Numeral form selection and accommodation in Gulf Pidgin Arabic
This study deals with the creation of cardinal numerals and accommodation in Gulf Pidgin Arabic (GPA) as it is
spoken among foreign workers (FWs) and native Saudi Arabic speakers (Ss) in Saudi Arabia. Under the
Feature Pool
Hypothesis (
Mufwene, 2001) and the
Mutual Accommodation
Theory (
Thomason & Kaufman, 1988), this study looks at the features of
gender and number agreement, and word order of the cardinal numeral and the noun. Data comes from interviews between Ss and FWs in
GPA, and photo elicitation interviews used with Ss to identify how cardinals are used in Najdi Arabic. Through the lens of the
Feature Pool Model, I offer a brief account of how cardinal numeral forms are selected in GPA. In particular, I examine how well
cognitive factors account for the development and restructuring processes of the cardinal numeral system in GPA by taking into
account factors such as frequency, perceptual salience (detectability), and pattern regularization, as well as the Foreigner-Talk
register and accommodation. The results reveal strong tendencies of accommodation and conventionalization in numeral form
selection.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Socio-historical overview of Gulf Pidgin Arabic
- 3.Cardinal numerals in Northern Najdi Arabic
- 4.Theoretical preliminaries
- 4.1The feature pool and form selection
- 4.1.1Frequency
- 4.1.2Perceptual salience (detectability)
- 4.1.3Pattern regularization
- 4.2Social factors
- 5.The current study
- 6.Methods
- 6.1Participants
- 6.2Data collection – Tasks and materials
- 6.3Coding scheme
- 6.4Exclusions
- 7.Results
- 7.1Numerals 1–2 + Noun
- 7.2Numerals 3–10 + Noun
- 7.3Compound numerals – 13–99
- 7.4Conventionalization of cardinal numerals in GPA
- 8.Discussion
- 9.Conclusion
- Notes
-
References
References (88)
References
Alghamdi, E. (2014). Gulf
Pidgin Arabic: A descriptive and statistical analysis of stability. International Journal of
Linguistics
6
(6), 110–127. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Almoaily, M. (2008). A
data-based description of Urdu Pidgin Arabic. Unpublished Master’s
thesis. Newcastle University, UK.
Almoaily, M. (2012). Language
variation in Gulf Pidgin Arabic. Unpublished PhD
dissertation. Newcastle University, UK.
Alshammari, W. (2018). The
development of and accommodation in Gulf Pidgin Arabic: Verbal and pronominal form
selection. Unpublished PhD dissertation. Indiana University.
Al-Sharkawi, M. (2005). Arabicization:
A case of second language acquisition. Unpublished PhD
dissertation. Radboud Universiteit, Nijmegen.
Al-Sharkawi, M. (2007). Arabic
foreigner talk. In K. Versteegh (Ed.), Encyclopedia
of the Arabic language and
linguistics, vol. 21 (pp. 116–122). Brill.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Al-Sharkawi, M. (2010). The
ecology of Arabic: A study of Arabicization. Brill. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Arthur, B., Weiner, F., Culver, M., Lee, Y. & Thomas, D. (1980). The
register of impersonal discourse to foreigners: Verbal adjustments to foreign
accent. In D. Larsen-Freeman (Ed.), Discourse
analysis in second language
research (pp. 111–124). Newbury House.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Avram, A. (2010). An
outline of Romanian Pidgin Arabic. Journal of Language
Contact-VARIA,
3
1, 20–38. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Avram, A. (2012). On
the functions of fi in the verbal system of Arabic
pidgins. Romano-Arabica,
12
1, 35–58.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Avram, A. (2017). Superdiversity
in the Gulf: Gulf Pidgin Arabic and Arabic Foreigner Talk. Philologica Jassyensia
XIII,
2
(26), 175–190.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bloch, A. (1971). Morphological
doublets in Arabic dialects. Journal of Semitic
Studies,
16
1, 53–73. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Blom, E. (2003). From root infinitives to finite sentence: The acquisition of verbal inflections and auxiliaries. Unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Utrecht.
