The study of dialects is among the oldest aspects of language study, and the contemporary exploration of dialects encompasses social, historical, and linguistic analysis (Linn, 2014). From the 1960s coming forward the examination of dialects started to be associated with the trending areas of sociology of language, language variation and change sociolinguistics as well as more established fields like computational linguistics (Coupland, 2007). Dialectology is a sub-field of sociolinguistics which mainly studies linguistic dialect. In this sub-field, researchers concern themselves with the study of variations in language based mainly on their features and geographic distribution (Milroy and Gordon, 2008). They primarily explore lexical, phonological, and grammatical features which correspond to regional areas. Hence, dialectologists not only deal with populations which have dwelled in particular areas for decades, but also with migrants which bring their languages to new areas (Romaine, S., 2000). This research paper will look at one of these dialects; the Hadhil dialect. Various aspects of this dialect will be looked at including its evolution as well as its relationship with other dialects.
This research aims to study the Hadhil language specifically its linguistic, social and historical features. It also aims to explain some of the phenomena that have formed on the former grammarians, such as signs of femininity and plural, where the old dialect used a phrase that differs from the current dialect. The study will as well explore the relationships of the Hadhil language with other neighboring languages in regards to their vocal, syntactic and grammatical changes.
The following are some of the questions which this research will answer:
This section explores the literature related to the research questions listed above and other relevant areas in regard to the study topic.
The upcoming Hadhil dialect is quite different from other dialects used in Macca before its introduction. It is among the modern standard Arabic languages which as Versteegh, (2014) points out have some protruding differences. This dialect uses new, modern phrases and words that did not exist before. Its speakers groups words, pronounces them, and elicit them in a different context between words unlike the classical dialect. Besides, Hadhil dialect is presented more common in spoken form than in literature form (Abdul-Raof, 2012).
Hadhil members are bound to experience a challenge of communication barriers when visiting government institutions that speak fluent Arabic. Government institutions in Arabia are in dire need of providing individual and holistic services not only to the Hadhil members but also to all and sundry regardless of their unique languages (Smith, and Abouammoh, 2013). One of the solutions to ensure good communication between Hadhil members and government centers England, Wahba, and Taha, (2014) suggest is the use of professional interpreters. The preferred category of interpreters depends entirely on his or her dialect and ability to interpret correctly. In addition, it depends on their qualities of good language skills, objectivity, neutrality, and translation ability (Sulaiman, 2018). Lyovin, (2017) states that for the communication process to be successful, Hadhil members who have a thorough understanding of fluent Arabic should be preferred.
After conducting a circumspect review of the formative decades of the Arabic linguistic, one will note that the former grammarians contributed impressively into the current development of various dialects such as Hadhil (Woodard, ed., 2008). These features include function, form, and design as well as their nature of development in their respective social settings. Arabic is a Semitic language and thus has several similarities with other Semitic languages like Hebrew, Tigrinya, Tigre, and Aramaic (Goldenberg, 2013). The main dissimilarities between the standard/ classical and the idiomatic Arabic (Ibrahim, Abdou, and Gheith, 2015) says that are the loss of grammatical case; the loss of the preceding system of grammatical mood, a different and strict word order, in conjunction with the evolution of a new system; the loss of the inflected passive voice, apart from a few relic varieties; restraint in the usage of the dual number and (for most varieties) the loss of the feminine plural. Most of the Arabic dialects, Maghrebi Arabic particularly also have noteworthy vowel shifts and remarkable consonant clusters. As opposed to other dialects, in Maghrebi Arabic first person singular verbs start with an n- (?) (Cotterell, and Callison-Burch, 2014).
The Arabs have different tribes speaking different languages and dialects but the most elected one is Quraysh. Arabs had various dialects emerging from the nature of the Fitrah or natural disposition in their letters and sounds (Nicholson, 2014). These tribes each had its sole manner of pronouncing words that were dissimilar from others, but Quraysh had several characteristics became quite common among different branches of Arabic. It later became the father of other dialects since due to its characteristics many Arabs considered it (Eisele, 2000).
Hadhil dialect is a developing one among the tribe of Hadhil. Most of the locals in this tribe use Hadhil language as their first and official language. However, many people outside the tribe are becoming eager to learn this language (Yusuf, 2013). As mentioned earlier, this dialect mainly exists in spoken form unlike others which are in written form. Quite distinct from other Arabic languages learned today, Hadhil is more conservative and formal and thus used in different functions in the society. As the language grows, most of the speakers are noted to mix it with other dialects in varying degrees depending on their ancestral roots. Besides, the Hadhil speakers have loaned many words from other languages (Abdul-Raof, 2012).
