Arabic-L:LING:Emphatic Consonants Response

[Dilworth B. Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Thu 03 May 2001
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1) Subject: Emphatic Consonants Response

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1)
Date: 03 May 2001
From: Ernest McCarus <enm at umich.edu>
Subject: Emphatic Consonants Response

The situation with the Arabic consonants differs for Standard Arabic
and the various dialects.  In Standard Arabic there are four emphatic
consonants that everyone agrees on, /Saad/, Daad/, Taa'/, and /Dhaa'/
(the latter usually represented /Zaa'/; Charles Ferguson in his
"Emphatic "l" in Arabic" (Language 32 (1956), 446-52) posits also an
emphatic /L/ on the basis of minimal pairs like /waLLaahu/ 'and God'
vs. /wallaahu/ 'he appointed him governor'.  There is no distinctive
letter for emphatic L but of course references to God have a
distinctive spelling.

The emphatics are quite stable, and I do not think any one disputes
their acting on their environments (vowels and non-emphatic
consonants) rather than the contrary.

When it comes to the dialects the situation is quite different.
Emphasis in general has spread, especially to the liquids and nasals.
The analysis used makes a difference: if you keep the vowels
constant, you get impressive numbers of additional emphatic
consonants, e.g. in Levantine dialects.  If you on the other hand
posit vowel splits along front vs. back ("emphatic") qualities, as
some do for Cairene, you end up with additional vowel phonemes but
fewer emphatic consonants.

There are many references, including dissertations, on Arabic
emphatics. One good source is Bakalla, ARABIC LINGUISTICS. An
Introduction and Bibliography, for items before 1957; if your
interest is limited to Standard Arabic or to a particular dialect I
might be able to help further with references.

Ernest McCarus

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End of Arabic-L: 03 May 2001