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Notes on Translation and Transliteration

For the convenience of the general reader, we cite in the running text only translated quotes when the original source is written in Arabic. When the original source, however, is in French both quotes (original and translated) are cited. Additionally, when a reference to Arabic title is required in text, we quote only the title of English translation. In the bibliography, however, the title of the original source is quoted first and followed by English translation in parenthesis.

The transliteration of personal and place names from Arabic and sometimes from French into English follows the official convention in Mauritania and most of literature. Concerning personal names, in contrast with the convention in Mauritania, Mauritanians are listed by their last names. The term “ould,” which means son of, is considered part of the name in Mauritania; thus, most writers include it when they write their names. As such, the term is added to the last name whenever it was found, and both of them are considered the last name of the author.

We used also a simplified version of the Library of Congress Arabic transcription system with the following exception. That is, diacritics in Arabic words and names are avoided. For instance, instead of referring to “ayn” by (’), it was spelled as “aa.” In addition, the Arabic definite article “al” is included as part of the term that includes it in original entry.