Abstract
THE CASE WITH ARABIC DAYS OF THE WEEK
Time is often measured in minutes, hours, days, years etc. The measurement usually starts with a unit of time called second. Next to second is the minute is a period of sixty seconds and beyond the minute is the hour which is one of the twenty four equal parts of the day. The day is a period of twenty-four hour usually beginning at sunrise and ending in another sunrise the next morning, whereas a week is a period of seven consecutive days. Other periods of time that are
commonly used by every society or culture in the measurement of time include today, tomorrow and yesterday. Though societies may have different means of counting the days of the week; nevertheless, in most African languages or ethnic groups, the names of the days of the week are borrowed or adapted either from Arabic or English. This paper examines how Arabic influenced the naming of the days of the week in some African languages even when there is no direct contact between Arabic and some of these languages. The paper also highlights the way some societies use these adopted names of the days of the week in different linguistic, socio-cultural situations.
Dr. Muhammad Ango Aliero[1]
[1]DEPARTMENT OF MODERN EUROPEAN LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS,USMANU DANFODIYO UNIVERSITY, SOKOTO-NIGERIA
E-mail: [email protected]. Tel.: +234-8036042934
