Social Attitudes Towards the Central Najdi Dialect Among Speakers of Other Najdi Dialects

Abstract

This study examines the social attitudes towards the Central Najdi dialect among speakers of other Najdi dialects, i.e., Qassimi and Northern dialect. The Central dialect, spoken in the capital city of Riyadh, which has the largest population in the kingdom, is considered representative of Saudi Arabic. Based on the gravity model (Trudgill, 1974), it is hypothesized that other Najdi dialects will gravitate towards the dialect of Central Najd. The social attitudes towards the Central dialect will be assessed using the indirect method known as the verbal-guise test. The test measures individuals' implicit attitudes towards a dialect or a language. Participants listen to authentic short speech excerpts from each of the dialects understudy and rate each speaker based on selected status and solidarity traits. Findings indicate that the Central Najdi dialect is perceived more favorably in terms of status traits such as being civilized, educated, and open-minded compared to Qassimi and Northern dialect.