Egyptian Arabic Language

The Arabic language originated in the central and northern regions of the Arabian Peninsula. Over the course of several hundred years, the language moved across the continent and became the dominant language in the Middle East (Watson 6). Arabic is a member of the Semitic language family, part of the wider Afro-asiatic phylum (Watson 6). With its distinctive features, Arabic is markedly different than the English language.

The phoneme system of Arabic is notably complex. Arabic has sixteen consonants articulated from the labial to the velar regions, as compared to the twenty three consonants found in English (Lehn and Slager 26). However, Arabic has seven consonants in the post-velar regions, while English has only one (Lehn and Slager 26). The Arabic language is also notably absent of any consonant clusters longer than two letters (Lehn and Slager 30). All modern Arabic dialects utilize the *b and *m bilabials (Watson 14). To pronounce the voiceless bilabial stop found in French and Persian languages, the /b/ has a voiceless counterpart, /p/ (Watson 14). Arabic uses the labio-dental, *f, in all dialects (Watson 14). Much like the use of /p/, certain Arabic dialects also utilize the voice quasi-phoneme /v/ for borrowed words from other languages (Watson 14). This compares to the consonant clusters commonly found in the English language in words such as “halved” or “halves” (Lehn and Slager 27-28). The language uses four dental stops, *t, *d, *t and *n, with certain dialects using two plain and two emphatic dental plosives, /t, d, t and d/ (Watson 14). The /n/ nasal stop also has a pharyngeal counterpart in certain dialects (Watson 15). Three interdental fricatives merged with three dental stops in Arabic, which resulted in the interdental fricatives *t, *d and *ḏ (Watson 15). Arabic commonly uses four sibilants, *z, *s, *š, *ş (Watson 15). Watson also notes that in Western Egypt, the *s and *z have merged over time with the *š and *ž (15). As the *s and *z are substituted in the Arabic language, word combinations in English such as “thistle/this’ll” or “ether/either” may prove troublesome for the non-native speaker (Lehn and Slager 26). The voices palatoalveolar affricate or velar stop jĭm is used in Arabic, which is realized as the voiced palatal stop /j/ in Upper Egypt and neighboring areas (Watson 16). The liquid lateral *l is used by all Arabic dialects, with most modern versions of the language using /l/ with an emphatic counterpart, /ļ/ (Watson 16). Linguists Lehn and Slager argue that the /l/ in Arabic is “i-colored”, while allphones in the English words such as “full” or “fall” are “u-colored,” proving problematic for the non-native speaker (29). Arabic also uses the dental tap *r, with an emphatic variant /r/ (Watson 16). The author notes that the distribution of /r/ is “sometimes determined by phonological context, and for which several (near-) minimal pairs with plan /r/ are attested” (Watson 16). This letter represents “an apical trill” in Arabic, while it represents a “slightly retroflex resonant continuant” in English (Lehn & Slager 29). The velars in Arabic include a voiceless velar stop, *k (Watson 16). The /k/ also has a voiced counterpart in Arabic, /g/ (Watson 17). The glottal stop, *q, is also utilized in the language (Watson 17). Because of this phenomenon, letter contrasts such as “sink” and “sank” in English prove very difficult for the non-native speaker (Lehn & Slager 30). Lastly, Arabic uses the labio-velar and palatal glides, *w and *j (Watson 17). A review of the consonants transitions into a review of the vowels used in Arabic.

There are certain similarities between the vowels in Arabic and the vowels in English. For example, the simple nuclei in both languages is “phonetically short and lax,” although Arabic has fewer lexical contrasts (Lehn and Slager 26). Arabic has three short vowel phonemes: two closed vowels – a palatal *i and labio-velar *u, and one open vowel, a guttural *a (Watson 21). Arabic also has three long vowels: two closed vowels – a front articulation /ī/, /ā/ and /ū/ (Watson 21). The Arabic /ā/ has allophones “within the area” and is bounded by [E], [æ], [a] and [^] (Lehn and Slager 32). Lastly, Arabic uses two diphthongs: *ay and *aw (Watson 21). In addition to the simple nuclei, the complex nuclei warrant linguistic review.

Although there are certain similarities between Arabic and English, Arabic also has distinctive phonological features which sets the language apart from others. Arabic has notably “fewer phonemically complex nuclei than English” (Lehn and Slager 32). The nuclei in Arabic are also “phonetically long and tense monophthongs” (Lehn and Slager 32). Linguistics Lehn and Slager argue that native Arabic speakers often substitute Arabic monophthongs for English diphthongs when learning a new language (33). There are additional phonological features which help classify the Arabic language.

A language is also classified by certain root features. The root features presented by Watson are [cons] and [son] (26). The [cons] are produced through “constriction made with a primary [labial], [coronal], or [dorsal] articulator” and does not include gutturals, vowels, glides and approximates (26). However, it does include obstruents and sonorant stops (nasal and liquid) (Watson 26). The [sons] are produced through a “sufficiently open vocal tract configuration,” so that the air pressure inside the mouth is roughly equal to the air pressure outside of the mouth (Watson 26). In contrast to the [cons], vowels, glides, nasals and liquids are all classified as [son]. According to Watson, the stricture features are, “attached to the root but not located in the root)” in Arabic (27). These features are broken in to four areas – [lateral] (produced by lateral release of air), [nasal] (produced with nasal release of air), [cont] (produced with continued airflow through midsagittal region of oral tract) and [strident] (high-pitch intensity associated with sibilants) (Watson 27). It is noted that the only laryngeal features in Arabic correspond to [voice] (the vibration of the vocal chords) (Watson 27). Arabic is marked by the absence of aspiration in the production of consonants (Watson 27). Watson applies Selkirk’s 1993 [Labial]-Only Theory to make generalizations regarding place/articulator features (Watson 27). The theory holds that the only “universal repertoire” of phonological features is [labial].

