Bettina Leitner | University of Vienna (original) (raw)
Papers by Bettina Leitner
Journal of Semitic Studies, Feb 1, 2021
Arabic has been spoken as a mother tongue in Iran since pre-Islamic times, but a number of the Ar... more Arabic has been spoken as a mother tongue in Iran since pre-Islamic times, but a number of the Arabic dialect groups scattered across the country have not been documented. In this study, we provide a first account of Arabic on Iran's southern coast, with a description of the dialect of Bandar Moqām in western Hormozgan Province. Using the Atlas of the Languages of Iran (ALI) linguistic data questionnaire as well as supplementary elicitation and oral texts, we have documented salient elements of its lexicon, phonology and morphosyntax. Our analysis confirms that Bandar Moqām Arabic fits into the wider Gulf Arabic dialect area, yet is internally heterogenous. On the one hand, it shares many features with the regionally dominant 'Bedouin' type Gulf Arabic koine, but it also aligns with distinctive structuresboth retentions and innovations-in the more ancient 'Sedentary' Gulf dialects that originated in southern Arabia. Further, it exhibits a series of structures in common with Mesopotamian Arabic and its descendants that reached as far as Central Asia during the Arab conquest of greater Persia and are still spoken there today.
Brill's annual of afroasiatic languages and linguistics, Oct 20, 2021
The primary aim of this paper is to explore the functions of the word /fard/ in Iraqi and Khuzest... more The primary aim of this paper is to explore the functions of the word /fard/ in Iraqi and Khuzestani Arabic. The study is based on the analysis of various text corpora and the elicitation of further examples from native speakers of the varieties investigated. The analysis of these data has shown that /fard/ is a polyfunctional item. Its various functions are the result of several grammaticalization processes. In the first stage, the noun "individual" has become a quantifier that expresses singularity. From this stage it developed into an intensifier, a marker of approximation and the scalar adverb "only." It has been demonstrated that, from its use as a presentative marker, it developed toward an indefinite article. In contrast to the definite article, which is a grammatical category in nearly every variety of Arabic, the use of an indefinite article is rarely found in spoken Arabic. In Iraqi and Khuzestani Arabic, /fard/ is an indefinite article that possesses a wide range of applications and only a limited set of constraints. Its use, however, remains optional to a very high degree. Its main function is that of a presentativei.e., introducing a new referent into a discourse. In addition, it also functions as an individuation marker, as a marker for expressing the speaker's epistemic status (knowledge/ignorance) regarding a referent, and indicating free choice from a set of potential referents. Related to this last function is its use as a mitigating device in imperatives and polite requests.
Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes, 2021
This paper discusses the reflection of the social roles of women and men in Arabic vernacular pro... more This paper discusses the reflection of the social roles of women and men in Arabic vernacular proverbs and idioms used in the town of al-Guṣba (Southern Iran). Recurrent topics and concepts associated with certain gender roles found in these proverbs and idioms are honor, family (duties) and children, sterility, polygyny, and divorce. The analysis of attitudes towards females and males as reflected in the language data analyzed are useful for social and cultural anthropologists interested in Southern Iranian Arab communities and the situation of women in these societies as well as for Arabic dialectologists and sociolinguists interested in the linguistic properties of Arabic vernacular proverbs and idioms. The main part of the analysis is preceded by a short chapter on the Arabic dialect of al-Guṣba and linguistic and stylistic notes on the analyzed proverbs and idioms. The examples of proverbs and idioms are all provided with glosses and shall serve as useful material for further general linguistic analysis for both Arabic dialectologists and linguists.
Khuzestan Arabic is an Arabic variety spoken in the southwestern Iranian province of Khuzestan. I... more Khuzestan Arabic is an Arabic variety spoken in the southwestern Iranian province of Khuzestan. It has been in contact with (Modern) Persian since the arrival of Arab tribes in the region before the rise of Islam. Persian is the socio-politically dominant language in the modern state of Iran and has influenced the grammar of Khuzestan Arabic on different levels. The present article discusses phenomena of contact-induced change in Khuzestan Arabic and considers their limiting factors.
Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, 2020
Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, 2019
Semitic Dialects and Dialectology : Fieldwork—Community—Change, 2022
This paper presents the transcription and translation of a recording made 2016 during fieldwork i... more This paper presents the transcription and translation of a recording made 2016 during fieldwork in the city of Ḥamīdiyya, in Khuzestan, located about 25 km to the northwest of the region's capital city Aḥwāz. The text is introduced by a brief discussion of some of the characteristic phonological, morphological and lexical features of Khuzestani Arabic in general, and some peculiarities of the Ḥamīdiyya dialect in particular. Language contact with the country's official language, Persian, of course is also significant, but will not be the focus of this discussion.
<jats:p>This paper reevaluates the ground on which the division into urban and rural gələt ... more <jats:p>This paper reevaluates the ground on which the division into urban and rural gələt dialects, as spoken in Iraq and Khuzestan (south-western Iran), is built on. Its primary aim is to describe which features found in this dialect group can be described as rural and which features tend to be modified or to emerge in urban contexts, and which tend to be retained. The author uses various methodical approaches to describe these phenomena: (i) a comparative analysis of potentially rural features; (ii) a case study of Ahvazi Arabic, a gələt dialect in an emerging urban space; and (iii) a small-scale sociolinguistic survey on overt rural features in Iraqi Arabic as perceived by native speakers themselves. In addition, previously used descriptions of urban gələt features as described for Muslim Baghdad Arabic are reevaluated and a new approach and an alternative analysis based on comparison with new data from other gәlәt dialects are proposed. The comparative analysis yields an overview of what has been previously defined as rural features and additionally discusses further features and their association with rural dialects. This contributes to our general understanding of the linguistic profile of the rural dialects in this geographic context.</jats:p>
The present master's thesis aims to make a contribution to the study of a Moroccan-Arabic dia... more The present master's thesis aims to make a contribution to the study of a Moroccan-Arabic dialect belonging to the oldest linguistic layer of Maghrebian dialects. The Arabic of Chefchaouen is an archaic prehilalian urban dialect and thus dates back to the first wave of Arabization in Morocco (7th to 11th century). For its conservative features the dialect is considered very valuable for Maghrebian dialectology. In spring 2015 Dr. Aicha Rahmouni made audio recordings of approximately 70-year-old men and women from Chefchaouen reciting culinaric topics. Afterwards these recordings were transcribed and translated into German for the present study. Thus a text corpus about traditional dishes of the city of Chefchaouen and its surrounding region was formed. Before-hand is a short dialect study in which the main features of the dialect are discussed. Etymological and lexical characteristics of the dialect are commented in the attached glossary of chefchaouen-arabic terms. The main goa...
Brill’s Journal of Afroasiatic Languages and Linguistics
The primary aim of this paper is to explore the functions of the word /fard/ in Iraqi and Khuzest... more The primary aim of this paper is to explore the functions of the word /fard/ in Iraqi and Khuzestani Arabic. The study is based on the analysis of various text corpora and the elicitation of further examples from native speakers of the varieties investigated. The analysis of these data has shown that /fard/ is a polyfunctional item. Its various functions are the result of several grammaticalization processes. In the first stage, the noun “individual” has become a quantifier that expresses singularity. From this stage it developed into an intensifier, a marker of approximation and the scalar adverb “only.” It has been demonstrated that, from its use as a presentative marker, it developed toward an indefinite article. In contrast to the definite article, which is a grammatical category in nearly every variety of Arabic, the use of an indefinite article is rarely found in spoken Arabic. In Iraqi and Khuzestani Arabic, /fard/ is an indefinite article that possesses a wide range of appli...
Journal of Semitic Studies, 2021
Arabic has been spoken as a mother tongue in Iran since pre-Islamic times, but a number of the Ar... more Arabic has been spoken as a mother tongue in Iran since pre-Islamic times, but a number of the Arabic dialect groups scattered across the country have not been documented. In this study, we provide a first account of Arabic on Iran’s southern coast, with a description of the dialect of Bandar Moqām in western Hormozgan Province. Using the Atlas of the Languages of Iran (ALI) linguistic data questionnaire as well as supplementary elicitation and oral texts, we have documented salient elements of its lexicon, phonology and morphosyntax. Our analysis confirms that Bandar Moqām Arabic fits into the wider Gulf Arabic dialect area, yet is internally heterogenous. On the one hand, it shares many features with the regionally dominant ‘Bedouin’ type Gulf Arabic koine, but it also aligns with distinctive structures—both retentions and innovations—in the more ancient ‘Sedentary’ Gulf dialects that originated in southern Arabia. Further, it exhibits a series of structures in common with Mesopotamian Arabic and its descendants that reached as far as Central Asia during the Arab conquest of greater Persia and are still spoken there today.