Bolozky, S., & A. Haydar. (1986). Colloquial
gender neutralization in the numeral systems of Modern Hebrew and Lebanese
Arabic. Al-Arabiyya,
19
1, 19–28.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bresnan, J. (2000). Pidgin
genesis and optimality theory. In J. Siegel (Ed.), Processes
of language contact: Studies from Australia and the South
Pacific (pp. 145–173). Fides.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bybee, J. (2002). Word
frequency and context of use in the lexical diffusion of phonetically conditioned sound
change. Language Variation and
Change,
14
1, 261–290. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bybee, J. (2007). Frequency
of use and the organization of language. Oxford University Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Chaudenson, R. (2001). Creolization
of language and culture. Revised in collaboration with S. Mufwene. Routledge.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Clarke, R. J. (2018). Elicitation
strategies for interviewing and fieldwork: Emerging research and opportunities. IGI Global.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Clements, J. C. (2009). The
legacy of Spanish and Portuguese: Colonial expansion and language change. Cambridge University Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Clements, J. C., & Alshammari, W. (2017). Verb
form selection in two restructured varieties. The annual summer conference of the Society for
Pidgin and Creole Linguistics (SPCL). Tampere, Finland, June 19–22.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Coupé, C., Marsico, E., & Pellegrino, F. (2017). To
what extent are phonological inventories complex systems? In S. Mufwene, C. Coupé, & F. Pellegrino (Eds.), Complexity
in language: Developmental and evolutionary
perspectives (pp. 135–164). Cambridge University Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Coupland, N., Coupland, J., Giles, H., & Henwood, K. (1988). Accommodating
the elderly: Invoking and extending the theory. Language in
Society,
17
(1), 1–14. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cowell, M. (1964). A
reference grammar of Syrian Arabic: Based on the dialect of Damascus. Georgetown University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Crowley, T. (2008). Pidgin
and creole morphology. In S. Kouwenberg & J. Singler. (Eds.), The
handbook of pidgin and creole
studies (pp. 74–97). Blackwells. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Culbertson, J. (2010). Convergent
evidence for categorial change in French: From subject clitic to agreement
marker. Language,
86
(1), 85–132. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Daana, H. (2012). The
acquisition of the plural system in Ammani Arabic. European Journal of Scientific
Research,
92
1, 317–330.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Dashti, A. (2013). Interacting
with domestic workers in Kuwait: Grammatical features of Foreigner Talk. A case
study. International Journal of the Sociology of
Language,
224
1, 63–84. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Davis, S., & N. Tsujimura. (2014). Non-concatenative
derivation: Other processes. In R. Lieber & P. Štekauer (Eds.), The
Oxford handbook of derivational
morphology (pp. 190–218). Oxford University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Demuth, K. (2007). The
role of frequency in language acquisition. In I. Gülzow, & N. Gagarina (Eds.), Frequency
effects in language acquisition: Defining the limits of frequency as an explanatory concept [Studies
on language acquisition
32], (pp. 383–388). Mouton De Gruyter. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Doron, E. (2003). Agency
and voice: The semantics of the Semitic templates. Natural Language
Semantics,
11
1, 1–67. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ellis, R. (1994). The
study of second language acquisition. Oxford University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ellis, R. (1997). SLA
research and language teaching. Oxford University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Epstein, I., Stevens, B., McKeever, P., & Baruchel, S. (2006). Photo
elicitation interview (PEI): Using photos to elicit children’s perspectives. International
Journal of Qualitative
Methods,
5
(3), 1–11. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ewers, T. (1996). The
origin of American Black English: Be-forms in the Hoodo texts. Mouton de Gruyter. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ferguson, C. (1971). Absence
of copula and the notion of simplicity: A study of normal speech, baby talk, foreigner talk and
pidgins. In D. Hymes (Ed.), Pidginization
and creolization of
languages (pp. 141–150). Cambridge University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ferguson, C. (1975). Toward
a characterization of English foreigner talk. Anthropological
Linguistics,
17
1, 1–14.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ferguson, C., & DeBose, C. (1977). Simplified
registers, broken language, and pidginization. In A. Valdman (Ed.), Pidgin
and creole
linguistics (pp. 99–125). Indiana University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
García, M., & Yapici, M. (2014). Common
vocabulary in Urdu and Turkish language: A case of historical onomasiology. Journal of Pakistan
Vision,
15
(1), 13–225.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Giles, H. (1973). Accent
mobility: A model and some data. Anthropological
Linguistics,
15
1, 87–105.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Goebl, H., P. Nelde, Z. Stary, & W. Wolk. (1996). Contact
linguistics: An international handbook of contemporary research. Mouton de Gruyter.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Gülzu, I., & N. Gagarina. (2007). Introducing
the frequency debate in studies of language acquisition. In I. Gülzu & N. Gagarina (Eds.), Frequency
