Bedouin Arabic

Bedouin Arabic
Bedouin Arabic
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Semitic West Semitic Central Semitic Arabic Bedouin Arabic; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–

Last updated November 12, 2024

Bedouin Arabic^[1] refers to a typological group of Arabic dialects historically linked to Bedouin tribes, that has spread among both nomadic and sedentary groups across the Arab World. The group of dialects originate from Arabian tribes in Najd and the Hejaz that have spread since the 10th century until modern day. Bedouin dialects vary by region and tribe, but they typically share a set of features which distinguish them from sedentary-type dialects in each region.

Background

The similarities between Bedouin dialects are due to their historical contact with one another, due to rapid population movements that quickly erase linguistic diversity.^[2]

Features

Voiced pronunciation of Qāf, in contrast to voiceless pronunciations, such as /q/ in many sedentary dialects, or /ʔ/ in Egyptian Arabic, Levantine Arabic, and the Maltese language. This is the only innovation that can be said to unite all Bedouin dialects.^[3]^[2] In most cases, this voiced pronunciation is a voiced velar plosive, but it is sometimes affricated in some Eastern Bedouin dialects to /d͡z/ in Najd, or to /d͡ʒ/ in Eastern Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Shawi dialects.
Preserving interdental consonants Ṯāʾ /θ/, Ḏāl /ð/, and Ẓāʾ /ðˤ/. Like in most other dialects, Ḍād and Ẓāʾ have merged, so Ḍād is also pronounced as /ðˤ/. Many sedentary dialects preserve them as well, while many pronounce them as /t/, /d/, and /dˤ/, respectively. In some sedentary dialects in Egypt and the Levant, interdental consonants in loans from Standard Arabic are often pronounced as /s/, /z/, and /zˤ/.
Preserving nunation as suffix -in, for example: bintin zēnah.
Distinguishing masculine and feminine plural pronouns -hum and -hun.
Internal passive verb forms, such as kutib (passive voice of katab). In sedentary dialects, prefixes such as in- (inkatab) and it- (itkatab) are used.

Eastern Bedouin features

Verbal suffix -ūn to mark plural subjects.
Palatalization of /g/ (qāf) and /k/ occurring before front vowels, with two realizations:
- /g/ → /d͡ʒ/ and /k/ → /tʃ/ in Gulf, Mesopotamian, and Shawi dialects.
- /g/ → /d͡z/ and /k/ → /ts/ in the Najdi dialect group.

Examples

Eastern dialects:

Najdi Arabic, spoken in Saudi Arabia, the Syrian Desert, and Upper Mesopotamia.
Shawi Arabic, spoken by sheep-rearing tribes living between the Tigris and the Euphrates, but also in northern Jordan, Palestine, western Syria, and Lebanon.^[4]
Northwest Arabian Arabic, a variety of Arabic spoken by Bedouins mostly in northwestern Saudi Arabia, southern Jordan, southern Israel, and eastern Egypt.
Omani bedouin dialects.^[5]
Gulf Arabic, spoken by sedentary populations on the Persian Gulf coast, many of whom descend from Bedouin tribes.
The Gelet dialects of Mesopotamian Arabic, spoken in the majority of Iraq.

Western dialects:

Hilalian dialects, a group of Maghrebi dialects that include most bedouin dialects in the Maghreb.
Hassaniya Arabic, the variety of Arabic originally spoken by the Beni Hassān Bedouin tribes.
Libyan Arabic or Sulaimitian Arabic, a variety of Arabic spoken in Libya and neighboring countries.
Saharan Arabic, a variety of Arabic spoken in Algeria.
Chadian Arabic,^[6] the variety of Arabic spoken in Nigeria, Chad, and Sudan.

Related Research Articles

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Qoph is the nineteenth letter of the Semitic abjads, including Arabic qāfق‎, Aramaic qop 𐡒, Hebrew qūp̄ק‎, Phoenician qōp 𐤒, and Syriac qōp̄ ܩ.

