ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE IPA

Khuzestani Arabic
Nawal Bahrani
Allameh Tabataba’i University
nawal.bahrani@yahoo.com

Golnaz Modarresi Ghavami

Department of Linguistics, Allameh Tabataba’i University
modarresighavami@atu.ac.ir

Khuzestani Arabic (ISO 639-3) is a minority language spoken in the southern west of Iran,
in Khuzestan province (see Figure 1). The majority of its speakers live in Ahwaz, Howeyzeh,
Bostan, Susangerd, Shush, Abadan, Khorramshahr, Shadegan, Hamidiyeh (Balawi & Khezri
2014: 107), Karun, and Bawi. According to Blanc (1964: 6), this variety of Arabic is closely
related to the Gelet subgroup of Mesopotamian dialects.1 This dialect is in contact with
Bakhtiyari Lori and Persian (Iranian languages of the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-European
language family), as well as Iraqi Arabic. The lexis of the dialect predominantly contains
Arabic words, but it also has several Persian, English, French, and Turkish loanwords.
There are idiosyncratic sociolinguistic differences among speakers from different cities
and tribes (examples are provided in the consonants and vowels sections). Almost all
Khuzestani Arabic speakers are bilingual in Arabic and Persian; the latter is the official
language of the country. However, in the northern and eastern cities of Khuzestan, Lori is
also spoken besides Persian, and in this region the Arabic of Kamari2 Arabs, is remarkably
influenced by Lori. At the center of cities such as Abadan, some of the younger generations,
especially females, tend to speak mainly Persian. Furthermore, a number of parents speak
only Persian with their children at home.
Nowadays, Khuzestani Arabic has a significant number of speakers in Iran. Based on a
survey conducted by the Ministry of Culture in 2010, 33.6% of the population of Khuzestan
(i.e. around 1.6 million people) are Arabs. Nevertheless, if the existing shift from Khuzestani
Arabic to Persian continues to the next generations, it will be on the edge of extinction in the
near future.
Contrary to many Arabic dialects, Khuzestani Arabic has received little scholarly
attention. Ingham (1997, 2007) gives a preliminary description of the dialect. Also there are
two almost totally identical M.A. theses on this dialect; Abiyyat (2005) and Balawi (2008)

1
The term Mesopotamian Arabic was first used by Blanc (1964), as a generic term for all Arabic varieties
spoken in Mesopotamia. He distinguished two major Arabic dialect groups in this region: Gelet and
Qeltu (different pronunciations of the sentence ‘I said’ in the respective dialects; Talay 2011: 909). The
Gelet dialects are mostly spoken by Muslims, especially in the southern areas, and the main speakers
of Qeltu dialects are non-Muslims (i.e. Jewish and Christians). These two dialect groups have many
features in common, however there are a number of differences which lend substance to the proposal of
a Gelet–Qeltu split. For example, unlike Qeltu, in Gelet dialects the affrication of Old Arabic (OA) (the
variety illustrated in the earliest existing examples of Arabic language and from which, it is assumed, the
later varieties have derived (Macdonald 2008: 464)) /k/ and the palatalization of OA /q/ occurred (Blanc
1964: 6–7).
2
Kamari is a Persian word meaning ‘from the foothill’. In the past, Kamari Arabs lived at the foot
of the Zagros Mountains in Khuzestan province. Today the majority of them have moved to cities
like Ramhormoz, Bagh Malek, Behbahan, and Masjed Soleyman, in search of work and better living
conditions. Kamari Arabs consider themselves to be a sub-branch of Bani T.orfi tribe.

Journal of the International Phonetic Association, page 1 of 15 © International Phonetic Association

doi:10.1017/S0025100319000203
2 Journal of the International Phonetic Association: Illustrations of the IPA

Figure 1 (Colour online) Map of Khuzestan province (Iran).

present a traditional letter-based description of the phonological system of Khuzestani

Arabic. Shabibi (2006) discusses the influences of Persian on this dialect. Alifar’s (2015)
sociolinguistic study indicates that Khuzestani Arabic spoken in Abadan, Khorramshahr,
and Shadegan is the prestigious one among young speakers in Ahwaz.
The purpose of the present paper is to describe the principal features of the phonological
system of Khuzestani Arabic.3 The participants of this study included 10 female and 20 male
adult native speakers from Abadan, aged between 25 and 55 years. They held a diploma or
a BA degree and spoke Arabic at home. The phonemic value of the sounds was determined
via minimal pairs/ sets, selected from among 800 collected words. Vowels and certain conso-
nants were also studied acoustically. The data were recorded in a quiet room and analyzed by
Praat software (version 5.3.56). The acoustic vowel data and other recordings in this article,
including the narrative, are based on samples recorded from a 54-year-old male speaker, a
school principal and poet from Abadan. Hence the information given in the subsequent parts
is based on Abadani variety. However, in referring to a number of sociolinguistic differences,
there are three samples from a 30-year-old Susangerdi female speaker of Sawāri tribe and
one sample from a Khorramshahri male speaker aged 27. At the end of the paper, the tran-
scription of The North Wind and the Sun story based on the pronunciation of the mentioned
Abadani male speaker is provided.

