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Bahrani Arabic (also known as Bahrani and Baharna Arabic) is a
variety of Arabic The varieties (or dialects or vernacular languages) of Arabic, a Semitic language within the Afroasiatic family originating in the Arabian Peninsula, are the linguistic systems that Arabic speakers speak natively. There are considerable variati ...
spoken by the Baharna in
Eastern Arabia Eastern Arabia, historically known as al-Baḥrayn ( ar, البحرين) until the 18th century, is a region stretched from Basra to Khasab along the Persian Gulf coast and included parts of modern-day Bahrain, Kuwait, Eastern Saudi Arabia, U ...
and
Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
. In
Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an a ...
, the dialect is primarily spoken in Shia villages and some parts of
Manama Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very d ...
. In
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...
, the dialect is spoken in the governorate of
Qatif Qatif or Al-Qatif ( ar, ٱلْقَطِيف ''Al-Qaṭīf'') is a governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Dammam in the south, and from the Persian Gulf in th ...
. The Bahrani Arabic dialect has been significantly influenced by the ancient
Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
, Syriac, and Akkadian languages. An interesting sociolinguistic feature of Bahrain is the existence of two main dialects: Bahrani and Sunni Arabic. Sunni Bahrainis speak a dialect which is most similar to urban dialect spoken in
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it s ...
. The
Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian languages, Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian subdivision of th ...
has the most foreign linguistic influence on all the Bahraini dialects.Dialect, Culture, and Society in Eastern Arabia: Glossary
Clive Holes. 2001. Page XXX. The differences between Bahrani Arabic and other Bahraini dialects suggest differing historical origins. The main differences between Bahrani and non-Bahrani dialects are evident in certain grammatical forms and pronunciation. Most of the vocabulary, however, is shared between dialects, or is distinctly Bahraini, arising from a shared modern history. Many Bahrani words have also been borrowed from Urdu, Ottoman Turkish, or English.


Examples of words borrowed from other languages

* ''bānka'' 'ceiling fan' from
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
* ''sōmān'' 'equipment' from
Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
. * ''wīl'' 'wheel' from
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
* ''tēm'' 'time' from
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
* ''dareesha'' 'window' from
Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...
* ''dowshag'' 'mattress' from
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
* ''orradi'' 'already' from
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
* ''leitāt'' 'lights' from
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
Bahrani dialect has borrowed some vocabulary from
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
,
Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...
, and more recently from
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
.


Features

Holes divides the sedentary dialects of the Gulf to two types: # Type A, which includes the dialects of Sunni tribes that settled in Eastern Arabia between the 17th and 19th century, and the Huwala. This group includes the standard Gulf Arabic dialects of Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and UAE. # Type B, which includes the dialects of Omani Ibadis and Eastern Arabian Shia (the Baharna). Bahrani Arabic (called ''Baħrāni'' by its speakers) shares many features with surrounding Type A dialects (e.g. Kuwait, UAE, Qatar). Some general features: * Classical Arabic /q/ becomes /g/, for example ''gamar'' (moon). * Classical Arabic /ð/ becomes /d/, for example ''danab'' (tail). * /q/ and /ð/ is preserved for some Classical Arabic borrowings, for example �ulqaʕdah(Dhu Al-Qa'dah). * Affrication of /k/ to /tʃ/ in many words, for example ʃalb(dog). * /θ/ has the free variant /f/, and in some dialects /t/, for example ''falāfeh'' or ''talāteh'' (three). * /dʒ/ becomes /j/ in some rural dialects, for example ''yiħħe'' (watermelon). * Usage of ''-sh'' suffix (/ʃ/) as a feminine second-person pronoun akin to masculine ''-k'', for example ''babish'' (your door). * Usage of sentence-final particle ''e'' (pronounced �ː to indicate questions, for example'' 'inzaine'' (OK?).


Phonology


See also

*
Varieties of Arabic The varieties (or dialects or vernacular languages) of Arabic, a Semitic language within the Afroasiatic family originating in the Arabian Peninsula, are the linguistic systems that Arabic speakers speak natively. There are considerable variat ...
* Peninsular Arabic


References


Further reading

* Mahdi Abdalla Al-Tajir. 1983.
Language and Linguistic Origins in Bahrain: The Bahrani Dialect of Arabic
'. * Clive Holes. 1983. "Bahraini Dialects: Sectarian Differences and the Sedentary/Nomadic Split," ''Zeitschrift für arabische Linguistik'' 10:7-38. * Clive Holes. 1987.
Language Variation and Change in a Modernising Arab State: The Case of Bahrain
'. * Clive Holes. 2001.
Dialect, Culture, and Society in Eastern Arabia: Glossary
'. * Clive Holes,
Dialect and National Identity. The Cultural Politics of Self-Representation in Bahraini ''Musalsalat''
, in Paul Dresch and James Piscatori (eds), ''Monarchies and Nations: Globalisation and Identity in the Arab states of the Gulf'', London: I.B. Tauris, 2005, p. 60.


External links




Dialects of the Arabian Peninsula
{{authority control Languages of Saudi Arabia Languages of Bahrain Languages of Oman Arabic languages Mashriqi Arabic Peninsular Arabic