ir.amu.ac.inir.amu.ac.in/12106/1/T10615.pdf · i DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS ALIGARH MUSLIM...

SYLLABLE STRUCTURE AND WORD STRESS IN HAJJI AND HUDAIDI YEMENI DIALECTS OF ARABIC IN THE

LIGHT OF OPTIMALITY THEORY

THESIS

SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF

Doctor of Philosophy IN

LINGUISTICS

By

MUHAMMED JUBRAN NAJI NAJI AL-MAMRI

Under the supervision of

SHABANA HAMEED PROFESSOR

DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS

ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH-202002

(U.P.) INDIA

2018

SYLLABLE STRUCTURE AND WORD STRESS IN HAJJI AND HUDAIDI YEMENI DIALECTS OF ARABIC IN THE

LIGHT OF OPTIMALITY THEORY

ABSTRACT OF

THESIS

SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF

Doctor of Philosophy IN

LINGUISTICS

By


Under the supervision of

SHABANA HAMEED PROFESSOR


ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH-202002

(U.P.) INDIA

2018

i


ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY

ALIGARH - 202 002 (INDIA)

ANNEXURE-I

CANDIDATE’S DECLARATION

I, Muhammed Jubran Naji Naji Al-Mamri, Department of Linguistics, certify that

the work embodied in this thesis is my own bonafide work carried out by me under

the supervision of Prof. Shabana Hameed at Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh,

India. The matter embodied in this Ph.D. thesis has not been submitted for the award

of any other degree.

I declare that I have faithfully acknowledged, given credit to and referred to the research

workers wherever their works have been cited in the text and the body of the thesis. I

further certify that I have not willfully lifted up some other’s work, paragraph, text, data,

result, etc. reported in the journals, books, magazines, reports, dissertations, thesis, etc., or

available at web-sites and included them in this Ph.D. thesis and cited as my own work.

Date............................. (Signature of the Candidate)


Enroll No.: GI5679

......................................................................................................................................

CERTIFICATE FROM THE SUPERVISOR

This is to certify that the above statement made by the candidate is correct to the best

of my/our knowledge.

(Signature of the Supervisor)

Prof. Shabana Hameed

Department of Linguistics

Aligarh Muslim University

Aligarh - 202 002 (India)

(Signature of the Chairman with Seal)




ii


ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY

ALIGARH - 202 002 (INDIA)

ANNEXURE – II

COURSE WORK/COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION/PRE-SUBMISSION

SEMINAR COMPLETION CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr. Muhammed Jubran Naji Naji Al-Mamri, Department of

Linguistics has satisfactorily completed the Course Work/Comprehensive Examination

and Pre-Submission Seminar requirement which is part of his Ph.D. programme.

Date: ....................... (CHAIRMAN)




iii

ANNEXURE – III

COPYRIGHT TRANSFER CERTIFICATE

Title of the Thesis: SYLLABLE STRUCTURE AND WORD STRESS IN

HAJJI AND HUDAIDI YEMENI DIALECTS OF ARABIC

IN THE LIGHT OF OPTIMALITY THEORY

Candidate’s Name: MUHAMMED JUBRAN NAJI NAJI AL-MAMRI

COPYRIGHT TRANSFER

The undersigned hereby assigns to the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, copyright

that may exist in and for the above thesis submitted for the award of the Ph.D. degree.

(Signature of the Candidate)

Note: However, the author may reproduce or authorize others to reproduce material

extracted verbatim from the thesis or derivative of the thesis for author’s

personal use provide that the source and the University’s copyright notice are

indicated.

iv

Acknowledgement

First and for most, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Almighty Allah for

endowing me with power, courage and determination for enabling me to successfully

conduct this study.

My most sincere thanks go to my supervisor Prof. Shabana Hameed for her practical

advice, patience, answers to each and every question that I could ask, and for her

continued encouragement, her comprehensive and profound knowledge in the field of

phonology, along with her devotion and perfect guidance that positively influenced the

shape of this thesis.

I would also like to express my gratitude to Chairman Prof. S. Imtiaz Hasnain

who took his precious time to read and comment on the earlier version of the proposal for

this thesis. My words are unable to tell him how much he has influenced me with his

humbleness, humanity and immense knowledge.

I also would like to thank my teachers Prof. A.R.Fatihi, Mr. Masood Ali Beg, Dr. Nazrin.

B. Laskar, Dr. Samina A.A. Surti, Dr. Sadia. H. Husain, Dr. Abdul Aziz Khan of the

Department of Linguistics, AMU. My deep appreciation goes to all my classmates in

Department of Linguistics, AMU. I would also like to extend my warm thanks to my

friend Amjed Daboan for his support and encouragement. I would also like to express my

gratitude to all academic and administrative staff in the Linguistics Department, AMU

and to the Library staff. Last but not the least, I would like to express my deepest sense of

gratitude to my loving mother for all the love and affection, for all the prayers, and for all

tears she shed during my sojourn in India. I would also like to thank all members of my

family, my father, grandmother, brothers, and my sister for the faith they have in me, my

brothers among whom Walled deserves special mention.

Muhammed Jubran Naji Naji Al-Mamri

v

ABSTRACT

The present thesis operates on two dialects Hajji, which is spoken in Hajjah,

and Zabidi, which is spoken in Zabid. Zabidi itself is a kind of Hudaidi dialect. This

thesis investigates a comprehensive analysis of the syllable structure and word stress

found in Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni dialects of Arabic (HYA and ZYA) through the

framework of Optimality Theory (OT). Hajji and Zabidi are dialects of Arabic spoken

in the north-western of Yemen. This is the first work that achieves a comprehensive

analysis of the syllable structure and word stress through Optimality Theory for Hajji

and Zabidi Yemeni dialects of Arabic.

Primary date was gathered from native speakers of Hajji and Zabidi dialects of

Arabic through interviews and questionnaires. The researcher is also a native speaker of

Hajji dialect. Both, quantitative and qualitative methods were used in data analysis in

this work. Qualitative analysis was conducted through Optimality Theory on syllable

shape and word stress of Hajji and Zabidi dialects to select the optimal candidate after a

competition among the candidates and conflicts between MARKEDNESS and

FAITHFULNESS constraints. Quantitative analysis was carried out through the

Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16, which included descriptive

statistics to know the frequencies, the percentages and valid percentages of types

syllable and canonical structures inside each type in HYA and ZYA.

There are specific features (properties) to the syllable structure and word stress

of Hajji dialect which differ from Zabidi dialect and which also differ from some

Yemeni dialects spoken around HYA and ZYA like Tazi, Ibbi and Sana’ai. HYA and

ZYA also differ from Modern Standard Arabic. It is seen that consonant clusters

occur only word finally in Hajji dialect and the maximum number of complex coda is

two like MSA and as opposed to some Yemeni dialects which permit complex coda

while consonant clusters are permitted in all positions in Zabidi dialect (initial, medial

and final). The maximum number of complex coda and complex medial are two and

the maximum number of complex onset is three in ZYA, formed by combining

voiceless palatal fricative /∫/ plus voiceless dental-alveolar stop /t/ with any of the

following consonant sounds (/l/, /r/, /m/, /ʔ/, /b/, /s/, /ħ/, /sˤ/, /χ/) as in the structure

/CCCV:C/ of the word /∫tsu:q/ “she will drive”.

vi

Syllable in Zabidi dialect can be classified into light as in /CV/, heavy as in

(/CVC/, /CCV/), super-heavy as in (/CV:C/, /CVCC/ , /CCV:/, /CCVC/, /CCV:C/,

/CCVCC/) and Ultra–heavy syllables as in (/CCCVC/, /CCCV:C/, /CCCVCC/)

whereas in Hajji dialect light as in /CV/, heavy as in (/CVC /, /CV:/), super-heavy as

in (/CV:C/, /CVCC/, /CV:CC/) while Ultra–heavy syllables are not found in HYA.

The percentages and frequency analysis of types of syllables in Hajji dialect

reveal that, disyllabic words have the highest percentage 43.4% and show 305 words

(frequency) while pentasyllabic words have the least percentage 3.4% and show 24

words (frequency). Closed canonical structures in monosyllabic words (/CVCC/,

/CV:C/, /CVC/ and /CV:CC/) have the higher percentages as compared to the open

canonical structures /(CV:/ and /CV/) in Hajji dialect. While the percentages and

frequency analysis of types of syllables in Zabidi dialect reveal that, disyllabic words

have the most predominant percentage 51.4% and show 414 words (frequency) while

tetrasyllabic words have the least percentage 5.7% and show 46 words (frequency).

Super-heavy syllables have the higher percentages as compared to light, heavy or

ultra-heavy syllables in ZYA.

ONSET is the highest ranked in Hajji, while *COMPLEXCOD

and

*COMPLEXONS

are higher ranked than NO-CODA. Moreover MAX-IO and DEP-

IO (faithfulness constraints) are also higher ranked than NO-CODA in HYA. In

Zabidi dialect, ONSET is the highest ranked while MAX-IO and DEP-IO are higher

ranked rather than *COMPLEXONS

and *COMPLEXCOD

in ZYA.

NO-CODA is considered to be lower ranked in Hajji and Zabidi. It is

frequently violated because HYA and ZYA allow coda and coda clusters (closed

syllables) as in (/CV:C/, /CV:C/, /CVC/, /CCVC/, /CV:CC/, /CCCV:C/, /CVCC/,

/CCCVCC/ and /CCCVC/). While *COMPLEX

ONS is violated in Zabidi more than

Hajji because most of candidates in ZYA begin with two or three consonants

(complex onset) as in /ħsan/ “better”, /∫tro:ħ/ “she will go”. While, in HYA all the

candidates begin with one consonant (simple onset) as in /ħar/ “hot”, /ba:b/ “door”.

The final hierarchy rank of syllable structure constraints in Hajji and Zabidi

dialects are organized as follows: ONSET ˃˃ MAX-IO ˃˃ DEEP-IO ˃˃ *LLL ˃˃

SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ) ˃˃ SYL-MAXIMLITY (µµ) ˃˃*3µ ˃˃ *FINAL –G ˃˃

vii

*FINAL- C- µ ˃˃ *COMPLEXONS

˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA. While

The final hierarchy rank of word stress constraints in Hajji and Zabidi dialects are

organized as follows: GR WD = PR WD ˃˃ NONFINALITY ˃˃ FT-BIN ˃˃ WSP ˃˃

RIGHTMOST ˃˃ LEFTMOST ˃˃ UNEVEN-LAMB ˃˃ PARSE-σ.

It may be mentioned that after analysis of HYA and ZYA under Optimality

framework, it is observed that they not only differ from one another, but also show

difference from MSA in terms of many phonological considerations like phonemic

inventory (consonants, vowels and diphthongs), types of syllables, classification of

syllables, consonant clusters, structures of syllable and constraints in Optimality

Theory. The present analysis of Hajji and Zabidi dialects of Arabic will help in

providing a base for further research in the area of Optimality Theory to future

researchers.

viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Annexure – I ...................................................................................................... i

Annexure – II..................................................................................................... ii

Annexure – III ................................................................................................... iii

Acknowledgment ............................................................................................... iv

Abstract ............................................................................................................. v-vii

Table of Contents .............................................................................................. viii-xiii

List of Tables ..................................................................................................... xiv-xvi

List of Figures ................................................................................................... xvii-xviii

List of Abbreviations and Symbols .................................................................... xix-xx

List of Constraints ............................................................................................. xxi

Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................ 1-20

1.0 Introduction .............................................................................................. 1

1.1 The Places where the Dialects are Spoken .............................................. 1

1.1.1 Hajjah .......................................................................................... 2

1.1.1.1 Geographical Location and Population of Hajjah City . 2

1.1.1.2 Background of Hajjah City ........................................... 3

1.1.2 Zabid ............................................................................................ 4

1.1.2.1 Geographical Location and Population of Zabid City .. 4

1.1.2.2 Background of Zabid City ............................................... 5

1.2 Objectives of the Study ............................................................................ 5

1.3 Research Questions .................................................................................. 6

1.4 Significance of the study .......................................................................... 6

1.5 Statement of the Problem ......................................................................... 7

1.6 Limitations of the study ........................................................................... 8

1.7 Background on Syllable Structure and Word Stress in Modern

Standard Arabic (MSA) ........................................................................... 9

1.7.1 The Phonemic Inventory in MSA ................................................ 10

1.7.2 Vowel Sounds in MSA ................................................................ 10

1.7.3 Types of Syllables in MSA .......................................................... 10

1.7.4 Patterns of Syllables in MSA ....................................................... 10

ix

1.7.5 Consonant Clusters in MSA......................................................... 10

1.7.6 Word Stress in MSA .................................................................... 11

1.8 The Developments of Phonology............................................................. 11

1.8.1 Generative Phonology .................................................................. 12

1.8.2 Lexical Phonology ....................................................................... 17

1.8.3 Optimality Theory ........................................................................ 18

1.9 Outlines of the Thesis .............................................................................. 18

Chapter 2: Review of Literature .................................................................. 21-62

2.0 Introduction .............................................................................................. 21

Part-I: Optimality Theory (OT) ...................................................................... 21

2.1.1 Brief an Overview of Optimality Theory.............................................. 21

2.1.2 The most Important Notations of OT.................................................... 24

2.1.3 The Components of Optimality Theory (OT) ....................................... 25

2.1.4 The Conflicts between Constraints (Markedness and Faithfulness)

in OT ..................................................................................................... 26

2.1.5 Basic Syllable Structure Constraints in OT .......................................... 27

2.1.5.1 Markedness Constraints ......................................................... 27

2.1.5.1.1 Onset .................................................................... 27

2.1.5.1.2 No-Coda ............................................................... 28

2.1.5.1.3 * COMPLEXONS

.................................................. 29

2.1.5.1.4 * COMPLEXCOD

.................................................. 30

2.1.5.2 Faithfulness Constraints ......................................................... 30

2.1.5.2.1 MAX-IO ............................................................... 30

2.1.5.2.2 DEP-IO ................................................................ 30

Part-II: Syllable Structure ............................................................................... 31

2.2.1 The Phonemic Inventory ....................................................................... 31

2.2.2 Syllables ................................................................................................ 33

2.2.3 Syllable Structure .................................................................................. 34

2.2.3.1 Onset ...................................................................................... 36

2.2.3.2 Nucleus .................................................................................. 38

2.2.3.3 Coda ....................................................................................... 39

x

2.2.4 Types of Syllable Structure ................................................................... 40

2.2.5 Syllable Weight ..................................................................................... 46

2.2.6 Consonant Clusters ............................................................................... 48

2.2.6.1 Initial Clusters ........................................................................ 48

2.2.6.2 Medial Clusters ...................................................................... 52

2.2.6.3 Final Clusters ......................................................................... 52

2.2.7 Theoretical Background ........................................................................ 57

Part-III: Word Stress ....................................................................................... 58

2.3.1 Overview of Stress ................................................................................ 58

2.3.2 Word Stress Patterns ............................................................................. 58

2.3.3 Stress Constraints in OT ....................................................................... 62

2.3.4 Chapter Summary ................................................................................. 62

Chapter 3: Research Methodology ............................................................... 63-73

3.0 Introduction .............................................................................................. 63

3.1 The Statements of the Research Questions .............................................. 63

3.2 Population ................................................................................................ 63

3.3 Sample of the Study ................................................................................. 64

3.4 Instruments ............................................................................................... 65

3.4.1 The Questionnaire ....................................................................... 66

3.4.1.1 The questionnaire design .............................................. 66

3.4.2 The Interview ............................................................................... 69

3.4.2.1 The interview questions ................................................ 70

3.5 Pilot study ................................................................................................ 70

3.6 The validity and reliability of the data ..................................................... 71

3.7 Data collection ......................................................................................... 72

3.8 Procedures for Data Analysis ................................................................... 72

3.9 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 73

Chapter 4: Data and Analysis ....................................................................... 74-249

4.0 Introduction .............................................................................................. 74

Part I: Hajji Dialect.......................................................................................... 74

4.1.1 The Phonemic Inventory of HYA ......................................................... 74

xi

4.1.1.1 Consonant Sounds of HYA .................................................... 74

4.1.1.1.1 Description of Consonants in HYA ..................... 77

4.1.1.1.2 Distribution of Consonants in HYA .................... 79

4.1.1.1.3 Consonantal Contrasts in HYA ............................ 82

4.1.1.2 Vowel Sounds in HYA .......................................................... 84

4.1.1.2.1 Description of Vowels in HYA............................ 85

4.1.1.2.2 Distribution of Vowels in HYA ........................... 86

4.1.1.3 Diphthongs in HYA ............................................................... 87

4.1.2 Types of Syllables in Hajji Dialect ....................................................... 87

4.1.2.1 Monosyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect .................................... 88

4.1.2.2 Disyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect .......................................... 91

4.1.2.3 Trisyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect ......................................... 94

4.1.2.4 Tetrasyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect ..................................... 97

4.1.2.5 Pentasyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect ..................................... 99

4.1.3 Structure of Syllable in HYA ................................................................ 102

4.1.3.1 Onset in HYA ......................................................................... 102

4.1.3.2 Nucleus in HYA ..................................................................... 103

4.1.3.3 Coda in HYA ......................................................................... 103

4.1.4 Classification of Syllables in HYA ....................................................... 105

4.1.5 Consonant Clusters in HYA.................................................................. 106

4.1.5.1 Final Consonant Clusters in HYA ......................................... 106

4.1.6 An OT Analysis of Syllable Structure in Hajji Dialect......................... 123

4.1.6.1 Basic Syllable Structure Constraints in OT Related

to the Syllable Structure in Hajji Dialect ............................... 123

4.1.6.1.1 Markedness Constraints ...................................... 123

4.1.6.1.1.1 ONSET Constraint ......................... 123

4.1.6.1.1.2 NO-CODA ..................................... 124

4.1.6.1.1.3 *COMPLEXONS

............................. 127

4.1.6.1.1.4 *COMPLEXCOD

............................. 128

4.1.6.1.2 Faithfulness Constraints ...................................... 128

4.1.6.1.2.1 MAX-IO ......................................... 128

xii

4.1.6.1.2.2 DEP-IO .......................................... 130

4.1.6.2 Syllables Weight in Hajji Dialect ......................................... 134

4.1.7 Word Stress Patterns in Hajji Dialect ................................................... 144

4.1.8 An OT Analysis of Word Stress in Hajji Dialect .................................. 149

Part II: Zabidi Dialect...................................................................................... 159

4.2.1 The Phonemic Inventory of ZYA ......................................................... 159

4.2.1.1 Consonant Sounds of ZYA .................................................... 159

4.2.1.1.1 Description of Consonants in ZYA...................... 162

4.2.1.1.2 Distribution of Consonants in ZYA ..................... 163

4.2.1.1.3 Consonantal Contrasts in ZYA ............................ 165

4.2.1.2 Vowel Sounds in ZYA ............................................................ 167

4.2.1.2.1 Description of Vowels in ZYA ............................. 168

4.2.1.2.2 Distribution of Vowels in ZYA ...................................................... 169

4.2.1.3 Diphthongs in ZYA................................................................. 170

4.2.2 Syllable Types in Zabidi Yemeni Dialect ............................................. 171

4.2.2.1 Monosyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect .................................. 171

4.2.2.2 Disyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect ....................................... 175

4.2.2.3 Trisyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect ...................................... 180

4.2.2.4 Tetrasyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect ................................... 184

4.2.3 Structure of Syllable in Zabidi Dialect ................................................. 188

4.2.3.1 Onset in ZYA ......................................................................... 188

4.2.3.2 Nucleus in ZYA ..................................................................... 189

4.2.3.3 Coda in ZYA .......................................................................... 190

4.2.4 Classification of Syllables in ZYA ....................................................... 192

4.2.5 Consonant Clusters in ZYA .................................................................. 194

4.2.5.1 Initial Consonant Clusters in ZYA ........................................ 195

4.2.5.2 Medial consonant clusters in ZYA ........................................ 200

4.2.5.3 Final Consonant Clusters in ZYA .......................................... 203

4.2.6 An OT Analysis of Syllable Structure in Zabidi Dialect ................... 215

4.2.6.1 Basic Syllable Structure Constraints in OT Related

to the Syllable Structure in Zabidi Dialect ............................. 215

xiii

4.2.6.1.1 Markedness Constraints in ZYA .......................... 215

4.2.6.1.1.1 ONSET ........................................... 215

4.2.6.1.1.2 NO-CODA ..................................... 216

4.2.6.1.1.3 COMPLEXONS

............................... 218


............................. 218

4.2.6.1.2 Faithfulness Constraints in ZYA ........................ 219

4.2.6.1.2.1 MAX-IO ......................................... 219

4.2.6.1.2.2 DEP-IO .......................................... 220

4.2.6.2 Syllables Weight in Zabidi Dialect ........................................ 223

4.2.7 Word Stress Patterns in Zabidi Dialect ................................................. 235

4.2.8 An OT Analysis of Word Stress in Zabidi Dialect ............................... 239

4.2.9 Summary and Conclusions ................................................................... 248

Chapter 5: Results and Findings ................................................................... 250-264

5.1 Summary and Conclusions ...................................................................... 250

5.2 Results and Main Findings ...................................................................... 251

5.3 Recommendations for Future Research ................................................... 262

Bibliography .................................................................................................... 265-271

Appendices ....................................................................................................... 272-313

Appendix – A Questionnaire 1 (For Hajji Yemeni Dialect of Arabic)

Appendix – B Questionnaire 2 (For Zabidi Yemeni Dialect of Arabic)

Appendix – C Interview schedule (For Hajji Yemeni Dialect of Arabic)

Appendix – D Interview schedule (For Zabidi Yemeni Dialect of Arabic)

Appendix – E Data of Hajji dialect

Appendix – F Data of Zabidi dialect

Publications

xiv

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1: Consonant Sounds in MSA ............................................................ 9

Table 2.1: The Phonemic Consonants of (TLA) ............................................. 32

Table 2.2: Types of Syllable in TYA and MSA .............................................. 43

Table 2.3: Types of syllables in Kuwaiti Arabic (KA) .................................... 45

Table 3.1: The Number of Participants from HYA and ZYA ......................... 64

Table 3.2: Frequency and the Percentage of the Participants in HYA and ZYA

According to their Gender .............................................................. 65

Table 3.3: The Number of Participants for the Questionnaires

of Two Dialects .............................................................................. 67

Table 4.1: Consonant Sounds in HYA ............................................................ 75

Table 4.2: Exemplification of HYA Consonants ............................................. 76

Table 4.3: Distribution of Consonants in HYA ............................................... 79

Table 4.4: Distinctive Features (Consonant Sounds) for Hajji Dialect ........... 83

Table 4.5: Distinctive Features (Vowel Sounds) for Hajji Dialect .................. 86

Table 4.6: Diphthongs in HYA and MSA ....................................................... 87

Table 4.7: Monosyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect ............................................. 88

Table 4.8: The Distribution of the Syllable Types of Words

in Hajji Dialect ............................................................................... 90

Table 4.9: Percentages of Monosyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect .................... 90

Table 4.10: Disyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect ................................................. 92

Table 4.11: Percentages of Disyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect ........................ 93

Table 4.12: Trisyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect ................................................ 95

Table 4.13: Percentages of Trisyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect ....................... 96

Table 4.14: Tetrasyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect ............................................ 98

Table 4.15: Percentages of Tetrasyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect .................... 98

Table 4.16: Pentasyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect ............................................ 99

Table 4.17: Percentages of Pentasyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect ................... 100

Table 4.18: Percentages of Syllable Types in Hajji Dialect............................. 101

xv

Table 4.19: Final Stop - Consonant Clusters in HYA ...................................... 109

Table 4.20: Final Fricative - Consonant Clusters in HYA ............................... 110

Table 4.21: Final Two Consonant Clusters in HYA ........................................ 114

Table 4.22: Consonant Sounds in ZYA ........................................................... 159

Table 4.23: Exemplification of ZYA Consonants............................................ 161

Table 4.24: Distribution of Consonants of Zabidi Dialect ............................... 163

Table 4.25: Consonantal Contrasts in ZYA ..................................................... 165

Table 4.26: Distinctive Features (Consonant Sounds) for Zabidi Dialect ....... 166

Table 4.27: Distinctive Features (Vowel Sounds) for Zabidi Dialect .............. 170

Table 4.28: Diphthongs in ZYA and MSA ...................................................... 170

Table 4.29: Monosyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect ......................................... 172

Table 4.30: Percentages of Monosyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect ................ 174

Table 4.31: Disyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect .............................................. 176

Table 4.32: Percentages of Disyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect ...................... 179

Table 4.33: Trisyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect ............................................. 181

Table 4.34: Percentages of Trisyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect ..................... 183

Table 4.35: Tetrasyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect .......................................... 185

Table 4.36: Percentages of Tetrasyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect ................. 186

Table 6.37: Percentages of Syllable Types in Zabidi Dialect .......................... 187

Table 4.38: Simple and Complex Coda in ZYA .............................................. 191

Table 4.39: Two Initial- Stop Consonant Clusters in ZYA ............................. 195

Table 4.40: Two Initial -Fricative Consonant Clusters in ZYA....................... 196

Table 4.41: Two Initial- Nasal Consonant Clusters in ZYA ............................ 197

Table 4.42: Two initial- Tap consonant clusters in ZYA................................. 198

Table 4.43: Two Initial- Glide Consonant Clusters in ZYA ............................ 198

Table 4.44: Initial Two- Consonant Clusters in ZYA ...................................... 199

Table 4.45: Final Nasal - Consonant Clusters in ZYA .................................... 205

Table 4.46: Consonant Sequences in Zabidi Dialect ....................................... 208

Table 5.1: Phonemic Inventory of HYA, ZYA and MSA ............................... 251

Table 5.2: Number of Consonant Clusters in HYA, ZYA and MSA .............. 252

Table 5.3: Classification of Syllables Structure in HYA and ZYA ................. 254

xvi

Table 5.4: The Most and the Least Frequent and Percentage Types

of Syllable Structure in HYA and ZYA ......................................... 258

Table 5.5: The Most and the Least Frequent and Percentage Canonical

Structures Inside each Type of HYA ............................................. 260


Structures Inside each Type of ZYA .............................................. 261

xvii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1: Map of Yemen (HYA and ZYA) ................................................... 2

Figure 1.2: Map of Hajjah City ......................................................................... 3

Figure 1.3: Map of Zabid City .......................................................................... 4

Figure 1.4: The Developments of Phonology ................................................... 11

Figure 1.5: Structure of GP ............................................................................... 12

Figure 1.6: Model of LP .................................................................................... 17

Figure 2.1: Elimination of less- Harmonic Candidates in OT .......................... 23

Figure 2.2: The Components of OT .................................................................. 25

Figure 2.3: Prosodic Hierarchy of Syllable ....................................................... 33

Figure 2.4: Syllable Structure ........................................................................... 35

Figure 2.5: Number and Position of the Consonant Cluster:

Three- Initial Consonant Cluster (CCCV-) .................................... 51

Figure 2.6: Lists Combinations Final Four- Consonant Clusters in English .... 52

Figure 2.7: Number and Position of the Consonant Cluster:

Three-Final Consonant Cluster (-VCCC) ....................................... 53

Figure 3.1: Frequency of Participants in HYA and ZYA ................................. 65

Figure 4.1: Short Vowels in HYA .................................................................... 84

Figure 4.2: Frequencies of Monosyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect .................... 91

Figure 4.3: Frequencies of Disyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect .......................... 94

Figure 4.4: Frequencies of Trisyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect ......................... 97

Figure 4.5: Frequencies of Tetrasyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect ..................... 99

Figure 4.6: Frequencies of Pentasyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect ..................... 100

Figure 4.7: Frequencies of Syllable Types in Hajji Dialect .............................. 101

Figure 4.8: Diagrams of Final Consonant Clusters in HYA ............................. 115

Figure 4.9: Short Vowels in ZYA ..................................................................... 167

Figure 4.10: Frequencies of Monosyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect ................ 175

Figure 4.11: Frequencies of Disyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect ...................... 180

Figure 4.12: Frequencies of Trisyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect ..................... 184

Figure 4.13: Frequencies of Tetrasyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect ................. 186

xviii

Figure 4.14: Frequencies of Syllable Types in Zabidi Dialect .......................... 187

Figure 4.15: Diagrams of Occurrence of Onset and Coda Consonant

Clusters in Zabidi Dialect ............................................................. 209

Figure 5.1: Diagrammatic Representation of the Results ................................. 263

xix

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS

MSA : Modern Standard Arabic

HYA : Hajji Yemeni Arabic

ZYA : Zabidi Yemeni Arabic

TYA : Taizi Yemeni Arabic

TLA : Tripolitanian Libyan Arabic

NA : Najdi Arabic

OT : Optimality Theory

IPA : International Phonetic Alphabet

GEN : Generator

EVAL : Evaluator

GP : Generative Phonology

LP : Lexical Phonology

C : Consonant Sound

V : Vowel Sound

C1 / C2, ….Cn : Constraint 1 / Constraint 2 ,… Constraint n

UG : Universal Grammar

IO : Input-Output

SPSS : Statistical Package for Social Sciences

PL : Plural

SG : Singular

M : Masculine

F : Feminine

DU : Dual

NOM : Nominative Case

ACC : Accusative Case

POSS : Possessive

N : Nucleus

R : Rhyme

xx

O : Onset

C : Coda

CC : Consonant Cluster

μ : Mora

>> : Dominate

: Optimal candidate

WSP : Weight-to-Stress –Principle

MAX-IO : Maximal input- output

DEP-IO : Dependent input- output

* : The violation of a constraint

! : The violation of the constraint is fatal

** : Multiple violations

xxi

LIST OF OT CONSTRAINTS

Set of Optimality Theory constraints by Prince and Smolensky 1993 and Kager 1999.

ONSET : Syllables must have onsets

NO-CODA : Syllables are open

*COMPLEXONS

:

Onsets are simple

*COMPLEXCOD

:

Codas are simple

MAX-IO : Every segment of the input has a correspondent

in the output

DEP-IO : Every segment of the output has a correspondent

in the input

*LLL : Assign one violation mark for three light

syllables

SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ) : Syllables are maximally mono-moraic”.

SYL-MAXIMLITY (µµ) : Syllables are maximally bi-moraic”.

*3µ : No trimoraic syllables”.

*FINAL –G : Word- final geminates are prohibited”.

*FINAL- C- µ : Word- final coda consonants are weightless”.

NONFINALITY : No foot is final in PrWd

UNEVEN-LAMB : (LH) ˃ (LL), (H)

GRWD = PRWD : A grammatical word must be a prosodic word

PARSE-SYL : Feet are parsed by feet

WSP : Heavy syllables are stressed

FT-BIN : Feet are binary under moraic or syllabic analysis

RIGHTMOST : The head foot is rightmost in PR WD

LEFTMOST : The head foot is leftmost in PR WD

Chapter 1: Introduction

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

This thesis shows a comprehensive analysis of the syllable structure and word

stress as implemented within Optimality Theory (OT) for Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni

dialects of Arabic (HYA and ZYA), spoken in the north-western Yemen. In Hajji and

Zabidi dialects, there are specific features (properties) of the syllable shape and word

stress which differ from Modern Standard Arabic, and which also differ from some

Yemeni dialects, spoken in surrounding areas, to HYA and ZYA like Tazi, Ibbi and

Sana‟ai and which also differs from MSA. It also sheds light on the most and the least

frequencies and percentages which includes types of syllables and canonical

structures inside each type in HYA and ZYA. This chapter gives an overview of the

places where the dialects are spoken. It also presents the geographical location and

population on Hajji and Zabidi dialects. Then, it highlights the objectives, research

questions and significance of the study. Furthermore, it presents limitations of the

study and statement of the problem. It presents a brief background on phonemic

inventory, types of syllables, patterns of syllables, consonant clusters and word stress

in Modern Standard Arabic. Finally, it gives a brief overview of the developments of

phonology.

1.1 The Places where the Dialects are Spoken

The study was carried out in Hajjah city and AL-Hudaidah, especially in

Zabid city, the place where Hajji and Zabidi, Yemeni dialects of Arabic (HYA and

ZYA), are spoken. Hajjah and Zabid are parts of Yemen. Yemeni Arabic language

belongs to the Semitic family of languages. Yemen is one of the most important and

largest Arab countries in western Asia of the Arabian Peninsula. Yemen is bordered

by Saudi Arabia in the north, by the Red Sea in the west, by Oman in north-east and

by Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden in the south. Yemen is shaded in yellow in the

following map:


2

Figure 1.1: Map of Yemen (HYA and ZYA)

1.1.1 Hajjah

1.1.1.1 Geographical Location and Population of Hajjah City

Hajjah is located in the north-western part of the Republic of Yemen. Hajjah is

the capital of Hajjah governorate and is located over 127km from the capital of

Yemen, Sana‟a. Hajjah is the area that is connected to the north by Saa‟da and Saudi

Arabia, to the south by the governorates Hudaidah and AL-Mahweet, to the east by

Amran governorate, to the west by the Red Sea and part of Hudaidah. Hajji Yemeni

Arabic is a dialect spoken in the city of Hajjah. The population of Hajjah governorate

is 2,350,000, around 7.5% of the total population of Yemen. According to the number

of population, Hajjah occupies the fifth place among the governorates of the Republic

of Yemen. The area is about 8226 km2.

Hajjah has 31 districts as follows: Abs, Haradh, Bakil AL Mir, Aflah Al

Yaman, Hayran, Bani Al Awam, Aflah Ash Shawm, Hajjah district, Al Jamimah,

Hajjah City, Bani Qa'is, AL Maghrabah, Khayran Al Muharraq, Al Mahabishah,

Ku'aydinah, Al-miftah, Kuhlan Affar, Ash Shaghadirah, Mabyan, Qafl Shamer, Ash

Shahil, Kuhlan Ash Sharaf, Qarah, Aslem, Kushar, Midi, Sharas, Mustaba, Wadhrah,

Najrah and Washhah. Hajjah region is shaded orange in the following map:


3

Figure 1.2: Map of Hajjah City

1.1.1.2 Background of Hajjah City

Agriculture and grazing are the major activities of the population in Hajjah

governorate. Fruits, vegetables and grains are the most important agricultural crops.

Moreover, fishing and bee keeping are also the main activities of the population in

Hajjah. The movement of transport and trade are the most important commercial

activities through the part of Haradh which is adjacent to the Saudi border. In Hajjah,

there are a lot of minerals such as gold, nickel, copper … etc. Furthermore, the tourist

attractions in Hajjah are one of the most important historical attractions in Yemen

such as Cairo Castle, Jabil Noman and Saadan palace. There are also a lot of

picturesque landscape such as, Wadi Shars and Waterfalls of Valley in Ain Ali. In

Hajjah, there are a lot of archaeological mosques which are characterized by their

wonderful art such as, Hora mosque and some archaeological mosques in Dhafer.

High mountains and houses decorated give an amazing beauty to the city. The climate

in Hajjah is mild in summer and mild cold in winter with rain falling in summer.


4

1.1.2 Zabid

1.1.2.1 Geographical Location and Population of Zabid City

Zabid is a Yemeni town with a long history, located in the province of

Hudaidah, in average position of Tihama between two agricultural valleys. The first

valley Wadi Rumma, is in the north of the city, and the second valley while Wadi

Zabid, is in the south of the city. Zabid was named according to its location in the

middle of the valley, in the heart of this beautiful valley, opposite to the sea and the

mountain. Zabid rises about 100 m above the Sea level. Zabid is connected to the

south by Aden, to the north by Saudi Arabia. Zabid is about 233 km south from the

capital of Yemen Sana‟a and 95 km to the south-east from the city of Hudaidah. The

population of Zabid is 130,000. Zabid region is in the map below:

Figure 1.3: Map of Zabid City


5

1.1.2.2 Background of Zabid City

Zabid was the capital of Yemen from 13th

to 15th

centuries and one of the

oldest traditional towns in Yemen. Zabid is claimed to be the first Islamic city in

Yemen because of the magnificent mosque here, which was built in 628 AD by Abu

Musa Ashaari, which is characterized by its beauty and decorations, and also due to

its Islamic university which played an important role in spreading Islam. Zabid is a

city of many mosques and religious schools but is also city of science and scientists

established here are schools of jurisprudence, astronomy, agriculture, medicine,

arithmetic, algebra, space and other sciences which are taught in this city.

Agriculture is also very popular in Zabid due to its fertile lands, and the most

popular agricultural crops in Zabid are fruits and vegetables such as grapes, bananas,

pomegranates, figs, lemons, tomatoes, watermelons, flowers, jasmine, roses and

narcissus. Zabid has two natural ports; the first port of Glefka and the second is the port of

Al-Fazza which were an essential source for commercial development. Zabid has five

doors, to the north of the city; Bab Siham, to the south, Bab Al-Qurtub, to the east, Bab

Al-Shabarq, to the west, Bab A-Nakhil, to the south-east, Bab Al-Naser. Zabid is

surrounded by a wall of ivory built in the third century AH during the reign of prince

Salama. The architecture of Zabid is characterized by elegant geometric design patterns

that create psychological and aesthetic comfort to anyone visiting the city. The climate of

Zabid is very hot and humid in summers, whereas in winter, it tends to be moderate.

1.2 Objectives of the Study

1- To investigate the syllabification patterns of Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni dialects

of Arabic, hereinafter referred to as HYA and ZYA, dialects spoken in the city

of Hajjah and the city of Zabid to the northwestern part of Yemen.

2- To provide a comprehensive analysis of the syllable structure and word stress

in Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni dialects of Arabic within the framework of

Optimality Theory.

3- To explore the patterns of word stress attested in Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni

dialects of Arabic.

4- To know the most and the least frequent, and percentage types, of syllable

structures in Hajji and Zabidi dialects.

5- To know the most and the least frequent, and percentage of canonical

structures inside each type of Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni dialects.


6

1.3 Research Questions

1- How are Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni dialects of Arabic different from Modern

Standard Arabic?

2- What is the comprehensive analysis of the syllable shape and word stress in

Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni dialects of Arabic within the framework of

Optimality Theory?

3- What are the patterns of word stress attested in Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni

dialects?

4- What are the most and the least frequent and percentage types of syllable

structures in Hajji and Zabidi dialects?

5- What are the most and the least frequent, and percentage of canonical

structures inside each type of Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni dialects?

1.4 Significance of the Study

The present study is significant and novel in the area of Optimality Theory as

it not only presents a description of the syllabic structure of the two dialects under

study, but it also goes a step further when it takes into consideration the frequencies

and percentages of each optimal candidate. Therefore, novelty lies in the fact that the

optimal candidates have been treated in a new quantitative light.

This study has an immense future significance pertaining to educators and

scholars of the phonology of Arabic. According to our information, this is the first

work that has been done on phonology of Yemeni Arabic, which focuses mainly on

syllable structure and word stress of Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni dialects of Arabic

within the framework of OT as introduced by Kager (1999), Prince & Smolensky

(1993). This study provides a comprehensive in depth analysis of the syllable shape

and word stress from the data which is provided by native speakers of Hajji and

Zabidi Yemeni dialects of Arabic, which is spoken in Yemen through Optimality

Theory. The results of this study would assist the researchers, through OT analysis, to

know the constraints which are used in syllable structure and the constraints which are

used in word stress. Moreover, this study is also significant to assess which of the

constraints are more important and dominant than other constraints to select as the

optimal form (the actual output) of HYA and ZYA.


7

The results of this study can play an effective role in the organization of the

phonological processes of Arabic, especially of Yemeni Arabic variety used in HYA

and ZYA. This study gains its significance by the process of transcription which has

been done through International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), which clears all the

difficulties and misconceptions. The data in this study was collected through

interviews and questionnaires from the native speakers of Hajji and Zabidi of Yemeni

Arabic.

Katamba (1989) discusses that the syllable plays a decisive role in

conditioning the application of phonological rules internal to a language. This study

provides an in-depth descriptive analyses on syllable types, i.e. a word /qalb/ “heart”

is monosyllabic word of the canonical structure /CVCC/. Therefore, it would help the

researchers to know the number of canonical structures inside every syllable type and

which canonical structures are more used in Yemeni Arabic in HYA and ZYA. This

study is also significant because it would help educators and scholars to deal with

structure of syllable (onset, nucleus and coda) i.e. onset is obligatory whereas coda is

optional in Arabic. Therefore, this study is very significant as it helps researchers to

know the maximum and the minimum number of consonant clusters in any position of

the syllable (initial, medial and final) of Yemeni Arabic variety used in HYA and

ZYA. In consonant clusters in ZYA, if a syllable begins with /∫/ consonant, the second

sound must be /t/ and the third sound must be one of the following sounds /l, r, ħ, sˤ, ʔ,

χ, b, s/.

1.5 Statement of the Problem

The main problem we faced in this study was to know the optimal candidate,

how to get the optimal output from a group of candidates in syllable structures and

word stress of Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni dialects of Arabic through OT as introduced

by Kager (1999), Prince & Smolensky (1993). For example, the word /qalb/ “heart”

has four candidates /qa.lib/, /qalb/, /qab/ and /qal/, the problem lies in the selction of

the optimal output.

Another problem lies in syllable divisions. Researcher had to face many

difficulties in syllable divisions, when there are words that consist of multisyllabic

words, and how we decide on the division between syllables (Roach, 2002:77). The

canonical structure /CVCCVC/ is syllabified as /CVC.CVC/, /CV.CCVC/ and

/CVCC.VC/ and to know as to which syllable division is the correct one. The first


8

canonical structure is /CVC.CVC/, where the syllable boundary is between two heavy

syllables (between two consonants). While, the second canonical structure is

/CV.CCVC/, where the syllable boundary is between light syllable /CV/ and heavy

syllable /CCVC/. Whereas, the third canonical structure is /CVCC.VC/, where the

syllable boundary is between two heavy syllables, heavy syllables which end with

consonant clusters /CVCC/ and light syllables which begin with a vowel /VC/.

For example, the word /maktab/ “office” is polysyllabic (multisyllabic) with

the shape /CVCCVC/. The problem happens when we decide to syllabify between

syllables, it is syllabified as /mak.tab/, /ma.ktab/ or /makt.ab/. According to the first

word /mak.tab/, the syllable boundary lies between two consonants /k/ and /t/. While

in the second word /ma.ktab/, the syllable boundary lies between light syllable /ma/

and heavy syllable /ktab/. Whereas in the third word /makt.ab/, the syllable boundary

lies between two syllables, heavy syllable which ends with consonant clusters /makt/

and light syllable which begins with a vowel /ab/.

1.6 Limitations of the Study

1- The study was conducted in two Yemeni governorates, these are:

(i) Hajjah governorate, especially in Hajjah city of Yemeni Arabic (HYA).

(ii) AL-Hudaidah governorate, especially in Zabid of Yemeni Arabic (ZAY).

2- The study is limited to syllable structure and word stress of Hajji and Zabidi

Yemeni dialects of Arabic through OT as introduced by Prince & Smolensky (1993),

Kager (1999).

3- The data in the present study were collected from Yemeni students who are also

native speakers of Hajji and Zabidi dialects of the academic year (2016 – 2017).

Moreover, students were from two universities in Yemen i.e. College of Education,

Zabid, which belongs to AL-Hudaidah University and University of Hajjah. It

consisted of students of the first, second, third and fourth levels. Also, students

belonged to a university in India – Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), where Yemeni

students are studying. The researcher himself is from AMU. Therefore, the sample of

this study consisted of three hundred and sixty participants of two dialects.


9

1.7. Background on Syllable Structure and Word Stress in Modern Standard

Arabic (MSA)

Table 1.1: Consonant Sounds in MSA

B

ilab

ial

Lab

io-d

enta

l

Inte

r-d

enta

l

Den

tal-

alv

eola

r

Pala

tal

Vel

ar

Uvu

lar

Ph

ary

n-g

eal

Glo

ttal

Plosive b

t d

tˤ dˤ

k q ʔ

Affricates ʤ

Fricative

f

Ө ð

ðˤ

s z

sˤ ∫ χ ʁ ħ ʕ h

Nasal m n

Lateral l

Tap r

Glide w j

By Watson (2002: 13)


10

1.7.1 The Phonemic Inventory in MSA

The consonant sounds of MSA, as presented in Table 1.1 above, consists of 28

consonants, as in the following (/b, t, d, k, dˤ, q, tˤ, ʔ, m, n, ʤ, f, Ѳ, ðˤ , ð, ʕ, s, z, sˤ , ∫,

χ, ʁ ,ħ ,h, r, l, j, w/.

1.7.2 Vowel Sounds in MSA

In MSA, there are 6 vowels as given in the following examples:

/i/ as in /bint/ “girl” /i:/ as in /ti:n/ “figs”

/a/ as in /ʕaql/ “mind” /a:/ as in /qa:l/ “he said”

/u/ as in /qutˤn/ “cotton” /u:/ as in /nu:r/ “light”

1.7.3 Types of Syllables in MSA

There are six types of syllables in MSA as given below:

Monosyllabic words as in /ħilm/ “dream”

Disyllabic words as in /ʔa.kil/ “food”

Trisyllabic words as in /qa.ra.ʔa/ “he read”

Tetrasyllabic words as in /ʕi.rif.ta.hum/ “I knew them”

Pentasyllabic words as in /Ɂis.taʕ.ma.lat.hum/ “she used them”

Hexasyllabic words as in /tˤa:.li.ba.tu.hu.ma:/ “student (NOM.SG.F)3DU.poss”

1.7.4 Patterns of Syllables in MSA

MSA has five patterns of syllables as in the following chart:

/CV/ as in /ba/ “with”

/CV:/ as in /fi:/ “in”

/CVC/ as in /jad/ “hand”

/CVCC/ as in /ħibr/ “ink”

/CV:C/ as in /ta:ʤ/ “crown”

1.7.5 Consonant Clusters in MSA

In MSA, there are no consonant clusters in the word initial (onset position)

and medial positions. Only consonant clusters permitted in the syllable-finally (coda

position) and the maximum number of complex coda in MSA are two only. For more

clarification about consonant clusters in MSA, consider the examples below:


11

/ʤism/ “body” /ħilm/ “dream” /qalb/ “heart”

/ʕaql/ “mind” /ʔism/ “name” /waqt/ “time”

1.7.6 Word Stress in MSA

For more clarification about occurs of word stress in MSA, consider the

following examples: /d'i:n/ “religion” /b'aħr/ “sea” /θ'a.man/ “price”

/m'atˤ.baχ/ “kitchen” /b'aħ.ra.hum/ “their sea” /χa.r'ab.ta.ha/ “you spoil it”

1.8 The Developments of Phonology

The developments of Phonology were started in the early 1968 in Generative

phonology by Chomsky and Halle in their book “Sound Pattern of English”, later

evolved into Natural Generative Phonology. Natural Phonology is a theory based on

the publications of its proponent David Stampe in 1969 and (more explicitly) in 1979

it evolved into Autosegmental Phonology by John Goldsmith. Autosegmental

Phonology later evolved into Lexical Phonology and then into Optimality Theory.

These developments of phonology are represented schematically below.

Figure 1.4: The Developments of Phonology


12

1.8.1 Generative Phonology

Generative Phonology (GP) was first introduced by Chomsky and Halle

(1968) in their book “Sound Pattern of English”. Later, the theory was discussed by

many other scholars such as; Hyman (1975), Halle and Clements (2011), Goldsmith

(1995), Clark (2007), Oyebade (2008), Ogunsiji and Sunday (2011).

GP is a theory of the sound structure of language. The theoretical framework of GP

owes a great deal to the sound pattern of English (henceforth, SPE) in which

Chomsky and Halle set forth the theory and the application to English language

(Schane: 1973).

In structure of GP, there are three levels, the first level is the input phonemic

representation defined by underlying form for derivation. The second level is the

output phonetic representation defined by surface form derived from phonemic

representation, while, the third level is related with phonological rules (intermediated

level) between the two levels, that is, phonetic representation and phonemic

representation. In brief, the output phonetic representation (surface form) is derived

from the input phonemic representation (underlying form) by applying phonological

rules (intermediated level) to it (Goldsmith: 1995). Consider the following diagram

for more clarification about the structure of GP.

Figure 1.5: Structure of GP

The features in GP are used to describe natural classes of sounds (to distinguish one

sound from the other sound). They are valid for any language or dialect and are

known as distinctive features, Chomsky and Halle (1968).

Phonemic Representation (Underlying Form)

Phonological Rules (Intermediated Level)

Phonetic Representation (Surface Form)


13

According to Ogunsiji and Sunday (2011), to describe any sound, GP tries to

reduce the number of features, so features are divided into groups, these are:

Distinctive Features in MSA:

Major Class Feature in MSA

Sonorant

[-son] [+son]

Consonantal

[-cons] [+cons]

stops

(/b/, /t/, /d/,

/tˤ/, /k/, /q/,

/dˤ/, /ʔ/)

affricate (/ʤ/)

liquid (/r/)

Fricatives (/f/, /Ө/, /ð/,

/ðˤ/, /s/, /z/,

/sˤ/, /∫/, /χ/,

/ʁ/, /ħ/, /ʕ/,

/h/)

nasals

(/n/, /m/)

lateral

(/l/)

vowels

(/i/, /u/, /a/)

glides

(/w/, /j/)

vowels

(/i/, /u/, /a/)

stops

(/b/, /t/, /d/, /tˤ/, /k/,

/dˤ/, /q/, /ʔ/)

Affricate (/ʤ/)

fricatives

(/f/, /Ө/, /ð/, /ðˤ/, /s/,

/z/, /sˤ/, /∫/, /χ/, /ʁ/, /ħ/,

/ʕ/, /h/)

nasals (/n/,/m/)

lateral (/l/)

liquid (/r/)


14

Syllabic

[+ syllabic] [-syllabic]

Consonant Place Features in MSA

Labial

bilabial (/b/, /m/, /w/)

labial-dentals (/f/)

Coronal

[+cor] [-cor]

inter-dentals

(/Ө/, /ð/, /ðˤ/)

dental-alveolar (/t/, /d/, /tˤ/, /s/, /z/,

/tˤ/, /dˤ/)

liquid (/r/)

palatals (/ʤ/, /j/)

lateral (/l/)

nasal (/n/)


labial (/f/)

uvulars (/q/,/χ/,/ʁ/)

vewels (/i/,/u/,/a/)

glottals (/ʔ/, /h/)

no sound

stops

(/b/, /t/, /d/, /tˤ/,

/dˤ/, /k/, /q/, /ʔ/)

Affricate (/ʤ/)

fricatives

(/f/, /Ө/, /ð/, /ðˤ/,

/s/, /z/, /sˤ/, /∫/, /χ/,

/ʁ/, /ħ/, /ʕ/, /h/)

nasals (/n/,/m/)

glides (/w/, /j/)

lateral (/l/)

vowels (/i/,/u/,/a/)

liquids (/r/)


15

Anterior

(+ anterior) (- anterior)

Manner Features in MSA

Continuant

(+ cont) (- cont)

Nasal (/m/, /n/)

Lateral (/l/)

Laryngeal Features

Voice

(+ voice) (- voice)

labial (/f/)

dentalalveolars (/t/,

/d/, /tˤ/, /s/, /z/, /tˤ/)

lateral (/l/)


liquid (/r/)

nasal (/n/)

Uvulars (/q/,/χ/, /ʁ/)

Glottals (/ʔ/, /h/)

fricative

(/f/, /Ө/, /ð/, /ðˤ/, /s/,

/z/, /sˤ/, /∫/, /χ/, /ʁ/,

/ħ/, /ʕ/,/h/)

nasals (/n/,/m/)

Affricate (/ʤ/)

stops

(/b/, /t/, /d/, /tˤ/,

/k/, /dˤ/, /q/, /ʔ/)

lateral (/l/)

liquids (/r/)

glides (/w/, /j/)

/b/, /d/, /z/, /m/, /n/,

/w/, /l/, /r/, /j/, /ɡ/,

/dˤ/, /ʤ/, /ð/, /ʁ/,

/ʕ/, /ðˤ/

/t/, /k/, /f/, /h/, / tˤ/,

/Ө/, /s/, /ʔ/, /∫/, /χ/,

/sˤ/, /q/, / ħ/


16

Vowel Place Feature in MSA

High

(+ high)

● Low

(+ low)

● Back

(+ back)

Rounding

(rounded /u/)

(unrounded /i/, /a/)

For example: in MSA, the features of the word /ħar/ “hot” as in below:

/ħ/ /a/ /r/

velars (/k/,/q//∫/)

high front (/i/)

high back (/u/)

pharyngeal (/ħ/,/ʕ/)

low back (/a/)

uvulars (/χ/,/ʁ/)

uvulars (/q/,/χ/,/ʁ/)

pharyngeals (/ħ/,/ʕ/)

high back (/u/)

+ consonantal

- voice

+ continual

- sonorant

- syllabic

+ vowel

- high

- back

+ low

- round

+ consonantal

+ voice

- sonorant

- syllabic

+ coronal

+ antterior


17

The most important phonological rules process in GP as in below:

Assimilation

Labialization

Deletion

Insertion

Neutralization

Palatalization

Epenthesis

Valorization

1.8.2 Lexical Phonology

Lexical Phonology was discussed and developed by Pestsky (1979), Kiparsky

(1982), Mohanan (1982), Halle and Mohanan (1985), Kaisse and Shaw (1985), Booij

and Rubach (1987), and others. Phonological rules can be divided into the following

modules:

Lexical module

Postlexical module

According to Kiparsky„s model about the basic claims of Lexical Phonology,

the morphological rules and word level phonological rules are interspersed. A rule of

word phonology may apply as soon as the required environment for its application has

been created by some morphological rule. It means that morphology and phonology

go hand in hand. According to his theory, the rules are cyclic rules (which are allowed

to apply in derived environments). Whereas, the rules are postcyclic rules (which are

not allowed to apply to the derived environment).

Figure 1.6: Model of LP

Underived lexical items, roots

Morphological

rules

Cyclic

phonological

rules

Postcyclic

phonological rules

Syntax

Postlexical phonology

Syntax

Phonolog

y

Lexicon


18

1.8.3 Optimality Theory

Optimality Theory was first developed and introduced by Prince and

Smolensky (1993). Later, the theory was discussed and expanded in several works by

many other scholars such as; Archangeli (1997), Prince and Smolensky (1997), Kager

(1999), McCarthy (2002), Kager (2004), McCarthy and Prince (2004), Prince and

Smolensky (2004) and others. Optimality Theory is different than other theories as it

can be violated by any constraint such as Onset, No-coda … etc, while the earlier

theories are inviolate. In Optimality Theory, there are two types of constraints

(markedness and faithfulness), both of them are in conflict with each other about the

optimal candidate. High ranked is more important (dominate) than low ranked in OT.

In Optimality Theory, there are four components these are:

Lexicon

Generator

Constraint

Evaluation

In Optimality Theory, the optimal forms only one candidate, which is the most

harmonic one than other candidates (the one which incurs the least violation of the set

of constraints); it wins the competition and is selected as the optimal form. While the

other candidates are ruled out from competition by different constraints and they are

called losers for being less harmonic (incurs the most violation of the constraints).

1.9 Outline of the Thesis

The present thesis is organized into chapters and sections as follows:

Chapter 1 provides the places where the dialects are spoken, geographical

location, population and background of Hajjah and Zabid city of Yemeni Arabic.

Objectives of the study, research questions, significance of the study, statement of the

problem, limitations of the study are discussed. It also includes background on

syllable structure and word stress in Modern Standard Arabic. The developments of

phonology (Generative Phonology, Lexical Phonology and Optimality Theory) are

presented. Finally, thesis outline is also presented.

Chapter 2 is divided into three parts. The first part provides a brief overview

of Optimality Theory (OT). It also describes the most important notations of

Optimality Theory (OT). The components of Optimality Theory (OT): lexicon,


19

generator, constraint and evaluation are explained. It is also dedicated to discussion on

the conflicts between constraints (Markedness and Faithfulness) in OT. Furthermore,

this part presents basic syllable structure constraints in OT: ONSET, NO-CODA,

*COMPLEXONS

, *COMPLEXCOD

, MAX-IO, DEP-IO. Whereas, the second part

identifies the phonemic inventory (consonants and vowels) of some dialects of

Arabic. It also provides syllables, types of syllable structures and syllable weight. It

also sheds light on consonant clusters (initial, medial and final cluster). Theoretical

background is also presented. While the last part gives an overview of stress. It

presents word stress patterns and stress constraints in Optimality Theory (OT).

Chapter 3 deals with the methodology that was used in this study. It provides

the statements of the research questions. It also highlights the population and sample

of the study. Furthermore, it describes two instruments for collecting data i.e.

questionnaire and interview. This chapter also presents a brief survey of pilot study,

the validity and reliability of the data. Finally, an overview of data collection and

procedures for data analysis of this study are discussed.

Chapter 4 provides a detailed discussion of syllable structure and word stress

of Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni dialects of Arabic through Optimality Theory (OT). This

chapter is divided into two parts. The first part discusses the phonemic inventory

(consonants, vowels and diphthongs) of Hajji Yemeni dialect of Arabic (HYA). Types

of syllables (monosyllabic, disyllabic, trisyllabic, tetrasyllabic and pentasyllabic

words) of HYA are presented. It also presents the structures of syllable, classification

of syllables and consonant clusters of Hajji dialect. An OT analysis of syllable

structure in Hajji is also presented. Moreover, it gives a basic syllable structure

constraints in OT related to the syllable structure in Hajji dialect (Markedness and

Faithfulness constraints). Syllable weight in HYA is also discussed. Furthermore, it

highlights upon word stress patterns and also presents an OT analysis of word stress

in Hajji dialect.

Moreover in the second part, we present the phonemic inventory of Zabidi

Yemeni dialect of Arabic (ZYA). It also presents types of syllables, classification of

syllables, structures of syllable and consonant clusters of Zabidi dialect. Moreover, it

is dedicated to present an OT analysis of syllable structure constraints and syllable

weight in Zabidi dialect. Finally, it presents word stress patterns and how to analyse

word stress in Zabidi dialect through OT.


20

Chapter 5 presents summary and conclusions of the study, results and main

findings are also presented. Finally, it also provides some suggestions for future work.

Chapter 2: Review of Literature

21

CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.0 Introduction

No research works have been done on the syllable structure and word stress on

the framework of Optimality Theory of Hajji Yemeni dialect of Arabic (HYA) and

Zabidi Yemeni dialect of Arabic (ZYA) till now. Only a very few studies have been

conducted on the application of Optimality Theory on syllable structure and word

stress in other Arabic dialects, for example, Taizi dialect (TYA) by Sameer (2011)

and Shar’abi dialect by AL-Sar’abi (2010). This chapter reviews some of the

previously conducted studies in syllable structure and word stress on framework of

Optimality Theory and other earlier theories. The chapter is divided into three parts:

part one deals with Optimality Theory, part two deals with syllable structure and, part

three deals with word stress.

The first part provides a brief overview of Optimality Theory. It also describes

the most important notations of Optimality Theory. It explains the components of

Optimality Theory: lexicon, generator, constraint and evaluation. It also presents the

conflicts between constraints (Markedness and Faithfulness) in OT. Furthermore, in

this part, we present the basic syllable structure constraints in OT: ONSET, NO-

CODA, *COMPLEXONS

, * COMPLEXCOD

, MAX-IO and DEP-IO. In the second

part, it presents the phonemic inventory (consonants and vowels). It also provides an

insight on syllable, types of syllable structure and syllable weight. Moreover, it also

sheds light on consonant clusters (initial, medial and final cluster). It further presents

the theoretical background. While the last part gives an overview of stress. It presents

word stress patterns and stress constraints in Optimality Theory.

Part-I: Optimality Theory (OT)

2.1.1 Brief Overview of Optimality Theory

Optimality Theory (OT) was introduced discussed and developed, first by

scholars Prince and Smolensky (1993). Later, the theory was discussed and expanded

in several works by many other scholars and researchers such as Archangeli (1997),


22

Prince and Smolensky (1997), Kager (1999), Boersma (2000) Dekkers Boersma, and

Van Weijer (2000), McCarthy (2002), Kager (2004), McCarthy and Prince (2004),

Prince and Smolensky (2004). The most important difference between Optimality

Theory and the earlier theories is that the earlier theories are inviolate whereas

Optimality Theory is violated by any one of constrains (ONSET, NO-CODA,

*COMPLEXONS

, … etc). One of the important advantages of the Optimality Theory

is that the interaction of constraints leaves to the device only namely constraint

ranking. Constraints in Optimality Theory are divided into two types, markedness

constraints and faithfulness constraints. Both of these constraints (Markedness and

Faithfulness) compete with each other to win the optimal. According to the conflict

between constraints for winning the optimal, each language acquires a different

ranking of constraints. In some languages, the constraints are low-ranked, while in

other languages the constraints are high-ranked. Both of these constraints (low-ranked

and high ranked) are found in all languages, but high-ranked constraints are more

important and thus dominate over the low-ranked constraints. The constraints differ

from language to language.

