The Reason for the Dissimilarity Between Different Arabic Dialects Zaki Obaid Horizon International School April 2019 Dedication I dedicate my dissertation work to my family and many friends. A special feeling of gratitude to my loving parents, Hani Obaid and Rita, whose words of encouragement and push for tenacity ring in my ears. My brother and sister, Joe and Rodrica, have never left my side and are very special. I also dedicate this dissertation to my many friends and my kind and helpful supervisor, Mr. Alaa Maayah. Acknowledgements At the very outset, my head kneels before Almighty God, the creator of the whole world, the most Gracious and Benevolent, for bestowing His favor upon me. Due to His blessings, I complete this research study which would otherwise have not been possible. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Alaa Maayah, my thesis supervisor, for his help and guidance, enthusiastic and useful notes on this thesis. In addition, I would like to acknowledge the moral and financial support of my parents throughout the study. Table of Contents Thesis Title ………………………………………………………1 Dedication ……………………………………………………… 2 Acknowledgments ……………………………………………… 3 Table of Contents………………………………………………... 4 List of Phonetic Symbols ……………………………………… 6 Abstract ……………………………………………………… 7 Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Overview …………………………………………………… 9 1.2 Dialects …………………………………………………… 11 1.2.1 Difference between Dialect and Language ……………… 13 Chapter Two: Review of Related Studies 2.0 Introduction ……………………………………………… 14 2.1 Studies Related to Dialects ……………………………… 14 Chapter Three: Methodology 3.0 Introduction ……………………………………………… 17 3.1 Population of the Study …………………………………… 17 3.2 Sample of the Study ……………………………………… 17 3.3 Data Collection …………………………………………… 17 3.4 Data Analysis …………………………………………… 18 Chapter Four: Findings and Discussions 4.0 Introduction ……………………………………………… 19 4.1 Education and Literacy …………………………………… 19 4.2 Conquests and Colonization ……………………………… 20 4.2.1 Syrian Dialect ………………………………………… 21 4.2.2 North African Dialect ………………………………… 22 4.2.3 Jordanian Dialect ………………………………………… 23 4.2.4 Egyptian Dialect………………………………………… 25 4.2.4.1 Geography …………………………………………… 27 4.2.4.2 Mixture of Languages ………………………………… 27 Chapter Five: Summary and Conclusions 5.0 Introduction ………………………………………………… 29 List of Arabic Phonetic Symbols Symbol ? b t ɵ j h x d ð r z s ʃ S dh T th ؟ gh f q k l m n h w y e: a: u: i: a u i Arabic Letter أ ب ت ث ج ح خ د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ع غ ف ق ك ل م ن ه و ي يه ي االلف الممدودة الواو الساكنة وما قبلها مضموم الياء الساكنة وما قبلها مكسور الفتحة الضمة الكسرة Abstract Obaid, Zaki. H The Reason for the Dissimilarity Between Different Arabic Dialects This study was designed to shed the light on four dialects or varieties of the Arabic language. It aimed at: (a) determining the factor that influences the difference in Arabic dialects from one country and another, (b) studying the reason as to why the Egyptian dialect is so different from other Arabic-speaking countries and whether its location on the map, being in Africa, influences that, and (c) finding out what causes the Syrian, Lebanese, and Jordanian dialects to be closely related or similar. The study used four Arabic vernaculars, Syrian, North African, Jordanian, and Egyptian, and compared their current colloquial dialects to languages of the countries that occupied their respective countries. The results showed that in fact conquests and contact between two languages do influence the modern dialect in terms of vocabulary used. Key Words: Arabic dialects, Language contact Chapter One Introduction 1.1 Overview There are numerous varieties of Arabic, also known as dialects of Arabic or vernacular languages, in existence. Arabic is a Semitic language originally of the Arabs of the Hejaz and Nejd that is now the prevailing speech of a wide region of southwestern Asia and northern Africa (Merriam Webster). It is the official language of 22 countries, stretching from the Arabian Peninsula up to Syria, and across North Africa, and is spoken by over 200 million people. It is recognized as a macrolanguage made up of 30 modern assortments, including its standard form. The most recognizable divisions occur between the spoken languages of different regions. For instance, varieties of Arabic in North Africa, including those of Egypt, Sudan, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, and Algeria, are not easily interpreted to an Arabic speaker from the Levant, a historical geographical term referring to the historical region of Syria. Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan are the major countries that make up the Levant. Another major distinction exists between the colloquial spoken varieties, or language used in ordinary or familiar conversations, and the formal standardized language, used in news broadcasts, legal documents, official speeches, books, and newspapers. Generally, children acquire the regionally prevalent variety as their first language while the formal language is subsequently learned in school. The most significant differences between the standard and the colloquial Arabic include: 1) loss of grammatical case Cases describe the grammatical functions of nouns, pronouns and noun phrases, such as whether they are the subject of the clause or a subordinate object. Types of cases include: a) Nominative case - ( المرفوعal-marfū3): ذهب الولدُ إلى المدرسة. (dahaba l-waladu ila l-madrasati.) َ b) Accusative case - ( المنصوبal-manSūb): ( ال تشعل ناراla tuš3il nāran) c) Genitive case - ( المجرورal-majrūr) ( إلى اليمينila l-yamīni) 2) a different and strict word order 3) restriction in the use of the dual number and the loss of the feminine plural. 4) loss of grammatical mood, verbs that allow speakers to express their attitude toward what they are saying (e.g. a statement of fact, of desire, of command, etc.). Arabic has three moods: indicative, subjunctive and jussive. Indicative is the default mood. 1.2 Dialects According to Wolfram Schilling, dialect is a neutral label to refer to any variety of a language that is shared by a group of speakers. All dialects or varieties of a language are fully developed systems, not simply oddities as people might think. As Max Weinreich said, a language is a dialect with an army and navy. Everybody who talks a language talks some variety of the language; it is beyond impossible to expect to talk a language without talking a dialect of the language. A few dialects get much more consideration than others, however this social acknowledgment is random to vernacular status. Dialects result from unsuccessful attempts to speak the “correct” form of a language is one commonly known myth. In reality, dialect speakers adopt their language by acquiring the speech patterns of those around them. Dialects, like all language systems, are systematic and regular; socially disfavored dialects can be described with the same kind of linguistic precision as socially favored, prestigious language varieties. “The varieties in (1a) – (1g) may all be called English is some sense, but it is not at evident that these varieties represent the same language. Likewise, the varieties in (1h) – (1k) may be characterized as Arabic, but this does not necessarily mean that only one language is involved, and what we have referred to here as one variety, Standard Written Arabic in (1p), may be divided into at least two different varieties, Classical Arabic (the language of the Quran and writers like Ibn Khaldun) and Modern Literary Arabic (the language of modern newspapers and many modern authors.” (Richard Hudson, 1996) 1.2.1 Difference between Language and Dialect Different notions or ideas regarding the differences between languages and dialects have emerged over the course of the past few years. One notion state that a language is generally bigger, as in has a larger population of speakers and is spread over a wider area than a dialect. “Another such notion is that dialects are subsets of language, or that a language is generally believed to be the 'standard' or 'correct' form and that a dialect is somehow inferior.” (McPeek, 2011) However, 'mutual intelligibility' - that is to say, that if two speakers of different varieties can understand one another, then they are speaking different dialects of the same language; and if two speakers of different varieties cannot understand one another, then they are speaking different language, is the most accepted idea. “It is interesting to note that, for the majority of cases, this distinction works someone who speaks Standard English will be able to understand someone who speaks in the Yorkshire variation, but will not be able to understand someone who speaks Welsh.” (Crystal, 2010, p.25) However, not all cases fit such a criterion. As a matter of fact, both the Norwegian and Swedish, although being mutually intelligible, are identified as two separate languages. Chapter Two Review of Related Literature 2.0 Introduction This chapter analyzes previous studies that investigate the different varieties of the Arabic language in terms of grammatical and syntaxial differences. 