effects in language acquisition: Defining the limits of frequency as an explanatory
concept (pp. 1–20). Mouton de Gruyter. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hanulíková, A., van Alphen, P., van Goch, M., & Weber, A. (2012). When
one person’s mistake is another’s standard usage: The effect of foreign accent on syntactic
processing. Journal of Cognitive
Neuroscience,
24
(4), 878–887. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Holes, Cl. (1990). Gulf
Arabic. Routledge.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Holes, C. (2006). Bahraini
Arabic. In K. Versteegh, M. Woidich, & A. Zaborski (Eds.), Encyclopaedia
of Arabic Language and
Linguistics, Vol. I1 (pp 241–255). Brill.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Keesing, R. (1988). Melanesian
pidgin and the oceanic substrate. Stanford University Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Labov, W. (1966). The social stratification of English in New York city. Center for Applied Linguistics.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Labov, W. (1972). Sociolinguistic
patterns. University of Pennsylvania Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Larsen-Freeman, D. & Long, M. (1991). An
introduction to second language acquisition
research. Longman.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
McCarthy, J. (1981). A
prosodic theory of nonconcatenative morphology. Linguistic
Inquiry,
12
1, 373–416.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
McWhorter, J. (2005). Defining
creole. Oxford University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Mellahi, K., & G. Wood. (2001). Human
resource management in Saudi Arabia. In P. Budhwar & Y. Deborah. (Eds.), Human
resource management in developing
countries (pp. 135–151) Routledge.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Meyerhoff, M. (2000). The emergence of creole subject-verb agreement and the licensing of null subjects. Language Variation and Change, 121, 203–230. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Mufwene, S. (1990). Transfer
and the substrate hypothesis in creolistics. Studies in Second Language
Acquisition, 12(1), 1–23. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Mufwene, S. (2001). The
ecology of language evolution. Cambridge University Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Mufwene, S. (2002). Competition
and selection in language
evolution. Selection,
3
(1), 45–56. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Mufwene, S. (2008). Language
evolution: Contact, competition, and change. Continuum Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Naess, U. (2008). Gulf
Pidgin Arabic: Individual strategies or a structured variety? Unpublished Master’s
thesis. University of Oslo.
Newport, E. (1999). Reduced
input in the acquisition of signed languages: Contributions to the study of
creolization. In M. Degraff (Ed.), Creolization,
diachrony, and language
acquisition (pp. 161–78). MIT Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Phillips, B. (1984). Word
frequency and the actuation of sound
change. Language,
60
1, 320–342. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Prior, P. (2004). Tracing
process: How texts come into being. In C. Bazerman & P. Prior. (Eds.), What
writing does and how it does it: An introduction to analyzing texts and textual
practice (pp. 167–200). Erlbaum.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Rácz, P. (2012). Operationalising
salience: Definite article reduction in the North of England. English Language and
Linguistics,
16
(1), 57–79. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ryding, K. (2005). A
reference grammar of Modern Standard Arabic. Cambridge University Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Sankoff, G., & S. Laberge. (1980). The
acquisition of native speakers by a language. In G. Sankoff (Ed.), The
social life of
languages (pp. 195–209). University of Pennsylvania Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Schneider, E. (2007). Postcolonial
English –Varieties around the world. Cambridge University Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Siegel, J. (2008). The
emergence of pidgin and creole languages. Oxford University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Siegel, J. (2010). Pidgins
and creoles. In N. Hornberger & S. McKay. (Eds.), Sociolinguistics
and language
education (pp. 232–264). Multilingual Matters. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Taine-Cheikh, C. (2008). Numerals. In K. Versteegh (Ed.), Encyclopedia
of Arabic language and
linguistics, Vol. III1 (pp. 447–453). Brill.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Thomason, S., & T. Kaufman. (1988). Language
contact, creolization, and genetic linguistics. University of California Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Versteegh, Kees. (2014). Pidgin verbs: Infnitives or imperatives? In I. Buchstaller, A. Holmberg, & M. Al-Moaily (Eds.), Pidgins and creoles beyond Africa-Europe encounters (pp. 141–169). John Benjamins. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Voort, H. (1994). Eskimo
Pidgin. In J. Arends, P. Muysken, & Norval Smith (Eds.), Pidgins
and creoles: An
introduction (pp. 137–151). John Benjamins. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Winford, D. (2003). An
introduction to contact linguistics. Blackwells.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cited by (1)
Cited by one other publication
Habbash, Mansoor, Sami Mnasri, Mansoor Alghamdi, Malek Alrashidi, Ahmad S. Tarawneh, Abdullah Gumair & Ahmad B. Hassanat
2024.
Recognition of Arabic Accents From English Spoken Speech Using Deep Learning Approach.
IEEE Access 12
► pp. 37219 ff.
![DOI logo](//benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 5 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.