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Diminutive formation in a Libyan dialect with some phonological implications

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Abstract

Detailed studies of diminutives in Arabic dialects are uncommon. In this article, after discussing the diminutive in Classical Arabic, Coastal Dhofari Arabic, and Moroccan Arabic, we present a detailed description of diminutives in Asābʽā Arabic, a rural Libyan dialect. We note two diminutive templates in Asābʽā Arabic: CCeeC and CCayX. Further, we document a subtype of the CCeeX template applicable to base words that begin with a labial consonant followed by a long vowel, e.g. [faar] ‘mouse’, which has the diminutive [ʔuf.feer] rather than [fweer]. We suggest that this is an OCP effect influencing (non-identical) adjacent labials. We also discuss other implications of the diminutive in Asābʽā Arabic, including the nature of its diachronic relationship with the Classical Arabic diminutive.

Abstract

Detailed studies of diminutives in Arabic dialects are uncommon. In this article, after discussing the diminutive in Classical Arabic, Coastal Dhofari Arabic, and Moroccan Arabic, we present a detailed description of diminutives in Asābʽā Arabic, a rural Libyan dialect. We note two diminutive templates in Asābʽā Arabic: CCeeC and CCayX. Further, we document a subtype of the CCeeX template applicable to base words that begin with a labial consonant followed by a long vowel, e.g. [faar] ‘mouse’, which has the diminutive [ʔuf.feer] rather than [fweer]. We suggest that this is an OCP effect influencing (non-identical) adjacent labials. We also discuss other implications of the diminutive in Asābʽā Arabic, including the nature of its diachronic relationship with the Classical Arabic diminutive.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgments vii
  4. Introduction ix
  5. Part I. Phonetics and phonology
  6. Incomplete phonetic neutralization 3
  7. Diminutive formation in a Libyan dialect with some phonological implications 31
  8. Diminutive and augmentative formation in northern Najdi/Ḥā’ili Arabic 51
  9. Post-lexical strata 75
  10. Part II. Sociolinguistics and pragmatics
  11. Destabilizing Arabic diglossia? 105
  12. Dialect contact in the Tunisian diaspora 135
  13. Speaker-oriented attitude datives as authority indexicals 159
  14. Generic expressions in Tunisian Arabic 181
  15. Part III. Language acquisition
  16. Palestinian Arabic dual formation in typically developing heritage speakers of Palestinian Arabic 207
  17. Interactions between temporal acoustics and indexical information in speech rate perception 235
  18. Index 263
Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics XXXI
This chapter is in the book Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics XXXI
https://doi.org/10.1075/sal.8.02gad

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgments vii
  4. Introduction ix
  5. Part I. Phonetics and phonology
  6. Incomplete phonetic neutralization 3
  7. Diminutive formation in a Libyan dialect with some phonological implications 31
  8. Diminutive and augmentative formation in northern Najdi/Ḥā’ili Arabic 51
  9. Post-lexical strata 75
  10. Part II. Sociolinguistics and pragmatics
  11. Destabilizing Arabic diglossia? 105
  12. Dialect contact in the Tunisian diaspora 135
  13. Speaker-oriented attitude datives as authority indexicals 159
  14. Generic expressions in Tunisian Arabic 181
  15. Part III. Language acquisition
  16. Palestinian Arabic dual formation in typically developing heritage speakers of Palestinian Arabic 207
  17. Interactions between temporal acoustics and indexical information in speech rate perception 235
  18. Index 263
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