An Analysis of the Modern South Arabian Languages as ‘Islamic Languages’

Abstract

Abstract The Modern South Arabian languages (MSAL) are seldom mentioned in Islamic studies, as they never served as a literary vehicle. They began to be written only very recently, mainly in text messages, and their use is confined to the domestic environment and oral poetry. Despite this, the MSAL fall neatly within Bausani’s concept of “lingua islamica”: firstly, they have been influenced by an Arabic superstratum since time immemorial, which left numerous traces in their lexis and, to a lesser extent, in other linguistic domains. Secondly, their speakers embraced Islam in the course of a slow but steady process, which began with the wars of apostasy (632-33 CE) and was still ongoing in mid-20th century. Hence, the Islamic culture, conveyed by their Arabic-speaking neighbours, whom they felt as more prestigious, exerted an enormous pressure on the cultural setting of MSAL speakers. Additionally, and in contrast with other Islamic languages, virtually every speaker of a MSAL is proficient in Arabic, and has been so for at least five centuries. In light of the above-mentioned facts, this study describes the extent to which the MSAL can be considered Islamic languages, by looking at their phonetics, morphology, syntax and lexis through the lens of Bausani’s framework. The conclusions show that the MSAL retain remarkably resilient native elements which co-exist with likewise strong Arabic/Islamic elements in a culturally and linguistically functional system.