The phonological system of the
Hejazi Arabic
Hejazi Arabic or Hijazi Arabic (HA) ( ar, حجازي, ḥijāzī), also known as West Arabian Arabic, is a variety of Arabic spoken in the Hejaz region in Saudi Arabia. Strictly speaking, there are two main groups of dialects spoken in the Hejaz ...
consists of approximately 26 to 28 native
consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are and pronounced with the lips; and pronounced with the front of the tongue; and pronounced wit ...
phoneme
In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language.
For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-west o ...
s and 8
vowel
A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (leng ...
phonemes: , in addition to 2 diphthongs: .
Consonant length
In phonetics and phonology, gemination (), or consonant lengthening (from Latin 'doubling', itself from '' gemini'' 'twins'), is an articulation of a consonant for a longer period of time than that of a singleton consonant. It is distinct from ...
and
vowel length
In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived length of a vowel sound: the corresponding physical measurement is duration. In some languages vowel length is an important phonemic factor, meaning vowel length can change the meaning of the word, f ...
are both distinctive in Hejazi.
Strictly speaking, there are two main groups of dialects spoken in the
Hejaz
The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...
region, one by the urban population ' originally spoken in the cities of
Jeddah
Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...
,
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
and
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
where they constitute the majority and partially in
Ta'if
Taif ( ar, , translit=aṭ-Ṭāʾif, lit=The circulated or encircled, ) is a city and governorate in the Makkan Region of Saudi Arabia. Located at an elevation of in the slopes of the Hijaz Mountains, which themselves are part of the Sarat M ...
, and another dialect spoken by the
Bedouin
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...
or rural populations which is also currently spoken as well in the mentioned cities. However, the term most often applies to the urban variety which is discussed in this article.
*
phoneme
In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language.
For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-west o ...
s will be (written inside slashes ) and
allophone
In phonology, an allophone (; from the Greek , , 'other' and , , 'voice, sound') is a set of multiple possible spoken soundsor ''phones''or signs used to pronounce a single phoneme in a particular language. For example, in English, (as in ''s ...
s (written inside brackets ).
Consonants
Hejazi consonant inventory depends on the speaker. Most speakers use 26 consonants with no interdental phonemes or 28 phonemes, with the phonemes and being used partially due to the influence of
Modern Standard Arabic
Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or Modern Written Arabic (MWA), terms used mostly by linguists, is the variety of Standard language, standardized, Literary language, literary Arabic that developed in the Arab world in the late 19th and early 20th ...
and neighboring dialects, in addition to the marginal phoneme and two foreign phonemes ⟨
پ⟩ and ⟨
ڤ⟩ used by a number of speakers. Being a Semitic language, the four
emphatic consonant
In Semitic linguistics, an emphatic consonant is an obstruent consonant which originally contrasted with series of both voiced and voiceless obstruents. In specific Semitic languages, the members of this series may be realized as uvularized or ...
s are treated as separate phonemes from their plain counterparts.
Phonetic notes:
* the marginal phoneme (dark l) only occurs in the word ('god') and words derived from it, it contrasts with in ('i swear') vs. ('or').
* the phonemes and the trill are realised as a and a tap respectively by a number of speakers or in a number of words.
* the phonemes and can be realised as uvular fricatives and in few instances.
* the reintroduced phoneme is partially used as an alternative phoneme, while most speakers merge it with or depending on the word.
* the reintroduced phoneme is partially used as an alternative phoneme, while most speakers merge it with or depending on the word.
*the classicized is an optional allophone for ⟨
ظ⟩. In general, Hejazi speakers (urban) pronounce it as or merge it with depending on the word.
* has the velar allophone , which occurs before velar consonants as in
ŋkab('it spilled') and
ɪŋɡal('brazier').
*the foreign phonemes ⟨
پ⟩ and ⟨
ڤ⟩ which exist only in loanwords, are used by a number of speakers and can be substituted by ⟨
ب⟩ and ⟨
ف⟩ respectively.
*
Consonant clusters
In linguistics, a consonant cluster, consonant sequence or consonant compound, is a group of consonants which have no intervening vowel. In English, for example, the groups and are consonant clusters in the word ''splits''. In the education fie ...
like and occur only in foreign words and are not considered to be part of the phonemic inventory but as a
sequence
In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is calle ...
e.g. ⟨
ت⟩ and ⟨
ش⟩, in ('Chad').
