Vowel Deletion and Homophony Avoidance in Qassimi Arabic

Abstract

This study investigates the phonology of Qassimi Arabic (QA), a local variety of Najdi Arabic, spoken in the Qassim province in the middle of Saudi Arabia. There has been limited literature documenting this understudied variety of Arabic. The focus of this study will be on vowel deletion (high as well as low vowels) and its interaction with homophony avoidance. Mainly, two issues will be examined: first, whether or not low vowels delete in non-final open syllables in QA. High-vowel deletion is a common process in many Arabic varieties including QA. Second, high-vowel deletion and whether the process is blocked in order to avoid homophonous surface forms. Sixteen native speakers of QA served as participants to a speech production task. The stimuli consist of 66 words that show potential triggers for the low-vowel deletion or blocked deletions of high vowels. I argue that the process of low-vowel deletion is attested in QA in two environments: when a feminine marker or a vowel-initial suffix is attached to the end of the word. In addition, QA does not show toleration of homophony. I also argue that the high vowels, which are usually deleted in non-final open syllables, are retained when the deletion will result in producing homophones. This study concludes three findings: first, the high vowels that are underlyingly low, and low vowels delete in QA when the word ends with a feminine marker or a vowel-initial suffix. Second, the process of homophony avoidance is attested in QA. Third, high vowels do not delete in QA when deletion results in homophony. This finding provides some evidence in support of the claim that homophony avoidance is a productive process, by which the phonological system preserves the communicative efficiency. The current study’s findings contribute to the research on Arabic varieties.