Arabic-L:LING:Wh-forms in Arabic dialects

[Dilworth Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Thu 19 Nov 2009
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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1) Subject:Wh-forms in Arabic dialects

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1)
Date: 19 Nov 2009
From:robert ratcliffe <ratcliffe at tufs.ac.jp>
Subject:Wh-forms in Arabic dialects

> . If I am on the
> right track, I believe that this wh- form comes from a complex makeup of
> 'ayyu/ayya shay'en huwwa' (which-thing-it) which then has undergone
> morphological reductions to result in the different forms used in the
> Arabic dialects even the Egyptian form 'eeh'. 
> 
Dear Friend 

You are indeed on the right track. And it is interesting that you have made this discovery for yourself.
But this is something which everyone who works on Arabic dialects has known for  a long time. I don't know when this analysis first appeared in print, but I think it can be found in the Fischer-Jastrow volume among other places. All of our undergraduates learn this in their second year in my 'practical introduction to spoken Arabic dialects course.' You are also right about the Egyptian eeh. We have 19th century written evidence for eesh in Egyptian colloquial of that time.

Best Regards

Robert Ratcliffe

Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.


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End of Arabic-L:  19 Nov 2009


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