الألفاظ العربية المقترضة في لغة يوربا :دراسة وصفية ودلالية

Abstract

Language is used to communicate in e very community to fulfil its dealings or interactions. It is an important mechanism for the smooth running of the society through which human society develops all its facets and it has a vehement impact in all spheres of human society. Loanwords are very common in various languages spoken by human beings whereby the borrowed words cover different aspects such as religious, economic and political. For instance, Yoruba speaking people in South-Western Nigeria have some loanwords from the Arabic language through commercial and religious interactions coupled with the fact that, it is the language of Divine Scriptural Book, the Qur’an. This present study investigates some loanwords from Arabic as embodied in Yoruba language, specifically words related to religion, moral values and others which are commonly used for other purposes in Yoruba language. This research employs descriptive and analytical approaches. It also addresses the lexicon, sounds and meanings in the structures of Yoruba language which are central to this study. Verily, essential findings have been found. Arabic language is an established language in the Nigerian society. Essentially, it has great impact on Yoruba language. Some Arabic letters are found in Yoruba language which is reflected in the conversation of Yoruba people. It has been shown that there are some Yoruba letters which could not be found in Arabic language such as “P” and “gb”. The study has noted some loanwords in Arabic which are reflected in Yoruba language; however, some are relevant to their usage in Yoruba language with evidence of it, being originally Arabic. Some are different while some are either pronounced correctly or incorrectly. Some words are pronounced after being interpolated with Yoruba language while some letters from its original are deleted. Some are replaced from its Arabic letter with another letter in Yoruba language; however, it does not change its original meaning in Arabic language. Nonetheless, there are some Arabic loanwords in Yoruba language which are manifested after altering some letters from the original Arabic word. However, it does not differ from its original meaning in Arabic. Despite the above trends, it is difficult for linguists to recapture these words in their original Arabic forms.