ARABIC PHONOLOGY5
All the phonemes contrast between ‘emphatic’ (uvularised) and the ‘non – emphatic’
consonants. Through language contact and evolution, many of these phonemes have over
time have shifted into the dialects while new phonemes have found its way into the language
through borrowing.
Vowels
Vowels in MSA are characterized by the following features3:
 There are six vowel phonemes in Modern Standard Arabic forming three distinct pairs
of short vowels and long vowels - /a, aː, i, iː, u, uː/ . Certain spoken dialects also
include / oː / and / eː / in their phonological setup.
 There ae two diphthongs in Modern Standard Arabic, formed by combining short
/ a / with the semivowels / j / and / w /.
 In general, / a / and / aː / are retracted to [ ɑ ] when the neighbouring phonemes are /r/,
/ q / or a uvularised consonant in the following manner: / sˤ /, / dˤ /, / tˤ /, / ðˤ /, / ɫ /. In
certain regional dialects, the pronunciation also takes the following shape:
/ x / and / ɣ /.
 In parts of Iraq and parts of the Gulf of Persia, the phoneme [ ɐ ] prior to the word
boundary changes to [ æ ] when in the vicinity of most major consonants, like:
Labial Consonants - / m /, / b / and / f /
Most non emphatic consonants (Exceptions are - / r /, / θ /, / ð /, / n /, / t /, / d /, / s /, / z
/, /l/, / ʃ / and / d͡ʒ ~ ɡ ~ ʒ /)
Pharyngeal consonants - / ʕ / and / ħ /
Glottal Consonants - / ʔ / and / h /
1. Shrivtiel, Shraybom (1998). The Question of Romanisation of the Script and The Emergence of Nationalism in the
Middle East. Mediterranean Language Review. pp. 179–196.
2. "Encyclopaedia of Islam Romanization vs ALA Romanization for Arabic". University of Washington Libraries.
3. Thelwall, Robin (1990), "Illustrations of the IPA: Arabic", Journal of the International Phonetic
Association, 20 (2): 37–41,
4. Holes, Clive (2004), Modern Arabic: Structures, Functions, and Varieties, Georgetown University Press
5. Davis, Stuart (1995), "Emphasis Spread in Arabic and Grounded Phonology", Linguistic Inquiry, The MIT
Press, 26 (3): 465–498

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Arabic Phonology Assignment 2022

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