This paper takes a look at the odyssey of the Arabic script in Swahili hands. It shows how the distinction between the Arabic script and Swahili ʿAjamī constitutes a hyphen whose meaning is saturated with the story of Swahili society and language. The hyphen represents a non-trivial record of Swahili agency as innovative users, authors, transcribers, translators, and interpreters of the Arabic script enlarged its use and versatility as a viable medium to write Swahili, a Bantu language. The paper identifies as resilience Swahili efforts to sustain the use of the unmodified Arabic script alongside the enriched one. The Swahili wrote because they were compelled to write, everyone in their dialect, with content not divorced from script. The Swahili ʿAjamī record is a bonafide source and terminus of Africa’s knowledge.

中文翻译：

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ʿAjamī 和斯瓦希里人的奥德赛

本文考察了斯瓦希里人手中的阿拉伯文字的奥德赛。它显示了阿拉伯文字和斯瓦希里语 ʿAjamī 之间的区别如何构成一个连字符，其含义充满了斯瓦希里语社会和语言的故事。连字符代表了斯瓦希里语机构的重要记录，因为阿拉伯文字的创新用户、作者、抄写员、笔译员和口译员扩大了其作为编写班图语斯瓦希里语的可行媒介的用途和多功能性。该论文认为斯瓦希里语努力维持使用未经修改的阿拉伯文字和丰富的文字是弹性的。斯瓦希里人写作是因为他们被迫写作，每个人都用他们的方言，内容不脱离剧本。斯瓦希里语 ʿAjamī 记录是非洲知识的真正来源和终点。