Baharna Arabic
Encyclopedia
Baharna Arabic also known as Baharnah and Bahrani Arabic) is a variety
of Arabic
spoken by the Bahranis of Bahrain
and some parts of Saudi Eastern Province, and also in Oman
.
In Bahrain, the dialect is spoken in the capital, Manama
, and in Bahrani villages. Others speak a Gulf dialect
which is more similar to those spoken in Kuwait
and the United Arab Emirates
.
In Saudi Arabia, Qatif
and neighbouring towns and villages are the main center of the dialect. These are distinct from the dialects of Al-Hasa
, the other major population center in the Eastern Province.
The differences between Bahrani Arabic and neighboring dialects suggest differing historical origins. Most of the others in the region are relatively recent immigrants, many of them originally Bedouin
Najdi tribes. Those now speak Gulf dialects which are very distinct from Najdi and Bedouin dialects, and which are much more similar to the Bahrani dialects. In Bahrain, the main differences between Bahrani speech and others' speech are evident certain grammatical forms and especially pronunciation and accent. Most of the vocabulary, however, is shared between both dialects and distinctly Bahraini, arising from a shared modern history. Many Bahrani words were borrowed from Hindi or English.
Bahrani dialect has borrowed some vocabulary from Persian
, Hindi
and more recently from English
.
(e.g. Kuwait, UAE, Qatar) in addition to its own unique features. General features include Standard Arabic q becoming g (qamar vs gamar 'moon'), k becoming ch in some positions (kalb vs chalb 'dog'). J becomes y in some villages (jiħħe vs yiħħe 'watermelon'). Final Standard Arabic -ah becomes -e in some positions.
Unique features include changing th and dh into f and d.Many younger speakers avoid such pronunciations, however.
Bahrani grammar is similar to other Gulf dialects but includes the distinctive 'ee' sound that is used at the end of sentences to indicate a tag question
it means yes , e.g.:
In general the Shi'ah Arab section of the population, i.e. the Baharinah, pronounce the "jeem" as a "j" rather than a "y". That characteristic is identified with the SUnni Arab speakers. The exception to that rule, however, are the inhabitants of Juffair and Ras Rummaan. In Juffair, the word for 'leg' is 'ryuul.' Ryuuli ta'warni --'My leg hurts."
the transliteration of 'ryuuli' here would rhyme with the name "Reilly" in English. The middle 'i' drops out in practice, though it would be enunciated if the word were being dictated or written down. In Malchiyyah village, the Baharinah inhabitants are known for NOT changing the "k" into a "ch." (They pronounced the name of their village as "Malkiyyah.")
Still, it would not be difficult to distinguish native Bahraini Sunni Arab speakers because of their trademark tendency to elongate the long "a" sound. It sounds like the "aw" in the English word "law." If such a speaker were to say "Not me!" it would sound like "moobbawneh!" A Baharinah speaker from Juffair or elsewhere would say "Moo aneh!" regardless of his neighborhood. The Sunni Arabs are also noted for their tendency to change the "qah" into a "gh" so that the word for couch , "Qanafeh" becomes "ghinafeh." The native Sunni Arab Bahrainis are also noted for changed the "qaf" into "j". The word "qariib" (Near) becomes "jariib" ("ii" sounding like a long e, as in 'seem'). A Baharinah speaker will immediately connect such aspects of speech with the native Sunni Arab section of the population. In as far as these characteristics are concerned, the native Sunni Arab poplulation shares a number of linguistic traits with those of Hadhar (non-bedouin) Arabic speakers of Kuwait (whose dialect is not divided along sectarian lines, but on the basis of whether someone is from hadhar or tribal descent). This is a fact revealing an astonishing degree of linguistic continuity because the al-Khalifah ruling family and its allies actually migrated from Kuwait in the 1730s.
There are some prepositions used by native Sunni Arab speakers such as "yam" (next to) but not used by the Baharinah. They would say "soob" or "jamb", i.e jambak (next to you). The Sunni Arab would say "yemmik" (note the alteration too between the final "i" and "a" with the "i" being another similarity to Kuwaiti).
I noticed that some Baharinah vendors using Sunni characteristics in the speech in Sunni areas such as Suug al-Magaasiis (the big flea market in Isa Town). This habit follows a trend throughout the Arab speaking countries. Arabs always inflect their speech with Egyptianisms when dealing with Egyptians. Likewise, the people from Iraqi provinces inflect their speech with Baghdadi traits when dealing with those from the capital. And so Baharinah vendors, and perhaps other Baharinah, inflect their speech with local Arab Sunni cahracteristics because they are speaking up to another group, which has a better position on the island socially and economically. In addition, those Baharinah residing and growing up in predominantly Sunni Arab neighborhoods such as Rifaa' might also speak the Arabic Sunni dialect. It is unlikely, however, to find native Sunni Arabs speaking the Baharinah dialect.
