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Part of
Arabic in Contact
Edited by Stefano Manfredi and Mauro Tosco
[Studies in Arabic Linguistics 6] 2018
► pp. 251–274

On the relationship between Arabic Foreigner Talk and Pidgin Arabic

| University of Bucharest

The paper compares morphosyntactic and lexical features of the Arabic Foreigner Talk register to those of four Arabic-lexifier pidgins, Pidgin Madame, Jordanian Pidgin Arabic, Romanian Pidgin Arabic, and Gulf Pidgin Arabic. The comparative overview identifies a relatively significant number of features which Arabic Foreigner Talk shares with all or with at least some of these Arabic-lexifier pidgins. The paper proposes an account in terms of a feedback relationship whereby Arabic Foreigner Talk and Pidgin Arabic reinforce one another in the occurrence of these features.

Keywords: Arabic Foreigner Talk, Pidgin Arabic, morphology, syntax, vocabulary
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Morphosyntax
    • 2.1‘Two’ + singular noun
    • 2.2Plural marker ‘all’
    • 2.3Omission of the definite article
    • 2.4Masculine singular form of adjectives
    • 2.5Exclusive use of independent pronouns
    • 2.6 Masculine singular form of demonstratives
    • 2.7 Invariant form of verbs
    • 2.8Light verb ‘make’ + noun/adjective/verb
    • 2.9Reliance on context or on time adverbials
    • 2.10Multifunctional fi/fī
    • 2.11Omission of prepositions
  • 3.Vocabulary
    • 3.1Lexical polysemy
    • 3.2Circumlocutions
    • 3.3English lexical items
  • 4.Discussion
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Abbreviations
  • Notes
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

Published online: 10 July 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sal.6.13avr
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