Bãki Nupe Ajami (Nupe Alphabet in Ajami)

Abstract

This manuscript is titled Bãki Nupe Ajami, which means Nupe Alphabets in Ajami. It is a two-page manuscript that provides two tables. The first is for the Nupe Alphabet in both Latin and Ajami script. It equally captures the vowels used in Nupe Ajami – five (5) as rather than the three (3) found in the Arabic alphabet. This table is presented on page xx of the Sheikh’s Dissertation. The second on page xxi of the same source captures an advanced table that shows the Nupe Ajami phonetics system with a Latin script equivalent. It is interesting how the author used a typewriter to write the Roman vowels and phonetic system, yet used ink to handwrite (longhand) the Nupe Ajami equivalent using the Maghribi writing style. This demonstrates the scribe’s ability to capture the nuances and peculiarities of the vowels and the phonetics. Overall, the Nupe vowels and phonetic system are essential instructional material that lay the foundations for learning the Nupe language in general, and especially Nupe Ajami. Importantly, it points to the ingenuity of the Nupe Muslim clerics, who improvised new vowels using the existing Arabic ones, which were not comprehensive enough to cater for the tones inherent in Nupe language. By so doing, it made it easy to effectively communicate, using the Arabic script, but also adapting it to fit the additional Nupe vowels. These manuscripts have further reinforced and demonstrated the continuous relevance of Ajami to the contemporary society in social, religious, and educational spheres.