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Levantine Arabic: a Surface Register Contrastive Study

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Levantine Arabic: a Surface Register Contrastive Study ISSN 1923-1555[Print] Studies in Literature and Language ISSN 1923-1563[Online] Vol. 6, No. 1, 2013, pp. 110-116 www.cscanada.net DOI:10.3968/j.sll.1923156320130601.2426 www.cscanada.org Levantine Arabic: A Surface Register Contrastive Study Mohammad Jafar Jabbari[a],* [a] Faculty of Literature & Humanities, Yasouj University, Yasouj, Iran. like any other colloquial variety of Arabic, is used at home * Corresponding author. or in other informal situations, however, in any formal Received 19 December 2012; accepted 13 February 2013 circumstance, e.g. in academic circles, mosques, political speeches and media the Modern Standard Arabic, also called Classical Arabic is used. The two varieties are so Abstract drastically different that they are mutually inconceivable. Levantine Arabic, also referred to as Eastern Arabic, This research aims to find and scrutinize the differences is a variety of spoken Arabic. It is considered one of between Levantine and Classical Arabic, at the levels of the major dialects of Arabic, spoken within the eastern phonology, morphology, lexicon and syntax within the Mediterranean coastal strip, including Lebanon, part of framework of Surface Strategy Taxonomy. Palestine, Syria and western Jordan. In the frame of the general diglossic status of the Arab world, Levantine Arabic is used in informal situations, while most of the BACKGROUND written and official documents and media use Modern Watson (2002) asserts that “Dialects of Arabic form Standard Arabic, also referred to as Classical Arabic. a roughly continuous spectrum of variation, with the Levantine colloquial Arabic is so different from the dialects spoken in the eastern and western extremes of the Modern Standard Arabic that the two varieties are not Arab-speaking world being mutually unintelligible” (p. 8). mutually intelligible. This study aims to introduce the This linguistic situation was termed ‘diglossia’ by major differences between the two varieties within the Ferguson (1959). He introduces the phenomenon this way: framework of Surface Strategy Taxonomy. a relatively stable language situation in which, in addition to Key words: Modern Standard Arabic; Levantine the dialects of the language (which may include a standard Arabic Surface strategy taxonomy or regional standards), there is a very divergent, highly coded (often grammatically more complex) superposed variety, the vehicle of a large and respected body of written literature, either Mohammad Jafar Jabbari (2013). Levantine Arabic A Surface Register Contrastive Study. Studies in Literature and Language, 6(1), 110-116. of an earlier period or in another speech community, which is Available from: http://www.cscanada.net/index.php/sll/article/ learned largely by formal education and is used for most written view/j.sll.1923156320130601.2420 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/ and formal spoken purposes but is not used by any sector of the j.sll.1923156320130601.2420 community for ordinary conversation. (p. 336). Trudgil (2009) defines diglossia as: A particular kind of language standardization where two distinct varieties of a language exist side by side throughout the speech INTRODUCTION community (not just in the case of a particular group of speakers, Major dialects of Arabic are Egyptian Arabic, Moroccan such as Scots or Blacks) and where each of the two varieties is Arabic, Peninsular Arabic and Levantine Arabic. assigned a definite social function. (p.113) Levantine Arabic, also referred to as Eastern Arabic, A key point in diglossia is that the two varieties are is a broad variety of Arabic spoken in the Eastern kept apart functionally. One variety, referred to as Low (L), Mediterranean coastal strip, i.e. Lebanon, part of is used at home or in other informal situations, however, Palestine, Syria and western Jordan. In the frame of the if someone needs to give a lecture at a university or in any diglossic situation of the Arab world, Levantine Arabic, formal circumstance, (s)he is expected to use the other Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture 110 Mohammad Jafar Jabbari (2013). Studies in Literature and Language, 6(1), 110-116 variety, referred to as High (H). DATA OF THE STUDY According to Wardhaugh (2006, p. 90), “The two The data of the study are collected from three colloquial varieties cannot be interchangeably used.]