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Swahili as a Vessel of Cultural Identity and an Instrument for Building Belonging: The Omani Role as a Case Study

al-Lughah al-Sawāḥilīyah bi-waṣfihā Wiʻāʼan lil-Huwīyah al-Thaqāfīyah wa-Adātan li-Bināʼ al-Intimāʼ: al-Dawr al-ʻUmānī Namūdhajan

اللغة السواحلية بوصفها وعاءً للهوية الثقافية وأداة لبناء الانتماء: الدور العماني نموذجًا

Yūsuf ibn Sayf ibn Muḥammad al-Rujaybī; Wardah bint Hilāl ibn Zāhir al-Būsaʻīdīyah
د. يوسف بن سيف بن محمد الرجيبي، د. وردة بنت هلال بن زاهر البوسعيدية
Conference: The Second Istiqama International Conference: Omanis and the Swahili World — Influence and Interaction — Mombasa, 2026
Romanized conference title: Muʼtamar al-Istiqāmah al-Duwalī al-Thānī: al-ʻUmānīyūn wa-al-Sawāḥilīyah bayna al-Taʼthīr wa-al-Taʼaththur
Language of the paper: Arabic — this page presents the English metadata layer.
Permanent citation ID: MHF-MOMBASA2026-001

Abstract

This research treats Swahili as a vessel carrying cultural identity and an effective instrument in building belonging, through a study of the Omani role in the formation of this linguistic and civilizational dimension in East Africa. It proceeds from a central problem expressed as a question about the way in which Omani linguistic and cultural interaction with Swahili society contributed to building cultural identity and strengthening the sense of belonging, within a historical context marked by mutual influence rather than by patterns of linguistic domination or cultural exclusion. The importance of the research arises from its contribution to deepening scholarly understanding of the relation between language, identity and belonging in overlapping cultural contexts; from its presentation of the Omani role as a civilizational model of linguistic and cultural interaction; and from the qualitative reading it offers of Swahili as an instrument for preserving cultural memory and a medium for building cultural belonging in Swahili societies.

Keywords

Swahili languageCultural identityBelongingOmani roleEast AfricaLanguage and culture

How to cite

Rujaybī, Yūsuf ibn Sayf ibn Muḥammad, Būsaʻīdīyah, Wardah bint Hilāl ibn Zāhir. "al-Lughah al-Sawāḥilīyah bi-waṣfihā Wiʻāʼan lil-Huwīyah al-Thaqāfīyah wa-Adātan li-Bināʼ al-Intimāʼ: al-Dawr al-ʻUmānī Namūdhajan" [Swahili as a Vessel of Cultural Identity and an Instrument for Building Belonging: The Omani Role as a Case Study]. Paper presented at Muʼtamar al-Istiqāmah al-Duwalī al-Thānī: al-ʻUmānīyūn wa-al-Sawāḥilīyah bayna al-Taʼthīr wa-al-Taʼaththur, Mumbāsā, 2026. MHF-MOMBASA2026-001

Catalog record

Romanization follows the ALA-LC Arabic table used by the Library of Congress and the British Library. The original Arabic is carried in the parallel MARC 880 fields, linked by subfield $6 — the standard treatment for non-English resources.

Show the MARC 21 record
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=100  1\$6100-01$aRujaybī, Yūsuf ibn Sayf ibn Muḥammad,$eauthor.
=245  13$6245-02$aal-Lughah al-Sawāḥilīyah bi-waṣfihā Wiʻāʼan lil-Huwīyah al-Thaqāfīyah wa-Adātan li-Bināʼ al-Intimāʼ: al-Dawr al-ʻUmānī Namūdhajan /$cYūsuf ibn Sayf ibn Muḥammad al-Rujaybī ; Wardah bint Hilāl ibn Zāhir al-Būsaʻīdīyah.
=242  10$aSwahili as a Vessel of Cultural Identity and an Instrument for Building Belonging: The Omani Role as a Case Study$yeng
=264  \1$6264-03$aMumbāsā :$bJamʻīyat al-Istiqāmah al-Khayrīyah al-Islāmīyah al-ʻĀlamīyah,$c2026.
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=500  \\$aConference theme (in Arabic): المحور الأول: التأثير العُماني في السواحلية.
=520  3\$aThis research treats Swahili as a vessel carrying cultural identity and an effective instrument in building belonging, through a study of the Omani role in the formation of this linguistic and civilizational dimension in East Africa. It proceeds from a central problem expressed as a question about the way in which Omani linguistic and cultural interaction with Swahili society contributed to building cultural identity and strengthening the sense of belonging, within a historical context marked by mutual influence rather than by patterns of linguistic domination or cultural exclusion. The importance of the research arises from its contribution to deepening scholarly understanding of the relation between language, identity and belonging in overlapping cultural contexts; from its presentation of the Omani role as a civilizational model of linguistic and cultural interaction; and from the qualitative reading it offers of Swahili as an instrument for preserving cultural memory and a medium for building cultural belonging in Swahili societies.
=546  \\$aText in Arabic; title also romanized (ALA-LC); abstract and keywords in English.
=653  \0$aSwahili language
=653  \0$aCultural identity
=653  \0$aBelonging
=653  \0$aOmani role
=653  \0$aEast Africa
=653  \0$aLanguage and culture
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