The above observations contrast the Baharinah speech, on the one hand, against the native Bahraini Sunni Arab speech on the other. However, Baharinah speech comprises of some dialects and accents. Most frequently cited is the "slower" and more clearly enunciated speech of the inhabitants of Muharraq versus the "quick" and "unintelligble" speech of Sitra inhabitants, Sitra and Muharraq both comprising large areas of the Manama urban area (Manama proper is situated in the environs of Bab al-Bahrain though it is really one big urban comglomeration on the map. A peculiar usage in Bahrain is the reference to various neighborhoods as "villages" (qura , singluar "qaryah). These places were actual villages when Manama was nothing compared to what it is now, but today they are merely sections of Manama. However, these designations still retain linguistic significance, with 'villages' such as Juffayr and Ghurayfah retaining distinguish accents and even vocabulary. Juffair, for its part, is a large neighborhood with apartment buildings and modern restaurants built along streets laid out on a grid pattern. The area called "Juffayr village" however is several blocks of alleyways ('dawaa3iis' in the local dialect, sing. 'daa3uus'). Ghurayfah and Juffair are separated by just a four lane road, but Juffayr has its own accent and Ghurayfah has another. These 'villages' are disappearing, however, as their inhabitants move to modern subsidized housing in places such as Hamad Town. Incidentally, these 'villages' remain (in 2011) the hotbed of anti-government agitation, with their twisting alleyways, whose entrances are often blocked on Thursdays and Fridays with wood boards, cinder blocks and debris to prevent the entrance of police vehicles. The 'villages' are already heavily infilled with South Asian workers who often live four to a room paying 20 dinars a month each for rent. In time it seems that the minute differences between village accents will disappear as their native inhabitants move out into bigger suburbs and become assimilated into a larger and different society than where they came from.
There is a widely understood pidgin Arabic famously used to communicate with the South Asians. "Fiih kalaam arabi?" is a phrase which means "Do you speak Arabic?" "Yabbi" means "Do you want?" or "You need to" 'Yebbi tishtari.." Do you want to buy? "Yebbi truuh" You have to go.
The causeway to the Arabian peninsula and the free and easy access to the island by visitors from Najd are having an influence on Bahrani speech too. Not unlike Americans living in disparate places such as the Midwest who feign speech habits adopted from listening to Texas country music and cowboy singers, one can find Baharinah youth imitating speech habits of their Najdi neighbors. They are affecting to be bedouin in their speech although their ancestry is agricultural and in pearl diving. In both processes, there is the additional motivation of real or imagined cultural myth and prestige. Such speakers downplay or minimize their distinctive Baharinah accent. It is said that the best speakers of the Baharinah dialect are very old men. However, when someone says that, he means simply that the idiom and vocabulary of the older generations is much richer and varied than today's dialect, the latter which is still very distinctive. Radio, television, and other media play a role in the homogenization of speech throughout the world, but in the Arab world this modernity merely means that new generations are ignorant of oral lore and songs that their fore bearers once depended upon for entertainment and passing the time. This heritage was rich in a varied vocabulary and idiom.
Varieties of Arabic
The Arabic language is a Semitic language characterized by a wide number of linguistic varieties within its five regional forms. The largest divisions occur between the spoken languages of different regions. The Arabic of North Africa, for example, is often incomprehensible to an Arabic speaker...
of Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
spoken by the Bahranis of Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
and some parts of Saudi Eastern Province, and also in Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
.
In Bahrain, the dialect is spoken in the capital, Manama
Manama
Manama is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 155,000 people.Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very diverse population...
, and in Bahrani villages. Others speak a Gulf dialect
Gulf Arabic
Gulf Arabic is a variety of the Arabic language spoken around the shore of the Persian Gulf such as in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman...
which is more similar to those spoken in Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
and the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
.
In Saudi Arabia, Qatif
Qatif
Qatif or Al-Qatif 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 the east to King Fahd International Airport in the west...
and neighbouring towns and villages are the main center of the dialect. These are distinct from the dialects of Al-Hasa
Al-Hasa
Al-Ahsa is the largest governorate in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, named after Al-Ahsa oasis. The name Al-Ahsa is also given to the biggest city in the region, Hofuf. In classic Arabic, Ahsa means the sound of water underground. It has one of the largest oases in the world with Date Palms of...
