Phonetic variations between vernacular and classical Arabic: Examples of Arabic dialects
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Abstract
This paper is an investigation into the phonetic differences between the colloquial Arabic dialects and Classical Arabic using some chosen examples from different Arabic-speaking environments. It focuses on the phonetic part of language change. It explains basic processes such as vowel mutation, consonant replacement, devoicing, assimilation, deletion, and sound addition. The study then goes on to discuss specific examples from Iraqi, Levantine and Omani speech to demonstrate the separation of the vernacular from Classical Arabic, while retaining important lexical and semantic links. The study concludes that phonetic change is not uniform and does not stem from a single cause, but from articulatory facilitation, frequency of use, historical contact, social interaction, and the tendency of dialects to simplify certain structures while maintaining communicative clarity.
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