In Optimality Theory, each linguistic output form is optimal when the

candidate incurs the least violation of constraints, Kager (1999: 8). When there is

competition among the candidates to win the optimal output, they are filtered by the

evaluator (EVAL) and the optimal is achieved by only one candidate which is the

most harmonic one than other candidates (the one which incurs the least violation of

the set of constraints) wins the competition and is selected as the optimal form. While

the other candidates are ruled out from competition by different constraints and they

are called losers for being less harmonic (incurs the most violation of the constraint).

In a given input, there are two processes, the first process is generator (GEN)

which is a set of candidates. While the second process is evaluate (EVAL) which is a

set of hierarchically ranked constraints (C1 ˃˃ C2 ˃˃ C3 ˃˃………….. Cn). All

candidates are ruled out from the competition except the optimal candidate and the

actual output which incurs the least violations of constraints, and the most harmonic

with respect to the set of the ranked constraints. This process is represented in figure

2.1 below:


23

Figure 2.1: Elimination of less- Harmonic Candidates in OT

Kager (1999: 8)

In Optimality Theory constraints, there are two properties (universality and

violability). The first property is that constraint is universal; this means that each

constraint is part of the universal grammar (UG). Constraints are found in all natural

languages. Every constraint is not equally active in all languages, it implies that

constraint is violated in one language may never be violated in another language as all

languages have their own systems. The second property is violability of constraint.

Kager (1999: 12) defined violability as “constraints are violable, but violation must be

minimal”. Moreover, Kager defined optimality as “the optimal form when the

candidate incurs the least violations of constraints than other candidates”. Constraints

are violated when the candidates do not satisfy the constraints, and also when the

candidates are not harmonic with constraints. For avoiding the violability of the

constraints, especially the high-ranked constraints, it is requied to find the fit form.

In the tableau of Optimality Theory, there is a top row that consists of input

and constraints. Constraints are ranked from left side to right side (from highest

ranked constraints to lowest ranked constraints). In the leftmost column there are a set

of candidates created by generator (GEN) and they are filtered by evaluation (EVAL)

to select the optimal output. For more clarification, a reference may be made to

tableau 2.1 below:


24

Tableau 2.1: Simple Domination of Constraints

Constraint 3 Constraint 2 Constraint 1 Input

*! Candidate a

* ☞ Candidate b

* *! Candidate c

In the tableau 2.1 above, candidate (a) violates the higher-ranked constraint

the most important constraint, so it is excluded from consideration as the optimal as it

violates the highest-ranked constraint; it is not important to satisfy or violate the

second and third constraints (lower-ranked constraint). Candidate (b) satisfies

constraint (1) and constraint (2) the higher-ranked constraints, and candidate (b) is

more harmonic than other candidates, so candidate (b) emerges as the optimal form

even though it violates constraint (3) the lower constraint. Candidate (c) satisfies

constraint (1) the higher-ranked constraint but it violates the second and third

constraints, so candidate (c) is ruled out for violating other important constraints

(constraint 2 and constraint 3).

2.1.2 The Most Important Notations of OT

(*) A shorthand for the violation of a constraint (asterisk).

(!) A stand for the violation of the constraint is fatal (an exclamation point).

(☞) Indicates that the candidate chosen is the winner or the optimal one and

the other candidates ruled out from competition (pointing finger).

(˃˃) Indicates that a constraint ranks higher than the next constraint

(dominance).

(**) Multiple violations.

Shaded cells show that whether a candidate violates constraint or satisfies

constraint which is no longer relevant to the evaluation.


25

2.1.3. The Components of Optimality Theory

In Optimality Theory there are four components as given below:

Lexicon or input

The lexicon consists of the vocabulary of language. Every lexical

representation of phonology, semantics, morphology, syntax (underlying forms)

consist of the vocabulary.

Generator

Generator can be abbreviated as (GEN), sometimes also called freedom of

analysis. Generator creates a large number of candidates. These candidates can be

grammatical or ungrammatical. Furthermore, generator can create, delete, add and

rearrange items. Moreover, generator is responsible for showing the correspondence

between output and input.

Constraint

Constraint can be abbreviated as (CON); constraint is divided into two types:

the first one is markedness constraint, while the second constraint is faithfulness

constraint. The significant role of a constraint is to assign the violation marks to a set

of candidates.

Evaluation

Evaluation can be abbreviated as (EVAL). Evaluation is a mechanism which

chooses the optimal form (the most harmonic candidate) from a set of candidates

selected by evaluation. When there are competitions between candidates for the

optimal form, they are filtered by evaluation to select the optimal output. Evaluation

is the central and one of the important components of Optimality Theory as the

evaluation has the responsibility to select the optimal form. Evaluation of candidate

depends on a set of ranking constraints (C1 ˃˃ C2 ˃˃ C3 ˃˃…………..Cn). The

following figure 2.2 summarizes the components of OT.

Input GEN candidates EVAL optimal output

McCarthy (2002: 10)


26

2.1.4 The Conflicts between Constraints (Markedness and Faithfulness) in OT.

Both the constraints (markedness and faithfulness) are in conflict with each

other. In Optimality Theory, every language has markedness constraints and

faithfulness constraints, onsets are required in markedness constraints such as (/CV/,

/CCV/, /CCCV/, /CCV:/, /CV:/, /CCCV:/ and /CV:C/). While, codas and

complexCOD

constraints are prohibited in markedness constraints such as (/VC/,

/V:C/, /VCC/, /CVC/, /CV:CC/, /CCVC/, /CCCVC/, /CCV:C/, /CCCV:C/, /CV:C/

and /CVCC/). Also, every language has several types of faithfulness constraints such

as, Max IO and Dep IO, and both of these two types are not required for deletion and

insertion of sounds respectively. In Optimality Theory faithfulness constraints do not

allow the differences between output and input. For example, when the input /CV:C/

become /CVC/ in output form, in this case, there is violation because faithfulness

constraints have prohibited the vowel deletion. And, when the input /CVCC.CVC/

become /CV.CVC.CVC/ in output form, in this case, there is also violation because

faithfulness constraints have prohibited the vowel epenthesis.

According to Kager (2004: 9-10), there are significant requirements in both

constraints as in the following:

Requirements in markedness constraints:

Coda is prohibited as in (/CV/, /CCV/, /CCV:/ and /CV:/)

Onset is obligatory as in (/CVC/, CV:C/, CV/, /CCV:/, /CCVCC/ and CV:/)

Complex is prohibited as in (/CCVC/, CCV/, /CCV:/ and /CV:CC/)

Onsets must be simple as in (/CV:C/, /CV/ and /CVC/)

Requirements in faithfulness constraints:

No deletion

No epenthesis

Any sound in input should also be in output

The optimal or the winner output is the most harmonic one than other

candidates and the one which incurs the least violations of constraints. Kager

(1999:13) defined domination as the higher-ranked constraints are more significant

and dominant than the lower constraints. Examples for more clarification about the

conflicts between constraints are given in tableau 2.2.


27


input Constraint (1) Constraint (2)

☞ Candidate (a) *

Candidate (b) *

In tableau 2.2, there are conflicts between constraint (1) and constraint (2) in

their evaluation of candidates. Constraint (1) prefers candidate (a), while constraint

(2) prefers candidate (b). The optimal or the conflict is resolved by ranking constraint

(1) above constraint (2), that is, the higher ranked constraint (1) takes precedence over

and dominatrs the lower ranked constraints (2), constraint (1) ˃˃ constraint (2).

2.1.5 Basic Syllable Structure Constraints in OT

Basic syllable structure constraints are divided into two types: markedness constraints

and faithfulness constraints.

2.1.5.1 Markedness Constraints

Markedness constraints are also known as structural constraints or well-

formedness. There are four types in markedness constraints: 1) Onset 2) No-Coda

3) *COMPLEXONS

4) * COMPLEXCOD

.

2.1.5.1.1 Onset

Onsets is a markedness constraint which means that if the syllable types begin

with a short or long vowel, there are no sounds before a vowel such as (V, VC, VCC,

V:, V:C). In this situation, there is violation in a constraint, if the syllable types begin

with a consonant at the initial position of a syllable such as (CV, CCV, CVC, CV:,

CCV:, CV:C, CCVCC, CV:CC, CCVC, CCV:C, CVCC). In this situation, there is no

violation in a constraint. All syllables must begin with a consonant (onset), in this

case, it has satisfied the constraint (syllables must have onsets), but when the syllables

have an initial vowel (nucleus), then there is violation in this case.


28

Under Optimality Theory, Aljmah (2008: 10) provides a complete analysis

about syllable structure in AL-Ahsa dialect. According to Aljmah, all the syllables in

AL-Ahsa start with a consonant, and there are no syllables that begin with a vowel, so

this constraint is not violated in AL-Ahsa dialect. For example, the word /sahil/

“easy” and /ras/ “head”. Furthermore, Aljmah said that what is allowed and what is

permitted, initial consonant clusters are prohibited, while final consonant clusters are

allowed in AL-Ahsa dialect.

ALAmro (2015: 1) mentioned that how Optimality Theory organizes the

syllabification of Najdi Arabic (NA) specially, and MSA generally. Moreover, the

order of sounds in the syllables is governed by constraints. Further, ALAmro

mentioned that Optimality Theory is useful to expound the syllable structure of (NA).

When the candidate is with an onset, it implies that the candidate satisfies the

constraint and the candidate wins the optimal form. But, when the candidate is

without an onset, it implies that the candidate has not satisfied the constraint, so the

candidate is ruled out from the competition.

2.1.5.1.2 No-Coda

No-Coda is a markedness constraint which means that if the syllable types end

with a short or long vowel (open syllable), there are no sounds at the end position (coda)

of a syllable such as (CV, CV:, V, CCV:, V:, CCV). In this situation, there is no violation

in a constraint. But if the syllable types end with a consonant at the final position of a

syllable such as, (CV:C, CCVCC, CVCC, CCVC, CV:CC, CCCV:C, CCCVC,

CCCVCC, CVC, VC, V:C), then in this situation, there is violation in a constraint.

Aljmah (2008: 10) said that there are syllables that end with a consonant, so

this constraint (No-Coda) is violated in AL-Ahsa dialect, for example, the word /kal/

“ate” and /bas/ “only”, /ba:b/ “door”, /baħr/ “sea”, /dam/ “blood”.


29

The violations in the constraints (Onsets and No-Codas) evaluate the syllable types

as given in the following examples:

Syllable types Onset No-Coda

V * √

CV √ √

CVC √ *

CV: √ √

VC * *

CV:C √ *

CVCC √ **

V: * √

CCV:C √ *

CCV: √ √

CVCC √ **

CCCV: √ √

CCCVC √ *

V:C * *

CV:CC √ **

CCV:C √ *

2.1.5.1.3 * COMPLEXONS

Kager (1999: 93) defined COMPLEXONS

as, “Onsets are simple”. It implies

that there can be no more than one consonant at the initial position of the candidate,

and if there are two or more consonants at the onset position then there is violation in

this constraint.


30

2.1.5.1.4 * COMPLEXCOD

This constraint requires no more than one consonant at the final position

(coda) of the syllable (coda is simple). And if there are two or more consonants at the

coda position, then there is violation in this constraint.

2.1.5.2 Faithfulness Constraints

Faithfulness constraints require the output of the candidate identical to its

input. In all languages, there is input and output. If the output correlates to the input

then there is no violation in DEP-IO and MAX-IO constraints. But when output is

not similar to the input, then there is violation in DEP-IO and MAX-IO constraints.

It implies that the processes of insertion or deletion are rejected by DEP-IO and

MAX-IO. It may be noted here, there are two types in faithfulness constraints: MAX-

IO and DEP-IO.

2.1.5.2.1 MAX-IO

Kager (1999:102) says “every segment of the input has a correspondent in the

output”. MAX-IO (maximal input- output) is one type of faithfulness constraint

which means that any sound of the input should be in the output (No deletion). It

implies that there is no deletion of any sound from the input.

2.1.5.2.2 DEP-IO

Kager (1999: 101) defined DEP -IO as “every segment of the output has a

correspondent in the input”. DEP-IO is one type of faithfulness constraint which

means that any sound of the output should be in the input (No epenthesis). This means

that there is no addition of any sound to the candidate.


31

Part-II: Syllable Structure

2.2.1 The Phonemic Inventory

Sameer Abdulrazzaq (2011: 18-22) in his project entitled “Syllable Structure

of Taizi Yemeni Dialect of Arabic: An Optimality Theory Perspective” mentioned

that Taizi dialect has ten vowel sounds in two types; long and short. Five short vowels

i.e. /i/, /a/, /e/, /u/, and /o/, and five long vowels i.e. (/i:/, /a:/, /e:/, /u:/, and /o:/).

According to him, Taizi dialect has twenty-eight consonants including thirteen

fricatives i.e. (/f/, /Ѳ/, /ð/, /ðˤ/, /s/, /z/, /sˤ/, /∫/, /χ/, /ʁ/, /ħ/, /ʕ/ and /h/), eight plosives

i.e. (/b/, /t/, /d/, /t ˤ/, /k/, /ɡ/, /q/ and /ʔ/), three nasals i.e. (/m/, /n/ and /ŋ/), one trill i.e.

(/r/), one lateral i.e. (/l/), two approximants (/w/ and /j/), and no affricates at all.

Further, he mentioned that Taizi dialect has no diphthongs at all.

Aljumah (2008: 157-159) in his paper entitled “The Syllable Shape of Al-

Ahsa Dialect: An OT Perspective” has mentioned that Al-Ahsa dialect has thirty-one

consonant sounds whereas Classic Arabic has only twenty-eight consonant sounds.

Further, he pointed that the phoneme /tʃ/ exists in Al-Ahsa dialect when the phoneme

/k/ is replaced by /tʃ/ for example: the word “dog” pronounced /tʃalb/ whereas in

classic Arabic pronounced /kalb/. According to him, Al-Ahsa dialect has six vowels,

three short vowels i.e. (/i/, /a/, and /u/), and three long vowels i.e. (/i:/, /a:/, /u:/). The

diphthongs mentioned by Aljumah are (/eɪ/ and /ia/) in Al-Ahsa dialect.

Tripolitanian Libyan Arabic (TLA) has 27 consonants, nine stops, eleven

fricatives, two nasals, two laterals, one tap and two approximants, Shitaw (2014: 12)

as shown in following table 2.1.


32

Table 2.1: The Phonemic Inventory Consonants of (TLA).

Bil

ab

ial

Lab

io-d

enta

l

Den

tal-

Alv

eola

r

Post

-Alv

eola

r

Vel

ar

Uvu

lar

Ph

ary

ngea

l

Glo

ttal

Stops b t d

tˤ d k ɡ q ʔ

Fricatives f s z

sˤ ∫ ʒ χ ʁ ħ ʕ h

Nasals m n

Laterals l lˤ

Tap r

Approximants w j

As stated by Shitaw (2014) vowels in TLA, there are three short vowels and five long

vowels as illustrated below:

/i:/ as in /tˤi:r/ “flt”

/i/ as in /sija:ra/ “a car”

/u:/ as in /su:q/ “market”

/u/ as in /ʔumm/ “a mother”

/a:/ as in /dˤa:r/ “harmful”

/a/ as in /ʔamta/ “when”

/o:/ as in /tˤo:r/ “phase”

/e:/ as in /le:∫/ “why”

Further he mentioned that, there are eight diphthongs in TLA. (/ij/, /u:j/, /a:y/, /aj/,

/ew/, /a:w/, /aw/ and /ʊw/), Shitaw (2014: 24).


33

2.2.2 Syllables

A syllable can be defined phonetically and phonologically. Syllables play a

significant role in several phonological processes such as vowel duration and lexical

stress. In all languages there are syllables, and all agree that the words /bas/ “enough”,

/ɡa.lam/ “pen”, /kul.lij.jah/ “college”, /mak.ta.ba.tih/ “his library”, /ti.li.fiz.zi.ju:n/

“television” in Arabic have one to five syllables, respectively. We can count the

syllables in any word in any language in the world, for example: the word /ɡalam/

“pen” in Arabic has two syllables (CV.CVC) /ɡa.lam/, and the word “college”

/kullijjah/ in Arabic has three syllables (CVC.CVC.CVC) /kul-lij-jah/. Laver (1994:

39) defined the syllable as “a complex unit made up of nucleus and marginal

elements”. Nucleus elements are vowels, whereas marginal elements are consonants.

While Rogers (2000: 314) defined the syllable as “a unit of phonological

organization, typically larger than a segment and smaller than a word”. In addition, as

Hockett (1955) defined syllable as “the smallest unit in the structure of an utterance”.

Moreover, “the syllable is at the heart of the phonological representation. It is the unit

in terms of which phonological systems are organized” Katamba (1989: 153). Most of

the syllables in any language cannot consist of consonants only, but most of the

syllables are followed or preceded by short or long vowel such as: (CV, CV:, VC,

V:C, CVC, CCV, CV:C, CVCC).

The syllable is a prosodic unit in the prosodic hierarchy; the smallest prosodic

unit in prosodic hierarchy are the syllable terminals, while prosodic word (PrWd) is at

the top of prosodic hierarchy. A syllable in prosodic hierarchy is represented by

Blevins (1995), as illustrated below in figure 2.3.

Phonological phrase

Prosodic word

Foot

Syllable

Syllable terminals

(2.3)


34

2.2.3. Syllable Structure

Words in different languages contain many syllables, may be one, two, three

or more according to the dialect or language. The head and the most important part of

the syllable of any dialect or language is the vowel (nucleus). And, there is no word or

syllable of any dialect or language in the world without a vowel (nucleus), a vowel is

obligatory part of the syllable in all dialects or languages. Sometimes syllables or

words contain only a short vowel (nucleus) without being preceded or followed by a

consonant; for instance, in English language, in the word /eye/ “I” /ai/ a vowel stands

alone in a word. However, a vowel (nucleus) cannot stand alone in a word or a

syllable without a consonant in some dialects or languages because a consonant

(onset) is obligatory and cannot be more than one consonant; for instance, in Arabic

language, the word /wa/ “and” or /fi/ “in” contains a consonant plus vowel. Also, in

Mehri language, the word /ðe/ “the” contains a vowel preceded by a consonant and

the word /ham/ “name” contains a vowel preceded and followed by a consonant.

Whereas the syllable onset in English language consists of up to three consonants as

in (CVC, CCVC and CCCVC). While, on the other hand, coda consists of one or two

consonant sounds in Arabic, such as (CVC) /min/ “from” and (CVCC) /nafs/ “soul”,

(CVCC) /ra:s/ “head”, (CV:C) /ka:f/ “how”, whereas, the syllable coda in English

language consists of four consonants as in (CVC, CVCC, CCVCCC and CVCCCC).

Syllable structure in Arabic language is more different from the syllable structure in

English language.

Syllables can be divided into two parts. These two parts are onset and rhyme;

whereas rhyme is divided into two parts, nucleus (vowel) and coda as illustrated in

figure 2.4. The onset and coda are occupied by consonants, whereas the nucleus is

obligatory and occupied by vowels, Egbokhare (1994: 65). And not all syllables have

these parts, some syllables contain an onset and a nucleus without coda, for example:

in Arabic, the word (CV) /wa/ “and”.


35

Figure 2.4: Syllable Structure

For more clarification, in a syllable such as /lak/ “for you” in Arabic, /l/ is the onset,

/a/ is the nucleus, and /k/ is the coda as in 2.4a.

(2.4a)

(σ) is shorthand for a syllable.

(O) is a symbol for an onset

(R) is a symbol for a rhyme

(N) is a symbol for a nucleus

(C) as a symbol for a coda

A syllable can be open; when the syllable ends in a vowel (no coda), when the

syllable lacks a consonant at the end of a syllable as in (CV, CV:, CCV) or closed

syllable, when the syllable ends in a consonant (with coda) as in (CVC, CV:C,

CCVC). A syllable can be heavy or light, Hyman (1975: 188). The onset and the coda

can contain one or more than one consonants (consonant clusters), simple or complex

consonant clusters as in Arabic: (CVCC) /waqt/ “time”,/bint/ “girl”. Here, the

combination /qt/ at coda position is a consonant cluster.


36

2.2.3.1 Onset

The onset of syllable means the consonant or cluster of consonants at the

beginning of a word or a syllable, which is followed by a vowel (nucleus). It is

obligatory in some languages like Arabic and Mehri language, and optional in some

languages as in English, Urdu, and Telugu. But, most of syllables in all languages

begin with an onset.

AL-Mamri and Shabana (2017) in their paper entitled “Consonant Cluster and

Syllable Structure in Mehri Language” point out three important parts in a syllable

with reference to Mehri language. According to them, two types of onset exist in

Mehri language, simple onset i.e. /kub.kob/ “stars ” , /Өaw.ma/ “thirist” as in 2.4b, c

and complex onset i.e. /bkoh/ “cried ” , /lbo:n/ “whit” as in 2.4d, e.

Simple onset

Complex onset


37

Hamdi, Ghazali, and Defradas (2005: 2) concluded that in three Arabic

dialects (Moroccan, Tunisian and Lebanese), an onset falls into three categories

shown below:

Empty onset: (V and VC)

Simple onset: (CV:C, CV:, CV, CVCC and CV)

Complex onset: (CCVC, CCV: , CCV, CCV:C, CCVCC, CCCVC, CCCV,

CCCV: and CCCVCC).

Moreover, in Jordanian Arabic, there are two parts of onsets: simple onsets and

complex onsets, Btoosh (2006: 3-4). A few examples are cited below:

Simple onsets:

/bint/ “girl”

/fann/ “art”

/ta:j/ “crown”

/sa.la:m/ “peace”

Complex onsets:

/kta:b/ “book”

/sla:ħ/ “weapon”

/kӨi:r/ “many/much”

/bla:d.na/ “our countries”

In the light of the examples cited above, onset is obligatory and has two complex

onsets which are maximum in Jordanian Arabic.

According to Abumdas (1985: 89), onset is not obligatory in Libyan Arabic (LA).

Onset is divided into three parts: empty onset (no consonant) as in (V) /a.be/ “he agreed”,

(V:) /u:.ɡuf/ “stop”, (V:C) /i:h/ “yes”, (VC) /as.wad/ “black”, and simple onset as in (CV)

/ki.tab/ “he wrote”, (CVCC) /kalb/ “dog”, (CV:) /ka:.tib/ “writer”, (CVC) /man/ “who”,

also complex onset as in (CCV) /ʁtˤa/ “cover”, (CCVC) /smin/ “he became fat”,

(CCV:C) /kta:b/ “book”. Moreover, Elramli (2012: 23) argued that onset is obligatory in

Libyan Arabic (LA). For instance : (CV) /fi.ham/ “he understood”, (CV:C) /la:m/ “he

blamed”, (CV:) /fa:.him/ “understanding, ”, (CVCC) /ɡird/ “monkey” (CVC) /kun.dra/ “a


38

pair of shoes”, (CCV:) /tra:.fiɡ/ “you accompany”, (CCVC) /sbiħ/ “beads”, (CCV)

/χab.bra/ “inform him”, (CCV:C) /bla:d/ “country”, (CCVCC) /smint/ “cement”.

Moreover, Abumdas (1985) and Elramli (2012) agreed that, complex onsets are permitted

in LA. Such as: (CCV/ ʁtˤa/ “cover”, (CCV) /χab.bra/ “inform him”, (CCVC) /smin/ “he

became fat”, (CCV:C) /kta:b/ “book”.

Furthermore, complex onsets in Najdi Arabic (NA) are not prohibited, ALqahtani

(2014: 115) some examples will be clarified in what follows:

(CCV) /tχa.dim/ “you (ms.sg.) serve”

(CCV) /ssa:.ʕah/ “an hour”

(CCV:C /ɡbu:r/ “graves”

(CCVC) /tkal.lim/ “you (m) are talking to”

(CCVCC) /smint/ “cement”

2.2.3.2 Nucleus

According to the phonological syllable structure, the nucleus of a syllable is

considered as the center or nucleus of a syllable. While the sounds before the nucleus

are called onset, and the sounds after the nucleus are called coda. Obligatory in every

syllable of any language. Preceded by an optional onset such as /ma.lik/ “king”,

/ka.ram/ “generosity” in Arabic language as in figure 2.4f, and followed by an

optional coda as in /jad/ “hand”, /fa:r/ “mouse” in Arabic language as in figure 2.4g.

Just like Modern Standard Arabic and Yemeni dialect of Arabic, no vowel occurs

word- initially in Taizi Yemeni dialects of Arabic, Sameer (2011: 25). Nucleus

cannot stand alone as a syllable in Arabic but, in some languages a syllable contains

only nucleus as in English language, as in /ai/ “eye”.


39

2.2.3.3 Coda

The coda of a syllable means the consonant or cluster of consonants at the end

of a word or a syllable which follows a vowel (nucleus), optional in some languages,

and prohibited in other languages. According to AL-Mamri and Shabana (2017), two

types of coda exist in Mehri language, simple coda such as /kub.kob/ “stars” as in

figure 2.4h, and complex coda such as /ɡawf/ “chest” as in figure 2.4i.

In Jordanian Arabic, there are two parts of coda: simple coda and complex coda,

Btoosh (2006: 4) few examples are cited below:

Simple coda

/ba:b.ha/ “her door”

/mus.lim/ “muslim”

/fit.neh/ “seduction”

/ba:.bak/ "your door”

Complex coda

/bint.hum/ “their daughter”

/ward/ “roses”

/rabb/ “god”

/kalb/ “dog”

According to the examples above, coda is not obligatory and complex codas

are found in Jordanian Arabic. Almost twenty seven years later Elramli’s (2012)

study supported Abumdas’s (1985) findings, about complex codas are permitted in

Libyan Arabic (LA). Such as: (CVCC) /kalb/ “dog”, (CCVCC) /smint/ “cement”.


40

2.2.4 Types of Syllable Structure

Aljmumah (2008: 159-160) reported five types of syllable structures in Al-

Ahsa dialect, in the following examples illustrate the point as:

1 CV /la/ “no”

/sa.ħil/ “easy”

2 CV: /li:/ “to me”

3 CVC /min/ “of/from”

/raħ/ “he went”

4 CVCC /tʃalb/ “dog”

/fukk/ “open”

5 CV:C /mi:n/ “who is it ?”

/fi:ʃ/ “plug”

According to Aljumah, the first type of syllable structure in Al-Ahsa dialect

(CV) is the lightest, which consists of an onset and short vowel i.e. /la/, “no” and

/sa.ħil/, “easy” as in figure 2.4j, k. What Aljmumah observes is that, onsetless

syllables are not allowed in Al-Ahsa dialect and are not allowed in most of Arabic

dialects. He added the (CV) syllable type occurs very frequently in Al-Ahsa dialect, it

occurs word initially, medially and finally.


41

Aljumah (2008: 160) studied the second type of syllable in Al-Ahsa dialect

(CV:) which consists of an onset and followed by long vowel i.e. /li:/ “to me” as in

figure 2.4l.

Aljumah (2008: 160) stated that the third type of syllable in Al-Ahsa dialect

(CVC) which consists of an onset and followed by vowel and end by coda i.e. /min/

“of/from”, /raħ/ “he went” as in figure 2.4m, n.

Aljumah (2008: 160) studied the fourth type of syllable in Al-Ahsa dialect

(CVCC) which consists of an onset and followed by a vowel and end by complex

coda i.e. /tʃalb/ “dog”, /fukk/ “open” as in figure 2.4o, p . According to him, complex

codas are not prohibited in Al-Ahsa dialect whereas; complex onsets are prohibited in

Al-Ahsa dialect of Arabic.


42

Aljumah (2008: 160) mentioned the fifth type of syllable in Al-Ahsa dialect

(CV:C) which consists of an onset and followed by long vowel and end with coda i.e.

/mi:n/ “who is it ?”, /fi:ʃ/ “plug” as in figure 2.4q, r.

According to Modern Standard Arabic, there are five types of syllable

structures (CV, CV:, CVC, CV:C and CVCC). Sameer (2011: 22) discussed that,

Taizi Yemeni dialect of Arabic has six types of syllables, though only five syllable

patterns can be found in MSA as shown in table 2.2 below.


43

Table 2.2: Types of syllables in TYA and MSA

Types of syllables in Taizi dialect

(TYA)

Types of syllables in Modern Standard

Arabic (MSA)

Syllable

shape Example Glossary

Syllable

shape Example Glossary

CV sa.ma sky CV sa.ma:ʔ sky

CV: sa:.li happy CV: sˤa:.heb friend

CVCC seʕr price CVCC qalb heart

CV:C sa:r he walked CV:C qa:m he stood up

CVC ser secret CVC qul say (MASS

SG IMP)

CVCCC ma:.qelt∫ you (MASC

SG) didn’t say

(Types of syllable in TYA and MSA .taken from Sameer (2011: 22))

Alqahtani (2014: 115-116) in his thesis entitled “Syllable Structure and

Related Processes in Optimality Theory: An Examination of Najdi Arabic” has

mentioned three syllable types in Najdi Arabic, Alqahtani divided these types into

three groups. The first group, light syllables are as follows:

- CV as in /ʔa.kal/ “he ate”

- CCV as in /tχa.dim/ “you (ms.sg.) serve”

While the second group, heavy syllables are as follows:

- CVC as in /ɡi.tal/ “he killed”

- CV: as in /sa:.ʕah/ “an hour”

- CCVC as in /tkal.lim/ “you (m) are talking to”

- CCV: as in /zba:.lah/ “trash”

And the third group, superheavy syllables are as follows:

- CV: C as in /ra:ħ/ “he was gone”

- CVCC as in /bard/ “cold”

- CCV:C as in /ɡbu:r/ “graves”

- CCVCC as in /smint/ “cement”


44

Alqahtani also mentioned that, onset is obligatory in Najdi Arabic whereas

coda is optional, and all syllable types have either single or complex onset such as

CVC, CV:C, CVCC, CCVC, CCV:C, and CCVCC while syllables such as CV, CCV,

CV:, and CCV: do not have codas. AIAmro (2015: 4) argued that in Najdi Arabic,

there are three types of syllables; first type (CV) in light syllable, second type (CV: )

and (CVC) in heavy syllables, third type (CV:C), (CV:CC) and (CVCC) in super-

heavy syllables, the following examples illustrate the types of syllables in Najdi

Arabic:

Light syllable: (CV) as in /ka.ta.ba/ “wrote”

Heavy syllables: (CV:) as in /ka:.tib/ “writer”

(CVC) as in /jik.tub/ “he writes”

Superheavy syllables: (CV:C) as in /nu:m/ “sleeping”

(CV:CC) as in /∫a:bb/ “young”

(CVCC) as in /barq/ “lighter”

In our opinion, the advantage in Alqahtani’s work when he covered all types

of syllables in Najdi Arabic, while the disadvantage was in AIAmro’s work when he

did not cover all types of syllables in NA.

Moreover, in English syllable structure, a very wide variety of syllable types is

allowed in English language. A vowel can stand alone as a syllable without preceded

or followed by a consonant. In English language, there are 15 syllable types; as in the

following (V, VC, VCC, VCCC, CVC, CCV, CCVC, CCVCC, CVCC, CCCVC,

CVCCC, CCCV, CCCVCC, CVCCCC, and CCCVCCC). While in Arabic, there are

5 syllable types as in: CV:C /na:s/ “people”, CVCC /ward/ “roses”, CVC /kam/ “how

much”, CV: /fi:/ “in”, CV /wa/ “and”. In Arabic, no syllable begins with a vowel or

consonant cluster, a vowel in Arabic cannot stand alone without one consonant or

several consonants. A vowel in Arabic is preceded by one consonant and followed by

one or two consonants.

Kuwaiti Arabic has 8 syllable types, two consonant clusters in onset position, and also

two consonant clusters in coda position Al-Qenaie (2011: 90) as in the table 2.3.


45

Table 2.3: Types of Syllables in Kuwaiti Arabic (KA)

Syllable types Kuwaiti example Gloss

CV /ḥa.ṭab/ “wood”

CV: /ba:.(čir)/ “tomorrow”

CV:C /ha:j/ “to go wild”

CVC /kaf/ “slap”

CCV /ṣxa.ra/ “a piece of rock”

CCV: /Šfi:/ what’s wrong with him?

CVCC /bard/ “cold”

CCV:C /ḥba:l/ “ropes”

Moreover, 10 syllable patterns occur in Libyan Arabic dialect CV /fi.ham/ “he

understood”, CVC /kun.dra/ “a pair of shoes”, CV: /fa:.him/ “understanding m.s.”,

CV:C /la:m/ “he blamed”, CVCC /ɡird/ “monkey”, CCV /χab.bra/ “inform him”,

CCV: /tra:.fiɡ/ “you accompany”, CCV:C /bla:d/ “country”, CCVC /sbiħ/ “beads”,

CCVCC /smint/ “cement”. From these examples which show above in Libyan Arabic,

no more than two consonants occur in onset and coda position. No syllable starts with

a vowel, Elramli (2012: 23). Moreover, (AL-Mohanna: 3- 4) in his paper, there are

three syllable types in Hejazi dialect of Arabic summarized in the following list:

1- Light as in CV /∫a.ʤa.ri/ “my trees”

2- Heavy as in CV: /ka:.sa:t/ “glasses”

as in CVC /mak.tu:b/ “a letter”

3- Superheavy as in CVCC /bint/ “a girl”

as in CV:C /ti:n/ “figs”

According to the list above, onset position is obligatory, and does not allow

more than one consonant in Hejazi dialect of Arabic, while coda is optionally used,

and not more than two consonants are used.

According to Hamdi, Ghazali and Defradas (2005) in their study about

syllable structure in three Arabic dialects (Moroccan, Tunisian and Lebanese),

concluded that several of syllables is different from one dialect to another dialect, and


46

the percentage of types of syllables are different, higher in some dialects and lower in

other dialects. Also, they concluded that there are 16 types of syllables (V, VC, CV:C,

CV: , CV, CVCC, CV, CCVC, CCV:, CCV, CCV:C, CCVCC, CCCVC, CCCV,

CCCV: and CCCVCC) in these three dialects of Arabic (Tunisian has 11, Lebaneses

has 13 and Moroccan has 16). Moreover, they concluded that syllable structure can

be used as a cue to distinguish between the Eastern and Western varieties of Arabic.

And the syllable type (CV) is the most frequent syllable in all three dialects

(Moroccan, Tunisian and Lebanese), and the syllable type (CV) more frequent in

Lebanese Arabic than in other dialects.

2.2.5 Syllable Weight

McMahon (2002: 113 - 114) said that, there are two subdivisions of syllable

types, and both types depend on the structure of the rhyme. The first one, syllables

may be open or close: an open syllable, the rhyme contains a nucleus without coda as

in figure 2.4s, for more clarification the word /wa/ “and” in Arabic as in figure 2.4t.

While in a closed syllable, the rhyme contains a nucleus and coda as shown in figure

2.4u, for more clarification the word /dam/ “blood” in Arabic as in figure 2.4v.


47

The second one, the distinction between light syllables and heavy syllables. A

light syllable consists of a short vowel only in the rhyme; coda does not exist, as in

the first syllable of “report”. Whereas, a heavy syllable when a syllable has a complex

rhyme, McMahon (2002: 114)).

Moreover, Katamba (1989: 176) gave two criteria, to distinguish between light

syllables and heavy syllables which are as follows:

1) In a light syllable the rhyme consists of a short vowel or a short vowel

preceded by a consonant as shown in 2.4w.

2) In a heavy syllable the rhyme consists of diphthong or a long vowel. Also, a

heavy syllable contains a short vowel followed by one or several consonants,

Katamba (1989: 176) as in 2.4x.


48

Al-Mamri and Shabana (2017) pointed out that Mehri language has two kinds

of syllable: open syllables as in:

CV as in /wa/ “and”

CV as in /ho:/ “I”

CV.CV: as in /ħeroː/ “head”

And closed syllables in Mehri language as in:

CVC as in /ħarb/ “war”

CVCC as in /warχ/ “month”

CV:C as in /heːt/ “you

2.2.6 Consonant Clusters

Singh and Singh (1979: 16) pointed out that a consonant cluster is a “string of

two or more consonants, it is simply a way of combining the consonant phonemes in a

language”. Most Arabic language consonant clusters are of two consonants which

occur in two positions: initially and finally, while in other languages, as English,

consonant clusters are of two, three or four consonant clusters in final position and

three consonant clusters, maximum to be found in initial position in English language.

Hill (1958) and Catford (1999: 207) defined a consonant cluster as a sequence of two

or more consonants that occur initial or finally without intervention of a consonant of

another.

2.2.6.1 Initial Clusters

Several researchers, such as Edzard (2000), Archibald (2003), McCarthy

(2005), ALjumah (2008), Sammer (2011), agree that initial consonant clusters are not

allowed in Arabic and in many varieties of Arabic. Carter (2004), pointed that Classic

Arabic (CA) does not accept a syllable to begin with a vowel. Haddad (2005), also

maintains that complex onset is prohibited in both MSA and Cairene Arabic. But,

there are some researchers such as, Batoosh (2006), AL-Qenaie (2011), ALqahtani

(2014), ALAmro (2015), who agree that initial consonant clusters are allowed in

Arabic and in many varieties of Arabic like; Kuwaiti, Palestinian, Jordanian, and

Najdi dialects. For more clarification, some examples are shown below:


49

/kta:b/ “book”

/bla:d.na/ “our countries”

/tkal.lim/ “you (m) are talking to”

/ɡbu:r/ “graves”

/ḥba:l/ “ropes”

Moreover, Al-Mamri and Shabana (2017) argue that complex onsets are allowed in

Mehri language and only two consonants i.e.

/mdi:t/ “sea winds”

/nχiru:r/ “he snorted”

/dthora/ “blood”

/mla:jket/ “angels”

/ltu:ʁ/ “killed”

Several other researchers too, namely; Haddad (2005), Gadoua (2000), and

Sameer (2011) agree that no word in Arabic starts with a vowel instead, all the words

start with a consonant (onset). According to Sameer (2011), no vowel occurs word-

initially in Taizi dialect of Arabic, like in Modern Standard Arabic. Further, Sameer

mentioned that Taizi dialect requires all words to have an onset.

Sameer (2011: 25), mentioned that, Taizi Yemeni dialect of Arabic (TYA) has

no initial consonant clusters in the word position. Just like Modren Standard Arabic,

and as opposed to many Yemeni dialects, accept consonant clusters.

AL-Mamri and Shabana (2017) reported that, two- initial consonant clusters in

Mehri language are as follows:

1- Mc (/m/ + consonant) as in:

/mla:jket/ “angels”

/mdi:t/ “sea winds”

2- Nc (/n/ + consonant) as in:

/nfu: χ/ “swell”


50

3- Ct (consonant + /t/) as in :

/ltu:ʁ/ “killed”

/ktu:b/ “book”

There are two types of initial consonant clusters in English, the first one is the

one consisting of two consonants (CCV-), and the second one is that which consists of

three consonants (CCCV-).

Gimson (1989: 244) mentioned lists combination of two English consonant

clusters (CCV-) as the following: /pl/, /pr/, /pj/, /tr/, /tj/, /tw/, /kl/, /kr/, /kj/, /kw/, /bl/,

/br/, /bj/, /dr/, /dj/, /dw/, /gl/, /gr/, /gj/, /gw/, /mj/, /nj/, /lj/, /fl/, /fr/, /fj/, /vj/, /Ѳr/,

/Ѳj/, /Ѳw/, /r/, /hj/, /sl/, /sj/, /sw/, /sp/, /st/, /sk/, /sm/, /sn/, /sf/.

While initial three- consonant clusters exist in English language in which the

first consonant is /s/. Gimson (1989), mentioned lists of initial three- consonant

clusters as the following:

1. s p l

2. s p r

3. s p j

4. s t r

5. s t j

6. s k l

7. s k r

8. s k j

9. s k w

According to an analysis of the phonological words, Roach (2000:73), pointed

out three-initial clusters in English, when three consonant combining with each other,

(per- initial + initial +post- initial), i.e., (/s/ + /k/ + /w/).

The word: “squeak”.

Transcription: /skwi:k/.

Canonical structure: (CCCV:C).


51

Number of syllable(s): one.

Number and position of the consonant cluster: three- initial consonant cluster

(CCCV-), as in figure 2.5.

According to the diagram above 2.5 the word “squeak” /skwi:k/ is monosyllabic and it

has three- consonant clusters.

Two Initial consonant clusters in Najdi Arabic are permitted. For instance:

/tχa.dim/ “you (ms.sg.) serve”, /smint/ “cement”, /tkal.lim/ “you (m) are talking to”,

/ɡbu:r/ “graves” , Alqahtani (2014: 115 - 116). Almost one year later AIAmro’s

(2015: 5) study supported Alqahtani’s (2014) findings, about initial consonant clusters

in Najdi Arabic that are allowed (double onsets). For instance, /ɡla.mu.hum/ “their

pens”, /χdilat/ “she betrayed”, /fla.mu.hum/ “their movies”, AIAmro (2015: 5).

ALqahtani (2014: 121) reported that initial consonant clusters in Najdi Arabic

formed by combining voiceless velar stop /k/ with voiced dental alveolar lateral /l/,

voiceless alveolar stop /t/ or voiceless labiodental fricative /f/ as in below:

/kla:b/ “dogs”

/kfu:f/ “palms”

/kta:b/ “a book”

Also, by combining voiced velar stop /ɡ/ with voiced dental alveolar tap /r/ as in

below:

/ɡru:d/ “monkey”

/ɡru:∫/ “coins”


52

2.2.6.2 Medial Cluster

Just like Modern Standard Arabic and Yemeni dialect of Arabic, no vowel

occurs word- initially in Taizi Yemeni dialect of Arabic, Sameer (2011: 25). No

medial consonant clusters occur in MSA and in many varieties of Arabic like Yemeni,

Palestinian and Jordanian.

2.2.6.3 Final Cluster

There are three types of final consonant clusters in English, the first one is that

which consists of two consonants (-VCC), the second one consists of three consonants

(-VCCC), the third one is that which consists of four consonants (-VCCCC).

Gimson (1989), gave lists of final three- consonant clusters in English language as the

following:

(/pts/, /pθs/, /tθs/, /kts/, /mps/, /mfs/, /nts/, /nθs/, /nnks/, /lps/, /lts/, /lks/, /lfs/, /lθs/,

/fts/, /fθs/, /sps/, /sts/, /sks/, /pst/, /tst/, /kst/, /dst/, /mpt/, /nst/, /nkt/, /lst/, /lpt/, /lkt/,

/spt/, /skt/, /ndz/, /lbz/, /ldz/, /lmz/, /lnz/, /lvz/, /nzd/, /lmd/, /lvd/, /ksθ/, /ntθ/, /nkθ/,

/lfθ/).

Roach (2000) mentioned lists combinations final four- consonant clusters as in

the following figure 2.6.

+ /s/

mpt

lkt

1pt

1fѲ

kst

ksѲ


53

According to AL-Mamri and Shabana (2017) there are only two clusters at the end of

word in Mehri language.

1. -wk as in /sowḳ/ “market”

2. -wb as in /kawb/ “the wolf”

3. -wɬ as in /ħawɬ/ “pound”

4. -wf as in /ɡawf/ “chest”

5. -jb as in /ħajb/ “crowbar”

6. -jn as in /ferhajn/ “horse”

7. -jt as in /jisajt/ “nine”

8. -jl as in /χajl/ “maternal uncle”

Roach (2000: 75) pointed out four types of final cluster in English, the first

one when two consonant combine with each other, ( per-final +final +post-final).

The word: “helped”.

Transcription: /helpt/.

Canonical structure: /CVCCC/.


Number and position of the consonant cluster: three-final consonant cluster (-VCCC),

as in the following figure 2.7a.

According to the transcription above the word /helpt/ “helped” is

monosyllabic and it has three consonant clusters in coda position, i.e, (/l/ + /p/ + /t/),

lateral plus voiced plosive plus voiceless plosive.


54

The second type, consisting of two post-final, (final + post-final1+ post-final2),

The word: “next”.

Transcription: /nekst/.

Canonical structure: (CVCCC).


Number and position of the consonant cluster: three-final consonant cluster (-VCCC),

as in figure 2.7b.

The word has three consonant clusters in coda position, i.e.,( /k/ + /s/ + /t/),

plosive plus fricative plus plosive, and it’s also monosyllabic.

The third type, consisting of pre-final + final + post-final 1+ post-final 2, i.e., (/m/ +

/p/ + /t/ + s/), nasal plus two plosive plus fricative.

The word: “prompts”.

Transcription: /prompts/.

Canonical structure: (CCVCCCC).


Number and position of the consonant cluster: four- final consonant cluster (-

VCCCC), as in figure 2.7c.


55

The word has four consonant clusters in coda position, i.e., (/m/ + /p/ + /t/ +

/s/), nasal plus plosive plus plosive plus fricative, and it’s also monosyllabic.

The fourth type, consisting of pre-final + final + post-final 1+ post-final 2+ post-final

3 i.e.,(/k/ + /s/ + /t/ + /s/), nasal plus two plosives plus fricative.

The word: “texts”.

Transcription: /teksts/.

Canonical structure: (CVCCCC).



VCCCC), as in figure 2.7d.

The word has four consonant clusters in coda position, i.e.,( /k/ + /s/ + /t/ +

/s/), plosive plus fricative plus plosive plus fricative, and it’s also monosyllabic.

Further Roach (2000:73), mentioned that both clusters (initial and final) as follows:

The word: “twelfths”.

Transcription: /twelfθs/.

Canonical Structure: (CCVCCCC).



VCCCC), as in the following figure 2.7e.


56

According to the diagram above the word /twelfθs/ “twelfths” is monosyllabic

and it has two consonant clusters in onset position, i.e, (/t/ + /w/), plosive plus glide,

and it has four consonant clusters in coda position, i.e, (/l/ + /f/ + /θ/ + /s/), lateral plus

fricative plus fricative plus fricative.

Several researchers, like Sameer (2011), Batoosh (2006), AL-Qenaie (2011),

ALqahtani (2014), ALAmro (2015) and many other researchers agree that final

consonant clusters are allowed in Arabic and in many varieties of Arabic as in

Jordanian, Kuwaiti, Najdi, Palestinian and Yemeni dialects.

Taizi Yemeni dialect of Arabic has final consonant clusters in the word

position. For instance: (CVCC) /seʕr/ “price”, (CVCCC) /ma:.qelt∫/ “you (MASC

SG) didn’t say”. Just like Modern Standard Arabic and as opposed to many Yemeni

dialects which do not accept final consonant clusters, Sameer (2011: 25).

ALqahtani (2014: 129) reported that final consonant clusters in Najdi Arabic

formed by combining voiced dental alveolar nasal /n/ with voiceless dental alveolar

stop /t/ or voiced dental alveolar stop /d/ as in below:

/bint/ “a girl”

/ʕind/ “it is with”

Furthermore, by combining voiced dental alveolar tap /r/ with voiced dental alveolar

stop /d/ or voiced velar stop /ɡ/ as in below:

/barɡ/ “thunder”

/bard/ “cold”


57

Btoosh (2006: 195), opined that final consonant clusters in Jordanian Arabic formed

by combining voiced dental alveolar tap /r/ with voiced dental alveolar stop /d/ as in

below:

/ʔard.na/ “our land”

/ward/ “roses”

2.2.7 Theoretical Background

According to studies conducted by Watson (2007), Kiparsky (2003), about

three groups of classifications for Arabic dialects, namely (CV-, C-, and VC dialects).

Watson extends the three groups of dialects into four groups, also about the dialects

which were not considered by Kiparsky (2003), Watson considered these dialects.

The classifications for Arabic dialects are listed below:

First group: CV dialects. Yemen (al-Hudaida, Ibbi, Sanani, Yariimi, Yaafii),

Saudi Arabia (Meccan), Egypt (Middle Egyptian dialects, Cairene).

Second group: VC dialects. Turkey (Kinderib and Cukurova dialects), Egypt

(il-A wamra), the Levant (Ras-Beirut and Haifa), Yemen (in-NaDhiir) Libya

(Tripoli).

Third group: both CV and VC- dialects which prominently display. Sudan

(Central Urban Sudanese and Shukriyya), Watson (2002:7).

Watson discussed that some features cited by Kiparsky, especially the groups

that shared with other dialects instance: the characteristics of C- shared by some VC

and CV dialects, VC features shared by some CV dialects and CV features shared by

some VC dialects. She said that some dialects failed totally to conform to the featured

phenomena of Kiparsky’s dialect types. Watson suggests new types of dialects Cv by

lower case “v” distinguished from CV. Lastly, Watson proposes some other

constraints to account for the difference between the four groups (CV, VC, C-, Cv),

theses constraints are NoSharedMora and Syll-Bin.


58

Part-III: Word Stress

2.3.1 Overview of Stress

Stress is one type of a suprasegmental feature and the most important part of a

word or a syllable as a result of more muscular energy than another part of a syllable.

Ladefoged and Johnson (2010: 250) defined stress as “stressed sounds are those on

which the speaker expends more muscular energy”. While Jones (1967: 245) said that

“the degree of force with which a sound or a syllable is uttered”. The best way of

knowing stress syllable of any language especially in Arabic language is to listen to a

native speaker directly. Another way of stress assignment in Arabic language is

explained by quantity sensitivity, when stress prefers to fall on the syllable which has

intrinsic prominence. It means that stress prefers to fall on closed syllable rather than

open syllable, and when stress prefers to fall on long vowel rather than short vowel,

for instance; in Arabic language the word /ki.'ta:b/ “book” and /ma.na:.'di:l/

“kerchiefs”. Stress is assigned according to the origin of words and rhyming (super-

heavy, heavy and light syllable).

According to Roach (2000: 94), all stressed syllables have one characteristic

that is, prominence. Stressed syllables are more prominent than unstressed syllables.

And there are four characteristics which make a stressed syllable more prominent than

unstressed syllables:

1) Stressed syllables are louder than unstressed syllables

2) The length of syllable

3) Higher Pitch

4) Quality

2.3.2 Word Stress Patterns

In Arabic language, every word has stress, according to the position of the

syllable (super-heavy, heavy and light). For instance, in Arabic word /'ʔis.mak/ “your

name” stress is assigned in the first syllable due to the first syllable is stronger and

prominent than the second syllable. Word stress in Arabic language does not produce

a difference in the meaning. Stress syllable is marked by a small vertical line (') in any

position of the word, as in the following examples:


59

/'la.mah/ “why”

/'kam/ “how much”

/mis.'ma:r/ “nail”

/sa.'la:m/ “peace”

/ma.'ka:.tab/ “desks”

/na.'sa:.fir/ “we travel”

Word stress is divided into three major parts as in below:

1) Ultimate, when the stress falls on the final super-heavy syllable of the word

(CVCC) or (CV:C) for example:

/χa.'ru:f/ “lamb”

/sa.'ri:r/ “bed”

/sa:.'ni:n/ “tooth”

2) Penultimate, when the final super-heavy syllable is absence, stress falls on the

heavy syllable (penultimate) as in:

/χa.'tˤi:.ʔah/ “sin”

/mus.'taɡ.bal/ “future”

/mu.'sa:.lim/ “peaceful”

3) Antepenultimate, when the final super-heavy and heavy syllables (ultimate

and penultimate) are absent, stress falls on either the penultimate or the

antepenultimate as in:

/'ħa.ra.mi/ “thief”

/'∫a.ri.ka/ “company”

/'wa.ra.ɡah/ “leaf”

Watson (2002: 13-15) mentioned that as per word stress rules in Classical Arabic and

Cairene Arabic (CA), stress is assigned in classical Arabic by the following rules:

1) Stress is assigned to the last syllable if it is super-heavy as in (CV:C) or

CVCC), for example:

/ma.'la:k/ “angel”

/ki.'ta:b/ “book”

/qa:.'nu:n/ “law”


60

2) In the absence of the last super-heavy syllable (CV:C) or (CVCC), stress is

assigned to a heavy syllable in Classical Arabic as in:

/ma.'di:.nah/ “city”

/mus.'ta∫.fa:/ “hospital”

/sa.'fi:.nah/ “ship”

3) In the absence of the final super-heavy and heavy syllable, stress is assigned

to the leftmost syllable as in:

/'ka.ta.ba/ “wrote (3s.g.m)”

/'mu∫.ki.la/ “problem”

/'ba.ɡa.rah/ “cow”

While, stress is assigned in Cairene Arabic by the rules are listed below:

Stress-final super-heavy syllable (ultimate) as in:

/ma.na:.'di:l/ “kerchiefs”

/ka 'tabt/ “I wrote”

/ʔaʕ.'ma:l/ “works”

Otherwise, stress on a heavy syllable (penultimate) as in (CVC) or (CV:) for

example:

/du.'ʤa:.ʤa/ “chicken”

/tuf.'fa:.ħa/ “an apple”

/ma.'ka:.tib/ “desks”

Stress on the first syllable as in:

/'∫a.ri.ka/ “company”

/'za.ra.fa/ “giraffe”

/'ħa.la.wa/ “candy”

AL-qahtani (2014: 133) pointed out three word stress patterns in Najdi Arabic

as illustrated in the following:

The final syllable (ultimate syllable) is stressed as in (CVCC) or (CV:C) for

example:

/mak.'tu:b/ “written”


61

/sa.'la:m/ “peace”

/ʔin.ʕa.'raft/ “I became known”

Stress the penultimate syllable if it is heavy as in (CVC) or (CV:) for example:

/ɡa.'bal.na/ “meet us (m.s.)”

/mak.'tul:.fah/ “tired (fm.sg.)”

/saj.'ja:.ra/ “car”

The antepenultimate syllable receives stress in Najdi Arabic if the final syllable is

not ultimate (superheavy syllable) and if the penultimate is neither (CV:) or

(CVCC) for example:

/'mak.ta.bah/ “library”

/'ħa.∫a.ra/ “insect”

/'ma.li.ka/ “queen”

AL-Abdely (2011: 389) said that stress assignment in Iraqi Arabic can be

formulated by its position in the word and the weight of the syllable, he mentions the

following rules:

Stress on the final syllable (ultimate syllable) if it is super-heavy as in below:

/mik 'na:s/ “broom”

/bis 'ta:n/ “orchard”

/ka.'ri:m/ “generous”

Stress on a heavy syllable (CVC) or (CV:) as in:

/tuf.'fa:.ħa/ “an apple”

/mis.'sa:.ħa/ “eraser”

/na.'ti:.ʤah/ “result”

Stress on the first syllable if the last syllable and penultimate are light as in:

/'mak.ta.bu/ “his office”

/'ka.ta.ba/ “he wrote it”

/'daf.ta.ru/ “his copybook”

/'mad.ra.sa/ “school”


62

2.3.3 Stress Constraints in OT

NONFINALITY

“No foot is final in PrWd” Kager (1999: 151).

UNEVEN-LAMB

(LH) ˃ (LL), (H) Kager (1999: 151).

GRWD = PRWD

“A grammatical word must be a prosodic word” Kager (1999: 152).

PARSE-SYL

“Feet are parsed by feet” Kager (1999: 153).

WSP

“Heavy syllables are stressed” Kager (1999: 155).

FT-BIN

“Feet are binary under moraic or syllabic analysis” Kager (1999: 156).

RIGHTMOST

“The head foot is rightmost in PR WD” Kager (1999: 167).

LEFTMOST

“The head foot is leftmost in PR WD” Kager (1999: 167).

2.3.4 Chapter Summary

This chapter reviewed some past studies in syllable structure and word stress on

framework of Optimality Theory and earlier theories. It has presented a brief

overview of Optimality Theory, the most important notations of Optimality Theory

and the components of Optimality Theory. It has also described the conflicts between

constraints (Markedness and Faithfulness) and the basic syllable structure constraints

in Optimality Theory. Furthermore, this chapter has presented the phonemic inventory

(consonants and vowels), types of syllable structure and syllable weight. It has also

presented consonant clusters (initial, medial and final cluster) and their theoretical

background. Finally, it has presented an overview of stress, word stress patterns and

stress constraints in Optimality Theory.

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

63

CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

The present chapter deals with the methodology that was used in this study. It

provides the statements of the research questions. It also highlights on the population

and sample of the study. Then, it describes two instruments for collecting data i.e.

questionnaire and interview. This chapter carries a pilot study to check the validity

and reliability of the research instruments and the data thus collected. Finally, it gives

an overview of data collection and procedures for data analysis used in this study.

3.1 The Statements of the Research Questions

Before embarking on a description of the data collection procedures, a brief

survey of the research questions will be provided in what follows to make a link

between the research questions and the instruments used to collect the data required to

answer these questions. In addition, it will show the validity of the data.

As stated earlier, the study aims to answer the following main questions: 1) How are Hajji

and Zabidi Yemeni dialects of Arabic different from Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)?, 2)

What is the comprehensive analysis of the syllable shape and word stress of Hajji and

Zabidi Yemeni dialects of Arabic within the framework of Optimality Theory?, 3) What

are the patterns of word stress attested in Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni dialects?, and 4) What

are the most and the least frequent and percentage types of syllable structures in Hajji and

Zabidi dialects?, 5) What are the most and the least frequent and percentage of canonical


3.2 Population

The population of the study consists of two universities in Yemen, namely,

College of Education, Zabid which belongs to AL-Hudaidah University and

University of Hajjah. It consisted of students of the first, second, third and fourth

levels. Furthermore, part of the data was collected from the Yemeni students of Hajji

and Zabidi dialects who are studying in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in the

academic year (2016/2017).


64

3.3 Sample of the Study

The sample was selected from the major population of the study. It consisted

of three hundred and sixty (360) participants of two dialects through questionnaires

and interviews. Three hundred and twenty (320) participants of B.A students

distributed into first, second, third and fourth levels answered the questionnaires, and

forty (40) participants of M.A and PH.D students of AMU were interviewed. All

participants are students of English Language in their Departments, in Hajjah

University and Hudaidah University, and their mother tongue is Arabic. However,

their dialects are different where a group of them speaks Hajji dialect while another

group speaks Zabidi dialect. According to Crystal (2008: 244) “someone who acts as

a source of data for linguistic analysis, usually a native speaker of a language”. The

following table shows the number of participants, their gender, educational level, their

age, and instruments used for data elicitation, who are speakers of Hajji and Zabidi

dialects undertaken for this study.

Table 3.1: The Number of Participants from HYA and ZYA.

Educational

level

No. of

participants in

Hajji dialect and

their gender

No. of

participants in

Zabidi dialect

and their gender

Instruments Age of

participants

Level (1)

Level (2)

B.A

Level (3)

Level (4)

12 males

28 females

18 males

22 females

17 males

23 females

18 males

22 females

17 males

23 females

15 males

25 females

20 males

20 females

12 males

28 females

Questionnaire

18 - 24

M.A 8 males 9 males

Interview

25 - 28

PH.D 12 males 11 males 29 - 35

Total No. of

participants

180 180

18 - 35

360


65

Table 3.2: Frequency and the Percentage of the Participants in HYA and ZYA

According to their Gender.

Gender

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent

female 191 53.1% 53.1

male 169 46.9% 46.9

Total 360 100.0 100.0

Figure 3.1: Frequency of Participants in HYA and ZYA.

3.4 Instruments

In this study, there were two instruments used to obtain the data for answering

the research questions. The first instrument was the questionnaire which was designed

by the researcher and distributed among the students of two universities. The second

instrument was the interviews which were conducted of the students who were

studying in AMU. It was clear to the researcher through the aims and the questions of

the study that these two instruments are the best to collect the required data in order to

achieve the aims of the study and for answering the research questions.

78

80

82

84

86

88

90

92

94

96

female male

Hajji dialect 95 85

Zabidi dialect 96 84

fre

equ

ency

participants


66

3.4.1 The Questionnaire

One of the most helpful instruments for collecting data was the questionnaire

due to the features which cannot be available or useful in other instruments. One of

the features is that, it is more suitable for surveying a large number of participants for

undertaking comprehensive studies, it is also less expensive besides requiring shorter

period of time. All these advantages have contributed significantly in selecting this

instrument for collecting data for the present study.

