The Phonology and Morphology of Arabic

This is an account of the phonology and morphology of modern spoken Arabic, the first to be published in any language and based largely on the author's research. Dr Watson's approach is theoretically innovative and aware, but accessible to Arabic language specialists outside linguistics. Broad in coverage, this is an important and pioneering book.
This text provides a comprehensive account of the phonology and morphology of Arabic. Arabic is a Semitic language spoken by some 250 million people in an area stretching from Morocco in the west to parts of Iran in the east. Apart from its intrinsic interest, the importance of the language for phonological and morphological theory lies, as the author shows, in its rich root-and-pattern morphology and its large set of guttural consonants. Dr Watson focuses on two eastern dialects, Cairene and San'ani. Cairene is typical of an advanced urban Mediterranean dialect and has a cultural importance throughout the Arab world; it is also the variety learned by most foreign speakers of Arabic. San'ani, spoken in Yemen, is representative of a conservative peninsula dialect. In addition the book makes extensive reference to other dialects as well as to classical and Modern Standard Arabic. The volume opens with an overview of the history and varieties of Arabic, and of the study of phonology within the Arab linguistic tradition.