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Part of
Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics XXXIII: Papers selected from the Annual Symposium on Arabic Linguistics, Toronto, Canada, 2019
Edited by Abdel-Khalig Ali and Atiqa Hachimi
[Studies in Arabic Linguistics 11] 2022
► pp. 99–118

Some grammatical features of Faifi Arabic with a focus on emphatic fricatives

| University of Bisha
| Indiana University
After overviewing some unusual features of Faifi Arabic, the present study investigates the distribution of emphatic fricatives in a subvariety of Faifi Arabic (FA) focusing on their unique realizations. First, we observe that the emphatic /sˤ/, which is cognate with Classical Arabic /sˤ/, is typically realized as [st] in FA. Second, FA emphatic fricative /ðˤ/ is affected by a process of root-initial devoicing, whether it is cognate with Classical Arabic /ðˤ/ or /dˤ/. When root-initial /ðˤ/ is cognate with Classical Arabic /ðˤ/ and low vowels occur in the first two syllables, the emphatic devoices, resulting in the surface allophone [θˤ]; if a high vowel is present, the emphatic also depharyngealizes, resulting in [θ]. When FA root-initial /ðˤ/ is cognate with Classical Arabic /dˤ/, it typically surfaces as labiodental fricative [f]; otherwise, it is realized as [ðˤ].
Keywords: emphatic fricatives, lateral fricative, devoicing, depharyngealization, labiodentalization, Faifi Arabic
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Some unusual aspects of FA
    • 2.1The definite prefix and demonstratives
    • 2.2Indefiniteness
    • 2.3The perfective, 3rd person, singular, masculine suffix /-a/
    • 2.4Internal passive
  • 3.FA emphatic fricatives
    • 3.1The voiceless sibilant emphatic /sˤ/
      • 3.1.1Root-initial /sˤ/
      • 3.1.2Root-medial /sˤ/
      • 3.1.3Root-final /sˤ/
      • 3.1.4Exceptions to the realization of /sˤ/ as [st]
      • 3.1.5The monophonemic vs. biphonemic analysis of [st]
    • 3.2The voiced interdental emphatic fricative /ðˤ/
      • 3.2.1Faifi Arabic cognates of classical Arabic /ðˤ/: Devoicing and depharyngealization of /ðˤ/
      • 3.2.2Faifi Arabic cognates of Classical Arabic /dˤ/: Labiodentalization to [f]
  • 4.The source of FA [f] reflex
  • 5.Summary and conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 6 December 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sal.11.05alf
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