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Dialect contact and change in the Arabic feminine ending morpheme

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The unbound feminine ending for nouns and adjectives in Arabic has two main forms: an a-type vowel and an e-type vowel. We examine processes of language change vis-à-vis this morphophonemic variable in four dialects, two in the Levant and two in the Arabian Peninsula. We show that somewhat similar processes occur across these dialects, but also that each individual dialect exhibits its own rate of change and that in each dialect the change is at a different stage in its development. Juxtaposing these four case studies together enables us to formulate generalizations regarding variation and change in Arabic, as well as standardization and koinéization, without resorting to over-generalizations. When we attempt to generalize about variation and change in Arabic dialects, we must do so on the basis of this kind of data. We caution against making generalizations that are too broad, of the type “Arabic vernaculars are changing in such-and-such a direction.” Rather, different dialect clusters exhibit different trajectories, which we can only discern upon examining specific features in individual dialects, as we have done here. In the spirit of Eckert (1989, 2000), we aim to theorize about variation and change at a higher analytical node, where we examine community-specific scenarios of interaction between social factors, which may be shared by some groups of dialects but not others.

e-Book ISBN 9789027256935
  • Affiliations: 1: University of Essex; 2: Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University; 3: King Faisal University

References

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    (2000) Form and ideology: Arabic sociolinguistics and beyond. Annual Review of Anthropology, 29, 61–87. 10.1146/annurev.anthro.29.1.61
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  32. (2019) Confessional varieties. In E. Al-Wer and U. Horesh (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of Arabic sociolinguistics (pp.63–80). London: Routledge. 10.4324/9781315722450‑5
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  34. Johnson, D. E.
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  38. Pereira, C.
    (2009) Tripoli Arabic. In K. Versteegh , M. Eid , A. Elgibali , M. Woidich , & A. Zaborski (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Arabic language and Linguistics, Vol.IV (pp.548–556). Leiden: Brill.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Sankoff, D. , & Labov, W.
    (1979) On the uses of variable rules. Language in Society, 8, 189–222. 10.1017/S0047404500007430
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500007430 [Google Scholar]
  40. Trudgill, P.
    (1986) Dialects in contact. Oxford: Blackwell.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. (2011) Sociolinguistic typology: Social determinants of linguistic complexity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Trudgill, P. , & Foxcroft, T.
    (1978) On the sociolinguistics of vocalic mergers: Transfer and approximation in East Anglia. In P. Trudgill (Ed.). Sociolinguistic patterns in British English (pp.69–79). London: E. Arnold.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Tuten, D. N.
    (2003) Koineization in Medieval Spanish. Berlin: De Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110901269
     https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110901269 [Google Scholar]
  44. Wang, W. S-Y.
    (1969) Competing changes as a cause of residue. Language, 45, 9–25. 10.2307/411748
     https://doi.org/10.2307/411748 [Google Scholar]
  45. Woidich, M.
    (2006) Das kairenisch Arabische: Eine Grammatik. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
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References