3.4.1.1 The Questionnaire Design

The questionnaire was designed to obtain the data to achieve the objectives of

the study. So, a number of successes and complex procedures were adopted for this

questionnaire to develop into its final form. It has taken around two months, (to be

more specific and precise), from March to April 2016 to design it. During this period,

a lot of changes and modifications were incorporated in the contents of the

questionnaire through several discussions with some colleagues, the supervisor, and

finally with the judgment committee which included five experts in the department of

linguistics of Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. They provided the researcher with

valuable suggestions, comments and notes for more precise, clear and pinpointed

questions in the questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed with open - ended

questions for which the participants were required to write words as well as their

transcriptions from their own dialects for this study.

Two questionnaires were used in this study: one questionnaire for Hajji dialect

and the second questionnaire for Zabidi dialect (See Appendices A & B). These

questionnaires were for the students in universities, especially Hajjah and Hudaidah

universities. So, the study was conducted at two universities, one university in Hajjah

city while the second university in College of Education, Zabid which belongs to AL-

Hudaidah University, both of these universities are co-educational institutions. For

more clarification about the participants of B.A students, please see the following

table:


67

Table 3.3: The Number of Participants for the Questionnaires of two Dialects

Educational level

No. of participants

in Hajji dialect and

their gender

No. of participants

in Zabidi dialect

and their gender

Age of participants

Level (1)

Level (2)

B.A

Level (3)

Level (4)

12 males

28 females

18 males

22 females

17 males

23 females

18 males

22 females

17 males

23 females

15 males

25 females

20 males

20 females

12 males

28 females

18 – 24

Total No. of

participants

I60 160

320

The total number of students who were included in the questionnaire

instrument in two dialects of this study were three hundred and twenty (320); one

hundred sixty (160) participants in Hajji dialect and one hundred sixty (160)

participants in Zabidi dialect distributed in four levels of B.A students. Every level

consists of forty (40) participants (male and female) who participated in answering the

questionnaire. The table 3.3 above shows the ratio of participants (males and females)

for the questionnaires of the two dialects.

Both questionnaires were composed of two sections (A and B). It also includes

some background information about the participants such as; name, age, sex, phone

number, E-mail address, occupation, mother’s tongue, father’s place of birth,

mother’s place of birth, level of education, dialect(s) spoken at home, and other

dialect (s) spoken. Section (A) of the questionnaire consists of 13 questions, while

section (B) was made up to fill the gaps (See Appendices A & B).


68

The following steps were taken into consideration during the process of writing the

questionnaires in the present study. The questionnaires were designed in an

unstructured way. They included open questions to which the subjects were required

to answer freely providing any items that include the required data in the two

investigated dialects i.e. Hajji and Zabidi dialects. A conscious attempt was made to

keep them easy and clear to understand. In other words, it avoided vague and double

meaning questions as they consisted of clear and short questions.

In what follows, the objectives of the questions will be explained. Firstly, the

main aims of designing the questions were to obtaining a large number of words from

the two dialects in this study and to make an analysis of these words within the

framework of Optimality Theory.

Question No. (1) aims to collect words that begin with a consonant in Hajji

and Zabidi dialects investigated in the study. Question No. (2) to investigate the use

of consonant clusters at the beginning of the words in their dialects. In the case of a

positive answer by writing words, this means that consonant cluster exists in their

dialects, but in the case of no answers provided by the respondents, it means that

consonant clusters do not exist in their dialects. Question No. (3) also to investigate

the consonant clusters at the end position of the words in their dialects.

Question No. (4) investigates the consonant clusters at the middle position of

the words in their dialects. Question No. (5) investigates whether vowels occur at the

beginning of the words or not in the two dialects. Question No. (6) investigates

whether vowels occur at the end of the words or not, in the two dialects. Question

No. (7) aims to know whether long vowels occur at the end of the words or not, in

their dialects. Question No. (8) aims to obtaining words which have a medial short

vowel in their dialects. Question No. (9) aims to obtain words which have a medial

long vowel in their dialects. Question No. (10) aims to collect words that consist of

one syllable (monosyllabic).

Question No. (11) focuses on obtaining words that consist of two syllables

(disyllabic). Question No. (12) tries to find words that consist of three syllables

(trisyllabic). Question No. (13) seeks to obtain words that consist of more than three

syllables (polysyllable).


69

Whereas, section (B) of the questionnaire is designed to collect words that consist of

consonants in all positions of the syllables such as syllable- initially, syllable-

medially and syllable- finally of HYA and ZYA.

3.4.2 The Interview

The participants for the interview section of this study were chosen from

Yemeni students studying M.A and PH.D at Aligarh Muslim University for the

academic year 2016/2017. These students are native speakers of Hajji and Zabidi

dialects. The sample of the interviews consist of forty (40) participants; twenty (20)

participants for Hajji dialect and twenty (20) participants for Zabidi dialect.

Each day only one participant was recorded, and the duration of each

interview was around for 40 – 50 minutes. After recording the interviews of all the

participants, the researcher listened to the audio recording several times. According to

Arnold (2011: 140) one of the most important golden rules in collecting recorded data

is “listen to the recording over and over again till you are sick of it”. After that, the

researcher has transcribed all words in the recording word by word. Then the

researcher wrote the canonical structure and also marked the word stress.

The interviews of the participants were recorded by the researcher in

spontaneous conversations, quiet environment and natural settings to make the

participants at ease, lively and frank to answer all the questions genuinely, and to

produce natural words from their dialects. The utterances were recorded at

participants’ house, researchers’ house and outside in the landscape of (AMU)

Aligarh Muslim University to avoid any kind of disturbances during recordings. The

researcher recorded speech sounds of the participants by using a digital audio

recorder.

The following steps were taken into consideration in the process of recording

the interviews for the present study. Firstly, set the time/date and change recorder

mode to LPCM. Secondly, change the folder to interview and change the name of file

to interview. After that, transfer the recorded sounds to laptop. Finally, arrange the

recording on laptop and rename the files as follow: Name of participants - Place –

Date – Investigator.


70

The researcher had taken into consideration some ethical procedures in the

process of selecting and conducting the interviews for the present study. Firstly, it was

purely a voluntary participation when the researcher got the participants’ consent to

willingly participate in the interviews and he also clarified to them that they have the

right to continue or withdraw from the interview at any time. Secondly, the

confidentiality was assured to the participant when the researcher told them that the

information will be kept secret and will be used only for the purposes of this study.

The data were saved secretly for the academic goals only in researchers’ laptop and

no one listened to the recordings except the researcher himself and the supervisor. In

addition, there are no deceptions between the researcher and participants. To put it

more clearly, the researcher gave them a clear idea about the actual goal of the

interviews and explained to them the significance of interviews for this study.

3.4.2.1 The Interview Questions

In this study two types of interviews were conducted, one for participants in

the Hajji dialect and another one for participants in the Zabidi dialect. Through the

questions of interviews we have been able to collect important data to be analyzed

within the framework of Optimality Theory. During the interview sessions the

researcher would speak some English words and ask the participants to repeat the

same words in their own dialects. The researcher then wrote down the transcription of

these words. (See Appendices C & D).

3.5 Pilot Study

Teijlingen and Hundley (2001) define pilot study as “small experiments to

check logistics and collect information prior to larger studies (also known as

feasibility studies), as well as the specific pre-testing of a particular research

instrument such as a questionnaire or interview schedule”. It is a crucial element to

improve the latter’s quality and efficiency because it can reveal deficiencies in the

design of a proposed experiment or procedure which can be addressed before the time

and resources are expended on large studies.

The pilot study is one of the important methods to conduct or smaller scale

before the procedure of the main study is adopted. So, the pilot study, in this work


71

was conducted on Yemeni participants of Hajji and Zabidi dialects who were studying

in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) India.

Another aim of conducting a pilot study was to check the validity and

suitability of the chosen questions and their significance for data collection. Also, it

was done to compare the preliminary study results with the main study results.

Furthermore, the pilot study was conducted to overcome any deficiencies, or to avoid

unfamiliar questions and rephrasing them if the same were not clear to some

participants. Another purpose of the pilot study was to check the clarity of questions

as well as checking the efficacy of questionnaires and interviews. These steps have

provided the researcher with a great chance to facilitate his work in the main study.

Moreover, the results which were analyzed of preliminary study (pilot study) provided

the researcher with a great knowledge for analyzing the results of the main study.

3.6 The Validity and Reliability of the Data

Reliability and validity are some of the important concepts in educational

research and other fields of inquiry that capture the measurement properties of a

survey, interview, questionnaire or other patterns of measurement. They are also

significant for checking data collection procedures. In the present study, questionnaire

and interview will be the best instruments for collecting the required data to achieve

the objectives of the study and to answer the research questions.

In the course of this research, some techniques were employed to check the

validity and reliability of the instruments used. One of the most important techniques

to ensure the efficacy of the data was that the instruments (questionnaire and

interview) were developed through a lot of modifications, notes, suggestions and

reasoning with the supervisor and colleagues in the department. After that, the

instruments were examined by a judgment committee which consists of five

specialists in linguistics, as mentioned earlier. All their comments, notes and

modifications were taken into consideration for preparing the final draft of the

questionnaire and interview before piloting the study. Another method to assure the

efficacy of the study was through questionnaire whose aims are explained clearly by

formulating questionnaire for collecting data that is required in expected measures

relevant to the research questions of the work.


72

Similarly, the reliability of this study was proved in three main stages; the first

stage, the questions of the two instruments, questionnaire and interview, were

modified by rephrasing, removing and adding some items as per the requirements.

The second stage, the manner of piloting the instruments was one more technique to

prove the reliability of data of this study. In the last stage, the researcher recorded the

respondent’s answers to the questions raised. All these stages contributed to the

reliability of the data for this study.

3.7 Data Collection

For the purposes of this research, three types of data were collected. The first

type of data was collected through questionnaires which were distributed to

participants in two universities for this study. While the second type in the present

study was collected from the participants through personal interviews. The last type

was collected by the researcher who also happens to be a native speaker of the Hajji

dialect. The researcher is currently pursuing Ph.D in linguistics. The researcher is well

versed in dialects under study and has no problem in articulation or speech,

furthermore he has normal hearing. Even when the researcher was outside his home in

the market or in a mosque, he continued remembered to make a list of those words

mentally and jotted them down in his pocket notebook. Researcher’s familiarity with

the dialects helped respondents wherever they were short of words. The collected

speech samples were purely natural, obtained during spontaneous conversations

between the researcher and the participants. All the data of this study is, thus, a

primary data. The data was gathered in eight (8) months from May to December of

the academic session 2016/2017.

3.8 Procedures for Data Analysis

The data which was collected through the questionnaires and the interviews

was analyzed within the framework of Optimality Theory on the basis of tableau. The

following tableau 3.1 shows how the words were analyzed.


73


Constraint 4 Constraint 3 Constraint 2 Constraint 1 Input

Candidate a

Candidate b

Candidate c

Candidate d

Both, quantitative and qualitative methods, were used in data analysis in this

work. Paltridge and Phakiti (2015:64-65) “The use of both quantitative and qualitative

data and a meaningful integration of quantitative and qualitative methods within a

study to generate more credible and persuasive conclusions about the research issue”.

All the audio recordings were played and listened by the researcher several times at

high volume for clarity. At the time of listening to the participant’s recordings, the

researcher used to write transcriptions of words, canonical structure and word stress

were also marked.

All the words of the researcher and the participants which were collected

through questionnaires and interviews were written down in notebooks, in

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) notation and then inserted into the computer

database in MS-Word /2010/ documents. After that, the data was analyzed by

Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to know the frequencies and the

percentages of the types of syllable structure in the two dialects, and also the

frequencies and the percentages of the canonical structure inside each type, Hajji and

Zabidi, of Yemeni dialects of Arabic.

3.9 Conclusion

This chapter has presented the methodology that was used in this study. It has

highlighted the statements contained in the research questions. It has also described

the population and the sample group of the study. It also has explained two

instruments that were employed for collecting the data i.e. questionnaire and

interview. Pilot study, the validity and reliability of the study, have also been

discussed in this chapter. Finally, the chapter has presented an overview of data

collection and procedures adopted for data analysis for this study.

Chapter 4: Data and Analysis

74

CHAPTER 4

DATA AND ANALYSIS

4.0 Introduction

This chapter provides a detailed discussion on syllable structure and word stress

in Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni dialects of Arabic through Optimality Theory (OT). We have

divided this chapter into two parts. The first part presents the phonemic inventory

(consonants, vowels and diphthongs) of Hajji Yemeni dialect of Arabic (HYA). It also

explains the types of syllables (monosyllabic, disyllabic, trisyllabic, tetrasyllabic and

pentasyllabic words) of HYA. It further presents the structure of syllables, classification

of syllables and also consonant clusters of Hajji dialect. It also presents an OT analysis of

syllable structure in Hajji dialect. Moreover, it gives a basic syllable structure constraints

in OT related to the syllable structure in Hajji dialect (Markedness and Faithfulness

constraints). It deals with syllable weight in HYA. Furthermore, it highlights word stress

patterns and presents an OT analysis of word stress in Hajji dialect. The second part

presents the phonemic inventory of Zabidi Yemeni dialect of Arabic (ZYA). It also

presents types of syllables, classification of syllables, structure of syllables, and consonant

clusters of Zabidi dialect. Moreover, it presents an OT analysis of syllable structure

constraints and syllable weight in Zabidi dialect. Finally, it presents word stress patterns

and the method of analysing word stress in Zabidi dialect though OT.

Part I: Hajji Dialect

4.1.1 The Phonemic Inventory of HYA

4.1.1.1 Consonant Sounds of HYA

The consonant sounds of Hajji dialect, as presented in Table 4.1 below, consists

of 28 consonants arranged in nine places of articulation on the horizontal side (bilabial,

labio-dental, inter-dental, dental-alveolar, palatal, velar, uvular, pharyngeal and glottal),

and seven manners of articulation on the vertical side which includes eight plosives /b, t,

d, k, ɡ, dˤ , tˤ, ʔ/, two nasals /m/ and /n/, thirteen fricatives /f, Ѳ, ðˤ, ð, ʕ, s, z, sˤ, ∫, χ , ʁ , ħ ,

h/, one trill/tap /r/, one lateral /l/, two glides /j/ and /w/ and one affricate /ʤ/.


75

Table 4.1: Consonant Sounds in HYA

Bil

ab

ial

Lab

io-d

enta

l

Inte

r-d

enta

l

Den

tal-

alv

eola

r

Pala

tal

Vel

ar

Uvu

lar

Ph

ary

n-g

eal

Glo

ttal

Plosive

Voiced b d ɡ

Voiceless t k ʔ

Emphatic dˤ tˤ

Affricate ʤ

Fricative

Voiced ð z ʁ ʕ

Voiceless f Ө s ∫ χ ħ h

Emphatic ðˤ sˤ

Nasal m n

Lateral l

Tap r

Glide w j

Hajji dialect and MAS have the same phonological system. But, the voiceless

uvular stop /q/ in MSA changes to voiced velar stop /ɡ/ in Hajji as in the following

examples:

MSA HYA Gloss

/qari:b/ /ɡari:b/ “near”

/qalb/ /ɡalb/ “heart”

/su:q/ /su:ɡ/ “market”

/qa:l/ /ɡa:l/ “he said”

/sa:q/ /sa:ɡ/ “leg”

/qabr/ /ɡabr/ “a grave”

/ʕaql/ /ʕaɡl/ “mind”

/sa:rq/ /sa:rɡ/ “thief


76

Table 4.2: Exemplification of HYA Consonants

Sound Word Gloss

b

/bass/ “enough”

d

/dam/ “blood”

ɡ

/ɡalb/ “heart”

t

/ta.ma:m/ “good”

k

/ka:f/ “how”

dˤ

/dˤa:jʕ/ “lost”

ʔ

/ʔa.biz/ “i take”

tˤ

/tˤa.ri:ɡ/ “road”

ð /ba:ðinʤa:n/ “eggplant”

z

/zi:d/ “do more”

ʁ

/ʁa:lj/ “expensive”

f

/fi:l/ “elephant”

Ө

/Өalʤ/ “snow”

s

/sa:ɡ/ “leg”

∫

/∫ams/ “sun”

χ /χubz/ “bread”

ħ /ħabl/ “rope”

h

/ha:.nak/ “there”

ðˤ

/ðˤufr/ “nail”

ʕ

/ʕiʤl/ “calf”

sˤ

/sˤadr/ “breast”

m

/maʕ/ “no”

n

/nafs/ “spirit”

l

/lak/ “for you”

r

/ri:ħ/ “wind

w

/ward/ “roses”

j /jad/

“hand”


77

4.1.1.1.1 Description of Consonants in HYA

Stops

bilabial-stop-voiced /b/

dental-alveolar-stop- voiceless /t/

dental-alveolar-stop- voiced /d/

dental-alveolar- emphatic- voiceless /tˤ/

velar-stop-voiceless /k/

velar-stop- voiced /ɡ/

glottal-stop-voiceless

voiced - inter dental-stop

/ʔ/

/dˤ/

Affricates /ʤ/ Palatal- Affricates- voiced

Fricatives

labio-dental-fricative-voiceless /f/

inter-dental- fricative- voiceless /Ѳ/

inter-dental- fricative- voiced /ð/

inter-dental-emphatic- voiced /ðˤ/

dental-alveolar- fricative- voiceless /s/

dental-alveolar- fricative- voiced /z/

dental-alveolar- emphatic- voiceless /sˤ/

palatal- fricative- voiceless /∫/


78

uvular- fricative- voiceless /χ/

uvular- fricative- voiced /ʁ/

pharyngeal- fricative- voiceless / ħ/

pharyngeal- fricative- voiced /ʕ/

glottal- fricative –voiceless /h/

Nasals

bilabial-nasal-voiced /m/

dental-alveolar- nasal-voiced /n/

Lateral

dental-alveolar- lateral-voiced /l/

Tap

/r/ dental-alveolar-tap-voiced

Glides

/j/ palatal- glide- voiced

/w/ velar-glide-voiced


79

4.1.1.1.2 Distribution of Consonants in HYA

Stops

Table 4.3: Distribution of Consonants in HYA

Sound Syllable-Initially Syllable-Medially Syllable-Finally

/b/

/baħr/ “sea”

/bass/ “enough”

/rabħ/ “monkey”

/kab∫/ “sheep”

/saʕb/ “difficult”

/ɡalb/ “heart”

/d/

/damʕ/ “tears”

/diɡn/ “beard

/kib.deh/ “liver”

/χadd/ “cheek”

/ba.li:d/ “dull”

/bard/ “bard”

/ɡ/

/ɡult/ “I said”

/ɡa:tl/ “killer”

/ʕaɡl/ “mind”

/raɡsˤ/ “dance”

/sa:rɡ/ “thief”

/ħaɡɡ/ “right”

/t/

/ta:ʤ/ “crown”

/tamr/ “dates”

/ɡa:tl/ “killer”

/maktab/ “office”

/ma:t/ “he died”

/bint/ “girl”

/k/

/kul/ “all”

/ka:n/ “was”

/bikr/ “virgin”

/sa:kr/ “drunkard”

/lak/ “for you”

/sa.mak/ “fish”

/dˤ/

/dˤa:jʕ/ “lost”

/dˤaru:ri/ “necessary”

/ɡa:dˤ j/ “judge”

/ɡadˤi:jah/ “case” /ʔardˤ/ “land”

/ʔ/

/ʔab/ “father”

/ʔardˤ/ “land”

/mutaʃaʔim/

“pessimistic”

/ma.taʔ/ “when”

/ha.waʔ/ “air”

/tˤ/

/tˤajr/ “bird”

/tˤa.bi:χ/ “cuisine”

/satˤħ/ “roof”

/matˤr/ “rain”

/∫uχtˤ/ “stroke”

/mu.∫utˤ/ “comb”

Affricate


/ʤ/

/ʤi:/ “come”

/ʤa:r/ “neighbor”

/waʤh/ “face”

/ħa:ʤb/ “eyebrow”

/zu:ʤ/ “husband”

/Өalʤ/ “snow”


80

Fricatives


/ð/

/ðu.rah/ “corn” /ʔiðn/ “ear”

/z/


/zi:d/ “do more” /ruzz/ “rice”

/ruzz/ “rice”

/χubz/ “bread”

/ʁ/

/ʁa:lj/ “expensive”

/ʁa.lab/ “he defeat”

/f/


/fa:s/ “axe”

/nafs/ “spirit”

/ɡufl/ “padlock”

/ka:f/ “how”

/Ө/

/Өu:r/ “ox”

/Өalʤ/ “snow”

/wirӨ/ “inheritance”

/baħӨ/ “research”

/s/

/su:ɡ/ “market”

/saʕb/ “difficult”

/bass/ “enough”

/wa:sʕ/ “wide”

/nafs/ “spirit”

/jubs/ “dryness”

/∫/

/∫ul/ “take”

/∫uχtˤ/ “stroke”

/ri:∫/ “feather”

/kab∫/ “ram”

/χ/

/χa:l/ “uncle”

/χadd/ “cheek” /∫uχtˤ/ “stroke”

/ʔaχ/ “brother”

/ħ/

/ħar/ “hot”

/ħabl/ “rope”

/baħr/ “sea”

/siħr/ “magic”

/ru:ħ/ “soul”

/farħ/ “happy”

/h/

hu/ “he”

/nahr/ “river”

/sahl/ “easy” /waʤh/ “face”

/ðˤ/

/ðˤufr/ “nail”

/ʕi.ðˤa:m/ “bones”

/ʁa.li:ðˤ/ “thick”

/ʕ/

/ʕilm/ “science”

/ ʕiʤl/ “calf” /sˤ aʕb/ “difficult”

/maʕ/ “no”

/damʕ/ “tears”

/sˤ/

/sˤ aʕb/ “difficult”

/sˤaħn/ “dish” /ba:sˤsˤ/ “bus”

/ba:sˤsˤ / “bus”


81

Nasals


/m/

/min/ “from”

/maʕ/ “no”

/damʕ/ “tears”

/ʕumr/ “age”

/dam/ “blood”

/kam/ “how much”

/n/

/na:r/ “fire”

/na:s/ “people”

/bint/ “girl”

/sinn/

“tooth”

/ti:n/ “figs”

/di:n/ “religion”

Lateral


/l/

/lawn/ “color”

/lajj/ “hose”

/Өalʤ/ “snow”

/ɡalb/ “heart”

/χa:l/ “uncle”

/sahl/ “easy”

Tap


/r/

/ri:∫/ “feather”

/ri:ħ/ “wind”

/ward/ “roses”

/ba:rd/ “cold”

/Өu:r/ “ox”

/baħr/ “sea”

Glides


/w/

/wa:rӨ/ “inheritor”

/wa.rag/ “paper”

/zawʤ/ “husband”

/jawm/ “day”

/ʤaww/ “they came”

/ʔaw/ “or”

/j/

/jad/ “hand”

/jan.kaʕ/ “fall”

/wajn/ “where”

/kajf/ “how”

/ðˤabj/ “gazelle”

/ħa:mj/ “hot”

As seen from the distribution of consonants in HYA above, all consonant

sounds (stops, affricate, nasals, fricatives, lateral, tap and glides) in Hajji dialect

occur in all positions of syllable (syllable-initially, syllable-medially and syllable-

finally). Only /∫/ and /Ө/ cannot occur syllable-medially. Also, voiced uvular fricative

/ʁ/ occurs only syllable-initially in Hajji dialect. Moreover, voiced fricative /ð/ cannot

occur syllable-initially in Hajji.


82

4.1.1.1.3 Consonantal Contrasts in HYA

The minimal pairs in Hajji dialect occur when two words differ only in one sound as

illustrated below:

Contrast Word Gloss Word Gloss

/n / vs. /r/ /na:s/ “people” /ra:s/ “head”

/t / vs. /d/ /ti:n/ “figs” /di:n/ “religion”

/n / vs. /f/ /na:s/ “people” /fa:s/ “axe”

/tˤ/ vs. /n/ /tˤa:ɡah/ “window” /na:ɡah/ “she-camel”

/χ/ vs. /k/ /χa:f/ “he became afraid” /ka:f/ “how”

/ɡ/ vs. /k/ /ɡalb/ “heart” /kalb/ “dog”

/∫/ vs. /n/ /∫a:.hi/ “tea” /na:hi/ “ok”

/Ө/ vs. /b/ /kaӨi:r/ “many” /kabi:r/ “big”

/ʁ/ vs. /ɡ/ /ʁa.ri:b/ “stranger” /ɡa.ri:b/ “near”

/ħ/ vs. /k/ /milħ/ “salt” /milk/ “property”

/j/ vs. /k/ /ja.mi:n/ “right hand” /ka.mi:n/ “trap”

/ʕ/ vs. /h/ /∫aʕr/ “hair” /∫ahr/ “a month”

/ħ/ vs. /t/ /ħa.ma:m/ “doves” /ta.ma:m/ “good”

/ʁ/ vs. /ħ/ /ʁa:lj/ “expensive” /ħailj/ “sweet”

/ʤ/ vs. /ʕ/ /ʤamal/ “camel” /ʕamal/ “work”


83

Table 4.4: Distinctive Features (Consonant Sounds) for Hajji Dialect.

con

son

an

tal

stri

den

t

corn

al

son

ora

nt

an

teri

or

nasa

l

lab

ial

con

tin

uan

t

dors

al

Tri

ll

late

ral

voic

ed

b + - + - +

d + + - + - +

ɡ + - - + +

t + + - + - -

k + - - + -

ʔ + - - -

dˤ + + - + - +

tˤ + + - + - -

ʤ + + - + +

ð + - + - + + +

z + + + - + + +

ʁ + - + + +

f + - - + + -

ʕ + - + + +

s + + + - + + -

Ө + - + - + + -

∫ + + - + + + -

ħ + - + + -

χ + - + + -

m + + + + + +

n + + + + + + +

l + - + + + - + +

r + - + + + - + +

w + - + + - + +

j + - + + + - +

h + - + + -

ðˤ + - + - + + +

sˤ + + + - + + -


84

4.1.1.2 Vowel Sounds in HYA

Figure 4.1: Short Vowels in HYA

As shown in figure 4.1 above, Hajji dialect has six vowels (i, u, a, i:, u: and a:)

in two types of vowel sounds, long vowels and short vowels.

Short Vowels in HYA

Hajji dialect has three short vowels, /i/, /u/ and /a/.

/min/ “from”

/bi/ “with”

/zid/ “do more”

/lak/ “for you”

/kam/ “how much”

/dam/ “blood”

/kul/ “all”

/∫ul/ “take”

/dub/ “bear”


85

Long Vowels in HYA

Hajji dialect has three long vowels /i:/, /u:/ and /a:/.

/ʤi:/ “come”

/ri:ħ/ “wind”


/∫u:f/ “look”



/na:s/ “people”

/ka:n/ “was”

/ba:b/ “door”

/na:r/ “fire”

/ra:s/ “head”

/ti:n/ “figs”

/tˤi:n/ “mud”

/ru:ħ/ “soul”

/Өu:r/ “ox”

4.1.1.2.1 Description of Vowles in HYA

(i) Short vowels:

/a/ open- front –short

/u/ close-back-short

/i/ close-front-short

(ii) Long vowels:

/a:/ open-front-long

/u:/ close-back-long

/i:/ close-front-long


86

4.1.1.2.2 Distribution of Vowels in HYA

In Hajji dialect, vowels occur in two positions of the syllables (medial and final).

(A) Medial Position:

/min/ “from”

/ti:n/ “figs”

/maʕ/ “no”

/ħar/ “hot”

/ba:b/ “door”

/ka:f/ “how”

/dub/ “bear”


(B) Final Position:

/ba/ “with”

/wa/ “and”

/fi:/ “in”

/ʤi:/ “come”

/li:/ “to me”

/hu/ “he”

Table 4.5: Distinctive Features (Vowel Sounds) for Hajji Dialect.

Features i a i: u a: u:

High + - + + - +

Back - - - + - +

Low - + - - + -

Round - - - + - +

Tense - - + - + +


87

4.1.1.3 Diphthongs in HYA

Table 4.6: Diphthongs in HYA and MSA

Diphthongs in HYA Diphthongs in MSA

aj

/ʔaj/ “which” aw

/zawʤ/ “husband”

aw

/ʔaw/ “or” aj

/wajn/ “where”

a:j

/χa:jf/ “scared” -

ij

/mu.ta.sa:.wij/ “equal” -

As seen in the table 4.6 above, Hajji dialect has four diphthongs (/aj/, /aw/, /ij/

and /a:j/) while MSA has only two diphthongs (/aj/ and /aw/). Examples for more

clarification:

/ʔaj/ “which”

/lajj/ “hose”

/ʔal.χajl/ “the horse”

/ʔaw/ “or”

/ʤaww/ “they came”

/jawm/ “day”

/χa:jf/ “scared”

/ʤa:jʕ/ “hungry”

/za:jr/ “visitor”

/mu.ta.sa:.wij/ “equal”

4.1.2 Types of Syllables in Hajji Dialect

There are five types of syllables in Hajji dialect (monosyllabic, disyllabic,

trisyllabic, tetrasyllabic and pentasyllabic words). There are altogether 40 different

canonical structures for various types of syllable structures of Hajji dialect. Syllable

types in HYA can be classified into three groups: the first group has light syllable as

in /CV/, the second group has heavy syllables as in (/CV:/ and /CVC/) whereas the


88

third group consists of super-heavy syllables as in (/CV:C/, /CV:CC/ and /CVCC/).

All syllables in Hajji have obligatory simple onset, while the codas are optional in

HYA and are either simple or complex coda.

4.1.2.1 Monosyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect

In monosyllabic words of Hajji dialect, there are 6 different canonical

structures as in (/CV/, /CV:/, /CVC/, /CVCC/, /CV:CC/ and /CV:C/) unlike MSA and

CA, in which there are only 5 types of syllables (/CV/, /CV:/, /CVC/, /CVCC/ and

/CV:C/). Examples are presented below:

Table 4.7: Monosyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect

Listing of canonical

structures

Canonical

structure Example Glossary

1 /CV/ /ba/ “with”

2 /CV:/ /fi:/ “in”

3 /CVC/ /kul/ “all”

4 /CV:CC/ /ba:rd/ “cold”

5 /CV:C/ /ba:b/ “door”

6 /CVCC/ /kab∫/ “ram”

The canonical structure /CV/ is the most preferred canonical structure and

exists in all languages and dialects of the world. In Hajji, this structure /CV/ consists

of simple onset plus short vowel as in /hu/ “he”, /ba/ “with” and /wa/ “and”.

Moreover, the canonical structure /CV/ occurs very frequently in all positions of the

word in HYA. It occurs word initially as in /∫a.miz/ “shirt”, /mu.∫utˤ/ “comb”,

/ma.taʔ/ “when”, /la.ban/ “milk” and /ri. sˤa: sˤ/ “buckshot”, word medially as in

/sˤa:.ħi.bi/ “my friend”, /ʤa:.mi.ʕah/ “university”, /ħa.ra.mi/ “thief”, /ba.ɡa.rah/

“cow” and /wa.ra.ɡah/ “leaf”, and word finally as in /ti.ħa:.ki/ “speak”, /ħa.ra.mi/

“thief”, /ni.∫a/ “he grew”, /la.na/ “for us, ours” and /na:.hi/ “ok”.

In Hajji, the canonical structure /CV:/ of Hajji dialect consists of simple onset

and long vowel as in /li:/ “to me”, /la:/ “no”, /ma:/ “water”, /fi:/ “in” and /ʤi:/

“come”. /CV:/ is same type as its previous canonical structure /CV/ with one more

vowel at the end of syllable. Therefore, it can also occur in all positions of the word. It


89

occurs word initially as in /∫a:.hi/ “tea”, /na:.hi/ “ok”, /ra:.tib/ “salary”, /ɡa:.law/

“they said”, and /ʁa:.miɡ/ “dark” , word medially as in /ti.ħa:.ki/ “speak”, /dˤa.ru:.ri/

“necessary”, /tˤa.ma:.tˤi:s/ “tomatoes”, /ʕa.sˤi:.dah/ “gruel” and /χa.tˤi:.ʔah/ “sin”, and

word finally as in /ʕak.ba.ri:/ “rat”, /mu.sa:.wa:/ “equally”, /mu.ʕa:.fa:/ “healthy” and

/mak.ta.ba.ti:/ “my library”.

It is also seen that the canonical structure /CVC/ of Hajji consists of simple

onset plus short vowel followed by simple coda as in /jad/ “hand”, /min/ “from”, /ħar/

“hot”, /maʕ/ “no” and /ʔaχ/ “brother”. It can also occur in all positions, that is, word

initially, medially and finally in Hajji dialect. Word initially as in /mas.ma:r/ “’nail”,

/χab ba:z/ “baker”, /tˤam.ma:ʕ/ “greedy”, /maχ.raʤ/ “exits” and /bal.wah/ “trouble”,

word medially as in /kul.lij.jah/ “college”, /ba:.ðin.ʤa:n/ “eggplant”, /ji.kal.lim.hum/

“he speaks to them”, /ti.li.fiz.zi.ju:n/ “television” and /ʔis.taʕ.ma.lat.hum/ “she used

them”, and word finally as in /∫a.miz/ “shirt”, /ħa.ʤar/ “stone”, /sˤa.lab/ “dry/harsh”,

/ʔaħ.mar/ “red” and /raɡ.sˤah/ “dance”.

Furthermore, the canonical structure /CV:CC/ consists of simple onset plus

long vowel followed by complex coda (two consonants) as in /za:jr/ “visitor”, /ba:sˤsˤ/

“bus”, /sa:rɡ/ “thief”, /wa:ɡf/ “standing” and /sa:kr/ “drunkard”. The canonical

structure /CV:C/ consists of simple onset plus long vowel followed by simple coda as

in /ba:b/ “door”, /ti:n/ “figs”, /zu:ʤ/ “husband”, /zi:d/ “do more” and /ka:n/ “was”.

This structure /CV:C/ occurs only word final position as in /ɡa.di:m/ “old”,

/ħa.ma:m/ “doves”, /ki.ta:b/ “book”, /∫a.ma:l/ “north” and /sa.la:m/ “peace”.

It is also observed that the last canonical structure /CVCC/ of HYA consists

of simple onset plus short vowel followed by complex coda (two consonants) as in

/baħr/ “sea”, /nafs/ “spirit”, /ʕiʤl/ “calf”, /bint/ “girl” and /damʕ/ “tears”. This

structure /CVCC/ occurs only word final position as in /ʔal.∫ams/ “the sun”,

/ʔal.baħr/ “the sea”, /ʔal.nahr/ “the river”, /ʔal.waɡt/ “the time” and /ʔal.∫iʕr/ “the

poetry”. For more clarification the following table shows the distribution of the

syllable types in words in Hajji dialect:


90

Table 4.8: The Distribution of the Syllable Types of Words in Hajji Dialect

Syllable

types Initial Medial Final

/CV/ /χa.saʕ/ “mud” /sˤa:.ħi.bi/ “my friend” /ra:ʕi/ “wait”

/CVC/ /ɡam.bir/ “sit” /ba:.ðin.ʤa:n/ “eggplant” /ʤa.mal/ “camel”

/CV:/ /na:.hi/ “ok” /dˤa.ru:.ri/ “necessary” /χa:.li:/ “my cousin”

/CV:C/ - - /ʔa.mi:ɡ/ “deep”

/CVCC/ - - /ʔal.nahr/ “the river”

/CV:CC/ - - -

Table 4.9: Percentages of Monosyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect

Serial

Nos. of

canonical

structures

Canonical

structure Frequency Percentage

Valid

percentage

1 CV 8 3.9% 3.9

2 CV: 10 4.9% 4.9

3 CVC 20 9.8% 9.8

4 CV:CC 33 16.2% 16.2

5 CV:C 41 20.1% 20.1

6 CVCC 92 45.1% 45.1

Total 204 100.0% 100.0


91

Figure 4.2: Frequencies of Monosyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect

The results as shown in table 4.9 and figure 4.2 above indicate that the

monosyllabic words in Hajji dialect have six canonical structures, one light syllable

/CV/, two heavy syllables (/CV:/ and /CVC/) and three super- heavy syllables

(/CV:CC/, /CV:C/ and /CVCC/). The percentages and frequency analysis of these 6

canonical structures reveal that super heavy syllable /CVCC/ has the highest

percentage 45.1% and shows 92 words (frequency) in Hajji dialect. This is followed

by the heavy syllable /CV:C/ which has the percentage of 20.1% and shows 41 words

(frequency ). In addition, light syllable /CV/ has the least percentage 3.9% in Hajji

dialect and shows only 8 words (frequency). According to these percentages and

frequencies, we may conclude that, closed canonical structures have higher

percentages as compared to the open canonical structures in this dialect.

4.1.2.2 Disyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect

In disyllabic words of Hajji dialect, there are 11 different canonical structures

as in (/CV:.CV:/, /CV.CV/, /CV:.CV/, /CV.CV:/, /CVC.CVCC/, /CV:.CV:C/,

/CV:.CVC/, /CV.CVC/, /CVC.CV:C/, /CVC.CVC/ and /CV.CV:C/).

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

CV CV: CVC CV:CC CV:C CVCC


92

Table 4.10: Disyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect


structures

Canonical


1 /CV:.CV:/ /χa:.li:/ “my cousin”

2 /CV.CV/ /la.na/ “for us, ours”

3 /CV:.CV/ /∫a:.hi/ “tea”

4 /CV.CV:/ /ʁa.da:/ “lunch”

5 /CVC.CVCC/ /ʔal.bint/ “the girl”

6 /CV:.CV:C/ /ta:.ri:χ/ “date”

7 /CV:.CVC/ /ʤa:.wiʕ/ “hungry”

8 /CV.CVC/ /mu.∫utˤ/ “comb”

9 /CVC.CV:C/ /χaj.ra:t/ “a lot”

10 /CVC.CVC/ /ɡam.bir/ “sit”

11 /CV.CV:C/ /sˤa.ʁi:r/ “small”

The canonical structure /CV:.CV:/ of HYA consists of two heavy syllables

(/CV:/ and /CV:/) as in /χa:.li:/ “my cousin”, /na:.di:/ “club”. Furthermore, the

canonical structure /CV.CV/ consists of two light syllables (/CV/and /CV/) as in

/wa.ra/ “back”, /ni.∫a/ “he grew”, /la.na/ “for us, ours” and /wa.fi/ “loyal”, and the

canonical structure /CV:.CV/ of Hajji consists of one heavy syllable /CV:/ and one

light syllable /CV/ as in /ru:.ti/ “bread”, /ra:.ʕi/ “wait”, /∫a:.hi/ “tea” and /na:.hi / “ok”.

The /CV.CV:/ canonical structure of HYA consists of one light syllable /CV/

and one heavy syllable /CV:/ as in /ʁi.tˤa:/ “cover”, /sa.ma:/ “sky”, /ʁa.da:/ “lunch”,

/ra.mu:/ “they threw” and /wa.ba:/ “epidemics”. Moreover, the canonical structure

/CVC.CVCC/ consists of one heavy syllable /CVC/ and one super-heavy syllable

/CVCC/ as in /ʔal.χajl/ “the horse”, /ʔal.∫ams/ “the sun”, /ʔal.baħr/ “the sea”,

/ʔal.nahr/ “the river” and /ʔal.waɡt/ “the time”. The canonical structure /CV:.CV:C/

of Hajji dialect consists of one heavy syllable /CV:/ and one super-heavy syllable

/CV:C/ as in /ta:.ri:χ/ “date”, /sa:.ni:n/ “tooth”, /du:.la:b/ “cupboard”, /mi:.ra:Ө/

“inheritance” and /∫i:.tˤa:n/ “devil”.


93

It may be pointed out that in the canonical structure /CV:.CVC/ there are two

heavy syllables (/CV:/ and /CVC/) as in /ʤa:.wiʕ/ “hungry”, /χa:.dim/ “servant”,

/sˤu:.tak/ “your voice”, /wa:.siʕ/ “wide, broad” and /tˤa:.ɡah/ “window”. And the

canonical structure /CV.CVC/ of HYA consists of one light syllable /CV/ and one heavy

syllable /CVC/ as in /sa.mak/ “fish”, /Өa.man/ “price”, /sˤa.lab/ “dry, harsh”, /χa.saʕ/

“mud” and /ma.lik/ “king”. The /CVC.CV:C/ canonical structure of HYA consists of one

heavy syllable /CVC/ and one super-heavy /CV:C/ as in /ʕusˤ.fu:r/ “sparrow”, /ma∫.ʁu:l/

“busy”, /tˤaj.ji:b/ “good heart”, /man.∫a:r/ “saw” and /maʤ.nu:n/ “crazy”.

In Hajji, the canonical structure /CVC.CVC/ consists of two heavy syllables

(/CVC/ and /CVC/) as in /fil.fil/ “pepper”, /ɡal.ʕah/ “castle”, /ʔaħ.mar/ “red”, /mab.χar/

“censer” and /ɡam.bir/ “sit”. Furthermore, the canonical structure /CV.CV:C/ of Hajji

consists of one light syllable /CV/ and one super-heavy /CV:C/ as in /ja.ti:m/ “orphan”,

/ʁa.ri:b/ “stranger”, /ɡa.sˤi:r/ “short”, /ʕi.ðˤa:m/ “bones” and /tˤa.bi:b/ “doctor”.

Table 4.11: Percentages of Disyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect

Serial

Nos. of

canonical

structures

Canonical


Valid

percentage

1 CV:.CV: 7 2.3% 2.3

2 CV.CV 9 3.0% 3.0

3 CV:.CV 9 3.0% 3.0

4 CV.CV: 11 3.6% 3.6

5 CVC.CVCC 12 3.9% 3.9

6 CV:.CV:C 14 4.6% 4.6

7 CV:.CVC 36 11.8% 11.8

8 CV.CVC 38 12.5% 12.5

9 CVC.CV:C 54 17.7% 17.7

10 CVC.CVC 56 18.4% 18.4

11 CV.CV:C 59 19.3% 19.3

Total 305 100.0% 100.0


94

Figure 4.3: Frequencies of Disyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect

The results indicate that disyllabic words in Hajji dialect have 11 canonical

structures. The percentages and frequency analysis of these 11 canonical structures

reveal that the most predominant canonical structure in disyllabic words of Hajji is

/CV.CV:C/ with a percentage of 19.3% and shows 59 words (frequency). The next in

line are words of the canonical structure /CVC.CVC/ which show a frequency of 56

words with 18.4% percentage. While the canonical structure /CV:.CV:/ has the least

percentage 2.3% and shows 7 words (frequency) in this dialect.

4.1.2.3 Trisyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect

In trisyllabic words of Hajji dialect, there are 14 different canonical structures

as in: (/CV:.CV.CV/, /CV:.CV.CVC/, /CVC.CV.CV:C/, /CV.CV:.CV/, /CV.CV.CV/,

/CVC.CVC/.CVC/, /CVC.CV.CV:/, /CV.CV.CVC/, /CV.CV:.CVC/, /CV.CV:CV:.C/,

/CVC.CV.CVC/, /CVC.CV:.CVC/, /CV.CV:.CV:/ and /CV:.CVC.CV:C/).

0

10

20

30

40

50

60


95

Table 4.12: Trisyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect


structures Canonical structure Example Glossary

1 /CV:.CV.CV/ /sˤa:.ħi.bi/ “my friend”

2 /CV:.CV.CVC/ /ʤa:.mi.ʕah/ “university”

3 /CVC.CV.CV:C/ /ʔad.da.wa:b/ “livestock”

4 /CV.CV.CV/ /ħa.ra.mi/ “thief”

5 /CVC.CVC.CVC/ /kul.lij.jah/ “college”

6 /CVC.CV.CV:/ /ʕak.ba.ri:/ “rat”

7 /CV.CV:.CV:C/ /tˤa.ma:.tˤi:s/ “tomatoes”

8 /CV:.CVC.CV:C/ /ba:.ðin.ʤa:n/ “eggplant”

9 /CV.CV:.CV/ /dˤa.ru:.ri/ “necessary”

10 /CV.CV:.CV:/ /mu.ʕa:.fa:/ “healthy”

11 /CV.CV.CVC/ /ba.ɡa.rah/ “cow”

12 /CVC.CV:.CVC/ /midˤ.ra:.bah/ “fighting”

13 /CVC.CV.CVC/ /tan.ʤa.rah/ “pot”

14 /CV.CV:.CVC/ /ɡa.dˤi:.jah/ “case”

The canonical structure /CV:.CV.CV/ of Hajji consists of one heavy syllable

/CV:/ and two light syllables (/CV/ and /CV/) as in /sˤa:.ħi.bi/ “my friend” and the

canonical structure /CV:.CV.CVC/ of HYA consists of two heavy syllables (/CV:/

and /CVC/) and one light syllable /CV/ as in /ʤa:.mi.ʕah/ “university”. The

/CVC.CV.CV:C/ canonical structure of Hajji dialect consists of one light syllable

/CV/, one heavy syllable /CVC/ and one super-heavy /CV:C/ as in /ʔad.da.wa:b/

“livestock”.

It is observed that the canonical structure /CV.CV.CV/ consists of three light

syllables (/CV/, /CV/ and /CV/) as in /ħa.ra.mi/ “thief”. Also, the canonical structure

/CVC.CVC.CVC/ of Hajji consists of three heavy syllables (/CVC/, /CVC/ and

/CVC/) as in /kul.lij.jah/ “college”. The canonical structure /CVC.CV.CV:/ consists of

two heavy syllables (/CVC/ and /CV:/), and one light syllable /CV/ as in /ʕak.ba.ri:/

“rat”.


96

It is also seen that the canonical structure /CV.CV:.CV:C/ consists of one light

syllable /CV/, one heavy syllable /CV:/ and one super-heavy syllable /CV:C/ as in

/tˤa.ma:.tˤi:s/ “tomatoes”. Moreover, the canonical structure /CV:.CVC.CV:C/ consists of

one super-heavy /CV:C/ and two heavy syllables /CV:/ and /CVC/) as in /ba:.ðin.ʤa:n/

“eggplant”.

It may be pointed out that the canonical structure /CV.CV:.CV/ of Hajji consists

of two light syllables (/CV/ and /CV/) and one heavy syllable /CV:/ as in /dˤa.ru:.ri/

“necessary”. The /CV.CV:.CV:/ canonical structure of HYA consists of two heavy

syllables (/CV:/ and /CVC/) and one light syllable /CV/ as in /mu.ʕa:.fa:/ “healthy”.

Furthermore, the canonical structure /CV.CV.CVC/ consists of two light syllables (/CV/

and /CV/) and one heavy syllable /CVC/ as in /wa.ra.ɡah/ “leaf”. In Hajji, the canonical

structure /CVC.CV:.CVC/ consists of three heavy syllables (/CVC/, /CV:/ and /CVC/) as

in /saj.ja:.rah/ “car”, and the canonical structure /CVC.CV.CVC/ consists of two heavy

syllables (/CVC/ and /CVC/) and one light syllable /CV/as in /tan.ʤa.rah/ “pot”. The

/CV.CV:.CVC/ canonical structure of Hajji consists of two heavy syllables (/CV:/ and

/CVC/) and one light syllable /CV/ as in /ʕa.sˤi:.dah/ “gruel”.

Table 4.13: Percentages of Trisyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect

Serial Nos. of

canonical

structures

Canonical


Valid

percentage

1 CV:.CV.CV 6 4.4% 4.4

2 CV:.CV.CVC 6 4.4% 4.4

3 CVC.CV.CV:C 6 4.4% 4.4

4 CV.CV.CV 6 4.4% 4.4

5 CVC.CVC.CVC 6 4.4% 4.4

6 CVC.CV.CV: 6 4.4% 4.4

7 CV.CV:.CV:C 6 4.4% 4.4

8 CV:.CVC.CV:C 6 4.4% 4.4

9 CV.CV:.CV 7 5.1% 5.1

10 CV.CV:.CV: 7 5.1% 5.1

11 CV.CV.CVC 8 5.9% 5.9

12 CVC.CV:.CVC 14 10.3% 10.3

13 CVC.CV.CVC 22 16.2% 16.2

14 CV.CV:.CVC 30 22.1% 22.1

Total 136 100.0 100.0


97

Figure 4.4: Frequencies of Trisyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect

From table 4.13 and figure 4.4 above, Hajji dialect has 14 canonical structures

in trisyllabic words. It is clear that the maximum canonical structure (most) in

trisyllabic words of Hajji dialect is /CV.CV:.CVC/ with 22.1% percentage and shows

30 words (frequency) in HYA. In addition, the canonical structures /CV:.CV.CV/,

/CV:.CV.CVC/,/CVC.CV.CV:C/, /CV.CV.CV/, / CVC.CVC.CVC/, / CVC.CV.CV:/,

/CV.CV:.CV:C/, / CV:.CVC.CV:C/ have a minimum percentage (least) of about 4.4%

each and they show only 6 words (frequency) in this dialect.

4.1.2.4 Tetrasyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect

In tetrasyllabic words of Hajji dialect, there are 5 different canonical structures

as in (/CVC.CV.CV.CVC/, /CV.CVC.CVC.CVC/, /CVC.CV.CV.CV:/,

/CV.CV.CV:.CVC/ and /CV.CV.CV.CVC/).

0

5

10

15

20

25

30


98

Table 4.14: Tetrasyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect

Listing of

canonical

structures

Canonical structure Example Glossary

1 /CVC.CV.CV.CVC/ /mak.ta.ba.tuh/ “his library”

2 /CV.CVC.CVC.CVC/ /ji.kal.lim.hum/ “he speaks to them”

3 /CVC.CV.CV.CV:/ /mak.ta.ba.ti:/ “my library”

4 /CV.CV.CV:.CVC/ /mu.ta.sa:.wij/ “equal”

5 /CV.CV.CV.CVC/ /ra.ɡa.ba.tuh/ “his neck”

The canonical structure /CVC.CV.CV.CVC/ of HYA consists of two light

syllables (/CV/ and /CV/) and two heavy syllables (/CVC/ and /CVC/) as in

/mak.ta.ba.tuh/ “his library”. Structure /CV.CVC.CVC.CVC/ consists of one light

syllable /CV/ and three heavy syllables (/CVC/, /CVC/ and /CVC/) as in

/ji.kal.lim.hum/ “he speaks to them”. Moreover, the canonical structure

/CVC.CV.CV.CV:/ of Hajji consists of two light syllables (/CV/ and /CV/) and two

heavy syllables (/CVC/ and /CV:/) as in /mak.ta.ba.ti:/ “my library”.

In Hajji, the canonical structure /CV.CV.CV:.CVC / consists of two light

syllables (/CV/ and /CV/) and two heavy syllables (/CV:/ and /CVC/) as in

/mu.ta.ʃa:.ʔim/ “my library pessimistic”, /mu.ta.sa:.wij/ “equal” and /mu.ta.dˤa:.jiɡ/

“annoyed”. Also, in the canonical structure /CV.CV.CV.CVC / there are three light

syllables (/CV/, /CV/ and /CV/) and one heavy syllable /CVC/ as in /ʃa.ʤa.ra.tuh/

“his tree”, /sa.la.ma.tak/ “your safety” and /ra.ɡa.ba.tuh / “his neck”.

Table 4.15: Percentages of Tetrasyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect

Serial Nos. of

canonical

structures

Canonical


Valid

percentage

1 CVC.CV.CV.CVC 6 17.6% 17.6

2 CV.CVC.CVC.CVC 6 17.6% 17.6

3 CVC.CV.CV.CV: 6 17.6% 17.6

4 CV.CV.CV:.CVC 8 23.5% 23.5

5 CV.CV.CV.CVC 8 23.5% 23.5

Total 34 100.0% 100.0


99

Figure 4.5: Frequencies of Tetrasyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect

The results show in table 4.15 and figure 4.5 that, Hajji dialect has 5 canonical

structures in tetrasyllabic words. It is clear that the most canonical structures

(maximum) are /CV.CV.CV.CVC/ and /CV.CV.CV:.CVC/ with 23.5% percentage

each and they show 8 words (frequency) in Hajji. In addition, the canonical structures

/CVC.CV.CV.CVC/, /CV.CVC.CVC.CVC/ and /CVC.CV.CV.CV:/ have a minimum

percentage (least) about 17.6% each and they show only 6 words (frequency) in HYA.

4.1.2.5 Pentasyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect

In pentasyllabic words of Hajji dialect, there are 4 different canonical

structures as in (/CV.CV:.CV.CV.CVC/, /CV.CV.CVC.CV.CV:C/,

/CV.CVC.CV.CV.CV/ and /CVC.CVC.CV.CVC.CVC/).

Table 4.16: Pentasyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect

Listing of

canonical

structures

Canonical


1 /CV.CV:.CV.CV.CVC/ /zi.ja:.ra.tu.hum/ “visit

(NOM.SG)3pl.poss”

2 /CV.CV.CVC.CV.CV:C/ /ti.li.fiz.zi.ju:n/ “television”

3 /CV.CVC.CV.CV.CV/ /ju.χaw.wi.fu.ni/ “he is frightening

me”

4 /CVC.CVC.CV.CVC.CVC/ /ʔis.taʕ.ma.lat.hum/ “she used theme”

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8


100

The canonical structure /CV.CV:.CV.CV.CVC/ of Hajji consists of three light

syllables (/CV/, /CV/ and /CV/) and two heavy syllables (/CVC/ and /CV:/) as in

/zi.ja:.ra.tu.hum/ “visit (NOM.SG)3pl.poss”. Furthermore, the canonical structure

/CV.CV.CVC.CV.CV:C/ consists of three light syllables (/CV/, /CV/ and /CV/) and one

heavy syllable /CVC/ and one super-heavy /CV:C/ as in /ti.li.fiz.zi.ju:n/ “television”. It is

also seen that the canonical structure /CV.CVC.CV.CV.CV/ of HYA consists of four

light syllables (/CV/, /CV/, /CV/ and /CV/) and one heavy syllable /CVC/ as in

/ju.χaw.wi.fu.ni/ “he is frightening me” and the canonical structure

/CVC.CVC.CV.CVC.CVC/ consists of one light syllable /CV/ and four heavy syllables

(/CVC/, /CVC/, /CVC/ and /CVC/) as in /ʔis.taʕ.ma.lat.hum/ “she used them”.

Table 4.17: Percentages of Pentasyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect

Serial

Nos. of

canonical

structures

Canonical


Valid

percentage

1 CV.CV:.CV.CV.CVC 6 25.0% 25.0

2 CV.CV.CVC.CV.CV:C 6 25.0% 25.0

3 CV.CVC.CV.CV.CV 6 25.0% 25.0

4 CVC.CVC.CV.CVC.CVC 6 25.0% 25.0

Total 24 100.0% 100.0

Figure 4.6: Frequencies of Pentasyllabic Words in Hajji Dialect

0

1

2

3

4

5

6


101

As shown in table 4.17 and figure 4.6 above, pentasyllabic words in Hajji have

four canonical structures. The percentages and frequency analysis of these 4 canonical

structures reveal that all canonical structures of pentasyllabic words have same

percentage 25.0% each and they each show 6 words (frequency) in HYA.

Table 4.18: Percentages of Syllable Types in Hajji Dialect

Serial Nos. of

syllable types

Types of

syllables Frequency Percentage

Valid

percentage

1 Pentasyllabic 24 3.4% 3.4

2 Tetrasyllabic 34 4.8% 4.8

3 Monosyllabic 204 29.0% 29.0

4 Disyllabic 305 43.4% 43.4

5 Trisyllabic 136 19.3% 19.3

Total 703 100.0% 100.0

Figure 4.7: Frequencies of Syllable Types in Hajji Dialect

Table 4.18 and figure 4.7 illustrate that, there are 40 different canonical

structures distributed in five types of syllables in Hajji (six monosyllabic canonical

structures, eleven disyllabic canonical structures, fourteen trisyllabic canonical

structures, five tetrasyllabic canonical structures and four pentasyllabic canonical

structures). The percentages and frequency analysis of these 5 types of syllables

29%

43%

19%

5% 4%

Syllable Types in HYA

Monosyllabic

Disyllabic

Trisyllabic

Tetrasyllabic

Pentasyllabic


102

reveal that disyllabic words have the highest percentage 43.4% and show 305 words

(frequency) in HYA. This is followed by monosyllabic words which are 29.0% and

show 204 words (frequency). Furthermore, the trisyllabic words have 19.3% and

show 136 words (frequency) and the tetrasyllabic words have 4.8% and show 34

words (frequency). Finally, pentasyllabic words have the least percentage 3.4% and

show only 24 words (frequency) in Hajji dialect.

4.1.3 Structure of Syllable in HYA

4.1.3.1 Onset in HYA

It is obligatory in Hajji dialect that all the consonant sounds can occur in the

beginning of any syllable. Moreover, Hajji has only one type of onset (simple onset),

that is, single consonant in the word initial position. Whereas empty onset and

complex onset cannot occur in Hajji dialect, which is also seen in CA and MSA, and

this feature is opposed to some Yemeni and Arabic dialects which accept more than

one sound. Onset in Hajji is followed by short or long vowel. Onset canonical

structure is as the following (CV, CV:CC, CVC, CVCC, CV: and CV:C).

Sound Word Gloss

/w/ /wa/ “and”

/k/ /kul/ “all”

/∫/ /∫ul/ “take”

/m/ /maʕ/ “no”

/f/ /fi:/ “in”

/ʤ/ /ʤi:/ “come”

/n/ /na:r/ “fire”

/r/ /ra:s / “head”

/ʤ/ /ʤa:r/ “neighbor”

/n/ /nafs/ “spirit”

/z/ /zawʤ/ “husband”

/d/ /damʕ/ “tears”

/ʕ/ /ʕumr/ “age”

/b/ /ba:lj/ “old”

/ʕ/ /ʕa:ɡl/ “wise-man”


103

4.1.3.2 Nucleus in HYA

Each syllable in Hajji dialect has nucleus (vowel). No vowel can occur in the

word initial position in Hajji dialect, like MSA and many other Yemeni dialects.

Furthermore, nucleus in Hajji dialect is preceded by one consonant and followed by

one or two sounds, and no word can stand alone without vowel in HYA, which is also

seen in CA and MSA. For examples:

Sound Word Gloss

/a/ /ba/ “with”

/u/ /∫ul/ “take”

/i/ /min/ “from”

/a:/ /ma:/ “water”

/a:/ /na:s/ “people”

/a:/ /ka:n/ “was”

/a:/ /ka:f/ “how”

/a/ /wajn/ “where”

/i/ /siħr/ “magic”

/i/ /ʔism/ “name”

/i:/ /li:/ “to me”

/i:/ /fi:/ “in”

/u:/ /zu:ʤ/ “husband”

/a/ /matˤr/ “rain”

4.1.3.3 Coda in HYA

Coda is optional and the maximum number of permitted consonant sounds is

two at the end position of the syllable in Hajji. Coda is preceded by short or long

vowels (Nucleus) /V/ and /V:/. In addition, HYA has three types of coda (empty coda,

simple coda and complex Coda).

Empty coda in HYA have the following canonical structures (/CV:/ and /CV/)

Simple coda in HYA show the following canonical structures (/CV:C/ and /CVC/).

Complex coda in HYA have the following canonical structures (/CV:CC/,

/CCVCC/ and /CVCC/).


104

Simple coda in HYA

One sound at the end of the syllable in Hajji dialect can be shown by the following

examples:

Sound Word Gloss

/-m/ /dam/ “blood”

/-r/ /ħar/ “hot”

/-w/ /ʔaw/ “or”

/-k/ /lak/ “for you”

/-n/ /ti:n/ “figs”

/-l/ /ɡa:l/ “he said”

/-ħ/ /ru:ħ/ “soul”

/-ʤ/ /ta:ʤ/ “crown”

/-r/ /fa:r/ “mouse”

/-n/ /tˤi:.n/ “mud”

Complex coda in HYA

The maximum number of sounds are only two complex coda and no more than

two consonants at the end of a syllable in Hajji, which is also seen in CA and MSA.