A notable feature of Hejazi is the pronunciation of as in Modern Standard Arabic. It is pronounced as which differentiates it from other dialects in the Arabian Peninsula that merge the phoneme into . Another feature which is shared by many
Arabic dialects
The varieties (or dialects or vernacular languages) of Arabic, a Semitic language within the Afroasiatic family originating in the Arabian Peninsula, are the linguistic systems that Arabic speakers speak natively. There are considerable varia ...
is the pronunciation of as a voiced velar , which
Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldun (; ar, أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي, ; 27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732-808 AH) was an Arab
The Historical Muhammad', Irving M. Zeitlin, (Polity Press, 2007), p. 21; "It is, of ...
states may have been the
Old Arabic
Old Arabic is the name for the pre-Islamic Arabic language or dialect continuum. Various forms of Old Arabic are attested in many scripts like Safaitic, Hismaic, Nabatean, and even Greek.
Classification
Old Arabic and its descendants are class ...
pronunciation of the letter. He has also noted that
Quraysh
The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Qur ...
and the Islamic
prophet Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...
may have had the pronunciation instead of . Due to the influence of Modern Standard Arabic in the 20th century, has been introduced as an
allophone
In phonology, an allophone (; from the Greek , , 'other' and , , 'voice, sound') is a set of multiple possible spoken soundsor ''phones''or signs used to pronounce a single phoneme in a particular language. For example, in English, (as in ''s ...
of in a few words borrowed from Modern Standard Arabic, such as ('economy'), which can be pronounced or , or religious terms as in ('Quran') which can be pronounced as by younger speakers or by older speakers. The two allophones might contrast for a number of speakers, e.g. ('horns') vs. ('centuries') which might suggest as a marginal phoneme.
Illustrative words
:
1 pronounced or (Allophones).
:
2 pronounced or (Allophones).
:
3 also pronounced instead of depending on the speaker.
:
4 also pronounced instead of depending on the speaker.
:
5 and occur only in loanwords and can be substituted by and respectively depending on the speaker, but in general is more integrated and used by most speakers.
Glottal Stop
The glottal stop was lost early on in the
Old Hejazi Arabic period. This can be seen in Modern Hejazi as in "they read" and "diagonal" vs. Classical Arabic and . In the initial position, the glottal stop's phonemic value is debatable and most words that begin with a glottal stop according to Classical Arabic orthography can be analyzed as beginning with a vowel rather than a glottal stop. For example, "bracelet" can be analyzed as or and "I eat" analyzed as or , but it is still phonemic and distinguished in medial and final positions and distinguished as such in words, as in "he asks" or words under the influence of Modern Standard Arabic such as "environment" and "administrator, responsible".
Gemination
Long (
geminate
In phonetics and phonology, gemination (), or consonant lengthening (from Latin 'doubling', itself from ''gemini'' 'twins'), is an articulation of a consonant for a longer period of time than that of a singleton consonant. It is distinct from s ...
or double) consonants are pronounced exactly like short consonants; they occur between vowels and they are marked with a
shaddah
Shaddah ( ar, شَدّة ' , " ign ofemphasis", also called by the verbal noun from the same root, tashdid ' "emphasis") is one of the diacritics used with the Arabic alphabet, indicating a geminated consonant. It is functionally equivalent t ...
if needed, e.g. كَتَّب or ''kattab'' "he made (someone) write" vs. كَتَب ''katab'' "he wrote". They can also occur phonemically at the end of words but are pronounced as a single consonant, not geminated, e.g. فَمّ ('mouth') which is pronounced with a single final consonant .
Assimilation
Consonant assimilation is a phonological process which can occur between two consecutive
consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are and pronounced with the lips; and pronounced with the front of the tongue; and pronounced wit ...
s as in before as in 'next to' → or , or between
dental consonant
A dental consonant is a consonant articulated with the tongue against the upper teeth, such as , . In some languages, dentals are distinguished from other groups, such as alveolar consonants, in which the tongue contacts the gum ridge. Dental c ...
s; before as in 'next to' → , or before as in 'next to' → , before as in 'I enjoyed it' → which is differentiated from "he was flattened / he enjoyed" by the stress, in the former the stress falls on the last syllable while on the latter it falls on the first.
Dental Assimilation
Notes:
# is a distinct phoneme, not a merger, e.g. ظَنّ ('he thought') vs. زَنّ ('he nagged').
# is an allophone for based on
spelling pronunciation
A spelling pronunciation is the pronunciation of a word according to its spelling when this differs from a longstanding standard or traditional pronunciation. Words that are spelled with letters that were never pronounced or that were not pronounc ...
