Shawi Arabic

Shawi Arabic
Šāwi Arabic
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Semitic West Semitic Central Semitic Arabic Mesopotamian Gilit Shawi Arabic
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–

Shawi or Šāwi Arabic is the Arabic dialect of the sheep-rearing Bedouins of Syro-Mesopotamia. The term Šāwi typically refers to the tribes living between the Tigris and the Euphrates, but many tribes are also found elsewhere, such as northern Jordan, Palestine, western Syria, and Lebanon. The dialect of the Arabs of Urfa also belongs to the Šāwi-Bedouin group.

Classification

Cantineau (1936) was the first classification the dialects of the sheep breeders of northern Arabia. He was the first to coin the terminology ‘petit-nomades’ (sheep breeders) and ‘grand-nomades’ (camel breeders). The Shawi dialects typically represent the ‘petit-nomades’ type.

The hallmark of Shawi dialects is the affrication of Old Arabic *k and *g (< *q) in front environments into č [t͡ʃ] and ǧ [d͡ʒ], respectively, as opposed to the north Arabian camel-breeder varieties, which exhibit ć [t͡s] and ź [d͡z]. This feature is shared with Gulf Arabic dialects.

History

Shawi tribes constitute the first recognized Bedouin migration wave from northern Arabia. Local traditions and some studies date their arrival to one millennium ago, although older migrations are likely for some clans.

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Interdental		Dental/Alveolar		Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Pharyngeal	Glottal
			plain	emph.	plain	emph.
Nasal		m			n
Stop	voiceless				t	tˤ	t͡ʃ	k	(q)		ʔ
	voiced	b			d		d͡ʒ	ɡ
Fricative	voiceless	f	θ		s	sˤ	ʃ	x		ħ	h
	voiced		ð	ðˤ	z	(zˤ)		ɣ		ʕ
Tap/Trill					ɾ ~ r
Approximant					l		j	w

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i iː		u uː
Mid	eː		oː
Open		a aː