This feature is opposed to some Yemeni and Arabic dialects. For examples:

Sound Word Gloss

/-jn/ /wajn/ “where”

/-ʕb/ /saʕb/ “difficult”

/-nt/ /bint/ “girl”

/-rħ/ /farħ/ “happy”

/-bʕ/ /tˤabʕ/ “habit”

/-ms/ /∫ams/ “sun”

/-jf/ /kajf/ “how”

/-jʕ/ /ʤa:jʕ/ “hungry”

/-rɡ/ /sa:rɡ/ “thief”

/-ɡf/ /wa:ɡf/ “standing”

/-bħ/ /rabħ/ “monkey”

/-fr/ /ðˤufr/ “nail”

/-mr/ /ʕumr/ “age”


105

/-ʤh/ /waʤh/ “face”

/-ɡt/ /waɡt/ “time”

/-b∫/ /kab∫/ “sheep”

/-jr/ /tˤajr/ “bird”

4.1.4 Classification of Syllables in HYA

In Hajji dialect, syllables can be classified into open or close syllables

according to the consonant (coda) at the end of the syllable. Moreover, syllable in

Hajji can be classified into light, heavy and super-heavy.

a) Open Syllables in HYA

Canonical structure Word Gloss

CV /wa/ “and”

CV: /fi:/ “in”

CV.CVC /ħa.ʤar/ “stone”

CV.CVC /ma.lik/ “king”

CV.CVC /ɡa.mar/ “moon”

CV:.CV /ru:.ti/ “bread”

CV:CVC /ʤa:.hil/ “kid”

CV.CV:C /ʤa.nu:b/ “south”

CV.CV:C /tˤa.bi:b/ “doctor”

CV.CV /wa.fi/ “loyal”

b) Close Syllables in HYA


CVC /ħar/ “hot”

CVC /maʕ/ “no”

CVC /ʔaχ/ “brother”

CV:C /ra:s/ “head”

CV:C /ri:ħ/ “wind”

CVCC /bard/ “cold”

CVCC /damʕ/ “tears”

CVCC /lajl/ “night”

CV:CC /ʁa:lj/ “expensive”

CV:CC /sa:rɡ/ “thief”


106

c) Light Syllables in HYA as in (CV)

/hu/ “he”

/ba/ “with”

/wa/ “and”

d) Heavy Syllables in HYA as in (CVC, CV:)

/kam/ “how much” /li:/ “to me”

/kal/ “all” /fi:/ “in”

/lak/ “for you” /ma:/ “water”

e) Super-Heavy Syllables in HYA as in (CV:C, CVCC and CV:CC)

/di:n/ “religion” /nafs/ “spirit” /na:dj/ “club”

/ra:s/ “head” /bint/ “girl” /wa:ɡf/ “standing”

/ka:f/ “how” /jubs/ “dryness” /sa:kr/ “drunkard”

4.1.5 Consonant Clusters in HYA

In Hajji dialect, there are no consonant clusters in the word initial and medial

positions. This is similar to CA and MSA and is opposed to some Yemeni dialects

which permit complex onset. Consonant clusters are permitted only syllable-finally,

and the maximum number of complex coda is two.

4.1.5.1 Final Consonant Clusters in HYA

Final Nasal - Consonant Clusters in HYA

Final two- nasal consonant clusters in Hajji are formed by combining voiced

dental- alveolar nasal /n/ or voiced bilabial nasal /m/ with consonants as in /-nt/ /-nd/

/-mr/, /-mʕ/, and /-ms/. Moreover, some nasal consonant clusters are formed by

combining consonant with voiced dental alveolar nasal /n/ or voiced bilabial nasal /m/

as in /-jn/, /-ħn/, /-wn/, /-ɡn/, /-sm/, /-ʤm/, /-lm/,/-wm/ and /-dm/. Final two- nasal

consonant clusters (-VCC) in Hajji dialect can be classified into four types:


107

1) Nasal plus Consonant (-n+ C) in HYA

Sound Word Gloss

/-nt/ /bint/ “girl”

/-nd/ /ʕind/ “at”

/-nt/ /ʔal.bint/ “the girl”

2) Nasal plus Consonant (-m+ C) in HYA

Sound Word Gloss

/-mr/ /tamr/ “dates”

/-mʕ/ /damʕ/ “tears”


/-ms/ /∫ams/ “sun”

/-mʕ/ /∫amʕ/ “candles

/-ms/ /ʔal.∫ams/ “the sun”

3) Consonant plus Nasal (-C +n) in HYA

Sound Word Gloss


/-ħn/ /sˤaħn/ “dish”

/-wn/ /lawn/ “color”

/-ɡn/ /diɡn/ “beard”

4) Consonant plus Nasal (-C +m) in HYA

Sound Word Gloss

/-sm/ /ʤism/ “body”

/-ʤm/ /niʤm/ “star”

/-lm/ /ʕilm/ “knowledge”

/-wm/ /jawm/ “day”

/-dm/ /χa:dm/ “servant”

/-lm/ /ʕilm/ “science”

/-sm/ /ʔism/ “name”


108

Final Glide - Consonant Clusters in HYA

Final glide- consonant clusters in Hajji are formed by combining voiced

palatal glide /j/ or voiced bilabial glide /w/ with consonant as in /-jn/, /-jl/, /-jt/, /-jr/,

/-jf/,/-jʕ/, /-wʤ/, /-wħ/, /-wn/, /-wm/ and /-wʕ/. Moreover, some glide consonant

clusters in HYA are formed by combining consonant sound with voiced palatal glide

/j/ as in /-bj/, /-lj /, /-dj /, /-lj/, /-mj/ and /-rj/. Final glide - consonant clusters (-VCC)

in Hajji can be classified into three types:

1) Glide plus Consonant (-j + C)

Sound Word Gloss


/-jl/ /lajl/ “night”

/-jt/ /bajt/ “house”


/-jf/ /kajf/ “how”

/-jf/ /χa:jf/ “scared”

/-jʕ/ /ðˤa:jʕ/ “lost”

/-jr/ /za:jr/ “visitor”

2) Glide Plus Consonant (-w + C)

Sound Word Gloss

/-wʤ/ /zawʤ/ “husband”

/-wħ/ /lawħ/ “board”

/-wn/ /lawn/ “color”

/-wm/ /jawm/ “day”

/-wʕ/ /ʤa:wʕ/ “hungry”

3) Consonant plus Glide (-C+ j)

Sound Word Gloss

/-bj/ /ðˤabj/ “gazelle”

/-lj/ /ba:lj/ “old”

/-dj/ /na:dj/ “club”

/-dˤj/ /ɡa:dˤj/ “judge”

/-lj/ /ʁa:lj/ “expensive”

/-mj/ /ħa:mj/ “hot”

/-rj/ /ɡa:rj/ “reader”


109

Final Stop - Consonant Clusters in HYA

All stop consonant clusters in Hajji occur in final consonant clusters, except

voiceless glottal stop /ʔ/.

Table 4.19: Final Stop - Consonant Clusters in HYA

Stop

Stop + Consonant

Word Gloss

Consonant + Stop

Word Gloss

b

/ɡabr/

/kab∫/

/tˤabʕ/

/ħabl/

/χubz/

“grave”

“ram”

“habit”

“rope”

“bread”

/saʕb/

/kalb/

/ɡalb/

/ra:tb/

/ħa:ʤb/

“difficult”

“dog”

“heart”

“salary”

“eye brow”

d

/sˤadr/

/na:dj/

/χa:dm/

“breast”

“club”

“servant”

/waʕd/

/bard/

/ʕind/

/ward/

/ħa:sd/

“promise”

“cold”

“at”

“roses”

“envier”

ɡ

/waɡt/

/raɡsˤ/

/diɡn/

/Өuɡb/

/ʕaɡl/

“time”

“dance”

“beard”

“hole”

“mind”

/ʕirɡ/

/fawɡ/

/sa:rɡ/

“vein”

“up, above”

“thief”

k /bikr/

/sa:kr/

“virgin”

“drunkard”

t /ɡa:tl/ “killer”

/bint/

/waɡt/

/taħt/

/bajt/

/ɡult/

“girl”

“time”

“under”

“house”

“I said”

dˤ /ɡa:dˤj/ “judge” /ʔardˤ/ “land”

tˤ /satˤħ/

/matˤr/

“roof”

“rain”

/∫uχtˤ/

“stroke”

Final Affricate - Consonant Clusters in HYA

Final affricate-consonant clusters are formed by combining voiced palatal

affricate /ʤ/ with consonants as in /-ʤl/ /-ʤh/, /-ʤb/, and /-ʤm/. Moreover, some

affricate consonant clusters in Hajji are formed by combining consonant with voiced

palatal affricate /ʤ/ as in /-wʤ/, /-lʤ/, and/-rʤ/. Final affricate - consonant clusters (-

VCC) in Hajji can be classified into two types as in the followng:


110

1) Affricate plus Consonant (-A + C)

Sound Word Gloss

/-ʤl/ /ʕiʤl/ “calf”

/-ʤh/ /waʤh/ “face”

/-ʤb/ /ħa:ʤb/ “eyebrow”

/-ʤm/ /niʤm/ “star”

2) Consonant plus Affricate (-C + A)

Sound Word Gloss

/-wʤ/ /zawʤ/ “husband”

/-lʤ/ /Өalʤ/ “snow”

/-rʤ/ /durʤ/ “drawer”

Final Fricative - Consonant Clusters in HYA

All fricative consonant clusters in Hajji occur in final consonant clusters,

except the voiced inter-dental fricative /ð/, voiced uvular fricative /ʁ/ and voiced

inter-dental fricative /ðˤ/ which do not occur in final consonant cluster in this dialect.

To make this point we may consider the following examples in table 4.20 below:

Table 4.20: Final Fricative - Consonant Clusters in HYA

Fricative

Fricative + Consonant

Word Gloss

Consonant + Fricative

Word Gloss

f

/nafs/

/ɡufl/

/ðˤufr/

/ka:fr/

“spirit”

“padlock”

“nail”

“unbeliever”

/kajf/

/χa:jf/

/wa:ɡf/

“how”

“scared”

“standing”

Ө /wirӨ/

/baħӨ/

“inheritance”

“research”

z /χubz/ “bread”

s /ʔism/

/ħa:sd/

“name”

“envier”

/nafs/

/dars/

/jubs/

/∫ams/

“soul

“a lesson”

“dryness”

“sun”

sˤ /raɡsˤ/ “dance”

∫ /kab∫/ “ram”


111

χ /∫uχtˤ/ “stroke”

ʕ

/saʕb/

/waʕd/

/∫iʕr/

/∫aʕr/

“difficult”

“promise”

“poetry”

“hair”

/damʕ/

/tˤabʕ/

/∫amʕ/

/wa:sʕ/

/ʤa:jʕ/

“tears”

“habit”

“candles”

“wide”

“hungry”

ħ

/baħr/

/sˤaħn/

/siħr/

/taħt/

“sea”

“dish"

“magic”

“under”

/satˤħ/

/lawħ/

/farħ/

/rabħ/

“roof”

“board”

“happy”

“monkey”

h

/ðˤahr/

/sahl/

/nahr/

/∫ahr/

“back”

“easy”

“river”

“a month”

/waʤh/ “face”

Final Lateral - Consonant Clusters in HYA

1) Lateral plus Consonant (-l + C)

Sound Word Gloss

/-lm/ /ʕilm/ “science”

/-lʤ/ /Өalʤ/ “snow”

/-lb/ /kalb/ “dog”

/-lb/ /ɡalb/ “heart”

/-lm/ /ʕilm/ “knowledge”

/-lt/ /ɡult/ “I said”

/-lj/ /ba:lj/ “old”

/-lj/ /ʁa:lj/ “expensive”

2) Consonant plus Lateral (-C + l)

Sound Word Gloss

/-fl/ /ɡufl/ “padlock”

/-ʤl/ /ʕiʤl/ “calf”

/-hl/ /sahl/ “easy”

/-bl/ /ħabl/ “rope”

/-jl/ /lajl/ “night”

/-tl/ /ɡa:tl/ “killer”

/-ɡl/ /ʕaɡl/ “mind”

/-ɡl/ /ʕa:ɡl/ “wise-man”

/-jl/ /ʔal.χajl/ “the horse”


112

Final Tap - Consonant Clusters in HYA

1) Tap plus Consonant (-r + C)

Sound Word Gloss

/-rd/ /bard/ “cold”

/-rs/ /dars/ “a lesson”

/-rdˤ/ /ʔardˤ/ “land”

/rӨ/ /wa:rӨ/ “inheritor”

/rd/ /ba:rd/ “cold”

/rj/ /ɡa:rj/ “reader”

/rg/ /sa:rɡ/ “thief”

2) Consonant plus Tap (-C + r)

Sound Word Gloss

/-ħr/ /baħr/ “sea”

/-mr/ /tamr/ “dates”

/-hr/ /mahr/ “marriage settlement”

/-br/ /ɡabr/ “grave”

/-ħr/ /siħr/ “magic”

/-kr/ /sa:kr/ “drunkard”

/-tˤr/ /matˤr/ “rain”

/-fr/ /ðˤufr/ “nail”

/-hr/ /sˤihr/ “brother-in-law”

/-jr/ /za:jr/ “visitor”


/-hr/ /nahr/ “river”

/-hr/ /ðˤahr/ “back”


/-hr/ /∫ahr/ “a month”

/-ʕr/ /∫iʕr/ “poetry”

/-ʕr/ /∫aʕr/ “hair”

/-dr/ /sˤadr/ “breast”

/-br/ /sˤa:br/ “patient”

/-fr/ /ka:fr/ “unbeliever”


113

Geminate Consonants in HYA

Geminate consonants refer to a consonant sound occurring in a sequence.

Geminate consonants in Hajji dialect occur only in two positions of the word; medial,

between two vowels (V-V) and finally, after vowels (V-). The geminate consonants in

Hajji are shown below:

Final –Geminate Medial - Geminate

/sinn/ “tooth” /ʕallam/ “(he) taught”

/ʔumm/ “mother” /sukkar/ “sugar”

/bass/ “enough” /ʤaddah/ “grandmother (f)”

/ba:sˤsˤ/ “bus” /ħummah/ “fever”

/ʤaww/ “they came” /faʤʤa:ʕ/ “fearful”

/lajj/ “hose” /tˤajji:b/ “good heart”

/ħubb/ “love” /χabba:z/ “baker”

/χadd/ “cheek” /tˤamma:ʕ/ “greedy”

/sadd/ “dam” /ʤamma:l/ “camel driver”

/ħa:dd/ “sharp” /lajji:n/ “flexible”

/ħaɡɡ/ “right” /matˤtˤa:tˤ/ “rubbers”

/kaff/ “hand” /liʕʕi:b/ “very playful”

/ʤa:ff/ “dry” /tˤabba:l/ “drummer”

/ruzz/ “rice” /tiffa:l/ “sputum”

/kammu:n/ “cumin”

/ħatˤtˤa:b/ “wood cutter”

/dukka:n/ “shop”

/tˤajja:r/ “pilot”

Consonant Sequences (Abutting Consonants) in Hajji Dialect

Like modern standard Arabic, there are only two consonant sequences of Hajji

dialect that occur in the word medial. Consonant sequences occur when the final

sound of the first syllable (coda) combine with the first sound of the second syllable

(onset). The consonant sequences in HYA are shown below:


114

Sequences Word Gloss

/-l + ʕ-/ /ɡal.ʕah/ “castle”

/- r + j-/ /ɡar.jah/ “village”

/- w + t-/ /sˤaw.tak/ “your voice”

/- k + t-/ /mak.tab/ “office”

/- ʕ + b-/ /maʕ.bad/ “temple”

/- χ + r-/ /nuχ.rah/ “nose”

/- s + m-/ /ʔis.mak/ “your name”

/- n + tˤ-/ /∫an.tˤah/ “bag”

/- f + t-/ /maf.ta:ħ/ “key”

/- r + w-/ /sir.wa:l/ “trousers”

/- n + w-/ /ʔin.wa:n/ “address”

/- b + sˤ-/ /mab.sˤu:tˤ/ “pleasant”

Table 4.21: Final Two Consonant Clusters in HYA

b d ɡ t dˤ ʤ f Ө z s sˤ ∫ ʕ ħ h m n l r w j

b + + + + + + + + + +

d + + + +

ɡ + + + + +

k +

t +

dˤ +

tˤ + +

ʤ + + + +

f + + + +

z +

s + + + +

sˤ +

ʕ + + +

ħ + + + +

h + +

m + + + + +

n + + +

l + + + + +

r + + + + + + +

w + + + + + + +

j + + + + + + + +

The table above clearly shows that Hajji dialect has many final consonant clusters.

The presensce of a cluster is marked by a plus sign (+).


115

HYA contains only final consonant clusters (coda), as shown in the following

diagrams.

Bilabials


116

Dental

Inter- dental


117

Alveolar


118


119


120

Palatal


121

Velar

Uvular


122

Pharyngeal

Laryngeal

Figure 4.8: Diagrams of Final Consonant Clusters in HYA


123

4.1.6 An OT Analysis of Syllable Structure in Hajji Dialect

4.1.6.1 Basic Syllable Structure Constraints in OT Related to the Syllable

Structure in Hajji Dialect

4.1.6.1.1 Markedness Constraints

In markedness constraints there are four types of constraints:

ONSET

*COMPLEXONS

NO-CODA

*COMPLEXCOD

4.1.6.1.1.1 ONSET

As discussed earlier, every syllable in Hajji dialect must begin with a consonant

(onset) and no syllable starts with a nucleus (vowel). Onset is obligatory in Hajji.

Therefore, ONSET constraint is highly ranked in HYA. That means syllable in Hajji

dialect satisfies ONSET and considers it as the highest constraint. Syllable satisfies

ONSET constraint when a syllable begins with a consonant while syllable violates

ONSET constraint when it begins with a vowel. For more clarification as to how

ONSET constraint is satisfied or violated in Hajji dialect we take help of the

following tableau:

Tableau 4.1: ONSET Constraint in HYA

Input /ɡalam/ “pen” ONSET

a) ☞ ɡa.lam

b) ɡal.am *!

The tableau 4.1 above shows that there is a competition between two

candidates; candidate (a) /ɡa.lam/ and candidate (b) /ɡal.am/. Only one candidate

wins the competition and is selected as optimal form, while the second candidate is

ruled out from the competition and is called loser. Candidate (a) emerges as optimal

form because it satisfies ONSET constraint because both the syllables of the word


124

/ɡa.lam/ start with an onset (consonant). The symbol “☞” appears before candidate

(a) /ɡa.lam/ because it is the optimal candidate. While, candidate (b) /ɡal.am/ is

eliminated by the mark “*!” because the second syllable is starts with a vowel

(onsetless). Tableau 4.1 shows that, candidate (a) wins the competition by satisfying

ONSET constraint, while candidate (b) is ruled out from competition as it violates

ONSET constraint – the second syllable is onsetless. In Hajji, it is observed that for

the word /ɡalam/ “pen” with /CVCVC/ structure, we find the disyllabic form

/ɡa.lam/ with canonical structure /CV.CVC/ which is the optimal form in comparison

to other form like /ɡal.am/. A detailed analysis of the same has been presented in

section 4.1.2.2, table 4.11 at serial No. 8 which shows the percentage of occurrence of

the canonical structure /CV.CVC/ in Hajji dialect to be 12.5 %.

4.1.6.1.1.2 NO-CODA

NO-CODA is satisfied in Hajji dialect when a syllable ends with a vowel

(open syllable) as in /ba/ “with”, /wa/ “and”. /fi:/ “in” and /ʤi:/ “come”. Whereas,

NO-CODA is violated in Hajji dialect when a syllable ends with a consonant (closed

syllable) as in / ħar/ “hot”, /maʕ/ “no”, /na:r/ “fair” and /sahl/ “easy”. NO-CODA is

considered to be lower ranked in Hajji dialect; it is frequently violated because Hajji

allows simple and complex coda (closed syllables).

The violations in the constraints (Onsets and No-coda) evaluate the syllable types in

Hajji dialect are presented below:

Syllable types in Hajji dialect Onset No-Coda

CV √ √

CV: √ √

CVC √ *

CV:C √ *

CVCC √ **

CV:CC √ **

Furthermore, to explain how NO-CODA is satisfied or violated in HYA we take help

of the following example given below:


125

Tableau 4.2: NO-CODA Constraint in HYA

Input /ħaʤar/ “stone” NO-CODA

a) ☞ ħa.ʤar *

b) ħaʤ.ar **

c) aʤ.ar **

Tableau 4.2 above clarifies that, candidate (a) is chosen as the optimal

candidate because it incurs the least violations of NO-CODA constraint. While,

candidate (b) fails because it has two closed syllables /ʤ/ and /r/ of a word /ħaʤ.ar/.

Candidate (c) is also ruled out from the competition because it violates NO-CODA

two times by having two codas. The disyllabic form of the word /ħa.ʤar/ (a) has the

canonical structure /CV.CVC/. According to section 4.1.2.2, table 4.11 at serial No. 8,

percentage of occurrence of this canonical structure in Hajji is 12.5%. Here the form

/ħa.ʤar/ is the optimal form in Hajji dialect.

Tableau 4.3: ONSET ˃˃ NO-CODA

Input /wara/ “back” ONSET NO-CODA

a) war.a *! *

b) ☞ wa.ra

c) a.ra *!

d) wa.raʔ *

As clarified in tableau 4.3 above, Candidate (a) is eliminated because it

violates markedness constraints ONSET and NO-CODA. The fatal mark “*!” is used

because the second syllable starts with a vowel /a/ (onsetless) and the first syllable

ends with a coda. Candidate (c) is also eliminated for violating highest-ranked

constraint ONSET as the first syllable starts without an onset (onsetless). Candidate

(b) is the optimal form because it satisfies the higher and the lower ranked constraints

(ONSET and NO-CODA). While, candidate (d) satisfies ONSET constraint having

two syllables with onsets; but it is ruled out for violating the lower-ranked constraint

NO-CODA having coda at the end of second syllable. It is observed that for the word

/wara/ “back” with /CVCV/ structure, we find that the disyllabic form /wa.ra/ with


126

canonical structure /CV.CV/ which is the optimal form in comparison to other forms

like /war.a/, /a.ra/ or /wa.raʔ/. A detailed analysis of the same has been presented in


the canonical structure /CV.CV/ in Hajji dialect to be 3.0%.


Input /∫amiz/ “shirt” ONSET NO-CODA

a) ☞ ∫a.miz *

b) ∫am.iz *! **

c) am.iz **! **

In the above tableau candidate (a) wins the optimal candidate because it

satisfies the higher-ranked constraints (ONSET), although it violates the lower-

ranked constraint (NO-CODA) by a coda /z/. While, candidate (b) and candidate (c)

are rejected by both markedness constraints ONSET and NO-CODA, and both

constraints are called losers. The disyllabic form of the word /∫a.miz/ (a) has the


percentage of occurrence of this canonical structure in Hajji is 12.5%. Therefore, the

form /∫a.miz/ is the optimal form in HYA.


Input /∫antˤah/ “bag” ONSET NO-CODA

a) ☞ ∫an.tˤah **

b) ∫antˤ.ah *! ***

In tableau 4.5, candidate (a) emerges as the optimal form because it satisfies

higher-ranked constraint (ONSET), although it violates the lower-ranked constraint

(NO-CODA) two times as it has closed syllables /∫an.tˤah/. Candidate (b) is ruled out

by ONSET constraint because the second syllable of a word /∫antˤ.ah/ starts with a

vowel /a/. Moreover, it violates NO-CODA three times – the first syllable ends with a

comlex coda /∫antˤ/ and the second syllable ends with a simple coda /ah/. In Hajji

dialect, it is observed that for the word /∫antˤah/ “bag” with /CVCCVC/ structure, we


127

find that the disyllabic form /∫an.tˤah/ with canonical structure /CVC.CVC/ which is

the optimal form in comparison to other form like /∫antˤ.ah/. A detailed analysis of

the same has been presented in section 4.1.2.2, table 4.11 at serial No. 10 which

shows the percentage of occurrence of the canonical structure /CVC.CVC/ in Hajji to

be 18.4%.

From Hajji dialect data, it is clear that all syllables in HYA begin with a

consonant (onset) and no syllable begin with a vowel (nucleus). So, most of the

candidates do not violate ONSET. On the contrary, most of the syllables in HYA end

with coda or complex coda. Hence, NO-CODA (lower ranked) is violated more than

one time in one syllable.

4.1.6.1.1.3 *COMPLEXONS

In Hajji, there is no more than one consonant in the onset position. So,

*COMPLEXONS

is not allowed. *COMPLEXONS

is ranked higher than NO-CODA

in HYA. This is clarified in the following tableau:

Tableau 4.6: ONSET ˃˃ *COMPLEXONS

˃˃ NO-CODA

Input/ɡarjah/“village” ONSET *COMPLEXONS

NO-CODA

a) ☞ ɡar.jah **

b) ɡa.rjah *! *

In tableau 4.6. Although candidate (a) violates NO-CODA (a lower-ranked

constraint) twice, it emerges as the optimal output because it satisfies the highest-

ranked constraints ONSET and *COMPLEXONS

. Therefore, candidate (a) /ɡar.jah/

is the more harmonic from than candidate (b) /ɡa.rjah/. Moreover, candidate (b) is

rejected as it has two initial consonant clusters /rj-/ and also, the second syllable ends

with a coda /h/. The disyllabic form of the word /ɡar.jah/ (a) has the canonical

structure /CVC.CVC/. According to section 4.1.2.2, table 4.11 at serial No. 10,

percentage of occurrence of this canonical structure in Hajji is 18.4%. Here the form

/ɡar.jah/ is the optimal form in Hajji.


128


*COMPLEXCOD

is satisfied by ending with a single consonant (simple coda).

*COMPLEXCOD

is lower ranked in Hajji dialect because the dialect allows coda

cluster. More clarification about *COMPLEXCOD

is given in the following example:

Tableau 4.7 ONSET ˃˃ *COMPLEXONS

˃˃*COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA

Input/ʔalχajl/“the

horse” ONSET *COMPLEX

ONS *COMPLEX

COD NO-CODA

a) ☞ /ʔal.χajl/ *! ***

b) /ʔalχ.ajl/ *! ** ****

In the above tableau, candidate (a) emerges as the optimal form because it

satisfies the highest-ranked constraints ONSET and *COMPLEXONS

, even though it

violates *COMPLEXCOD

and the lower-ranked constraint NO-CODA. Candidate (b)

loses as it violates four constraints NO-CODA, *COMPLEXCOD

and the higher

ranked ONSET. In Hajji dialect, it is observed that for the word /ʔalχajl/ “horse” with

/CVCCVCC/ structure, we find that the disyllabic form /ʔal.χajl / with canonical

structure /CVC.CVCC/ which is the optimal form in comparison to other form like

/ʔalχ.ajl /. A detailed analysis of the same has been presented in section 4.1.2.2, table

4.11 at serial No. 5 which shows the percentage of occurrence of the canonical

structure /CVC.CVCC/ in Hajji to be 3.9%.

4.1.6.1.2 Faithfulness Constraints

In faithfulness constraints there are two types of constraints:

MAX-IO DEP-IO

4.1.6.1.2.1 MAX-IO

(No deletion). MAX-IO requires that the sounds in the input must be in the

output without deleting any sound from input. MAX-IO is ranked higher than DEP-IO

in Hajji dialect. This is shown in the following tableau:


129

Tableau 4.8: ONSET ˃˃ MAX-IO˃˃ NO-CODA

Input /kajd/

“roof” ONSET MAX-IO NO-CODA

a) ☞ kajd **

b) kad *! *

c) kaj *! *

In the tableau 4.8 above, candidate (a) wins as the optimal output because it

does not violate the higher-ranked constraints MAX-IO and ONSET, even though it

violates the lower-ranked constraint NO-CODA twice. While, candidate (b) and

candidate (c) are ruled out from the competition by the constraints MAX-IO and NO-

CODA. The monosyllabic form of the word /kajd/ (a) has the canonical structure

/CVCC/. According to section 4.1.2.1, table 4.9 at serial No. 6, percentage of

occurrence of this canonical structure in Hajji is 45.1%. Here the form /kajd/ is the

optimal form in Hajji.

Tableau 4.9: ONSET ˃˃*COMPLEXONS

˃˃ MAX-IO˃˃ NO-CODA

Input/kab∫/“ram” ONSET *COMPLEXONS

MAX-IO NO-CODA

a) kab *! *

b) ☞ kab∫ **

c) ka∫ *! *

In the above tableau 4.9, candidate (a) and candidate (c) are eliminated first as they

both violate markedness constraints MAX-IO and NO-CODA. While candidate (b)

emerges as the optimal candidate as it satisfies the higher-ranked constraints ONSET,

*COMPLEXONS

and MAX-IO. Although it violates the constraint NO-CODA

twice, when the word /kab∫/ ends with a closed syllable /b/ and /∫/. In Hajji, it is

observed that for the word /kab∫/ “ram” with /CVCC/ structure, we find that the

monosyllabic form /kab∫/ with canonical structure /CVCC/ which is the optimal form

in comparison to other forms like /kab/ or /ka∫/. A detailed analysis of the same has

been presented in section 4.1.2.1, table 4.9 at serial No. 6 which shows the percentage

of occurrence of the canonical structure /CVCC/ in Hajji to be 45.1%.


130

4.1.6.1.2.2 DEP-IO

(No epenthesis). DEP-IO requires that the sounds in the output must be in the

input without adding any sound from input (No adding). This has been illustrated with

the help of tableau 4.10 below:

Tableau 4.10: ONSET ˃˃DEP-IO˃˃ MAX-IO˃˃ NO-CODA

Input/tamr/“dates” ONSET DEP-IO MAX-IO NO-CODA

a) ☞ tamr **

b) ta.mir *! *

c) tam *! *

In tableau 4.8 above, the optimal candidate is (a) because it satisfies the

higher-ranked constraints MAX-IO, DEP-IO and ONSET, although it violates the

markedness constraint NO-CODA twice. Candidate (b) is rejected from competing

because it violates faithfulness constraint DEP-IO containing an epenthetic /i/. It

violates also NO-CODA constraint once. Candidate (c) satisfies the constraints

ONSET and DEP-IO, but it violates faithfulness constraint MAX-IO and

markedness constraint NO-CODA. The monosyllabic form of the word /tamr/ (a) has

the canonical structure /CVCC/. According to section 4.1.2.1, table 4.9 at serial No. 6,

percentage of occurrence of this canonical structure in Hajji is 45.1%. Hence, the

form /tamr/ is the optimal form in Hajji dialect.

Tableau 4.11: DEP-IO˃˃ MAX-IO˃˃ NO-CODA

Input /saħl / “easy” DEP-IO MAX-IO *COMPLEXCOD

a) ☞ saħl *

b) sa.ħil *!

c) saħ *!

d) sal *!

In the tableau 4.11 above, candidate (a) emerges as the optimal form because

it satisfies the faithfulness constraints DEP-IO and MAX-IO, even though it violates

lower-ranked constraint *COMPLEXCOD

by having consonant clusters /ħl/ in the


131

coda position of the word /saħl/. Candidate (b) is ruled out from competition because

it violates DEP-IO constraint due to an epenthetic /i/. Candidate (c) and candidate (d)

are eliminated as they violate MAX-IO constraint by deleting a consonant and for this

reason are called losers. In Hajji, it is observed that for the word /saħl/ “easy” with

/CVCC/ structure, we find the monosyllabic form /saħl/ with canonical structure

/CVCC/ which is the optimal form in comparison with other forms like /sa.ħil/, /saħ/

or /sal/. A detailed analysis of the same has been presented in section 4.1.2.1, table


structure /CVCC/ in Hajji to be 45.1%.

Tableau 4.12: ONSET ˃˃ MAX-IO˃˃ *COMPLEXONS

˃˃ DEP-IO

Input/ħarami/“thief” ONSET MAX-IO *COMPLEXONS

DEP-IO

a) ☞ ħa.ra.mi

b) ħra.mi *! *

c) ħar.mi *!

Candidate (a) is identified as optimal candidate because it satisfies markedness and

faithfulness constraints DEP-IO, *COMPLEXONS

, MAX-IO and ONSET.

Candidate (b) avoids the violation of the ONSET constraint. Still, it is ruled out from

being optimal as it violates MAX-IO by deleting an epenthetic /a/ and also, it violate

*COMPLEXONS

constraint due to two initial consonant clusters /ħr/ of the word

/ħra.mi/. Candidate (c) is eliminated from competing for the status of being the

optimal form because it violates MAX-IO constraint by deleting a vowel /a/. The

trisyllabic form of the word /ħa.ra.mi/ (a) has the canonical structure /CV.CV.CV/.

According to section 4.1.2.3, table 4.13 at serial No. 4, percentage of occurrence of

this canonical structure in Hajji is 4.4%. Hence, the form /ħa.ra.mi/ is the optimal

form in Hajji.


132

Tableau 4.13: ONSET˃˃MAX-IO˃˃*COMPLEXONS

˃˃DEP-

IO˃˃*COMPLEXCOD

˃˃NO-CODA

Input

/saʕb/“difficult”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

DE

P-I

O

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

a) ☞ saʕb *! **

b) sa.ʕib *! *

c) saʕ *! *

d) sab *! *

Candidate (a) in tableau 4.13 above emerges as the optimal candidate because

it satisfies ONSET, MAX-IO, *COMPLEXONS

and DEP-IO constraints. Although,

candidate (a) violates markedness constraints *COMPLEXCOD

and NO-CODA but,

it is the actual optimal (the most harmonic) and incurs the least violations of the set of

constraints than other candidates. Candidate (b) is eliminated by DEP-IO constraint

for having an epenthetic /i/ in the second syllable of the word /sa.ʕib/. Also it violates

NO-CODA constraint. Candidate (c) is ruled out from competing because it violates

MAX-IO by deleting a consonant /b/. While candidate (d) fails because it violates

markedness constraints MAX-IO by deleting a consonant /ʕ/. In Hajji dialect, it is

observed that for the word /saʕb/ “difficult” with /CVCC/ structure, we find the

monosyllabic form /saʕb/ with canonical structure /CVCC/ which is the optimal form

in comparison to other forms like /sa.ʕib/, /saʕ/ or /sab/. A detailed analysis of the

same has been presented in section 4.1.2.1, table 4.9 at serial No. 6 which shows the

percentage of occurrence of the canonical structure /CVCC/ in Hajji to be 45.1%.


133

Tableau 4.14: ONSET˃˃MAX-IO˃˃DEP-IO˃˃*COMPLEXONS

˃˃

*COMPLEXCOD

˃˃NO-CODA

Input

/ʕasal/“honey” O

NS

ET

MA

X-I

O

DE

P-I

O

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

a) ☞ ʕa.sal *

b) ʕas.al *! **

c) ʕasl *! * **

d) ʕsal *! * *

e) as.al **! * **

From the tableau above, candidate (a) emerges as the best optimal candidate

because it satisfies the higher-ranked constraints *COMPLEXONS

, *COMPLEXCOD

,

MAX-IO, DEP-IO and ONSET. Moreover, candidate (a) wins the output even

though it violates lower constraint (NO-CODA) once by having a coda. It wins the

competition and is selected as optimal form for it incurs the least violations of the

group of constraints (*COMPLEXONS

, *COMPLEXCOD

, NO-CODA, MAX-IO,

DEP-IO and ONSET) and is more harmonic than other candidates. Candidate (b) is

ruled out totally by the fatal mark (*!) because it violates the higher-ranked constraint

ONSET and it also, violates the NO-CODA constraint twice. Candidate (c) a voids

the violation of the ONSET constraint but, it violates MAX-IO constraint by deleting

a vowel /a/. In addition, candidate (c) is eliminated because it violates

*COMPLEXCOD

and NO-CODA constraints. Candidate (d) is also ruled out also

because it violates MAX-IO constraint. Candidate (e) is rejected totally because it

violates ONSET constraint two times as both syllables start without onset (onsetless)

it also violates MAX-IO and NO-CODA constraints and is thus, prevented from

being the optimal candidate. The disyllabic form of the word /ʕa.sal/ (a) has the


percentage of occurrence of this canonical structure in Hajji is 12.5%. Therefore, the

form /ʕa.sal/ is the optimal form in HYA.


134

ONSET is the highest ranked in Hajji dialect, while *COMPLEXCOD

and

*COMPLEXONS

are higher ranked than NO-CODA. Moreover, MAX-IO and DEP-

IO (faithfulness constraints) are also higher ranked than NO-CODA in Hajji.

4.1.6.2 Syllable Weight in Hajji Dialect.

Set of constraints of syllable structure by Kager 1999

*LLL

“Assign one violation mark for three light syllables”.

SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ)

“Syllables are maximally mono-moraic”.

SYL-MAXIMLITY (µµ)

“Syllables are maximally bi-moraic”.

*3µ

“No trimoraic syllables”.

*FINAL –G

“Word- final geminates are prohibited”.

*FINAL- C- µ

“Word- final coda consonants are weightless”.


135

Final Heavy Syllables /CVC/ and /CV:/ in HYA.

Tableau 4.15: ONSET ˃˃ MAX-IO ˃˃ DEEP-IO ˃˃ *LLL ˃˃ SYL-

MAXIMLITY (µ) ˃˃ SYL-MAXIMLITY (µµ) ˃˃*3µ ˃˃ *FINAL –G ˃˃

*FINAL- C- µ ˃˃ *COMPLEXONS ˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD ˃˃ NO-CODA

/ʔasad/ “lion”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

µ µµ

a. ʔa. sad *! * *

☞ µ µ

b. ʔa.sad *

µ µ

c. ʔa. sadd *! * * **

µ µ

d. ʔa. sa *!

µ µ µ

e. ʔa.sa.di

*!

*

Candidate (e) is eliminated by DEEP-IO for adding an epenthetic /i/ at the

ultimate light syllable. It also violates *LLL because there are three light syllables in

the word and this is not allowed in this constraint. Candidate (d) is also ruled out by

MAX-IO for deleting a consonant /d/. Candidate (c) fails to be the optimal output as

it violates DEEP-IO, *COMPLEXCOD

and NO-CODA. It also violates *FINAL –G

because there is final geminate /-dd/ and geminate is prohibited in this constraint of

Hajji dialect. While candidate (a) satisfies ONSET, MAX-IO, *LLL and DEEP-IO

but it is disqualified as it violates SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ) because there are two

moraic at heavy syllable and this constraint prohibits bi-moraic. Candidate (b)

emerges as the optimal candidate because it avoids violation of ONSET, MAX-IO,

*LLL, DEEP-IO, SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ), SYL-MAXIMLITY (µµ), *3µ,*FINAL

–G, *FINAL- C- µ, *COMPLEXONS

and *COMPLEX

COD and

it only violates NO-

CODA. In Hajji dialect, it is observed that for the word /ʔasad/ “lion” with /CVCVC/

structure, we find the disyllabic form /ʔa.sad/ with canonical structure /CV.CVC/


136

which is the optimal form in comparison to other forms like /ʔa.sadd/, /ʔa.sa/ or

/ʔa.sa.di/. A detailed analysis of the same has been presented in section 4.1.2.2, table


structure /CV.CVC/ in Hajji to be 12.5%.




˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA

/sama:/

“sky”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µ µµ

a. sa.ma: *!

µ µ

b. sa.ma *!

µ

c. samm *! * * * **

Candidate (c) is disqualified from competition as it violates MAX-IO, DEEP-

IO, *COMPLEXCOD

and NO-CODA twice. It also violates *FINAL –G because

there is final geminate /-mm/. Candidate (b) satisfies ONSET but violates high ranked

MAX-IO by deleting final vowel /a/. Candidate (a) wins as the optimal form because

it avoids the violation of the *LLL, DEEP-IO, MAX-IO and ONSET. It only

violates SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ) because there are two moraic in the second syllable.

The disyllabic form of the word /sa.ma:/ (a) has the canonical structure /CV.CV:/.


this canonical structure in Hajji is 3.6%. Here the form /sa.ma:/ is the optimal form in

Hajji dialect.


137

Non-Final Heavy Syllables /CVC/ and /CV:/ in HYA.




˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA

/mafta:ħ/ “key”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µ µµ

a. maf.ta:ħ *! **

µµ µ

b. maf.ta:ħ *! * **

µ µ µ

c. ma.fi.ta:ħ *! * *

µ µ µµµ

d. ma.fi.ta:ħ

*!

* *

*

*

*

Candidate (d) incurs more number of violations as in DEEP-IO by adding a

vowel /i/ at penultimate light syllable. It also violates SYL-MAXIMLITY (µµ) as it

adds more than two moraic, and it violates *3µ because there are three moraic at

ultimate super-heavy syllable. Moreover Candidate (d) is ruled out by *FINAL- C- µ

for having moraic at the last consonant /ħ/ in the word of HYA. Candidate (c) is

eliminated by DEEP-IO, *FINAL- C- µ and NO-CODA. Candidate (b) and

candidate (a) violate SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ) but candidate (a) wins the optimal form

because it incurs the least violation than candidate (b) and other candidates. In Hajji

dialect, it is observed that for the word /mafta:ħ/ “key” with /CVCCV:C/ structure,

we find the disyllabic form /maf.ta:ħ/ with canonical structure /CVC.CV:C/ is the

optimal form in comparison to other forms like /ma.fi.ta:ħ/ or /maf.ta:ħ/. A detailed

analysis of the same has been presented in section 4.1.2.2, table 4.11 at serial No. 9

which shows the percentage of occurrence of the canonical structure /CV.CV:C/ in

Hajji to be 17.7%.


138



*FINAL- C- µ ˃˃ *COMPLEXONS ˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD ˃˃ NO-CODA

/na:hi/

“ok”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µµ µ

a. na:. hi *!

µ µ

b. na.hi *!

µ

c. nah

**!

*

Candidates (b and c) are ruled out because they violate MAX-IO constraint,

by deleting a vowel /a/ in the first syllable of candidate (b) and by deleting a vowel /i/

in the second syllable and /a/ in first syllable of candidate (c). Candidate (a) emerges

as the optimal even though it violates low ranked SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ) by having

more than one moraic at the first syllable of HYA. The disyllabic form of the word

/na:.hi/ (a) has the canonical structure /CV:.CV/. According to section 4.1.2.2, table

4.11 at serial No. 3, percentage of occurrence of this canonical structure in Hajji is

3.0%. Therefore, the form /na:.hi/ is the optimal form in Hajji.


139

Final Super-Heavy Syllables /CVCC/ and /CV:C/ in HYA.




˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA

/ɡadi:m/

“old”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µ µµ

a. ɡa.di:m *! *

µ µµ

b. ɡa.di:m *! * *

µ µµµ

c. ɡa.di:m *! * * * *

µ µ µ

d. ɡa.di:.mi *!

µ µµ

e. ɡa.dim

*!

* *

*

Candidates (e and d) are ruled out because they violate MAX-IO and DEEP-

IO, respectively. Candidate (c) is also rejected as it violates SYL-MAXIMLITY

(µ), SYL-MAXIMLITY (µµ), *3µ, FINAL- C- µ and NO-CODA. Candidate (b)

too fails to be the optimal form as it violates SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ), *FINAL- C-

µ and NO-CODA. Candidate (a) is the optimal form, even though it violates low

ranked SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ) and NO-CODA. In Hajji dialect, it is observed that

for the word /ɡadi:m/ “old” with /CVCV:C/ structure, we find that the disyllabic

form /ɡa.di:m/ with canonical structure /CV.CV:C/ which is the optimal form in

comparison to other forms like /ɡa.di:.mi/ or /ɡa.dim/. A detailed analysis of the

same has been presented in section 4.1.2.2, table 4.11 at serial No. 11 which shows

the percentage of occurrence of the canonical structure /CV.CV:C/ in Hajji to be

19.3%.


140

Tableaub 4.20: ONSET ˃˃ MAX-IO ˃˃ DEEP-IO ˃˃ *LLL ˃˃ SYL-



˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA

/ħaɡɡ/

“right”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µ

a. ħaɡɡ *! * **

µµ

b. ħaɡɡ *! * * **

µµµ

c. ħaɡɡ *! * * * * * **

µ µ

d. ħaɡ.ɡi *! *

µ

e. ħaɡ

*!

*

Candidate (e) is eliminated from the competition as it violates the high

ranked MAX-IO by deleting the final consonant /ɡ/. Candidate (d) is also ruled out

by DEEP-IO as it adds a vowel /i/ at the second syllable of HYA. Candidate (c) is

disqualified because it incurs more number of violations as in SYL-MAXIMLITY

(µ) for adding more than one moric (mono-moraic), and it violates SYL-

MAXIMLITY (µµ) because there are more than two moraic (bi-moric). Moreover

Candidate (c) is ruled out by *3µ for having three moraic (trimoric) at the word. It

also violates *FINAL –G by having final geminate of the consonant /ɡ/ as well as

*FINAL- C- µ by having a moraic at the last consonant /ɡ/ at the syllable of HYA.

Candidate (c) violates *COMPLEXCOD

and

NO-CODA too. Candidate (b) is

rejected as it violates SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ), *FINAL –G, *COMPLEXCOD

and

NO-CODA. Candidate (a) emergers as the optimal form as it satisfies the high

ranked constraints even though it violates *FINAL –G, *COMPLEXCOD

and NO-

CODA. The monosyllabic form of the word /ħaɡɡ/ (a) has the canonical structure


141

/CVCC/. According to section 4.1.2.1, table 4.9 at serial No. 6, percentage of

occurrence of this canonical structure in Hajji is 45.1%. Hence, the form /ħaɡɡ/ is

the optimal form in Hajji.

The final hierarchy rank of syllable structure constraints in Hajji dialect are

organized as follows: ONSET ˃˃ MAX-IO ˃˃ DEEP-IO ˃˃ *LLL ˃˃ SYL-



˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA.

For more clarity tableaux 4.21 show a set of constraints of syllable structure in Hajji

dialect through OT.

Tableaux 4.21: ONSET ˃˃ MAX-IO ˃˃ DEEP-IO ˃˃ *LLL ˃˃ SYL-



˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA

/ħana∫/

“snake”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

µ µµ

a. ħa.na∫ *! * *

µ µµ

b. ħa.na∫∫ * *! * * * **

☞ µ µ

c. ħa.na∫ *

µ µ

d. ħa.na *!

µ µ µ

e. ħa.na.∫i

*!

*


142

/waba:/

“epidemics”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µ µµ

a. wa.ba: *!

µ µ

b. wa.ba *!

µ

c. wabb *! * * * **

/maʤnu:n/

“crazy”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

µ µµµ

a. maʤ.nu:n *! * * * **

☞ µ µµ

b. maʤ.nu:n *! **

µ µµ

c. maʤ.nu:n *! * **

µ µ µ

d. ma.ʤi.nu:n

*!

*


143

/ra:ʕi/

“wait” O

NS

ET

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µµ µ

a. ra:. ʕi *!

µ µ

b. ra.ʕi *!

µ

c. raʕ

*!*

*

/tˤari:ɡ/

“road”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µ µµ

a. tˤa.ri:ɡ *! *

µ µµ

b. tˤa.ri:ɡ *! * *

µ µµµ

c. tˤa.ri:ɡ *! * * * *

µ µ

d. tˤa.riɡ *! *

µ µ µ

e. tˤa.ri:.ɡi

*!


144

/baħr/

“sea”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

µµµ

a. baħr *! * * * * **

µµ

b. baħr *! * **

☞ µ

c. baħr *! **

µ µ

d. ba.ħir *! *

µ

e. baħ

*!

*

4.1.7 Word Stress Patterns in Hajji Dialect

Stress goes to the final syllable (rightmost) of the word in Hajji dialect, if it is

superheavy as in /CV:C/ or /CVCC/.

/tuf.f'a:ħ/ “apples” /tif.f'a:l/ “sputum”

/χar.r'a:tˤ/ “lies” /ri. sˤ'a:sˤ/ “buckshot”

/χaj.r'a:t/ “a lot” /ʁa.r'i:b/ “stranger”

/ɡa.sˤ'i:r/ “short” /ma∫.ʁ'u:l/ “busy”

/maf.t'a:ħ/ “key” /za.m'a:n/ “period”

/ħa.m'a:m/ “doves” /tˤaj.j'i:b/ “good heart”

/faʤ.ʤ'a:ʕ/ “fearful” /ħa.l'i:b/ “milk”

/ʁa.l'i:ðˤ/ “thick” /maʤ.n'u:n/ “crazy”

/mas.m'a:r/ “nail” /tˤa.bi:b/ “doctor”

/ʕi.ðˤ'a:m/ “bones” /sir.w'a:l/ “trousers”

/tˤam.ma:ʕ/ “greedy” /∫a.m'a:l/ “north”

/ba.n'a:t/ “girls” /nis.w'a:n/ “women”

/ʤam.ma:l/ “camel driver” /ka.Ө'i:r/ “much”


145

/tˤa.r'i:ɡ/ “road” /ʔal.n'ahr/ “the river”

/ɡa.l'i:l/ “few” /wa.s'i:m/ “handsome”

/ra.χ'i:sˤ/ “cheap” /ʔal.b'int/ “the girl”

/sˤa.ʁ'i:r/ “small” /tˤa:.w'a:s/ “peacock”

/∫a.m'i:z/ “shirt” /ta:.r'i:χ/ “date”

/ʔal.χ'ajl/ “the horse” /ʤa:.n'i:ħ/ “wing”

Stress falls on the penultimate (heavy syllable) as in /CV:/ or /CVC/, if the last

syllable in Hajji Yemeni dialect is not superheavy.

/ɡ'am.bir/ “sit” /n'uχ.rah/ “nose”

/w'a:.siʕ/ “wide” /tˤ'a:.ɡah/ “window”

/d'af.tar/ “notebook” /ʔ'aħ.mar/ “red”

/h'a:.win/ “thin” /ʤ'ad.dah/ “grandmother (f)”

/ɡ'al.ʕah/ “castle” /∫'af.tak/ “I saw you”

/ʤ'a:.hil/ “kid” /ʔ'ib.sir/ “look”

/ʤa.r'i:.mah/ “crime” /ʤ'a:.wiʕ/ “hungry”

/ɡ'ar.jah/ “village” /ɡ'a:.law/ “they said”

/b'al.wah/ “trouble” /t'a:. ʤir/ “trader”

/ħa.w'a:.ʤib/ “eyebrows” /s'a:.kin/ “resident”

/s'a:.far/ “he travelled” /sˤ'u:.rah/ “picture”

/m'ux.lisˤ/ “faithful” /ma.r'a:.wiħ/ “fans”

/n'a:.∫if/ “dry” /wa.Ө'i:.ɡah/ “document”

/sˤ'aw.tak/ “your voice” /f'a:.riħ/ “happy”

/na.t'i: ʤah/ “result” /sa.f'i:.nah/ “ship”

/ʔ'as.wad/ “black” /da.ʤ'a:.ʤah/ “chicken”

/χ'ub.zah/ “a loaf of bread” /mu.s'a:.fir/ “traveler”

/∫'an.tˤah/ “bag” /ʕa.sˤ'i:.dah/ “gruel”


146

Stress goes on antepenultimate (heavy syllable), if the final syllable in Hajji is

not superheavy and the penultimate is not heavy.

/sˤ'a:.ħi.bi/ “my friend” /ʕ'ak.ba.ri:/ “rat”

/t'an.ʤa.rah/ “pot” /ʔ'aħ.na.ʤak/ “I love you”

/ʤ'a:.mi.ʕah/ “university” /l'in.nu.hum/ “because they”

/ɡ'il.ti.lah/ “I said to him” /dˤ'if.tˤa.ʕah/ “frog”

/m'il.ʔa.ɡah/ “spoon” /m'u∫.ki.lah/ “problem”

/m'aħ.ka.mah/ “court” /m'al.za.mah/ “handout”

/m'in.∫a.fah/ “towels” /ʔ'ar.na.bah/ “rabbit (f)”

/m'ad.ra.sah/ “school” /ʔ'aχ.ta.bar/ “he examined”

● Stress falls on monosyllabic words in Hajji, no matter whether this syllable is

superheavy as in /CVCC/ or /CV:C/, heavy as in /CV:/ or /CVC/ or light as in /CV/.

/m'aʕ/ “no” /r'abħ/ “monkey”

/s'u:ɡ/ “market” /f'i:l/ “elephant”

/ʔ'aj/ “which” /r'i:ħ/ “wind”

/n'a:s/ “people” /r'u:ħ/ “soul”

/ʔ'ab/ “father” /b'aħr/ “sea”

/m'a:t/ “he died” /s'aʕb/ “difficult”

/ʔ'aw/ “or” /b'ard/ “cold”

/w'ajn/ “where” /w'a:sʕ/ “wide”

/b'a:b/ “door” /s'iħr/ “magic”

/w'aʕd"/ “promise” /r'a:tb/ “salary”

/d'ub/ “bear” /ʕ'umr/ “age”

/r'i:∫/ “feather” /b'a:lj/ “old”

/∫'ul/ “take” /l'awħ/ “board”

/t'i:n/ “figs” /χ'a:jf/ “scared”

/ʔ'aχ/ “brother” /w'aɡt/ “time”

/k'a:n/ “was” /ʤ'a:ff/ “dry”

/ðˤ'ufr/ “nail” /sˤ'a:br/ “patient”


147

/m'a:/ “water” /χ'add/ “cheek”

/χa:l/ “uncle” /ħ'a:dd/ “sharp”

/L'ak/ “for you” /j'ad/ “hand”

/ʤ'i:/ “come” /k'ab∫/ “sheep”

/tˤ'i:.n/ “mud” /Ө'u:r/ “ox”

/l'i:/ “to me” /k'alb/ “dog”

/s'a:ɡ/ “leg” /b'a/ “with”

/f'i:/ “in” /s'a:kr/ “drunkard”

/L'ajl/ “night” /b'ikr/ “virgin”

/J'awm/ “day” /ʁ'a:lj/ “costly”

/L'ajj/ “hose” /k'am/ “how much”

/ɡ'a:tl/ “killer” /s'a:rɡ/ “thief”

/ʕ'irɡ/ “vein” /d'i:n/ “religion”

/χ'a:dm/ “servant” /k'ul/ “all”

/ʤ'a:jʕ/ “hungry” /z'i:d/ “do more”

/b'a:rd/ “cold” /w'a:ɡf/ “standing”

/ħ'aɡɡ/ “right” /n'a:r/ “fire”

/ħ'a:sd/ “envier” /s'a:r/ “he walked”

/ħ'a:mj/ “hot” /b'a:sˤsˤ/ “bus”

● Stress falls on the initial syllable (leftmost) of disyllabic words in Hajji dialect.

/ʔ'a.biz/ “i take” /tˤ'a:.ɡah/ “window”

/s'a.mak/ “fish” /ħ'a.ʤar/ “stone”

/d'af.tar/ “notebook” /r'uk.bah/ “knee”

/ʔ'a.sad/ “lion” /χ'a.saʕ/ “mud”

/ɡ'al.ʕah/ “castle” /r'a:ʕi/ “wait”

/r'aɡ.sˤah/ “dance” /ʕ'a:.tˤi∫/ “thirsty”

/Ө'a.man/ “price” /ʔ'a.sal/ “honey”

/ɡ'ar.jah/ “village” /h'a:.win/ “thin”

/ʕ'a.mal/ “work” /b'a:.rid/ “cold”

/s'uk.kar/ “sugar” /χ'a:.li:/ “my cousin”


148

/∫'a.miz/ “shirt” /m'a.lik/ “king”

/sˤ'aw.tak/ “your voice” /w'a.fi/ “loyal”

/l'a.mah/ “why” /∫'a:.hi/ “tea”

/χ'ub.zah/ “a loaf of bread” /ʁ'i.tˤa:/ “cover”

/χ'a.∫ab/ “wood” /ɡ'a.mar/ “moon”

/ʔ'as.raħ/ “I go” /ʁ'a.da:/ “lunch”

/h'a.waʔ/ “air” /r'a:.tib/ “salary”

/∫'af.tak/ “I saw you” /w'a:.ħid/ “one”

/n'a:.hi/ “ok” /r'a.mu:/ “they threw

/sˤ'a.ʕib/ “hard” /h'a:.nak/ “there”

/ʔ'ib.sir/ “look” /w'a.ba:/ “epidemics”

/l'a.ban/ “milk” /n'i.∫a/ “he grew”

/r'u:.ti/ “bread” /s'a.ma:/ “sky”

Stress goes to antepenultimate of trisyllabic words in Hajji Yemeni dialect, if the

final syllable is not superheavy and penultimate is not heavy.

/ħ'a.ra.mi/ “thief” /ʕ'ak.ba.ri:/ “rat”

/sˤ'a:.ħi.bi/ “my friend” /ʤ'a:.mi.ʕah/ “university”

/b'a.ɡa.rah/ “cow” /w'a.ra.ɡah/ “leaf

/t'an.ʤa.rah/ “pot” /m'ad.ra.sah/ “school”

/l'in.nu.hum/ “because they” /m'ak.ta.bah/ “library”

/ʔ'aħ.na.ʤak/ “I love you” /ɡ'il.ti.lah/ “I said to him”

/m'il.ʔa.ɡah/ “spoon” /m'aħ.ka.mah/ “court”

/m'u∫.ki.lah/ “problem” /m'iz.ra.ʕah/ “farm”

/m'in.∫a.fah/ “towels” /s'aj.ji.dah/ “lady”

/ʔ'aχ.ta.bar/ “he examined” /m'al.za.mah/ “handout”

/dˤ'if.tˤa.ʕah/ “frog” /ʔ'ar.na.bah/ “rabbit (f)”


149

Stress goes to the antepenultimate syllable in poly-syllabic words in Hajji Yemeni

dialect.

/mak.t'a.ba.ti:/ “my library

/zi.ja:.r'a.tu.hum/ “visit (NOM.SG)3pl.poss”

/ʃa.ʤ'a.ra.tuh/ “his tree”

/ju.χ'aw.wi.fu./ “he is frightening me”

/sa.l'a.ma.tak/ “your safety”

/ra.ɡ'a.ba.tuh/ “his neck”

4.1.8 An OT Analysis of Word Stress in Hajji Dialect

This part deals with the constraint hierarchy of word stress for Hajji Yemeni

dialect in Optimality Theory. Eight constraints hierarchies have been discussed for

word stress in HYA, i.e. GR WD = PR WD, NONFINALITY, FT-BIN, WSP,

RIGHTMOST, LEFTMOST, UNEVEN-LAMB and PARSE-σ. Word stress constraints in

Hajji are analyzed as follows:

● GR WD = PR WD

“A grammatical word must be a PR WD” Kager (1999: 152).

● NONFINALITY

“No foot is final in PrWd” Kager (1999: 151).

Tableau 4.22: GR WD = PR WD ˃˃ NONFINALITY

Input /∫antˤah/ “bag” GR WD = PR WD NONFINALITY

a. ☞ (∫'an).tˤah

b. ∫an.(tˤ'ah) *

c. (∫an.tˤ'ah) *

d. ∫an.tˤah *!


150

Candidate (d) is eliminated totally for violating the higher ranked GR WD =

PR WD because it does not carry a foot (no feet) in the word /∫an.tˤah/ of HYA at

all, even though it satisfies NONFINALITY constraint (lower ranked). Allthough

candidates (b, c) satisfy the constraint GR WD = PR WD, they are ruled out for

violating NONFINALITY as they leave the final syllable of both candidates with a

foot. Candidate (a) is the optimal output because it avoids the violation of both

constraints GR WD = PR WD and NONFINALITY. In Hajji dialect, it is observed that

for the word /∫antˤah/ “bag” with /CVCCVC/ structure, we find the disyllabic form

/(∫'an).tˤah/ with canonical structure /CVC.CVC/ which is the optimal form in

comparison to other forms like /∫an.(tˤ'ah)/, (∫an.tˤ'ah) or /∫an.tˤah/. A detailed


which shows the percentage of occurrence of the canonical structure /CVC.CVC/ in

Hajji to be 18.4%.

UNEVEN-LAMB

(LH) ˃ (LL), (H). Kager (1999: 151).

(light + heavy) is better lamb than (light+ light) or (heavy).

Tableau 4.23: NONFINALITY ˃˃ UNEVEN-LAMB

Input /ħaʤar/

“stone” NONFINALITY UNEVEN-LAMB

a. ☞ (ħ'a).ʤar *

b. ħa.(ʤ'ar) *! *

c. (ħ'a.ʤar) *!

