professional linguists in the forum will come in here.

Farooq

Personal website: www.farooqkperogi.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

[Emeagwali, Gloria (History)]

.....and there are also ancient Egyptian loan words to Greek.

Dr. Gloria Emeagwali
Prof. of History & African Studies
History Department
Central Connecticut State University
New Britain
CT 06050

www.africahistory.net<http://www.africahistory.net/>
www.esnips.com/web/GloriaEmeagwali<http://www.esnips.com/web/GloriaEmeagwali>
emea...@ccsu.edu<mailto:emea...@ccsu.edu>

________________________________
From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com [usaafric...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Farooq A. Kperogi [farooq...@gmail.com]

Sent: Saturday, June 09, 2012 7:39 PM
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: The Arabic Origins of Common Yoruba Words

Oga Folu,

I know your question is intended to prod us to problematize notions of derivation, borrowing, and linguistic nativism. I am entirely in agreement with your understated but nonetheless apparent skepticism about what I like to call vulgar etymologies. If we can't determine with certainty that a particular word is native to a language (and what, by the way, is nativism given the labyrinthine interconnectedness of languages?), how can we make claims that it has "loaned" a word to another language? What if the "loaned" word is itself loaned to that language by another language?

I am no professional linguist, but my sense is that when linguists say a word in one language is derived from another language, they mean nothing more than that the word's immediate (and not necessarily its deep) roots are traceable to that language. Oga Cornelius' "yabas" example in Krio is apt here. That word is "derived" from the Yoruba "alubosa." The Yoruba alubosa, in turn, is "derived" from the Hausa "albasa," which is itself "derived" from the Arabic "al-basal." It is entirely conceivable that "al-basal" isn't, in fact, native to Arabic. I recently read a fascinating article about Greek and Latin loans in Arabic.

Glottochronologists and lexicostatisticians also claim to be able to scientifically map the evolution of languages. Maybe they can also give insights into the origins and circulations of words across languages.

I hope the professional linguists in the forum will come in here.

Farooq

Personal website: www.farooqkperogi.com<http://www.farooqkperogi.blogspot.com>
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/farooqkperogi
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/farooqkperogi<https://twitter.com/#%21/farooqkperogi>

"The nice thing about pessimism is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised." G. F. Will

On Sat, Jun 9, 2012 at 3:46 PM, Folu Ogundimu <ogun...@gmail.com<mailto:ogun...@gmail.com>> wrote:
Farooq,

Fascinating contribution, as usual. One question, what does it mean to say a word is derived from another language when the etymology of the word is not clearly established? How do linguists determine the order of direction or origin in such matters - say as in a Yoruba, Igbo, or Batonu word having origin in Arabic or another language? Thank you for your clarification.

Folu

Sent from my iPad

On Jun 9, 2012, at 2:29 PM, Olayinka Agbetuyi <yagb...@hotmail.com<mailto:yagb...@hotmail.com>> wrote:

Your amplification on yabas sounds quite interesting to me. The more I look at these analyses the more I begin to suspect an Arabic link to the collective definite noun 'Yoruba' itself. This may not be entirely impossible or unique since the name Africans was not originally self-referrential by the people to which it refers but was externally determined. In my research into Ifa studies over a decade ago (still an ongoing engagement by the way) I came across suggestions of people around Mali/Songhai axis referring to the Yoruba as the Yariba. The Yoruba originally referred to themselves as Omo- Oduduwa. could it be that there was a time that merchants from the area dominated the onion trade?

We know people from the Senegambia probably gave the world the ubiquitous word OK, which is more associated with West even by the continent of origin. This again brings to the fore the dialogic exchanges in the colonial encounter. And it is also known that words like 'bungalow' passed into the English lexicon from the less powerful in the encounter (India) to the more powerful.

Olayinka Agbetuyi









> Date: Sat, 9 Jun 2012 06:23:10 -0700
> Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: The Arabic Origins of Common Yoruba Words

> From: cornelius...@gmail.com<mailto:cornelius...@gmail.com>
> To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com<mailto:usaafric...@googlegroups.com>

>
> 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<mailto:farooqkper...@gmail.com>>

> > Personal website:www.farooqkperogi.com<http://www.farooqkperogi.com><http://www.farooqkperogi.blogspot.com>
> > Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/farooqkperogi
> > Twitter:https://twitter.com/#!/farooqkperogi<https://twitter.com/#%21/farooqkperogi>

> >
> > "The nice thing about pessimism is that you are constantly being either
> > proven right or pleasantly surprised." G. F. Will
>
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[Olabode Ibironke]

The late professor Afolabi Olabode once told me he encountered many Yoruba sounding words in Japan while he was teaching there and strikingly some of these words  have meanings similar to the meaning they have in Yoruba. If Japan was known to have historical contacts of any kind with West Africa, (maybe it does), this phenomenon would have no other label, it seems, given this theory of linguistic origins, but Japanese loan words to Yoruba.
Bode

[Olayinka Agbetuyi]

While not a profssional  linguist, from a historical perspective, the presence of Greek and Latin words in Arabic may be explained by the fact that when classical civilization fell into the Dark Ages it was Arab writers who came in contct with classical texts that translated them, continued the scientific tradition contained in some and brought them to the attention of the West in the Early Modern period.

Olayinka Agbetuyi

 

---

Date: Sun, 10 Jun 2012 11:22:38 -0400
From: ibir...@msu.edu
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: The Arabic Origins of Common Yoruba Words