2.1 Studies Related to Dialects Yasir Suleiman’s book “A War of Words: Language and Conflict in the Middle East” (2004) draws a connection between national identity and language, as in the way in which a language can be altered to imply certain political, cultural, or even historical difference. Suleiman’s analysis provides enough evidence to prove Arabic as an alternative device for investigating the different and various conflicts in the Middle East and revealing the diversity of people and their viewpoints. Suleiman’s book offers an abundance of observational material and powerful illustrations of hostility. For example, Gazans would every now and again react “bomba” (Couldn’t be better) to questions about their health. They showed optimism in the face of Israeli bombings by drawing a phonetic connection between the Arabic “bomba” and the English word “bomb”. Caubet, Janet C.E Watson’s “Arabic in the City: Issues in Dialect Contact and Language Variation” book (2007) examines the interplay between urbanization, language variation and language change in fifteen major Arab cities. History of settlement, the linguistic impact of migration, and the emergence of new urban vernaculars are all topics that have been discussed in this book. Containing a broad selection of case studies from across the Arab world and featuring contributions from leading urban sociolinguistics and dialectologists, this book presents a fresh approach to our understanding of the interaction between language, society and space. As such, the book will appeal to the linguist as well as to the social scientist in general. Clive Holes (2009) introduces an analysis of how changes in the social structure of the countries of the Arabic-speaking Middle East are being reflected in new patterns of dialect use, since the last 30 years have seen an enormously increased interest in Arabic as a living mode of everyday communication, reflected in many dialectological, typological and sociolinguistic studies. Mirjam Ballmer, David Bauer, Sibylle Bläsi, Elisabeth Dickinson, Daniela Flückiger, Samuel Mattli, and Michael Späth (2014) shed the light on the significance of dialects in terms of how much they tell about Language history. The main point discussed in this paper is the fact that dialects can be used to account for and describe developments and changes in a particular language. They conclude that because dialects of a specific language are always a product of their historical evolution, they can be used as pointers to reconstruct historical events and illuminate how and why a language changed over time. Kathrein Abu Kwaik, Motaz Saad, Stergios Chatzikyriakidis, and Simon Dobnik (2018) analyze one of the most prominent dialects of the Arabic language, the Levantine Arabic. In this paper, Levantine dialects which are spoken in Palestine, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon and collecting a corpus of their usage from social media, labeled as Shami, is the main aim of the study. The unique point that makes this study different is the procedures it takes in order to prove the thesis of this paper. The researcher draws a connection between languages and dialects of countries that have been occupied from different regions of the world. The dialects chosen are original and probably an open-field that haven’t been studied or analyzed before. Chapter Three Methodology 3.0 Introduction This chapter describes the population and the sample of the study. Data collection and analysis are also mentioned. 3.1 Population of the Study The population of the study are all native speakers of the Arabic language and dialects of the Middle East and North Africa. 3.2 Sample of the Study The sample of the study consists of four different Arabic vernaculars or varieties, Syrian, North African, Jordanian, and Egyptian. 3.3 Data Collection This study is analytical in nature. It mostly depends on collecting the linguistic habits of the specified Arabic dialects and finding their origins. 3.4 Data Analysis The analyzed data are the specified vernaculars. The analysis is based on comparing a dialect of a certain country to the language of the country occupying it. Chapter Four Findings and Discussions 4.0 Introduction This chapter aims at analyzing the several and different reasons regarding the wide variety of vernaculars or dialects of the Arabic language. In addition, the limitations which have been shown to agree with variation in different Arabicspeaking communities. 