Another area worthy of exploration in the Arabic language is consonant sequence in words. Lehn and Slager note that there are no letter sequences in the Arabic language of more than two consonants (30). Two consonants also never appear at the initial position in a word in Arabic (Lehn and Slager 31). This is very different than the English language, which has as many as four consonants together in a word, and up to three in the initial position (Lehn and Slagler 31). English also has up to seven letters together with an “intervening juncture” (Lehn and Slager 31).

Also integral in the linguistic structure of the language are phonological rules that explain variations in “concrete, observable sounds” (that is, allophones) (Hayes 23). There are seven phonological rules which explain these variations:

1. Dissimilation

2. Epenthesis

3. Deletion

4. Metathesis

5. Nasalization

6. Diphthongization

7. Monophthongization

These rules may also be applied to Egyptian Arabic in order to better understand the language.

The process of dissimilation can be found within the Arabic language in the dissimilation of the /m/ in words such as “bismak” (translated, “what is your m.s. name?”) (Watson 229). Zemánek also offers that other dissimilative processes may be found in the Arabic language, such as the dissimilation of:

m before b (mā smuka > bā smuka (translated, “what is your name?”));

m after w (wamad > wabad (translated, “strong heat”); or

m before n (minxafat > ʾinxafat (translated, “air pump)).

Semivowels may also be affected by the process of dissimilation in the Arabic language. For example, as Zemánek again notes, the underlying w/y may change into another consonants. This most frequently occurs with a glottal stop (*muwaqqatun > muʾaqqatun (translated, “temporary”)) (Zemánek). This theory is very different from the next rule.

The second rule, epenthesis, relates to insertion, and occurs with the addition of one or more sounds to the interior of a word (Watson 37). According to Watson, “the original coda guttural will induce epenthesis with stress assigned to the epenthesized vowel in words such as *gahwah” (translated, “coffee”) (Watson 37). Epentheis may be required in some languages to repair words following syllabification (Hayes 265). The opposite concept from insertion transitions into the next rule.

The third rule, deletion, is the ability for a linguist to predict exactly how a word might sound, if one sound was removed from the word (Watson 31). Watson discusses use of an empty node in the text to serve as a “place holder” for the sound, so that deletion is possible (Watson 31). She posits that this is particularly important as the rule relates to interdentals in Arabic language. This rule also helps to demonstrates allophonic variation.

The fourth rule, metathesis, occurs when sounds in a language sound pattern appear in one order in one context, but then appear in the opposite order in a related context (Hume). Examples of this rule may be found in Arabic, when comparing two verb forms to one another, such as [yokrob] and [yokorbu] (Hume). Another example of application of this rule may be found in Arabic with the prefixation of /t/, and subsequent methathesis of /t/ with the prefix consonant /s/ (Watson 141).

The fifth rule, nasalization, occurs when a vowel precedes a nasal consonant (Hayes 50). Examples of this rule may be found in the nasal versus oral vowels found in the English words “ten” versus “Ted” (Hayes 51). According to Bakalla, the nasal consonantal phonemes in Arabic are /m/ and /n/, and examples of these phonemes may be found in words such as, “a voiced (majhūr) bilabial (min bayni š-šafatayn) nasal (min al-ʾanf); and /n/ as a voiced alveolar (fuwayqa t̲-t̲anāyā) nasal.”

The sixth rule, diphthongization, occurs with the conversion of diphthongs to monophthongs (Tamás). In Arabic, a vowel + glide (w or y) compound is called a diphthong (for example, *aw/*ay) (Tamás). Diphthongization is the converse of the next and final rule.

The seventh and last rule is monophthongization. Monophthongization occurs with the conversion of diphthongs to monophthongs (Tamás). According to Watson, diphthongs which are derived with the shortening of an unstressed long vowel are not subject to monophthongizaiton (Watson 23). This includes Arabic words such as “awza” (translated, “wanting”) (Watson 23). This final rule completes the linguistic tools to explain allophonic variation.

With the migration of the Arabic language into other countries, it became widely used by a large population in the Middle East. Despite the differences between reading in English and Arabic, the same linguistic principles apply to both languages. In reviewing the language, the linguist may decipher the complex phoneme system to better understand patterns of speech. The linguist may also apply phonological rules to Arabic to help explain variations within the language.

Works Cited

Bakalla, Muhammad. "Nasalization." Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics. Managing Editors Online Edition: Lutz Edzard, Rudolf de Jong. Brill Online, 2013. http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-arabic-language-and-linguistics/nasalization-SIM_vol3_0092

Hayes, Bruce. Introductory phonology. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.

Hume, Elizabeth. "Metathesis." Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics. Managing Editors Online Edition: Lutz Edzard, Rudolf de Jong. Brill Online, 2013. http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-arabic-language-and-linguistics/metathesis-COM_vol3_0211

Lehn, Walter, and William R. Slager. "A Contrastive Study of Egyptian Arabic and American English: The Segmental Phonemes." Language Learning vol. 9, no. 1-2, 1959, pp. 25-33.

Tamás, Iványi; "Diphthongs." Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics. Managing Editors Online Edition: Lutz Edzard, Rudolf de Jong. Brill Online, 2013. http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-arabic-language-and-linguistics/diphthongs-COM_0091

Watson, Janet C. E. The phonology and morphology of Arabic. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.

William Frawley (ed.), International Encyclopedia of Linguistics, 2nd Edition, Oxford

Zemánek, Petr. "Dissimilation." Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics. Managing Editors Online Edition: Lutz Edzard, Rudolf de Jong. Brill Online, 2013. http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-arabic-language-and-linguistics/dissimilation-SIM_0027