Phonological Processes in Oran Dialect: An Autosegmental Analysis

Abstract

This research provides a detailed analysis of some of the phonological processes found in Oran-spoken Arabic, a dialect of Algerian Arabic, adopting the autosegmental framework and feature geometry. This framework was selected because of its effectiveness in identifying and analyzing multiple phonological processes in context. Oran- spoken Arabic is one of the varieties spoken in the north-west of Algeria, serves as the focus of this study. Since the researcher is from Oran, she served as the primary informant. The researcher audio-recorded herself narrating stories and subsequently transcribed the recordings verbatim.  Using autosegmental and diagrammatic representations, the analysis uncovered the presence of the following phonological processes, assimilatory processes like regressive assimilation: obstruent devoicing and voicing, and place assimilation. The analysis also uncovered the existence of non-assimilatory processes, namely, syncope (vowel deletion), epenthesis (insertion), and major class change.  Notably, the findings of the study contribute to the understanding of Arabic dialectal variation and provide a basis for further phonological investigation since this study uncovers only some of the phonological processes manifested in Oran-spoken Arabic. In addition, it helps to understand the sound system of this dialect in detail, and it provides evidence for or against the existing theories. Moreover, the study has laid the foundation for future researchers to examine this dialect in depth and uncover more processes. Furthermore, the findings of this study are important to the field of Speech-Language Pathology (SLP), contributing to identifying typical and atypical sound patterns. Overall, the research offers valuable insights for both theoretical research and practical applications.