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In:Arabic in Contact
Edited by Stefano Manfredi and Mauro Tosco
[Studies in Arabic Linguistics 6] 2018
► pp. 251–274

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On the relationship between Arabic Foreigner Talk and Pidgin Arabic

 | University of Bucharest
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Published online: 10 July 2018
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https://doi.org/10.1075/sal.6.13avr
Abstract
The paper compares morphosyntactic and lexical features of the Arabic Foreigner Talk register to those of four Arabic-lexifier pidgins, Pidgin Madame, Jordanian Pidgin Arabic, Romanian Pidgin Arabic, and Gulf Pidgin Arabic. The comparative overview identifies a relatively significant number of features which Arabic Foreigner Talk shares with all or with at least some of these Arabic-lexifier pidgins. The paper proposes an account in terms of a feedback relationship whereby Arabic Foreigner Talk and Pidgin Arabic reinforce one another in the occurrence of these features.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Morphosyntax
    • 2.1‘Two’ + singular noun
    • 2.2Plural marker ‘all’
    • 2.3Omission of the definite article
    • 2.4Masculine singular form of adjectives
    • 2.5Exclusive use of independent pronouns
    • 2.6 Masculine singular form of demonstratives
    • 2.7 Invariant form of verbs
    • 2.8Light verb ‘make’ + noun/adjective/verb
    • 2.9Reliance on context or on time adverbials
    • 2.10Multifunctional fi/fī
    • 2.11Omission of prepositions
  • 3.Vocabulary
    • 3.1Lexical polysemy
    • 3.2Circumlocutions
    • 3.3English lexical items
  • 4.Discussion
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Abbreviations
  • Notes
  • References
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Alshammari, Wafi Fhaid
2022. Numeral form selection and accommodation in Gulf Pidgin Arabic. Language, Interaction and Acquisition 13:1 ► pp. 29 ff. DOI logo
Versteegh, Kees
2022. Marking statements of fact in early pidgins. Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages 37:1 ► pp. 53 ff. DOI logo
Al-Azraqi, Munira
2020. Pidginization in Abha, Saudi Arabia. Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages 35:1 ► pp. 37 ff. DOI logo
Bizri, Fida
2018. Pidgin as a counterlanguage. Language Ecology 2:1-2 ► pp. 128 ff. DOI logo

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