Diversity of Judeo-Arabic dialects in North Africa: Eqa:l, Wqal, kjal and ?al Dialects

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

    Abstract

    This study presents the diversity of North African Judeo-Arabic dialects documented in an extensive course of fieldwork concerning some one hundred and thirty Moroccan Jewish dialects, both urban and rural. Dozens of additional dialects from Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria complete the global repartitioning of these dialects into four distinct groups: Eqa:l, Wqal, kjal, and ?al dialects. The different dialects in each set share common phonetic, phonological, morphological, and grammatical features. All of them preserve the unvoiced realization of the stop /q/ and articulate it as a uvular [q] (Eqa:l and Wqal), a palato-velar [kj] (kjal), or a glottal [?] (?al). Eqa:l dialects developed in Libya, Tunisia, and Eastern Algeria; they distinguish between long and short vowels. Wqal dialects developed in Western Morocco. Kjal dialects developed in northwestern Algeria and in southeastern Morocco. ?al dialects developed in Moroccan cities, where Jews expelled from Spain and Portugal settled among native Jews.

    Original languageEnglish
    JournalJournal of Jewish Languages
    Volume4
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    StatePublished - 2016

    Bibliographical note

    Publisher Copyright:
    © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2015.

    Keywords

    • ?al dialects
    • Common dialectal area
    • Common grammatical features
    • Common phonetic and phonological features
    • Eqa:l dialects
    • Kal dialects
    • North African Judeo-Arabic dialects
    • Wqal dialects

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Cultural Studies
    • Language and Linguistics
    • History
    • Linguistics and Language

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Diversity of Judeo-Arabic dialects in North Africa: Eqa:l, Wqal, kjal and ?al Dialects'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this