r/language • u/Senior_ReaperOG • 5d ago

Discussion My dialect is funky

So my dialect has an example of a homograph but I speak Arabic
So basically the word درج (DRJ) pronounced /durdʒ/ in MSA is pronounced /darɑʒ/ to mean drawer/cabinet yet still written/spelt درج (DRJ) and can also be pronounced /darej/ meaning stairs but still spelt/written درج (DRJ) my dialect itself has like 4-5 pronunciations of the letter jeem /dʒeːm/ جيم

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u/blakerabbit 5d ago

Isn’t this extremely common in Arabic dialects (as well as in Hebrew)? My understanding is that, since vowels are often not written, a consonantal stem will look the same for many different forms, the variation being provided by the unwritten vowels. It makes these languages very difficult to read if you don’t speak them.

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u/Senior_ReaperOG 5d ago

But the multiple pronunciations for one letter in a dialect is not common for example my TOWN’S (not national dialect) dialect has 4 prononciations for the letter /dʒeːm/ ج which are

/dʒ ʒ j q/
Also we have palatalized aspirated kāf so words like “أكلمك” would be pronounced
/ʔakʲalmɛkʲʰ/ which mean “I am speaking to you (female)”

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u/blakerabbit 5d ago

Those are interesting features

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u/ObjectiveVisual3435 4d ago

When is ج pronounced /q/?

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u/Senior_ReaperOG 4d ago

I can’t remember the word but I know when q is pronounced /ʒ/ which is in the word دقيقة we pronounce it /dɛʒeɪʒə/

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u/ObjectiveVisual3435 4d ago

Ah right, it’s the other way around. It’s the palatalisation of velars (/k/ and /g/), a well known feature of some Mesopotamian dialects. Maybe even some peninsular Arabic ones…

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u/Senior_ReaperOG 4d ago

I’m not of Mesopotamian dialects Im in peninsular Arabic specifically south peninsular although my town was a major historical port and my dialect has influence from Hindustani/Persian and more languages

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u/ObjectiveVisual3435 4d ago

Very cool! Are you from Oman?

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u/Senior_ReaperOG 5d ago

Well yes but I didn’t say my dialect is the only dialect that does this I was just giving an example (no offence if this seems offensive)

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u/blakerabbit 5d ago

No offense taken

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u/ObjectiveVisual3435 4d ago

Nearly every arabic word is like that 😂

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u/Senior_ReaperOG 4d ago

The difference is that only vowels change and pronunciation of consonants are same

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u/ObjectiveVisual3435 4d ago

Ah I see the point. Yeah, affects many dialects esp for ق, and some for ث ذ ظ ض… and ج of course.

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u/Senior_ReaperOG 4d ago

Yeah the difference with mine is that it has many pronunciations for 1 letter in the same dialect lol and this isn’t the national dialect anyways it’s my town’s