There exist both similarities and differences between Hadhil and other neighboring dialects used by their neighbors. A closer look to the way this dialect forms words, one will notice that they use consonant roots that is affixes and vowels are attached to them. Besides, unlike other neighboring tribes, this dialect is highly influenced by other languages since it loans words from them. Most of the speakers are heard pronouncing other Arabic words from other regions. However, Hadhil shares some pronunciation dexterity with the neighboring tribes despite their disparity (Abdul-Raof, 2013).
For the purpose of the study, the researcher will use the qualitative analysis. This is mainly because the researcher aims to identify the thoughts of the people and it can be done by conducting a primary analysis in the form of survey and interview.
The participants for the completion of the research will be about 50 people that will be interviewed based on the requirement of the topic. The age group will be above the age of 25. This can help in gaining a proper insight into the thoughts of the local people speaking the Hadhil dialect.
The research will be dependent on the responses provided by the people speaking the Hadhil dialect. The data collection tool to be used is the interview method so that a face-to-face communication can take place and a broader description of the topic at hand can be discussed.
After the completion of the interview, the data gathered will be examined by conducting an analysis of the transcript. Comparison will be made between the responses provided by the participants so that better understanding of the dialect can take place.
A pilot study will be conducted prior to the actual study to test the procedures and methods to be applied on a large scale. This will me primarily meant to examine the viability of the approach intended to be finally used in the research (Julious, 2005).
The participants will be provided with the knowledge about the form of research and the reason behind conducting it. The responses of the participants will be used only for the research and will be kept in confidence. At the same time, none of the participants will be forced to be involved in the survey.
Conclusion
The primary aim of this research is to explore various aspects of Hadhil dialect in comparison to other dialects. Its features and how they differ from other neighboring dialects will be examined as well as how it has evolved over time. Interview method of data collection will be considered so that an in-depth knowledge of the topic at hand can be understood.
References
Abdul-Raof, H., 2012. Theological approaches to Qur’anic exegesis: A practical comparative-contrastive analysis. Routledge.
Abdul-Raof, H., 2012. Theological approaches to Qur’anic exegesis: A practical comparative-contrastive analysis. Routledge.
Abdul-Raof, H., 2013. Schools of Qur’anic exegesis: genesis and development. Routledge.
Cotterell, R. and Callison-Burch, C., 2014, May. A Multi-Dialect, Multi-Genre Corpus of Informal Written Arabic. In LREC (pp. 241-245).
Coupland, N., 2007. Style: Language variation and identity. Cambridge University Press.
Eisele, J., 2000. Representations of Arabic in Egypt, 1940-1990. The Arab Studies Journal, 8(2/1), pp.47-60.
England, L., Wahba, K. and Taha, Z.A., 2014. Handbook for Arabic language teaching professionals in the 21st century. Routledge.
Goldenberg, G., 2013. Semitic languages: Features, structures, relations, processes. Oxford University Press.
Ibrahim, H.S., Abdou, S.M. and Gheith, M., 2015. Sentiment analysis for modern standard Arabic and colloquial. arXiv preprint arXiv:1505.03105.
Julious, S.A., 2005. Sample size of 12 per group rule of thumb for a pilot study. Pharmaceutical Statistics: The Journal of Applied Statistics in the Pharmaceutical Industry, 4(4), pp.287-291.
Linn, M.D., 2014. Dialect and language variation. Elsevier.
Lyovin, A., 2017. An Introduction to the Languages of the World. Oxford University Press, USA.
Milroy, L. and Gordon, M., 2008. Sociolinguistics: Method and interpretation (Vol. 13). John Wiley & Sons.
Nicholson, R.A., 2014. Literary history of the Arabs. Routledge.
Romaine, S., 2000. Language in society: An introduction to sociolinguistics. Oxford University Press.
Smith, L. and Abouammoh, A., 2013. Higher Education in Saudi Arabia. London: Springer.
Sulaiman, M.Z., 2018. New insights into Arabic translation and interpreting. Translation & Interpreting, 10(1), pp.171-174.
Versteegh, K., 2014. Arabic Language. Edinburgh University Press.
Woodard, R.D. ed., 2008. The ancient languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia. Cambridge University Press.
Yusuf, B.L., 2013. Schools of Qur’anic exegesis: Genesis and development. Intellectual Discourse, 21(2), p.255.
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