A Comparative Analysis of Clitics and Affixes in the Kanuri Ajami

Comparative scholarly research on clitics and affixes in Kanuri has gained some attention, particularly in relation to the Latin-based or Roman writing system. However, there has been little to no research conducted on the Arabic-based or Ajami writing system to compare and contrast the two. This paper presents a contrastive study of affixes and clitics using Kanuri Ajami data. Kanuri Ajami is an adaptation of Arabic graphemes designed to write Kanuri or any other language. Muslim scholars within the Kanuri community have utilized Kanuri Ajami to communicate and document their writings. They use this script to draft wills and document their history, norms, and culture. Notable scholars in this tradition include Sheikh Baya, Sheikh Gonimi, and Sheikh Kolo. This paper specifically examines the writings of Sheikh Goni Modu Goni Kolo, employing a text analysis method to identify both clitics and affixes within his work. The study follows the model proposed by Zwicky and Pullum (1983) and applies their six criteria to distinguish between affixes and clitics. Of these six criteria, the study successfully demonstrates four in the context of Kanuri Ajami data. Using these criteria, the research identifies a total of fourteen bound morphemes along with their Ajami representations, classifies five as affixes: (-ne: نٜى) (-ma: مَ) (-wa:وَ ) (-ya: يَهْ:), and (–ga:غ) . In contrast, the eight morphemes are classified as clitics: (-be: بٜه), (-ro:رُ ) (–tә: تْ ) (–n:نْ ) (–so: سُو ) (nәm: نْمْ ) (–nzә: نزْ ) and (–nde: دٜىٰ )