  1. Abu Mokh, N. , & Davis, S.
    (2020) What triggers ’imāla: Focus on a Palestinian variety with phonological analysis. In E. van Gelderen (ed.) Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics XXXII: Papers selected from the Annual Symposium on Arabic Linguistics, Tempe, Arizona, 2018. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. (pp.35–53). 10.1075/sal.9.02abo
     https://doi.org/10.1075/sal.9.02abo [Google Scholar]
  2. Al-Bohnayyah, M.
    (2019) Dialect variation and change in eastern Arabia: Al-Ahsa dialect. PhD thesis, University of Essex.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Al-Essa, A.
    (2009) When Najd meets Hijaz: Dialect contact in Jeddah. In E. Al-Wer , & R. de Jong (Eds.), Arabic dialectology: In honour of Clive Holes on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday (pp.203–222). Leiden: Brill.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Al-Jallad, A.
    (2015) An outline of the grammar of the Safaitic inscriptions. Leiden: Brill. 10.1163/9789004289826
     https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004289826 [Google Scholar]
  5. (2017) The earliest stages of Arabic and its linguistic classification. In E. Benmamoun , & R. Bassiouney (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of Arabic linguistics (pp.315–331). London: Routledge. 10.4324/9781315147062‑17
     https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315147062-17 [Google Scholar]
  6. (2019) The classification of Arabic and sociolinguistic variation in the pre-Islamic period. In E. Al-Wer , & U. Horesh (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of Arabic sociolinguistics (pp.15–29). London: Routledge. 10.4324/9781315722450‑2
     https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315722450-2 [Google Scholar]
  7. Al-Wer, E.
    (2002) Jordanian and Palestinian dialects in contact: Vowel raising in Amman. In M. Jones , & E. Esch (Eds.), Language change: The interplay of internal, external and extra-linguistic factors (pp.63–79). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110892598.63
     https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110892598.63 [Google Scholar]
  8. (2003) New dialect formation: The focusing of -kum in Amman. In D. Britain , & J. Cheshire (Eds.), Social dialectology: In honour of Peter Trudgill. (pp.59–67). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/impact.16.06alw
     https://doi.org/10.1075/impact.16.06alw [Google Scholar]
  9. (2007) The formation of the dialect of Amman. In C. Miller , E. Al-Wer , D. Caubet , & J. C. E. Watson (Eds.), Arabic in the city: Issues in dialect contact and language variation (pp.55–76). New York: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Al-Wer, E. , Horesh, U. , Herin, B. , & Fanis, M.
    (2015) How Arabic regional features become sectarian features: Jordan as a case study. Zeitschrift für arabische Linguistik, 62, 68–87. www.jstor.org/stable/10.13173/zeitarabling.62.0068
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Al-Wer, E. , Horesh, U. , AlAmmar, D. , Alaodini, H. , Al-Essa, A. , Al-Hawamdeh, A. , Al-Qahtani, K. , & Hussain, A.
    (2022) Probing linguistic change in Arabic vernaculars: A sociohistorical perspective. Language in Society, 51, 29–50. FirstView, 10.1017/S0047404520000706
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404520000706 [Google Scholar]
  12. Al-Wer, E. , Horesh, U. , Herin, B. , & De Jong, R.
    (2022) Arabic Sociolinguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/9781316863060
     https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316863060 [Google Scholar]
  13. AlAmmar, D.
    (2017) Linguistic variation and change in the dialect of Ha’il, Saudi Arabia: Feminine suffixes. PhD thesis, University of Essex.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Alghamdi, N. M.
    (2014) A sociolinguistic study of dialect contact in Arabia: Ghamdi immigrants in Mecca. PhD thesis, University of Essex.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Blanc, H.
    (1964) Communal dialects in Baghdad. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Boucherit, A.
    (2006) Algiers Arabic. In K. Versteegh , M. Eid , A. Elgibali , M. Woidich , & A. Zaborski (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Arabic language and Linguistics, Vol.I (pp.58–66). Leiden: Brill.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Caubet, D.
    (2008) Moroccan Arabic. In K. Versteegh , M. Eid , A. Elgibali , M. Woidich , & A. Zaborski (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Arabic language and Linguistics, Vol.III (pp.273–287). Leiden: Brill.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Cedergren, H. J. , & Sankoff, D.
    (1974) Variable rules: Performance as a statistical reflection of competence. Language, 50, 335–355. 10.2307/412441
     https://doi.org/10.2307/412441 [Google Scholar]
  19. Cotter, W. M.
    (2013) Dialect contact and change in Gaza City. MA Dissertation, University of Essex.
  20. (2016) A sociophonetic account of morphophonemic variation in Palestinian Arabic. Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, 26, paper 060001. 10.1121/2.0000213
     https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0000213 [Google Scholar]
  21. Cotter, W. M. , & Horesh, U.
    (2015) Social integration and dialect divergence in coastal Palestine. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 19, 460–483. 10.1111/josl.12135
