37.1299, Books: Le hobyot: Manoubi (2026)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-1299. Wed Apr 01 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.1299, Books: Le hobyot: Manoubi (2026)

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Date: 31-Mar-2026
From: Rosanna Woensdregt [rosanna.woensdregt at degruyterbrill.com]
Subject: Le hobyot: Manoubi (2026)


Title: Le hobyot
Subtitle: Description grammaticale d’une langue sudarabique moderne
Series Title: Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics
Publication Year: 2026

Publisher: De Gruyter Brill
           https://www.degruyterbrill.com/?changeLang=en
Book URL: https://brill.com/display/title/73349

Author(s): Ali Manoubi

ISBN hardback: 978-90-04-74632-9
ISBN e-book: 978-90-04-74633-6
DOI: 10.1163/9789004746336

Abstract:

Le hobyot, langue sémitique (groupe sudarabique moderne), est parlé
par quelques milliers de locuteurs dans l’est du Yémen et dans le sud
du Sultanat d’Oman. Sans tradition écrite et menacé d’extinction à
court terme, le hobyot a été très peu décrit. Cette étude fournit la
première description linguistique complète de la langue, sur la base
d’une recherche de terrain spécifique. La phonologie est traitée en
détail, formant la base d’une transcription rigoureuse. La morphologie
(en particulier verbale) a été élicitée de manière exhaustive auprès
de locuteurs natifs de la langue. Les principaux outils et structures
syntaxiques sont traités sur la base d’un corpus de six textes
(transcrits et traduits) et de nombreux énoncés recueillis lors du
travail avec les locuteurs. Un lexique hobyot-français clôt l’ouvrage.
Les principaux changements linguistiques en cours ont été signalés.
Hobyot, a Semitic language of the Modern South Arabian group, is
spoken by a few thousand speakers in eastern Yemen and southern Oman.
With no written tradition and facing imminent extinction, it remains
one of the least documented languages in the region. This study offers
the first comprehensive linguistic description of Hobyot, based on
dedicated field research. The phonological system is analysed in
depth, providing the foundation for a precise transcription.
Morphology, particularly the verbal system, has been thoroughly
elicited from native speakers. The study also explores key syntactic
structures, drawing on a corpus of six transcribed and translated
texts, alongside numerous utterances collected during fieldwork. The
book concludes with a Hobyot-French lexicon and highlights ongoing
linguistic changes.
Readership: This book will interest linguists, anthropologists, and
scholars of Semitic and endangered languages, as well as academic
libraries. It offers the first comprehensive description of
Hobyot—covering its phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon—based
on extensive fieldwork with native speakers and documentation of
ongoing linguistic change.

Linguistic Field(s): Language Documentation
                     Morphology
                     Phonology
                     Syntax

Subject Language(s): Hobyót (hoh)

Language Family(ies): South Arabian

Written In: French (fra)



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