Consonants
Khuzestani Arabic has a rich consonantal inventory, with 33 consonants, five of which have
pharyngealization as secondary articulation (traditionally known as emphatics).

3
This paper is based on Bahrani 2017 – the first author’s MA thesis supervised by the second author.
 Nawal Bahrani & Golnaz Modarresi Ghavami: Khuzestani Arabic 3

Bilabial Labio- Dental Alveolar Post- Palatal Labio Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal
dental alveolar velar
Plosive (p) b t d c ‹ q /
t≥
Affricate tS dZ
Nasal m n
Tap R
R≥
Fricative f (v) T D s z S (Z) X Â h
D≥ s≥
Lateral l
l≥
Approximant j w ÷

CONSONANT TRANSCRIPTION ORTHOGRAPHY GLOSS

p /patu/ ‫ﭘﺘﻮ‬ blanket
b /ba˘t/ ‫ﺑﺎﺕ‬ (he) slept over/sleep over
(IMP, M, S)
t /ti˘n/ ‫ﺗﻴﻦ‬ fig
t≥ /t≥i˘n/ ‫ﻁﻴﻦ‬ mud
d /di˘n/ ‫ﺩﻳﻦ‬ religion
c /calam/ ‫ﮐﻠﻢ‬ cabbage

‹ /‹a˘l/ ‫ﮔﺎﻝ‬ (he) said

q /qalam/ ‫ﻗﻠﻢ‬ pen

/ //amal/ ‫ﺃَﻣﻞ‬ hope

tS /tSa˘n/ ‫ﭼﺎﻥ‬ (he/it) was
dZ /dZa˘s/ ‫ﺟﺎﺱ‬ (he) touched
m /ma˘l/ ‫ﻣﺎﻝ‬ property
n /na˘m/ ‫ﻧﺎﻡ‬ (he) slept/sleep (IMP, M, S)
R /Ri˘l/ ‫ﺭﻳﻞ‬ foot
R≥ /R≥a˘d/ [R≥A˘d] ‫ﺭﺍﺩ‬ (he) wanted
f /fa˘l/ ‫ﻓﺎﻝ‬ divination
v /van/ ‫ﻭﻥ‬ van
T /Ta˘l/ ‫ﺛﺎﻝ‬ (he) became mentally unstable
4 Journal of the International Phonetic Association: Illustrations of the IPA

D /Da˘n/ ‫ﺫﺍﻥ‬ ear

D≥ /D≥all/ [D≥Al] ‫ﺿﻞ‬ (he) strayed

s /sall/ ‫ﺳﻞ‬ (he) became weak

s≥ /s≥all/ [s≥Al] ‫ﺻﻞ‬ (he) connected

z /za˘d/ ‫ﺯﺍﺩ‬ food

S /Sa˘l/ ‫ﺷﺎﻝ‬ (he) picked up

Z /Za˘cet/ ‫ژﺍﮐﺖ‬ jacket

X /Xa˘n/ [XA˘n] ‫ﺧﺎﻥ‬ (he) betrayed

 /Âa˘s/ ‫ﺣﺎﺱ‬ (he) moved slightly

h /ha˘mm/ ‫ﻫﺎﻡ‬ important

l /la˘m/ ‫ﻻﻡ‬ (he) blamed

l≥ /Xa˘l≥/ [XA˘l≥] ‫ﺧﺎﻝ‬ a brother of one’s mother

j /ja˘b/ ‫ﻳﺎﺏ‬ (he) brought

w /wa˘m/ [wA˘m] ‫ﻭﺍﻡ‬ loan

÷ /÷a˘m/ [÷3a˘m] ‫ﻋﺎﻡ‬ year

The consonants of Khuzestani Arabic are seen in 10 places and seven manners of artic-
ulation. Stops include /(p) b t t≥ d c ‹ q //. The voiceless bilabial plosive /p/ appears in
loanwords only (e.g. /patu/ ‘blanket’, from Persian). Phonologically, the two front dorsal
consonants have a palatal place of articulation under the influence of Persian and are hence
represented as /c ‹/. These two consonants have a post-palatal (velar) allophone before cen-
tral/back vowels and a palatal allophone elsewhere (before front vowels as well as after all
vowels).4 The Old Arabic (OA) /q/ and /ƒ/ have merged into /q/ (e.g. OA /qa˘lib/ > /qa˘leb/
‘template’, OA /ƒa˘lib/ > /qa˘leb/ ‘dominant’). This voiceless uvular stop has a voiced uvu-
lar fricative allophone between two vocoids as in /mel÷aqa/ [mel÷a“a] ‘spatula’ and /aqwa/
[/a“wA] ‘stronger’. The OA glottal voiceless sound /// is generally deleted medially, result-
ing in compensatory lengthening of the preceding vowel when it occurs syllable-finally. This
glottal sound is sometimes replaced by /j/ (e.g. OA /ma˘// > /ma˘j/ ‘water’, OA /mi/a/ >
/mijja/ [mijje] ‘hundred’).
There are two post-alveolar affricates in Khuzestani Arabic, namely /tS/ and /dZ/. The
voiceless affricate /tS/ comes from OA /k/ in the context of front vowels (e.g. OA /ba˘kir/
‘early’ > /ba˘tSeR/ ‘tomorrow’). In Abadan and other cities like Ahwaz, the OA /dZ/ has
shifted to /j/ in some words (e.g. OA /dZalaba/ > /ja˘b/ ‘(he) brought’), while it has remained
unchanged in others (e.g. OA /dZa˘sa/ > /dZa˘s/ ‘(he) touched’). As a sociolinguistic vari-
ation, the same consonant is replaced by /Z/ for Sawāri, H.eydari, and Sā B edi tribes from