, not a distinct phoneme.
#Both common and spelling pronunciations are used in Hejazi, sometimes even by the same speaker.
#The assimilation can also be reflected in the orthography, so 'three' becomes with a , but most writers keep the Modern Standard Arabic spelling of the words.
The Classical Arabic phoneme came to be pronounced as in 'gold' or as in 'he studied', on the other hand is mostly pronounced as in 'bull' or rarely as in 'stable'. is pronounced distinctly as in 'phenomenon' or merges with in other words like 'dark' and 'nail'. In contrast is always pronounced as a except in words derived from the two
trilateral roots and in which it is pronounced .
Mergers depend on each word, while most words have only one pronunciation, few words have two optional mergers e.g. كذب might be pronounced as by some speakers or by others. The partial merger between the phonemes has led to some
homophone
A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (p ...
s that did not exist in Modern Standard Arabic e.g. 'dimming' and 'mislead' both pronounced , while the assimilation of the word (second; number-two or unit of time) has made a split into two pronunciations (words) (second; number-two) and (second; unit of time).
The use of spelling pronunciation depends on the speaker; for example, many might refrain from the usage of as a pronunciation for and only merge with in most words while keeping in others. This phenomenon might be due to the influence of
Modern Standard Arabic
Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or Modern Written Arabic (MWA), terms used mostly by linguists, is the variety of Standard language, standardized, Literary language, literary Arabic that developed in the Arab world in the late 19th and early 20th ...
and neighboring dialects. When speaking or reading Modern Standard Arabic, Hejazi speakers pronounce each consonant distinctly according to its modern standard phonemic value, and any mergers such as the merge between and can be stigmatized.
Vowels
Hejazi has eight vowel phonemes: three short , , and five long , , , and , with
length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Interna ...
as a distinctive feature, and two diphthongs: and . Unlike other Arabic dialects, it did not develop allophones for the vowels and in the vicinity of emphatic consonants, and they are always pronounced as an open front or open central depending on the speaker. Hejazi also retains most of the long and short vowels of Classical Arabic with no
vowel reduction
In phonetics, vowel reduction is any of various changes in the acoustic ''quality'' of vowels as a result of changes in stress, sonority, duration, loudness, articulation, or position in the word (e.g. for the Creek language
The Muscogee lang ...
, although in a few words and are pronounced with an open back .
The main phonological feature that differentiates urban Hejazi from the neighboring dialects of the
Arabian peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
and the
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
is the constant use of full vowels and absence of
vowel reduction
In phonetics, vowel reduction is any of various changes in the acoustic ''quality'' of vowels as a result of changes in stress, sonority, duration, loudness, articulation, or position in the word (e.g. for the Creek language
The Muscogee lang ...
(use of the
schwa
In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa (, rarely or ; sometimes spelled shwa) is a vowel sound denoted by the IPA symbol , placed in the central position of the vowel chart. In English and some other languages, it rep ...
). For example 'I told you' (to a female), is pronounced or in Hejazi with full vowels but pronounced with the reduced vowel as in most of the
Gulf region
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The body ...
or in
Lebanese and urban Syrian. It also retains the Classical mid breaking vowels as in ("your dauɡhters") in Hejazi as opposed to or in
Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
and
Najdi Najdi may refer to:
*People of Najd
* Najdi (surname)
* Najdi Arabic, a variety of the Arabic language,
* Najdi (sheep), a breed of sheep
*Najdi!
Najdi! ( mk, Најди!, meaning "Find!") is a search engine specialized in Republic of Macedonia ...
and rural Hejazi.
Most inherited words with the two diphthongs and from the
Old Arabic
Old Arabic is the name for the pre-Islamic Arabic language or dialect continuum. Various forms of Old Arabic are attested in many scripts like Safaitic, Hismaic, Nabatean, and even Greek.
Classification
Old Arabic and its descendants are class ...
period underwent
monophthongization
Monophthongization is a sound change by which a diphthong becomes a monophthong, a type of vowel shift. It is also known as ungliding, as diphthongs are also known as gliding vowels. In languages that have undergone monophthongization, digraphs ...
in Hejazi and are realized as the long vowels and respectively. However, they are still preserved in many words such as 'animal', and have resurfaced in a number of words borrowed later from Modern Standard Arabic. This created a contrast with the inherited monophthongized words as in ''inherited'' 'my voice' vs. ''borrowed'' 'acoustic', and ''inherited'' 'my eye' vs. ''borrowed'' 'ophthalmic'. Not all instances of mid vowels are a result of monophthongization — some are from grammatical processes 'they said' → 'they said to her' (opposed to Classical Arabic ), and some occur in
portmanteau words e.g. 'why?' (from Classical Arabic 'for what' and 'thing').
