INTER-DIALECTAL AND INTER-INDIVIDUAL VARIABILITY IN PRODUCTION AND PERCEPTION: A PRELIMINARY STUDY IN JORDANIAN AND MOROCCAN ARABIC

In this article, titled: INTER-DIALECTAL AND INTER-INDIVIDUAL VARIABILITY IN PRODUCTION AND PERCEPTION: A PRELIMINARY STUDY IN

JORDANIAN AND MOROCCAN ARABIC by Jalal-Eddin AL-TAMIMI and Melissa BARKAT-DEFRADAS the variability in vowel production and perception for 20 Arabic speakers of each Jordanian and Moroccan Arabic dialects was studied and observed. It is clear from the field they are studying that the language and content of this article was very technical and focused, some of which was difficult to understand without knowing what some of the words meant. The article explained that in this type of study there are lots of variables such as physiological differences, speakers' emotional state, and sociolinguistic differences. So the study had to be done very carefully. The differences between dialects of the Middle Eastern region and the Maghreb region are apparent.

The vocalic dispersion in the dialects of Maghreb was previously known to be much more centralized than in Middle Eastern dialects. The rhythms of dialects of Maghreb have been described as more speed and halting than their Middle Eastern counterparts.

The studies confirmed this. “Cross-gender differences”, “long vs. short vowels distribution differences”, “effects of pharyngealization on adjacent segments”, “cross-dialectal comparison” differences and differences in relation between production and perception in both regions were all apparent from the study.  This article never actually explained the sources of the variation which is what would be useful in my paper, and much of it was too technical to be relevant in my article. However, some of this information could be incorporated when explaining the differences to provide background knowledge on what really is different in the Arabic language.