The Arabic Imprint on Swahili Language and Literature: A Descriptive, Analytical and Comparative Study
al-Athar al-ʻArabī fī al-Lughah wa-al-Adab al-Sawāḥilī: Dirāsah Waṣfīyah Taḥlīlīyah Muqāranah
الأثر العربي في اللغة والأدب السواحيلي: دراسة وصفية تحليلية مقارنة
Abstract
This research treats the Arabic imprint on Swahili language and literature. Swahili is among the most prominent languages of East Africa, formed in the context of a long civilizational interaction between Arabs and the inhabitants of the African coast — an interaction that contributed to introducing Arabic linguistic and literary elements which affected its structure and its modes of expression. This imprint appears clearly in the abundance of Arabic words used in Swahili, in the ways they were adapted phonetically, morphologically and semantically, and in the reflection of Arabic literature within Swahili literature, particularly in stories, proverbs, poetry and homiletic writing. The problem of the research lies in the need for a focused analytical study clarifying the nature of this Arabic imprint, the patterns of total and partial linguistic borrowing, and the extent to which Arabic literature is reflected in Swahili texts.
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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 $6 — the standard treatment for non-English resources.
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=LDR 00000naa a2200000 a 4500 =001 MHF-MOMBASA2026-016 =003 OM-MaHAFIL =008 260905s2026 ke o 1 ara d =040 \\$aOM-MaHAFIL$beng$erda$cOM-MaHAFIL =041 0\$aara$beng =100 1\$6100-01$aSharjīyah, Farīdah bint Saʻīd ibn Sulaymān,$eauthor. =245 13$6245-02$aal-Athar al-ʻArabī fī al-Lughah wa-al-Adab al-Sawāḥilī: Dirāsah Waṣfīyah Taḥlīlīyah Muqāranah /$cFarīdah bint Saʻīd ibn Sulaymān al-Sharjīyah. =242 10$aThe Arabic Imprint on Swahili Language and Literature: A Descriptive, Analytical and Comparative Study$yeng =264 \1$6264-03$aMumbāsā :$bJamʻīyat al-Istiqāmah al-Khayrīyah al-Islāmīyah al-ʻĀlamīyah,$c2026. =300 \\$a1 online resource. =336 \\$atext$btxt$2rdacontent =337 \\$acomputer$bc$2rdamedia =338 \\$aonline resource$bcr$2rdacarrier =500 \\$aPermanent citation identifier: MHF-MOMBASA2026-016. =500 \\$aConference theme (in Arabic): المحور الثالث: الأثر العربي في السواحلية. =520 3\$aThis research treats the Arabic imprint on Swahili language and literature. Swahili is among the most prominent languages of East Africa, formed in the context of a long civilizational interaction between Arabs and the inhabitants of the African coast — an interaction that contributed to introducing Arabic linguistic and literary elements which affected its structure and its modes of expression. This imprint appears clearly in the abundance of Arabic words used in Swahili, in the ways they were adapted phonetically, morphologically and semantically, and in the reflection of Arabic literature within Swahili literature, particularly in stories, proverbs, poetry and homiletic writing. The problem of the research lies in the need for a focused analytical study clarifying the nature of this Arabic imprint, the patterns of total and partial linguistic borrowing, and the extent to which Arabic literature is reflected in Swahili texts. =546 \\$aText in Arabic; title also romanized (ALA-LC); abstract and keywords in English. =653 \0$aArabic imprint =653 \0$aSwahili literature =653 \0$aLoanword adaptation =653 \0$aComparative study =653 \0$aProverbs =653 \0$aEast Africa =711 2\$6711-04$aMuʼtamar al-Istiqāmah al-Duwalī al-Thānī: al-ʻUmānīyūn wa-al-Sawāḥilīyah bayna al-Taʼthīr wa-al-Taʼaththur$d(2026)$c(Mumbāsā) =773 0\$6773-05$tMuʼtamar al-Istiqāmah al-Duwalī al-Thānī: al-ʻUmānīyūn wa-al-Sawāḥilīyah bayna al-Taʼthīr wa-al-Taʼaththur$dMumbāsā : Jamʻīyat al-Istiqāmah al-Khayrīyah al-Islāmīyah al-ʻĀlamīyah, 2026$gpaper no. 16$wMHF-MOMBASA2026-016 =856 40$uhttp://app.mahafil.co/p/arch-mombasa-2026/16$yLanding page (Arabic) =856 40$uhttp://app.mahafil.co/p/arch-mombasa-2026/16/en$yLanding page (English) =880 1\$6100-01/(3/r$aالشرجية، فريدة بنت سعيد بن سليمان،$eمؤلف. =880 13$6245-02/(3/r$aالأثر العربي في اللغة والأدب السواحيلي: دراسة وصفية تحليلية مقارنة /$cفريدة بنت سعيد بن سليمان الشرجية. =880 \1$6264-03/(3/r$aممباسا :$bجمعية الاستقامة الخيرية الإسلامية العالمية،$c2026. =880 2\$6711-04/(3/r$aمؤتمر الاستقامة الدولي الثاني: العُمانيون والسواحلية بين التأثير والتأثر =880 0\$6773-05/(3/r$tمؤتمر الاستقامة الدولي الثاني: العُمانيون والسواحلية بين التأثير والتأثر