The optimal candidate is (a) because it does not violate the high ranked

NONFINALITY. Candidate (b) is rejected for violating higher and lower constraints

NONFINALITY and UNEVEN-LAMB. Candidate (c) forfeits optimality in Hajji since

it violates NONFINALITY constraint by having a foot at the end of the word

/(ħ'a.ʤar)/ in HYA. The disyllabic form of the word /ħa.ʤar/ (a) has the canonical

structure /CV.CVC/. According to section 4.1.2.2, table 4.11 at serial No. 8,

percentage of occurrence of this canonical structure in Hajji is 12.5%. Hene, the

form /ħa.ʤar/ is the optimal form in Hajji.


151

● PARSE-σ

“Feet are parsed by feet” Kager (1999: 153).

Tableau 4.24: GR WD = PR WD ˃˃ NONFINALITY ˃˃ UNEVEN-LAMB ˃˃

PARSE-σ

Input /ɡarjah/

“village”

GR WD = PR

WD NONFINALITY

UNEVEN-

LAMB PARSE-σ

a. ☞ (ɡ'ar). jah *! *

b. (ɡ'ar.jah) *! *

c. (ɡ'ar).(jah) *! **

d. ɡar.jah *! **

Candidate (d) and candidate (c) are rejected for violating GR WD = PR WD

and NONFINALITY, respectively. Candidate (b) is eliminated immediately for

violating UNEVEN-LAMB as a foot of the word /(ɡ'ar.jah)/ does not contain light

and heavy syllable (LH). Candidate (b) is ruled out also by the fatal violation

NONFINALITY. Candidate (a) is the optimal output because it avoids the violation of

both constraints GR WD = PR WD and NONFINALITY. In Hajji, it is observed that

for the word /ɡarjah/ “village” with /CVCCVC/ structure, we find that the disyllabic

form /(ɡ'ar).jah/ with canonical structure /CVC.CVC/ which is the optimal form in

comparison to other forms like /(ɡ'ar.jah)/, /(ɡ'ar).(jah)/ or /ɡar.jah/. A detailed



Hajji to be 18.4%.

As shown in the tableau above, GR WD = PR WD dominates NONFINALITY, while

NONFINALITY dominates both UNEVEN-LAMB and PARSE-σ, so GR WD = PR WD

dominates all constraints NONFINALITY, UNEVEN-LAMB and PARSE-σ in HYA. GR

WD = PR WD ˃˃ NONFINALITY ˃˃ UNEVEN-LAMB ˃˃ PARSE-σ.


152

Tableau 4.25: NONFINALITY ˃˃ UNEVEN-LAMB ˃˃ PARSE-σ

Input /ʔasad/

“lion” NONFINALITY UNEVEN-LAMB PARSE-σ

a. ☞ (ʔ'a).sad *! *

b. ʔa.(s'ad) *! * *

c. (ʔ'a.sad) *!

Candidates (b,c) are ruled out as they violate NONFINALITY (high ranked).

Candidate (a) emerges as the optimal output because it satisfies NONFINALITY

constraint when the final heavy syllable of the word /(ʔ'a).sad/ in HYA leaves without

a foot. However, it violates UNEVEN-LAMB and PARSE-σ. The disyllabic form of the

word /ʔa.sad/ (a) has the canonical structure /CV.CVC/. According to section 4.1.2.2,

table 4.11 at serial No. 8, percentage of occurrence of this canonical structure in Hajji

is 12.5%. Therefore, the form /ʔa.sad/ is the optimal form in this dialect.

WSP (weight to stress principle)

“Heavy syllables are stressed” Kager (1999: 155).

Tableau 4.26: GR WD = PR WD ˃˃ NONFINALITY ˃˃ WSP ˃˃ UNEVEN-LAMB

˃˃ PARSE-σ

Input /dˤaru:ri/

“necessary”

GR WD =

PR WD NONFINALITY WSP

UNEVEN-

LAMB PARSE-σ

a. ☞ (dˤa.r'u:).ri

*

b. (dˤ'a.ru:).ri

*! *

c. dˤa.(r'u:.ri)

*! * *

d. dˤa.ru:.ri *!

* ***

Candidate (a) emerges as the optimal output because it satisfies (higher ranked) GR

WD = PR WD, NONFINALITY, WSP and UNEVEN-LAMB. Nonetheless, it violates

the lower ranked PARSE-σ when the final syllable of the word /(dˤa.r'u:).ri/ leaves it

without foot in HYA. Candidates (d, c) are ruled out as they violate GR WD = PR

WD and NONFINALITY, respectively. Candidate (b) also is disqualified for violating


153

WSP because it does not carry stress at heavy penultimate syllable of the word

/(dˤ'a.ru:).ri/ in HYA. Moreover, candidate (b) is ruled out also by PARSE-σ

constraints because it does not parse the right edge syllable of the word /(dˤ'a.ru:).ri/

(no feet at the final light syllable). In Hajji dialect, it is observed that for the word

/dˤaru:ri/ “necessary” with /CVCV:CV/ structure, we find that the trisyllabic form

/(dˤa.r'u:).ri/ with canonical structure /CV.CV:.CV/ which is the optimal form in

comparison to other forms like /(dˤ'a.ru:).ri/, /dˤa.(r'u:.ri)/ and /dˤa.ru:.ri/. A

detailed analysis of the same has been presented in section 4.1.2.3, table 4.13 at serial

No. 9 which shows the percentage of occurrence of the canonical structure

/CV.CV:.CV/ in Hajji to be 5.1%.

As shown in the tableau above, WSP dominates both UNEVEN-LAMB and

PARSE-σ in HYA. WSP ˃˃ UNEVEN-LAMB, PARSE-σ.

FT-BIN

“Feet are binary under moraic or syllabic analysis” Kager (1999: 156).

Tableau 4.27: NONFINALITY ˃˃ FT-BIN ˃˃ WSP ˃˃ UNEVEN-LAMB ˃˃

PARSE-σ

Input /na:hi/

“ok” NONFINALITY FT-BIN WSP

UNEVEN-

LAMB PARSE-σ

a. ☞ (n'a:).hi *! *

b. (n'a).hi *! * *

c. (n'a:.hi) *! *

Candidates (c, b) are eliminated immediately for violating NONFINALITY and

FT-BIN, respectively. Candidate (a) emerges as the optimal form as it satisfies

NONFINALITY, FT-BIN and WSP, even thought it violates UNEVEN-LAMB and

PARSE-σ. But, it is still more harmonic than other candidates and incurs least

violations than other candidates (b, c). The disyllabic form of the word /na:.hi/ (a) has

the canonical structure /CV:.CV/. According to section 4.1.2.2, table 4.11 at serial No.

3, percentage of occurrence of this canonical structure in Hajji is 3.0%. Hence, the

form /na:.hi/ is the optimal form in Hajji dialect.


154

RIGHTMOST

“The head foot is rightmost in PR WD” Kager (1999: 167).

LEFTMOST

“The head foot is leftmost in PR WD” Kager (1999: 167).

Table 4.28: GR WD = PR WD ˃˃ NONFINALITY ˃˃ WSP ˃˃ FT-BIN ˃˃

RIGHTMOST ˃˃ LEFTMOST ˃˃ UNEVEN-LAMB ˃˃ PARSE-σ

Input /tanʤarah/

“pot”

GR

WD

= P

R W

D

NO

NF

INA

LIT

Y

FT

-BIN

WS

P

RIG

HT

MO

ST

LE

FT

MO

ST

UN

EV

EN

-LA

MB

PA

RS

E-σ

a. ☞(t'an).ʤa.rah *! * * **

b. tan.(ʤ'a).rah *! ** * * * **

c. tan.ʤa.(r'ah) *! * * * **

d. (t'an.ʤa).(rah) *! * **

e. tan.ʤa.rah *! ** * * ***

Candidate (e) is eliminated immediately for violating GR WD = PR WD as it

does not carry any foot in any syllable of the word /tan.ʤa.rah/ (no feet at all).

Candidates (d, c) are also ruled out from competition for the fatal violation

NONFINALITY because both the candidates (d , c) end with a foot. Candidate (b) is

rejected for incurring more violations of FT-BIN, WSP, LEFTMOST, RIGHTMOST,

UNEVEN-LAMB and PARSE-σ twice. Candidate (a) emerges as the optimal candidate

as it satisfies higher ranked GR WD = PR WD, NONFINALITY and FT-BIN. However,

it violates WSP because it does not carry stress on heavy ultimate syllable of the word

/(t'an).ʤa.rah/. It also violates RIGHTMOST, because the final heavy syllable of the

word /(t'an).ʤa.rah/ in HYA does not carry a foot at the end of the word (right edge).

It violates UNEVEN-LAMB and PARSE-σ as well. Still, it is more harmonic and incurs

least violations than other candidates. In Hajji dialect, it is observed that for the word

/tanʤarah/ “pot” with /CVCCVCVC/ structure, we find that the trisyllabic form


155

/(t'an).ʤa.rah/ with canonical structure /CVC.CV.CVC/ which is the optimal form in

comparison to other forms like /tan.(ʤ'a).rah/, /tan.ʤa.(r'ah)/, /(t'an.ʤa).(rah)/ or

/tan.ʤa.rah/. A detailed analysis of the same has been presented in section 4.1.2.3,

table 4.13 at serial No. 13 which shows the percentage of occurrence of the canonical

structure /CVC.CV.CVC/ in Hajji to be 16.2%.

As shown in the tableau above, FT-BIN dominates both LEFTMOST and

RIGHTMOST, while both constraints LEFTMOST and RIGHTMOST dominate PARSE-

σ. So, FT-BIN dominates all LEFTMOST, RIGHTMOST and PARSE-σ in HYA: FT-

BIN ˃˃ LEFTMOST, RIGHTMOST, PARSE-σ.

Tableau 4.29: GR WD = PR WD ˃˃ NONFINALITY ˃˃ WSP ˃˃ FT-BIN ˃˃


Input /ħarami/

“thief”

GR

WD

= P

R W

D

NO

NF

INA

LIT

Y

FT

-BIN

WS

P

RIG

HT

MO

ST

LE

FT

MO

ST

UN

EV

EN

-LA

MB

PA

RS

E-σ

a. ☞ (ħ'a.ra).mi *! * *

b. (ħa.r'a).(mi) *! * **

c. (ħ'a).(ra).(mi) *! *** ***

d. ħa.(r'a.mi) *! * * *

e. ħa.ra.mi *! * * ***

Candidate (e) is ruled out immediately by the fatal violation (*!) for violating

GR WD = PR WD because there is no foot in any syllable of the word /ħa.ra.mi/ at

all. Candidates (d, c and b) are rejected for violating higher ranked NONFINALITY as

the final light syllable of the words /(ħa.r'a).(mi)/, /(ħ'a).(ra).(mi)/ and /ħa.(r'a.mi)/

contain a foot. Candidate (a) wins the optimal because it incurs least violations as

compared to other candidates. Nonetheless, it violates RIGHTMOST because there is

no foot at the right edge of the word /(ħ'a.ra).mi/ in HYA. The trisyllabic form of the

word /ħa.ra.mi/ (a) has the canonical structure /CV.CV.CV/. According to section


156

4.1.2.3, table 4.13 at serial No. 4, percentage of occurrence of this canonical structure

in Hajji is 4.4%. Hence, the form /ħa.ra.mi/ is the optimal form in Hajji.

The final hierarchy rank of word stress constraints in Hajji dialect are



For more clarification, tableaux 4.30 show a set of constraints of word stress in Hajji

dialect through OT:

Tableaux 4.30: GR WD = PR WD ˃˃ NONFINALITY ˃˃ WSP ˃˃ FT-BIN ˃˃


Input /ʤa:hil/ “kid” NONFINALITY PARSE-σ

a. ☞ (ʤ'a:).hil *

b. (ʤ'a:.hil) *!

c. ʤa:.(h'il) *! *

d. ʤa:.hil **

Input /∫amiz/

“shirt” NONFINALITY UNEVEN-LAMB PARSE-σ

a. ☞ (∫'a).miz * *

b. (∫'a.miz) *!

c. ∫a.(m'iz) *! * *

Input /ʔaħmar/

“red” GR WD = PR WD UNEVEN-LAMB PARSE-σ

a. ☞ (ʔ'aħ).mar * *

b. (ʔ'aħ.mar) *

c. ʔaħ.(m'ar) * *

d. ʔaħ.mar *! **


157

Input /ra:.tib/

“salary”

GR

WD

= P

R W

D

NO

NF

INA

LIT

Y

FT

-BIN

WS

P

RIG

HT

MO

ST

LE

FT

MO

ST

UN

EV

EN

-LA

MB

PA

RS

E-σ

a. ra:.(t'ib) *! * * * *

b. ☞ (r'a:).tib * * * *

c. (r'a:).(tib) *! * **

d. (r'a:.tib) *! * *

e. ra:.tib *! ** * * **

Input /sˤa:.ħi.bi/

“my friend”

GR

WD

= P

R W

D

NO

NF

INA

LIT

Y

FT

-BIN

WS

P

RIG

HT

MO

ST

LE

FT

MO

ST

UN

EV

EN

-LA

MB

PA

RS

E-σ

a. ☞(sˤ'a:).ħi.bi *! * **

b. (sˤ'a:).(ħi).bi *! * ** *

c. sˤa:.(ħ'i).(bi) *! ** * * ** *

d. sˤa:.(ħ'i.bi) *! * * * *

e. sˤa:.ħi.bi *! * * * ***


158

Input / nati: ʤah/

“result”

GR

WD

= P

R W

D

NO

NF

INA

LIT

Y

FT

-BIN

WS

P

RIG

HT

MO

ST

LE

FT

MO

ST

UN

EV

EN

-LA

MB

PA

RS

E-σ

a. ☞na.(t'i:). ʤah *! * * * **

b. (n'a).(ti:).ʤah *! ** * ** *

c. (n'a).ti:.ʤah *! ** * * **

d. na.ti:.(ʤ'ah) *! * * * **

e. na.ti:. ʤah *! ** * * ***

Input

/dˤif.tˤa.ʕah/

“frog”

GR

WD

= P

R W

D

NO

NF

INA

LIT

Y

FT

-BIN

WS

P

RIG

HT

MO

ST

LE

FT

MO

ST

UN

EV

EN

-LA

MB

PA

RS

E-σ

a. ☞(dˤ'if).tˤa.ʕah *! * * **

b. dˤif.(tˤ'a).ʕah *! ** * * * **

c. dˤif.(tˤ'a.ʕah) *! ** * *

d. (dˤ'if.tˤa.ʕah) *! * *

e. dˤif.tˤa.ʕah *! ** * * ***


159

Part II: Zabidi dialect

4.2.1 The Phonemic Inventory of ZYA

4.2.1.1 Consonant Sounds of ZYA

Table 4.22: Consonant Sounds in ZYA

Bil

ab

ial

Lab

io-d

enta

l

Inte

r-d

enta

l

Den

tal-

alv

eola

r

Pala

tal

Vel

ar

Uvu

lar

Ph

ary

n-g

eal

Glo

ttal

Plosive

Voiced b d ɡ

Voiceless t k q ʔ

Emphatic dˤ tˤ

Fricative

Voiced ð z ʁ

Voiceless f Ө s ∫ χ ħ h

Emphatic ðˤ sˤ

Nasal m n

Lateral l

Tap r

Glide w j

The consonant sounds of Zabidi dialect, as presented in Table 4.22 above,

consists of 27 consonant sounds arranged in nine places of articulation, (bilabial,

labio-dental, inter-dental, dental-alveolar, palatal, velar, uvular, pharyngeal and

glottal), and six manners of articulation, including nine plosives / b, t, d, k, ɡ, q, tˤ, ʔ,

dˤ/, two nasals /m/ and /n, /, twelve fricatives /f, Ѳ, ðˤ , ð, s, z, sˤ, ∫ , χ , ʁ , ħ , h/, one

trill/tap /r/, one lateral /l/, two glides /j/ and /w/. Zabidi dialect includes all the MAS

consonant sounds except two sounds /ʤ/ and /ʕ/ which are replaced by /ɡ/ and /ʔ/.

Furthermore, /ʤ/ ˃ /ɡ/ in Zabidi dialect, the consonant /ʤ/ voiced palatal

affricate of MSA is replaced by voiced velar stop /ɡ/, as in the following examples:


160

MSA ZYA Gloss

/naʤm/ /naɡ.mu/ “star”

/ʤa:.wab/ /ɡa:.wab/ “to answer”

/zu:ʤ/ /zo:ɡu/ “husband”

/ʤlis/ /ɡlis/ “sit”

/sˤnaʤ/ /sˤnaɡ/ “deaf”

/ʤad.dah/ /ɡad.deh/ “grandmother (f)”

/ʔal.ʤa:r/ /ʔam.ɡa:r/ “the neighbor”

/ʕiʤl/ /ʔiɡ.lu/ “calf”

Moreover, the phoneme /ʕ/ voiced pharyngeal frictive in MSA is substituted by

voiceless glottal stop /ʔ/ in ZYA as noticed below:

ZYA MSA Gloss

/ɡa:ʔ/ /ʤa:ʕ/ “he became hungry”

/ʔind/ /ʕind/ “at”

/sˤlaʔ/ /sˤlaʕ/ “bald”

/ʔe:.nu/ /ʕa:.n/ “an eye”

/ʔa.∫eʔ/ /ʕa.∫aʔ/ “diner”

/zʔaq / /zʕaq/ “he shouted”

/be:.ʔu/ /ba:ʕ/ “selling”


161

Table 4.23: Exemplification of ZYA Consonants

Sound Word Gloss

b /ba:ku/ “they went”

d /d:meh/ “kitchen”

ɡ /ɡda:ru/ “wall”

t /tam.ru/ “dates”

k /kil.meh/ “word”

q /qisˤ.sˤah/ “story”

ʔ /ʔib.reh/ “needle”

tˤ /tˤe:.ru/ “bird”

ð /ðnu/ “ear”

z /zʔaq/ “shout”

ʁ /ʁali:ðˤu/ “thick”

f /fa:ru/ “rat”

Ө /Өmu/ “mouth”

s /sah.lu/ “easy”

∫ /∫aʔ.ru/ “hair”

χ /χad.du/ “cheek”

ħ /ħa:wju/ “tired”

h /hibeh/ “gift”

ðˤ /ðˤahru/ “back”

dˤ /mudˤrabu/ “striker”

sˤ /sˤudfah/ “chance”

m /muχlsˤu/ “sincere”

n /na:ru/ “fire”

l /le:leh/ “night”

r /ra:su/ “head”

w /wa:rӨu/ “inheritor”

j /jar.qud/ “he sleeps”


162

4.2.1.1.1 Description of Consonants in ZYA

Stops

voiced-stop- bilabial /b/

voiceless-stop- dental-alveolar /t/

voiced-stop- dental-alveolar /d/

voiceless- emphatic- dental-alveolar /tˤ/

voiceless-stop- velar /k/

voiced-stop- velar

voicless- stop- uvular /ɡ/

/q /

voiceless-stop- glottal

inter dental -voiced-stop /ʔ/

/dˤ/

Fricatives

voiceless-fricative- labio-dental /f/

voiceless- fricative- inter-dental /Ѳ/

voiced- fricative- inter-dental /ð/

voiced-emphatic- inter-dental /ðˤ /

voiceless- fricative- dental-alveolar /s/

voiced- fricative- dental-alveolar /z/

voiceless- emphatic- dental-alveolar /sˤ/

voiceless- fricative- palatal /∫/

voiceless- fricative- uvular /χ/

voiced- fricative- uvular /ʁ/

voiceless- fricative- pharyngeal / ħ/

voiceless- fricative – glottal /h/

Nasals

voiced-nasal- bilabial /m/

voiced- nasal- dental-alveolar /n/

Lateral

voiced- lateral- dental-alveolar /l/

Tap

/r/ voiced-tap- dental-alveolar


163

Glides

/j/ voiced- glide- palatal

/w/ voiced-glide- velar

4.2.1.1.2 Distribution of Consonants in ZYA

Stops

Table 4.24: Distribution of Consonants of Zabidi Dialect


/b/ /be:ʔu/ “selling” /kalbu/ “dog” /ʔamba:b/ “the door”

/d/ /diqnu/ “beard” /ʁadeʔ/ “lunch” /rɡad/ “he slept”

/ɡ/ /ɡabu/ “local bag /ħa:ɡbu/ “eyebrow” /za:waɡ/ “he made double”

/t/ /taʔba:nu/ “tired(m)” /ru:ti/ “bread” /ma:t/ “he died”

/k/ /kaðab/ “he told a lie” /ba:ku/ “they went” /ba:k/ “he went”

/q/ /qisˤsˤah/ “story” /sa:qu/ “leg” /zʔaq/ “he shouted”

/ʔ/ /ʔamba:b/ “the door” /zʔaq/ “he shouted” /wa.beʔ/ “epidemic”

/ tˤ/ /tˤabi:bah/ “doctor(f)” /sˤutˤfah/ “chance” /nutˤ/ “jump”

Fricatives


/ð/ /ðnu/ “ear” /kaðab/ “he told a lie”

/z/ /za:r/ “he visited” /ħazi:nu/ “sad” /bozz/ “take(imp)”

/ʁ/ /ʁadeʔ/ “lunch” /sˤʁa:ru/ “small (pl)”

/f/ /fikreh/ “idea” /nafsu/ “soul” /wqaf/ “stand-up”

/Ө/ /Өo:ru “ox” /wirӨu/ “inheritance” /ʔamwarӨ/ “the inheritance”

/s/ /sinnu/ “tooth” /bisseh/ “cat” /ʔamnafs/ “ the soul”

/∫/ /∫e:beh/ “old man” /ʔa∫eʔ/ “diner” /ʔamkab∫/ “the sheep”

/χ/ /χe:meh/ “tent” /zaχmu/ “nice” /χo: χ/ “peach”

/ħ/ /ħa:ssu/ “feeling” /ðˤabħa:nu/ “angry” /ʔammilħ/ “the salt”

/h / /habli/ “give me” /sah.lu/ “easy” /tˤa:qah/ “window”

/ ðˤ/ /ðˤahru/ “back” /wðˤi:fah/ “job”

/ sˤ / /sˤabru/ “patience” /rsˤa:sˤah/ “bullet” /ba:sˤ/ “bus”


164

Nasals


/m/ /matˤʔa.mu/“restaurant” /ħmar/ “red” /ʔamnaɡm/ “the star”

/n/ /na:m/ “ he slept” /ʔamnafs/ “the soul” /ʔamti:n/ “the figs”

Lateral


/l/ /li:mu/ “lemon (pl)” /muχxlsˤu/ “sincere” /qa:l/ “he said”

Tap


/r/ /riħleh/ “journey” /birkeh/ “pool” /ʔamfa:r/ “the mouse”

Glides


/w/ /wqaf/ “stand-up” /ħwal/ “cross-eyed” /ʔamʔadaw/

“the enemy”

/j/ /jhi:n/ “when” /ma:ju/ “water”

As seen from the distribution of consonants in Zabidi dialect in table 4.24

above, all consonant sounds (stops, nasals, lateral, fricatives, tap and glides) in ZYA

occur in all positions of syllable (syllable-initially, syllable-medially and syllable-

finally). However, the following consonants (/ð/, /ʁ/, /ðˤ/ and /j/) do not occur

syllable finally.


165

4.2.1.1.3 Consonantal Contrasts in ZYA

The minimal pairs in Zabidi dialect occur when two words differ only in one sound as

illustrated below:

Table 4.25: Consonantal Contrasts in ZYA

Contrast Word Gloss Word Gloss

/ħ/ vs. /z/ /ħi:d/ “see/ look” /zi:d/ “do more”

/ð/ vs. /b/ /ðnu/ “ear” /bnu/ “son”

/k/ vs. /ʔ/ /kam/ “how much” /ʔam/ “the”

/ʔ/ vs. /k/ /laʔ/ “no” /lak/ “for you”

/q/ vs. /tˤ/ /qa:l/ “he said” /tˤa:l/ “it became long”

/ħ/ vs. /∫/ /ħwal/ “cross-eyed” /∫wal/ “left-handed’

/ħ/ vs. /sˤ/ /ħmar/ “red” /sˤmar/ “tan”

/s/ vs. /l/ /sa.meʔ/ “sky” /la.meh/ why

/b/ vs. /s/ /ba.leʔ/ “affliction” /sa.leʔ/ “entertainment”

/ɡ/ vs. /n/ /ɡa:ru/ “neighbor” /na:ru/ “fire”

/ħ/ vs. /f/ /ħa:.rah/ “neighborhood” /fa:.rah/ “rat (f)”

/k/ vs. /q/ /ʔam.kalb/ “the dog” /ʔam.qalb/ “the heart”

/k/ vs. /r/ /ka:su/ “glass” /ra:su/ “head”

/s/ vs. /q/ /sʔa:.deh/ “happiness” /qʔa:.deh/ “bed”

/ʔ/ vs. /ɡ/ /ʔa.ma.lu/ “work” /ɡa.ma.lu/ “camel”

/Ө/ vs. /b/ /ka.Өi:.ru/ “many, much” /ka.bi:.ru/ “big”


166

Table 4.26: Distinctive Features (Consonant Sounds) for Zabidi Dialect.

C

on

son

an

tal

stri

den

t

corn

al

son

ora

nt

an

teri

or

nasa

l

lab

ial

con

tin

uan

t

dors

al

tril

l

late

ral

Voic

ed

b + - + - +

d + + - + - +

ɡ + - - + +

t + + - + - -

k + - - + -

ʔ + - - -

dˤ + + - - +

tˤ + + - + - -

q + - +

ð + - + - + + +

z + + + - + + +

ʁ + - + + +

f + - + - + + -

s + + + - + + -

Ө + - + - + + -

∫ + + - - + + -

ħ + + - + + +

χ + - + + -

m + + + + + +

n + + + + + + +

l + - + + + + + +

r + - - + + + + +

w + - + + + + +

j + - + + - + +

h + + - + + -

ðˤ + - + - + + +

sˤ + + + - + + -


167

4.2.1.2 Vowel Sounds in ZYA

Figure 4.9: Short Vowels in ZYA

There are 10 vowels; 5 short vowels attested in Zabidi dialect are (/a/, /o/, /u/,

/e/ and /i/) as in /χu/ “brother”, /ser/ “secret”, / hi/ “she”, /laʔ/ “no”and /hon/ “they

(f)”. The very same vowels mentioned above are lengthened to produce 5 long

vowels in Zabidi dialect (/a:/, /o:/, /u:/, /e:/ and /i:/) as in /ħi:d/ “see/look”, / ke:f/

“how”, / bu:k/ “go”, / ja:n/ “where” and /fo:q/ “up”

Short Vowels in ZYA

Sound Word Gloss

/u/ /mu/ “mother”

/i/ /li/ “to me”

/u/ /Өmu/ “mouth”

/a/ /laʔ/ “no”

/e/ /ser/ “secret”

/a/ /lak/ “for you”

/i/ /∫inf/ “lip”

/o/ /kont/ “I was”

/e/ /m∫eʔ/ “he walked”


168

Long Vowels in ZYA

Sound Word Gloss

/i:/ /ħi:d/ “see/ look”

/i:/ /rχi:sˤ/ “cheap”

/a:/ /za:r/ “he visited”

/a:/ /ba:k/ “he went”

/o:/ /fo:q/ “up, above”

/o:/ /∫qo:l/ “he will say”

/e:/ /le:l/ “night”

/e:/ /ʔe:t/ “come”

/u:/ /∫tmu:t/ “she will die”

/u:/ /∫tsu:q/ “she will drive”

4.2.1.2.1 Description of Vowels in ZYA

(i) Short Vowels:

/a/ open- front –short

/u/ close-back-short

/i/

/o/

/e/

close-front-short

close-back- short

open- front –short

(ii) Long Vowels:

/a:/ open-front-long

/u:/ close-back-long

/i:/

/o:/

/e:/

close-front-long

close-back-long

open- front –long


169

4.2.1.2.2 Distribution of Vowels in ZYA

In Zabidi dialect, vowels occur in two positions of the syllables (medial and final).

(i) Medial Position:

Example Gloss

/lak/ “for you”

/kel/ “he ate”

/kul/ “all”

/zi:d/ “do more”

/qo:m/ “standup”

/kont/ “I was”

/ħmar/ “red”

/∫wal/ “left-handed”

/rɡad/ “he slept”

/rχi:sˤ/ “cheap”

(ii) Final Position:

Example Gloss

/mu/ “mother”

/hu/ “he”

/χu/ “brother”

/li/ “to me”

/ba/ “with”

/bu/ “father”

/fi/ “in”

/ðnu/ “ear”

/wa/ “and”

/Өmu/ “mouth”


170

Table 4.27: Distinctive Features (Vowel Sounds) for Zabidi Dialect.

Features i a i: u a: u: e o e: o:

High + - + + - + - - - -

Back - - - + - + - + - +

Low - + - - + - - - - -

Round - - - + - + - + - +

Tense - - + - + + - - + +

4.2.1.3 Diphthongs in ZYA

Table 4.28: Diphthongs in ZYA and MSA

Diphthongs in ZYA

Diphthongs in MSA

aj

/mχaj.jamu/ “camp” aw

/ʔaw/ “or”

aw

/mzaw.wa.ɡu/ “married” aj

/mχaj.jam/ “camp”

a:j

/ba:j.ku/ “leaving” -

ij

/na.bij.ju/ “prophet” -

a:w

/ħa:w.ju/ “tired” -

As seen in the table above, Zabidi dialect has five diphthongs (/aj/, /aw/, /ij/,

/a:j/ and /a:w/) while, MSA has only two diphthongs (/aj/ and /aw/). Some examples

are presented below for more elaboration:

Example Gloss

/nij.ju/ “unripe”

/tˤa:w.lah/ “table”

/ba:j.ku/ “leaving”

/fa:j.deh/ “usefulness”

/ħa:w.ju/ “tired”

/mχaj.ja.mu/ “camp”

/mʁaj.jmu/ “cloudy”


171

/za:j.ru/ “visitor”

/mħaj.jru/ “greenish”

/ħa.mij.ju/ “brother-in law”

/wa.lij.ju/ “saint”

/mħaw.wmu/ “feeling hot (m)”

/wa.fij.ju/ “loyal”

/mzaw.wa.ɡu/ “married”

/na.bij.ju/ “prophet”

/mχaj.ja.tˤu/ “stitched”

4.2.2 Syllable Types in Zabidi Yemeni Dialect

Zabidi dialect has four types of syllable structures: monosyllabic, disyllabic,

trisyllabic and tetrasyllabic words. There are altogether 61 different canonical

structures for various syllable types of Zabidi dialect. In Zabidi, syllable types can be

classified into four groups: the first group has, light syllable as in /CV/ the second

group has, heavy syllables as in (/CCV/ and /CVC/) whereas the third group consists

of super-heavy syllables as in (/CV:C/, /CCV:/, /CCVC/, /CCV:C/, /CCVCC/ and

/CVCC/). The fourth group includes ultra super-heavy syllables as in (/CCCVC/,

/CCCV:C/ and /CCCVCC/). All syllables in Zabidi have obligatory simple onset or

complex onset, while the codas are optional and are either empty, simple or complex

coda.

4.2.2.1 Monosyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect

In monosyllabic words of Zabidi dialect, there are 12 different canonical structures as

in (/CV/, /CCV/, /CVC/, /CV:C/, /CVCC/, /CCV:/, /CCVC/, /CCV:C/, /CCVCC/,

/CCCVC/, /CCCV:C/ and /CCCVCC/). Examples are presented below:


172

Table 4.29 Monosyllabic Words in Zabidi dialect

listing of canonical

structures

Canonical


1 /CV/ /mu/ “mother”

2 /CCV/ /Өmu/ “mouth”

3 /CVC/ /ser/ “secret”

4 /CV:C/ /ba:k/ “he went”

5 /CVCC/ /ʔardˤ/ “earth”

6 /CCV:/ /m∫i:/ “walk (imp)”

7 /CCVC/ /ħmar/ “red”

8 /CCV:C/ /hna:k/ “there”

9 /CCVCC/ /rsamt/ “You drew”

10 /CCCVC/ /∫tluħ/ “she will make bread”

11 /CCCV:C/ /∫tro:ħ/ “she will go”

12 /CCCVCC/ /∫trudd/ “she will come back”

The canonical structure /CV/, above is the most preferred type and exists in all

languages and dialects of the world. This structure /CV/ consists of simple onset plus

short vowel as in /hu/ “he”, /ba/ “with” and /wa/ “and”. In Zabidi, the canonical

structure /CV/ occurs very frequently in all positions of the word. It occurs word

initially as in /da.mu/ “blood”, /ja.du/ “hand”, /la.meh/ “why”, /qa.mar/ “moon” and

/ka.ðab/ “he told a lie”, word medially as in /ka.ra.mu/, “generosity”, /ʔa.sa.du/

“lion”, /qa.la.mu/ “pen”, /ħa.ɡa.ru/ “stones” and /ʔa.sa.lu/ “honey” or word finally as

in /qa.ri:.bu/ “near”, /ʔa.ɡu:.zu/ “old woman”, /ba.ru:.du/ “coldness”, /ʔa.Өa:.Өu/

“furniture” and /ħa.zi:.nu/ “sad”.

Furthermore, it is observed that the canonical structure /CCV/ of Zabidi

consists of complex onset plus short vowel as in /ðnu/ “ear”, /bnu/ “son” and /Өmu/

“mouth”. Moreover, the canonical structure /CCV/ in Zabidi dialect occurs only word

final position as in /muf.tˤru/ “not fasting”, /mus.lmu/ “muslim (m)”, /mkaf.rnu/

“angry (m)” and /mħaj.jru/ “confusing”.


173

The canonical structure /CVC/ of Zabidi consists of simple onset plus short

vowel followed by simple coda as in /ser/ “secret”, /kam/ “how much”, /laʔ/ “no”,

/lak/ “for you” and /hon/ “they (f)”. It can occur also in all positions, that is, word

initially, medially and finally. It occurs word initially as in /jat.nim/ “’ plow”,

/war.qah/ “leaf”, /bir.keh/ “pool”, /ħor.mah/ “woman” and /nuχ.rah/ “nose”, word

medially as in /ʔam.mas.ɡid/ “the mosque”, /ħa.mij.ju/ “brother-in law”, /wa.lij.ju/

“saint”, /ti.li.fiz.zi.ju:n/ “prophet” and /wa.fij.ju/ “loyal”, and word finally as in

/sˤa.di:.qah/ “friend (f)”, /wa.Өi:.qah/ “document”, /ɡa.ri:.meh/ “crime”, /mil.ʔa.qah/

“spoon” and /min.∫a.feh/ “towel”.

It is also seen that the canonical structure /CV:C/ of Zabidi consists of simple

onset plus long vowel followed by simple coda as in /ħi:d/ “see/look”, /ke:f/ “how”,

/qo:m/ “he stood up”, /le:l/ “night” and /bu:k/ “go”. In Zabidi dialect, the canonical

structure /CV:C/ occurs only word final position as in /lus.sa:n/ “tongue”, /ʔam.ɡa:r/

“the neighbor”, /kis.li:n/ “lazy (ms.pl)”, /ʔam.ti:n/ “the figs” and /ʔam.ba:sˤ/ “the

bus”. Furthermore, the canonical structure /CVCC/ of Zabidi consists of simple onset

plus short vowel followed by complex coda (two consonants) as in /kont/ “I was”,

/ɡzeʔ/ “he went”, /taħt/ “under”, /ʔind/ “at” and /ʔardˤ/ “earth”. This canonical

structure /CVCC/ occurs only word finally as in /ʔam.kalb/ “the dog”, /ʔam.∫ams/

“the sun”, /ʔam.baħr/ “the sea”, /ʔam.∫aʔr/ “the heir” and /ʔam.waqt/ “the time”.

The canonical structure /CCV:/ of Zabidi consists of complex onset plus long

vowel as in /m∫i:/ “walk (imp). Furthermore, the canonical structure /CCV:/ occurs

only word initially as in /rχi:.sˤu/ “cheap”, /kta:.bu/ “book”, /ɡda:.ru/ “wall” and

/ħsˤa:.nu/ “horse”. The canonical structure /CCVC/ consists of complex onset plus

short vowel followed by simple coda as in /ħmar/ “red” and /∫wal/ “left-handed”. The

canonical structure /CCV:C/ consist of complex onset plus long vowel followed by

simple coda as in /hna:k/ “there”, /∫qo:l”, “ he will say” /jhi:n/ “when” and /rχi:sˤ/

“cheap”. In Zabidi dialect, the canonical structure /CCV:C/ occurs only word finally

as in /ʔam.dwa:b/ “livestock”.

The canonical structure /CCVCC/ of Zabidi consists of complex onset plus

short vowel followed by complex coda (two consonants) as in /rsamt/ “you drew”.

This structure /CCVCC/ cannot occur in any position of word, but only in one

syllable. We also see that the canonical structure /CCCVC/ consists of complex onset


174

(three consonants) plus short vowel followed by simple coda (one consonant) as in

/∫tluħ/ “she will make bread”. And the canonical structure /CCCVC/ of this dialect

cannot occur in any position of word, it can occur in only one syllable.

The canonical structure /CCCV:C/ of Zabidi dialect consists of complex onset

(three consonants) plus long vowel and followed by simple coda (one consonant) as in

/∫tro:ħ/ “she will go”, /∫tmu:t/ “she will die” and /∫tsu:q/ “she will drive”. Moreover,

the canonical structure /CCCV:C/ in Zabidi dialect cannot occur in any position of

word, it can occur in only one syllable.

The canonical structure /CCCVCC/ as found in Zabidi dialect consists of

complex onset (three consonants) plus short vowel followed by complex coda (two

consonants) as in /∫trudd/ “she will come back”. The canonical structure /CCCVCC/

in Zabidi dialect cannot occur in any position of word, except in one syllable.

Table 4.30: Percentages of Monosyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect

Serial Nos. of canonical

structures

Canonical


Valid

percentage

1 CCV: 6 4.1% 4.1

2 CCVCC 6 4.1% 4.1

3 CCCVC 6 4.1% 4.1

4 CCCVCC 6 4.1% 4.1

5 CCV 8 5.5% 5.5

6 CCV:C 9 6.2% 6.2

7 CCCV:C 10 6.9% 6.9

8 CV 14 9.7% 9.7

9 CVC 16 11.0% 11.0

10 CVCC 16 11.0% 11.0

11 CV:C 24 16.6% 16.6

12 CCVC 24 16.6% 16.6

Total 145 100.0% 100.0


175

Figure 4.10: Frequencies of Monosyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect

The results as shown in table 4.30 and figure 4.10 above, indicate that the

monosyllabic words in Zabidi dialect have 12 canonical structures, one light syllable

/CV/, two heavy syllables (/CVC/ and /CCV/), six super- heavy syllables ( /CV:C/,

/CCV:/, /CCVC/, /CCV:C/, /CCVCC/ and /CVCC/) and three ultra-heavy syllables

(/CCCVC/, /CCCV:C/ and /CCCVCC/). The percentages and frequency analysis of

these 12 canonical structures reveal that super-heavy syllables /CCVC/ and /CV:C/

have a higher percentage 16.6% each and they show 24 words (frequency) in Zabidi.

It is also seen that the super-heavy syllable /CVCC/ and also heavy syllable /CVC/

have 11.0% each and they show 16 words (frequency). In addition, super-heavy

syllables (/CCV:/, /CCVCC/) and ultra-heavy syllables (/CCCVC /, /CCCVCC/ have

lower percentage 4.1% each and they show 6 words (frequency). According to these

percentages and frequencies, we may conclude that, super-heavy syllables have more

percentages rather than light, heavy or ultra-heavy syllables in this dialect.

4.2.2.2 Disyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect

According to the data of disyllabic words of Zabidi dialect, there are 24

different canonical structures as in (/CV.CV/, /CV.CVC/, /CVC.CV:/, /CVC.CVC/,

/CVC.CV:C/, /CV:CV/, /CV:.CVC/, /CVC.CV/, /CV:C.CVC/, /CV:C.CV/,

/CCVC.CCVC/, /CV.CV:C/, /CVCC.CVC/, /CVC.CVCC/, /CV.CV:/, /CVC.CCV/,

/CCV:.CV/, /CCVC.CCV/, /CCVC.CCV:C/, /CCV:.CVC/, /CCVC.CV/,

/CVC.CCV:C/, /CCCV:.CV/, /CCCV:.CVC/). Examples are presented below:

0

5

10

15

20

25


176

Table 4.31: Disyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect


structures

Canonical


1 /CV.CV/ /da.mu/ “blood”

2 /CV.CVC/ /hi.beh/ “gift”

3 /CVC.CV:/ /rak.ka:/ “he supported”

4 /CVC.CVC/ /ʔib.reh/ “needle”

5 /CVC.CV:C/ /ʔam.χe:l/ “the horse”

6 /CV:.CV/ /fa:.ru/ “rat”

7 /CV:.CVC/ /sˤu:.rah/ “picture”

8 /CVC.CV/ /kal.bu/ “dog”

9 /CV:C.CVC/ /fa:j.deh/ “usefulness”

10 /CV:C.CV/ /ħa:w.ju “tired”

11 /CCVC.CCVC/ /mkas.sreh/ “having broken”

12 /CV.CV:C/ /ma.li:ħ/ “tasty”

13 /CVCC.CVC/ /mu∫k.leh/ “problem”

14 /CVC.CVCC/ /ʔam.naɡm/ “the star”

15 /CV.CV:/ /ʔa.na:/ “I”

16 /CVC.CCV/ /mutˤ.ʔmu/ “feeder”

17 /CCV:.CV/ /kta:.bu/ “book”

18 /CCVC.CCV/ /mzal.ltˤu/ “rich (m)”

19 /CCVC.CCV:C/ /msˤaw.wri:n/ “photographer”

20 /CCV:.CVC/ /ħku:.meh/ “government”

21 /CCVC.CV/ /m∫utˤ.tˤu/ “comb”

22 /CVC.CCV:C/ /ʔam.dwa:b/ “livestock”

23 /CCCV:.CV/ /∫tro:.ħu/ “you (pl) will go”

24 /CCCV:.CVC/ /∫tsa:.jil/ “she will ask”


177

The canonical structure /CV.CV/ of Zabidi dialect consists of two light

syllables (/CV/ and /CV/) as in /da.mu/ “blood”, /ħa.wi/ “he became tired”, /wa.ra/

“behind” and /ja.du/ “hand”. In Zabidi, the canonical structure in /CV.CVC/ consists

of one light syllable /CV/ and one heavy syllable /CVC/ as in /sa.neh/ “year”,

/qa.mar/ “moon”, /ħa.jeʔ/ “shyness”, /la.meh/ “why” and /ha.weʔ/ “air”. The

canonical structure /CVC.CV:/ of Zabidi consists of two heavy syllables (/CVC/ and

/CV:/) as in /maʔ.we:/ “shelter”, /rab.ba:/ “he raised”, /mar.ka:/ “instrument to lean

on” and /rak.ka:/ “he supported”. The canonical structure /CVC.CVC/ consists of two

heavy syllables (/CVC/ and /CVC/) as in /χid.meh/ “service”, /riħ.leh/ “journey”,

/bir.keh/ “pool”, /qisˤ.sˤah/ “story” and /bis.seh/ “cat”.

The canonical structure in /CVC.CV:C/ of Zabidi consists of one heavy

syllable /CVC/ and one super-heavy /CV:C/ as in /ʔam.χe:l/ “the horse”, /ʔam.fa:r/

“the mouse”, /ʔam.ti:n/ “the figs”, /lus.sa:n/ “tongue” and /ʔam.ba:sˤ/ “the buss”.

Furthermore, the canonical structure /CV:.CV/ consists of one heavy syllable /CV:/

and one light syllable /CV/ as in /ħu:.tu/ “fish”, /na:.su/ “people”, /ru:.ti/ “bread”,

/ra:.su/ “head” and /tˤe:.ru/ “bird”. It is also seen that the canonical structure

/CV:.CVC/ consists of two heavy syllables (/CV:/ and /CVC/) as in /na:ɡah/ “camel”,

/χa:.leh/ “aunt ”, /li:.meh/ “one lemon”, /de:.meh/ “kitchen” and /le:.leh / “night”.

The /CVC.CV/ canonical structure of Zabidi consists of one light syllable

/CV/ and one heavy syllable /CVC/ as in /kal.bu/ “dog”, /bar.du/ “cold”, /∫am.su/

“sun”, /nah.ru/ “river” and /ħub.bu/ “love”. The canonical structure /CV:C.CVC/

consists of one heavy syllable /CVC/ and one super- heavy syllable /CV:C/ as in

/fa:j.deh/ “usefulness”, /ɡa:m.ʔeh/ “university”, /fa:k.hah/ “fruit”, /na:m.seh/

“mosquito” and /jo:m.jeh/ “daily”.

Furthermore, it is observed that the canonical structure /CV:C.CV/ of Zabidi

consists of one light syllable /CV/ and one super- heavy syllable /CV:C/ as in /ħa:s.su/

“feeling”, /ba:j.ku/ “leaving”, /qa:ðˤ.ju/ “judge”, /ʔa:q.lu/ “wise-man” and /na:d.ju/

“club”. And the canonical structure /CCVC.CCVC/ consists of two super-heavy

syllables (/CCVC/ and /CCVC/) as in /mkas.sreh/ “having broken”. The canonical

structure /CV.CV:C/ consists of one light syllable /CV/ and one super-heavy /CV:C/ as

in /da.ha:n/ “paint”, /qa.li:l/ “few”, /ɡa.sˤi:r/ “short” and /ma.li:ħ / “tasty”.


178

In Zabidi, the canonical structure /CVCC.CVC/ consists of one heavy syllable

/CVC/ and one super- heavy syllable /CVCC/ as in /mu∫k.leh/ “problem” and

/musl.meh/ “muslim (f)”. Also, the canonical structure /CVC.CVCC/ consists of one

heavy syllable /CVC/ and one super-heavy syllable /CVCC/ as in /ʔam.waqt/ “the

time”, /ʔam.kalb/ “the dog”, /ʔam.naɡm/ “the star”, /ʔam.nahr/ “the river” and

/ʔam.baħr/ “the sea”. The canonical structure /CV.CV:/ consists of one light syllable

/CV/ and one heavy syllable /CV:/ as in /ʔa.na:/ “I”.

It is also seen that the canonical structure /CVC.CCV/ of Zabidi consists of

two heavy syllables (/CVC/ and /CCV/) as in /mus.kru/ “intoxicant”, /muf.tˤru/ “not

fasting”, /mχu.lsˤu/ “sincere”, /mutˤ.ʔmu/ “feeder” and /mus.lmu / “muslim (m)”. The

canonical structure /CCV:.CV/ of Zabidi consists of one light syllable /CV/ and one

super-heavy /CCV:/ as in /ħza:.mu/ “belt”, /bju:.tu/ “house ”, /wsa:.ʔu/ “wideness”

and /Өqi:.lu/ “heavy”. Furthermore, the canonical structure /CCVC.CCV consists of

one heavy syllable /CCV/ and one super-heavy syllable /CCVC/ as in /mʁaj.jmu/

“cloudy”, /mzal.ltˤu/ “rich (m)”, /mχaðˤ.ðˤru/ “greenish” and /mħaj.jru / “confusing”.

The canonical structure /CCVC.CCV:C/ of Zabidi consists of two super-heavy

syllables (/CCVC/ and /CCV:C/) as in /mdar.rsi:n/ “teachers”, /msˤaw.wri:n/

“photographer ” and /mzal.ltˤi:n/ “rich (pl)”. Moreover, the canonical structure

/CCV:.CVC/ consists of one heavy syllable /CVC/ and one super-heavy /CCV:/ as in

/sˤʔu:.bah/ “difficulty”, /tsa:.maħ/ “she forgives”, /rsˤa:.sˤah/ “bullet”, /χtˤu:.bah/

“engagement” and /mra:.jeh/ “mirror”. Also, the canonical structure /CCVC.CV/

consists of one light syllable /CV/ and one super-heavy /CCVC/ as in /m∫utˤ.tˤu/

“comb”, and /ʔadw.wi/ “my enemy”. The canonical structure /CVC.CCV:C/ consists of

one heavy syllable /CVC/ and one super-heavy /CCV:C/ as in /ʔam.dwa:b/ “livestock”.

It is also observed that the canonical structure /CCCV:.CV/ of Zabidi consists

of one light syllable /CV/ and one ultra-heavy syllable /CCCV:/ as in /∫tro:.ħu/ “you

(pl) will go”, /∫tba:.nu/ “you (pl) will appear” and /∫tsu:.qu/ “you (pl) will drive”. And

the canonical structure /CCCV:.CVC/ consists of one heavy syllable /CVC/ and one

ultra-heavy syllable /CCCV:/ as in /∫tsa:.jil/ “she will ask”, /∫tba:.rik/ “she will

congratulate”, /∫tsˤa:.riʔ/ “she will wrestle”, /∫tsa:.miħ / “she will forgive” and

/∫tχa:.∫if/ “she will confuse”.


179

Table 4.32: Percentages of Disyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect

Serial Nos.

of canonical

structures

Canonical

Structure

Frequency

Percentage

Valid

percentage

1 CV.CV: 6 1.4% 1.4

2 CCVC.CCVC 6 1.4% 1.4

3 CVC.CCV:C 6 1.4% 1.4

4 CVCC.CVC 7 1.7% 1.7

5 CCCV.CV 7 1.7% 1.7

6 CCVC.CCV:C 8 1.9% 1.9

7 CV.CV:C 9 2.2% 2.2

8 CV.CV 10 2.4% 2.4

9 CVC.CV: 10 2.4% 2.4

10 CCCV:.CV 10 2.4% 2.4

11 CVC.CCV 11 2.7% 2.7

12 CCVC.CCV 11 2.7% 2.7

13 CCCV:.CVC 12 2.9% 2.9

14 CVC.CVCC 14 3.4% 3.4

15 CVC.CV:C 16 3.9% 3.9

16 CV:C.CVC 17 4.1% 4.1

17 CCV:.CVC 19 4.6% 4.6

18 CV.CVC 21 5.1% 5.1

19 CCV:.CV 28 6.8% 6.8

20 CV:C.CV 31 7.5% 7.5

21 CV:.CVC 33 8.0% 8.0

22 CV:.CV 36 8.7% 8.7

23 CVC.CVC 37 8.9% 8.9

24 CVC.CV 49 11.8% 11.8

Total 414 100.0% 100.0


180

Figure 4.11: Frequencies of Disyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect

The results indicate that, disyllabic words in Zabidi dialect have 24 canonical

structures. The percentages and frequency analysis of these 24 canonical structures

reveal that the most frequent canonical structure in disyllabic words of Zabidi is

/CVC.CV/ with a percentage of 11.8% with a frequency of 49 words. This is followed

by the canonical structure /CVC.CVC / having the percentage of 8.9% and shows 37

words (frequency). While the canonical structures /CV.CV:/, /CCVC.CCVC/ and

/CVC.CCV:C/ show the least percentage 1.4% each and they appear in only 6 words.

4.2.2.3 Trisyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect

In trisyllabic words of Zabidi dialect, there are 18 different canonical

structures as in (/CV.CV.CV/, /CV.CV:.CV/, /CVC.CV:.CV/, /CVC.CV.CV/,

/CVC.CVC.CVC/, /CV.CV.CVC/, /CV. CV:.CCV/, /CV.CVC.CV/, /CV.CV:.CVC/,

/CVC.CV:.CV/, /CV:.CV:.CV/, /CVC.CV.CVC/, /CV.CVC.CVC/, /CVC.CVC.CV:/,

/CCV:.CV:.CV/, /CCVC.CV.CV/, /CVC.CVC.CCV/, /CV.CV:C.CV/).

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

CC

VC

.CC

VC

CV

.CV

:

CV

C.C

CV

:C

CV

CC

.CV

C

CC

VC

.CV

CC

VC

.CC

V:C

CV

.CV

:C

CV

.CV

CV

C.C

V:

CC

CV

:.C

V

CV

C.C

CV

CC

VC

.CC

V

CC

CV

:.C

VC

CV

C.C

VC

C

CV

C.C

V:C

CV

:C.C

VC

CC

V:.

CV

C

CV

.CV

C

CC

V:.

CV

CV

:C.C

V

CV

:.C

VC

CV

:.C

VC

CV

C.C

VC

CV

C.C

V


181

Table 4.33: Trisyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect


structures

Canonical


1 /CV.CV.CV/ /ka.ra.mu/ “generosity”

2 /CV.CV:.CV/ /ħa.di:.du/ “iron”

3 /CVC.CV:.CV/ /mis.ma:.ru/ “a nail”

4 /CVC.CV.CV/ /matˤ.ʔa.mu/ “restaurant”

5 /CVC.CVC.CVC/ /ʔam.mas.ɡid/ “the mosque”

6 /CV.CV.CVC/ /∫a.fa.qah/ “mercy”

7 /CV.CV:.CCV/ /ma.ra:.wħu/ “fans”

8 /CV.CVC.CV/ /wa.fij.ju/ “loyal”

9 /CV.CV:.CVC/ /ɡa.ri:.meh/ “crime”

10 /CVC.CV:.CV/ /duk.ka:.nu/ “shops”

11 /CV:.CV:.CV/ /∫i:.tˤ a:.nu/ “devil”

12 /CVC.CV.CVC/ /min.∫a.feh/ “towel”

13 /CV.CVC.CVC/ /ʔa.ħib.bak/ “I love you”

14 /CVC.CVC.CV:/ /mis.ta∫.fa:/ “hospital”

15 /CCV:.CV:.CV/ /msa:.mi:.ru/ “nails”

16 /CCVC.CV.CV/ /mzaw.wa.ɡu/ “married”

17 /CVC.CVC.CCV/ /mit.kab.bru/ “arrogant”

18 /CV.CV:C.CV/ /ħa.wa:ɡ.bu/ “eyebrows”

The canonical structure /CV.CV.CV/ of Zabidi consists of three light syllables

(/CV/, /CV/ and /CV/) as in /ða.na.bu/ “tail”, /ʔa.ma.lu/ “work”, /qa.la.mu/ “pen”,

/ʔa.sa.lu/ “honey” and /ħa.ɡa.ru/ “stones”. The canonical structure /CV.CV:.CV/ consists

of two light syllables /CV/ and /CV/ and one heavy syllable /CV:/ as in /ʔi.ðˤa:.mu/

“bonesl”, /ʁa.li:.ðˤu/ “thick”, /qa.di:.mu/ “old”, /ka.bi:.ru/ “big” and /tˤa.ri:.qu/ “road”. The

/CVC.CV:.CV/ canonical structure of Zabidi dialect consists of one light syllable /CV/

and two heavy syllables (/CV:/ and /CVC/) as in /χab.ba:.zu/ “baker”, /maɡ.nu:.nu/

“crazy”, /ðˤab.ħa:.nu/ “angry”, /ħam.ma:.lu/ “porter” and /naɡ.ɡa:.ru/ “carpenter”.


182

It is also seen that the canonical structure /CVC.CV.CV/ in Zabidi consists of

two light syllables (/CV/ and /CV/) and one heavy syllable /CVC/ as in /daf.ta.ru/

“copy-book”, /maχ.za.nu/ “store”, /suk.ka.ru/ “sugar” and /matˤ.ʔa.mu/ “restaurant”.

Furthermore, the canonical structure /CVC.CVC.CVC/ consists of three heavy

syllables (/CVC/ , /CVC/ and /CVC/) as in /ʔam.mas.ɡid/ “The mosque” and

/ʔam.daf.tar/ “the copy book”. And the canonical structure /CV.CV.CVC/ consists of

two light syllables (/CV/ and /CV/) and one heavy syllable /CVC/ as in /da.ra.ɡeh/

“degree”, /ɡa.ma.neh/ “local ghee”, /∫i. ɡa.rah/ “tree” and /∫a.fa.qah/ “ mercy”.

Moreover, the canonical structure /CV.CV:.CCV/ of Zabidi consists of one light

syllables /CV/ and two heavy syllables (/CV:/ and /CCV/) as in /ma.ra:.wħu/ “fans”.

It is observed that the canonical structure /CV.CVC.CV/ of Zabidi consists of

one heavy syllable /CVC/ and two light syllables (/CV/ and /CV/) as in /wa.fij.ju/

“loyal” and /na.bij.ju/ “prophet”, and the structure /CV.CV:.CVC/ consists of one

light syllable /CV/ and two heavy syllables (/CVC/ and /CV:/) as in /sˤa.di:.qah/

“friend (f)”, /ɡa.ri:.meh/ “crime” and /χa.tˤi:.ʔah / “sin”. The canonical structure

/CVC.CV:.CV/ of Zabidi consists of two heavy syllables (/CVC/ and /CV:/) and one

light syllable /CV/ as in /taʔ.ba:.nu/ “tired (m)”, /tˤal.la:.bu/ “beggar (m)” and

/duk.ka:.nu/ “shops”.

It is also seen that in the canonical structure /CV:.CV:.CV/ of Zabidi dialect there are

two heavy syllables (/CV:/ and /CV:/) and one light syllable /CV/ as in /sa:.ni:.nu/

“teeth”, /ɡa:.ni:.ħu/ “wing”, /∫i:.tˤa:.nu/ “devil” and /tˤa:.wa:.su/ “peacock”. The

canonical structure /CVC.CV.CVC/ consists of two heavy syllables (/CVC/ and

/CVC/) and one light syllable /CV/ as in /mil.ʔa.qah/ “spoon”, /sam.ma.ʔeh/ “ear

phone”, /maħ.ka.meh/ “court” and /min.∫a.feh/ “towel”. Furthermure, the canonical

structure /CV.CVC.CVC/ consists of one light syllable /CV/ and two heavy syllables

(/CVC/ and /CVC/) as in /ha.dij.jeh/ “gift”, and /ʔa.ħib.bak / “I love you”.

It may be pointed out that the canonical structure /CVC.CVC.CV:/

consists of three heavy syllables (/CVC/, /CVC/ and /CV:/) as in /mis.ta∫.fa:/

“hospital” and the canonical structure /CCV:.CV:.CV/ of ZYA consists of one light

syllable /CV/, one heavy syllable /CV:/ and one super-heavy syllable /CCV:/ as in

/msa:.mi:.ru/ “nails”. The canonical structure /CCVC.CV.CV/ of ZYA consists of one

super-heavy syllable /CCVC/ and two light syllables (/CV/ and /CV/) as in


183

/mzaw.wa.ɡu/ “married” and /mχaj.ja.mu/ “camp”. Moreover, the canonical structure

/CVC.CVC.CCV/ of Zabidi consists of three heavy syllables (/CVC/, /CVC/ and

/CCV/) as in /mit.kab.bru/ “arrogant”. Also, the canonical structure /CV.CV:C.CV/ of

Zabidi dialect consists of one super-heavy syllable /CV:C/ and two light syllables

(/CV/ and /CV/) as in /ħa.wa:ɡ.bu/ “eyebrows”.

Table 4.34: Percentages of Trisyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect

Serial Nos. of

canonical

structures

Canonical


Valid

percentage

1 CV.CV:.CCV 6 3.0% 3.0

2 CVC.CVC.CV: 6 3.0% 3.0

3 CCV:.CV:.CV 6 3.0% 3.0

4 CV.CV:C.CV 6 3.0% 3.0

5 CVC.CVC.CCV 6 3.0% 3.0

6 CVC.CVC.CVC 7 3.5% 3.5

7 CV.CVC.CVC 7 3.5% 3.5

8 CVC.CV:.CV 8 4.0% 4.0

9 CVC.CV.CV 9 4.5% 4.5

10 CV.CV.CVC 9 4.5% 4.5

11 CV.CVC.CV 9 4.5% 4.5

12 CV.CV:.CVC 10 5.0% 5.0

13 CCVC.CV.CV 11 5.5% 5.5

14 CV:.CV:.CV 12 6.0% 6.0

15 CVC.CV.CVC 14 7.0% 7.0

16 CV.CV.CV 21 10.4% 10.4

17 CVC.CV:.CV 24 11.9% 11.9

18 CV.CV:.CV 30 14.9% 14.9

Total 201 100.0% 100.0


184

Figure 4.12: Frequencies of Trisyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect

It is seen that in table 4.34 and figure 4.12 above, Zabidi dialect has 18 canonical

structures in trisyllabic words. It is clear that the maximum canonical structure (the most)

in trisyllabic words of Zabidi dialect is /CV.CV:.CV/ 14.9% and shows 30 words

(frequency) in Zabidi dialect. In addition, the canonical structures /CV.CV:.CCV/,

/CVC.CVC.CV:/, /CCV:.CV:.CV/, /CV.CV:C.CV/ and /CVC.CVC.CCV/ have the

minimum percentage (least) about 3.0% each and they show only 6 words (frequencies)

in ZYA.

