Ajami in West Africa
Résumé
This article examines the practice of adapting the Arabic script to write non-Arabic languages in West Africa, a form of literacy known as Ajami which remains widespread despite little or no government support. Among the methods found to be used to transcribe non-Arabic sounds, the "ajami diacritic" of Senegal and Guinea is of particular interest, appearing unmotivated from a narrowly linguistic perspective but readily explicable as a rational adaptation to the parallel educational system in which Ajami is typically learned.