Raising of [æ] and [æ:] in the Lebanese variety of Mahrouna, Tyre : phonological, morphological, and lexical conditioning -

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the phonological, lexical, and morphological conditionings governing the phonological phenomenon of raising of low front vowels [æ] and [æː] towards either mid front vowels [e] and [eː] or high front vowels [i] and [iː] in medial and final positions in the spoken Lebanese Arabic variety of Mahrouna. The study also investigated age and gender differences in the usage of the raised variants of [æ] and [æ:]. Woidich (2011) and Walters (1991) found that there are gender differences in the raising of [æ]-[æ:] and [a]-[aː] in Cairene and Tunisian varieties respectively. Walters (1991) also found that the raising patterns of [a]-[a:] differs between the young and old generations in Tunisia. Participants in this study were 35 speakers (18 males and 17 females) belonging to three age groups (18-40, 41-64, and 65-84 years). Data were collected through tape-recorded interviews and were analyzed qualitatively. Results showed that the raising phenomenon occurs when [æ] or [æː] are not adjacent to emphatic ([ṣ], [ḍ], [ṭ], and [ẓ]), [r], guttural ([Ɂ], [ħ], and [ʕ]), and velar sounds ([x] and [ɣ]). The raising phenomenon could occur twice in medial positions or in two positions: one in medial position and one in final position for reasons of vowel harmony. Results also showed there are no gender differences in the raising of [æ] and [æː] in medial and final positions. That is, both men and women raise [æ]-[æː] towards [e]-[e:] or [i]-[i:] in medial positions and towards [e]-[e:] or [i] in final positions. The choice of [e]-[e:] or [i]-[i:] is determined by the age of a speaker, and speakers of Mahrouna could be divided into two age groups: 18-68 and 79-84 years old. People belonging to the 18-68 age group raise [æ]-[æː] towards [e]-[e:] in medial and final positions, while people belonging to the 79-84 age gr