4.2.2.4 Tetrasyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect

In tetrasyllabic words of Zabidi dialect, there are 7 different canonical structures as

in (/CVC.CV.CV:.CVC/, /CV.CVC.CV.CV/, /CV.CVC.CV.CVC/, /CV:.CVC.CV:.CV/,

/CV.CV.CV:.CV/, /CVC.CVC.CV.CVC/ and /CVC.CV.CV.CVC/).

0

5

10

15

20

25

30


185

Table 4.35: Tetrasyllabic words in Zabidi dialect


structures

Canonical


1 /CVC.CV.CV:.CVC/ /ʔan.ka.bu:.teh/ “spider”

2 /CV.CVC.CV.CV/ /sa.far.ɡa.lu/ “quince (pl)”

3 /CV.CVC.CV.CVC/ /sa.far.ɡa.lah/ “quince (sing.)”

4 /CV:.CVC.CV:.CV/ /ba:.ðin.ɡa:.nu/ “eggplant”

5 /CV.CV.CV:.CV/ /ka.na.ba:.tu/ “sofas”

6 /CVC.CVC.CV.CVC/ /ʔam.mad.ra.sah/ “school”

7 /CVC.CV.CV.CVC/ /mak.ta.ba.tuh/ “his library”

The canonical structure /CVC.CV.CV:.CVC/ of Zabidi dialect consists of one

light /CV/ and three heavy syllables (/CVC/, /CVC/ and /CV:/) as in

/ʔam.ħa.ma:.meh/ “the dove” and /ʔam.ɡa.ri:.meh/ “the crime”. Structure

/CV.CVC.CV.CV/ consists of three light syllables (/CV/, /CV/ and /CV/) and one

heavy syllable /CVC/ as in /sa.far.ɡa.lu/ “quince (pl)”. Moreover, The canonical

structure /CV.CVC.CV.CVC/ of Zabidi consists of two light syllables (/CV/ and

/CV/) and two heavy syllables (/CVC/ and /CVC/) as in /sa.far.ɡa.lah/ “quince

(sing.)”.

It is to be mentione that the canonical structure /CV:.CVC.CV:.CV/ of Zabidi

consists of one light syllable /CV/ and three heavy syllables (/CVC/, /CV:/ and /CV:/)

as in /ba:.ðin.ɡa:.nu/ “eggplant” . It is also seen that in the structure /CV.CV.CV:.CV/

there are three light syllables (/CV/, /CV/ and /CV/) and one heavy syllable /CV:/ as

in /ka.na.ba:.tu/ “sofas” . The canonical structure /CVC.CVC.CV.CVC/ consists of

one light syllable /CV/ and three heavy syllables (/CVC/, /CVC/ and /CVC/) as in

/ʔam.mad.ra.sah/ “school”, and the canonical structure /CVC.CV.CV.CVC/ of ZYA

consists of two light syllables (/CV/ and /CV/) and two heavy syllables (/CVC/ and

/CVC/) as in /mak.ta.ba.tuh/ “his library” .


186

Table 4.36: Percentages of Tetrasyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect

Serial Nos.

of canonical

structures

Canonical


Valid

percentage

1 CV.CVC.CV.CV 6 13.0% 13.0

2 CV.CVC.CV.CVC 6 13.0% 13.0

3 CV:.CVC.CV:CV 6 13.0% 13.0

4 CV.CV.CV:.CV 6 13.0% 13.0

5 CVC.CVC.CV.CVC 6 13.0% 13.0

6 CVC.CV.CV.CVC 6 13.0% 13.0

7 CVC.CV.CV:.CVC 10 21.7% 21.7

Total Total 46 100.0% 100.0

Figure 4.13: Frequencies of Tetrasyllabic Words in Zabidi Dialect

Table 4.36 and figure 4.13 above show that, Zabidi dialect has 7 canonical

structures in tetrasyllabic words. It is clear that the most common canonical structure

(maximum) /CVC.CV.CV:.CVC/ has a percentage of 21.7% and shows 10 words

(frequency) in Zabidi. In addition, the other canonical structures /CV.CVC.CV.CV/,

/CV.CVC.CV.CVC/, /CV:.CVC.CV:CV/, /CV.CV.CV:.CV/, /CVC.CVC.CV.CVC/

and /CVC.CV.CV.CVC/ have the minimum percentage (least) about 13.0% each and

they show 6 words (frequencies) in ZYA.

0123456789

10


187

Table 6.37: Percentages of Syllable Types in Zabidi Dialect

Serial Nos.

of syllable

types

Types of

syllables Frequency Percentage

Valid

percentage

1 Monosyllabic 145 18.0% 18.0

2 Disyllabic 414 51.4% 51.4

3 Trisyllabic 201 24.9% 24.9

4 Tetrasyllabic 46 5.7% 5.7

Total 806 100.0% 100.0

Figure 4.14: Frequencies of Syllable Types in Zabidi Dialect

Table 6.37 and figure 4.14 illustrate that, there are 61 different canonical

structures distributed to four types of syllables in Zabidi dialect (twelve monosyllabic

canonical structures, twenty four disyllabic canonical structures, eighteen trisyllabic

canonical structures and seven tetrasyllabic canonical structures). The percentages and

frequency analysis of these 4 types of syllables reveal that disyllabic words have the

highest percentage 51.4% and show 414 words (frequency) in Zabidi. While, the

trisyllabic words have 24.9% and show 201 words (frequency). Moreover, the

monosyllabic words have 18.0% and show 145 words (frequency). Finally,

tetrasyllabic words have the least percentage 5.7% and show only 46 words

(frequency) in Zabidi dialect.

18%

51%

25%

6%

Syallable types in ZYA

Monosyllabic

Disyllabic

Trisyllabic

Tetrasyllabic


188

4.2.3 Structure of Syllable in Zabidi Dialect

4.2.3.1 Onset in ZYA

Onsets are obligatory in Zabidi dialect, and the maximum number of

consonant sounds (onsets) are three, unlike MSA or CA, and many other Yemeni

dialects, which accept only one sound (simple onset). Zabidi has two types of onset

(simple and complex).

Simple Onset in ZYA

Simple onset in ZYA, show the following canonical structures (CVCC, CV, CV:C

and CVC).

Sound Word Gloss

/m/ /mu/ “mother”

/f/ /fi/ “in”

/w/ /wa/ “and”

/m/ /min/ “of/from”

/k/ /kul/ “all”

/k/ /kel/ “he ate”

/∫/ /∫ol/ “take”

/q/ /qa:l/ “he said

/b/ /bu:k/ “go”

/z/ /za:r/ “he visited”

/m/ /ma:t/ “he died”

/j/ /ja:n/ “where”

/l/ /le:l/ “night”

/k/ /kont/ “I was”

/ʔ/ /ʔardˤ/ “earth”

/b/ /bass/ “enough”


189

Complex Onset in ZYA

Complex onset in ZYA, have the following canonical structures (CCV, CCV:,

CCCVCC, CCVC, CCCV:C, CCV:C, CCCVC and CCVCC).

Sound Word Gloss

/ðn/ /ðnu/ “ear”

/Өm/ /Өmu/ “mouth”

/ħw/ /ħwal/ “cross-eyed”

/ħm/ /ħmar/ “red”

/sˤf/ /sˤfar/ “yellow”

/sˤn/ /sˤnaɡ/ “deaf

/hn/ /hneh/ “here”

/hn/ /hna:k/ “there”

/rχ/ /rχi:sˤ/ “cheap”

/∫q/ /∫qo:l/ “he will say”

/∫tl/ /∫tluħ/ “she will make bread”

/∫tr/ /∫tro:ħ/ “she will go”

/∫tʔ/ /∫tʔe:t/ “she will come”

/∫ts/ /∫tsu:q/ “she will drive”

4.2.3.2 Nucleus in ZYA

Nucleus in Zabidi dialect is preceded by one, two or three consonants and is

followed by one or two consonant sounds, and no syllable can stand alone as a word

without vowel. Like MSA and like other Yemeni dialects of Arabic, no vowel occurs

word- initially in Zabidi Yemeni dialect of Arabic (ZYA).

Sound Word Gloss

/u/ /χu/ “brother”

/i/ /fi/ “in”

/u/ /bnu/ “son”

/o/ /hon/ “they (f)”


190

/u:/ /bu:k/ “go”

/i:/ /ħi:d/ “see/ look”

/o:/ /fo:q/ “up, above”

/a:/ /na:m/ “he slept”

/a/ /bass/ “enough”

/o/ /kont/ “I was”

/a/ /ʔardˤ/ “earth”

/i/ /ɡlis/ “sit”

/a/ /∫wal/ “left-handed”

/a/ /Swad/ “black”

/o:/ /∫qo:l/ “he will say”

/i:/ /rχi:sˤ/ “cheap”

/a/ /rsamt/ “you drew”

/o:/ /∫tro:ħ/ “she will go”

4.2.3.3 Coda in ZYA

Codas are not obligatory and the maximum number of permitted consonant

sounds are two at the end position of the syllable in Zabidi. Like MSA and like many

other Yemeni dialects which accept only two sounds, Zabidi dialect has three types of

coda (empty coda, simple coda and complex coda).

Empty coda in ZYA have the following canonical structures (CCV, CCV: and

CV)

Simple coda in ZYA show the following canonical structures (CV:C, CVC,

CCVC, CCV:C, CCCVC and CCCV:C).

Complex Coda ZYA have the following canonical structures (CCCVCC, CCVCC

and CVCC).


191

Simple and Complex Coda in ZYA

Table 4.38: Simple and Complex Coda in ZYA

Simple coda in ZYA Complex coda in ZYA

Word Gloss Word Gloss

/hon/ “they (f)” /∫inf/ “lip”

/ser/ “secret /qarb/ “come closer”

/kam/ “how much” /kont/ “I was”

/laʔ/ “no” /ʔind/ “at”

/min/ “of, from” /rsamt/ “you drew”

/qa:l/ “he said” /∫trudd/ “she will come back”

/zi:d/ “do more” /bazz/ “he took”

/fo:q/ “up, above” /kutb/ “write”

/ħwal/ “cross-eyed” /ʔam.waqt/ “the time”

/ħmar/ “red” /ʔam.baħr/ “the sea”

/∫wal/ “left-handed” /ʔam.nafs/ “the soul”

/rtˤab/ “it became damp” /ʔam.naɡm/ “the star”

/rɡad/ “he slept” /taħt/ “under”

/hneh/ “here” /ʔardˤ/ “earth”

/∫qo:l/ “he will say” /bass/ “enough”

/rχi:sˤ/ “cheap” /ʔam.Өalɡ/ “the ice”

/∫tro:ħ/ “she will go” /ʔam.∫aʔr/ “the heir”

/∫tsu:q/ “she will drive” /ʔam.∫ams/ “the sun”


192

4.2.4 Classification of Syllables in ZYA

In Zabidi dialect, syllables can be classified into open or close syllables

according to the consonant (coda) at the end of the syllable. Also, syllable in Zabidi

can be classified into light, heavy, super-heavy and Ultra heavy syllables.

Open Syllable in ZYA


CV /mu/ “mother”

CV /wa/ “and”

CV /hu/ “he”

CV /fi/ “in”

CV /bu/ “father”

CV /li/ “to me”

CCV /Өmu/ “mouth"

CCV /bnu/ “son”

CCV /ðnu/ “ear”

CCV: /m∫i:/ “walk (imp)”

Close Syllable in ZYA


CVC /min/ “of, from”

CVC /kul/ “all”

CVC /ser/ “secret”

CV:C /ħi:d/ “see/ look”

CV:C /ma:t/ “he died”

CV:C /le:l/ “night”

CVCC /bass/ “enough”

CVCC /taħt/ “under”

CVCC /ʔind/ “at”

CCVC /ħmar/ “red”

CVCC /rqasˤ/ “he danced”

CCVC /swad/ “black”

CCCV:C /∫tro:ħ/ “she will go”

CCCV:C /∫tsu:q/ “she will drive”

CCCV:C /∫tmu:t/ “she will die”


193

Light Syllable as in (CV)

Word Gloss

/mu/ “mother”

/li/ “to me”

/ba/ “with”

/fi/ “in”

/χu/ “brother”

/wa/ “and”

/hi/ “she”

/hu/ “he”

● Heavy Syllables as in (CVC, CCV)

Word Gloss

/bnu/ “son”

/ser/ “secret”

/min/ “of, from”

/lak/ “for you”

Super-Heavy Syllables as in (CV:C, CVCC , CCV:, CCVC, CCV:C and

CCVCC)

Word Gloss

/ħi:d/ “see, look”

/bu:k/ “go”

/na:m/ “he slept”

/bass/ “enough”

/taħt/ “under”

/ʔardˤ/ “earth”

/ħwal/ “cross-eyed”

/∫wal/ “left-handed”

/zʔaq/ “he shouted”

/m∫eʔ/ “he walked”


194

/hna:k/ “there”


/∫qo:l/ “he will say”

/jhi:n/ “when”

/rsamt/ “you drew”

● Ultra –heavy syllables as in (CCCVC, CCCV:C and CCCVCC)

/∫tro:ħ/ “she will go”

/∫tsu:q/ “she will drive”

/∫tmu:t/ “she will die”

/∫tba:n/ “she will appear”

/∫tʔe:t/ “she will come”

/∫tluħ/ “she will make bread”

/∫trudd/ “she will come back”

4.2.5 Consonant Clusters in ZYA

In Zabidi dialect, there are consonant clusters in all positions of the word,

initial, medial and final position. Unlike CA, MSA and many other Yemeni dialects,

which do not accept initial and medial consonant clusters. Moreover, the maximum

number of complex onset are three while, two complex codas are the maximum

number in ZYA.


195

4.2.5.1 Initial Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Two Initial- Stop Consonant Clusters in ZYA

All stop consonant clusters in Zabidi occur in initial consonant clusters, except

the inter-dental stop voiced /dˤ/.

Table 4.39: Two Initial- Stop Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Stop

Stop + Consonant

Word Gloss

Consonant + Stop

Word Gloss

b

/bnu/

/bju:.tu/

/bχi:.lu/

/bʔi:.du/

“son”

“house”

“stingy”

“far”

d /dha:.nu/

/dqi:.qah/

“paint”

“minute”

/wda:.nu/

/ɡda:.ru/

/ɡdi:.du/

“cover”

“wall”

“new”

ɡ

/ɡlis/

/ɡda:.ru/

/ɡdi:.du/

“sit”

“wall”

“new”

/rɡad/

/wɡa:.ʔu/

/∫ɡa:.ʔu/

“he slept”

“pain”

“brave”

k /kta:.bu/ “book”

/mkas.sreh/

/mkaf.rnu/

/ħku:.meh/

“having broken”

“angry (m)”

“government”

t /tħa:.weʔ/

/tsa:.maħ/

“wait

“she forgives”

/kta:.bu/

/qta:.lu/

“book”

“fighting”

ʔ /ʔmeʔ/

“blind”

/zʔaq/

/bʔi:.du/

/sˤʔu:.bah/

“he shouted”

“far”

“difficulty”

tˤ /tˤʁi:.zu/ “twinge” /rtˤab/

/χtˤu:.bah/

“it became

damp”

“engagement”

q /qta:.lu/

/qʔa:.deh/

“fighting”

“bed”

/wqaf/

/rqasˤ/

/∫qo:l/

/Өqi:.lu/

“stand-up”

“he danced”

“he will say”

“heavy”

dˤ - - - -


196

Two initial- Fricative Consonant Clusters in ZYA

All fricative consonant clusters occur as initial consonant clusters in Zabidi

dialect.

Table 4.40: Two Initial -Fricative Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Fricative

Fricative + Consonant

Word Gloss

Consonant + Fricative

Word Gloss

f /fqi:.hah/ “quranic

teacher (f)” /sˤfar/ “yellow”

Ө /Өqi:.lu/ “heavy”

z /zʔaq/

/zra:.ʔah/

“he shouted”

“cultivation”

/ħza:.mu/

/mzal.ltˤu/

“belt”

“rich (m)”

s /swad/ “back”

/ħsan/

/rsamt/

/wsa:.ʔu/

“better”

“you drew”

“wideness”

sˤ /sˤfar/

/sˤnaɡ/

“yellow”

“deaf”

/ħsˤa:.nu/

/rsˤa:.sˤu/

“horse”

“bullets”

∫

/∫wal

/∫qo:l/

/∫χi:.ru/

“left-handed”

“he will say”

“snoring”

/m∫eʔ/

/m∫utˤ.tˤu/

“he walked”

“comb”

χ /χtˤu:.bah/ “engagement”

/rχi:.sˤu/

/∫χi:.ru/

/bχ i:.lu/

“cheap”

“snoring”

“stingy”

ʁ /sˤʁa:.ru/ “small (pl)

ħ

/ħwal/

/ħneʔ/

/ħsan/

/ħmar/

“cross-eyed”

“we"

“better

“red”

/mħaj.jru/

/mħaw.wmu/

“confusing”

“feeling hot

(m)”

h /hneh/

/hna:k/

“here”

“there”

/jhi:n/

/dha:.nu/

“when”

“paint”

ðˤ /wðˤi:.fah/ “job”


197

Two Initial- Nasal Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Table 4.41: Two Initial- Nasal Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Nasal

Nasal + Consonant

Word Gloss

Consonant + Nasal

Word Gloss

n

/hna:k/

/ðnu/

/sˤnaɡ/

/bnu/

“there”

“ear”

“deaf”

“son”

m

/m∫eʔ/

/mkas.sreh/

/mzal.ltˤu/

/mra:.jeh/

/mkaf.rnu/

/msa:.mi:.ru/

/mħaw.wmu/

/mʁaj.jmu/

/mzaw.wa.ɡu/

/mχaðˤ.ðˤru/

/mħaj.jru/

“he walked”

“having broken”

“rich (m)”

“mirror”

“angry (m)”

“nails”

“feeling hot (m)”

“cloudy”

“married”

“greenish”

“confusing”

/Өmu/

/ħmar/

/ħma:.ru/

/sˤmar/

“mouth”

“red”

“donkey”

“tan”

Two Initial- Lateral Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Two initial-lateral consonant clusters in Zabidi dialect are formed by

combining voiced velar stop /ɡ/ or voiceless dental-alveolar fricative /s/ as in /ɡl-/ and

/sˤl-/ with voiced dental-alveolar lateral /l/.

1) Consonant plus Lateral (-C + l)

Sound Word Gloss

/ɡl-/ /ɡlis/ “sit”

/sˤl-/ /sˤlaʔ/ “bald”

Two Initial- Tap Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Two initial- tap consonant clusters in Zabidi are formed by combining voiced

dental-alveolar tap /r/ with consonants as in /rq-/, /rɡ-/, /rχ-/ and /rs-/. Moreover,

some tap consonant clusters are formed by combining voiced dental-alveolar fricative

/z/ with voiced dental-alveolar tap /r/ as in /zr-/.


198

Table 4.42: Two initial- Tap consonant clusters in ZYA

Tap

Tap + Consonant

Word Gloss

Consonant + Tap

Word Gloss

r

/rqasˤ/

/rɡad/

/rχi:sˤu/

/rsamt/

“he danced”

“he slept”

“cheap”

“you drew”

/zra:.ʔah/ “cultivation”

Two Initial- Glide Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Two initial- glide- consonant clusters in Zabidi dialect are formed by

combining voiced bilabial glide /w/ or voiced palatal glide /j/ with consonants as in

/wq-/, /wd-/, /wɡ-/, /ws-/ and /jh-/. Moreover, some glide consonant clusters are

formed by combining consonant with voiced bilabial glide /w/ or voiced palatal glide

/j/ as in /ħw-/, /∫w-/, /sw-/, /bj-/ and /mj-/.

Table 4.43: Two Initial- Glide Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Glide

Glide + Consonant

Word Gloss

Consonant + Glide

Word Gloss

w

/wqaf/

/wda:.nu/

/wɡa:.ʔu/

/wsa:.ʔu/

“stand-up”

“cover”

“pain”

“wideness”

/ħwal/

/∫wal/

/swad/

“cross-eyed”

“left-handed”

“black”

j

/jhi:n/ “when”

/bju:.tu/

/mjas.sa.ru/

“houses”

“facilitated”


199

Table 4.44: Two Initial - Consonant Clusters in ZYA

b d ɡ k t ʔ tˤ q f Ө z s sˤ ∫ Χ ʁ ħ h n m l r w j

b + + + +

d + + +

ɡ + +

k t

t + +

ʔ +

tˤ +

q + + +

f +

Ө + +

z + +

s + + + +

sˤ + + + + +

∫ + + +

χ +

ʁ

ħ + + + + + +

h +

n

m + + + + + +

l

r + + + + + +

w + + + +

j +

The table above clearly shows that Zabidi dialect has many initial consonant clusters.

The presensce of a cluster is marked by a plus sign (+).


200

Three Initial - Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Three initial - consonant clusters in Zabidi dialect are permitted and formed

by combining voiceless palatal fricative /∫/ plus voiceless dental-alveolar stop /t/ with

any of the following consonant sounds (/l/, /r/, /m/, /ʔ/, /b/, /s/, /ħ/, /sˤ/ and /χ/).

Canonical Structure Word Gloss

/CCCVC/ /∫tluħ/ “she will make bread”

/CCCV:C/ /∫tro:ħ/ “she will go”

/CCCV:CVC/ /∫tħa:.rib/ “she will fight”

/CCCV:C/ /∫tmu:t/ “she will die”

/CCCV:CVC/ /∫tsˤa:.riʔ/ “she will wrestle”

/CCCV:C/ /∫tʔe:t/ “she will come”

/CCCV:CVC/ /∫tχa:.∫if/ “she will confuse”

/CCCV:C/ /∫tba:n/ “she will appear”

/CCCV:C/ /∫tsu:q/ “she will drive”

/CCCVCC/ /∫trudd/ “she will come back”

4.2.5.2 Medial Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Medial Stop - Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Medial stop - consonant clusters in Zabidi are formed by combining stop

sounds as in (/k/, /tˤ/, /ʔ/, /d/ and /b/) with voiced dental-alveolar tap /r/, voiced

bilabial glide /w/ or voiced bilabial nasal /m/ as in (/-kr-/, /-tˤr-/, /-br-/, /-ʔm-/, /-dw-/).

1) Stop plus Consonant (S + C-)


CVC.CCV /mus.kru/ “intoxicant”

CVC.CCV /muf.tˤru/ “not fasting”

CVC.CCV /mutˤ.ʔmu/ “feeder”

CVC.CCV:C /ʔam.dwa:b/ “livestock”

CVC.CVC.CCV /mit.kab.bru/ “arrogant”


201

2) Lateral plus Stop (l + S-)

Furthermore, medial stop - consonant clusters in Zabidi are formed by

combining voiced dental-alveolar lateral /l/ with voiceless dental-alveolar stop /sˤ/ or

voiceless dental-alveolar fricative /tˤ/ as in (/-lsˤ-/ and /-ltˤ-/.


/CVC.CCV/ /muχ.lsˤu/ “sincere”

/CCVC.CCV/ /mzal.ltˤu/ “rich (m)”

● Medial Fricative - Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Medial fricative - consonant clusters are formed by combining voiceless

labiao-dental fricative /f/ with voiceless dental-alveolar lateral /l/ as in /-fl-/. Also,

medial fricative - consonant clusters are formed by combining voiced inter-dental

fricative /ðˤ/ with voiceless dental-alveolar tap /r/ as in /-ðˤr-/.

1) Fricative plus Consonant (S + C-)


/CVC.CCV/ /fil.flu/ “pepper”

/CCVC.CCV/ /mχaðˤ.ðˤru/ “greenish”

● Medial Glide - Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Medial glide- consonant clusters in Zabidi are formed by combining voiced

velar glide /w/ with voiced bilabial nasal /m/ or voiceless glottal fricative /ħ/ as in /-

wm-/ and /-wħ-/. In addition, medial glide consonant clusters are formed by

combining voiced palatal glide /j/ with voiced dental-alveolar tap /r/as in /-jr-/.

Furthermore, medial glide consonant clusters are formed by combining voiced dental-

alveolar stop /d/ with voiced bilabial glide /w/as in /-dw-/.

1) Glide plus Consonant (S + C-)


/CCVC.CCV/ /mħaw.wmu/ “feeling hot (m)”

/CCVC.CCV/ /mħaj.jru/ “confusing”

/CV.CV:.CCV/ /ma.ra:.wħu/ “fans”


202

2) Consonant plus Glide (S + C-)


/CVC.CCV:C/ /ʔam.dwa:b/ “livestock”

Media nasal - Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Medial nasal- consonant clusters in Zabidi are formed by combining

consonant sounds (/ʔ/, /l/, /w/ and /j/) with voiced bilabial nasal /m/ as in /-ʔm-/, /-lm-

/, /-wm-/ and /-jm-/.

1) Consonant plus Nasal (S + n-)


/CVC.CCV/ /mutˤ.ʔmu/ “feeder”

/CVC.CCV/ /mus.lmu/ “muslim (m)”

/CCVC.CCV/ /mħaw.wmu/ “feeling hot (m)”

/CCVC.CCV/ /mʁaj.jmu/ “cloudy”

● Media tap - Consonant Clusters in ZYA

In Zabidi dialect, medial tap - consonant clusters are formed by combining any

one of the following stop consonants (/tˤ/, /k/, and /b/) with voiced dental-alveolar tap

/r/ as in /-tˤr-/, /-kr-/, and /-br-/. Moreover, Medial tap- consonant clusters in Zabidi

are formed by combining voiceless dental-alveolar fricative /s/ or voiced inter-dental

fricative /ðˤ/ with voiced dental-alveolar tap /r/ as in /-ðˤr-/ and /-sr-/. Furthermore,

medial tap - consonant clusters are formed by combining voiced dental-alveolar tap /r/

with voiced dental-alveolar nasal /n/ or voiceless dental-alveolar fricative /s/ as in /-

rn-/ and /-rs-/.

1) Stop plus Tap (S + t-)


/CVC.CCV/ /muf.tˤru/ “not fasting”

/CVC.CCV/ /mus.kru/ “intoxicant”

/CVC.CVC.CCV/ /mit.kab.bru/ “arrogant”


203

2) Fricative plus Tap (f + t-)


/CCVC.CCVC/ /mkas.sreh/ “having broken”

/CCVC.CCV/ /mχaðˤ.ðˤru/ “greenish”

3) Tap plus Consonant (r + c-)


/CCVC.CCV/ /mkaf.rnu/ “angry (m)”

/CCVC.CCV:C/ /mdar.rsi:n/ “teachers msp”

Media lateral- Consonant Clusters in ZYA

1) Lateral plus Consonant (C + l-)

It is seen that in Zabidi dialect, medial lateral- consonant clusters are formed

by combining voiced dental-alveolar lateral /l/ with any one of the following sounds

(/s/, /m/, and /tˤ/) as in /-ls-/, /-lm-/ and /-ltˤ-/.


/CVC.CCV/ /muχ.lsˤu/ “sincere”

/CVC.CCV/ /mus.lmu/ “muslim (m)”

/CCVC.CCV/ /mzal.ltˤu/ “rich (m)”

4.2.5.3 Final Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Final Stop - Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Final stop - consonant clusters in Zabidi dialect are formed by combining stops /t/, /z/,

/d/, /q/ and /ɡ/ with consonants as in /-tb/, /-zz/, /-dd/, /-qt/, /-ʔr/ and /-ɡm/. Moreover,

some consonant clusters are formed by combining consonant with stop as in /-rb/, /-

nt/, /-ħt/, /-nd/, /-lɡ/, /-lb/, /-mt/ and some consonant clusters are formed by combining

two stops as in /-qt/ and /-tb/.


204

1) Stop plus Consonant (-S + C)

Sound Word Gloss

/-tb/ /kutb/ “write”

/-zz/ /bozz/ “take”

/-dd/ /∫trudd/ “she will come back”

/-qt/ /ʔam.waqt/ “the time”

/-ʔr/ /ʔam.∫aʔr/ “the heir”

/-ɡm/ /ʔam.naɡm/ “the star”

2) Consonant plus Stop (-C + S)

Sound Word Gloss

/-rb/ /qarb/ “come closer”

/-nt/ /kont/ “I was”

/-ħt/ /taħt/ “under”

/-qt/ /ʔam.waqt/ “the time”

/-nd/ /ʔind/ “at”

/-lɡ/ /ʔam.Өalɡ/ “the ice”

/-tb/ /kutb/ “write”

/-lb/ /ʔam.kalb/ “the dog”

/-mt/ /rsamt/ “you drew”

/-lb/ /ʔam.qalb/ “the heart”

● Final Fricative - Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Final fricative - consonant clusters in Zabidi dialect are formed by combining

voiceless pharyngeal fricative /ħ/ with voiceless dental-alveolar stop /t/ or voiced

dental-alveolar tap /r/ as in /-ħt/ and /-ħr/. Also, Final fricative - consonant clusters in

Zabidi are formed by combining voiceless labio-dental fricative /f/ with voiceless

dental-alveolar fricative /s/ as in /-fs/. Moreover, some fricative consonant clusters are

formed by combining voiced bilabial nasal /m/ with voiceless dental-alveolar fricative

/s/ as in /-ms/.


205

1) Fricative plus Consonant (-F + C)

Sound Word Gloss

/-ħt/ /taħt/ “under”

/-ħt/ /ʔam.baħr/ “the sea

/-fs/ /ʔam.nafs/ “the soul”

2) Consonant plus Fricative (-C + F)

Sound Word Gloss

/-ms/ /ʔam.∫ams/ “the sun”

Final Nasal - Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Final nasal-consonant clusters in Zabidi are formed by combining voiced

dental alveolar nasal /n/ or voiced bilabial nasal /m/ with consonant as in /-nf/ /-nt/ /-

nd/, /-mt/ and /-ms/. Moreover, some nasal consonant clusters are formed by

combining consonant with voiced bilabial nasal /m/ as in /-ɡm/.

Table 4.45: Final Nasal - consonant clusters in ZYA

Nasal

Nasal + Consonant

Word Gloss

Consonant + Nasal

Word Gloss

n

/∫inf/

/kont/

/ʔind/

“lip”

“I was”

“at”

m /ʔam∫ams/

/rsamt/

“the sun”

“you drew” /ʔam.naɡm/ “the star”


206

Final Lateral - Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Final lateral - consonant clusters are formed by combining voiced dental

alveolar lateral /l/ with voiced bilabial stop /b/ or voiced velar stop /ɡ/ as in /-lb/ and /-

lɡ/.

1) Lateral Plus Consonant (-l + C)

Sound Word Gloss

/-lb/ /ʔam.qalb/ “the heart”

/-lɡ/ /ʔam.Өalɡ/ “the ice”

/-lɡ/ /ʔam.kalb/ “the dog”

● Final Tap - Consonant Clusters in ZYA

Final tap - consonant clusters in Zabidi dialect are formed by combining

voiced dental-alveolar tap /r/ with voiced bilabial stop /b/ or voiced inter-dental stop

/dˤ/ as in /-rb/ and /-rdˤ/. Moreover, some tap consonant clusters are formed by

combining voiceless pharyngeal fricative /ħ/ or voiceless glottal stop /ʔ/ with voiced

dental-alveolar tap /r/ as in /-ʔr/ and /-ħr/.

1) Tap plus Consonant (-r + C)

Sound Word Gloss

/rb/ /qarb/ “come closer”

/-rdˤ/ /ʔardˤ/ “earth”

2) Consonant plus Tap (-C + r)

Sound Word Gloss

/-ħr/ /ʔam.baħr/ “the sea”

/-ʔr/ /ʔam.∫aʔr/ “the heir”


207

Geminate Consonants in ZYA

Geminate consonants refers to any two sounds occurring in a sequence.

Geminate consonants in Zabidi dialect occur in two positions of the word; medial,

between two vowels (V-V) and final position as seen in following examples:

Medial – Geminate in ZYA

Sound Word Gloss

/-bb-/ /rabba:/ “he raised”

/-ss-/ /lussa:n/ “tongue”

/-rr-/ /marrka:/ “he supported”

/-jj-/ /nijju/ “unripe”

/-sˤsˤ-/ /qisˤsˤah/ “story”

/-tt-/ /bittu/ “girl”

/-mm-/ /jumman/ “south”

/-nn-/ /sinnu/ “tooth”

/-dd-/ /ɡaddeh/ “grandmother (f)”

/-bb-/ /ħubbu/ “love”

/-mm-/ /ħummeh/ “fever”

/-dd-/ /χaddu/ “cheek”

/-ss-/ /bisseh/ “cat”

/-ss-/ /mkassreh/ “having broken”

/-bb-/ /mitkabbru/ “arrogant”

/-jj-/ /mʁajjmu/ “cloudy”

/-bb-/ /χabba:zu/ “baker”

/-sˤsˤ-/ /mχaðˤðˤru/ “greenish”

/-mm-/ /ʔammasɡid/ “the mosque”

Final –Geminate in ZYA

Sound Word Gloss

/-zz/ /bazz/ “he took”

/-ss/ /bass/ “enough”

/-dd/ /∫trudd/ “she will come back”


208

Consonant Sequences (Abutting Consonants) in Zabidi Dialect

Table 4.46: Consonant Sequences in Zabidi Dialect

Sequences Word Gloss

/-l + b-/ /kal.bu/ “dog”

/-q + n-/ /diq.nu/ “beard”

/-f + r-/ /ðˤuf.ru/ “nail”

/-h + r-/ /nah.ru/ “river”

/-f + s-/ /naf.su/ “soul”

/-r + d-/ /war.du/ “roses”

/- ɡ + m-/ /naɡ.mu/ “star”

/-m + s-/ /∫am.su/ “sun”

/-χ+ m-/ /zaχ.mu/ “nice”

/-l + b-/ /qal.bu/ “heart”

/-m+ r-/ /tam.ru/ “dates”

/-r + d-/ /bar.du/ “cold”

/-r + m-/ /ħor.mah/ “woman”

/-l + j-/ /ʁa:l.ju/ “costly”

/-w + j-/ /ħa:w.ju/ “tired”

/- ɡ + b-/ /ħa:ɡ.bu/ “eye brow”

/-r + Ө-/ /wa:r.Өu/ “inheritor”

/-k + r-/ /sa:k.ru/ “drunkard”

/-χ + l-/ /muχ.lsˤu/ “sincere”

The following diagrams exemplify the occurrence of onset and coda consonant

clusters in Zabidi dialect.


209

Bilabials


210

Dental

Alveolar


211


212

Palatal


213

Velar


214

Uvular

Pharyngeal


215

Glottal

Figure 4.15: Diagrams of Occurrence of Onset and Coda Consonant Clusters in

Zabidi Dialect

4.2.6 An OT Analysis of Syllable Structure in Zabidi Dialect

4.2.6.1 Basic Syllable Structure Constraints in OT Related to the Syllable

Structure in Zabidi Dialect

4.2.6.1.1. Markedness Constraints in ZYA

In markedness constraints there are four types of constraints:

ONSET

*COMPLEXONS

NO-CODA

*COMPLEXCOD

4.2.6.1.1.1 ONSET

Onset is obligatory in Zabidi dialect. ONSET constraint is violated when the

candidate (syllable) begins with a vowel (onsetless) as in /VC/, /VCC/, /V:C/ and it is

satisfied when the candidate (syllable) begins with simple or complex onset as in

/CV/, /CVC/, /CCV/, /CV:C/, /CVCC/, /CCV:/, /CCVC/, /CCV:C/, /CCVCC/,

/CCCVC/, /CCCV:C/ and /CCCVCC/. ONSET constraint is very highly ranked in

Zabidi dialect. For more clarification as to how ONSET constraint is satisfied or

violated in Zabidi dialect we take help of the following tableau:


216

Tableau 4.31: ONSET Constraint in ZYA

Input /hibeh/ “gift” ONSET

a) ☞ hi.beh

b) hib.eh *!

Candidate (a) is optimal candidate because it satisfies ONSET constraint.

While, Candidate (b) is disqualified because it violates ONSET, when the second

syllable /hib.eh/ begins with a vowel /e/. It is observed that for the word /hibeh/

“gift” with /CVCVC/ structure, we find that the disyllabic form /hi.beh/ with

canonical structure /CV.CVC/ which is the optimal form in comparison to other form

like /hib.eh/. A detailed analysis of the same has been presented in section 4.2.2.2,

table 4.32 at serial No. 18 which shows the percentage of occurrence of the canonical

structure /CV.CVC/ in Zabidi dialect to be 5.1 %.

4.2.6.1.1.2 NO-CODA

NO-CODA constraint is violated when the candidate ends with coda or

complex coda as in /CVC/, /CVCC/, /CV:C/, /CCVCC/, /CCV:C/ and /CCCVC/.

While it is satisfied when the candidate ends with a vowel (open syllable) as in /CV:/,

/CCV/ and /CV/. NO-CODA constraint is lower ranked in Zabidi dialect.

The violations in the constraints (Onsets and No-coda) to evaluate the syllable types

in Zabidi dialect are presented below in the following examples:

Syllable types in Zabidi dialect Onset No-Coda

CV √ √

CCV √ √

CVC √ *

CV:C √ *

CVCC √ **

CCV: √ √

CCVC √ *

CCV:C √ *

CCVCC √ **

CCCVC √ *

CCCV:C √ *

CCCV:C √ *


217

Furthermore, to explain how NO-CODA is satisfied or violated in Zabidi, we take

help of the following example below:

Tableau 4.32: NO-CODA Constraint in ZYA

Input /damu/ “blood” NO-CODA

a) ☞ da.mu

b) dam.u *

Candidate (a) is identified as optimal form because it avoids the violation of

the markedness constraint NO-CODA, when both syllables /da.mu/ end with a vowel.

Candidate (b) is ruled out because it violates NO-CODA as it has one coda /m/ at the

end of first syllable /dam.u/. The disyllabic form of the word /da.mu/ (a) has the

canonical structure /CV.CV/. According to section 4.2.2.2, table 4.32 at serial No. 8,

percentage of occurrence of this canonical structure in Zabidi is 2.4%. Hene, the form

/da.mu/ is the optimal form in ZYA.


Input /jadu/ “hand” ONSET NO-CODA

a) jad.u *! *

b) ☞ ja.du

Candidate (b) in tableau 4.33 emerges as optimal candidate because it satisfies

both constraints, ONSET and NO-CODA. Candidate (a) is eliminated because it

violates markedness constraints ONSET and NO-CODA, when the second syllable

/jad.u/ starts with a vowel /u/ and when the first syllable ends with a coda /d/. In

Zabidi dialect, it is observed that for the word /jadu/ “hand” with /CVCV/ structure,

we find that the disyllabic form /ja.du/ with canonical structure /CV.CV/ is the

optimal form in comparison to other form like /jad.u/. A detailed analysis of the same

has been presented in section 4.2.2.2, table 4.32 at serial No. 8 which shows the

percentage of occurrence of the canonical structure /CV.CV/ in Zabidi dialect to be

2.4%.


218

4.2.6.1.1.3 COMPLEXONS

In Zabidi, simple and complex onsets are allowed. *COMPLEXONS

constraint

is violated when the candidate (syllable) begins with complex onset (more than one

consonant) as in /CCVC/, /CCVCC/, /CCV:C/, /CCCVC/, /CCCV:C/ and /CCCVCC/.

While it is satisfied when the candidate begins with simple onset as in /CV/, /CVC/

/CV:/ and /CV:C/. *COMPLEXONS

is higher ranked in ZYA.


˃˃ NO-CODA

Input

/Өmu/“mouth” ONSET *COMPLEX

ONS NO-CODA

a) Өam.u *! *

b) ☞ Өmu *!

In the above tableau candidate (a) is ruled out from competition because it

violates ONSET and NO-CODA for having coda /m/ at the end of first syllable

/Өam.u/, also the second syllable begins with a vowel /u/ (onsetless). Candidate (b)

wins the optimal candidate because it satisfies ONSET and NO-CODA, although it

violates *COMPLEXONS

for having initial clusters (complex onset) /Өm-/. The

monosyllabic form of the word /Өmu/ (b) has the canonical structure /CCV/.


this canonical structure in Zabidi is 5.5%. Therefore, the form / Өmu/ is the optimal

form in ZYA.


*COMPLEXCOD

constraint is satisfied in ZYA when the candidate (syllable)

ends with a vowel (open syllable) or a single consonant (simple coda) as in /CV/,

/CVC/ /CCV/, /CV:C/, /CV:/ and /CCVC/. It is violated in ZYA when the candidate

ends in more than one consonant (complex coda) as in /CVCC/, /CV:CC/, /CV:CC/

and /CCVCC/.

*COMPLEXCOD

, it is lower ranked because Zabidi allows complex

coda. This is futher illutreted in the following tableau:


219


˃˃*COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA

Input/∫antˤah/“bag” ONSET *COMPLEXONS

*COMPLEXCOD

NO-CODA

a) ∫antˤ.ah *! * ***

b) ☞ ∫an.tˤah **

In tableau 4.35, candidate (a) is rejected becuae it violates three constraints

ONSET *COMPLEXCOD

and NO-CODA for not having a consonant in the second

syllable and the first syllable ends with complex coda /-ntˤ/. Moreover, it is ruled out

for having three codas. Candidate (b) emerges as the optimal candidate because it

satisfies ONSET, *COMPLEXONS

and *COMPLEXCOD

, although it violates NO-

CODA twice by having codas /n/ in the first syllable and /h/ in the second syllable of

a word /∫an.tˤah/. In Zabidi dialect, it is observed that for the word /∫antˤah/ “bag”

with /CVCCVC/ structure, we find that the disyllabic form /∫an.tˤah/ with canonical

structure /CVC.CVC/ which is the optimal form in comparison to other form like

/∫antˤ.ah/. A detailed analysis of the same has been presented in section 4.2.2.2, table


structure /CVC.CVC/ in Zabidi dialect to be 8.9 %.

4.2.6.1.2 Faithfulness Constraints in ZYA

In faithfulness constraints there are two types of constraints in ZYA:

MAX-IO DEP-IO

4.2.6.1.2.1 MAX-IO

MAX-IO constraint is satisfied when all the sounds (consonant and vowel) in the input

exist in the output without deleting any sound from input. It is violated when any sound in

the input does not exist in the output. MAX-IO constraint is highly ranked than

*COMPLEXCOD

in Zabidi dialect. This is shown in the following tableau:

Tableau 4.36: ONSET ˃˃ MAX-IO˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD

Input

/lameh/“why” ONSET MAX-IO

*COMPLEXCOD

a) lam.eh *!

b) lamh *! *

c) ☞ la.meh


220

In the tableau 4.36, candidate (a) is eliminated totally from competition for

violating ONSET constraint by having an onsetless syllable as the second syllable of

the word /lam.eh/. Candidate (b) satisfies higher ranked ONSET but violates MAX-

IO by deletion of the segment /e/ and it also violates *COMPLEXCOD

by having

complex coda /mh/. Candidate (c) wins as the optimal candidate because it satisfies

markedness and faithfulness constraints (ONSET, *COMPLEXCOD

and MAX-IO).

The disyllabic form of the word /la.meh/ (c) has the canonical structure /CV.CVC/.


this canonical structure in Zabidi is 5.1%. Therefore, the form /la.meh/ is the optimal

form in this dialect.

4.2.6.1.2.2 DEP-IO

DEP-IO constraint is satisfied when the sounds (consonant and vowel) in the

output exist in the input without adding any sound. It is violated when a new sound

appears in the output. DEP-IO constraint is highly ranked than *COMPLEXCOD

in

Zabidi dialect. This has been illustrated with the help of tableau 4.37 below:

Tableau 4.37: ONSET˃˃MAX-IO˃˃DEP-IO˃˃*COMPLEXCOD

Input/∫inf/ “lip” ONSET MAX-IO DEP-IO *COMPLEXCOD

a) ∫i.nif *!

b) ☞ ∫inf *

c) ∫in *!

d) ∫if *!

In the tableau, candidate (a) is eliminated from competition because it violates

DEP-IO constraint by adding one segment /i/ at the second syllable of a word /∫i.nif/.

Candidate (b) emerges as the optimal candidate because it satisfies the higher- ranked

constraints ONSET, MAX-IO and DEP-IO, although it violates *COMPLEXCOD

by

having coda clusters /-nf/ in the word /∫inf/. Candidate (c) satisfies ONSET

constraint but it violates MAX-IO constraint by deleting the last consonant /f/.

Candidate (d) avoids the violation of the ONSET, DEP-IO and *COMPLEXCOD

but

it is ruled out by MAX-IO for deleting the last segmental /n/. MAX-IO and DEP-IO

are higher ranked rather than *COMPLEXCOD

in Zabidi dialect. It is observed that


221

for the word /∫inf / “lip” with /CVCC/ structure, we find that the monosyllabic form

/∫inf/ with canonical structure /CVCC/ which is the optimal form in comparison to

other forms like /∫i.nif/, /∫in/ and /∫if/. A detailed analysis of the same has been

presented in section 4.2.2.1, table 4.30 at serial No. 10 which shows the percentage of

occurrence of the canonical structure /CVCC/ in Zabidi to be 11.0%.

Tableau 4.38: MAX-IO˃˃ DEP-IO ˃˃*COMPLEXONS

Input/ħwal/“cross-

eyed” MAX-IO DEP-IO *COMPLEX

ONS

a) ħwa *! *

b) ħa.wal *!

c) ☞ ħwal *

Candidate (c) in tableau 4.38 emerges as optimal candidate because it avoids the

violation of faithfulness constrains DEP-IO and MAX-IO, although it violates the

lower ranked *COMPLEXONS

for having complex onset /ħw-/. Candidate (a) avoids

the violation of the DEP-IO but it is ruled out as it violates MAX-IO for deleting the

last segmental /l/ of a word /ħwal/. Candidate (b) satisfies MAX-IO constraint but it

violates DEP-IO constraint for adding a vowel /a/ in the first syllable of a word

/ħa.wal/. MAX-IO and DEP-IO are higher ranked rather than *COMPLEXONS

in

Zabidi dialect. The monosyllabic form of the word /ħwal/ (c) has the canonical

structure /CCVC/. According to section 4.2.2.1, table 4.30 at serial No. 10, percentage

of occurrence of this canonical structure in Zabidi is 11.0%. Hence, the form /ħwal/ is

the optimal form in Zabidi.


222

Tableau 4.39: ONSET˃˃MAX-IO˃˃DEP-IO˃˃*COMPLEXONS

˃˃

*COMPLEXCOD

˃˃NO-CODA

Input

/ħmar/“red”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

P-I

O

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

a) i.mar *! *

b) ☞ ħmar *! *

c) ħi.marʔ **! * **

d) ħam *! *

e) ħim.ar *! * **

Candidate (b) in tableau 4.39 emerges as optimal candidate because it avoids

the violation of ONSET, DEP-IO, MAX-IO and *COMPLEXCOD

, even though it

violates *COMPLEXONS

constraint by having complex onset /ħm-/ in the word

/ħmar/. It also violates the lower ranked NO-CODA by having coda /r/ in the second

syllable of a word /ħmar/. Candidate (a) is ruled out totally because it violates higher

ranked ONSET constraint when the first syllable begins with a vowel (onsetlss) and it

violates NO-CODA constraint by having coda /r/. Candidate (c) avoids the violation

of ONSET, *COMPLEXONS

and MAX-IO but it violates DEP-IO two times by

adding two sounds to the input. It also, violates *COMPLEXCOD

containing two

complex coda /-rʔ/ and NO-CODA twice when the second syllable ends with two

consonants /rʔ/. Candidate (d) is eliminated from competing because it fails to satisfy

MAX-IO for deleting a coda /r/ and it also violates NO-CODA. Candidate (e) is

ruled out totally because it violates the higher ranked ONSET and it also violates the

DEP-IO containing a vowel /i/. Moreover, it violates NO-CODA twice as it contains

two consonants. In Zabidi dialect, it is observed that for the word /ħmar/ “red” with

/CCVC/ structure, we find that the monosyllabic form /ħmar/ with canonical structure

/CCVC/ which is the optimal form in comparison to other forms like /ħi.marʔ/,

/i.mar/, /ħam/ and /ħim.ar/. A detailed analysis of the same has been presented in

section 4.2.2.1, table 4.30 at serial No. 12 which shows the percentage of occurrence

of the canonical structure /CCVC/ in Zabidi to be 16.6%.


223

ONSET is the highest ranked, while MAX-IO and DEP-IO are higher

ranked than *COMPLEXONS

and *COMPLEXCOD

in Zabidi dialect. Moreover,

NO-CODA is lower ranked in Zabidi.

4.2.6.2 Syllable Weigh in Zabidi Dialect.

Final Heavy Syllables /CVC/ and /CV:/ in ZYA.




˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA

/qamar/

“moon”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

µ µµ

a. qa.mar *! * *

☞ µ µ

b. qa.mar *

µ µ

c. qa.ma *!

µ µ

d. qa.marr *! * * **

µ µ µ

e. qa.ma.ri

*!

*

As shown in tableau 4.40 above, candidate (e) is eliminated from the

competition for incurring more violations of DEEP-IO and *LLL. Candidates (d and

c) are also rejected as they violate DEEP-IO and MAX-IO, respectively. Moreover,

candidate (a) is ruled out as it violates SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ), *FINAL- C- µ and

NO-CODA. Candidate (b) emerges as the optimal form for satisfying the high ranked

DEEP-IO, *LLL, SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ), *FINAL- C- µ ,MAX-IO *LLL and

*3µ, even though it violates the low ranked NO-CODA one time. In Zabidi dialect, it

is observed that for the word /qamar/ “moon” with /CVCVC/ structure, we find that

the disyllabic form /qa.mar/ with canonical structure /CV.CVC/ which is the optimal


224

form in comparison with other forms like /qa.ma/, /qa.marr/ and /qa.ma.ri/. A

detailed analysis of the same has been presented in section 4.2.2.2, table 4.32 at serial

No. 18 which shows the percentage of occurrence of the canonical structure

/CV.CVC/ in Zabidi to be 5.1%.




˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA

/rabba:/ “he

raised”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µ µµ

a. rab.ba: *! *

µ µ

b. rab.ba *! *

µ

c. rabb *!* * * **

Candidates (d and c) are ruled out for violating the high ranked MAX-IO

constraint. While, candidate (a) wins the optimal output as it satisfies MAX-IO,

DEEP-IO, *LLL and ONSET, even thought it violates the low ranked SYL-

MAXIMLITY (µ) and NO-CODA. The disyllabic form of the word /rab.ba:/ (a) has

the canonical structure /CVC.CV:/. According to section 4.2.2.2, table 4.32 at serial

No. 9, percentage of occurrence of this canonical structure in Zabidi is 2.4%.

Therefore, the form /rab.ba:/ is the optimal form in Zabidi dialect.


225

Non-Final Heavy Syllables /CVC/ and /CV:/ in ZYA.




˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA

/qalbu/

“heart”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

S

YL

-MA

XIM

LIT

Y

(µ)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µµ

)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µ µ

a. qal.bu *

µµ µ

b. qal.bu *! *

µ µ µ

c. qa. li.bu *! *

µ

d. qalb *! * **

Candidate (d) is eliminated by MAX-IO, *COMPLEXCOD

as it violates NO-

CODA twice. Candidate (c) satisfies MAX-IO constraint but it violates *LLL because,

there are three light syllables in the word and this is not allowed in this constraint of

ZYA. It also violates DEEP-IO for having a vowel /i/ at the second syllable. Moreover,

candidate (b) is ruled out as it violates SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ) because there are two


226

moraic in the heavy syllable and this constraint is prohibited in this constraint.

Candidate (a) wins as the optimal candidate because it avoids violation of ONSET,

MAX-IO, *LLL, DEEP-IO, SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ), SYL-MAXIMLITY (µµ),

*3µ,*FINAL –G, *FINAL- C- µ, *COMPLEXONS

and *COMPLEX

COD and

it only

violates NO-CODA only one time. In Zabidi, it is observed that for the word /qalbu/

“heart” with /CVCCV/ structure, we find that the disyllabic form /qal.bu/ with

canonical structure /CVC.CV/ which is the optimal form in comparison with other

forms like /qa.li.bu/ or /qalb/. A detailed analysis of the same has been presented in


the canonical structure /CVC.CV/ in Zabidi to be 11.8%.




˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA

/ħu:tu/

“fish”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µµ µ

a. ħu:.tu *!

µ µ

b. ħu.tu *!

µ

c. ħut *!* *

Candidates (c and d) are ruled out for violating the high ranked MAX-IO

constraint. While, candidate (a) emerges as the optimal candidate because it avoids

violation of MAX-IO, even thought it violates the low ranked SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ).

The disyllabic form of the word /ħu:.tu/ (a) has the canonical structure /CV:.CV/.

According to section 4.2.2.2, table 4.32 at serial No. 22, percentage of occurrence of this

canonical structure in Zabidi is 8.7%. Here the form /ħu:.tu/ is the optimal form in

Zabidi.


227

Final Super-Heavy Syllables /CVCC/ and /CV:C/ in ZYA.




˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA

/ʔamba:b/

“the door”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µµ

)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µ µµ

a. ʔam.ba:b *! **

µ µµ

b. ʔam.ba:b *! * **

µ µµµ

c. ʔam.ba:b *! * * * **

µ µµ

d. ʔam.bab *! * * **

µ µ µ

e.ʔam.ba.bi

*!

*

Candidate (a) is the optimal form, even though it violates SYL-MAXIMLITY

(µ) and NO-CODA twice, but it is still more harmonic than other candidates.

Candidate (b) is ruled out by SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ) for having more than one

moraic. It violates *FINAL- C- µ by having a moraic at the last consonant /b/ in the

final heavy syllable of ZYA. It violates NO-CODA two times when both syllables

end with a consonant. Candidate (c) violates SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ) by having more

than one moraic and it violates SYL-MAXIMLITY (µµ) because there are more than

two moraic. It is ruled out by *3µ for having three moraic (trimoraic) in the heavy

syllable. Candidate (c) also violates *FINAL- C- µ amd NO-CODA twice.

Candidates (d and e) are disqualified because they violate MAX-IO and DEEP-IO

respectively. In Zabidi dialect, it is observed that for the word /ʔamba:b/ “the door”

with /CVCCV:C/ structure, we find that the disyllabic form /ʔam.ba:b/ with

canonical structure /CVC.CV:C/ which is the optimal form in compatition with other

forms like /ʔam.bab/ or /ʔam.ba.bi/. A detailed analysis of the same has been


228

presented in section 4.2.2.2, table 4.32 at serial No. 15 which shows the percentage of

occurrence of the canonical structure /CVC.CV:C/ in Zabidi to be 3.9%.




˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA

/ʔamwaqt/ “the

time”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µ µ

a. ʔam.waqt *! ***

µ µµ

b. ʔam.waqt *! * ***

µ µµµ

c. ʔam.waqt *! * * * ***

µ µ

d. ʔam.waq *! **

µ µ µ

e. ʔam.waq.ti

*!

**

As shown above, candidate (a) is the optimal form because it incurs the least

violation in comparison to the other candidates in Zabidi, it violates only

*COMPLEXCOD

and NO-CODA. Candidates (b and c) are ruled out by SYL-

MAXIMLITY (µ) for having more than one moraic. Candidate (d) is rejected as the

optimal because it violates MAX-IO by deleting a final consonant /t/, it also violates

NO-CODA two times. Moreover, candidate (e) is eliminated as it violates DEEP-IO

and NO-CODA. The disyllabic form of the word /ʔam.waqt/ (a) has the canonical

structure /CVC.CVCC/. According to section 4.2.2.2, table 4.32 at serial No. 14,

percentage of occurrence of this canonical structure in Zabidi is 3.4%. Therefore, the

form /ʔam.waqt/ is the optimal form in this dialect.


229

Non-Final Super-Heavy Syllables /CVCC/ and /CV:C/ in ZYA.




˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA

/ra:tbu/

“salary”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µ µ

a. ra:t.bu *

µµ µ

b . ra:t.bu *! *

µµµ µ

c. ra:t. bu *! * * *

µ µ

d. ra:. tbu *!

µ µ µ

e. ra:.ti.bu

*!

Candidate (a) emerges as the optimal form even though it violates the low

ranked NO-CODA. Candidate (b) and candidate (c) are rejected because they violate

SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ). Candidate (d) fails because it violates *COMPLEXONS

by

having two consonants /tb-/ at the initial position of the second syllable in Zabidi.

Moreover, candidate (e) violates DEEP-IO by adding a vowel /i/ at the penultimate

light syllable. In Zabidi dialect, it is observed that for the word /ra:tbu/ “salary” with

/CV:CCV/ structure, we find that the disyllabic form /ra:t.bu/ with canonical

structure /CV:C.CV/ which is the optimal form in comparison with other forms like

/ra:.tbu/ or /ra:.ti.bu/. A detailed analysis of the same has been presented in section

4.2.2.2, table 4.32 at serial No. 20 which shows the percentage of occurrence of the

canonical structure /CV:C.CV/ in Zabidi to be 7.5%.


230




˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA

/mu∫kleh/

“problem”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µ µ

a. mu∫k.leh *! ***

µµ µ

b. mu∫k.leh *! ***

µµµ µ

c. mu∫k.leh *! * * * ***

µ µ

d. mu∫.leh *! **

µ µ µ

e.mu∫.ki.leh

*!

*

**

Candidate (e) and candidate (d) are ruled out because they violate DEEP-IO

and MAX-IO, respectively. Candidate (c) is eliminated totally from competition as it

incurs more violation SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ), SYL-MAXIMLITY (µµ), *3µ,

*COMPLEXCOD

and NO-CODA. Candidate (b) is rejected because it violates SYL-

MAXIMLITY (µ) by adding more than one moraic in heavy syllable and it also

violates NO-CODA by having three consonants at coda position. Candidate (a)

emerges as the optimal form as it satisfies high ranked SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ),

SYL-MAXIMLITY (µµ), DEEP-IO, MAX-IO, ONSET, *LLL *3µ, *FINAL –G,

*FINAL- C- µ, *COMPLEXONS

and it only violates *COMPLEXCOD

and NO-

CODA. The disyllabic form of the word /mu∫kleh/ (a) has the canonical structure

/CVCC.CVC/. According to section 4.2.2.2, table 4.32 at serial No. 4, percentage of

occurrence of this canonical structure in Zabidi is 1.7%. Hence, the form /mu∫k.leh/ is

the optimal form in Zabidi.


231

The final hierarchy rank of syllable structure constraints in Zabidi dialect are

organized as follows: ONSET ˃˃ MAX-IO ˃˃ DEEP-IO ˃˃ *LLL ˃˃ SYL-



˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA.

For more clarity, tableaux 4.48 show a set of constraints of syllable structure in Zabidi

dialect through OT.

Tableaux 4.48: ONSET ˃˃ MAX-IO ˃˃ DEEP-IO ˃˃ *LLL ˃˃ SYL-



˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA

/ha.weʔ/

“air”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

µ µµ

a. ha.weʔ *! * *

☞ µ µ

b. ha.weʔ * *

µ µ

c. ha.we *!

µ µ

d. ha.weʔʔ *! * * **

µ µ µ

e. ha.we. ʔi

*!

*


232

/rakka:/ “he

supported”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µ µµ

a. rak.ka: *! *

µ µ

b. rak.ka *! *

µµµ

c. rakk *!* * * * * * * **

/kalbu/

“dog”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µ µ

a. kal.bu *

µµ µ

b. kal.bu *! *

µ

c. kalb *! * **

µ µ µ

d. ka.li.bu

*!*

*


233

/fa:.ru/

“rat” O

NS

ET

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µµ µ

a. fa:.ru *!

µ µ

b. fa.ru *!

µ

c. fa:r *! *

/lussa:n/

“tongue”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µ µµ

a. lus.sa:n *! **

µ µµ

b. lus.sa:n *! * **

µ µµµ

c. lus.sa:n *! * * * **

µ µ

d. lus.san *! **

µ µ µ

e lus.sa:.ni

*!

*


234

/ʔam.naɡm/

“the star”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µ µ

a.ʔam.naɡm * ***

µ µµ

b.ʔam.naɡm *! * * ***

µ µµµ

c. ʔam.naɡm *! * * * * ***

µ µ

d. ʔam.naɡ *! **

µ µ µ

e. ʔam.naɡ.mi

*!

