Ruʾūs al-Jibāl Arabic in Context: A Proposal for an Expanded Typology of Southeastern Arabian Dialects

This paper seeks to clearly outline the features that distinguish Ruʾūs al-Jibāl Arabic (also called Šiḥḥī Arabic, Musandam Arabic) spoken on the Omani peninsula from surrounding dialects. Comparison with nearby Arabic varieties yields a few areal features (in segmental phonology) that establish a d...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Shockley, Mark Daniel (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2024
In: Journal of Semitic studies
Year: 2024, Volume: 69, Issue: 1, Pages: 643-669
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:This paper seeks to clearly outline the features that distinguish Ruʾūs al-Jibāl Arabic (also called Šiḥḥī Arabic, Musandam Arabic) spoken on the Omani peninsula from surrounding dialects. Comparison with nearby Arabic varieties yields a few areal features (in segmental phonology) that establish a dialect continuum from the coasts of northern Oman to Musandam. A large number of phonological similarities between Ruʾūs al-Jibāl Arabic and Dhofari Arabic are then documented here for the first time. This robust but discontinuous link re-frames many of the peculiarities of Ruʾūs al-Jibāl Arabic as vestiges of a coastal southern Arabian dialect group. This finding fits a wellknown ancient pattern of northward population movements out of south Arabia, and allows for a more effective delineation of innovations unique to Ruʾūs al-Jibāl . It also offers a direction forward for an expanded framework for the classification of the Arabic dialects of southeastern Arabia, incorporating Oman's peripheries at Dhofar and Musandam.
ISSN:1477-8556
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of Semitic studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1093/jss/fgad026