Arabic and contact-induced change , 2020
Institut de recherches et d'études sur les mondes arabes et musulmans, Jan 24, 2019
Book Reviews by Bettina Leitner
Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes, 2019
Books by Bettina Leitner
Lehrbuch des Irakisch-Arabischen, 2021
Das Lehrbuch vermittelt den Dialekt der irakischen Hauptstadt, den heute junge gebildete Menschen... more Das Lehrbuch vermittelt den Dialekt der irakischen Hauptstadt, den heute junge gebildete Menschen sprechen. Als Umgangssprache des kulturellen und administrativen Zentrums des Landes wird dieser Dialekt im gesamten Irak nicht nur verstanden, sondern von vielen aktiv beherrscht. Auch in den arabischen Golfstaaten ermöglich der Dialekt von Bagdad meist eine problemlose Verständigung.
Das Lehrbuch verwendet nicht die arabische Schrift, sondern eine Umschrift, welche auch die Vokale berücksichtigt und damit einen viel schnelleren Lernfortschritt ermöglicht. In insgesamt 18 Lektionen werden die vollständige Grammatik sowie ein die Alltagssprache abdeckender Grundwortschatz präsentiert. Jede Lektion enthält mindestens drei Texte und eine große Anzahl von Übungen. Die Texte dienen nicht nur dem Erlernen der Sprache, sondern geben auch einen Einblick in die reiche Alltagskultur sowie in wichtige Sitten und Gebräuche des Landes. Konjugationstabellen, Vokabellisten und ein vollständiges Glossar werden in einem eigenen Supplement online zur Verfügung gestellt.
Journal of Semitic Studies, Feb 1, 2021
Arabic has been spoken as a mother tongue in Iran since pre-Islamic times, but a number of the Ar... more Arabic has been spoken as a mother tongue in Iran since pre-Islamic times, but a number of the Arabic dialect groups scattered across the country have not been documented. In this study, we provide a first account of Arabic on Iran's southern coast, with a description of the dialect of Bandar Moqām in western Hormozgan Province. Using the Atlas of the Languages of Iran (ALI) linguistic data questionnaire as well as supplementary elicitation and oral texts, we have documented salient elements of its lexicon, phonology and morphosyntax. Our analysis confirms that Bandar Moqām Arabic fits into the wider Gulf Arabic dialect area, yet is internally heterogenous. On the one hand, it shares many features with the regionally dominant 'Bedouin' type Gulf Arabic koine, but it also aligns with distinctive structuresboth retentions and innovations-in the more ancient 'Sedentary' Gulf dialects that originated in southern Arabia. Further, it exhibits a series of structures in common with Mesopotamian Arabic and its descendants that reached as far as Central Asia during the Arab conquest of greater Persia and are still spoken there today.
Brill's annual of afroasiatic languages and linguistics, Oct 20, 2021
The primary aim of this paper is to explore the functions of the word /fard/ in Iraqi and Khuzest... more The primary aim of this paper is to explore the functions of the word /fard/ in Iraqi and Khuzestani Arabic. The study is based on the analysis of various text corpora and the elicitation of further examples from native speakers of the varieties investigated. The analysis of these data has shown that /fard/ is a polyfunctional item. Its various functions are the result of several grammaticalization processes. In the first stage, the noun "individual" has become a quantifier that expresses singularity. From this stage it developed into an intensifier, a marker of approximation and the scalar adverb "only." It has been demonstrated that, from its use as a presentative marker, it developed toward an indefinite article. In contrast to the definite article, which is a grammatical category in nearly every variety of Arabic, the use of an indefinite article is rarely found in spoken Arabic. In Iraqi and Khuzestani Arabic, /fard/ is an indefinite article that possesses a wide range of applications and only a limited set of constraints. Its use, however, remains optional to a very high degree. Its main function is that of a presentativei.e., introducing a new referent into a discourse. In addition, it also functions as an individuation marker, as a marker for expressing the speaker's epistemic status (knowledge/ignorance) regarding a referent, and indicating free choice from a set of potential referents. Related to this last function is its use as a mitigating device in imperatives and polite requests.
Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes, 2021
This paper discusses the reflection of the social roles of women and men in Arabic vernacular pro... more This paper discusses the reflection of the social roles of women and men in Arabic vernacular proverbs and idioms used in the town of al-Guṣba (Southern Iran). Recurrent topics and concepts associated with certain gender roles found in these proverbs and idioms are honor, family (duties) and children, sterility, polygyny, and divorce. The analysis of attitudes towards females and males as reflected in the language data analyzed are useful for social and cultural anthropologists interested in Southern Iranian Arab communities and the situation of women in these societies as well as for Arabic dialectologists and sociolinguists interested in the linguistic properties of Arabic vernacular proverbs and idioms. The main part of the analysis is preceded by a short chapter on the Arabic dialect of al-Guṣba and linguistic and stylistic notes on the analyzed proverbs and idioms. The examples of proverbs and idioms are all provided with glosses and shall serve as useful material for further general linguistic analysis for both Arabic dialectologists and linguists.
Khuzestan Arabic is an Arabic variety spoken in the southwestern Iranian province of Khuzestan. I... more Khuzestan Arabic is an Arabic variety spoken in the southwestern Iranian province of Khuzestan. It has been in contact with (Modern) Persian since the arrival of Arab tribes in the region before the rise of Islam. Persian is the socio-politically dominant language in the modern state of Iran and has influenced the grammar of Khuzestan Arabic on different levels. The present article discusses phenomena of contact-induced change in Khuzestan Arabic and considers their limiting factors.
Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, 2020
Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, 2019
Semitic Dialects and Dialectology : Fieldwork—Community—Change, 2022
This paper presents the transcription and translation of a recording made 2016 during fieldwork i... more This paper presents the transcription and translation of a recording made 2016 during fieldwork in the city of Ḥamīdiyya, in Khuzestan, located about 25 km to the northwest of the region's capital city Aḥwāz. The text is introduced by a brief discussion of some of the characteristic phonological, morphological and lexical features of Khuzestani Arabic in general, and some peculiarities of the Ḥamīdiyya dialect in particular. Language contact with the country's official language, Persian, of course is also significant, but will not be the focus of this discussion.
<jats:p>This paper reevaluates the ground on which the division into urban and rural gələt ... more <jats:p>This paper reevaluates the ground on which the division into urban and rural gələt dialects, as spoken in Iraq and Khuzestan (south-western Iran), is built on. Its primary aim is to describe which features found in this dialect group can be described as rural and which features tend to be modified or to emerge in urban contexts, and which tend to be retained. The author uses various methodical approaches to describe these phenomena: (i) a comparative analysis of potentially rural features; (ii) a case study of Ahvazi Arabic, a gələt dialect in an emerging urban space; and (iii) a small-scale sociolinguistic survey on overt rural features in Iraqi Arabic as perceived by native speakers themselves. In addition, previously used descriptions of urban gələt features as described for Muslim Baghdad Arabic are reevaluated and a new approach and an alternative analysis based on comparison with new data from other gәlәt dialects are proposed. The comparative analysis yields an overview of what has been previously defined as rural features and additionally discusses further features and their association with rural dialects. This contributes to our general understanding of the linguistic profile of the rural dialects in this geographic context.</jats:p>
The present master's thesis aims to make a contribution to the study of a Moroccan-Arabic dia... more The present master's thesis aims to make a contribution to the study of a Moroccan-Arabic dialect belonging to the oldest linguistic layer of Maghrebian dialects. The Arabic of Chefchaouen is an archaic prehilalian urban dialect and thus dates back to the first wave of Arabization in Morocco (7th to 11th century). For its conservative features the dialect is considered very valuable for Maghrebian dialectology. In spring 2015 Dr. Aicha Rahmouni made audio recordings of approximately 70-year-old men and women from Chefchaouen reciting culinaric topics. Afterwards these recordings were transcribed and translated into German for the present study. Thus a text corpus about traditional dishes of the city of Chefchaouen and its surrounding region was formed. Before-hand is a short dialect study in which the main features of the dialect are discussed. Etymological and lexical characteristics of the dialect are commented in the attached glossary of chefchaouen-arabic terms. The main goa...
