Syllable Structure and Word Structure in Non-Bedouin Qassimi Arabic: A Theoretical and Experimental Examination

Abstract

This dissertation examines the representation and distribution of non-final superheavy syllables in Non-Bedouin Qassimi Arabic (NBQA), an understudied variety of Najdi Arabic spoken in central Saudi Arabia. While many Arabic dialects restrict non-final CVVC and CVCC syllables, NBQA exhibits a more complex pattern in which the realization of these structures depends on the morphological and prosodic environment. In particular, subject markers, pronoun clitics, and dative constructions display distinct phonological behavior despite their apparent morphological similarity. The study combines phonological analysis with acoustic evidence to investigate competing representations of superheavy syllables. An experimental investigation of segmental duration evaluates predictions made by mora-sharing (Broselow et al., 1995, 1997; Watson, 2007; Khattab & Al-Tamimi, 2014), semisyllable (Kiparsky, 2003), and trimoraic analyses (Alhuwaykim, 2018). The results provide no evidence for the shortening effects predicted by mora-sharing accounts and, together with the phonological distribution of non-final CVVC and CVCC syllables, support a trimoraic analysis over competing mora-sharing and semisyllable accounts. Building on these findings, the dissertation develops a Stratal Optimality Theory account (Kiparsky, 2000, 2015; Itô & Mester, 2003; Bermúdez-Otero, 2018) in which phonological processes apply across stem, word, and postlexical levels. The analysis demonstrates that differences in the behavior of subject markers, pronoun clitics, and dative constructions follow from their incorporation into distinct prosodic domains. The study further argues that dative constructions exhibit a unique prosodic organization that accounts for the otherwise exceptional distribution of non-final superheavy syllables in these forms. By integrating descriptive, experimental, and theoretical approaches, this dissertation contributes new data from an understudied Arabic variety and advances our understanding of syllable structure, moraic representation, prosodic constituency, and the morphology-phonology interface.