4.1 Education and Literacy Education is one of many limitations within which the vernacular variation of Arabic is widespread. It is considered as one of the most essential factors contributing to the variation in modern-day Arabic. Since Standard Arabic (SA) is the Arabic used in instruction, this variety has become attainable to a large portion of the Arabic-speaking population. Its use in education is strengthened by its use in many public forms, those include religious contexts, media, and communication between Arabs of different regional origins. Educated Spoken Arabic (ESA) is the name given for this variety, the one taught in schools. Both native varieties of Arabic (NA), traditionally called dialects, and SA are thought of as the essential components that make up ESA. NA is considered as the basic input, which will be altered in the direction of SA. Although this notion may be uncontroversial or known for someone who lives and works in Arab countries, finding a distinction between natively learned native Arabic and formally learned SA is of foundational importance. Three reasons may be specified for this interpretation of ESA. According to Ibrahim (1983), the first reason is that SA is formally learned in school whereas NA is learned at home. For the second reason, several observational patterns suggest that NA acts as a base variety. Take for example the word bi-yu-qal “it is said”. It is composed of an Egyptian Arabic prefix bi- + an SA preformative vowel. And according to Meyers-Scotton, affixal material is regarded as crucial in the definition of language, proving NA as the basis variety. Third and final reason is that generally people tend to express excitement or anger using the NA variants. 4.2 Conquests and Colonization One of the most prominent factors that influence any dialect is conquests or conflict between two countries of different language origins. People may invade a land whose people speak a language of their own, fighting a violent struggle between the mother tongue; Thus, the inevitable result is either the elimination of one language or the creation of a new language derived between the two "invasive" languages. TO further illustrate this point, the Syrian, Jordanian, North African, and Egyptian dialects will be examined in order to prove this point correct. 4.2.1 Syrian Dialect Origin Since the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire had administrative control over most of the Middle East and North Africa, from Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Yemen, Hijaz, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria. Like most societies under colonial or imperial rule, Arabs looked up to Turkey and everything Turkish. Many things were borrowed, adopted, integrated, and imitated. As a result, the Syrian dialect is largely influenced by that of Turkey. The following is a list of words used commonly by Syrian people which are originally found in the list of Turkish vocabulary words. Table 1. Similarities between Syrian and Turkish Dialects Syrian Turkish Meaning تمام Tamam Equivalent to “Ok” خالص Khalas “Finished”, “over”, “done” بوظة Boza Ice cream كازوزة Gazuz Carbonated Drink شيشكلي shishekli flower seller As the table shows, it is evident that many words regularly spoken by Syrian people are in fact adopted from the Turkish language. 4.2.2 North African Dialect Origins In the 19th century, the decline of the Ottoman Empire, which had loosely controlled the area since the 16th century, left the region vulnerable to other forces. In 1830, French troops captured Algiers and from 1848 until independence in 1962, France treated Mediterranean Algeria as an integral part of France, the Métropole or metropolitan France (Roland Anthony Oliver, 1986). Seeking to expand their influence beyond Algeria, the French established protectorates to the east and west of it. The French protectorate of Tunisia was established in 1881, following a military invasion, and the French protectorate in Morocco in 1912 (William E. Watson, 2003). These lasted until 1955, in the case of Morocco, and 1956, when Tunisia gained full independence. The French language is so ingrained and prevalent in the North African linguistic habits. As a result, this variety has a name of its own ‘Frarabe’, ‘’Aransiyya’ or ‘Franco-Arabe’. Take for example the phrase ‘dak l-warqa bleue’ “that blue paper”. The French word bleue is implemented in a phrase that consists of Arabic words as well. This is called code-switching (CS), which “refers to the mixing, by bilinguals (or multilinguals), of two or more languages in discourse, often with no change of interlocutor or topic.” (K. Reusser, 2001) 4.2.3 Jordanian Dialect The modern Jordanian dialect, known as the hybrid form, was formed after Amman was named a capital for the Jordanian kingdom, which was in the early 20th century. This