Brill’s Journal of Afroasiatic Languages and Linguistics
The primary aim of this paper is to explore the functions of the word /fard/ in Iraqi and Khuzest... more The primary aim of this paper is to explore the functions of the word /fard/ in Iraqi and Khuzestani Arabic. The study is based on the analysis of various text corpora and the elicitation of further examples from native speakers of the varieties investigated. The analysis of these data has shown that /fard/ is a polyfunctional item. Its various functions are the result of several grammaticalization processes. In the first stage, the noun “individual” has become a quantifier that expresses singularity. From this stage it developed into an intensifier, a marker of approximation and the scalar adverb “only.” It has been demonstrated that, from its use as a presentative marker, it developed toward an indefinite article. In contrast to the definite article, which is a grammatical category in nearly every variety of Arabic, the use of an indefinite article is rarely found in spoken Arabic. In Iraqi and Khuzestani Arabic, /fard/ is an indefinite article that possesses a wide range of appli...
Journal of Semitic Studies, 2021
Arabic has been spoken as a mother tongue in Iran since pre-Islamic times, but a number of the Ar... more Arabic has been spoken as a mother tongue in Iran since pre-Islamic times, but a number of the Arabic dialect groups scattered across the country have not been documented. In this study, we provide a first account of Arabic on Iran’s southern coast, with a description of the dialect of Bandar Moqām in western Hormozgan Province. Using the Atlas of the Languages of Iran (ALI) linguistic data questionnaire as well as supplementary elicitation and oral texts, we have documented salient elements of its lexicon, phonology and morphosyntax. Our analysis confirms that Bandar Moqām Arabic fits into the wider Gulf Arabic dialect area, yet is internally heterogenous. On the one hand, it shares many features with the regionally dominant ‘Bedouin’ type Gulf Arabic koine, but it also aligns with distinctive structures—both retentions and innovations—in the more ancient ‘Sedentary’ Gulf dialects that originated in southern Arabia. Further, it exhibits a series of structures in common with Mesopotamian Arabic and its descendants that reached as far as Central Asia during the Arab conquest of greater Persia and are still spoken there today.
Arabic and contact-induced change , 2020
Institut de recherches et d'études sur les mondes arabes et musulmans, Jan 24, 2019
Lehrbuch des Irakisch-Arabischen, 2021
Das Lehrbuch vermittelt den Dialekt der irakischen Hauptstadt, den heute junge gebildete Menschen... more Das Lehrbuch vermittelt den Dialekt der irakischen Hauptstadt, den heute junge gebildete Menschen sprechen. Als Umgangssprache des kulturellen und administrativen Zentrums des Landes wird dieser Dialekt im gesamten Irak nicht nur verstanden, sondern von vielen aktiv beherrscht. Auch in den arabischen Golfstaaten ermöglich der Dialekt von Bagdad meist eine problemlose Verständigung.
Das Lehrbuch verwendet nicht die arabische Schrift, sondern eine Umschrift, welche auch die Vokale berücksichtigt und damit einen viel schnelleren Lernfortschritt ermöglicht. In insgesamt 18 Lektionen werden die vollständige Grammatik sowie ein die Alltagssprache abdeckender Grundwortschatz präsentiert. Jede Lektion enthält mindestens drei Texte und eine große Anzahl von Übungen. Die Texte dienen nicht nur dem Erlernen der Sprache, sondern geben auch einen Einblick in die reiche Alltagskultur sowie in wichtige Sitten und Gebräuche des Landes. Konjugationstabellen, Vokabellisten und ein vollständiges Glossar werden in einem eigenen Supplement online zur Verfügung gestellt.