Bahrani Arabic

Bahrani Arabic (also known as Bahrani and Baharna Arabic) is a variety of Arabic spoken by the Baharna in Eastern Arabia and Oman.[2] In Bahrain, the dialect is primarily spoken in Shia villages and some parts of Manama.

Not to be confused with Bahraini Gulf Arabic or Gulf Arabic.
Bahrani Arabic
العربية البحرانية
Native toBahrain, Oman, Qatif, Al Ahsa
Native speakers
730,000 (2001–2013)[1]
Dialects
Bahrani
Arabic alphabet, Arabic chat alphabet
Language codes
ISO 639-3abv
Glottologbaha1259

The Bahrani Arabic dialect has been significantly influenced by the ancient Aramaic, Syriac, and Akkadian languages.[3][4]

An interesting sociolinguistic feature of Bahrain is the existence of three distinct dialects: Bahrani, Sunni and Ajami Arabic.[5] Sunni Bahrainis speak a dialect which is most similar to urban dialect spoken in Qatar.

The Persian language has the most foreign linguistic influence on all the Bahraini dialects.[6] The differences between Bahrani Arabic and other Bahraini dialects suggest differing historical origins. The main differences between Bahrani and non-Bahrani dialects are evident in certain grammatical forms and pronunciation. Most of the vocabulary, however, is shared between dialects, or is distinctly Bahraini, arising from a shared modern history. Many Bahrani words have also been borrowed from Hindi, Turkish, or English.

Examples of words borrowed from other languages

Bahrani dialect has borrowed some vocabulary from Persian, Hindi, Turkish, and more recently from English.

Features

Bahrani Arabic (called Baħrāni by its speakers) shares many features with Gulf Arabic dialects (e.g. Kuwait, UAE, Qatar) of which it is not considered part by most linguists. Some general features:

  • Classical Arabic /q/ becomes /g/, for example gamar (moon).
  • Classical Arabic /ð/ becomes /d/, for example danab (tail).
  • /q/ and /ð/ is preserved for some Classical Arabic borrowings, for example [ðulqaʕdah] (Dhu Al-Qa'dah).
  • Affrication of /k/ to /tʃ/ in many words, for example [tʃalb] (dog).
  • /θ/ has the free variant /f/, and in some dialects /t/, for example falāfeh or talāteh (three).
  • /dʒ/ becomes /y/ in some rural dialects, for example yiħħe (watermelon).
  • Usage of -sh suffix (/ʃ/) as a feminine second-person pronoun akin to masculine -k, for example babish (your door).
  • Usage of sentence-final particle e (pronounced [ɛː]) to indicate questions, for example 'inzaine (OK?).

Phonology
Bahrani Arabic consonants[7]
Labial Dental Denti-alveolar Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal
 plain  emphatic
 plain  emphatic
Nasal m n
Plosive voiceless t tˤ tʃ k q ʔ
voiced b d dˤ dʒ ɡ
Fricative voiceless f θ s sˤ ʃ x ħ h
voiced ð z ɣ ʕ
Trill r
Approximant l j w

See also

References
  1. "Arabic, Baharna Spoken". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  2. "Arabic, Baharna Spoken". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2013-07-29.
  3. Jastrow, Otto (2002). Non-Arabic Semitic elements in the Arabic dialects of eastern Arabia. Clive Holes. pp. 270–279. ISBN 9783447044912.
  4. Holes, Clive (2001). Dialect, Culture, and Society in Eastern Arabia: Glossary. Clive Holes. pp. XXIX–XXX. ISBN 9004107630.
  5. Bassiouney, Reem (2009). "5". Arabic Sociolinguistics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 105–107.
  6. Dialect, Culture, and Society in Eastern Arabia: Glossary. Clive Holes. 2001. Page XXX. ISBN 90-04-10763-0
  7. Al-Tajir, Mahdi Abdalla (1982). Language and linguistic origins in Baḥrain : the Baḥārnah dialect of Arabic. London: K. Paul International. ISBN 0-7103-0024-7.

Further reading
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