variety is a result of the different languages whom people from northern Jordan, southern Jordan and later from Palestine brought into the country as they moved in. As a result of this mixing, the Jordanian dialect includes a mixture of features of the Arabic varieties spoken by these populations. The northern Jordanian dialect had a strong influence on the emergence of the modern Jordanian dialect. In Amman, for example, one notes the coexistence of rural/urban Palestinian dialects and rural/Bedouin Jordanian dialects. Jordanian men are said to keep their Bedouin pronunciation (cf. *q = [g]) and to have a favorable attitude toward it, while urban Palestinian men tend to hide their Palestinian identity and to adopt the Bedouin pronunciation (Abdel Jawad 1986, Sawaie 1994). In Enam Al-Wer’s paper, she sums up the stages of the formation of the dialect of Amman. “In Stage I, first generation speakers arrived in the city as adults. They spoke the dialects which they had acquired as children in their home towns. In the context of a location where no one was native to the place, they came into contact with speakers of different dialects. To the extent that they were linguistically capable of acquiring new habits, or alter old habit, and through contact with and exposure to speakers of other dialects, their native dialects underwent rudimentary levelling, Their children, Stage II, the first native-born generation, were not only exposed to the dialects of their parents, but, in their formative years and unlike their parents, they were also exposed to a wide range of variations. In other words, they would have acquired a variable model. The data from this generation showed that the mixture of features from more than one dialect stock was still present in their speech as adults, and although some of the features which appear in the third generation appear in the second generation, in Stage II there is little stability, which she described as a chaotic situation, a defuse language situation in the terms of Le Page & Tabouret –Keller (1985). In Stage III, the second native-born generation, some aspects of the koineisation process continue (e.g reallocation). However, there is an evolution of norms, stability of usage, and reduction of the extreme variability found in Stage II. In the Amman situation, the derivation Ammaniyyiin may be considered as an emblem of such identification.” (Eman Al-Wer, 2007) 4.2.4 Egyptian Dialect The modern Egyptian colloquial dialect is largely influenced by the Coptic language, also known as Coptic Egyptian. “It was the spoken language of ancient Egypt until the Arab Conquest of Egypt in the seventh century. It was recorded first in the hieroglyphic (sacred) script, the earliest form of Egyptian pictorial writing, and succeeded by the hieratic (priestly), which was the simplified running script, and the demotic (from "demos," meaning people), which became the popular form of Egyptian writing.” (Ishaq, Emile Maher, 1991) In fact, many Coptic words are still applied in the Egyptian linguistic habits. Egyptian Coptic meaning Ah from the Coptic word “aha meaning yes from the Coptic word “seb-sweb” which means the Shebsheb measurement of feet Sett Coptic for woman Tanesh derived from the Coptic for ignore Fatafeet Coptic for crumbs or small pieces Nounou the Coptic word for small/little Moreover, the Turkish language is also put into practice in the Egyptian dialect. As is the case with Syria, Egypt was also occupied by the Ottomans in 1517. As a result, Egyptians learned the Turkish language at that time and carried or borrowed words that are implement now in the Egyptian vernacular. Egyptian Turkish كوبري Kobru Description Brigde. The original Arabic words is جسر (Jessr) or ( قنطرةQantara) كات Kat A story in a building. The correct Arabic term is ( طابقTabiq). اوضة Oda Room. The original Arabic is ( غرفةGhorfa) افندم Afandem Affirmative answer. Used when replying to a superior, especially in the military. ايوة Aywa كبابجي Kababji Affirmative answer. In everyday use. Maker of Kabab (skewered meat) The Egyptian dialect has always been a question mark to everyone, including Egyptians themselves. Each Arabic speaking country has its own accent or dialect — most countries are split into groups though. The Levantine dialects for instance are quite similar, the Gulf countries also share their similarities as well. However, Egypt happens to be one of the few countries that just stands alone. Several reasons have been suggested as to why such a distinction occurs. 