Vowel Deletion in Arabic Dialects of Yemen (ADY): A Linguistic Perspective

Abstract

Background: Little is known about Arabic Dialects of Yemen (ADY) in comparison with other Arabic dialects and/ or varieties. The purpose of this study is to account for issues related to the distinctive features of vowel deletion in ADY, their rules, and their relationship with other dialects in the regions in light of Optimality Theory (OT).Methods: Twenty seven subjects representing most ADY were interviewed to specify in which dialect short vowels are deleted. In order to carry out the purpose of this paper, ISSN 1948-5425 2012 www.macrothink.org/ijl 431 samples of pictures plus a silent movie scene/ clip were given to the subjects to describe them in their local dialects. International Journal of Linguistics Conclusions:The results outline that all ADY except Aden dialect delete short vowels, be it in the middle or at the end of the syllable, when they use the verb in the past form with 3 rd .p.f.s.3 rd .p.f.pl. and 3rd.p.m.p. There is no cause/effect relationship between vowel deletion and other process of consonants' segmentation and/or those of syllabification. A short vowel deletion is delimited to verbs; rather, it extends to include pronouns, overt infinitive in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Whereas eastern, western, northern dialects showed high vowel deletion, central dialects, namely, Taiz dialect and parts of Ibb city showed low vowel deletion. It is also shown in this study that ADY contradicts the prediction of OT in two issues: the output and the diphthongs sounds. In response to these findings, the study proposes further positive answers based on chronological approach to questions addressed.

A prosodic morphophonological analysis of the trilateral perfect passive verbs in Qassimi Arabic

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The Problem of Translating the Prepositions at, in and on into Arabic: An Applied Linguistic Approach

“…The use and usage of a preposition may be also different in the one language taking into account the semantic and grammatical factors (time and place uses). Nor must we forget here the sociolinguistic factors whereby some prepositions are partially or completely deleted in some dialects (Al Yaari et al, 2012). Taken together, these factors confuse Saudi EFL students, notably those who lack knowledge of the same factors in the target language.…”

An Optimality-Theoretic Analysis of Syllable Structure in Najdi Arabic

“…Based on the first assumption, unstressed vowels tend to be omitted in casual speech in Najdi Arabic (Alghmaiz, 2013) and other varieties, such as Yemeni (Yaari et al, 2012), Ammani (Daana, 2009), and Palestinian (Abu-Salim, 1982) Arabic. This pattern has likewise been observed in other languages, such as English (Glowacka, 2001).…”