In:Experimental Arabic Linguistics
Edited by Dimitrios Ntelitheos and Tommi Tsz-Cheung Leung
[Studies in Arabic Linguistics 10] 2021
► pp. 57–82
Affricate variation in Emirati Arabic
An exploratory study
Published online: 26 July 2021
https://doi.org/10.1075/sal.10.02szr
https://doi.org/10.1075/sal.10.02szr
Abstract
Using a corpus analysis and an elicitation study,
we provide evidence regarding the effects of lexical, phonological
and socio-phonetic factors on the distribution of affricate variants
in Emirati Arabic (EA). The corpus results indicate that the
processes are only partially attributable to lexical factors;
results reveal previously unreported patterns of vowel effects, and
suggest a role of coronal consonants in determining affrication. The
experimental results highlight significant within- and
across-speaker variability that is not only lexically-determined,
but also contradicts traditional hypotheses regarding the geographic
distribution of the variants. This exploratory study presents a
detailed descriptive analysis of the process in EA, providing
suggestions for future investigations.
Keywords: Emirati Arabic, affrication, variation, coronals
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 1.1Arabic in the United Arab Emirates
- 1.2k-affrication
- 1.3dʒ-deaffrication
- 1.4Objectives
- 2.Methodology
- 2.1Participants
- 2.2Stimuli
- 2.3Experimental data collection and procedure
- 2.4Corpus study
- 2.5Corpus study procedure
- 3.Corpus study results
- 3.1Phonological effects
- 3.2Lexical effects
- 4.Experimental study results
- 4.1Lexical effects
- 4.2Speaker effects
- 4.3Sociophonetic factors
- 5.Discussion
- 5.1Phonological factors
- Sociolinguistic constraints
- 5.2Lexical constraints
- 5.1Phonological factors
- 6.Conclusion
Acknowledgements References
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