Mozarabic Language

Mozarabic language, also called Ajami, archaic dialect of Spanish that was spoken in those parts of Spain under Arab occupation from the early 8th century until about 1300. Mozarabic retained many archaic Latin forms and borrowed many words from Arabic. Although almost completely overshadowed by Arabic during the period of Muslim domination, Mozarabic nevertheless maintained a completely Romance sound system and typically Romance grammar. The dialect is known almost entirely from refrains, known as kharjahs, added to Arabic and Hebrew poems of the 11th century. These refrains are written in Arabic characters that lack most vowel markings and are often rather difficult to decipher. See also Spanish language.