Theme: 7. Multiple Ontologies: Religions, Religiosities, Philosophies and Languages

“South-South Scripts”: The Arabic Script in Asia and Africa I

Roundtable Convenor(s)

• MK

  Mahmood Kooria

  University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
• JD

  Jeremy Dell

  University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Roundtable Participant(s)

• SN

  Seydi Diamil Niane

  Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, Senegal
• DB

  Dmitry Bondarev

  University of Hamburg, Germany
• TH

  Tom Hoogervorst

  Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian & Caribbean Studies (KITLV), Netherlands
• AR

  Annachiara Raia

  African Studies Centre, Leiden University, Netherlands
• AB

  Anne Bang

  University of Bergen, Norway
• JB

  Jajat Burhanudin

  Universitas Islam Indonesia Jakarta, Indonesia
• BA

  Ben Arps

  Leiden University, Netherlands
• LB

  Leon Buskens

  NIMAR, Morocco
• DD

  Djibril Dramé

  Hamburg University, Germany
• MR

  Maria Luisa Russo

  University of Hamburg

Roundtable Abstract:

From the Wolofal writings of Senegambia to the Arwi of southern India and Jawi of the Malay world, the Arabic script has long been used to write in languages other than Arabic. For centuries, textual traditions across Asia and Africa have harnessed and developed its expressive capacities to communicate in a multitude of languages. In Africa alone, versions of the Arabic script have been used to write in eighty languages (Mumin 2014: 44). South and Southeast Asia have also seen significant use of the Arabic script to write in diverse regional languages (Ricci 2011; Asher and Karassery 2008; Alim 1993). Though rooted in traditions of Islamic education, the use of the Arabic script has not been limited to the realm of religion, but has found application in a variety of settings throughout Africa and Asia, making it the “South-South” script par excellence.   

As a result of its popularity, the use of the Arabic script to write in languages other than Arabic has garnered increased attention from scholars. In recent years, academic researchers working throughout Asia and Africa have produced significant bodies of scholarship examining the social, cultural and linguistic dimensions of Arabic script use (see Bondarev 2021; Ngom et al 2023; Tschacher 2018). Yet rarely do scholars working in geographically disparate areas come together to reflect on the challenges and opportunities of the adoption of the Arabic script to other Asian and African languages. This roundtable proposes a shared set of reflections on approaches to the study of adaptations of the Arabic script across Asia and Africa in the premodern and modern centuries. While for many languages this was the first script they began to use, for many others it was one of several scripts available and employed by the people. Despite attempts to marginalise or replace it due to modernist, reformist, or majoritarian trends, the script continued to appeal to numerous languages, preserving a rich literary tradition in Afrasia. A comparative and connected exploration into the nuances of this script’s use would shed light on how South-South literary traditions evolved together or interacted with one another through written texts and letters. Bringing together scholars working in Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia, the roundtable thus provides a rare opportunity for specialists working in closely related fields to transcend the customary area studies boundaries.

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