Shihhi Arabic

Shihhi Arabic
Native toUnited Arab Emirates, Oman
Speakers38,000 (2020)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3ssh
Glottologshih1239

Shihhi Arabic (Arabic: اللهجة الشحية, romanized: Al-Lahjah Al-Shihhiyya, also known as Shehhi, Khasabi, Musandam Arabic, or Ruʾus Al Jibal Arabic) is a dialect of Arabic primarily used in the Musandam Governorate of Oman and Ras Al Khaimah emirate of the United Arab Emirates.[1] It has been suggested that Shihhi Arabic has two main dialect groups, known as "inland" and "coastal".[2] The Shihuh, Habus, Al Dhuhoori and Al Shemaili tribes have traditionally used the dialect.

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Dental/Alveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal
plain emph.
Nasal m n
Stop/
Affricate 		voiceless t tˤ (tʃ) k q ʔ
voiced b d dˤ d͡ʒ (ɡ)
Fricative voiceless f s sˤ ʃ χ ħ h
voiced z ʁ (ʕ)
Tap ɻ ~ ɽ
Approximant l (wˤ) j w
  • Sounds /ɡ, ʕ, tʃ/ are exclusively heard in loan-words.
  • /ħ/ may be heard as a voiced glottal [ɦ] when before voiced consonants.
  • The retroflex /ɻ/ may have four different allophones; as a flap [ɽ] when in intervocalic positions, as an alveolar [ɹ] when before front vowels, or as an alveolar tap or trill [ɾ, r] when in word-medial position following a consonant.[3]
  • In some dialects *ġ has been replaced by a pharyngealized glottal stop [ʔˤ].[4]

Vowels

Front Back
Close i iː u uː
Mid eː (o) oː
Open a aː
  • Short sounds /i, u/ when in unstressed positions are heard as a mid-central [ə].[3]
Phoneme/Sound Allophones Notes
/i/ [i] [ɪ] when in closed syllables
/a/ [æ] [æ] as the standard relisation, when in neutral environments or open syllables
[ɐ] in closed syllables
[a] when occurring after a pharyngeal or glottal consonant
[ɑ] when within the vicinity of the velarized or pharyngealized, or uvular consonants
/o/ [o] [ɔ], [ʊ] in free variation
/u/ [u] [ʊ] in free variation
[ɔ] when preceded by a pharyngeal or velarized consonant
/iː/ [iː] [ɨː] when preceded by /q/
[iːᵊ] offglide, when followed by a velarized/pharyngealized consonant
[ᵊiː] onglide, when preceded by a velarized/pharyngealized consonant
/eː/ [eː] [ɘː] when preceded by /q/
[ɪː] when preceded by /b/
[iː] when preceding or following /j/
[eːᵊ] offglide, when followed by a velarized/pharyngealized consonant
[ᵊeː] onglide, when preceded by a velarized/pharyngealized consonant
/aː/ [æː] [æː] when in neutral environments or open syllables
[aː] when after a glottal stop /ʔ/
[ɑː] within the position of a velarized/pharyngealized consonant or /ɻ/ consonant
/oː/ [ɔː] [ɔː] as the standard realization
[oː] when preceded be a labial, alveolar, or palatal consonant
[ʊː] when preceded by /ɻ/
/uː/ [uː] [ʊː] in free variation
[oː] within the position of a velarized/pharyngealized consonant

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Shihhi Arabic at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Shockley 2024
  3. ^ a b Bernabela, Roy S. (2011). A phonology and morphology sketch of the Šiħħi Arabic dialect of əlǦēdih (Oman). Leiden University.
  4. ^ Shockley, Mark. Ruʾūs al-Jibāl Arabic in Context: A Proposal for an Expanded Typology of Southeastern Arabian Dialects. Journal of Semitic Studies, Volume 69, Issue 1, Spring 2024, Pages 657, https://doi.org/10.1093/jss/fgad026


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