… [You do not Arabic guides, i.e. Colloquial Arabic (Levantine) by use an H variety in circumstances calling for an L variety, (McLoughlin, 1982), The Syntax of Spoken Arabic, e.g. for addressing a servant; nor does one use an L variety by (Brustad, 2000) and Syrian Colloquial Arabic, by when an H variety is called for, e.g., for writing a serious Liddicoat, Lennane and Abdul Rahim (1999). work of literature”. The Standard Arabic data are collected from Classical Children, in the Arab communities acquire the low Arabic grammar book and the news broadcast by the Arab variety at home. Some may simultaneously learn the media. high variety, usually at school, but many do not learn it at all. There has been this view that the spoken varieties of Table 1 Arabic are corruptions of MSA (Modern Standard Arabic) Table 1 METHODOLOGY or CA (Classical Arabic) as found in the Quran and are, Table 1 To illustrate the linguistic differences between Modern therefore, lessShared prestigious Consonants varieties of Arabic. According Table 1 Standard Arabic (MSA), and Levantine Colloquial to Wardhaugh (2006): TableSharedConsonant 1 Consonants Arabic Arabic ExampleArabic (LCA), the MeaningSurface Strategy TaxonomyEnglish has Example been The H varietyShared is Consonantsthe prestige variety; the L variety TableConsonant 1 Arabic Arabic Exampleutilized. This taxonomy,Meaning “highlights theEnglish ways Examplesurface lacks prestige.Shared In fact, Consonants there can Letter be so little prestige TableConsonant 1 Arabic Arabic Examplestructures are altered”Meaning (Dulay, Burt & EnglishKrashen, Example 1982, attached to theShared L variety Consonants that people Letter may even deny that TableConsonant 1 Arabic Arabic Examplep. 150). CategorizingMeaning linguistic items accordingEnglish Example to the use it far /tamr/ dates tableﺑﺤﺮ to تthey know it althoughShared Consonants/t/ they may beLetter observed TableConsonant 1 Arabic Arabic Examplesurface strategy taxonomyMeaning helps researchersEnglish Exampleanalyze feeling /tamr/ dates table ﺑﺤﺮ تmore frequentlyShared than Consonants/t/ the H variety]……[This Letter (Arabic Examplelinguistic alterations,Meaning in more details. To Englishachieve Examplethis, (1ﺗﻤﺮ TableConsonant 1 Arabic by /θalla:/tamr/ a/ refrigeratordates thtableink i ﺑﺤﺮis reinforced تثabout the superiorityShared Consonants/ /t/θof/ the H varietyLetter TableConsonant 1 Arabic Arabic Example Meaning English Example (theθalla:/tamr/ collected a/ datarefrigerator weredates transcribed phonemicallythtableink , (2/ ﺗﻤﺮﺑﺤﺮ تث /Shared Consonants//t/θ Arabic and Example Meaning English Exampleﺛﻼﺟﻪthe fact that aTable bodyConsonant 1of literature existsArabicLetter in that variety ,theθ/alla:amal/ meaningsʤa/ wererefrigerator camelgiven in English, (3) whenthJohn inkneeded/ ﺗﻤﺮﺑﺤﺮ جث //Shared Consonants//θ may Arabicreflect Example/tamr/ Meaningdates Englishtable Example تalmost none inTable theConsonant 1L /t/variety. ThatArabicLetter literature a/ roughamal/ʤ literal (morpheme-based)camel translationJohn of the ﺗﻤﺮﺛﻼﺟﻪ ج / / Arabic /θalla:/tamr/ a/ refrigeratordates thtableink ﺑﺤﺮﺟﻤﻞSpeakers ofتث essential valuesShared about Consonants//t/θ / the culture. Letter Arabic Example/ ʤami:l/ Meaningbeautiful EnglishGenre Exampleﺛﻼﺟﻪ جTableConsonant 1 /ʤ/ Arabic Arabic)θ/alla:/tamr/amal/ʤ a/ examplesrefrigerator intocameldates English was added, tothtJable ohninkhelp the)/ ﺗﻤﺮﺑﺤﺮ جثت Shared Consonants///t/θ/ / Letter alludeArabic to Exampleʤ Meaningbeautiful EnglishGenre Exampleﺟﻤﻞ ﺛﻼﺟﻪable to جin particular gainTableConsonant prestige 1 ʤ from beingArabic non-Arabθ/ alla:/tami:l/amr/amal/ʤ a/ reader followrefrigeratorcameldates the discussions, and (4)th tJnecessaryableohnink/ ﺗﻤﺮﺑﺤﺮﺟﻤﻴﻞ جثت / /Shared Consonants///t/θ Arabic the L Example/hƷabi:b/ Meaningfriend Englishhand Exampleﺟﻤﻞwithﺛﻼﺟﻪ حclassical sources.Table ConsonantThe 1 /h/folkƷ literature ArabicLetter associated explanationsθ/ ʤalla:ami:l/amal/ʤa/ were refrigeratorprovided.beautifulcamel GenrethJohnink/ ﺗﻤﺮﺑﺤﺮ جث //Shared Consonants//ʤθ Arabic Example/tamr/ Meaningdates Englishtable Exampleﺟﻤﻞﺟﻤﻴﻞ(p. 90) ت.variety will have noneConsonant /t/of the same ArabicLetterprestige h ʤƷabi:b/ami:l/amal/ʤ beautifulfriendcamel GenrehJohnand// ﺗﻤﺮﺣﺒﻴﺐﺛﻼﺟﻪ جح //Table 1 ///h/ʤƷ θalla:/t/damr/ars/ a/ refrigeratorlessondates thtdableinkay/ ﺑﺤﺮﺟﻤﻞﺟﻤﻴﻞ دتثShared Consonants/d///t/θ/ Letter Arabic Example//h ʤƷabi:b/ami:l/ʤ Meaningbeautifulfriendcamel EnglishGenrehJohnand Example ﺗﻤﺮﺛﻼﺟﻪStandard جح Jabbari has Table comparedConsonant 1 //h/ʤƷ/ the ModernArabic θ/alla:/tamr/amal/ a/ refrigeratordates thtableink/ ﺑﺤﺮﺟﻤﻴﻞﺣﺒﻴﺐ ثتShared Consonants///t/θ/ / Letter Arabic Iraqi Example//h ʤƷ/dabi:b/ami:l/ars/ Meaningbeautifullessonfriend EnglishGenrehdand ayExampleﺗﻤﺮwithﺟﻤﻞدرسﺛﻼﺟﻪ and دجح(with the EgyptianTableConsonant Colloquial 1 //h//d/ʤƷ/ ArabicArabic (2012 PRONUNCIATION/θ/ alla:ð/ta:lika/amr/amal/ʤ a/ refrigeratorcameldatesthat KEY thtJthableohninkat/ ﺑﺤﺮﺟﻤﻴﻞﺣﺒﻴﺐ ذجثت / /Shared Consonants//ð///t/θ Arabicdrastic Example/hʤƷ/dabi:b/ars/ Meaningbeautifullessonfriend EnglishGenrehdand ayExample ﺟﻤﻞدرسﺛﻼﺟﻪthe دجحColloquial ArabicTableConsonant (2013). 1 /h//d/ʤƷ He hasArabicLetter introduced Arabicθ/ alla:ami:l/amal/ʤ
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