The Clitic [-ki] by Najdīs: Morphophonemic Divergence from Supralocal Norms

Abstract

The study examines the clitic [-ki] as it occurs in the second person feminine singular object/ possessive pronoun suffix of stem final consonants in the speech of Saudis of Arabic Najdi dialect. The phonetic realization of this morphosyntactic marker in post-consonantal position as [-ki] does not accord with Najdi dialect nor with the supralocal variant. The analysis of the clitic [-ki] in Najdi Arabic is based on the occurrence of the form in the informal speech of young Saudi women and men in three peer groups in naturally occurring settings. The data reveals that subjects alternated between the realization of the post-consonantal second person feminine clitic as [-ki] and the vernacular form [-iʦ], whilst apparently resisting supralocalization pressures and diverging from supralocal norms. Men appeared to be the leaders in this direction of change. The research aims to stimulate further empirical investigation into the effects of morphophonemic divergence on sociolinguistic variation and language change as well as contributing to the area of language and gender.