The linguistic features that distinguish Saudi, Jordanian and Egyptian Englishes

Abstract

This paper is a comparative literature review of the linguistic features that distinguish three regional varieties of English — Saudi English, Jordanian English, and Egyptian English — as they emerge from existing empirical and theoretical scholarship. The study synthesizes findings from published studies (e.g., Al-Rawi, 2012; Mahboob and Elyas, 2014; AlShurafa et al., 2022; Zuraiq et al., 2023; Alomoush, 2025; Schneider, 2014) to compare the social, political, religious, and economic factors that have shaped each variety, and to evaluate, within Kachru's (1985, 1992) Three Circles framework, how far each has moved from foreign-language status toward recognition as a distinct variety. The review is organized around three questions: what linguistic features (phonological, morphosyntactic, lexical, orthographic) each source identifies as distinctive; what non-linguistic factors (colonial history, religious status, economic ties, education policy) the literature credits for those features; and where scholars agree or disagree on whether the result should be called a variety, a lingua franca, or simply learner English. The review finds that Saudi, Jordanian, and Egyptian Englishes are shaped by comparable pressures — Arabic-substrate influence, globalization, and local cultural and religious norms — but differ sharply in the weight of colonial history (absent in Saudi Arabia, central in Jordan and Egypt) and in how far each is institutionally recognized. Egyptian English shows the most developed 'glocal' profile in the literature; Saudi English shows the fastest recent growth; Jordanian English shows the clearest lingua franca function alongside continued Arabic primacy. The review concludes that none of the three currently meets the full criteria for an independent variety in the literature it surveys, but all three show trajectories that the literature treats as movement in that direction, and it identifies the effect of digital communication on this trajectory as a clear gap for future primary research.