4.2.4.1 Geography Because Egypt lies in Africa, it has not come into contact with other Arabic dialects, such as those of the Levantine, which are found in Asia, Middle East. Contact between languages is one reason that makes two vernaculars similar in their features or characteristics (Jonathan Owens). Because Lebanon and Syria are so close in terms of geographical space, their dialects share a lot of linguistic features. Predynastic Egypt noticed no large-scale migration and the cultures were at first largely self-contained. This independence and this isolation from other countries is what makes Egyptian Arabic so unique to other Arabicspeaking populations. 4.2.4.2 Mixture of Languages Several languages have had their share of influence on the dialect, some words were carried over and some were Arabized. This mixture of words from four or five languages created a divergent vernacular. Ancient Egyptian or Coptic (tuta tuta), Greek (kanaba, tarabeiza), Turkish (abla, gazma), Persian (kham, khana), and languages of Latin Origin (doseh, ballona) have had an impact on the modern Egyptian colloquial vernacular. Chapter Five Summary and Conclusions 5.0 Introduction This chapter provides a summary, some conclusions, and recommendations for further research. 5.1 Summary and Conclusions One of the objectives of this study was to determine what factor influences the emergence of the different Arabic varieties. The factor focused on in this study was invasions and migrations. The idea was that When invading an area, the invaders will carry their dialect. Therefore, wars of another kind will begin, which will eventually decide which dialect will prevail. Either one dialect will be eliminated, or two dialects will be merged, forming a new dialect that mixes between the two. To prove this point, the researcher provides a comparison between a dialect and the language of the country that took over the country of that vernacular a long time ago. The results show that in fact conquests do influence the linguistic habits of a dialect largely, especially in the usage of vocabulary words. The second main point studied in this paper was whether geography was the main reason for the uniqueness of the Egyptian dialect. The researcher used other well-credible research in order to demonstrate this issue. According to Jonathan Owens, contact between languages is one reason that makes two vernaculars similar in their features or characteristics. Because Egypt is somewhat isolated, located in Northeast Africa, little contact occurred between Egypt and the other Middle Eastern countries. As a result, Levantine Arabic speakers, for example, find Egyptian colloquial Arabic different and in some way vague. In addition, the main reason for the similarity between the Syrian, Lebanese, and Jordanian dialect is geography. Because they happen to be located on the same regional area, these dialects share a handful of common features. For example, “/dʒ/ (j in judge) is commonly realized as [ʒ] (s in measure). Moreover, Interdental consonants /θ, ð/ (th of thing and th of these) are lost and dental/alveolar consonants /t, d, s, z/ are pharyngealized, i.e., pronounced as [tˤ, dˤ, sˤ, zˤ].” (Irene Thompson, 2016) References 1. Al-Wer, Eman. Arabic in the City. Issues in dialect contact and language variation. 2009. 2. Al-Wer, Enam. The formation of the dialect of Amman: from chaos to order. 2007. 3. Crystal, D., 2010. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. 3rd Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 4. Doss, Madiha, and Catherine Miller. Les Langues En Égypte : Introduction. 26 Apr. 2017. 5. Hudson, Richard. Language and Variation. Vol. 6, 1996. Holes, Clive. Language and Identity in the Arabian Gulf. 15 Dec. 2011. 6. Maher, Emile. The phonetics and phonology of the Bohairic dialect of Coptic and the survival of Coptic words in the Colloquial and Classical Arabic of Egypt and of Coptic Grammatical Constructions in Colloquial Egyptian Arabic. Sept. 1975. 7. McPeek, T., 2011. The Difference Between a "Language" and a "Dialect" [video,online].Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbvCD29Sg58 [Last accessed 25 April 2014]. 8. Merriam Webster. 9. Miller, Catherine. Impact of Migration on Arabic Urban Vernacular: Advocating a Comparative Analysis. 2003. 10. Miller, Catherine. Arabic Urban Vernaculars: Development and Change. 10 Sept. 2007. 11. Omari, Osama, and Gerard Van Herk. A Sociophonetic Study of Interdental Variation in Spoken Jordanian Arabic. 15 May 2016 12. Owens, Jonathan. Arabic Sociolinguistics. 2014. 13. Qwaider, Chatrine, and Stergios Chatzikyriakidis. Shami: A Corpus of Levantine Arabic Dialects. 2018. 14. Thompson, Irene. Arabic (Levantine). 6 July 2016.
