The Effect of Social Factors on Sound Change in Najdi Arabic: The Case of [d͡z] in the Qaṣīmī Dialect

Abstract

Abstract. The present study examines the pattern of dialectical variation in the use of the two variants of OldArabic qāf /q/—the affricated nonstandard [d͡z], and the regional standard [g]— in the natural spontaneous speechof speakers of the Qaṣīmī dialect, a variety of Najdi Arabic. The findings indicate that a change in progress isoccurring in the Qaṣīmī dialect, with younger speakers showing an incremental increase in the use of the standardregional variant [g] instead of the nonstandard variant [d͡z] and older and middle-aged speakers—especiallymales—tending to be conservative by retaining the standard regional variant. Moreover, this change correlatessignificantly with gender in that women use the standard variant [g] more frequently than men. To explain thischangeshift, the socioeconomic changes that Saudi Arabia has undergone in the last 50 years—particularly theprocesses of urbanization and modernization—were examined as factors prompting and accelerating changes inthe linguistic patterns of speakers of the Qaṣīmī dialect. In particular, the regional standard variant [g] has becomemore associated with urbanity and modernity.