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Probing linguistic change in Arabic vernaculars: A sociohistorical perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2020

Enam Al-Wer ,
Uri Horesh Open the ORCID record for Uri Horesh [Opens in a new window] ,
Deema Alammar ,
Hind Alaodini ,
Aziza Al-Essa ,
Areej Al-Hawamdeh ,
Khairia Al-Qahtani  and
Abeer Ab Hussain
Enam Al-Wer*
Affiliation:
University of Essex, UK
Uri Horesh
Affiliation:
University of Essex, UK
Deema Alammar
Affiliation:
Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Saudi Arabia
Hind Alaodini
Affiliation:
University of Essex, UK
Aziza Al-Essa
Affiliation:
King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia
Areej Al-Hawamdeh
Affiliation:
Jerash University, Jordan
Khairia Al-Qahtani
Affiliation:
King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia
Abeer Ab Hussain
Affiliation:
King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
*
Address for correspondence: Enam Al-Wer Department of Language and Linguistics University of Essex Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQUnited Kingdomenama@essex.ac.uk
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Abstract

It is received wisdom in variationist sociolinguistics that linguistic and social factors go hand in hand in structuring variability in language and any consequent instances of language change. We address the complexity of such factors by exploring data from several Arabic dialects in the eastern Arab world. We demonstrate that language change does not always follow expected phonological trajectories, even in cases where older changes are reconstructed to have operated along so-called universal patterns. In our explanation of recent changes in these dialects, we emphasise the role of social motivations for language change and the interactions between these social constraints and purely linguistic ones. Our analysis of change is supported by historical accounts of variation and change in Arabic. We illustrate how general principles of sociolinguistic theory apply to the Arabic data and provide additional layers of sociolinguistic information that highlight the importance of diverse data for evaluating cross-linguistic generalisations. (Arabic, language change, historical sociolinguistics)

Type
Articles
Information
Language in Society , Volume 51 , Issue 1 , February 2022 , pp. 29 - 50
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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References

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