Salient sociophonetic features, stereotypes, and attitudes toward Jazani Arabic

Abstract

Far more attention has been paid to attitudes toward Standard Arabic than colloquial varieties, especially Jazani Arabic. This study aimed to identify Saudis’ stereotypes, beliefs, and attitudes toward Jazani, as well as salient sociophonetic features that might have an impact on those attitudes. An additional goal was to determine whether Saudi speakers of other dialects could identify Jazani. The study asked the following questions. Can speakers of different Saudi dialects identify Jazani speakers from sociophonetic input alone? What are Saudi speakers’ attitudes toward Jazani Arabic? What are the salient sociophonetic features of Jazani Arabic? A total of 183 Saudi Arabic speakers participated in an online attitudinal survey. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted on the collected data. Findings showed that respondents could identify the speakers as Jazanis based solely on sociophonetic characteristics. Non-emphatic /r/ and word-initial consonant clusters were pointed out as salient features of Jazani Arabic. In addition, participants’ responses included general impressions, cultural associations, and social status. Overall, speakers of other Saudi dialects had more positive attitudes than Najdi speakers, who held more negative attitudes toward Jazani speakers. The results reflected the social stratification in Saudi Arabia and confirmed beliefs, stereotypical views, and misrepresentations of Jazani speakers’ social status.