The pronunciation of word initial and medial and depends on the nature of the surrounding consonants, whether the syllable is stressed or unstressed, the accent of the speaker, and rate of speech. As a general rule, word initial or medial is pronounced or , but strictly as at the end of a word or before (as in ). Word initial or medial is pronounced or , and strictly as an at the end of the word or before (as in ), though this
complementary distribution
In linguistics, complementary distribution, as distinct from contrastive distribution and free variation, is the relationship between two different elements of the same kind in which one element is found in one set of environments and the other ele ...
in allophones is not found among all speakers of Hejazi and some use and in all positions.
![Hejazi_Arabic_vowel_chart](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Hejazi_Arabic_vowel_chart.svg)
Phonetic notes:
* and are pronounced either as an open front vowel or an open central vowel depending on the speaker, even when adjacent to
emphatic consonant
In Semitic linguistics, an emphatic consonant is an obstruent consonant which originally contrasted with series of both voiced and voiceless obstruents. In specific Semitic languages, the members of this series may be realized as uvularized or ...
s.
** is an allophone for and in some words such as
lmɑːnja('Germany'),
aːbɑːn('Japan'), ('dad') and Japan'), ('mom').
* long and are pronounced as true-
mid vowel
A mid vowel (or a true-mid vowel) is any in a class of vowel sounds used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned midway between an open vowel and a close vowel.
Other names for a mid ...
s and respectively.
* long and are pronounced as and respectively.
* short (also analyzed as ) has two main pronunciations:
**lax or less likely in word initial or medial syllables, e.g. ('unseal!') pronounced or and ('his sister') pronounced or .
**tense at the end of words or before or when isolate, although short can occur at the end of a foreign word but that depends on the speaker's knowledge of the foreign language.
*short (also analyzed as ) has two main pronunciations:
**lax or less likely in word initial or medial syllables, e.g. ('cinnamon') pronounced or and ('you') pronounced or .
**tense at the end of words or before or when isolate, although short can occur at the end of a foreign word but that depends on the speaker's knowledge of the foreign language.
The close vowels can be distinguished by
tenseness
In phonology, tenseness or tensing is, most broadly, the pronunciation of a sound with greater muscular effort or constriction than is typical. More specifically, tenseness is the pronunciation of a vowel with less centralization (i.e. either mo ...
with long and being more tense in articulation than their short counterparts and in medial position, except at the end of words where they are all tense, e.g. short ('in') and long ('in him', 'there is').
Phonological processes
The linking conjunction ('and') pronounced
is often linked with the consonant (before it) or the vowel (before or after it) or for emphasis only left as-is :-
* ِ ('me and you') is either pronounced as
naw e̞nti where
is connected to the vowel before it, or pronounced as
na wɪnti where
is connected to the vowel after it, or left as-is for emphasis
na u e̞nti
* ('fifty one') is either pronounced
aːħe̞du xamsiːnor for emphasis
aːħe̞d u xamsiːn
* ('seventy five') is either pronounced [] or for emphasis [].
*
Vowel Shortening
Medial vowel shortening occurs before indirect object pronouns (e.g., ), where a medial word long vowel (⟨ي⟩ ,⟨Aleph, ا⟩ and ⟨
و⟩) in verbs is shortened. For example, /ʕaːd/ "he repeated" becomes /ʕadlahum/ "he repeated to them" and "going to him" is pronounced /raːjħinlu/ with a shortened /i/ and rarely /raːjħiːnlu/. This can also affect the spelling of the words depending on the writer, e.g. becomes without the long vowel or it can be written but this does not effect third person masculine past verbs as in the example below.
Vowel shortening also occurs only in few words as in جاي "I'm coming" pronounced /d͡ʒaj/ or /d͡ʒaːj/.
Vowel lengthening
Most word-final long vowels from the Classical period have been shortened in Hejazi but they are lengthened when suffixed, as in "they call" → "they call her".
*
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hejazi Arabic Phonology
Phonology
Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...
Arabic phonology