**

/ħa:wju/

“tired”

ON

SE

T

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µ µ

a. ħa:w.ju *

µµ µ

b. ħa:w.ju *! *

µµµ µ

c. ħa:w.ju *! * * *

µ µ

d. ħaw.ju *! *

µ µ µ

e. ħa:.wi.ju

*!


235

/muslmeh/

“muslim (f)” O

NS

ET

MA

X-I

O

DE

EP

-IO

*L

LL

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

)

SY

L-M

AX

IML

ITY

(µ

µ)

*3µ

*F

INA

L –

G

*F

INA

L-

C-

µ

*C

OM

PL

EX

ON

S

*C

OM

PL

EX

CO

D

NO

-CO

DA

☞ µ µ

a. musl.meh * ***

µµ µ

b. musl.meh *! * ***

µµµ µ

c. musl.meh *! * * * ***

µ µ

d. mus.meh *! **

µ µ µ

e.mus.li.meh

*!

**

4.2.7. Word Stress Patterns in Zabidi Dialect

Stress goes to the final syllable (rightmost) of the word in Zabidi dialect, if it is

superheavy, as in /CV:C/ or /CVCC/.

/ʔam.b'a:b/ “the door” /ʔam.b'aħr/ “the sea”

/ʔam.w'aqt/ “the time” /mzal.ltˤ'i:n/ “rich (pl)”

/Lus.s'a:n/ “tongue” /ʔam.n'afs/ “the soul”

/ʔam.Ө'alɡ/ “the ice” /mdar.rs'i:n/ “teachers”

/ʔam.χ'e:l/ “the horse” /ʔam.dw'a:b/ “livestock”

/ʔam.K'alb/ “the dog” /da.h'a:n/ “paint”

/ʔam.ɡ'a:r/ “the neighbor” /msˤaw.wr'i:n/ “photographers”

/ʔam.∫ 'aʔr/ “the heir” /ta.m'a:m/ “good”

/ħam.r'i:n/ “the mouse” /mkas.sr'eh/ “having broken”

/ʔam.q'alb/ “the heart” /qa.l'i:l/ “few”

/ʔam.f'a:r/ “angry (ms.pl)” /ma.l'i:ħ/ “tasty”

/ʔam.n'aɡm/ “the star”

/kis.l'i:n/ “lazy (ms.pl)”

/ʔam.∫ams/ “the sun”

/ʔam.ti:n/ “the figs”

/ʔam.ba:sˤ/ “the bus”


236

Stress falls on the penultimate (heavy syllable) as in /CV:/ or /CVC/, if the last

syllable in Zabidi Yemeni dialect is not superheavy.

/z'aχ.mu/ “nice” /tˤ'i∫.tu/ “dish”

/r'ak.ka:/ “he supported” /k'a:.su/ “glass”

/ʔ'ib.reh/ “needle” /f'ik.reh/ “an idea”

/ħ'or.mah/ “woman” /jah.ri∫/ “rub”

/ħ'u:.tu/ “fish” /tˤ'i:.nu/ “mud”

/r'iħ.leh/ “journey” /ro:.ħu/ “soul”

/f'a:.ru/ “rat” /∫'e:.beh/ “old man”

/d'aʁ.mar/ “ventured” /ʔ'a:.deh/ “habit”

/n'a:.su/ “people” /k'al.bu/ “dog”

/b'ir.keh/ “pool” /r'uz.zu/ “rice”

/r'a:.su/ “head” /n'ah.ru/ “river”

/∫'a:.jim/ “north” /ħ'ub.bu/ “love”

/d'e:.meh/ “kitchen” /∫'am.su/ “sun”

/ʔ'e:.nu/ “an eye” /sˤ'ud.ru/ “cheek”

/tˤ'a:.qah/ “window” /∫'ah.ru/ “a month”

/ðˤ'uf.ru/ “nail” /b'aħ.ru/ “sea”

/l'o:.nu/ “color” /ħ'ab.lu/ “rope”

/q'al.bu/ “heart” /s'aʔ.bu/ “difficult”

/na:gah/ “camel” /f'ar.ħu/ “happy”

● Stress goes on antepenultimate (heavy syllable), if the final syllable in Zabidi is not

superheavy and the penultimate is not heavy.

/d'af.ta.ru/ “copy-book” /m'il.ʔa.qah/ “spoon”

/ʔ'ar.qa.bah/ “scorpion” /s'am.ma.ʔeh/ “ear phone”

/m'aχ.za.nu/ “store” /m'aħ.ka.meh/ “court”

/q'ab.ja.lah/ “terribleness” /m'iz.ra.ʔah/ “farm”

/m'atˤ.ʔa.mu/ “restaurant” /m'in.∫a.feh/ “towel”

/m'ad.ra.sah/ “school” /ʔ'ar.na.bah/ “rabbit (f)”

/s'uk.ka.ru/ “sugar”


237

Stress falls on monosyllabic words in Zabidi, no matter whether this syllable is

superheavy as in /CVCC/ or /CV:C/, heavy as in /CV:/ or /CVC/ or light as in /CV/.

/ħ'i:d/ “see/ look” /∫'inf/ “lip”

/m'u/ “mother” /ðn'u/ “ear”

/b'u:k/ “go” /ħs'an/ “better”

/b'a/ “with” /h'on/ “they (f)”

/j'a:n/ “where” /zʔ'aq/ “he shouted”

/χ'u/ “brother” /∫'ol/ “take”

/w'a/ “and” /Өm'u/ “mouth”

/b'u/ “father” /rχ'i:sˤ/ “cheap”

/bn'u/ “son” /∫tr'o:ħ/ “she will go”

/k'el/ “he ate” /∫tr'udd/ “she will come back”

Stress falls on the initial syllable (leftmost) of disyllable words in Zabidi dialect.

/ħ'a.wi/ “he became tired” /j'a.du/ “hand”

/h'i.beh/ “gift” /ma'r.ka:/ “instrument to lean on”

/m'aʔ.we:/ “shelter” /J'at.nim/ “plow”

/r'ak.ka:/ “he supported” /n'uχ.rah/ “nose”

/ħ'um.meh/ “fever” /m'an.qaʔ/ “mango”

/ħ'u:.tu/ “fish” /l'o:.ħu/ “board”

/∫'o:.ka/ “fork” /ħ'i:.leh/ “trick”

/f'a:.ru/ “rat” /l'o:.nu/ “color”

/n'a:gah/ “camel” /n'aɡ.mu/ “star”

/n'a:.su/ “people” /r'ab.ħu/ “monkey”

/l'i:.meh/ “one lemon” /sˤ'ud.ru/ “tears”

/n'a:.hi/ “ok” /t'a:g.reh/ “merchant (f)”

/k'al.bu/ “dog” /k'a:t.beh/ “writer (f)”

/r'u:.ti/ “bread” /ħ'a:s.su/ “feeling”

/b'ar.du/ “cold” /j'o:m.jeh/ “daily

/s'u:.qu/ “market” /ʁ'a:b.bu/ “thirsty”

/b'aħ.ru/ “sea” /m'uχ.lsˤu/ “sincere”

/z'a:w.jeh/ “an angle” /∫χ'i:.ru/ “snoring”

/b'a:χ.reh/ “a ship” /ʔ'a:q.lu/ “wise-man”


238

Stress goes to antepenultimate of trisyllable words in Zabidi dialect, if the final

syllable is not superheavy and penultimate is not heavy.

/k'a.ra.mu/ “generosity” /ʔ'a.sa.lu/ “honey”

/d'af.ta.ru/ “copy-book” /q'ab.ja.lah/ “terribleness

/ð'a.na.bu/ “tail” /m'iz.ra.ʔah/ “farm”

/s'uk.ka.ru/ “sugar” /ħ'a.ɡa.ru/ “stones”

/l'a.ba.nu/ “milk” /m'ad.ra.sah/ “school”

/m'aχ.za.nu/ “restaurant” /χ'a.∫a.bu/ “wood”

/ʔ'a.ma.lu/ “work” /s'am.ma.ʔeh/ “ear phone”

/m'aχ.za.nu/ “sugar” /m'il.ʔa.qah/ “spoon”

/ʔ'a.sa.du/ “lion” /ħ'a.na.∫u/ “snake (m)”

/d'a.ra.geh/ “degree” /mχ'aj.ja.mu/ “camp”

/sˤ'a.la.bu/ “dry, harsh” /ʔ'ar.na.bah/ “rabbit (f)”

/∫'i.ga.rah/ “tree” /∫'a.na.bu/ “moustache”

/ɡ'a.ma.lu/ “camel” /mw'asˤ.sˤa.lu/ “connected”

/ɡ'a.ma.neh/ “local ghee” /m'aħ.ka.meh/ “court”

/χ'a.sa.ʔu/ “mud” /k'u.tu.bu/ “books”

/∫'a.fa.qah/ “mercy” /mz'aw.wa.ɡu/ “married”

/m'a.li.ku/ “king” /m'in.∫a.feh/ “towel”

/ʔ'ar.qa.bah/ “scorpion” /mt'ar.ga.mu/ “translated”

/q'a.la.mu/ “pen” /mχ'aj.ja.tˤu/ “stitched”

Stress goes to the antepenultimate syllable in poly-syllable words of Zabidi dialect.

/sa.f'ar.ɡa.lu/ “quince (pl)”

/mak.t'a.ba.tuh/ “his library”

/sa.f'ar.ɡa.lah/ “quince (sing.)”

/ka.n'a.ba:.tu/ “sofas”

/ʔam.m'ad.ra.sah/ “school”

/ba:.ð'in.ɡa:.nu/ “eggplant”


239

4.2.8. An OT Analysis of Word Stress in Zabidi Dialect

Tableau 4.49: NONFINALITY ˃˃ PARSE-σ

Input /damu/ “blood” NONFINALITY PARSE-σ

a. ☞ (d'a).mu *

b. da.(m'u) *! *

c. (d'a).(mu) *!

d. (da.m'u) *!

Candidate (d) and candidate (c) are eliminated totally from the competition for

violating NONFINALITY (high ranked). Also candidate (b) is rejected for incurring

more violations of both constraints NONFINALITY, when the final light ultimate

syllable of the word /da.(m'u)/ in ZYA has foot. It is also ruled out for violating

PARSE-σ. While candidate (a) is the optimal form because it avoids the violation of

high ranked NONFINALITY. It also violates PARSE-σ, because the final syllable of the

word /(d'a).mu/ leaves without feet. In Zabidi dialect, it is observed that for the word

/damu/ “blood” with /CVCC/ structure, we find the disyllabic form /(d'a).mu/ with

canonical structure /CV.CC/ which is the optimal form in comparison with other

forms like /da.(m'u)/, /(da.m'u)/ or /(d'a).(mu)/. A detailed analysis of the same has

been presented in section 4.2.2.2, table 4.32 at serial No. 8 which shows the

percentage of occurrence of the canonical structure /CV.CV/ in Zabidi to be 2.4%.

Tableau 4.50: NONFINALITY ˃˃ UNEVEN-LAMB ˃˃ PARSE-σ

Input /haweʔ/

“air” NONFINALITY UNEVEN-LAMB PARSE-σ

a. ☞ (h'a).weʔ *! *

b. ha.(w'eʔ) *! * *

c. (h'a.weʔ) *!

Candidate (c) is grounded by NONFINALITY constraint (high ranked).

Candidate (b) also is ruled out because it violates all constraints NONFINALITY,

UNEVEN-LAMB and PARSE-σ. Candidate (a) wins as the optimal form because it

satisfies NONFINALITY constraint. NONFINALITY dominates both UNEVEN-LAMB


240

and PARSE-σ. NONFINALITY ˃˃ UNEVEN-LAMB, PARSE-σ in ZYA. The disyllabic

form of the word /ha.weʔ/ (a) has the canonical structure /CV.CVC/. According to

section 4.2.2.2, table 4.32 at serial No. 18, percentage of occurrence of this canonical

structure in Zabidi is 5.1%. Here the form /(h'a).weʔ/ is the optimal form in Zabidi.

Tableau 4.51: GR WD = PR WD ˃˃ NONFINALITY ˃˃ UNEVEN-LAMB ˃˃ PARSE-σ

Input /birkeh/

“pool”

GR WD =

PR WD NONFINALITY UNEVEN-LAMB PARSE-σ

a. (bir.k'eh) *! *

b. ☞ (b'ir).keh *! *

c. bir.(k'eh) *! * *

d. bir.keh *! **

Candidate (d) is rejected for violating GR WD = PR WD, as there is no foot at

all in any syllable of the word /bir.keh/ in ZYA. It also violates PARSE-σ twice.

Candidate (c) is disqualified as it violates NONFINALITY, because there is a foot in

the final heavy ultimate syllable of the word /bir.(k'eh)/ in ZYA. Candidate (a) is also

ruled out immediately from competition for violating UNEVEN-LAMB and

NONFINALITY. Candidate (b) emerges as the optimal candidate as it satisfies higher

ranked GR WD = PR WD and NONFINALITY. In Zabidi dialect, it is observed that for

the word /birkeh/ “pool” with /CVCCVC/ structure, we find the disyllabic form

/(b'ir).keh with canonical structure /CVC.CVC/ which is the optimal form in

comparison to other forms like /(bir.k'eh)/, /bir.(k'eh)/ and /bir.keh/. A detailed



Zabidi to be 8.9%.


241

Tableau 4.52: GR WD = PR WD ˃˃ NONFINALITY ˃˃ WSP ˃˃ UNEVEN-LAMB

˃˃ PARSE-σ

Input /ʔasalu/

“honey”

GR WD =

PR WD NONFINALITY WSP

UNEVEN-

LAMB PARSE-σ

a. ☞ (ʔ'a).sa.lu *! **

b. (ʔ'a).(sa).lu *!* *

c. (ʔ'a).(sa:).lu *! *!* *

d. (ʔa.s'a).(lu)

*! **

e. ʔa.sa.lu *! ***

Candidates (e, d and c) are eliminated immediately from the competition for violating

GR WD = PR WD, NONFINALITY and WSP, respectively. Candidate (b) satisfies

GR WD = PR WD, NONFINALITY and WSP constraints but it is ruled out for

violating UNEVEN-LAMB twice. Candidate (a) is the optimal form because it incurs

the least violation than other candidates. WSP dominates both UNEVEN-LAMB and

PARSE-σ in ZYA. WSP ˃˃ UNEVEN-LAMB, PARSE-σ. The trisyllabic form of the

word /ʔa.sa.lu/ (a) has the canonical structure /CV.CV.CV/. According to section

4.2.2.3, table 4.34 at serial No. 16, percentage of occurrence of this canonical

structure in Zabidi is 10.4%. Therefore, the form /(ʔ'a).sa.lu/ is the optimal form in

this dialect.


242



Input /ʔasadu/

“lion”

GR

WD

= P

R W

D

NO

NF

INA

LIT

Y

WS

P

FT

-BIN

RIG

HT

MO

ST

LE

FT

MO

ST

UN

EV

EN

-LA

MB

PA

RS

E-σ

a. ☞(ʔ'a).sa.du *! * * **

b. (ʔa).(s'a).du *!* * ** *

c. ʔa.(s'a).du: *! * * * * **

d. (ʔa.sa.d'u) *! *

e. ʔa.sa.du *! * * ***

Candidate (e) is eliminated immediately from the competition for violating GR

WD = PR WD, because the word /ʔa.sa.du/ in ZYA, as it does not carry any foot for

any syllable. It also violates PARSE-σ three times, because there are three syllables

without a foot. Candidate (d) is rejected for violating NONFINALITY, because the final

light syllable of the word (ʔa.sa.d'u) contains a foot. It also violates UNEVEN-LAMB.

Candidate (c) is also ruled out because of the fatal violation (*!) of WSP as it does not

carry stress on a heavy ultimate syllable of the word /(ʔa.s'a).du:/. It also violates FT-

BIN, RIGHTMOST, LEFTMOST, UNEVEN-LAMB and PARSE-σ. Moreover, candidate

(b) is disqualified for violating FT-BIN, because a foot of the word /(ʔa).(s'a).du/ must

contain two syllables and to avoid light (L) feet. It also violates RIGHTMOST,

UNEVEN-LAMB and PARSE-σ. Candidate (a) emerges as the optimal candidate as it

satisfies high ranking GR WD = PR WD, NONFINALITY and WSP. However, it

violates RIGHTMOST because there is no foot at the right edge of the word /(ʔ'a).sa.du/.

It also violates FT-BIN, UNEVEN-LAMB and PARSE-σ but it is the candidate that incurs

the least violations and is more harmonic than other candidates. In Zabidi dialect, it is

observed that for the word /ʔasadu/ “lion” with /CVCVCV/ structure, we find the

trisyllabic form /(ʔ'a).sa.du/ with canonical structure /CV.CV.CV/ which is the optimal

form in comparison to other forms like /(ʔa).(s'a).du/, /ʔa.(s'a).du:/, /(ʔa.sa.d'u)/ and

/ʔa.sa.du/. A detailed analysis of the same has been presented in section 4.2.2.3, table


structure /CV.CV.CV/ in Zabidi to be 10.4%.


243



Input /sukkaru/

“sugar”

G

R W

D =

PR

WD

NO

NF

INA

LIT

Y

FT

-BIN

WS

P

RIG

HT

MO

ST

LE

FT

MO

ST

UN

EV

EN

-LA

MB

PA

RS

E-σ

a. ☞(s'uk).ka.ru *! * **

b. suk.(k'a).ru *! * * * * **

c. (s'uk).(ka). ru *! * ** *

d. suk.ka.(r'u) *! * * * * **

e. suk.ka.ru *! * * * ***

Candidate (e) and candidate (d) are disqualified from competition for violating

GR WD = PR WD and NONFINALITY, respectively. Candidate (c) is ruled out in

Zabidi dialect as it violates FT-BIN, RIGHTMOST, UNEVEN-LAMB and PARSE-σ.

Candidate (b) is also eliminated as it incurs large number of violations in comparison

to the other candidates, when it violates FT-BIN, WSP, RIGHTMOST, UNEVEN-

LAMB, LEFTMOST and PARSE-σ. Candidate (a) wins as the optimal form because it

satisfies the higher ranked GR WD = PR WD, NONFINALITY, FT-BIN and WSP.

The trisyllabic form of the word /suk.ka.ru/ (a) has the canonical structure

/CVC.CV.CV/. According to section 4.2.2.3, table 4.34 at serial No. 9, percentage of

occurrence of this canonical structure in Zabidi is 4.5%. Hence, the form

/(s'uk).ka.ru/ is the optimal form in Zabidi dialect.

As shown in the tableau above, GR WD = PR WD dominates both LEFTMOST

and RIGHTMOST, while both constraints LEFTMOST and RIGHTMOST dominate

PARSE-σ. So, GR WD = PR WD dominates all LEFTMOST, RIGHTMOST and

PARSE-σ in ZYA: GR WD = PR WD ˃˃ LEFTMOST, RIGHTMOST, PARSE-σ.


244



Input /wafijju/

“loyal”

GR

WD

= P

R W

D

NO

NF

INA

LIT

Y

FT

-BIN

WS

P

RIG

HT

MO

ST

LE

FT

MO

ST

UN

EV

EN

-LA

MB

PA

RS

E-σ

a. ☞(w'a).fij.ju *! * * * **

b. (w'a).(fij).ju: *! ** * ** *

c. (wa).(f'ij).(ju) *! ** * ***

d. (w'a.fij).(ju) *! * * *

e. wa.fij.ju *! * * * ***

Candidate (e) is eliminated for violating GR WD = PR WD because the word

/wa.fij.ju/ does not carry any foot for any syllable. Candidate (d) is rejected for

violating NONFINALITY, because the final light syllable of the word /(w'a.fij).ju/ in

Zabidi contains a foot. Candidate (c) is also ruled out because of the fatal violation of

NONFINALITY, and it also violates FT-BIN twice because it does not avoid light

syllables (L) feet at the first and third syllables. While, candidate (b) is disqualified

for violating FT-BIN and it also violates WSP, because it does not carry stress at

heavy syllable of the word /wa.(fij).ju:/. Candidate (a) emerges as the optimal

candidate as it satisfies the high ranking GR WD = PR WD and NONFINALITY. In

Zabidi dialect, it is observed that for the word /wafijju/ “loyal” with /CVCVCCV/

structure, we find that the trisyllabic form /(w'a).fij.ju/ with canonical structure

/CV.CVC.CV/ which is the optimal form in comparison with other forms like

/(w'a).(fij).ju:/, /(wa).(f'ij).(ju)/, /(w'a.fij).(ju)/ and /wa.fij.ju/. A detailed analysis of

the same has been presented in section 4.2.2.3, table 4.34 at serial No. 11 which

shows the percentage of occurrence of the canonical structure /CV.CVC.CV/ in

Zabidi to be 4.5%.

The final hierarchy rank of word stress constraints in Zabidi dialect are




245

For more clarification, tableaux 4.56 show a set of constraints of word stress in Zabidi

dialect through OT.

Tableaux 4.56: GR WD = PR WD ˃˃ NONFINALITY ˃˃ WSP ˃˃ FT-BIN ˃˃


Input /birkeh/

“pool” GR WD = PR WD NONFINALITY

UNEVEN-

LAMB PARSE-σ

a. (b'ir.keh) *! *

b. ☞ (b'ir).keh *! *

c. bir.(k'eh) *! * *

d. bir.keh *! **

Input /∫a.na.bu/

“moustache” GR WD = PR WD NONFINALITY WSP

UNEVEN-

LAMB PARSE-σ

a. ☞ (∫'a).na.bu *! **

b. (∫a.n'a).bu *! *

c. ∫a.(n'a).bu *! **

d. (∫'a.na.bu) *! *

e. ∫a.na.bu *! ***

Input /karamu/

“generosity”

GR

WD

= P

R W

D

NO

NF

INA

LIT

Y

WS

P

UN

EV

EN

-LA

MB

PA

RS

E-σ

a. ☞(k'a).ra.mu

*! **

b. (ka).(r'a).mu

*!* *

c. ka.ra.(m'u)

*! * **

d. (k'a.ra).mu

*! *

e. ka.ra.mu *! ***


246

Input /ʔankabu:teh/

“spider”

GR

WD

= P

R W

D

NO

NF

INA

LIT

Y

FT

-BIN

WS

P

RIG

HT

MO

ST

LE

FT

MO

ST

UN

EV

EN

-LA

MB

PA

RS

E-σ

a. ☞ʔan.(k'a).bu:.teh *! *** * * * ***

b. (ʔan).(k'a).bu:.teh *! *** * ** **

c. ʔan.ka.bu:.(t'eh) *! ** * * ***

d. ʔan.(k'a.bu:).(teh) *! *** * * *

e. ʔan.ka.bu:.teh *! *** * * ****

Input /ħa.zi:.nu/

“sad”

GR

WD

= P

R W

D

NO

NF

INA

LIT

Y

FT

-BIN

WS

P

RIG

HT

MO

ST

LE

FT

MO

ST

UN

EV

EN

-LA

MB

PA

RS

E-σ

a. ☞(ħa.z'i:).nu *! *

b. ħa.(zi:.n'u) *! * * * *

c. (ħ'a).zi:.nu *! * * * **

d. ħa.zi:.(n'u) *! * * * * **

e. ħa.zi:.nu *! * * * ***


247

Input /ja.du/

“hand”

GR

WD

= P

R G

R

WD

= P

R W

D

NO

NF

INA

LIT

Y

FT

-BIN

WS

P

RIG

HT

MO

ST

LE

FT

MO

ST

UN

EV

EN

-LA

MB

PA

RS

E-σ

a. ☞(j'a).du *! * * *

b. ja.(d'u) *! * * * *

c. (j'a.du) *! *

d. ja.du *! * * **

Input /ʔam.sˤa.di:.qah/

“the friend (f)”

GR

WD

= P

R W

D

NO

NF

INA

LIT

Y

FT

-BIN

WS

P

RIG

HT

MO

ST

LE

FT

MO

ST

UN

EV

EN

-LA

MB

PA

RS

E-σ

a. ☞ʔam.(sˤ'a.di:).qah *!** * * **

b. ʔam.(sˤ'a.di:).(qah) *! *!** * * *

c. ʔam.sˤa.di:.(q'ah) *! ** * * ***

d. (ʔ'am.sˤa).di:.qah *!* * * **

e. ʔam.sˤa.di:.qah *! *** * * ****


248

4.2.9 Summary and Conclusions

This chapter has presented a detailed discussion of syllable structure and word

stress of Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni dialects of Arabic through Optimality Theory (OT).

It has also presented the phonemic inventory (consonants, vowels and diphthongs) of

Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni dialects of Arabic. Moreover, the syllable types,

classification of syllables, structure of syllables, and consonant clusters of Hajji and

Zabidi dialects have also been discussed. Furthermore, an OT analysis of syllable

structure constraints and syllable weight in HYA and ZYA has also been undertaken.

Finally, it has presented word stress patterns and an OT analysis of word stress in

HYA and ZYA. To conclude, we may say a few words regarding the findings of the

study undertaken here. Moreover, more detailed results of the findings are presented

in chapter 5 which is to follow.

Hajji dialect has 28 consonants eight plosives (/b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /ɡ/, /dˤ/, /tˤ/, /ʔ/), two

nasals (/m/ and /n/), thirteen fricatives (/f/, /Ѳ/, /ðˤ/ , /ð/, /ʕ/, /s/, /z/, /sˤ/, /∫/, /χ/ ,

/ʁ/ , /ħ/ , /h/), one trill/tap /r/, one lateral /l/, two glides /j/ and /w/ and one

affricates /ʤ/. Whereas, Zabidi dialect has 27 consonants, nine plosives (/b/, /t/,

/d/, /k/, /ɡ/, /q/, /tˤ/, /ʔ/, /dˤ /), two nasals /m,/and /n, /, twelve fricatives (/f/, /Ѳ/,

/ðˤ/ , /ð/, /s/, /z/, /sˤ/ , /∫/ , /χ/ , /ʁ/ , /ħ/ , /h/), one trill/tap/r/, one lateral /l/, two

glides /j/and /w/ /. While, MSA has 28 consonants. Hajji dialect includes all the

consonant sounds of MSA but the sound /q/ in MSA changes to /ɡ/ in HYA as in:

MSA HYA Gloss



Zabidi dialect and MAS have the same consonant sounds; however, the sounds

/ʤ/ and / ʕ/ in MSA change to /ɡ/ and /ʔ/ in ZYA as in:

MSA ZYA Gloss

/naʤ.mu/ /naɡ.mu/ “star”


/ʤa:ʕ/ /ɡa:ʔ/ “he became hungry”

/ʕa.∫eʔ/ /ʔa.∫eʔ/ “diner”


249

Hajji dialect and MSA have 6 vowels (/i/, /u/, /a/ , /i:/, /u:/ and /a:/) whereas Zabidi

dialect has 10 vowels (/i/, /u/, /a/, /e/, /o/, /i:/, /u:/, /e:/, /o:/ and /a:/). Hajji has 4

diphthongs (/aj/, /aw/,/ ij/ and /a:j/) whereas, Zabidi has 5 diphthongs (/aj/, /aw/,

/ij/ , /a:j/ and /a:w/).

In Hajji, consonant clusters occur only word finally. Like CA, MSA and as

opposed to some Yemeni dialects which permit complex onset. Consonant

clusters are permitted syllable-finally and the maximum number of complex coda

are two in HYA as in /waɡt/ “time”, /ʕiʤl/ “calf”, /ʔism/ “name”. In Zabidi,

consonant clusters occur in all positions of the word initial, medial and final

positions. Unlike CA, MSA and as opposed to Yemeni dialects which do not

accept initial and medial complex. Moreover, the maximum number of complex

onset is three as in /∫tro:ħ/ “she will go”, /∫tba:n/ “she will appear”, /∫trudd/ “she

will come back”, while two complex codas are the maximum number in ZYA as

in /ʔam.waqt/ “the time” /taħt / “under”and /ʔardˤ/ “earth”.

The percentages and frequency analysis of the types of syllables in Hajji dialect

reveal that disyllabic words have the most percentage 43.4% and show 305 words

(frequency), while pentasyllabic words have the least percentage 3.4% and show

24 words (frequency). Closed canonical structures have higher percentages rather

than open canonical structures in HYA. Moreover, the percentages and frequency

analysis of the types of syllables in Zabidi dialect reveal that disyllabic words

have the highest percentage 51.4% and show 414 words (frequency) in ZYA

while tetrasyllabic words have the least percentage 5.7% and show 46 words

(frequency). Super-heavy syllables have higher percentages rather than light,

heavy or ultra-heavy syllables in Zabidi dialect.


dialects are organized as follows: ONSET ˃˃ MAX-IO ˃˃ DEEP-IO ˃˃ *LLL

˃˃ SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ) ˃˃ SYL-MAXIMLITY (µµ) ˃˃*3µ ˃˃ *FINAL –

G ˃˃ *FINAL- C- µ ˃˃ *COMPLEXONS

˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA.


organized as follows: GR WD = PR WD ˃˃ NONFINALITY ˃˃ FT-BIN ˃˃ WSP

˃˃ RIGHTMOST ˃˃ LEFTMOST ˃˃ UNEVEN-LAMB ˃˃ PARSE-σ.

Chapter 5: Results and Findings

250

CHAPTER 5

RESULTS AND FINDINGS

5.1. Summary and Conclusions

Hajji and Zabidi, the Yemeni dialects of Arabic, exhibit syllable structure and

word stress which are more or less similar to MSA. However, there are specific

features (properties) of the syllable structure and word stress of Hajji dialect (HYA)

which differ from Zabidi dialect (ZYA) and which also differ from some Yemeni

dialects spoken in surrounding areas of HYA and ZYA spoken regions like Tazi, Ibbi

and Sana’ai. The main findings and results which were presented in chapter 4 tried to

answer the following 5 questions:

1) How are Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni dialects of Arabic different from Modern

Standard Arabic?

2) What is the comprehensive analysis of the syllable shapes and word stress in

Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni dialects of Arabic within the framework of

Optimality Theory?

3) What are the patterns of word stress attested in Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni

dialects?

4) What are the most and the least frequent and percentage types of syllable

structures in Hajji and Zabidi dialects?

5) What are the most and the least frequent and percentage of canonical



251

5.2. Results and Main Findings

Question (1): How are Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni dialects of Arabic different from

Modern Standard Arabic?

Table 5.1: Phonemic Inventory of HYA, ZYA and MSA

Phonemic inventory HYA ZYA MSA

Consonants 28 27 28

Short vowels 3 5 3

Long vowels 3 5 3

Diphthongs 4 5 2

According to the results from the table 5.1 above, Hajji dialect has 28

consonants, eight plosives (/b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /ɡ/, /dˤ/, /tˤ/, /ʔ/ ), two nasals (/m/ and /n/),

thirteen fricatives (/f/, /Ѳ/, /ðˤ/, /ð/, /ʕ/, /s/, /z/, /sˤ/, /∫/, /χ/, /ʁ/, /ħ/, /h/), one trill/tap /r/,

one lateral /l/, two glides /j/ and /w/, and one affricate /ʤ/. Whereas, Zabidi dialect has

27 consonants, nine plosives (/b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /ɡ/, /q/, /tˤ/, /ʔ/, /dˤ/), two nasals /m,/ and

/n,/, twelve fricatives (/f/, /Ѳ/, /ðˤ/, /ð/, /s/, /z/, /sˤ/, /∫/ , /χ/, /ʁ/, /ħ/, /h/), one trill/tap /r/,

one lateral /l/, two glides /j/ and /w/. While on the other hand, MSA has 28 consonants.

HYA includes all the MSA consonants, except the voiceless uvular stop /q/ which is no

longer present in HYA and it is substituted as voiced velar stop /ɡ /, as in:

MSA HYA Gloss



/sa:q/ /sa:ɡ/ “leg”

/qabr/ /ɡabr/ “a grave”


252

Zabidi dialect and MAS have the same phonological system; however, the sound

/ʤ/ in MSA changes to /ɡ/ sound in Zabidi dialect as in:

MSA ZYA Gloss

/naʤ.mu/ /naɡ.mu/ “star”


/sˤnaʤ/ /sˤnaɡ/ “deaf”

Zabidi dialect includes all consonants of MSA but the sound /ʕ/ in MSA changes

to /ʔ/ in Zabidi dialect as in:

MSA ZYA Gloss

/ʤa:ʕ/ /ɡa:ʔ/ “he became hungry”

/ʕa.∫eʔ/ /ʔa.∫eʔ/ “diner”

/∫aʕr/ /∫aʔ.ru/ “hair”

Hajji and MSA have 6 vowels (/i/, /u/, /a/ , /i:/, /u:/ and /a:/) whereas, Zabidi

dialect has 10 vowels (/i/, /u/, /a/, /e/, /o/, /i:/, /u:/, /e:/, /o:/ and /a:/). Hajji has 4

diphthongs (/aj/, /aw/, /ij/ and /a:j/) whereas, Zabidi dialect has 5 diphthongs (/aj/,

/aw/, /ij/ , /a:j/ and /a:w/) and MSA has only two diphthongs (/aj/ and /aw/).

Table 5.2: Number of Consonant Clusters in HYA, ZYA and MSA

Consonant clusters HYA ZYA MSA

Initial C- CCC- C-

Medial -C- -CC- -C-

Final -CC -CC -CC

In Hajji dialect, consonant clusters occur only word finally, which is also seen

in CA and MSA, and this feature opposed to some Yemeni dialects which permit

complex onset. Only consonant clusters are permitted syllable-finally and the

maximum number of complex coda is two. Moreover, all stops, glids, fricatives,

nasals, affricate, tap, lateral consonant clusters in Hajji dialect occur in final words

except voiceless glottal stop /ʔ/, the voiced inter-dental fricative /ð/, voiced uvular


253

fricative /ʁ/ and voiced inter-dental fricative /ðˤ/ do not occur in final consonant

cluster in Hajji dialect as in /bint/ “girl”, /ʕumr/ “age”, /wajn/ “where”, /waɡt/

“time”, ʕiʤl/ “calf”, /ʔism/ “name”, /ʕilm/ “science”, /bard/ “cold”. Whereas, in

Zabidi dialect, consonant clusters occur in all positions: word initial, medial and final,

which differs from CA, MSA, and as opposed to Yemeni dialects which do not

accept initial and medial complex clusters. Moreover, the maximum number of

complex onset is three while two complex codas are the maximum number in ZYA.

All stops, fricatives, nasals, lateral, tap, glides consonant clusters in Zabidi occur as

initial consonant clusters, except the inter-dental stop voiced /dˤ/ as in /bnu/ “son”,

/sˤnaɡ/ “deaf”, /ħmar/ “red”, /sˤlaʕ/ “bald”, /rɡad/ “he slept”, /wqaf/ “stand-up”.

Three initial - consonant clusters are permitted in Zabidi and are formed by

combining voiceless palatal fricative /∫/ plus voiceless dental-alveolar stop /t/ with any

of the following consonant sounds (/l/, /r/, /m/, /ʔ/, /b/, /s/, /ħ/, /sˤ/, /χ/). For example,

if a syllable begins with /∫/ consonant, the second sound must be /t/ and the third

sound could be any of the following sounds / l, r, b, s. ʔ, ħ, sˤ, χ/ as in /∫tro:ħ/ “she will

go”, /∫tba:n/ “she will appear”, /∫trudd/ “she will come back”. Media consonant

clusters in Zabidi dialect as in /mus.kru/ “intoxicant”, /muχ.lsˤu/ “sincere”, /fil.flu/

“pepper”, /mʁaj.jmu/ “cloudy”. In Zabidi dialect we find final consonant clusters

like /ʔam.waqt/ “the time”, /taħt/ “under”, /ʔam.qalb/ “the heart”.

According to the structure of syllables, onset and nucleus are obligatory

whereas codas are not obligatory (permitted) in HYA, ZYA and MSA. Hajji dialect

like MSA has only one type of onset (simple onset) single consonant as in /kul/ “all”,

/ra:s/ “head” and /ʕumr/ “age”. Whereas, Zabidi dialect has two types of onset

(simple and complex) simple onset in ZYA as in /mu/ “mother” and /bu:k/ “go” and

complex onset as in /ðnu/ “ear” and /∫tro:ħ/ “she will go”. While, codas in Hajji,

Zabidi and MSA have three types (empty, simple and complex coda). Classification

of syllables structure in Hajji and Zabidi dialects are organized in the table 5.3 below:


254

Table 5.3: Classification of Syllable Structures in HYA and ZYA

Classification

of syllables

HYA ZYA

Canonical

structures Examples

Canonical

structures Examples

Open

syllables

CV

CV:

/wa/ “and”

/fi:/ “in”

CV

CCV

CCV:

/mu/ “mother”

/bnu/ “son”

/m∫i:/ “walk (imp)”

Close

syllables

CVC

CV:C

CVCC

CV:CC

/ħar/ “hot”

/ra:s/ “head”

/bard/ “cold”

/sa:rɡ/ “thief”

CVC

CV:C

CVCC

CCVC

CCCV:C

/ser/ “secret”

/ma:t/ “he died”

/bass/ “enough”

/ħmar/ “red”

/∫tro:ħ/ “she will go”

Light

syllables CV /ba/ “with” CV /χu/ “brother”

Heavy

syllables

CVC

CV:

/kal/ “all”

/ma:/ “water”

CVC

CCV /lak/ “for you”

Super-heavy

syllables

CV:C

CVCC

CV:CC

/ka:f/ “how”

/bint/ “girl”

/na:dj/ “club”

CV:C

CVCC

CCVC

CCV:C

CCV:

CCVCC

/bu:k/ “go”

/taħt/ “under”

/ħwal/ “cross-eyed”


/m∫i:/ “walk (imp)”

/rsamt/ “you drew”

Ultra –heavy

syllables

CCCV:C

CCCVC

CCCVCC

/∫tsu:q/ “she will drive”

/∫tluħ/“she will make bread”

/∫trudd/ “she will come back”

It is to be mentioned here that, MSA includes all HYA classification of syllables.

MSA and HYA differ from ZYA when there are no Ultra –heavy syllables.

Question (2): What is the comprehensive analysis of the syllable shape and word

stress in Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni dialects of Arabic within the framework of

Optimality Theory?

In Hajji and Zabidi dialects, there are two basic syllable structure constraints in

OT related to the syllable structure: Markedness constraints (ONSET, NO-

CODA, *COMPLEXONS,

*COMPLEXCOD),

Faithfulness constraints (MAX-IO,

DEP-IO). When there is competition (among the candidates) to win the optimal

output in Hajji and Zabidi dialect, they are filtered by the evaluator (EVAL) and

the optimal form is achieved by only one candidate, which is the most harmonic

one as compared to the other candidates (the one which incurs the least violation

of the set of constraints, the candidate which satisfies most of the of constraints)

wins the competition and is selected as the optimal form. While the other


255

candidates are ruled out from the competition by different constraints and they are

called losers for being less harmonic (incurs the most violation of the constraints).

From the data and analysis of syllable structure constraints through OT, it is clear

that all syllables in HYA begin with a consonant (onset) and no syllable begins

with a vowel (nucleus). So, most of the candidates are not violated by ONSET

while most of syllables in HYA end with coda or complex coda. So, NO-CODA

(lower ranked) violates more than one time in one syllable. Furthermore, ONSET

is the highest ranked in Hajji dialect, while *COMPLEXCOD

and

*COMPLEXONS

are more higher ranked than NO-CODA. Moreover, MAX-IO

and DEP-IO (faithfulness constraints) are also higher ranked than NO-CODA in

Hajji. NO-CODA is considered to be lower ranked in HYAt, it is frequently

violated because Hajji dialect allows simple and complex coda (closed syllables).

From Zabidi dialect data and analysis of syllable structure constraints through OT,

it is clear that ONSET is the highest ranked, while MAX-IO and DEP-IO are

higher ranked rather than *COMPLEXONS

and *COMPLEXCOD

. NO-CODA is

lower ranked in Zabidi dialect.

*COMPLEXONS

is violated in Zabidi dialect more than in Hajji dialect because

most of candidates in ZYA begin with two or three consonants (complex onset)

as in /ħsan/ “better”, /∫tʔe:t/ “she will come”. While, in HYA all the candidates

begin with one consonant (simple onset) as in /ħar/ “hot”, /ba:b/ “door”.


dialects are organized as follows: ONSET ˃˃ MAX-IO ˃˃ DEEP-IO ˃˃ *LLL

˃˃ SYL-MAXIMLITY (µ) ˃˃ SYL-MAXIMLITY (µµ) ˃˃*3µ ˃˃ *FINAL –G ˃˃


˃˃ *COMPLEXCOD

˃˃ NO-CODA.

From Hajji dialect data and analysis of word stress through OT, it is clear that, GR

WD = PR WD dominates NONFINALITY, while NONFINALITY dominates both

UNEVEN-LAMB and PARSE-σ, so GR WD = PR WD dominates all constraints

NONFINALITY, UNEVEN-LAMB and PARSE-σ in HYA. GR WD = PR WD ˃˃

NONFINALITY ˃˃ UNEVEN-LAMB ˃˃ PARSE-σ. Moreover, WSP dominates both

UNEVEN-LAMB and PARSE-σ in HYA. WSP ˃˃ UNEVEN-LAMB, PARSE-σ.

Furthermore, FT-BIN dominates both LEFTMOST and RIGHTMOST, while both

constraints LEFTMOST and RIGHTMOST dominate PARSE-σ, so FT-BIN


256

dominates all LEFTMOST, RIGHTMOST and PARSE-σ in HYA. FT-BIN ˃˃

LEFTMOST, RIGHTMOST, PARSE-σ.

The data and analysis of word stress through OT in Zabidi dialect, clearly shows

that NONFINALITY dominates both UNEVEN-LAMB and PARSE-σ.

NONFINALITY ˃˃ UNEVEN-LAMB, PARSE-σ in ZYA. Furthermore, WSP

dominates both UNEVEN-LAMB and PARSE-σ in ZYA. WSP ˃˃ UNEVEN-LAMB,

PARSE-σ. Moreover,, GR WD = PR WD dominates both LEFTMOST and

RIGHTMOST, while both constraints LEFTMOST and RIGHTMOST dominate

PARSE-σ, so GR WD = PR WD dominates all LEFTMOST, RIGHTMOST and

PARSE-σ in ZYA. GR WD = PR WD ˃˃ LEFTMOST, RIGHTMOST, PARSE-σ.


organized as follows: GR WD = PR WD ˃˃ NONFINALITY ˃˃ FT-BIN ˃˃ WSP

˃˃ RIGHTMOST ˃˃ LEFTMOST ˃˃ UNEVEN-LAMB ˃˃ PARSE-σ.

Question (3): What are the patterns of word stress attested in Hajji and Zabidi

Yemeni dialects?

In Hajji dialect, there are seven word stress patterns. These are: firstly, stress goes

to the final syllable (rightmost) of the word in Hajji dialect, if it is superheavy as

in /CV:C/ or /CVCC/, for example, /tuf.f'a:ħ/ “apples”, /χaj.r'a:t/ “a lot”,

/ʔal.χ'ajl/ “the horse”, /ʔal.n'ahr/ “the river”. Secondly, stress falls on the

penultimate (heavy syllable) as in /CV:/ or /CVC/, if the last syllable in Hajji

Yemeni dialect is not superheavy, for example, /ɡ'am.bir/ “sit”, /ʤ'a:.hil/ “kid”,

/m'uχ.lisˤ/ “faithful”, /ʤ'a:.wiʕ/ “hungry”. Thirdly, stress goes on antepenultimate

(heavy syllable), if the final syllable in Hajji dialect is not superheavy and the

penultimate is not heavy, for example, /t'an.ʤa.rah/ “pot”, /ʔ'aħ.na.ʤak/ “i love

you”, /ʔ'aχ.ta.bar/ “he examined”. Fourtly, stress falls on monosyllable words in

Hajji dialect, no matter whether this syllable is superheavy as in /CVCC/ or

/CV:C/, heavy as in /CV:/ or /CVC/ or light as in /CV/, for example, /m'aʕ/ “no”,

/ʔ'ab/ “father”, /w'ajn/ “where”, /r'i:∫/ “feather”, /b'a:lj/ “old”, /χa:l/ “uncle”.

Fiftlh, stress falls on initial syllable (leftmost) of disyllable words in Hajji dialect.,

for example, /ʔ'a.biz/ “i take”, /ɡ'ar.jah/ “village”, /χ'a.∫ab/ “wood”, /h'a:.win/

“thin”, /ɡ'a.mar/ “moon”. Sixth, stress goes to antepenultimate of trisyllable


257

words in Hajji dialect, if the final syllable is not superheavy and penultimate is not

heavy, for example, /ħ'a.ra.mi/ “thief”, /dˤ'if.tˤa.ʕah/ “frog”, /m'ak.ta.bah/ “library”,

/s'aj.ji.dah/ “lady”, /w'a.ra.ɡah/ “leaf”. Finally, stress goes to the antepenultimate

syllable in poly-syllable words of Hajji dialect, for example, /mak.t'a.ba.ti:/ “my

library”, /ju.χaw.w'i.fu.ni/ “he is frightening me”, /ra.ɡ'a.ba.tuh/ “his neck”.

In Zabidi dialect, seven word stress patterns have been found. Firstly, stress goes

to the final syllable (rightmost) of the word in Zabidi dialect, if it is superheavy as

in /CV:C/ or /CVCC/, for example, /ʔam.b'a:b/ “the door”, /ʔam.k'alb/ “the dog”,

/ʔam.n'aɡm/ “the star”, /ʔam.b'aħr/ “the sea”, /ta.m'a:m/ “good”. Secondly, stress

falls on the penultimate (heavy syllable) as in /CV:/ or /CVC/, if the last syllable

in Zabidi Yemeni dialect is not superheavy, for example, /z'aχ.mu/ “nice”, /f'a:.ru/

“rat”, /r'a:.su/ “head”, /tˤ'i∫.tu/ “dish”. Thirdly, stress goes on antepenultimate

(heavy syllable), if the final syllable in Zabidi dialect is not superheavy and the

penultimate is not heavy, for example, /d'af.ta.ru/ “copy-book”, /q'ab.ja.lah/

“terribleness”, /m'iz.ra.ʔah/ “farm”, /s'uk.ka.ru/ “sugar”.

Fourth, stress falls on monosyllable words in Zabidi, no matter whether this

syllable is super-heavy syllables as in /CVCC/ and /CV:C/, heavy syllables as in

/CV:/ and /CVC/ or light syllable as in /CV/, for example, /ħ'i:d/ “see/look”, /∫'inf/

“lip”, /χ'u/ “brother”, /∫'ol/ “take”, /ħs'an/ “better”. Fifth, stress falls on initial

syllable (leftmost) of disyllable words in ZYA, for example, /ħ'a.wi/ “he became

tired”, /ħ'u:.tu/ “fish”, /b'ar.du/ “cold”, /r'ab.ħu/ “monkey”, /ʔ'a:q.lu/ “wise-man”.

Sixth, stress goes to antepenultimate of trisyllable words in Zabidi dialect, if the

final syllable is not super-heavy and penultimate is not heavy, for example,

/k'a.ra.mu/ “generosity”, /l'a.ba.nu/ “milk”, /ʔ'a.sa.lu/ “honey”, /∫'a.na.bu/

“moustache”. lastly, stress goes to the antepenultimate syllable in poly-syllable

words of Zabidi dialect, for example, /ka.n'a.ba:.tu/ “sofas”, /sa.f'ar.ɡa.lu/

“quince(pl)”, /mak.t'a.ba.tuh/ “his library”, /ba:.ð'in.ɡa:.nu/ “eggplant”.


258

Question (4): What are the most and the least frequent and percentage types of

syllable structures in Hajji and Zabidi dialects?

Table 5.4: The Most and the Least Frequent and Percentage Types of Syllable

Structures in HYA and ZYA

Types of

syllables

The most and the least frequent and

percentage types of syllable structures

in HYA

The most and the least frequent and

percentage types of syllable structures

in ZYA

No.of

Canonical

structures

Frequency Percentage

No.of

Canonical

structures

Frequency Percentage

Monosyllabic 6 204 29.0% 12 145 18.0%

Disyllabic 11 305 43.4% 24 414 51.4%

Trisyllabic 14 136 19.3% 18 201 24.9%

Tetrasyllabic 5 34 4.8% 7 46 5.7%

Pentasyllabic 4 24 3.4% ------- --------- ---------

Total 40 703 100.0% 61 806 100.0%

Hajji dialect has five types of syllables (monosyllabic, disyllabic, trisyllabic,

tetrasyllabic and pentasyllabic words). There are altogether 40 different canonical

structures for various types of syllable structures of Hajji dialect. In the monosyllabic

words of Hajji, there are 6 different canonical structures as in (/CV/, /CVC/, /CV:/,

/CVCC/, /CV:CC/ and /CV:C/). In disyllabic words, there are 11 different canonical

structures as in (/CV:.CV:/, /CV.CV/, /CVC.CVCC/, /CV:.CV/, /CV.CV:/,

/CV:.CV:C/, /CV:.CVC/, /CV.CVC/, /CVC.CVC/ /CVC.CV:C/, and /CV.CV:C/).

And in trisyllabic words of Hajji dialect, there are 14 different canonical structures as

in (/CV:.CV.CV/, /CV:.CV.CVC/, /CV.CV:CV/ /CVC.CV.CV:C/, /CV.CV.CVC/

/CV.CV.CV/, /CVC.CVC.CVC/, /CVC.CV.CV:/, /CV.CV:.CVC/, /CV.CV:CV:C/,

/CV.CV:.CV:/ /CVC.CV.CVC/, /CVC.CV:.CVC/, and /CV:.CVC.CV:C/). The

tetrasyllabic words have 5 different canonical structures as in (/CVC.CV.CV.CVC/,

/CV.CVC.CVC.CVC/, /CV.CV.CV:.CVC/, /CVC.CV.CV.CV:/, and

/CV.CV.CV.CVC/), and the pentasyllabic words have 4 different canonical structures

as in (/CV.CV:.CV.CV.CVC/, /CV.CVC.CV.CV.CV/, /CV.CV.CVC.CV.CV:C/, and

/CVC.CVC.CV.CVC.CVC/).


259

The percentages and frequency analysis of these 5 types of syllables reveal

that disyllabic words have the highest percentage 43.4% and show 305 words

(frequency). These are followed by the monosyllabic words which have 29.0% and

show 204 words (frequency). After that, trisyllabic words have 19.3% and show 136

words (frequency). The tetrasyllabic words have 4.8% and show 34 words

(frequency). Finally, pentasyllabic words have the least percentage 3.4% and show

only 24 words (frequency) in Hajji dialect.

Whereas in Zabidi dialect we see 4 types of syllables and 61 different

canonical structures inside all syllable types. Firstly, in the monosyllabic words of

Zabidi dialect, there are 12 different canonical structures as in (/CV/, /CCV/, /CVCC/,

/CVC/, /CV:C/, /CCV:/, /CCV:C/, /CCVCC/, /CCCVC/, /CCVC/, /CCCV:C/ and

/CCCVCC/). Secondly, in the disyllabic words of Zabidi, there are 24 different

canonical structures as in (/CV.CV/, /CV.CVC/, /CVC.CVC/, /CVC.CV:/,

/CVC.CV:C/, /CVC.CV/, /CV:CV/, /CV:.CVC/, /CV:C.CVC/, /CV:C.CV/,

/CCVC.CCVC/, /CVCC.CVC/, /CV.CV:C/, /CVC.CVCC/, /CV.CV:/, /CVC.CCV/,

/CCVC.CCV:C/, /CCV:.CV/, /CCVC.CCV/, /CCV:.CVC/, /CCVC.CV/,

/CCCV:.CV/, /CVC.CCV:C/ and /CCCV:.CVC/). Thirdly, the trisyllabic words of

Zabidi dialect, show 18 different canonical structures as in (/CV.CV.CV/,

/CV.CV:.CV/, /CVC.CVC.CVC/, /CVC.CV:.CV/, /CVC.CV.CV/, /CV.CV.CVC/,

/CV.CV:.CCV/, /CV.CVC.CV/, /CVC.CV:.CV/, /CV.CV:.CVC/, /CV:.CV:.CV/,

/CVC.CV.CVC/, /CCVC.CV.CV/, /CV.CVC.CVC/, /CVC.CVC.CV:/,

/CCV:.CV:.CV/, /CVC.CVC.CCV/ and /CV.CV:C.CV/). Finally, in the tetrasyllabic

words of Zabidi dialect, there are 7 different canonical structures as in

(/CVC.CV.CV:.CVC/, /CV.CVC.CV.CV/, /CV:.CVC.CV:.CV/, /CV.CVC.CV.CVC/,

/CVC.CVC.CV.CVC/, /CV.CV.CV:.CV/, and /CVC.CV.CV.CVC/).

The percentages and frequency analysis of these 4 types of syllables in Zabidi

dialect reveal that disyllabic words have the highest percentage 51.4% and show 414

words (frequency). There are followed by the trisyllabic words which have 24.9% and

show 201 words (frequency). After that, monosyllabic words have 18.0% and show

145 words (frequency). Finally, tetrasyllabic words have the least percentage 5.7%

and show 46 words (frequency) in Zabidi dialect.


260

Question (5): What are the most and the least frequent and percentage of

canonical structures inside each type of Hajji and Zabidi Yemeni dialects?

Table 5.5: The Most and the Least Frequent and Percentage of Canonical

Structures Inside each Type of HYA

Types of

syllables

The least frequent and percentage

canonical structures inside each type of

HYA

The most frequent and percentage

canonical structures inside each type of

HYA

Canonical structures

Fre

qu

ent

Per

cen

tag

e


Fre

qu

ent

Per

cen

tag

e

Monosyllabic CV 8 3.9% CVCC 92 45.1%

Disyllabic CV:.CV: 7 2.3% CV.CV:C 59 19.3%

Trisyllabic

CV:.CV.CV

CV:.CV.CVC

CVC.CV.CV:C

CV.CV.CV

CVC.CVC.CVC

CVC.CV.CV:

“CV.CV:.CV:C

CV:.CVC.CV:C

6 4.4% CV.CV:.CVC 30 22.1%

Tetrasyllabic

CVC.CV.CV.CVC

CV.CVC.CVC.CVC

CVC.CV.CV.CV:

6 17.6% CV.CV.CV.CVC

CV.CV.CV:.CVC 8 23.5%

Pentasyllabic

CV.CV:.CV.CV.CVC

CV.CV.CVC.CV.CV:C

CV.CVC.CV.CV.CV

CVC.CVC.CV.CVC.CVC

6 25.0%

CV.CV:.CV.CV.CVC

CV.CV.CVC.CV.CV:C

CV.CVC.CV.CV.CV

CVC.CVC.CV.CVC.CVC

6 25.0%

The percentages and frequency analysis of monosyllabic words reveal that

super- heavy syllable /CVCC/ has the highest percentage 45.1% with 92 words

(frequency) in Hajji dialect. Whereas light syllable /CV/ has the least percentage 3.9%

and shows 8 words (frequency). According to these percentages and frequencies, we

may conclude that, closed canonical structures have higher percentages rather than

open canonical structures in Hajji dialect. The most predominant canonical structure

in disyllabic words of Hajji dialect is /CV.CV:C/ 19.3% which shows 59 words

(frequency) in HYA. While the canonical structure /CV:.CV:/ has the least percentage

2.3% and shows 7 words (frequency). The maximum canonical structure (the most) in

trisyllabic words is /CV.CV:.CVC/ with 22.1% percentage and shows 30 words

(frequency) in HYA. In addition, the canonical structures /CV:.CV.CV/,

/CV:.CV.CVC/, /CVC.CV.CV:C/, /CV.CV.CV/, /CVC.CVC.CVC/, /CVC.CV.CV:/,


261

/CV.CV:.CV:C/, /CV:.CVC.CV:C/ have the minimum percentage (least) about 4.4%

each and they show only 6 words (frequency). In tetrasyllabic words the most

canonical structures (maximum) are /CV.CV.CV.CVC/ and /CV.CV.CV:.CVC/

23.5% each and they show 8 words (frequency). In addition, the canonical structures

/CVC.CV.CV.CVC/, /CV.CVC.CVC.CVC/ and /CVC.CV.CV.CV:/ have the

minimum percentage (least) about 17.6% each and they show 6 words (frequency) in

Hajji. In pentasyllabic words all canonical structures have same percentage 25.0%

each and they show 6 words (frequency) in HYA.


Structures Inside each Type of ZYA

Types of

syllables

The least frequent and percentage

canonical structures inside each type

of ZYA

The most frequent and percentage

canonical structures inside each type

of ZYA


Fre

qu

ent

Per

cen

tag

e


Fre

qu

ent

Per

cen

tag

e

Monosyllabic

CCV:

CCVCC

CCCVC

CCCVCC

6 4.1% CV:C

CCVC 24 16.6%

Disyllabic

CV.CV:

CCVC.CCVC

CVC.CCV:C

6 1.4% CVC.CV 49 11.8%

Trisyllabic

CV.CV:.CCV

CVC.CVC.CV:

CCV:.CV:.CV

CV.CV:C.CV

CVC.CVC.CCV

6 3.0% CV.CV:.CV 30 14.9%

Tetrasyllabic

CV.CVC.CV.CV

CV.CVC.CV.CVC

CV:.CVC.CV:CV

CV.CV.CV:.CV

CVC.CVC.CV.CVC

CVC.CV.CV.CVC

6 13.0% CVC.CV.CV:.CVC 10 21.7%

The percentages and frequency analysis of monosyllabic words reveal that super-

heavy syllables /CCVC/ and /CV:C/ have a higher percentage 16.6% each and they

show 24 words (frequency) in Zabidi dialect. Super-heavy syllables (/CCV:/,

/CCVCC/) and ultra-heavy syllables (/CCCVC /, / CCCVCC/ have lower percentage

4.1% each and show only 6 words (frequency) in ZYA. According to these

percentages and frequencies, we may conclude that, super-heavy syllables have more


262

percentages rather than light, heavy or ultra-heavy syllables. The most frequent

canonical structure in disyllabic words of Zabidi dialect is /CVC.CV/ 11.8% and it

shows 49 words (frequency) in this dialect while the canonical structures /CV.CV:/,

/CCVC.CCVC/ and /CVC.CCV:C/ have the least percentage 1.4% each and show 6

words (frequencies). The maximum canonical structure (the most) in trisyllabic words

of Zabidi is /CV.CV:.CV/ 14.9% and shows 30 words (frequency). Whereas, the

canonical structures /CV.CV:.CCV/, /CVC.CVC.CV:/, /CCV:.CV:.CV/,

/CV.CV:C.CV/ and /CVC.CVC.CCV/ have the minimum percentage (least) about

3.0% each and they show 6 words (frequencies). The most canonical structure

percentage (maximum) in tetrasyllabic words is /CVC.CV.CV:.CVC/ 21.7% and

shows 10 words (frequency) in Zabidi dialect. While in the other canonical structures,

/CV.CVC.CV.CV/, /CV.CVC.CV.CVC/, /CV:.CVC.CV:CV/, /CV.CV.CV:.CV/,

/CVC.CVC.CV.CVC/ and /CVC.CV.CV.CVC/ have the minimum percentage (least)

about 13.0% each and they show only 6 words (frequencies) in Zabidi.

5.3 Recommendations for Future Research

In this thesis, we relied only on syllable structure and word stress in Hajji and Zabidi

Yemeni dialects of Arabic (HYA) and (ZYA) through OT. In future, more work could

be undertaken on different dialects with a large number of participants of native

speakers so that syllable structure and word stress could be clarified in detail and

some more new constraints be generalized. Some possibilities in this direction would

be as follows:

Constraints of vowel deletion in HYA and ZYA.

Constraints of sonority in HYA and ZYA.

Constraints of epenthesis in HYA and ZYA.

Constraints of metathesis in HYA and ZYA.

Constraints of stress in HYA and ZYA.


263


264

Figure 5.1: Diagrammatic Representation of the Results

Red is for high percentage

Blue is for low percentage

Bibliography

265

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aarts, B. & McMahon, A. (Eds.). (2008). The handbook of English linguistics. John

Wiley & Sons.‏

Abuabbas, K. H. (2003). Topics in the phonology of Jordanian Arabic: An optimality

theory perspective. PhD thesis. University of Kansas.

