The urban Tlemcenian glottal stop in a prospective coma due to contact and accommodation: A cross-sectional investigation

Abstract

Although many researchers have attempted to include age as a variable in explaining linguistic variation, the delicate mechanisms via which variability in speech relates to age-grading aspect are still incomplete in especially lesser-known Arabic-speaking communities akin to Tlemcen, an urban city in Algeria. This paper aims at cross-sectionally investigating the sociolinguistic situation occurring in the Tlemcen speech community especially concerning the use of the glottal stop, an urban realisation of classical Arabic qaf. With the help of a survey interview, questionnaire and non-participant observation, data were collected from a convenient sample of 122 participants of different age cohorts and genders from Tlemcen. The results show that the dialect contact taking place in the community is moving towards aspects of koineisation, mainly levelling and simplification. Social and psychological features are said to explain the dialectal ruralisation guided by post-adolescent and young male native urban dialect speakers, while females of all ages, including old people, are strictly preservative. Keywords: Accommodation, age, dialect contact, glottal stop, Tlemcen, speech community.