Coastal Dhofari Arabic

In Coastal Dhofari Arabic: A Sketch Grammar, Richard Davey provides a detailed description of a hitherto neglected Arabic dialect found in southern Oman. Previously recorded by Rhodokanakis, as part of the südarabische Expedition of the Austrian Imperial Academy, the dialect presented here offers a specific account of the day-to-day language spoken by the historical sedentary, coastal community.

Using data collected during 2010-2012, Richard Davey delivers an overview of the phonology, morphology and syntax of this variety. In addition to this, a lexicon of coastal Dhofari Arabic is provided, along with a discussion of its grammaticalized features. It is a timely account of a dialect that is endangered due to development, modernization, and the resulting social changes in Dhofar.

Richard J. Davey, Ph.D. (2013), University of Manchester, is an independent researcher working on grammaticalization in Arabic dialects. He has published articles on aspects of Dhofari Arabic, including "Analytic Genitive Constructions in Coastal Dhofārī Arabic" (Oxford University Press, 2012).

Coastal Dhofari Arabic: A sketch grammar contains a wealth of interesting data about a little known dialect group, and opens the field to further research in this region.
-Janet Watson, University of Leeds.
"Davey’s work is to be praised for its thoroughness and attention to details. Containing as it does abundant information on several traits which figure importantly in studies of comparative Arabic dialectology, it will definitely help improving our understanding of the history and evolution of the Arabic languages."
-Simone Bettega in Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 2019; 114(1): 45–51