The polyfunctional lexeme /fard/ in the Arabic dialects of Iraq and Khuzestan

The primary aim of this paper is to explore the functions of the word /fard/ in Iraqi and Khuzestani Arabic. The study is based on the analysis of various text corpora and the elicitation of further examples from native speakers of the varieties investigated. The analysis of these data has shown that /fard/ is a polyfunctional item. Its various functions are the result of several grammaticalization processes. In the first stage, the noun “individual” has become a quantifier that expresses singularity. From this stage it developed into an intensifier, a marker of approximation and the scalar adverb “only.” It has been demonstrated that, from its use as a presentative marker, it developed toward an indefinite article. In contrast to the definite article, which is a grammatical category in nearly every variety of Arabic, the use of an indefinite article is rarely found in spoken Arabic. In Iraqi and Khuzestani Arabic, /fard/ is an indefinite article that possesses a wide range of applications and only a limited set of constraints. Its use, however, remains optional to a very high degree. Its main function is that of a presentative—i.e., introducing a new referent into a discourse. In addition, it also functions as an individuation marker, as a marker for expressing the speaker’s epistemic status (knowledge/ignorance) regarding a referent, and indicating free choice from a set of potential referents. Related to this last function is its use as a mitigating device in imperatives and polite requests.

Contrastive Feature Typologies of Arabic Consonant Reflexes

Attempts to classify spoken Arabic dialects based on distinct reflexes of consonant phonemes are known to employ a mixture of parameters, which often conflate linguistic and non-linguistic facts. This article advances an alternative, theory-informed perspective of segmental typology, one that takes phonological properties as the object of investigation. Under this approach, various classificatory systems are legitimate; and I utilize a typological scheme within the framework of feature geometry. A minimalist model designed to account for segment-internal representations produces neat typologies of the Arabic consonants that vary across dialects, namely qāf,ǧīm,kāf, ḍād, the interdentals, the rhotic, and the pharyngeals. Cognates for each of these are analyzed in a typology based on a few monovalent contrastive features. A key benefit of the proposed typologies is that the featural compositions of the various cognates give grounds for their behavior, in terms of contrasts and phonological activity, and potentially in diachronic processes as well. At a more general level, property-based typology is a promising line of research that helps us understand and categorize purely linguistic facts across languages or language varieties.

Disagreement realizations in Arabic

This paper examines disagreement strategies employed by speakers of Jordanian Spoken Arabic (JSA) with a view to finding out whether variables like gender and social status affect the linguistic choices and disagreement strategies they employ. The subjects are 28 Jordanian Arabic-speaking students at the University of Jordan. The researchers analyze the students’ interactional recorded responses to a set of stimuli included in an oral (recorded) discourse completion task (ODCT) prepared for this purpose. The ODCT comprises six scenarios in which the respondent is requested to disagree with two peers, two higher-status interlocutors and two lower-status interlocutors. The findings show that male and female subjects’ disagreement strategies tend to be influenced by the topic under discussion rather than by the gender and status of their interlocutor. However, some topics are found to be more provocative to females than to males.

The Connotations of Pet Expressions in Jordanian Spoken Arabic

The primary objective of this study is to examine the connotation of pet expressions when used to describe people in Jordanian Spoken Arabic (JSA), that is, the wide array of negative and positive associations that pet expressions bring with them. When defining animals,al-mu‘jamal-wasi:tt and al-mu‘jamal-jami‘ define most of the animal expressions along with their connotations. The present study investigates the connotations of pets in Jordanian Spoken Arabic. To this end, the researchers distributed an open ended questionnaire to the subjects that could provide rich qualitative data. This, in turn, will give the researchers an opportunity to gain insight in the subjects’ opinions on the connotation of pets in JSA. The questionnaire consisted of (11) Jordanian spoken Arabic sentences. Each sentence included a pet expression which is used in JSA. After collecting the questionnaire the researchers tested the connotations of pet expressions in JSA against the connotation of pet expression in al-mu‘jamal-wasi:tt and al-mu‘jam al-jami‘ .The findings of the study suggest that in some cases the connotation changed from positive in the two lexicons to negative in JSA or vice versa. In others, the connotation remained the same but changed from a connotation to another.

A Contrastive Study on Noun Diminutive Formation in Tafili Spoken Arabic and Jijilian Spoken Arabic

The present study aims at contrasting the patterns governing noun diminutive formation between Tafili Spoken Arabic (TSA), a dialect in Jordanian Arabic (JA), and Jijilian Spoken Arabic (JSA), a dialect in Algerian Arabic, and then accounting for that within the framework of Optimality Theory (OT). Throughout the analysis of the collected data, it is found that the diminutive forms in both dialects are based on a change in the phonological processes of a word by insertion, deletion or changing of some phonological segments. However, the present study has disclosed that noun diminutive forms in TSA result from the application of the following phonological processes: vowel epenthesis, vowel shortening, glide insertion, vowel syncope, and the insertion of the glottal stop at the beginning of words. Whereas noun diminutive forms in JSA result from the application of the following phonological processes: vowel syncope, vowel epenthesis, vowel shortening, glide insertion, degemination and metathesis. The application of OT to account for those phonological processes indicates that they happen from a continual conflict between some markedness constraints and faithfulness constraints. The researchers recommend for another study to be applied investigating and contrasting the patterns governing noun diminutive formation between other two dialects by accounting for that within the framework of OT.

Kaifiyyat Ikhtibār Kafā’ah al-Kalām fī Taʻlīm al-Lugah al-ʻArabiyyah

Each Arabic language competency has different ways of conducting tests to measure students' language skills, especially mahārah al-kalām which nota bene measures the ability to produce Arabic orally. This article aimed to develop mahārah al-kalām test formulation in the field of Arabic language learning. Researcher used qualitative methods to discuss mahārah al-kalām test from various sources. The data showed that the content of the test was related to the ability to pronounce Arabic sounds, grammar, vocabulary, fluency, and understanding, each of which had detailed criteria to be the background for the preparation of mahārah al-kalām test material. The language component is needed to emphasize the importance of the ability to communicate spoken Arabic correctly.