     https://doi.org/10.1111/josl.12135 [Google Scholar]
  22. Eckert, P.
    (1989) The whole woman: Sex and gender differences in variation. Language Variation and Change, 1, 245–267. 10.1017/S095439450000017X
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S095439450000017X [Google Scholar]
  23. (2000) Linguistic variation as social practice: The linguistic construction of identity in Belten High. Oxford: Blackwell.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Ferguson, C. A.
    (1996) [1959] Diglossia. In T. Huebner (Ed.), Sociolinguistic perspectives: Papers on language and society, 1959–1994 / Charles A. Ferguson (pp.25–39). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Gibson, M.
    (2009) Tunis Arabic. In K. Versteegh , M. Eid , A. Elgibali , M. Woidich , & A. Zaborski (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Arabic language and Linguistics, Vol.IV (pp.563–571). Leiden: Brill.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Guy, G. R. & Boberg, C.
    (1997) Inherent variability and the obligatory contour principle. Language Variation and Change, 9, 149–164. 10.1017/S095439450000185X
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S095439450000185X [Google Scholar]
  27. Haeri, N.
    (2000) Form and ideology: Arabic sociolinguistics and beyond. Annual Review of Anthropology, 29, 61–87. 10.1146/annurev.anthro.29.1.61
     https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.29.1.61 [Google Scholar]
  28. Haugen, E.
    (1966) Dialect, language, nation. American Anthropologist, 68, 922–935. 10.1525/aa.1966.68.4.02a00040
     https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1966.68.4.02a00040 [Google Scholar]
  29. Herin, B.
    (2013) Do Jordanians really speak like Palestinians?Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies, 13, 99–114. 10.5617/jais.4629
     https://doi.org/10.5617/jais.4629 [Google Scholar]
  30. (2019) Traditional Dialects. In E. Al-Wer and U. Horesh (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of Arabic sociolinguistics (pp.93–105). London: Routledge. 10.4324/9781315722450‑7
     https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315722450-7 [Google Scholar]
  31. Holes, C.
    (1987) Language variation and change in a modernising Arab state: The case of Bahrain. London: Kegan Paul International.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. (2019) Confessional varieties. In E. Al-Wer and U. Horesh (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of Arabic sociolinguistics (pp.63–80). London: Routledge. 10.4324/9781315722450‑5
     https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315722450-5 [Google Scholar]
  33. Huehnergard, J.
    (2017) Arabic in its Semitic context. In A. Al-Jallad (Ed.), Arabic in context: Celebrating 400 years of Arabic at Leiden University (pp.3–34). Leiden: Brill.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Johnson, D. E.
    (2009) Getting off the GoldVarb standard: Introducing Rbrul for mixed effects variable rule analysis. Language and Linguistics Compass, 3, 359–383. 10.1111/j.1749‑818X.2008.00108.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-818X.2008.00108.x [Google Scholar]
  35. Labov, W.
    (1994) Principles of linguistic change, vol. 1: Internal factors. Oxford: Blackwell.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Levin, A.
    (2007) ʾImāla. In K. Versteegh , M. Eid , A. Elgibali , M. Woidich , & A. Zaborski (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Arabic language and Linguistics, Vol.II (pp.311–315). Leiden: Brill.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Owens, J.
    (2006) A linguistic history of Arabic. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199290826.001.0001
     https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199290826.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  38. Pereira, C.
    (2009) Tripoli Arabic. In K. Versteegh , M. Eid , A. Elgibali , M. Woidich , & A. Zaborski (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Arabic language and Linguistics, Vol.IV (pp.548–556). Leiden: Brill.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Sankoff, D. , & Labov, W.
    (1979) On the uses of variable rules. Language in Society, 8, 189–222. 10.1017/S0047404500007430
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500007430 [Google Scholar]
  40. Trudgill, P.
    (1986) Dialects in contact. Oxford: Blackwell.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. (2011) Sociolinguistic typology: Social determinants of linguistic complexity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Trudgill, P. , & Foxcroft, T.
    (1978) On the sociolinguistics of vocalic mergers: Transfer and approximation in East Anglia. In P. Trudgill (Ed.). Sociolinguistic patterns in British English (pp.69–79). London: E. Arnold.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Tuten, D. N.
    (2003) Koineization in Medieval Spanish. Berlin: De Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110901269
     https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110901269 [Google Scholar]
  44. Wang, W. S-Y.
    (1969) Competing changes as a cause of residue. Language, 45, 9–25. 10.2307/411748
     https://doi.org/10.2307/411748 [Google Scholar]
  45. Woidich, M.
    (2006) Das kairenisch Arabische: Eine Grammatik. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
     [Google Scholar]

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