Shihhi Arabic

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

Shihhi Arabic (Arabic: اللهجة الشحية, romanizedAl-Lahjah Al-Shihhiyya, also known as Shehhi, Musandam Arabic, or Ruʿūs al-Jibāl Arabic) is a variety of Arabic spoken in the Musandam Governorate of Oman and Ras al Khaimah emirate of UAE.[1] The Al Shehhi, Al Hebsi, Al Dhuhoori and Al Shemaili tribes speak it.

Phonology[edit]

Consonants[edit]

Labial Dental/Alveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal
plain emph.
Nasal m n
Stop/
Affricate
voiceless t k q ʔ
voiced b d d͡ʒ (ɡ)
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ χ ħ h
voiced z ʁ (ʕ)
Tap ɻ ~ ɽ
Approximant l j w
  • Sounds /ɡ, ʕ/ are mainly 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.[2]

Vowels[edit]

Front Back
Close i u
Mid (o)
Open a
  • Short sounds /i, u/ when in unstressed positions are heard as a mid-central [ə].[2]
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[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b Shihhi Arabic at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ a b Bernabela, Roy S. (2011). A phonology and morphology sketch of the Šiħħi Arabic dialect of əlǦēdih (Oman). Leiden University.

External links[edit]