Gulf Arabic

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Gulf Arabic
Native to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Iran, UAE & Oman.
Language family
Writing system Arabic alphabet
Language codes
ISO 639-3 afb

Gulf Arabic (also known as Khaliji, خليجي ḫalīǧī [xæˈliːd͡ʒiː] or اللهجة الخليجية al-lahǧah al-ḫaliǧiyyah [ælˈlæhd͡ʒæ l.xæˈliːˌd͡ʒijːæ]) is a variety of the Arabic language of the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family spoken around the shore of the Persian Gulf, in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Iran. These dialects are mutually intelligible at a high level, having very few differences.[1]

Contents

Name [edit]

The dialect's full name al-lahǧah al-ḫaliǧiyyah (اللهجة الخليجية [ælˈlæhd͡ʒæ l.xæˈliːˌd͡ʒijːæ]) can be translated to "the dialect of the gulf". However, it is most commonly referred to as Khaliji (خليجي [xæˈliːd͡ʒiː]; ḫalīǧī), in which the noun خليج ([xæˈliːd͡ʒ]; ḫalīǧ) has been suffixed with the Nisba, literally meaning "of the bay" or "of the gulf".[2]
There is a possibility that Khaliji could appear as Khaleeji, Khalijy, 5aliji, Khaleedji or differently, respectively. This can be traced back to the fact that Arabic transcription on-line is not normed. See Arabic chat alphabet for further information.

Phonology [edit]

Consonants [edit]

Gulf Arabic consonants[3]
  Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Dental Alveolar Palato-
alveolar
Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal
plain pharyngealised plain pharyngealised plain pharyngealised
Stops voiced b ()             g      
voiceless (p)1             k q   ʔ
Fricatives voiced       ð ðˤ2       ɣ   ʕ  
voiceless     f θ     ʃ x~χ   ħ h
Affricates voiced             d͡ʒ~ʒ            
voiceless             t͡ʃ            
Nasals voiced m ()         n            
Laterals voiced           l3   ɫ3          
Flaps voiced             ɾ~r ɾˤ          
Approximants voiced                 j w      
  • ^1 The non-native Arabic letter Pāʾ (پ), or its native counterpart Bāʾ (ب), is used to denote that sound which occurs only in loan-, resp. foreign words, e.g.: piyāḷah (پيالة or بيالة [pijɑːɫɑh], "small glass"), from Hindi
  • ^2 Ḍad (ض) has merged to Ẓāʾ (ظ). For further information, see below.
  • ^3 The difference is not orthographically shown.


The differences in the phonology of the Arabic dialect group of the Persian Gulf, compared to Modern Standard Arabic, are following:

Letter MSA pronunciation Khaliji varieties Examples Notes
ج [d͡ʒ] [j] or [d͡ʒ~ʒ] mōy or mōǧ (موج [moːj] or [moːd͡ʒ], "wave");
masīd, masyid or masǧid (مسجد [mæˈsiːd], [ˈmæsjid] or [ˈmæsd͡ʒid], "mosque")
Changes are optional, although ǧim (ج) never changes to [j] in loanwords.[4]
ق [q] [g], optionally [d͡ʒ~ʒ] when followed by front vowels ([æ], [e] or [i]) or following a consonant preceded by a front vowel ǧiddām or geddām (قدام [d͡ʒiˈdːæːm] or [geˈdːæːm], "in front of");
šarǧī or šargī (شرقي [ˈʃæɾd͡ʒiː] or [ˈʃæɾgiː], "eastern")
Some classicisms preserve the [q] sound. By Persian influence, sometimes the qaf (ق) changes to ġayn (غ) [ɣ].[5]
غ [ɣ] [q] qannā (غنى [ˈqanːaː], "to sing") This change is extremely rare.[6]
ك [k] [t͡ʃ] if preceded or followed by a front vowel or if 2nd person feminine singular suffixed/object pronoun ʾubūč (أبوك [ʔuˈbuːt͡ʃ]; "your (f.sg.) father") This change is optional, but encountered with more often when the kaf (ك) is used to denote the 2nd person feminine singular suffixed/object pronoun.[7]
ض [dˤ] [ðˤ] ẓāʿ (ضاع [ðˤɑːʕ], "to lose") Ẓāʾ (ظ) and Ḍad (ض) cannot be distinguished by pronunciation as the Gulf dialects lack the pharyngealised [d].[3]
ت [t] [t̪] al-Imārāt (الإمارات [l.iˈmɑːɾˤɑːt̪], "the Emirates") Tāʾ (ت) is realised as a dental, instead of an alveolar.[3]
د [d] [d̪] tidrī (تدري [t̪id̪ɾiː], "you (m./f.sg.) know" or "she knows") Dal (د) is realised as a dental, instead of an alveolar.[3]
ل [l] [ɫ] in dark environment wiṣal (وصل [wisˤɑɫ], "to arrive") Occurs mostly around pharyngeal(ised) consonants.[8]