, the other major population center in the Eastern Province.
The differences between Bahrani Arabic and neighboring dialects suggest differing historical origins. Most of the others in the region are relatively recent immigrants, many of them originally Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
Najdi tribes. Those now speak Gulf dialects which are very distinct from Najdi and Bedouin dialects, and which are much more similar to the Bahrani dialects. In Bahrain, the main differences between Bahrani speech and others' speech are evident certain grammatical forms and especially pronunciation and accent. Most of the vocabulary, however, is shared between both dialects and distinctly Bahraini, arising from a shared modern history. Many Bahrani words were borrowed from Hindi or English.
Words borrowed from other languages
- bānka 'ceiling fan'
- sōmān 'equipment' from HindiHindiStandard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
. - lētar 'lighter' from EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. - wīl 'wheel' from EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
- tēm 'time' from EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
- dareesha window from Ottoman TurkishOttoman Turkish languageThe Ottoman Turkish language or Ottoman language is the variety of the Turkish language that was used for administrative and literary purposes in the Ottoman Empire. It borrows extensively from Arabic and Persian, and was written in a variant of the Perso-Arabic script...
- dowshag mattress from PersianPersian languagePersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
Bahrani dialect has borrowed some vocabulary from Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
and more recently from English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
Features
Bahrani Arabic (called Baħrāni by its speakers) has the main features of gulf Arabic dialectsGulf Arabic
Gulf Arabic is a variety of the Arabic language spoken around the shore of the Persian Gulf such as in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman...
(e.g. Kuwait, UAE, Qatar) in addition to its own unique features. General features include Standard Arabic q becoming g (qamar vs gamar 'moon'), k becoming ch in some positions (kalb vs chalb 'dog'). J becomes y in some villages (jiħħe vs yiħħe 'watermelon'). Final Standard Arabic -ah becomes -e in some positions.
Unique features include changing th and dh into f and d.Many younger speakers avoid such pronunciations, however.
Bahrani grammar is similar to other Gulf dialects but includes the distinctive 'ee' sound that is used at the end of sentences to indicate a tag question
Tag question
A question tag or tag question is a grammatical structure in which a declarative statement or an imperative is turned into a question by adding an interrogative fragment . For example, in the sentence "You're John, aren't you?", the statement "You're John" is turned into a question by the tag...
it means yes , e.g.:
- Ente rāyeħ, ee? You are going, yes?
In general the Shi'ah Arab section of the population, i.e. the Baharinah, pronounce the "jeem" as a "j" rather than a "y". That characteristic is identified with the SUnni Arab speakers. The exception to that rule, however, are the inhabitants of Juffair and Ras Rummaan. In Juffair, the word for 'leg' is 'ryuul.' Ryuuli ta'warni --'My leg hurts."
the transliteration of 'ryuuli' here would rhyme with the name "Reilly" in English. The middle 'i' drops out in practice, though it would be enunciated if the word were being dictated or written down. In Malchiyyah village, the Baharinah inhabitants are known for NOT changing the "k" into a "ch." (They pronounced the name of their village as "Malkiyyah.")
Still, it would not be difficult to distinguish native Bahraini Sunni Arab speakers because of their trademark tendency to elongate the long "a" sound. It sounds like the "aw" in the English word "law." If such a speaker were to say "Not me!" it would sound like "moobbawneh!" A Baharinah speaker from Juffair or elsewhere would say "Moo aneh!" regardless of his neighborhood. The Sunni Arabs are also noted for their tendency to change the "qah" into a "gh" so that the word for couch , "Qanafeh" becomes "ghinafeh." The native Sunni Arab Bahrainis are also noted for changed the "qaf" into "j". The word "qariib" (Near) becomes "jariib" ("ii" sounding like a long e, as in 'seem'). A Baharinah speaker will immediately connect such aspects of speech with the native Sunni Arab section of the population. In as far as these characteristics are concerned, the native Sunni Arab poplulation shares a number of linguistic traits with those of Hadhar (non-bedouin) Arabic speakers of Kuwait (whose dialect is not divided along sectarian lines, but on the basis of whether someone is from hadhar or tribal descent). This is a fact revealing an astonishing degree of linguistic continuity because the al-Khalifah ruling family and its allies actually migrated from Kuwait in the 1730s.
There are some prepositions used by native Sunni Arab speakers such as "yam" (next to) but not used by the Baharinah. They would say "soob" or "jamb", i.e jambak (next to you). The Sunni Arab would say "yemmik" (note the alteration too between the final "i" and "a" with the "i" being another similarity to Kuwaiti).
