Arabic-L:LING:defective forms pronunciation responses

[Dilworth B. Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Wed 29 Aug 2001
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1) Subject: defective forms pronunciation response
2) Subject: defective forms pronunciation response

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1)
Date:  29 Aug 2001
From: aliaa taha <aliaa_anis at hotmail.com>
Subject: defective forms pronunciation response

Dear Mr.Kirk, we Egyptians do not confirm to the strict rules of
standard Arabic while reading a newspaper, that's why we would read
"lam yad'u" and not "lam yad'".If you need more information about the
Egyptian Colloquial Arabic language, please let me know, I would be
pleased to help.Thanks.Mrs.Aliaa Anis-language instructor at
Alexandria University.

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2)
Date:  29 Aug 2001
From: "sattar.izwaini at stud.umist.ac.uk" <Sattar.Izwaini at student.umist.ac.uk>
Subject: defective forms pronunciation response

When the mode of communication shifts from every-day spoken to
spoken from written, an Arab speaker usually follows the
pronunciation rules of the standard written variety. It has nothing to
do as whether you are a 'purist' or not. Case endings, specially
with 'tanween', are usually pronounced. In the case of 'defective'
forms the long vowel becomes the short variety and a 'tanween' is
added in the case of nouns.  Tanween is important because it is a
signal of the 'indefinte' form. You either pronounce it with tanween
or keep the original long vowel. I cannot imagine a pronunciation in-
between unless in poetry (for rhyme purposes). Shortening the
vowel is crucial here, e.g. lam yadcoo vs. lam yadc(u). If the
reader/speaker does not shorten the vowel (which means it will not
be written as a letter), it will be written then and not dropped in the
written form.
When someone reads a paper, the written form has its standards
that are usually followed even in a pause position when there is a
word ends with a long vowel (defective). Arab speakers tend to drop
case endings in spoken language for convenience and economy,
but not when they read a text written in MSA. The difference
between the short variety and long variety is delicate and needs a
good command of the language. That is why people sometimes
tend to write the long one instead because it is related to their way
of pronounciation and 'spelling memory'.

Best regards
Sattar Izwaini
PhD Student
Department of Language Engineering

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End of Arabic-L:  29 Aug 2001