Ajami (Arabic: {{Script|Arabic|عجمي,) or Ajamiyya (Arabic: {{Script|Arabic|عجمية,), which comes from the Arabic root for 'foreign' or 'stranger', is an Arabic-derived script used for writing African languages, particularly Songhai, Mandé, Hausa and Swahili, although many other languages are also written using the script, including Mooré, Pulaar, Wolof, and Yoruba. It is an adaptation of the Arabic script to write sounds not found in Standard Arabic. Rather than adding new letters, modifications usually consist of additional dots or lines added to pre-existing letters.[1]
The script was first used between the 10th and the 16th centuries. It was likely originally created with the intent of promoting Islam in West Africa.[2] The first languages written in the script were likely old Taseelhit or medieval Amazigh, Kanuri, or Songhay. Later, Fulfulde, Hausa, Wolof, and Yoruba would use the script.[3] By the 17th century, the script was being used to publish religious texts and poetry. Guinean Fulani poetry was written in Ajami from the middle of the 18th century.
During the pre-colonial period, Qur'anic schools taught Muslim children Arabic and, by extension, Ajami.
After Western colonization, a Latin orthography for Hausa was adopted and the Ajami script declined in popularity. Some anti-colonial groups and movements continued to use Ajami.[4] An Islamic revival in the 19th century led to a wave of Ajami written works.
Ajami remains in widespread use among Islamic circles but exists in digraphia among the broader populace. Ajami is used ceremonially and for specific purposes, such as for local herbal preparations in the Jula language.[5]
There is no standard system of using Ajami, and different writers may use letters with different values. Short vowels are written regularly with the help of vowel marks (which are seldom used in Arabic texts other than the Quran). Many medieval Hausa manuscripts, similar to the Timbuktu Manuscripts written in the Ajami script, have been discovered recently. and some of them describe constellations and calendars.[6]
An example of the letter values is in the following table.
| Latin | IPA | Arabic ajami | |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| a | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| b | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| ɓ | pronounced as /link/ | (same as b), (not used in Arabic) | |
| c | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| d | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| ɗ | pronounced as /link/ | (same as d), (also used for ts) | |
| e | pronounced as /link/ | (not used in Arabic) | |
| e | pronounced as /link/ | (not used in Arabic) | |
| f | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| g | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| h | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| i | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| i | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| j | pronounced as //(d)ʒ// | ||
| k | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| ƙ | pronounced as /link/ | (same as k), | |
| l | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| m | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| n | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| o | pronounced as /link/ | (same as u) | |
| o | pronounced as /link/ | (same as u) | |
| r | pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/ | ||
| s | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| sh | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| t | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| ts | pronounced as //(t)sʼ// | (also used for ɗ), (not used in Arabic) | |
| u | pronounced as /link/ | (same as o) | |
| u | pronounced as /link/ | (same as o) | |
| w | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| y | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| z | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| ʼ | pronounced as /link/ |