4
This observation is confirmed by acoustic measurements of F2 onset in the spectrogram of these con-
sonants in pre- and post-vocalic positions, where a high-burst peak is seen. It should nevertheless be
mentioned that the post-palatal place of articulation is heard in the pronunciation of some speakers.
 Nawal Bahrani & Golnaz Modarresi Ghavami: Khuzestani Arabic 5

Susangerd and Hamidiyeh (/Za˘b/ ‘(he) brought’). Meanwhile, this OA consonant is preserved
in Khorramshahr (/dZa˘b/ ‘(he) brought’).5
Fricatives include /f (v) T D D≥ s s≥ z S (Z) X Â h/. Like /p/, /v/ and /Z/ only appear in
loanwords (e.g. /van/ ‘van’, /Za˘cet/ ‘jacket’). All three phonemes appear as /b/, /w/, and /dZ/,
respectively, in the pronunciation of older generations. The OA /d≥/ has merged with /D≥/ to
result in /D≥/ (e.g. OA /D≥all/ > /D≥all/ [D≥Al]‘(he) stayed’, OA /d≥all/ > /D≥all/ [D≥Al] ‘(he)
strayed’). In addition to the original form, the reflexes of OA /q/ are /c/ (e.g. OA /waqt/
> /wact/ [wAcet] ‘time’), /‹/ (OA /qa˘la/ > /‹a˘l/ ‘(he) said’), and /dZ/ (e.g. OA /qari˘b/ >
/dZeRi˘b/ ‘near’, OA /Sarqi˘/ ‘eastern’ > /SaRdZi/ ‘very hot and humid weather’). This is similar
to many other Arabic varieties such as the dialects of Muslims in Baghdad (Erwin 1969
[2004]), Southern Iraq, Gulf coast, and central Palestinian villages (Holes 2004: 74). The
voiced pharyngeal consonant /÷/ appears mainly as an approximant in the pronunciation of
the speakers of this dialect, although a more closed allophone (fricative) may appear word-
initially and word-finally in the pronunciation of some speakers.
Sonorant consonants include /m n R R≥ l l≥ j w ÷/. In OA, the emphatic /l≥/ exists only in
the word /al≥l≥a˘h/ [/Al≥l≥A˘h] ‘God’ and its derived forms except when it is preceded by /i/
(Fischer 2002: 18). Similar to Iraqi Arabic (Erwin 1969 [2004]), other examples containing
this sound can be found in Khuzestani Arabic (e.g. /Xa˘l≥/ [XA˘l≥] ‘a brother of one’s mother’).
Finally, /l/ of the definite article completely assimilates to all the following coronal
consonants.

Vowels
Khuzestani Arabic has 11 vowels: /i i˘ e e˘ a a˘ u u˘ o o˘ A/. The traditional quadrilateral vowel
plot of Khuzestani Arabic monophthongs is as follows:

There are five phonetic diphthongs in this dialect: [ie ai ou ei au]. In a number of words,
[ei] and [ie] correspond to OA /aj/. Figure 2 contains the acoustic vowel plot of Khuzestani
Arabic monophthongs and diphthongs.
This vowel plot is based on F1 and F2 formant measurements of one repetition of words
by the 54-year-old Abadani male speaker mentioned above. Formant measurements were
done by hand at vowel midpoint. Due to contextual restrictions on some vowels, all 11
vowels could not be placed in one minimal set. The words utilized for drawing the vowel
plot are as follows:

Monophthongs
VOWEL TRANSCRIPTION ORTHOGRAPHY GLOSS

i /i˘di/ ‫ﺇﻳﺪی‬ my hand

i˘ /÷i˘S/ ‫ﻋﻴﺶ‬ live (IMP, M, S)

5
Because of long-term contact with Abadani and Ahwazi speakers, the same change of /dZ/ > /j/ is
observed in the present-day speech of some Khorramshahri speakers.
6 Journal of the International Phonetic Association: Illustrations of the IPA

Figure 2 Vowel plot of Khuzestani Arabic Monophthongs and diphthongs (male speaker).

e /Se‹‹/ ‫ِﺷﮓ‬ tear up (IMP, M, S)

e˘ /÷e˘S/ ‫ﻋﻴﺶ‬ bread

a /Sa‹‹/ ‫ﺷَﮓ‬ tore up (M, 3, S)

a˘ /Sa˘f/ ‫ﺷﺎﻑ‬ saw (M, 3, S)

u /ma˘cu/ [mA˘cu] ‫ﻣﺎﮐﻮ‬ (it) doesn’t exist

u˘ /Su˘f/ ‫ﺷﻮﻑ‬ see (IMP, M, S)

o /Âobb/ ‫ﺣﺐ‬ love

o˘ /So˘f/ ‫ﺷﻮﻑ‬ seeing (N)

