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Article published In: Arabic Linguistics
Vol. 1:1 (2025) ► pp.77–102

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The negative particles lā and wala in Bedouin dialects of Palestine and Jordan

 | University of the Aegean
Published online: 5 September 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/arli.00005.sig
Abstract
This paper attempts to shed light on the use of the negative particle lā in Bedouin dialects spoken in Palestine and Jordan (of the Arabian Peninsula type), drawing on results of previous studies and recent fieldwork. Although generally marginalised in all contemporary Arabic varieties, lā still maintains various usages, especially in Bedouin dialects of the Najdi group. Fieldwork data from Bedouin dialects of Palestine (West Bank) and Jordan, reveal that lā, apart from its common usage in the negative imperative and in negative coordination structures, is also attested in other contexts, while different types of wala appear with several functions. This paper suggests that the traditional negative lā and some of its variants are mainly encountered in Arabic varieties that exhibit more conservative features, such as some Bedouin varieties.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Negation patterns with lā, and types of wala
  • 3.Usages of lā, and types of wala in previous studies on Bedouin dialects (1919–2022)
    • 3.1Najdi dialects (groups A and B): Usages of lā and types of wala
    • 3.2Syro-Mesopotamian dialects (C group — Šāwi dialects)
    • 3.3Šammari dialects with features from Šāwi dialects (Bc group): Usages of lā and types of wala (and bala)
    • 3.4Nadji dialects with features from Šāwi dialects: Usages of lā and the Negconj wala in the dialect of the Ǧbūr
    • 3.5Northwest Arabian dialects: Usages of lā, and types of wala
    • 3.6West Arabian (Ḥiǧāzi) dialects: Usages of lā, and types of wala in the dialect of Bani Ḥarb
    • 3.7Omani dialects: Usages of lā, and types of wala
    • 3.8Summary of the usages of lā/wala in Bedouin dialects
  • 4.Data from Palestine and Jordan
    • 4.1Palestine — West Bank
      • 4.1.1Usages of lā and types of wala in Bedouin dialects of the West Bank
      • 4.1.2Summary of the Palestinian data
    • 4.2Jordan
      • 4.2.1Data from Jordan
      • 4.2.2Summary of the data from Jordan
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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