Morphology [edit]

Pronouns [edit]

Personal pronouns [edit]

Gulf Arabic has 10 personal pronouns.[9] The conservative dialect has preserved the gender differentiation of the 2nd and 3rd person in the plural forms, whereas dual forms have not survived. Following table bears the generally most common pronouns:

Person Singular Plural
1st ʾānā (آنَا) niḥin (نِحِنْ)
2nd masculine ʾinta (إِنْتَ) ʾintum (إِنْتُمْ)
feminine ʾinti (إِنْتِ) ʾintin1 (إِنْتِنْ)
3rd masculine huwa (هُوَ) hum (هُمْ)
feminine hiya (هِيَ) hin2 (هِنْ)
  • ^1 Many speakers do not distinguish between masculine and feminine forms in the second person plural, replacing ʾintum and ʾintin with ʾintu (إنْتُ).
  • ^2 Speakers that do not distinguish between masculine and feminine forms in the second person plural will also use hum (هُمْ) for both genders in the third person plural, respectively.

Some pronouns, however, have other (less frequent, resp. local) forms:

  • ʾānā (آنَا):
    ʾanā (أَنَا)
    ʾāni (آنِي) (especially Baḥrānī)
  • ʾinta (إِنْتَ):
    ʾint (إِنْتْ) (especially Qaṭarī)
    ʾinit (إِنِتْ)
  • huwa (هُوَ):
    (هُوْ)
    huwwa (هُوَّ) (especially Baḥrānī and Qaṭarī)
    ʾuhu (أُهُو)
  • hiya (هِيَ):
    (هِيْ)
    hiyya (هِيَّ) (especially Baḥrānī and Qaṭarī)
    ʾihi (إِهِي)
  • niḥin (نِحِنْ):
    ḥinna (حِنَّ) (especially Qaṭarī)
    niḥna (نِحْنَ)
    ʾiḥna (إِحْنَا) (especially Baḥrānī and Qatarī)
  • ʾintum (إِنْتُمْ):
    ʾintu (إنْتُ)[Note 1]
  • hum (هُمْ):
    humma (هُمَّ) (especially Baḥrānī)
    ʾuhum (أُهُمْ)
  1. ^ For a more detailed info, look at the table above.

References [edit]

  1. ^ McCarus, Hamdi A. Qafisheh ; in consultation with Ernest N. (1977). "Introduction". A short reference grammar of Gulf Arabic. Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona Press. p. xvii. ISBN 0-8165-0570-5. 
  2. ^ Smith, Arabic-English by N. Awde; English-Arabic by N. Awde & K. (2003). Arabic dictionary. London: Bennett & Bloom. p. 88. ISBN 1-898948-20-8. 
  3. ^ a b c d McCarus, Hamdi A. Qafisheh ; in consultation with Ernest N. (1977). "Diagram I". A short reference grammar of Gulf Arabic. Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona Press. p. 2. ISBN 0-8165-0570-5. 
  4. ^ McCarus, Hamdi A. Qafisheh ; in consultation with Ernest N. (1977). "Appendix I". A short reference grammar of Gulf Arabic. Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona Press. p. 263. ISBN 0-8165-0570-5. 
  5. ^ McCarus, Hamdi A. Qafisheh ; in consultation with Ernest N. (1977). "Appendix II". A short reference grammar of Gulf Arabic. Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona Press. p. 265. ISBN 0-8165-0570-5. 
  6. ^ McCarus, Hamdi A. Qafisheh ; in consultation with Ernest N. (1977). "Appendix II". A short reference grammar of Gulf Arabic. Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona Press. p. 266. ISBN 0-8165-0570-5. 
  7. ^ McCarus, Hamdi A. Qafisheh ; in consultation with Ernest N. (1977). "Appendix III". A short reference grammar of Gulf Arabic. Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona Press. p. 267. ISBN 0-8165-0570-5. 
  8. ^ McCarus, Hamdi A. Qafisheh ; in consultation with Ernest N. (1977). "Laterals". A short reference grammar of Gulf Arabic. Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona Press. p. 14. ISBN 0-8165-0570-5. 
  9. ^ McCarus, Hamdi A. Qafisheh ; in consultation with Ernest N. (1977). "Pronouns". A short reference grammar of Gulf Arabic. Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona Press. p. 159. ISBN 0-8165-0570-5. 

See also [edit]