Saudi Dialects: Are They Endangered?
Journal: English Literature and Language Review (Vol.2, No. 12)Publication Date: 2016-12-01
Authors : Salih Alzahrani;
Page : 131-141
Keywords : Saudi dialects; Language endangerment; Description; Documentation.;
Abstract
Krauss, among others, claims that languages will face death in the coming centuries (Krauss, 1992). Austin (2010a) lists 7,000 languages as existing and spoken in the world today. Krauss estimates that this figure could come down to 600. That is, most the world's languages are endangered. Therefore, an endangered language is a language that loses her speakers within a few generations. According to Dorian (1981), there is what is called ―tip‖ in language endangerment. He argues that a language's decline can start slowly but suddenly goes through a rapid decline towards the extinction. Thus, languages must be protected at much earlier stage. Arabic dialects such as Zahrani Spoken Arabic (ZSA), and Faifi Spoken Arabic (henceforth, FSA), which are spoken in the southern region of Saudi Arabia, have not been studied, yet. Few people speak these dialects, among many other dialects in the same region. However, the problem is that most these dialects' native speakers are moving to other regions in Saudi Arabia where they use other different dialects. Therefore, are these dialects endangered? What other factors may cause its endangerment? Have they been documented before? What shall we do? This paper discusses three main different points regarding this issue: language and endangerment, languages documentation and description and Arabic language and its family, giving a brief history of Saudi dialects comparing their situation with the whole existing dialects. Then, it shows the first hints of the decline providing the main reasons which may lead to the dialects' death.
Other Latest Articles
- REGENERATIVE POSSIBILITIES OF RENAL STEM CELLS
- TRACE ELEMENTS CONTENTS DYNAMICS IN WHOLE BLOOD IN CHILDREN WITH END STAGE RENAL DISEASE RECEIVING DIALYSIS
- The Consequences of Language Contact on the Sociolinguistic Situation of Kurukh in Jharkhand: A Case Study of Mandar Region
- INTERLEUKIN 10, BODY MASS INDEX AND SERUM ALBUMIN IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE STAGE 5D PATIENTS
- COMPARATIVE EFFICACY OF BLOCKADE OF THE RENIN-ANGIOTENSIN-ALDOSTERONE SYSTEM WITH COMBINATIONS OF ALISKIREN AND AMLODIPINE, RAMIPRIL AND AMLODIPINE IN PATIENTS WITH ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION
Last modified: 2018-09-14 17:31:29