A /hAl/ ‫ﻫﺎﻝ‬ saloon

Diphthongs
DIPHTHONG TRANSCRIPTION ORTHOGRAPHY GLOSS

[ie] [biet] ‫ﺑﻴﺖ‬ home

[ai] [Âai] ‫ﺣﯽ‬ alive (M)

[ou] [soude] ‫ﺳﻮﺩﻩ‬ baking soda

[ei] [neime] ‫ﻧﻴﻤﻪ‬ star (F)

[au] [celau] ‫ﮐﻠﻮ‬ (they M) ate

 Nawal Bahrani & Golnaz Modarresi Ghavami: Khuzestani Arabic 7

The phoneme /A/ only exists in loanwords from Persian (e.g. /AS/ ‘a thick Iranian soup’,
/AbpAS/ ‘watering can’) and other languages (e.g. /motcAR/ ‘motorcar’, /AncAl/ ‘on call’). This
low back vowel is sometimes fronted (e.g. Persian /jaxtSAl/ > Khuzestani Arabic /jaXtSa˘l/
‘refrigerator’). For the remaining 10 vowels, vowel length is contrastive and each short vowel
has a long counterpart. Speakers tend to use /e/ and /o/ in place of the OA short high vowels
/i/ and /u/ (e.g. OA /min/ > /men/ ‘from’, OA /dubb/ > /dobb/ ‘bear (M)’). In word-medial
position, the two OA diphthongs /aj/ and /aw/ are generally monophthongized to the long
vowels /e˘/ and /o˘/ (e.g. OA /÷ajS/ ‘life’ > /÷e˘S/ ‘bread’, OA /lawn/ > /lo˘n/ ‘color’, OA
/jawm/ > /jo˘m/ ‘day’). However, in some cases OA /aj/ has changed to /je/ (e.g. OA /lajl/
> /ljel/ ‘night’, OA /bajt/ > /bjet/ ‘home’). Except in some monosyllabic words, the OA
long vowels /i˘ u˘ a˘/ have lost their [+long] feature word-finally (e.g. OA /SaRqi˘/ > /SaRqi/
‘eastern’).
The vowels /a a˘/ generally change into a back low vowel ([A A˘]) in the context of
emphatics and sometimes when they are adjacent to /‹ w X q  ÷ h // (e.g. /Xa˘n/ [XA˘n]
‘(he) betrayed’, /D≥all/ [D≥Al] ‘(he) strayed’). In a few examples, the same change is observed
in the context of labial consonants (e.g. /jumma/ [jummA] ‘mother (VOC)’). Erwin (1969
[2004]: 48) explains that in Iraqi Arabic labial consonants can be pharyngealized (e.g. /b≥
m≥ f≥/). In Khuzestani Arabic, the vowel change in the environment of labial consonants
suggests that they can be pharyngealized as well, although the phonemic status of these con-
sonants has not been confirmed in our study. The application of this phonological process is
related to sociolinguistic differences; for example, unlike speakers from Abadan, Ahwaz, and
Khorramshahr, the three Sawāri, H.eydari, and Sā‘edi tribes from Susangerd and Hamidiyeh,
utter the OA words /ana˘/ ‘I’ and /ma˘// ‘water’ with changing the first vowel into a low back
vowel, namely [/a˘ne] ‘I’ and [ma˘j] vs. [/A˘ne] ‘I’ and [mA˘j] ‘water’.
The raising of final /a/ (traditionally known as imāla ‘inclination’), which has been rec-
ognized in many Arabic varieties, such as the dialects of Amman (Al-Wer 2007: 68–69),
Beirut (Naïm 2006: 276), Damascus (Lentin 2006: 547), and Muslims of Baghdad (Jastrow
2007: 418), also exists in Khuzestani Arabic. The level of raising and the extent to which this
process occurs is different from one dialect to another. In Khuzestani Arabic, final /a/ raises
to become a mid front vowel [e]. This process occurs in the feminine gender marker and the
3rd person singular masculine and feminine oblique morphemes /-a/ and /-ha/.

Raising of final /a/ of the feminine gender marker

TRANSCRIPTION ORTHOGRAPHY GLOSS

/Xi˘s-a/ [Xi˘se] ‫ﺧﻴﺴﻪ‬ small leaf of the palm tree, smelly

/cu˘S-a/ [cu˘Se] ‫ﮐﻮﺷﻪ‬ messy hair

/fa˘t≥m-a/ [fA˘t≥me] ‫ﻓﺎﻁﻤﻪ‬ proper name (F)

/Xet≥b-a/ [Xet≥be] ‫ﺧﻄﺒﻪ‬ engagement

/t≥a˘s-a/ [t≥A˘se] ‫ﻁﺎﺳﻪ‬ bowl

/waRd-a/ [wARde] ‫ﻭﺭﺩﻩ‬ flower

/D≥a˘lm-a/ [D≥A˘lme] ‫ﻅﺎﻟﻤﻪ‬ cruel (F)

/Âabb-a/ [Âabbe] ‫ﺣﺒّﻪ‬ seed

8 Journal of the International Phonetic Association: Illustrations of the IPA

Raising of final /a/ of the 3rd person singular masculine oblique morpheme

TRANSCRIPTION ORTHOGRAPHY GLOSS

/lo˘n-a/ [lo˘ne] ‫ﻟﻮﻧﻪ‬ his/its color

/D≥edd-a/ [D≥edde] ‫ﺿﺪﻩ‬ against him/it

/t≥e˘f-a/ [t≥e˘fe] ‫ﻁﻴﻔﻪ‬ his/its spirit

/Âa˘l-a/ [Âa˘le] ‫ﺣﺎﻟﻪ‬ his/its condition

Raising of final /a/ of the 3rd person singular feminine oblique morpheme

TRANSCRIPTION ORTHOGRAPHY GLOSS

/lo˘n-ha/ [lo˘nhe] ‫ﻟﻮﻧﻬﻪ‬ her/its color

/D≥edd-ha/ [D≥edhe] ‫ﺿﺪﻫﻪ‬ against her/it

/t≥e˘f-ha/ [t≥e˘fhe] ‫ﻁﻴﻔﻬﻪ‬ her/its spirit

/Âa˘l-ha/ [Âa˘lhe] ‫ﺣﺎﻟﻬﻪ‬ her/its condition

It is also seen in other examples and seems to have spread considerably to the instances of /a/
in final position.

Raising of final /a/ in other origins of this sound

TRANSCRIPTION ORTHOGRAPHY GLOSS

/a˘na/ [/a˘ne] ‫ﺍﻧﻪ‬ I

/ha˘ja/ [ha˘je] ‫ﻫﺎﻳﻪ‬ this (F)

/Xu˘ja/ [Xu˘je] ‫ﺧﻮﻳﻪ‬ brother (VOC)

/bu˘ja/ [bu˘je] ‫ﺑﻮﻳﻪ‬ father (VOC)

/enta/ [/ente] ‫ﺍﻧﺖ‬ you (M)

/cila/ [cile] ‫ﮐﻠﻪ‬ (he) ate

/henna/ [henne] ‫ﻫﻨّﻪ‬ they (F)

/eÂna/ [/eÂne] ‫ﺍﺣﻨﻪ‬ we

/jamta/ [jamte] ‫ﻳﻤﺘﻪ‬ when

/da˘R-na/ [da˘Rne] ‫ﺩﺍﺭﻧﻪ‬ our room

/ReÂ-na/ [ReÂne] ‫ﺭﺣﻨﻪ‬ (we) went

 Nawal Bahrani & Golnaz Modarresi Ghavami: Khuzestani Arabic 9

Despite the widespread application of the raising process in Khuzestani Arabic, examples
can still be found in which this final sound remains unchanged or is backed, mainly in the
vicinity of consonants with posterior place of articulation.

Absence of final /a/ raising process in the feminine gender marker

TRANSCRIPTION ORTHOGRAPHY GLOSS

/mant≥aq-a/ [mAnt≥AqA] ‫ﻣﻨﻄﻘﻪ‬ area

/Rot≥u˘b-a/ [Rot≥u˘bA] ‫ﺭﻁﻮﺑﻪ‬ humidity

/sa˘÷-a/ [sa˘÷a] ‫ﺳﺎﻋﻪ‬ hour

/bat≥t≥-a/ [bAt≥t≥A] ‫ﺑﻄﻪ‬ duck (F)

/caRw-a/ [caRwA] ‫ﮐﺮﻭﻩ‬ carfare

/Âelw-a/ [ÂelwA] ‫ﺣﻠﻮﻩ‬ beautiful (F)

/‹us≥s≥-a/ [‹us≥s≥A] ‫ﺼﻪ‬

ّ ‫ﮔ‬ forehead

/‹ahw-a/ [‹ahwA] ‫ﮔﻬﻮﻩ‬ coffee

Absence of final /a/ raising in the 3rd person masculine and feminine oblique morphemes
/-a/ and /-ha/

TRANSCRIPTION ORTHOGRAPHY GLOSS

/s≥aff-a/ [s≥AffA] ‫ﺻﻔّﻪ‬ his class

/s≥aff-ha/ [s≥AfhA] ‫ﺻﻔﻬﻪ‬ her class

/t≥u˘l-a/ [t≥u˘lA] ‫ﻁﻮﻟﻪ‬ his height

/t≥u˘l-ha/ [t≥u˘lhA] ‫ﻁﻮﻟﻬﻪ‬ her height

Absence of final /a/ raising in other origins of this sound

TRANSCRIPTION ORTHOGRAPHY GLOSS

/jumma/ [jummA] ‫ﻳﻤﺎ‬ mother (VOC)

/jal≥l≥a/ [jAl≥l≥A] ‫ﻳﻼ‬ hurry up

/towwa/ [towwA] ‫ﺗﻮﺍ‬ very recently

/tiswa/ [tiswA] ‫ﺗﺴﻮﺍ‬ it (F) is worth it.

/huwa/ [huwA] ‫ﻫﻮﺍ‬ he

/ohma/ [/ohmA] ‫ﺍﻫﻤﺎ‬ they (DU)

10 Journal of the International Phonetic Association: Illustrations of the IPA

Syllable structure
The following six syllable types are observed in Khuzestani Arabic:

SYLLABLE TRANSCRIPTION ORTHOGRAPHY GLOSS

(C)V /bi/ ‫ﺒـ‬ in

(C)V˘ /la˘/ ‫ﻻ‬ no

(C)VC /men/ ‫ﻣﻦ‬ from

(C)V˘C /Xo˘S/ ‫ﺧﻮﺵ‬ okay

(C)V˘CC /Xa˘s≥s≥/ [XA˘s≥] ‫ﺧﺎﺹ‬ special

(C)VCC /tSebb/ ‫ﭼﺐ‬ pour (IMP, M, S)/shut up (IMP, M, S)

Empty onsets are filled by a glottal stop at the phonetic level. Only vowels fill the nucleus
position. Generally, consonant clusters are not allowed. However, there are a few loanwords
(e.g. /Zest/ [Zest] ‘gesture’) with a CC cluster in coda position. Phonologically, in Arabic
words, CVCC and CV˘CC are also allowed, provided that the final consonants are identical.
Identical and adjacent second and third radical consonants do not appear word-finally and
only appear when followed by a vowel, e.g.:
Arabic words with identical 2nd and 3rd radical consonants

TRANSCRIPTION ORTHOGRAPHY GLOSS

[tSeb] ‫ِﭼﺐ‬ pour (IMP, M, S)/shut up (IMP, M, S)

[tSeb.bi] ‫ِﭼﺒّﯽ‬ pour (IMP, F, S)/shut up (IMP, F, S)

[XA˘s≥] ‫ﺧﺎﺹ‬ special

[XA˘s≥.s≥i] ‫ﺻﯽ‬
ّ ‫ﺧﺎ‬ my special

Thus, /tSebb/ ‘pour!’ appears as [tSeb] when followed by silence or a consonant-initial

morpheme. The same morpheme appears as [tSebb] when followed by a vowel, as in [tSebbi].
The prohibition of final clusters in Khuzestani Arabic has resulted in the insertion of an
auxiliary vowel between the two consonants where OA or a loanword contains such clusters.
This is illustrated in the following two lists:
Vowel insertion in word-final consonant clusters in Khuzestani Arabic

OA PHONEMIC PHONETIC ORTHOGRAPHY GLOSS

TRANSCRIPTION TRANSCRIPTION

/Âulm/ /Âelm/ (CVCC) [Âe.lem] (CV.CVC) ‫ﺣﻠﻢ‬ dream

/sabt/ /sabt/ (CVCC) [sa.bet] (CV.CVC) ‫ﺳﺒﺖ‬ Saturday

/Sakl/ /Secl/ (CVCC) [Se.cel] (CV.CVC) ‫ﺷﮑﻞ‬ shape

/dars/ /daRs/ (CVCC) [da.Res] (CV.CVC) ‫ﺩﺭﺱ‬ study

 Nawal Bahrani & Golnaz Modarresi Ghavami: Khuzestani Arabic 11

Loanword adaptation in Khuzestani Arabic

PHONEMIC PHONETIC ORTHOGRAPHY GLOSS

TRANSCRIPTION TRANSCRIPTION

/felm/ (CVCC) [fe.lem] (CV.CVC) ‫ﻓﻠﻢ‬ film

/maSq/ (CVCC) [ma.Seq] (CV.CVC) ‫ﻣﺸﻖ‬ homework

If a morpheme with an empty onset occurs after words ending in a consonant cluster, no
auxiliary vowel is added. Instead, as seen in the examples in (1) below, the second element of
the consonant cluster fills the empty onset position.

(1) a. /Âelm/ + /-i/ (my) # [Âel.mi] (CV.CV) ‘my dream’

b. /daRs/ + /-i/ (my) # [daR.si] (CV.CV) ‘my study’

c. /felm/ + /-i/ (my) # [fel.mi] (CV.CV) ‘my film’

d. /maSq/ + /-i/ (my) # [maS.qi] (CV.CV) ‘my homework’

Stress
It appears that the stress rules of Khuzestani Arabic are similar to those in Iraqi Arabic
described by Erwin (1969 [2004]: 13–74). If the last syllable of a word is heavy (CV˘(C)(C),
CVCC), it carries primary stress, e.g.:

Word-final stress in Khuzestani Arabic

TRANSCRIPTION ORTHOGRAPHY GLOSS

/ja˘ » mu˘s/ ‫ﻳﺎﻣﻮﺱ‬ buffalo

/mu » D≥a˘dd/ [mu » D≥A˘d] ‫ﻣﻀﺎﺩ‬ contrary

/Su˘fi-a/ [Su˘ » fi˘] ‫ﺷﻮﻓﻴﻪ‬ look at (IMP, F, S) him

/Su˘fu-a/ [Su˘ » fu˘] ‫ﺷﻮﻓﻮﻩ‬ look at (IMP, M, PL) him

/jo˘ » ÷a˘n/ ‫ﻳﻮﻋﺎﻥ‬ hungry

/mo˘ » dZu˘d/ ‫ﻣﻮﺟﻮﺩ‬ existent

/di » ja˘j/ ‫ﺩﻳﺎی‬ chicken

/ji » ba˘l/ ‫ﻳﺒﺎﻝ‬ mountains

/dec » ca˘n/ ‫ﺩ ّﮐﺎﻥ‬ store

/na˘ » RendZ/ ‫ﻧﺎﺭﻧﺞ‬ bitter orange

/Sat≥ » RandZ/ ‫ﺷﻄﺮﻧﺞ‬ chess

12 Journal of the International Phonetic Association: Illustrations of the IPA

/ji » Âebb/ ‫ﻳﺤﺐ‬ (he) loves

/mo » mell/ ‫ﻣﻤﻞ‬ boring

/ji » Âess/ ‫ﻳﺤﺲ‬ (he) feels

This statement holds true regardless of the number of syllables in a word and regardless of
the presence or absence of other long vowels in the preceding syllables.
If the final syllable is not heavy, stress falls on the heavy syllable nearest to the end of the
word. If there are no heavy syllables among the last three syllables of the word, stress falls on
the penultimate syllable in two-syllable words and on antepenultimate syllable in all others.
Non-final word stress in Khuzestani Arabic

TRANSCRIPTION ORTHOGRAPHY GLOSS

/ » ja˘b-a/ [ » ja˘be] ‫ﻳﺎﺑﻪ‬ (he) brought him/it

/ » wa˘jed/ [ » wA˘jed] ‫ﻭﺍﻳﺪ‬ many

/ » jeru/ ‫ﻳﺮﻭ‬ puppy

/ » nabi/ ‫ﻧﺒﯽ‬ prophet

/ » saÂaR/ ‫ﺳﺤﺮ‬ proper name (F)

/ » Xa˘li/ ‫ﺧﺎﻟﯽ‬ empty

/ » Resam/ ‫ﺭﺳﻢ‬ (he) drew

/ » madRasa/ [ » madRase] ‫ﻣﺪﺭﺳﻪ‬ school

/t≥a » ma˘t≥a/ [t≥A » mA˘t≥A] ‫ﻁﻤﺎﻁﻪ‬ tomato

/ » qendaRa/ ‫ﻗﻨﺪﺭﻩ‬ shoe

/ » mel÷aqa/ ‫ﻣﻠﻌﻘﻪ‬ spatula

/dac » tu˘Ra/ ‫ﺩﮐﺘﻮﺭﻩ‬ doctor (F)

/ » wi˘dijo/ ‫ﻭﻳﺪﻳﻮ‬ video

There are some grammatical features which affect the stress pattern of the word. For
example, in words ending in the suffix /-a/ ‘him/it (M)’, stress falls on the syllable preceding
that suffix. For the feminine object pronoun /-ha/, stress also falls on the preceding syllable.
If that syllable is an open syllable, its vowel is lengthened:

TRANSCRIPTION ORTHOGRAPHY GLOSS

/ » Xa˘beR/ ‫ﺧﺎﺑﺮ‬ call up (IMP, M, S)

/Xa˘ » beR-ha/ [Xa˘ » beRhe] ‫ﺧﺎﺑﺮﻫﻪ‬ call her up (IMP, M, S)

 Nawal Bahrani & Golnaz Modarresi Ghavami: Khuzestani Arabic 13

/Re » sam-a/ [Re » seme] ‫ﺭﺳﻤﻪ‬ (he) drew him/it

/ » ja˘Xez/ ‫ﻳﺎﺧﺬ‬ (he) takes/(he) marries

/ja˘ » XeD-ha/ [ja˘ » XeDhe] ‫ﻳﺎﺧﺬﻫﻪ‬ (he) takes her/(he) marries her

Transcription of the recorded passage ‘The North Wind and the Sun’
The story’s orthographic transcription is in the Khuzestani Arabic orthography. The speaker
on whose recording the transcription is based was a 54-year-old adult male native speaker
from Abadan.

English version
The North Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger, when a traveler came
along wrapped in a warm cloak. They agreed that the one who first succeeded in making the
traveler take his cloak off should be considered stronger than the other. Then the North Wind
blew as hard as he could, but the more he blew the more closely did the traveler fold his cloak
around him; and at last the North Wind gave up the attempt. Then the Sun shined out warmly,
and immediately the traveler took off his cloak. And so the North Wind obliged to confess
that the Sun was the stronger of the two.

Transcription
hAwA Ì SSima˘l Ñ wu Ì SSames Ñ tSa˘nu jitSa˘dZRu˘n Ñ bi/an ja˘hu minhum /A“wA Ñ
/ebÂi˘nethe Ì wAs≥Al musa˘feR min Ì iddaRo(b) Ñ /u tSa˘n la˘f ÷ala Ru˘Âa ÷aba˘je da˘fije Ñ
÷ohmA Ì twA˘fqAu Ñ cilman minhum Ñ ‹idaR /asRa÷ Ñ /inezze÷ Ì ilmusa˘feR ÷aba˘jte Ñ /ohwA
/A“wA Ñ ba÷dien Ñ hAwA Ì SSima˘l Ñ habb Ì ebcil qu˘te Ñ la˘cen Ñ cilma tSa˘n jiheb /acTaR
Ñ /elmusa˘feR jilif Ì il÷aba˘je ÷ala Ru˘Âa Ñ /acTaR Ñ /u binnaha˘je Ñ hawa Ì lSima˘l Ñ ja˘z
min muÂa˘wAle Ñ ba÷adhe Ì SSames Ñ bidat tis≥hAR Ì ebÂaRA˘Rathe Ñ wu Ì lmusa˘feR fo˘Ran
Ñniza÷ Ì el÷aba˘je Ñ /u bennati˘dZe Ñ hawA Ì SSima˘l Ñ /endZubaR je÷teRef /ebquwwAt Ì iSSames
Ñ /acTaR minne Ñ

Orthographic version
‫ ﺍﺑﺤﻴﻨﺘﻬﻪ ﻭﺻﻞ ﻣﺴﺎﻓﺮ ﻣﻦ ﺍﻟﺪﺭﺏ ﺍﻭ ﭼﺎﻥ ﻻﻑ ﻋﻠﯽ ﺭﻭﺣﻪ ﻋﺒﺎﻳﻪ‬.‫ﻫﻮﺍ ﺍﻟﺸﻤﺎﻝ ﻭ ﺍﻟﺸﻤﺲ ﭼﺎﻧﻮ ﻳﺘﺸﺎﺟﺮﻭﻥ ﺑﺄﻥ ﻳﺎﻫﻮ ﻣﻨﻬﻢ ﺍﻗﻮی‬
‫ ﻟﮑﻦ ﮐﻠﻤﺎ ﭼﺎﻥ‬.‫ ﺑﻌﺪﻳﻦ ﻫﻮﺍ ﺍﻟﺸﻤﺎﻝ ﻫﺐ ﺍﺑﮑﻞ ﻗﻮﺗﻪ‬.‫ ﺍﻫﻤﺎ ﺍﺗﻮﺍﻓﻘﻮﺍ ﮐﻠﻤﻦ ﻣﻨﻬﻢ ﮔﺪﺭ ﺍﺳﺮﻉ ﺍﻳﻨﺰﻉ ﺍﻟﻤﺴﺎﻓﺮ ﻋﺒﺎﻳﺘﻪ ﺍﻫﻮﻩ ﺍﻗﻮی‬.‫ﺩﺍﻓﻴﻪ‬
‫ ﺑﻌﺪﻫﻪ ﺍﻟﺸﻤﺲ ﺑﺪﺕ ﺗﺼﻬﺮ ﺍﺑﺤﺮﺍﺭﺗﻬﻪ‬.‫ ﺍﻟﻤﺴﺎﻓﺮ ﺍﻳﻠﻒ ﺍﻟﻌﺒﺎﻳﻪ ﻋﻠﯽ ﺭﻭﺣﻪ ﺍﮐﺜﺮ ﺍﻭ ﺑﺎﻟﻨﻬﺎﻳﻪ ﻫﻮﺍ ﺍﻟﺸﻤﺎﻝ ﻳﺎﺯ ﻣﻦ ﻣﺤﺎﻭﻟﻪ‬،‫ﺍﻳﻬﺐ ﺍﮐﺜﺮ‬
.‫ ﺍﻭ ﺑﺎﻟﻨﺘﻴﺠﻪ ﻫﻮﺍ ﺍﻟﺸﻤﺎﻝ ﺍﻧﺠﺒﺮ ﻳﻌﺘﺮﻑ ﺍﺑﻘﻮﺕ ﺍﻟﺸﻤﺲ ﺍﮐﺜﺮ ﻣﻨّﻪ‬.‫ﻭ ﺍﻟﻤﺴﺎﻓﺮ ﻓﻮﺭﺍ ﻧﺰﻉ ﺍﻟﻌﺒﺎﻳﻪ‬

ABBREVIATIONS

3 third person
DU double
F feminine
F1 1st formant
F2 2nd formant
IMP imperative
14 Journal of the International Phonetic Association: Illustrations of the IPA

M masculine
N noun
OA Old Arabic
PL plural
S singular
VOC vocative

Acknowledgements
We extend our sincere thanks to Ms. I. Shamus, Mr. Donya’izadeh, Mr. Musavi, Mr. Ghayyem, and
other Khuzestani Arabic speakers in Abadan who helped us in gathering the required data and record-
ing samples. We also are extremely grateful to the editor of the Journal of International Phonetic
Association and reviewers of this Illustration for their comments and suggestions that helped in the
clarification of certain points and improved the article.

Supplementary material
To view supplementary material for this article, please visit https://doi.org/10.1017/
S0025100319000203.

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