The Djelfa dialect (DJ) is one of the varieties ofAlgerian Arabic that is characterized by complicated regressive and progressive assimilatory processes. The current paper addresses some of these assimilatory mechanisms; namely, nasal assimilation, lateral assimilation, /t/ assimilation, devoicing assimilation, emphasis assimilation and guttural place assimilation. The paper offers a straightforward analysis and provides a comprehensive picture of these assimilatory processes within the framework of Optimality Theory (OT), [1] [2], [3] and [4] by means of accounting for the trigger motivating them, which is reflected through the relevant constraints at play and their way of interaction. The paper concludes that regressive assimilation is very pervasive in the dialect as the latter endeavors to abide by IDENT-STEM-ONS (F) and IDENT-ONS (F) as much as possible unless a higher ranked constraint is endangered. Moreover, the paper lends support to McCarthy and Prince's (1995) claim that root faithfulness outranks affix faithfulness as DJ prefers to keep stem segment features intact at the expense of affix features change.

The paper documents Emphasis spread in the Djelfa dialect (DJ) of Algerian Arabic with a special examination of the emphatic segments /sˤ/, /tˤ/ and /ðˤ/. If a given word contains an underlying emphatic segment, the nearby segments are also realized with emphasis. The dialect, however, differentiates two types of emphasis spread: unbounded leftward spread that propagates from the emphatic segment till the beginning of the phonological word; and bounded rightward spread that is blocked by a set of segments /i/, /j/, /ʃ/ and /ʒ/. Of particular interest in the current investigation is the behavior of emphasis spread (ES) with respect to morpheme boundaries. While the left morpheme edge is realized with ES, the right morpheme boundary is deemed resistant to ES unless an underlying emphatic segment falls prior to a -V(C) suffix. This is well captured by the interplay between the markedness constraints FAITH [RTR] SUFFIX and SHARE (RTR).

The paper provides a straightforward analysis of some phonological processes attested in the Djelfa dialect, viz., epenthesis, and devocalization. The Djelfa dialect is one of the varieties of Algerian Arabic that has never been investigated before. Thus, this paper aims at delving into some of its phonological intricacies. The paper is couched within Optimality Theory framework (OT) and reveals the interaction underlying the markedness and faithfulness constraints to yield the well-formed syllable structures attested in the dialect. It mainly accounts for /i/ epenthesis to repair the undesired word-final C(C)VVCC and C(C)VCCC syllable structures, which is primarily ascribed to the interplay between *ϛϛ and *3μ. Vowel hiatus, however, is resolved by glide epenthesis unless the first member of the hiatus is [-high] and accordingly, the hegemony of CONTIGUITY-IO ([-high]V) renders devocalization imperative.

Algerian Arabic, in general, and the Djelfa dialect, in particular, are receptive to French words. But such borrowing is not unsystematic as they are adapted in a way compatible with the morphological and phonological system of the recipient dialect as well as preserving as much information as possible from the source language. This paper focuses on the morphological nativization of French loanwords in the Djelfa dialect with special reference to some phonological processes, viz., epenthesis, assimilation and devocalization that are used to rehabilitate the illicit syllable structures resulting from such morphological adaptation within Optimality Theory.