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Najdi Arabic is the group of Arabic varieties originating from the Najd region of Saudi Arabia. Outside of Saudi Arabia, it is also the main Arabic variety spoken in the Syrian Desert of Iraq, Jordan, and Syria as well as the westernmost part of Kuwait.

Hejazi Arabic or Hijazi Arabic (HA), 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 region, one by the urban population, originally spoken mainly in the cities of Jeddah, Mecca, Medina and partially in Ta'if and another dialect by the urbanized rural and bedouin populations. However, the term most often applies to the urban variety which is discussed in this article.

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Palatalization is a historical-linguistic sound change that results in a palatalized articulation of a consonant or, in certain cases, a front vowel. Palatalization involves change in the place or manner of articulation of consonants, or the fronting or raising of vowels. In some cases, palatalization involves assimilation or lenition.

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Gilit Mesopotamian Arabic, also known as Iraqi Arabic, Mesopotamian Gelet Arabic, or simply Mesopotamian Arabic is one of the two main varieties of Mesopotamian Arabic, together with North Mesopotamian Arabic.

Shawi or Šāwi Arabic is the Arabic dialect of the sheep-rearing Bedouins of Syro-Mesopotamia. The term Šāwi typically refers to the tribes living between the Tigris and the Euphrates, but many tribes are also found elsewhere, such as northern Jordan, Palestine, western Syria, and Lebanon. The dialect of the Arabs of Urfa also belongs to the Šāwi-Bedouin group.

References

↑ Weninger, Stefan, ed. (21 December 2011). The Semitic Languages: An International Handbook. doi:10.1515/9783110251586. ISBN 978-3-11-018613-0.
1 2 Magidow, Alexander (December 2021). "The Old and the New: Considerations in Arabic Historical Dialectology". Languages. 6 (4): 163. doi: 10.3390/languages6040163 . ISSN 2226-471X.
↑ Palva, Heikki (2011-05-30), "Dialects: Classification", Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics, Brill, doi:10.1163/1570-6699_eall_eall_com_0087 , retrieved 2023-01-01
↑ Younes, Igor; Herin, Bruno (2016-01-01). "Šāwi Arabic". Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics Online Edition.
↑ Webster, Roger (1991). "Notes on the Dialect and Way of Life of the Āl Wahība Bedouin of Oman". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 54 (3): 473–485. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00000835. ISSN 0041-977X. JSTOR 619056.
↑ Manfredi, Stefano; Roset, Caroline (September 2021). "Towards a Dialect History of the Baggara Belt". Languages. 6 (3): 146. doi: 10.3390/languages6030146 . hdl: 11245.1/9d3da5f3-7f63-4424-a557-8ce609adb526 . ISSN 2226-471X.

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[1] Weninger, Stefan, ed. (21 December 2011). The Semitic Languages: An International Handbook. doi:10.1515/9783110251586. ISBN 978-3-11-018613-0.

[:0-2] 1 2 Magidow, Alexander (December 2021). "The Old and the New: Considerations in Arabic Historical Dialectology". Languages. 6 (4): 163. doi: 10.3390/languages6040163 . ISSN 2226-471X.

[3] Palva, Heikki (2011-05-30), "Dialects: Classification", Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics, Brill, doi:10.1163/1570-6699_eall_eall_com_0087 , retrieved 2023-01-01

[4] Younes, Igor; Herin, Bruno (2016-01-01). "Šāwi Arabic". Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics Online Edition.

[5] Webster, Roger (1991). "Notes on the Dialect and Way of Life of the Āl Wahība Bedouin of Oman". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 54 (3): 473–485. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00000835. ISSN 0041-977X. JSTOR 619056.

[6] Manfredi, Stefano; Roset, Caroline (September 2021). "Towards a Dialect History of the Baggara Belt". Languages. 6 (3): 146. doi: 10.3390/languages6030146 . hdl: 11245.1/9d3da5f3-7f63-4424-a557-8ce609adb526 . ISSN 2226-471X.

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