Abumdas, A. H. A. (1986). Libyan Arabic phonology. PhD thesis. University of

Michigan.‏

Al Motairi, S. (2015). An optimality-theoretic analysis of syllable structure in Qassimi

Arabic. MA dissertation. Eastern Michigan University.‏

AL-Abdely, A. (2011). Stress patterns in an Iraqi Arabic variant: A metrical

approach. AL-Anbar Journal of Education, 5, pp. 379-402.‏

AlAmro, M. (2015). Syllabification in Najdi Arabic: A constraint–based

analysis. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ), 6(4), pp. 373 - 388.

Al-Ani, S.H. (1970). Arabic Phonology: An acoustic and physiological investigation.

The Hague: Mouton.

Alghmaiz, B. A. (2013). Word-initial consonant cluster patterns in the Arabic Najdi

dialect. MA dissertation. Graduate School Southern Illinois University at

Carbondale.‏

Aljumah, A. (2008). The syllable shape of Al-Ahsa dialect: An OT

perspective. Poznań Studies in Contemporary Linguistics, 44(2), pp.155-177.‏

AL-Mamari, M. & Shabana, H. (2017). Consonant cluster and syllable structure in

Mehri language. International Journal of Scientific and Research

Publications, 7(2), pp. 242-248.

Al-Mohanna, F. (2009). Positional syllable maximality: Syllabification in

Hejazi. King Saud University, Riyadh.

Bibliography

266

Alqahtani, M. S. M. (2014). Syllable structure and related processes in optimality

theory: An examination of Najdi Arabic.‏ PhD thesis. Newcastle University.

Al-Qenaie,S. D. (2011). Kuwaiti Arabic: A socio-phonological perspective. PhD

thesis. Durham University.

AL-Sar’abi, T. M. (2010). Prosody and morphology as mutually interacting systems:

The case of Yemeni Arabic. PhD thesis. School of Language Science, the

English and Foreign Languages University (EFL-U), Hyderabad, India.

Arnold, H. (2011). Projects in linguistics and language studies: A practical guide to

researching language.‏ Routledge, London and New York.

Blevins, J. (1995). The syllable in phonological theory. The handbook of phonological

theory, ed. by John A. Goldsmith, 206-44'. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.

Booij, G. & Rubach, J. (1987). Postcyclic versus postlexical rules in Lexical

Phonology. Linguistic inquiry, 18(1), pp. 1-44.‏

Breen, G. & Pensalfini, R. (1999). Arrernte: A language with no syllable

onsets. Linguistic Inquiry, 30(1), pp. 1-25.‏

Btoosh, M. A. (2006). Constraint interactions in Jordanian Arabic phonotactics: An

optimality-theoretic approach. Journal of Language and Linguistics, 5(2), pp.

‏.192-221

Chomsky, N. & Halle, M. (1968). The sound pattern of English.‏ New York: Harper

and Row.

Clements, G. N. (1990). The role of the sonority cycle in core syllabification. In

Kingston and M. Beckman (ed.): Paper in Laboratory Phonology: Between the

Grammar and physics of speech. CUP. New York. pp. 283-333.

Crystal, D. (2011). A dictionary of linguistics and phonetics (Vol. 30). John Wiley &

Sons.‏

Bibliography

267

De Lacy, P. (Ed.). (2007). The cambridge handbook of phonology. Cambridge

University Press.‏

De Lacy, P. (Ed.). (2007). The Cambridge handbook of phonology. Cambridge

University Press.‏

Egbokhare, F. O. (1994). Introductory Phonetics: A Course Book on Articulatory

Phonetics. Sam Bookman.‏

Elramli, Y. M. (2012). Assimilation in the phonology of a Libyan Arabic dialect: a

constraint-based approach.‏ PhD thesis. Newcastle University.

Féry, C. & van de Vijver, R. (Eds.). (2003). The syllable in optimality theory.

Cambridge University Press.‏

Gaber, G. (2012). An optimality theory account of the non-concatenative morphology

of the nominal system of Libyan Arabic, with special reference to the broken

plural. PhD thesis. Durham University.‏

Gadoua, A.H. (2000). Consonant clusters in Quranic Arabic. Cahiers Linguistiques

d'Ottawa, pp. 59-86.

Ghazali, M. (2002). Urdu syllable templates. Annual Report of Center for Research in

Urdu Language Processing (CRULP).‏

Gimson, A. C. (1970). An introduction to the pronunciation of English. Hodder

Education.‏

Goldmith, J. (ed.). (1995). The Handbook of Phonological Theory. USA Basil

Blackwell Ltd.

Goldsmith, J. A. (1976). Autosegmental phonology (Vol. 159). Bloomington: Indiana

University Linguistics Club.‏

Gussmann, E. (2002). Phonology: analysis and theory. Cambridge University Press.‏

Bibliography

268

Haddad, Y. A. (2005). Etymological itineraries in second language phonology: The

case of Arabic. In Second Language Research Forum, Columbia University.

(Rutgers Optimality Archive 784–1105.).‏

Halle, M. & Mohanan, K. P. (1985). Segmental phonology of modern

English. Linguistic inquiry, 16(1), pp. 57-116.‏

Hamdi, R., Ghazali, S. & Barkat-Defradas, M. (2005). Syllable structure in spoken

Arabic: A comparative investigation. In Ninth European Conference on

Speech Communication and Technology.‏

Hayes, B. (1989). Compensatory lengthening in moraic phonology. Linguistic

inquiry, 20(2), pp. 253-306.‏

Hayes, B. (2011). Introductory phonology (Vol. 32). John Wiley & Sons.‏

Hockett, C. F. (1955). A manual of phonology (No. 11). Waverly Press.‏

Hooper, J. B. (1976) An introduction to natural generative phonology. New York:

Academic Press.

Hyman, L. M. (1975). Phonology: Theory and analysis. Harcourt College Pub.‏

Hyman, L. M. (1985). A theory of phonological weight. (Vol. 19). Dordrecht: Foris

Publications.

Jarrah, A. (2013). Syllables and syllable structure in Arabic in the light of the

Optimality Theory. Open Science Repository Language and Linguistics

Kager, R. (1999). Optimality theory. Cambridge University Press.‏

Kager, R.W.J. (1995). The metrical theory of word stress. Blackwell Publishers Ltd.

Kaisse, E. M. & Shaw, P. A. (1985). On the theory of lexical phonology.

Phonology, 2(1), pp.1-30.‏

Katamba, F. (1989). An introduction to phonology (Vol. 48). London: Longman.‏

Bibliography

269

Kenstowicz, M. (1993). Phonology in generative grammar .Blackwell.

Kiparsky, P. (1982). From cyclic phonology to lexical phonology. The structure of

phonological representations, 1, pp.131-175.‏

Kiparsky, P. (2003). Syllables and moras in Arabic. Stanford University.

Ladefoged, P. & Johnson, K. (2010). A Course in Phonetics. Cengage Learning.

Lass, R. (1984). Phonology: An introduction to basic concepts. Cambridge University

Press.‏

Laver, J. (1994). Principles of phonetics. Cambridge University Press.‏

Lin, Y.-H. (1997) .Syllabic and morale structures in Piro. Phonology, 14, pp. 403-36.

McCarthy, J. J. & Prince, A. (1993). Generalized alignment. In Yearbook of

morphology 1993 (pp. 79-153). Springer, Dordrecht.‏

McCarthy, J. J. (2002). A thematic guide to Optimality Theory. Cambridge University

Press.‏

McCarthy, J. J. (2005). Optimal paradigms. Linguistics Department Faculty

Publication Series.

McCarthy, J. J. (2011). Doing optimality theory: Applying theory to data. John Wiley

& Sons.‏

McMahon, A. (2002). An introduction to English phonology. Edinburgh University

Press.‏

Mohanan, K. P. (1982). Lexical phonology. Indiana University Linguistics Club.‏

Nayyar, S. (2000). Syllable stress in Urdu. Center for Research in Urdu Language

and Processsing, Pak www. crulp. org/Publication/Crulp_report/CR02_24E.

pdf.

Bibliography

270

Nweke, C. O. (2013). A Review of English syllable structure. Afrrev Laligens: An

International Journal of Language, Literature and Gender Studies, 2(1), pp.

‏.142-157

Odden, D. (2005). Introducing phonology. Cambridge University Press.‏

Ogunsiji, A. & Sunday, A. B. (2011). Classical versus generative phonology. British

Journal of Arts and Social Sciences, 3(2), pp. 156-164.‏

Paltridge, B. & Phakiti, A. (Eds.). (2015). Research methods in applied linguistics: A

practical resource. Bloomsbury Publishing.‏

Prince, A. & P. Smolensky (1993). Optimality theory: Constraint Interaction in‏

Generative Grammar. Technical report no. RuCCS-TR-2. New Brunswick,

NJ: Rutgers University Center for Cognitive Science.

Prince, A. & Smolensky, P. (2004). Optimality Theory: Constraint Interaction in

Generative Grammar. Oxford MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Roach, P. (2000). English phonetics and phonology: A practical course. Third

Edition Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Roca, I. (1994). Generative Phonology. Routledge.

Rogers, H. (2000). The Sounds of language: An introduction to phonetics.

edinburgh: Pearson Education LTD.

Ryding, K. C. (2005). A reference grammar of modern standard Arabic. Cambridge

university press.‏

Sameer, A. M. M. (2011). Syllable structure of Taizi Yemeni dialect of Arabic: An

optimality theory perspective. MA dissertation. School of Language Science,

the English and Foreign Languages University (EFL-U), Hyderabad, India.

Schane, S. A. (1973). Generative phonology. New Jersey: Prentice- Hall, Inc.

Bibliography

271

Schreier, D. (2005). Consonant change in English worldwide: Synchrony meets

diachrony. Springer.‏

Shitaw, A. E. (2014). An instrumental phonetic investigation of timing relations in

two-stop consonant clusters in Tripolitanian Libyan Arabic. Ph.D. thesis.

University of Leeds.‏

Singh, K. & Singh, S. (1979). Phonetics: Principles and practice. Baltimore:

University Park Press.

Stampe, D. (1979). A dissertation on natural phonology. Ph.D. thesis. Indiana

University Linguistics Club.‏

Steriade, D. (1982). Greek prosodies and the nature of syllabification. PhD. thesis.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology.‏

Teijlingen, E. R. & Hundley, V. (2001). The importance of pilot studies. Social

Research Udate. 35. Retrieved on 6th

March 2010 from

http://[email protected]

Watson, J. C. (2002). The phonology and morphology of Arabic. Oxford University

Press on Demand.‏

Watson, J. C. (2007). Syllabification patterns in Arabic dialects: long segments and

mora sharing. Phonology, 24(2), pp. 335-356.‏

Yip, M. (2003). Casting doubt on the Onset–Rime distinction. Lingua, 113(8), pp.

‏.779-816

Zec, D. (2007). The syllable. The Cambridge handbook of phonology, pp. 161-194.

http://www.vinotique.com/post_sanaa-yemen-map_425221/

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4147/5135355925_9ceb141c74_n.jpg

https://www.worldatlas.com/as/ye/01/where-is-zabid.html.

http://[email protected]/

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4147/5135355925_9ceb141c74_n.jpg

https://www.worldatlas.com/as/ye/01/where-is-zabid.html

Appendices

272

Appendix (A)

Questionnaire 1

(For Hajji Yemeni Dialect of Arabic)

Dear student:

You are most humbly requested to answer all the questions and fill up gaps given in

this questionnaire. Write your responses within the space provided. This questionnaire

has been prepared for research purposes. Your answers will be kept confidential.

Background information

Name:

Age: Sex:

Phone number: Occupation:

E-mail address: Place of birth:

Mother tongue: Level of education:

Father’s place of birth: Mother’s place of birth:

Dialect (s) spoken at home: Other dialect (s) spoken:

SECTION (A)

Answer the following questions.

1- Write down any word in Hajji dialect that begins with a consonant.

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

Appendices

273

2- Write down any word in Hajji dialect that begins with consonant clusters.

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

3- Write down any word in Hajji dialect that ends with consonant clusters.

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

4- Give examples of any word in Hajji dialect with middle consonant clusters.

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

5- Give examples of any word in Hajji dialect that begins with a vowel.

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

Appendices

274

6- Give examples of any word in Hajji dialect that ends with a vowel.

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

7- Write down any word in Hajji dialect that ends with a long vowel.

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

8- Write down any word in Hajji dialect which have syllable – medial vowel.

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

9- Write down any word in Hajji dialect which have syllable – middle long vowel.

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

Appendices

275

10. Write down any word in Hajji dialect that consists of one syllable

(Monosyllabic).

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

11- Write down any word in Hajji dialect that consists of two syllables

(Disyllabic).

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

12- Write down any word in Hajji dialect that consists of three syllables

(Trisyllabic).

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

13- Write down any word in Hajji dialect that consists of more than three


Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

Appendices

276

SECTION (B)

Fill in the gaps from Hajji Yemeni Dialect of Arabic

Sound Syllable-initially Syllable-medially Syllable-finally

/b/

/d/

/ɡ/

/t/

/k/

/q/

/ʔ/

/tˤ/

/ð/

/z/

/ʁ/

/f/

/Ө/

/s/

/∫/

/χ/

/ħ/

/h/

/ðˤ/

/dˤ/

/sˤ/

/m/

/n/

/l/

/r/

/w/

/j/

Appendices

277

Appendix (B)

Questionnaire 2

(For Zabidi Yemeni Dialect of Arabic)

Dear students:

You are cordially requested to answer all the questions and fill in all the gaps of this

questionnaire. Write your responses within the space provided. This questionnaire has

been prepared for research purposes. Your answers will be kept confidential.

Background information

Name:

Age: Sex:

Phone number: Occupation:

E-mail address: Place of birth:

Mother tongue: Level of education:

Father’s place of birth: Mother’s place of birth:

Dialect (s) spoken at home: Other dialect (s) spoken:

SECTION (A)

Answer the following questions.

1- Write down any word in Zabidi dialect that begins with a consonant.

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

Appendices

278

2- Write down any word in Zabidi dialect that begins with consonant clusters.

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

3- Write down any word in Zabidi dialect that ends with consonant clusters.

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

4- Give examples of any word in Zabidi dialect with middle consonant clusters.

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

5- Give examples of any word in Zabidi dialect that begins with a vowel.

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

Appendices

279

6- Give examples of any word in Zabidi dialect that ends with a vowel.

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

7- Write down any word in Zabidi dialect that ends with a long vowel.

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

8- Write down any word in Zabidi dialect which have syllable – medial vowel.

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

9- Write down any word in Zabidi dialect which have syllable – middle long

vowel.

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

Appendices

280

10- Write down any word in Zabidi dialect that consists of one syllable

(Monosyllabic).

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

11- Write down any word in Zabidi dialect that consists of two syllables

(Disyllabic).

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

12- Write down any word in Zabidi dialect that consists of three syllables

(Trisyllabic).

Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

13- Write down any word in Zabidi dialect that consists of more than three


Gloss Transcription

1-

2-

3-

Appendices

281

SECTION (B)

Fill in the gaps from Zabidi Yemeni Dialect of Arabic

Sound Syllable-initially Syllable-medially Syllable-finally

/b/

/d/

/ɡ/

/t/

/k/

/q/

/ʔ/

/tˤ/

/ð/

/z/

/ʁ/

/f/

/Ө/

/s/

/∫/

/χ/

/ħ/

/h/

/ðˤ/

/dˤ/

/sˤ/

/m/

/n/

/l/

/r/

/w/

/j/

Appendices

282

Appendix (C)

Interview schedule

(For Hajji Yemeni Dialect of Arabic)

English words and their transcription of Hajji Yemeni Dialect of Arabic

English words Transcription

easy

all

animal

at

moon

bone

dig

dry

earth

fall

few

fly

fruit

night

good

he

heavy

liver

one

back

full

rain

sharp

here

river

rub

hit

thin

hold

water

how

we

knee

rope

leaf

short

tongue

when

mango

peacock

Appendices

283

where

cheap

milk

wide

rice

air

cat

mirror

costly

cry

deaf

blind

fever

sugar

grandfather (f)

money

brave

mosquito

daily

grandmother (m)

village

tasty

up

tea

orphan

cuisine

hungry

sputum

notebook

paper

shirt

goats' offspring

calves

glass

pot

cover

fish

pepper

tomatoes

paint

comb

toothpick

road

fans

shop

The horse

livestock

ox

Appendices

284

ram

boons

nail

face

nose

eye brows

body

plow

the mosque

school

rooster

hot

cold

north

south

sparrow

under

my enemy

radio

with

and

in

how much

of, from

do more

take

he visited

he died

for you

he said

he slept

enough

blood

hand

chance

ventured

story

service

your name

needle

friendship

door

dance

mouse

neighbor

ok

people

mud

Appendices

285

was

bread

head

door

ox

lemons

soul

wind

market

fire

leg

window

husband

your voice

rooster

answer

rat

dog

soul

nail

star

soul

cold

back

sun

heart

grave

finger

roses

beard

ram

difficult

roof

tooth

leg

sea

monkey

love

dryness

land

happy

cheek

hair

salary

servant

judge

reader

drunkard

Appendices

286

wise-man

visitor

thief

shirt

unbeliever

club

inheritor

generosity

lion

camel

pen

honey

near

sad

doves

doctor

king

Appendices

287

Appendix (D)

Interview schedule

(For Zabidi Yemeni Dialect of Arabic)

English words and their transcription of Zabidi Yemeni Dialect of Arabic

English words Transcription

easy

all

animal

at

moon

bone

dig

dry

earth

fall

few

fly

fruit

night

good

he

heavy

liver

one

back

full

rain

sharp

here

river

rub

hit

thin

hold

water

how

we

knee

rope

leaf

short

tongue

when

mango

peacock

Appendices

288

where

cheap

milk

wide

rice

air

cat

mirror

costly

cry

deaf

blind

fever

sugar

grandfather (f)

money

brave

mosquito

daily

grandmother (m)

village

tasty

up

tea

orphan

cuisine

hungry

sputum

notebook

paper

shirt

goats' offspring

calves

glass

pot

cover

fish

pepper

tomatoes

paint

comb

toothpick

road

fans

shop

the horse

livestock

ox

Appendices

289

ram

boons

nail

face

nose

eye brows

body

plow

The mosque

school

rooster

hot

cold

north

south

sparrow

under

my enemy

radio

with

and

in

how much

of, from

do more

take

he visited

he died

for you

he said

he slept

enough

blood

hand

chance

ventured

story

service

your name

needle

friendship

door

dance

mouse

neighbor

ok

people

mud

Appendices

290

was

bread

head

door

ox

lemons

soul

wind

market

fire

leg

window

husband

your voice

rooster

answer

rat

dog

soul

nail

star

soul

cold

back

sun

heart

grave

finger

roses

beard

ram

difficult

roof

tooth

leg

sea

monkey

love

dryness

land

happy

cheek

hair

salary

servant

judge

reader

drunkard

Appendices

291

wise-man

visitor

thief

shirt

unbeliever

club

inheritor

generosity

lion

camel

pen

honey

near

sad

doves

doctor

king

Appendices

292

Appendix (E)

Data of Hajji dialect

Monosyllabic words in HYA


CV

/hu/

/ba/

/wa/

“he”

“with”

“and”

CVC

/dam/

/sir/

/dub/

/kam/

/ʔaj/

/jad/

/min/

/ħar/

/kul/

/ʔab/

/ʔaw/

/∫ul/

/maʕ/

/ʔaχ/

/lak/

“blood”

“secret”

“bear”

“how much”

“which”

“hand”

“from”

“hot”

“all”

“father”

“or”

“take”

“no”

“brother”

“for you”

CV:

/li:/

/la:/

/fi:/

/ma:/

/ʤi:/

“to me”

“no”

“in”

“water”

“come”

CV:C

/su:ɡ/

/na:r/

/na:s/

/ma:t/

/ba:b/

/ti:n/

/zu:ʤ/

/Өu:r/

/ri:∫/

/ra:s/

/ʤa:ʕ/

/fi:l/

/di:n/

/li:m/

/zi:d/

/ka:n/

/ɡa:l/

/ri:ħ/

/ʤa:r/

/χa:f/

“market”

“fire”

“people”

“he died”

“door”

“figs”

“husband”

“ox”

“feather”

“head”

“he became hungry

“elephant”

“religion”

“lemons”

“do more”

“was”

“he said”

“wind”

“neighbor”

“he became afraid”

Appendices

293

/χa:l/

/ru:ħ/

/ma:t/

/tˤi:n/

/na:m/

/fa:s/

/ba:sˤ/

/fa:r/

/sa:r/

/za:r/

/di:k/

/ta:ʤ/

/ka:f/

/sa:ɡ/

“uncle”

“soul”

“he died”

“mud”

“he slept”

“axe”

“bus”

“mouse”

“he walked”

“he visited

“rooster”

“crown”

“how”

“leg”

CVCC

/baħr/

/nafs/

/ɡufl/

/wajn/

/tamr/

/satˤħ/

/saʕb/

/zawʤ/

/sˤaħn/

/ʕilm/

/waʕd/

/bard/

/ʕiʤl/

/bint/

/damʕ/

/mahr/

/ɡabr/

/siħr/

/matˤr/

/farħ/

/rabħ/

/sahl/

/kab∫/

/tˤabʕ/

/ðˤufr/

/ruzz/

/ʔism/

/ħabl/

/sˤihr/

/ʕumr/

/nahr/

/bass/

/lawħ/

/∫uχtˤ/

/lajl/

/ʤaww/

“sea”

“spirit”

“padlock”

“where”

“dates”

“roof”

“difficult”

“husband”

“dish”

“science”

“promise”

“cold”

“calf”

“girl”

“tears”

“marriage settlement”

“grave”

“magic”

“rain”

“happy”

“monkey”

“easy”

“ram”

“habit”

“nail”

“rice”

“name”

“rope”

“brother-in-law”

“age”

“river”

“enough”

“board”

“stroke”

“night”

“they came”

Appendices

294

/waʤh/

/ʕind/

/waɡt/

/taħt/

/bajt/

/Өa ʤ /

/ʤism/

/χadd/

/ðˤahr/

/nafs/

/kalb/

/ward/

/lajj/

/sinn/

/lawn/

/dars/

/kab∫/

/ɡalb/

/niʤm/

/ʔardˤ/

/raɡsˤ/

/ħubb/

/tˤajr/

/bikr/

/∫ahr/

/ʕilm/

/durʤ/

/∫iʕr/

/jubs/

/jawm/

/wirӨ/

/∫aʕr/

/ʕirɡ/

/∫ams/

/∫amʕ/

/ðˤabj/

/baħӨ/

/ʔumm/

/χubz/

/diɡn/

/ħaɡɡ/

/kajf/

/Өuɡb/

/sadd/

/ɡult/

/ʕaɡl/

/sˤadr/

/kaff/

/fawɡ/

“face”

“at”

“time”

“under”

“house”

“snow”

“body”

“cheek”

“back”

“soul”

“dog”

“roses”

“hose”

“tooth”

“color”

“a lesson”

“sheep”

“heart”

“star”

“land”

“dance”

“love”

“bird”

“virgin”

“a month”

“knowledge”

“drawer”

“poetry”

“dryness”

“day”

“inheritance”

“hair”

“vein”

“sun”

“candles

“gazelle”

“research”

“mother”

“bread”

“beard”

“right”

“how”

“hole”

“dam”

“I said”

“mind”

“breast”

“hand”

“up/ above”

CV:CC /wa:sʕ/ “wide”

Appendices

295

/ɡa:tl/

/ra:tb/

/ba:lj/

/ħa:sd/

/na:dj

/ɡa:dˤ j/

/χa:jf/

/dˤa:jʕ/

/χa:dm

/ʁa:lj/

/sˤa:br/

/ka:fr/

/ʤa:jʕ/

/ħa:ʤb/

/ħa:mj/

/ʤa:ff/

/wa:rӨ/

/ba:rd/

/ħa:dd/

/ɡa:rj/

/ʁa:lj/

/ʕa:ɡl/

/za:jr/

/ba:sˤsˤ/

/sa:rɡ/

/wa:ɡf/

/sa:kr/

“killer”

“salary”

“old”

“envier”

“club”

“judge”

“scared”

“lost”

“servant”

“expensive”

“patient”

“unbeliever”

“hungry”

“eye brow”

“hot”

“dry”

“inheritor”

“cold”

“sharp”

“reader”

“costly”

“wise-man”

“visitor”

“bus”

“thief”

“standing”

“drunkard”

Disyllabic words in HYA


CV.CVC

/sa.mak/

/wa.raɡ/

/ɡa.la sˤ/

/ʔa.sad/

/Өa.man/

/∫a.miz/

/ħa.ʤar/

/sˤa.lab/

/ɡa.lam/

/mu.∫utˤ/

/ʕa.mal/

/χa.saʕ/

/∫a.nab/

/ka.tab/

/ma.lik/

/ma.taʔ/

/ʔa.biz/

/ʤa.mal/

“fish”

“paper”

“glass”

“lion”

“price”

“shirt”

“stone”

“dry/ harsh”

“pen”

“comb”

“work”

“mud”

“moustache”

“he wrote”

“king”

“when”

“i take”

“camel”

Appendices

296

/la.mah/

/ʔa.sal/

/ħa.na∫/

/ka.ram/

/χa.∫ab/

/ʤi.bal/

/ha.waʔ/

/ħa.ʤar/

/sˤa.ʕib/

/sˤa.naʤ/

/ʁa.lab/

/la.ban/

/sa.bab/

/ɡa.mar/

/ja.ħuk/

“why”

“honey”

“snake”

“generosity”

“wood”

“mountain”

“air”

“stones”

“hard”

“deaf”

“he defeat”

“milk”

“cause”

“moon”

“rub”

CVC.CVC

/fil.fil/

/daf.tar/

/ʕal.lam/

/sˤud.fah/

/ɡal.ʕah/

/ruk.bah/

/mus.lim/

/jat.nim/

/ʔaħ.mar/

/raɡ.sˤah/

/mab.χar/

/nuɡ.tˤah/

/ɡam.bir/

/ɡib.lah/

/ɡar.jah/

/suk.kar/

/maχ.raʤ/

/bal.wah/

/maχ.zan/

/muχ.lisˤ/

/ʤad.dah/

/ħum.mah/

/sˤaw.tak/

/kil.jah/

/mak.tab/

/ʔas.wad/

/ɡisˤ.sˤah/

/kib.deh/

/maʕ.bad/

/nuχ.rah/

/baj.dˤah/

/ʔis.mak/

/matˤ.ʕam/

/ʔasˤ.far/

/χub.zah/

“pepper”

“notebook”

“(he) taught”

“chance”

“castle”

“knee”

“muslim”

“he plows”

“red”

“dance”

“censers”

“point”

“sit”

“a direction to pray”

“village”

“sugar”

“exits”

“trouble”

“store”

“faithful”

“grandmother (f)”

“fever

“your voice”

“kidney”

“office”

“black”

“story”

“liver”

“temple”

“nose”

“eggs”

“your name”

“restaurant”

“yellow”

“a loaf of bread”

Appendices

297

/riħ.lah/

/∫an.tˤah/

/jadˤ.rab/

/χatˤ.wah/

/∫ak.wah/

/sˤuħ.bah/

/jan.kaʕ/

/ʔas.raħ/

/mul.him/

/jam.sak/

/∫af.tak/

/χib.rah/

/ʔas.kut/

/∫an.tˤah/

/jaħ.fir/

ʔib.sir

“Journeys”

“bag”

“he hits”

“step”

“complaint”

“friendship”

“fall”

“I go”

“inspirer”

“hold, take”

“I saw you”

“experience”

“shut up”

“bag”

“dig”

“look”

CV:.CV

/ru:.ti/

/ra:ʕi/

/∫a:.hi/

/na:.hi/

“bread”

“wait”

“tea”

“ok”

CV:.CVC

/ʤa:.wiʕ/

/χa:.dim/

/sˤu:.tak/

/χa:.rim/

/wa:.siʕ/

/ʕa:.tˤi∫/

/tˤa:.ɡah/

/ʤa:.wab/

/ra:.tib/

/ɡa:.law/

/ʁa:.miɡ/

/ha:.nak/

/ta:.ʤir/

/fa:.rah/

/ha:.win/

/wa:.dˤiħ/

/wa:.ħid/

/sa:.kin/

/ɡa:.tal/

/ba:.rid/

/ʕa:.dil/

/ʤa:.hil/

/ħa:.kim/

/li:.fah/

/mu:.ħi∫/

/sa:.far/

/sˤu:.rah/

/fa:.riħ/

/na:.∫if/

“hungry”

“servant”

“your voice”

“desire”

“wide/ broad”

“thirsty”

“window”

“answer”

“salary”

“they said”

“dark”

“there”

“trader, merchant”

“rat (f)”

“thin”

“clear”

“one”

“resident”

“killer”

“cold”

“just”

“kid”

“ruling”

“sponge/ fiber”

“derelict, desolate”

“he travelled”

“picture”

“happy”

“dry”

CV.CV:C /ja.ti:m/ “orphan”

Appendices

298

/ri.sˤa:sˤ/

/tˤa.bi:χ/

/ʁa.ri:b/

/ɡa.ri:b/

/ɡa.sˤi:r/

/ɡa.di:m/

/ħa.ma:m/

/ki.ta:b/

/Өa.ɡi:l/

/ʁa.li:ðˤ/

/da.ha:n/

/sa.la:m/

/ʕi.ðˤa:m/

/ʔa.Өa:Ө/

/ʤa.wa:b/

/za.ma:n/

/ba.na:t/

/ʔa.mi:ɡ/

/ħa.li:b/

/ʤa.nu:b/

/tˤa.bi:b/

/∫a.ʤa:ʔ/

/sˤa.di:ɡ/

/ba.li:d/

/tˤa.ri:ɡ/

/∫a.ma:l/

/sa.la:m/

/ɡa.li:l/

/tˤa.ʕi:m/

/ja.mi:n/

/ɡa.li:l/

/ħa.di:d/

/ɡa.ri:b/

/ka.Өi:r/

/ra.χi:sˤ/

/ʕa.ʤu:z/

/ħa.zi:n/

/tˤa.ri:ɡ/

/ɡa.ri:b/

/za.bu:n/

/wa.si:m/

/sˤa.ʁi:r/

/ka.bi:r/

/ra.fi:s/

/ʁa.ju:r/

/∫a.mi:z/

/tˤa.wi:l/

/ka.mi:n/

/wa.ħi:d/

/ʕi.la:ʤ/

“buckshot”

“cuisine”

“stranger”

“near”

“short”

“old”

“doves”

“book”

“heavy”

“thick”

“paint”

“greetings”

“bones”

“furniture”

“answer”

“period”

“girls”

“deep”

“milk”

“south”

“doctor”

“brave”

“friend”

“dull”

“road”

“north”

“peace”

“little”

“tasty”

“right hand”

“few”

“iron”

“near”

“much”

“cheap”

“old woman”

“sad”

“road”

“relative”

“customer”

“handsome”

“small”

“big”

“insisting”

“jealous”

“shirt”

“tall”

“trap”

“alone/ lonely”

“treatment”

Appendices

299

/ta.ma:m/

/li.sa:n/

“good”

“tongue”

CVC.CV:C

/ʕusˤ.fu:r/

/maf.ta:ħ/

/ma∫.ʁu:l/

/duk.ka:n/

/faʤ.ʤa:ʕ/

/maw.hu:b/

/tˤaj.ji:b/

/mas.ma:r/

/χab ba:z/

/tˤam.ma:ʕ/

/laj.ji:n/

/man.∫a:r/

/maʤ.nu:n/

/sar.ri:f/

/mal.ja:n/

/mis.wa:k/

/ʤam.ma:l/

/matˤ.tˤa:tˤ/

/χaj.ra:t/

/liʕ.ʕi:b/

/tif.fa:l/

/sir.wa:l/

/tˤab.ba:l/

/ʔin.wa:n/

/kam.mu:n

/ʤid.ja:n/

/nis.wa:n/

/dˤaj.ji:ɡ/

/bis.ba:s/

/maf.tu:ħ/

/χar.ra:tˤ/

/tim.sa:ħ/

/ħatˤ.tˤa:b/

/∫ar.ri:r/

/maħ.bu:s/

/ħam.ma:l/

/ʕuʤ.ʤu:l/

/mab.sˤu:tˤ/

/han.du:l/

/∫aħ.ħa:t/

/riʤ.ʤa:l/

/sik.ri:m/

/naʤ.ʤa:r/

/mar.bu:tˤ/

/χaj.ji:r/

/ɡid.da:m/

/tuf.fa:ħ/

/ħas.sa:s/

“sparrow”

“key”

“busy”

“shops”

“fearful”

“talented”

“good heart”

“nail”

“baker”

“greedy”

“flexible”

“saw”

“crazy”

“spendthrift”

“full”

“toothpick”

“camel driver”

“rubbrs”

“a lot”

“very playful”

“sputum”

“trousers”

“drummer”

“address”

“cumin”

“goat kids”

“women”

“narrow/ tight”

“chili”

“opened”

“lies”

“crocodile”

“wood cutter”

“evildoer”

“prisoner”

“porter”

“calves”

“pleasant”

“baby-cradle”

“beggar”

“man”

“ice-cream”

“carpenter”

“tied/ folded”

“charitable”

“front”

“apples”

“sensitive”

Appendices

300

CVC.CVCC

/ʔal.χajl/

/ʔal.∫ams/

/ʔal.baħr/

/ʔal.nahr/

/ʔal.waɡt/

/ʔal.∫iʕr/

/ʔal.bint/

“the horse”

“the sun”

“the sea”

“the river”

“the time”

“the poetry”

“the girl”

CV:.CV: /χa:.li:/

/na:.di:/

“my cousin”

“club”

CV.CV

/wa.ra/

/ni.∫a/

/la.na/

/wa.fi/

“back”

“he grew”

“for us/ ours”

“loyal”

CV.CV:

/ʁi.tˤa:/

/sa.ma:/

/ʁa.da:/

/wa.ba:/

/ʕa.la:/

/ra.mu:/

“cover”

“sky”

“lunch”

“epidemics”

“over”

“they threw”

CV:.CV:C

/ta:.ri:χ/

/sa:.ni:n/

/du:.la:b/

/mi:.ra:Ө/

/∫i:.tˤa:n/

/fi:.ra:n/

/fa:.nu:s/

/tˤa:.wa:s/

/ʤa:.ni:ħ/

“date”

“tooth”

“cupboard”

“inheritance”

“devil”

“rats”

“lantern”

“peacock”

“wing”

Trisyallabic words in HYA


CV:.CV.CV /sˤa:.ħi.bi/ “my friend”

CV:.CV.CVC /ʤa:.mi.ʕah/ “university”

CVC.CV.CV:C /ʔad.da.wa:b/ “livestock”

CV.CV:.CV /ti.ħa:.ki/

/dˤa.ru:.ri/

“speak”

“necessary”

CV.CV.CV /ħa.ra.mi/ “thief”

CVC.CVC.CVC /kul.lij.jah/ “college”

CVC.CV.CV: /ʕak.ba.ri:/ “rat”

CV.CV.CVC

/ba.ra.kah/

/ba.ɡa.rah /

/wa.ra.ɡah/

“blessing”

“cow”

“leaf”

CV.CV:.CVC

/ʤa.ri:.mah/

/sˤa.di:.ɡah/

/ma.ra:.wiħ/

/ɡa.dˤi:.jah/

/fa.ri:. ðˤah/

/ħa.ri:.ɡah/

“crime”

“friend (f)”

“fans”

“case”

“religious duty”

“burning”

Appendices

301

/wa.Өi:.ɡah/

/ħa.wa:.ʤib/

/tˤa.li:ɡah/

/ʤa.ri:.dah/

/ma.di:.nah/

/tˤa.bi:.bah/

/sa.fi:.nah/

/wa.sˤa:.tˤah/

/ɡa.sa:.wah/

/na.ti:.ʤah/

/ħa.bi:.bah/

/da.ʤa:.ʤah/

/mu.sa:.lim/

/mu.sa:.fir/

/tˤa.bi:.nah/

/ʕa.sˤi:.dah/

/χa.tˤi:.ʔah/

/ma.ra:.jah/

“document”

“eyebrows”

“divorced woman”

“newspaper”

“city”

“doctor (f)”

“ship”

“mediation”

“cruelty”

“result”

“loved one (f)”

“chicken”

“peaceful”

“traveler”

“second wife”

“gruel”

“sin”

“mirror”

CV.CV:.CV:C /tˤa.ma: .tˤi:s/ “tomatoes”

CVC.CV.CVC

/tan.ʤa.rah/

/lin.nu.hum/

/mil.ʕa.ɡah/

/min.∫a.fah/

/mad.ra.sah/

/dˤif.tˤa.ʕah/

/ʔaħ.na.ʤak/

/ɡab.ja.lah/

/mu∫.ki.lah/

/ʔaχ.ta.bar/

/mal.za.mah/

/mak.ta.bah/

/saj.ji.dah/

/ɡil.ti.lah/

/ʔar.na.bah/

/miz.ra.ʕah/

/maħ.ka.mah/

“pot”

“because they”

“spoon”

“towels”

“school”

“frog”

“i love you”

“terribleness”

“problem”

“he examined”

“handout”

“library”

“lady”

“I said to him”

“rabbit (f)”

“farm”

“court”

CVC.CV:.CVC

/ʔal. ʤa:.miʕ/

/naðˤ.ðˤa:.rah/

/midˤ.ra:.bah/

/saj.ja:.rah/

/dab.ba:.sah/

/ħar.ra:.Өah/

/fan.na:.nah/

/Өal.la:.ʤah/

/mas.sa:.ħah/

“the mosque”

“glasses”

“fighting”

“car”

“stapler”

“tractor”

“artist (f)”

“freezer”

“duster”

CV.CV:CV: /mu.sa:.wa:/

/mu.ʕa:.fa:/

“equally”

“healthy”

CV:.CVC.CV:C /ba:.ðin.ʤa:n/ “eggplant”

Appendices

302

Tetrasyllabic words in HYA


CVC.CV.CV.CVC /mak.ta.ba.tuh “his library”

CV.CV.CV:.CVC

/mu.ta.ʃa:.ʔim/

/mu.ta.sa:.wij/

/mu.ta.dˤa:.jiɡ/

“pessimistic”

“equal”

“annoyed”

CV.CVC.CVC.CVC /ji.kal.lim.hum/ “he speaks to them”

CV.CV.CV.CVC

/ʃa.ʤa.ra.tuh/

/sa.la.ma.tak/

/ra.ɡa.ba.tuh/

“his tree”

“your safety”

“his neck”

CVC.CV.CV.CV: /mak.ta.ba.ti:/ “my library”

Pentasyllabbic words in HYA


CV.CV:.CV.CV.CVC /zi.ja:.ra.tu.hum/ “visit

(NOM.SG)3pl.poss”

CV.CV.CVC.CV.CV:C /ti.li.fiz.zi.ju:n/ “television”

CV.CVC.CV.CV.CV /ju.χaw.wi.fu.ni/ “he is frightening me”

CVC.CVC.CV.CVC.CVC /ʔis.taʕ.ma.lat.hum/ “she used theme”

Appendices

303

Appendix (F)

Data of Zabidi dialect

Monosyllabic words in ZYA


CV

/mu/

/ba/

/χu/

/wa/

/bu/

/hi/

/li/

/fi/

/hu/

“mother”

“with”

“brother”

“and”

“father”

“she”

“to me”

“in”

“he”

CCV

/ðnu/

/bnu/

/Өmu/

“ear”

“son”

“mouth”

CVC

/hon/

/ser/

/kel/

/kam/

/ʔam/

/kul/

/laʔ/

/kol/

/min/

/∫ol/

/lak/

“they (f)”

“secret”

“he ate”

“how much”

“the”

“all”

“no”

“eat”

“of, from”

“take”

“for you”

CV:C

/qa:l/

/ʔe:t/

/ħi:d/

/zi:d/

/ba:sˤ/

/za:r/

/ke:f/

/bu:k/

/tˤa:l/

/ba:k/

/ma:t/

/χa:f/

/ja:n/

/qo:m/

/qa:m/

/fo:q/

/na:m/

/le:l/

/ɡa:ʔ/

“he said”

“come”

“see/ look”

“do more”

“bus”

“he visited”

“how”

“go”

“it became long”

“he went”

“he died”

“he became afraid”

“where”

“stand up”

“he stood up”

“up/ above”

“he slept”

“night”

“he became hungry”

Appendices

304

CVCC

/bazz/

/∫inf/

/bass/

/qarb/

/kont/

/taħt/

/bozz/

/ʔind/

/kutb/

/ʔardˤ/

“he took”

“lip”

“enough”

“come closer”

“I was”

“under”

“take”

“at”

“write”

“earth”

CCV: m∫i: “walk”

CCVC

/ɡlis/

/ħwal/

/ħsan/

/ħmar/

/wqaf/

/sˤmar/

/sˤlaʕ/

/∫wal/

/rqasˤ/

/sˤfar/

/rtˤab/

/sˤnaɡ/

/swad/

/ʔmeʔ/

/rqad/

/zʔaq/

/m∫eʔ/

/hneh/

/ħneʔ/

“sit”

“cross-eyed”

“better”

“red”

“stand up”

“tan”

“bald”

“left-handed”

“he danced”

“yellow”

“it became damp”

“deaf”

“black”

“blind”

“he slept”

“he shouted”

“he walked”

“here”

“we”

CCV:C

/hna:k/

/∫qo:l/

/jhi:n/

/rχi:sˤ/

“there”

“he will say”

“when”

“cheap”

CCVCC

/rsamt/

“you drew”

CCCVC

/∫tluħ/

“she will make bread”

CCCV:C

/∫tro:ħ/

/∫tmu:t/

/∫tʔe:t/

/∫tba:n/

/∫tsu:q/

“she will go”

“she will die”

“she will come”

“she will appear”

“she will drive”

Appendices

305

Disyllabic words in ZYA

CCCVCC /∫trudd/ “she will come back”

CV.CV

/da.mu/

/ħa.wi/

/ɡa.bu/

/wa.ra/

/ja.du/

“blood”

“he became tired”

“local bag”

“behind”

“hand”

CV.CVC

/sa.meʔ/

/hi.beh/

/sa.neh/

/ʁa.deʔ/

/qa.mar/

/ʔa.∫eʔ/

/ka.tab/

/ħa.jeʔ/

/ka.ðab/

/wa.beʔ/

/ki.ðeʔ/

/ba.leʔ/

/sa.leʔ/

/la.meh/

/ha.weʔ/

“sky”

“gift”

“year”

“lunch”

“moon”

“diner/ supper”

“he wrote”

“shyness”

“he told a lie”

“epidemic”

“like this”

“affliction”

“entertainment”

“why”

“air”

CVC.CV

/mal.sˤa:/

/maʔ.we:/

/rab.ba:/

/mar.ka:/

/rak.ka:/

“tool used for keeping fire

on”

“shelter”

“he raised”

“instrument to lean on”

“he supported”

CVC.CVC

/jat.nim/

/sˤud.fah/

/χid.meh/

/war.qah/

/ʔib.reh/

/riħ.leh/

/daʁ.mar/

/bir.keh/

/χib.reh/

/ħim.jeh/

/fik.reh/

/kib.deh/

/qisˤ.sˤah/

/jum.man/

/jam.sak/

/qar.jah/

/ħor.mah/

/ruk.bah/

“plow

“chance”

“service”

“leaf”

“needle”

“journey”

“ventured”

“pool”

“experience”

“regimen”

“an idea”

“liver”

“story”

“south”

“hold, take”

“village

“woman”

“knee”

Appendices

306

/ʔis.mak/

/sˤuħ.bah/

/∫an.tˤah/

/nuχ.rah/

/raq. sˤah/

/kil.meh/

/ɡad.deh/

/ħum.meh/

/bis.seh/

/mul.him/

/χub.zeh/

/man.qaʔ/

/jad.bul/

/jah.ri∫/

“your name”

“friendship”

“bag”

“nose”

“dance”

“word”

“grandmother (f)”

“fever”

“cat”

“inspirer”

“a loaf of bread”

“mango”

“fall”

“rub”

CVC.CV:C

/ʔam.ba:b/

/lus.sa:n/

/ʔam.χe:l/

/qal.be:n/

/ʔam.ɡa:r/

/niɡ.me:n/

/ħam.ri:n/

/ʔam.fa:r/

/kis.li:n/

/ʔam.ti:n/

/ʔam.ba:sˤ/

“the door”

“tongue”

“the horse”

“two hearts”

“the neighbor”

“two stars”

“angry (ms.pl)”

“the mouse”

“lazy (ms.pl)”

“the figs”

“the bus”

CV:.CV

/ħu:.tu/

/fa:.ru/

/na:.su/

/na:.hi/

/ru:.ti/

/ka:.su/

/tˤi:.nu/

/Өo:.ru/

/ra:.su/

/li:.mu/

/di:.nu/

/ro:.ħu/

/su:.qu/

/ba:.bu/

/ba:.ku/

/tˤe:.ru/

/ħo:.mu/

/ma:.ji/

/na:.ru/

/∫a:.hi/

/lo:.ħu/

/ʔe:.nu/

/du:.mu/

/sa:.qu/

“fish”

“rat”

“people”

“ok”

“bread”

“glass”

“mud”

“an ox”

“head”

“lemons”

“religion”

“soul”

“market”

“door”

“they went”

“bird”

“hot”

“water”

“fire”

“tea”

“board”

“an eye”

“body”

“leg”

Appendices

307

/be:.ʔu/

/zo:ɡu/

/lo:.nu/

/di:.ku/

/be:.tu/

“selling”

“husband”

“color”

“rooster”

“house”

CV:.CVC

/tˤa:.qah/

/∫o:.keh/

/sˤo:.tak/

/wa:.ħid/

/li:.feh/

/na:ɡah/

/ɡa:.wab/

/χe:.meh/

/sˤu:.rah/

/ħi:.leh/

/χa:.leh/

/ħa:.wal/

/qo:.bah/

/zi:.neh/

/ħa:.rah/

/za:.waɡ/

/χe:.∫eh/

/∫a:.jim/

/li:.meh/

/fa:.rah/

/∫e:.beh/

/sa:.ʔeh/

/qa:.tal/

/de:.meh/

/ʔa:.deh/

/∫a:.foh/

/sa:.far/

/le:.leh/

“window”

“fork”

“your voice”

“one”

“sponge”

“camel”

“to answer”

“tent”

“picture”

“trick”

“aunt”

“he tried”

“impetigo”

“decoration “

“neighborhood”

“he made double”

“sack”

“north”

“one lemon”

“rat (f)”

“old man”

“watch”

“he fighted”

“kitchen”

“habit”

“he saw him”

“he travelled”

“night”

CVC.CV

/kal.bu/

/ðˤuf.ru/

/naf.su/

/hab.li/

/naɡ.mu/

/zaχ.mu/

/tam.ru/

/bar.du/

/ðˤah.ru/

/qal.bu/

/ruz.zu/

/nij.ju/

/∫am.su/

/war.du/

/bit.tu/

/qab.ru/

/nah.ru/

“dog”

“nail”

“soul”

“give me”

“star”

“nice”

“dates”

“cold”

“back”

“heart”

“rice”

“unripe”

“sun”

“roses”

“girl”

“grave

“river”

Appendices

308

/diq.nu/

/sˤub. ʔu/

/sah.lu/

/baħ.ru/

/tˤi∫.tu/

/sin.nu/

/rab.ħu/

/kab.∫u/

/saʔ.bu/

/riɡ.lu/

/satˤ.ħu/

/ħub.bu/

/ʔar,ðˤu/

/wuɡ.hu/

/wir.Өu/

/sˤaʔ.bu/

/sˤab.ru/

/raq.sˤu/

/far.ħu/

/∫aʔ.ru/

/χad.du/

/dam.ʔu/

/sˤud.ru/

/ħab.lu/

/bis.su/

/ʔiɡ.lu/

/bur.ru/

/∫ah.ru/

“beard”

“finger”

“easy”

“sea”

“dish”

“tooth”

“monkey”

“ram”

“difficult”

“leg”

“roof”

“love”

“land”

“face”

“Inheritance”

“hard”

“patience”

“dancing”

“happy”

“hand”

“hair”

“cheek”

“tears”

“breast”

“rope”

“cat”

“calf”

“flour”

“a month”

CV:C.CVC

/fa:j.deh/

/za:w.jeh/

/ta:ɡ.reh/

/ba:χ.reh/

/tˤa:w.lah/

/ɡa:m.ʔeh/

/qa:r.jah/

/wa:r.deh/

/ka:t.beh/

/fa:k.hah/

/na:m.seh/

/jo:m.jeh/

“usefulness”

“an angle”

“merchant (f) “

“a ship”

“table”

“university”

“reader (f)”

“incoming”

“writer (f)”

“fruit”

“mosquito”

“daily”

Appendices

309

CV:C.CV

/ħa:s.su/

/ra:ɡ.du/

/ʁa:b.bu/

/ro:m.ru/

/ʁa:l.ju/

/ħa:s.ru/

/ba:j.ku/

/ħa:l.ju/

/ħa:w.ju/

/fa:s.χu/

/ra:t.bu/

/qa:ðˤ.ju/

/sa:b.ru/

/χa:d.mu/

/ħa:ɡ.bu/

/wa:r.Өu/

/qa:r.ju/

/ʔa:q.lu/

/sa:r.qu/

/na:d.ju/

/ka:f.ru/

/na:b.hu/

/za:j.ru/

/sa:k.ru/

/ħa:d.du/

/wa:q.fu/

“feeling”

“sleeping”

“thirsty”

“tomatoes”

“costly”

“thin”

“leaving”

“sweet”

“tired”

“desire”

“salary”

“judge”

“comfortable”

“servant”

“eye brow”

“inheritor”

“reader”

“wise-man”

“thief”

“club”

“unbeliever”

“awaken”

“visitor”

“drunkard”

“sharp”

“standing”

CCVC.CCVC /mkas.sreh/ “having broken”

CV.CV:C

/da.ha:n/

/qa.li:l/

/ta.ma:m/

/ma.li:ħ/

“paint”

“few”

“good”

“tasty”

CVCC.CVC /mu∫k.leh/

/musl.meh/

“problem”

“muslim (f)”

CVC.CVCC

/ʔam.waqt/

/ʔam.Өalɡ/

/ʔam.kalb/

/ʔam.baħr/

/ʔam.∫aʔr/

/ʔam.nafs/

/ʔam.qalb/

/ʔam.naɡm/

/ʔam.∫ams/

“the time”

“the ice”

“the dog”

“the sea”

“the heir”

“the soul”

“the heart”

“the star”

“the sun”

CV.CV: /ʔa.na:/ “I”

CVC.CCV

/fil.flu/

/mus.kru/

/muf.tˤru/

/muχ.lsˤu/

/mutˤ.ʔmu/

/mus.lmu/

“pepper”

“intoxicant”

“not fasting”

“sincere”

“feeder”

“muslim (m)”

Appendices

310

CCV:.CV

/wda:.nu/

/ħza:.mu/

/rχi:.sˤu/

/dha:.nu/

/bju:.tu/

/sˤʁa:.ru/

/kta:.bu/

/wɡa:.ʔu/

/qta:.lu/

/ħma:.ru/

/∫χi:.ru/

/ɡda:.ru/

/ tˤʁi:.zu/

/wsa:.ʔu/

/bχi:.lu/

/∫ɡa:.ʔu/

/kta:.bu/

/bʔi:.du/

/ħsˤa:.nu/

/rsˤa:.sˤu/

/ħsa:.bu/

/ɡdi:.du/

/Өqi:.lu/

“cover”

“belt”

“cheap”

“paint”

“houses”

“small (pl)”

“book”

“pain”

“fighting”

“donkey”

“snoring”

“wall”

“twinge”

“wideness”

“stingy”

“brave”

“book”

“far”

“horse”

“bullets”

“accounting”

“new”

“heavy”

CCVC.CCV

/mzal.ltˤu/

/mkaf.rnu/

/mħaw.wmu/

/mʁaj.jmu/

/mχaðˤ.ðˤru/

/mħaj.jru/

“rich (m)”

“angry (m)”

“feeling hot (m)”

“cloudy”

“greenish”

“confusing”

CCVC.CV:C /mzal.ltˤi:n/

/mdar.rsi:n/

/msˤaw.wri:n/

“rich (pl)”

“teachers”

“photographer”

CCV:.CVC /sʔa:.deh/

/fðˤi:.ħah/

/sˤʔu:.bah/

/zra:.ʔah/

/tħa:.weʔ/

/dqi:.qah/

/ħku:.meh/

/tsa:.maħ/

/qʔa:.deh/

/rsˤa:.sˤah/

/fqi:.hah/

/χtˤu:.bah/

/wdˤi:.fah/

/mra:.jeh/

“happiness”

“scandal”

“difficulty”

“cultivation”

“wait”

“minute”

“government”

“she forgives”

“bed”

“bullet”

“quranic teacher (f)”

“engagement”

“job”

“mirror”

CCVC.CV /m∫utˤ.tˤu/

/ʔadw.wi/

“comb”

“my enemy”

CVC.CCV:C /ʔam.dwa:b/ “livestock”

Appendices

311

CCCV:.CV /∫tro:.ħu/

/∫tmu:.tu/

/∫tʔe:.tu/

/∫tba:.nu/

/∫tsu:.qu/

you (pl) will go

you (pl) will die

you (pl) will come

you (pl) will appear

you (pl) will drive

CCCV:.CVC /∫tsa:.jil/

/∫tla:.ʔib/

/∫tba:.rik/

/∫tħa:.rib/

/∫tsˤa:.riʔ/

/∫tχa:.∫if/

/∫tsa:.miħ/

“she will ask”

“she will play with

someone”

“she will congratulate”

“she will fight”

“she will wrestle”

“she will confuse”

“she will forgive”

Trisyallabic words in ZYA

CV.CV.CV

/ka.ra.mu/

/ða.na.bu/

/la.ba.nu/

/ʔa.ma.lu/

/ʔa.sa.du/

/sˤa.la.bu/

/ɡa.ma.lu/

/χa.sa.ʔu/

/ma.li.ku/

/qa.la.mu/

/ʔa.sa.lu/

/χa.∫a.bu/

/ħa.na.∫u/

/∫a.na.bu/

/ku.tu.bu/

/ħa.ɡa.ru/

“generosity”

“tail”

“milk”

“work”

“lion”

“dry/ harsh”

“camel”

“mud”

“king”

“pen”

“honey”

“wood”

“snake (m)”

“moustache”

“books”

“stones”

CV.CV:.CV

/qa.ri:.bu/

/ʔi.ðˤa:.mu/

/ka.Өi:.ru/

/ħa.ma:.mu/

/ʔa.gu:.zu/

/ɡa.wa:.bu/

/ħa.di:.du/

/ħa.zi:.nu/

/ba.ru:.du/

/ʁa.ri:.bu/

/ʁa.li:.ðˤu/

/sa.wa:.du/

/χa.tˤi:.bu/

/ħa.ri:.mu/

/qa.di:.mu/

/ma.la:.nu/

/ʔa.Өa:.Өu/

“near”

“bones”

“many/ much”

“doves”

“old woman”

“answer”

“iron”

“sad”

“coldness”

“stranger”

“thick”

“blackness”

“fiancé”

“women”

“old”

“full”

“furniture”

Appendices

312

/ʔa.mi:.qu/

/tˤa.bi:.bu/

/ba.li:.du/

/qa.ri:.bu/

/ka.bi:.ru/

/ba.na:.tu/

/qa.li:.lu/

/tˤa.ri:.qu/

“deep”

“doctor”

“dull”

“relative”

“big”

“girls”

“little”

“road”

CVC.CV:.CV

/ma∫.ʁu:.lu/

/kam.mu:.nu/

/maw.hu:.bu/

/χab ba:.zu/

/mis.ma:.ru/

/mis.wa:.ku/

/bis.ba:.su/

/kab.ri:.tu/

/ħatˤ.tˤa:.bu/

/ʔasˤ.fu:.ru/

/maɡ.nu:.nu/

/mif.ta:.ħu/

/bar.mi:.lu/

/miħ.ra:.Өu/

/ðˤab.ħa:.nu/

/ʔaf.ri:.tu/

/ħa.ma:.lu/

/ɡam.ma:.lu/

/naɡ.ɡa:.ru/

“busy”

“cumin”

“talented”

“baker”

“a nail”

“toothpick”

“chili”

“(box of) matches”

“wood cutter”

“sparrow”

“crazy”

“a key”

“barrel”

“plow”

“angry”

“ghost”

“porter”

“camel driver”

“carpenter”

CVC.CV.CV

/daf.ta.ru/

/maχ.za.nu/

/matˤ.ʔa.mu/

/suk.ka.ru/

“copy-book”

“store”

“restaurant”

“sugar”

CVC.CVC.CVC /ʔam.mas.ɡid/

/ʔam.daf.tar/

“the mosque”

“the copy book”

CV.CV.CVC

/da.ra.ɡeh/

/∫i.ɡa.rah/

/ɡa.ma.neh/

/∫a.fa.qah/

“degree”

“tree”

“local ghee”

“mercy”

CV.CV:.CCV ma.ra:.wħu “fans”

CV.CVC.CV

/ħa.mij.ju/

/wa.lij.ju/

/na.bij.ju/

/wa.fij.ju/

“brother-in law”

“saint”

“prophet”

“loyal”

CV.CV:.CVC

/sˤa.di:.qah/

/wa.Өi:.qah/

/tˤa.bi:.bah/

/ɡa.ri:.meh/

/χa.tˤi:.ʔah/

“friend (f)”

“document”

“doctor (f)”

“crime”

“sin”

CVC.CV:.CV /taʔ.ba:.nu/

/duk.ka:.nu/

“tired (m)”

“shops”

Appendices

313

/tˤal.la:.bu/ “beggar (m)”

CV:.CV:.CV

/sa:.ni:.nu/

/do:.la:.bu/

/fi:.ra:.nu/

/ɡa:.ni:.ħu/

/mi:.ra:.Өu/

/∫i:.tˤ a:.nu/

/tˤa:.wa:.su/

“teeth”

“cupboard”

“rats”

“wing”

“inheritance”

“devil”

“peacock”

CVC.CV.CVC

/ʔar.qa.bah/

/qab.ja.lah/

/mad.ra.sah

/mil.ʔa.qah/

/miz.ra.ʔah/

/sam.ma.ʔeh/

/ʔar.na.bah/

/maħ.ka.meh/

/min.∫a.feh/

“scorpion”

“terribleness”

“school”

“spoon”

“farm”

“ear phone”

“rabbit (f)”

“court”

“towel”

CV.CVC.CVC /ha.dij.jeh/

/ʔa.ħib.bak/

“gift”

“I love you”

CVC.CVC.CV: /mis.ta∫.fa:/ “hospital”

CCV:.CV:.CV /msa:.mi:.ru/ “nails”

CCVC.CV.CV

/mwasˤ.sˤa.lu/

/mzaw.wa.ɡu/

/mχaj.ja.tˤu/

/mχaj.ja.mu/

/mjas.sa.ru/

/mtar.ɡa.mu/

“connected”

“married”

“stitched”

“camp”

“facilitated”

“translated”

CVC.CVC.CCV /mit.kab.bru/ “arrogant”

CV.CV:C.CV /ħa.wa:ɡ.bu/ “eyebrows”

Tetrasyllabic words in ZYA

CVC.CV.CV:.CVC

/ʔan.ka.bu:.teh/

/ʔam.ħa.ma:.meh/

/bur.tu.qa:.lah/

/ʔam.ɡa.ri:.meh/

/ʔam.sˤa.di:.qah/

“spider”

“the dove”

“orange”

“the crime”

“the friend (f)”

CV.CVC.CV.CV /sa.far.ɡa.lu/ “quince (pl)”

CV.CVC.CV.CVC /sa.far.ɡa.lah/ “quince (sing.)”

CV:.CVC.CV:.CV /ba:.ðin.ɡa:.nu/ “eggplant”

CV.CV.CV:.CV /ka.na.ba:.tu/ “sofas”

CVC.CVC.CV.CVC /ʔam.mad.ra.sah/ “school”

CVC.CV.CV.CVC /mak.ta.ba.tuh/ “his library”

ir.amu.ac.inir.amu.ac.in/12106/1/T10615.pdf · i DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS ALIGARH MUSLIM...

Documents

Transcript of ir.amu.ac.inir.amu.ac.in/12106/1/T10615.pdf · i DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS ALIGARH MUSLIM...