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Gulf Arabic
Gulf Arabic or Khaleeji (خليجي Ḫalījī local pronunciation: [χɑˈliːdʒiː] or اللهجة الخليجية il-lahja il-Ḫalījīya, local pronunciation: [(ɪ)lˈlæhdʒæ lχɑˈliːdʒiːjæ]) is a variety of Arabic spoken in Eastern Arabia around the coasts of the Persian Gulf in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, southern Iraq, eastern Saudi Arabia, northern Oman, and by some Iranian Arabs.
Gulf Arabic can be defined as a set of closely related and more-or-less mutually intelligible varieties that form a dialect continuum, with the level of mutual intelligibility between any two varieties largely depending on the distance between them. Similar to other varieties, Gulf Arabic is not completely mutually intelligible with varieties spoken outside the Gulf. The specific dialects differ in vocabulary, grammar and accent. There are considerable differences between, for instance, Kuwaiti Arabic and the dialects of Qatar and the UAE, especially in pronunciation, that may hinder mutual intelligibility. The Gulf has two major dialect types that differ phonologically and morphologically, typically referred to as badawī 'Bedouin' and ḥadarī 'sedentary', which in simpler terms mean "desert dweller" and "city dweller". The differences mark important cultural differences between those who historically practiced pastoralism and those who were sedentary.
Gulf varieties' closest related relatives are other dialects native to the Arabian Peninsula, i.e. Najdi Arabic, Mesopotamian Arabic and Bahrani Arabic. Although spoken over much of Saudi Arabia's area, Gulf Arabic is not the native tongue of most Saudis, as the majority of them do not live in Eastern Arabia. There are some 200,000 Gulf Arabic speakers in the country, out of a population of over 30 million, mostly in the aforementioned Eastern Province.
The dialect's full name el-lahja el-Khalijiyya (اللهجة الخليجية local pronunciation: [elˈlæhdʒæ lxɑˈliːdʒɪj.jæ]) can be translated as 'the dialect of the gulf'. However, it is most commonly referred to as Khaliji (خليجي Khalījī [xɑˈliːdʒi]), in which the noun خليج ([xɑˈliːdʒ]; Khalīj) has been suffixed with the Nisba, literally meaning 'of the bay' or 'of the gulf'.
Phonetic notes:
/k/ and /ɡ/ are often palatalized when occurring before front vowels unless the following consonant is emphatic. The actual realization is in free variation, and can be [kʲ ɡʲ] or, more commonly, [tʃ dʒ]. Speakers who exhibit variation between [ɡʲ] and [dʒ] do so in words derived from historical /q/ (e.g. مقابل [mɪgʲæːbɪl~mɪdʒæːbɪl] 'opposite'); [j] is a contemporary reflex of historical /dʒ/ and so there are also sets of words where [dʒ] and [j] appear in free variation (e.g. (e.g. جار [dʒæːr~jæːr] 'neighbor').
Voiced stops tend to devoice in utterance-final position, especially as the final element in clusters, e.g. كلب ('dog') /kalb/ [tʃælp].
A notable aspect of Gulf Arabic is the different realization of a number of phonemes inherited from Classical Arabic. These differences are the result, in part, of natural linguistic changes over time. After these changes occurred, the original sounds (or close approximations to them) were reintroduced as a result of contact with other dialects, as well as through influence of Modern Standard Arabic as a language of media, government, and religion. For many of these sounds, speakers exhibit free variation between the MSA form and the colloquial form. The following table provides a rough outline of these differences:
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Gulf Arabic
Gulf Arabic or Khaleeji (خليجي Ḫalījī local pronunciation: [χɑˈliːdʒiː] or اللهجة الخليجية il-lahja il-Ḫalījīya, local pronunciation: [(ɪ)lˈlæhdʒæ lχɑˈliːdʒiːjæ]) is a variety of Arabic spoken in Eastern Arabia around the coasts of the Persian Gulf in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, southern Iraq, eastern Saudi Arabia, northern Oman, and by some Iranian Arabs.
Gulf Arabic can be defined as a set of closely related and more-or-less mutually intelligible varieties that form a dialect continuum, with the level of mutual intelligibility between any two varieties largely depending on the distance between them. Similar to other varieties, Gulf Arabic is not completely mutually intelligible with varieties spoken outside the Gulf. The specific dialects differ in vocabulary, grammar and accent. There are considerable differences between, for instance, Kuwaiti Arabic and the dialects of Qatar and the UAE, especially in pronunciation, that may hinder mutual intelligibility. The Gulf has two major dialect types that differ phonologically and morphologically, typically referred to as badawī 'Bedouin' and ḥadarī 'sedentary', which in simpler terms mean "desert dweller" and "city dweller". The differences mark important cultural differences between those who historically practiced pastoralism and those who were sedentary.
Gulf varieties' closest related relatives are other dialects native to the Arabian Peninsula, i.e. Najdi Arabic, Mesopotamian Arabic and Bahrani Arabic. Although spoken over much of Saudi Arabia's area, Gulf Arabic is not the native tongue of most Saudis, as the majority of them do not live in Eastern Arabia. There are some 200,000 Gulf Arabic speakers in the country, out of a population of over 30 million, mostly in the aforementioned Eastern Province.
The dialect's full name el-lahja el-Khalijiyya (اللهجة الخليجية local pronunciation: [elˈlæhdʒæ lxɑˈliːdʒɪj.jæ]) can be translated as 'the dialect of the gulf'. However, it is most commonly referred to as Khaliji (خليجي Khalījī [xɑˈliːdʒi]), in which the noun خليج ([xɑˈliːdʒ]; Khalīj) has been suffixed with the Nisba, literally meaning 'of the bay' or 'of the gulf'.
Phonetic notes:
/k/ and /ɡ/ are often palatalized when occurring before front vowels unless the following consonant is emphatic. The actual realization is in free variation, and can be [kʲ ɡʲ] or, more commonly, [tʃ dʒ]. Speakers who exhibit variation between [ɡʲ] and [dʒ] do so in words derived from historical /q/ (e.g. مقابل [mɪgʲæːbɪl~mɪdʒæːbɪl] 'opposite'); [j] is a contemporary reflex of historical /dʒ/ and so there are also sets of words where [dʒ] and [j] appear in free variation (e.g. (e.g. جار [dʒæːr~jæːr] 'neighbor').
Voiced stops tend to devoice in utterance-final position, especially as the final element in clusters, e.g. كلب ('dog') /kalb/ [tʃælp].
A notable aspect of Gulf Arabic is the different realization of a number of phonemes inherited from Classical Arabic. These differences are the result, in part, of natural linguistic changes over time. After these changes occurred, the original sounds (or close approximations to them) were reintroduced as a result of contact with other dialects, as well as through influence of Modern Standard Arabic as a language of media, government, and religion. For many of these sounds, speakers exhibit free variation between the MSA form and the colloquial form. The following table provides a rough outline of these differences: