Changes in the Balawiy Bedouin Arabic dialect of Saudi Arabia 1985-2015

Abstract

In this research, I investigate how the Balawiy Bedouin Arabic dialect spoken in northwestern Saudi Arabia has demonstrated language change during the past 30 years. With two groups of native Balawiy Bedouin speakers—one of participants aged at least 55 years and the other of participants aged no more than 25 years. Individual semistructured interviews were selected for the method of the research. Findings of interviews reveal language changes in the dialect’s phonological, morphological, lexical, and semantic aspects, though syntax remains conservative between both generations of speakers. Above all, most changes occurred with lexical items, many of which have been borrowed from other Arabic varieties. Findings thus suggest that Balawiy Bedouin is not only changeable, but moreover influenced by other varieties of Arabic present in the environments of current Balawiy speakers such as Modern Standard Arabic. Ultimately, these findings should be of interest of linguists, Saudi grammarians, and all Balawiy Bedouin speakers.