I noticed that some Baharinah vendors using Sunni characteristics in the speech in Sunni areas such as Suug al-Magaasiis (the big flea market in Isa Town). This habit follows a trend throughout the Arab speaking countries. Arabs always inflect their speech with Egyptianisms when dealing with Egyptians. Likewise, the people from Iraqi provinces inflect their speech with Baghdadi traits when dealing with those from the capital. And so Baharinah vendors, and perhaps other Baharinah, inflect their speech with local Arab Sunni cahracteristics because they are speaking up to another group, which has a better position on the island socially and economically. In addition, those Baharinah residing and growing up in predominantly Sunni Arab neighborhoods such as Rifaa' might also speak the Arabic Sunni dialect. It is unlikely, however, to find native Sunni Arabs speaking the Baharinah dialect.
The above observations contrast the Baharinah speech, on the one hand, against the native Bahraini Sunni Arab speech on the other. However, Baharinah speech comprises of some dialects and accents. Most frequently cited is the "slower" and more clearly enunciated speech of the inhabitants of Muharraq versus the "quick" and "unintelligble" speech of Sitra inhabitants, Sitra and Muharraq both comprising large areas of the Manama urban area (Manama proper is situated in the environs of Bab al-Bahrain though it is really one big urban comglomeration on the map. A peculiar usage in Bahrain is the reference to various neighborhoods as "villages" (qura , singluar "qaryah). These places were actual villages when Manama was nothing compared to what it is now, but today they are merely sections of Manama. However, these designations still retain linguistic significance, with 'villages' such as Juffayr and Ghurayfah retaining distinguish accents and even vocabulary. Juffair, for its part, is a large neighborhood with apartment buildings and modern restaurants built along streets laid out on a grid pattern. The area called "Juffayr village" however is several blocks of alleyways ('dawaa3iis' in the local dialect, sing. 'daa3uus'). Ghurayfah and Juffair are separated by just a four lane road, but Juffayr has its own accent and Ghurayfah has another. These 'villages' are disappearing, however, as their inhabitants move to modern subsidized housing in places such as Hamad Town. Incidentally, these 'villages' remain (in 2011) the hotbed of anti-government agitation, with their twisting alleyways, whose entrances are often blocked on Thursdays and Fridays with wood boards, cinder blocks and debris to prevent the entrance of police vehicles. The 'villages' are already heavily infilled with South Asian workers who often live four to a room paying 20 dinars a month each for rent. In time it seems that the minute differences between village accents will disappear as their native inhabitants move out into bigger suburbs and become assimilated into a larger and different society than where they came from.
There is a widely understood pidgin Arabic famously used to communicate with the South Asians. "Fiih kalaam arabi?" is a phrase which means "Do you speak Arabic?" "Yabbi" means "Do you want?" or "You need to" 'Yebbi tishtari.." Do you want to buy? "Yebbi truuh" You have to go.
The causeway to the Arabian peninsula and the free and easy access to the island by visitors from Najd are having an influence on Bahrani speech too. Not unlike Americans living in disparate places such as the Midwest who feign speech habits adopted from listening to Texas country music and cowboy singers, one can find Baharinah youth imitating speech habits of their Najdi neighbors. They are affecting to be bedouin in their speech although their ancestry is agricultural and in pearl diving. In both processes, there is the additional motivation of real or imagined cultural myth and prestige. Such speakers downplay or minimize their distinctive Baharinah accent. It is said that the best speakers of the Baharinah dialect are very old men. However, when someone says that, he means simply that the idiom and vocabulary of the older generations is much richer and varied than today's dialect, the latter which is still very distinctive. Radio, television, and other media play a role in the homogenization of speech throughout the world, but in the Arab world this modernity merely means that new generations are ignorant of oral lore and songs that their fore bearers once depended upon for entertainment and passing the time. This heritage was rich in a varied vocabulary and idiom.
Further reading
- Mahdi Abdalla Al-Tajir. 1983. Language and Linguistic Origins in Bahrain: The Bahrani Dialect of Arabic. ISBN 0-7103-0024-7
- 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. ISBN 0-7103-0244-4
- Clive Holes. 2001. Dialect, Culture, and Society in Eastern Arabia: Glossary. ISBN 9004107630
- Clive Holes, "Dialect and National Identity. The Cultural Politics of Self-Represenation 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
- Baharna Arabic Travel Phrases
- Ethnologue: Baharna Arabic
- Dialects of the Arabian Peninsula
- http://www.qatifoasis.com/