Phonological aspects of al-Issa Arabic, a Bedouin dialect in the north of Jordan

Abstract

This study offers an account of selected key phonological aspects of al-Issa Arabic, spoken in three villages in al Mafraq: Ad-Dafyana, Mansiyat al-Gublan and Um As-srab. Forty suitable participants plus four language consultants were recruited. The dialect has a number of distinguishing features that make it stand out from the rest of Bedouin Jordanian Arabic dialects, e.g. the Bani Saxar dialect (Palva 1980), Bani Ḥassan dialect (Irshied 1984), Abbādi dialect (Sakarna 1999), and Wadi Ramm Arabic (Mashaqba 2015). These features include the unlimited affrication of ∗k, the realization of the palato-alveolar/j/ as [y] in all word positions (yaʔyaʔa phenomenon), and the unconditioned retention of Classical Arabic diphthongs ∗aw and ∗ay in all contexts. In terms of syllable structure, the core syllable types observed are: CV, CVC, CVV, CVVC, CCVVC, CVC1C1, and C1C2VVC. There is a strong ban against C1C2C3 and C1C2 coda clusters in the dialect. Following Kiparsky's (2003) typological classification, the dialect is a VC-dialect where a vowel is inserted between C1 and C2 in C1C2C3 clusters. To avoid gutturals in coda positions, the dialect exhibits of the gahawa syndrome where CVG.CV underlying forms are attested as CV.Ga.CV. Stress is predictable in the vast majority of forms and is controlled by a trochaic foot ('CV.CVC). Stress falls on the right-most heavy syllable in the last three syllables. Where a word lacks a heavy syllable, it falls on the antepenultimate, or a penultimate in two syllable words. However, stress assignment interacts with epenthesis and the gahawa syndrome: the inserted vowel attracts the main stress in the absence of an ultimate heavy syllable.