The Phonology and Morphology of Arabic

In this detailed account of the phonology and morphology of Arabic, Watson (researcher and, at various times, lecturer in Arabic at the universities of Edinburgh, Salford, Durham, and Manchester, UK) focuses on two eastern dialects, Cairene and San'ani, with reference to other dialects and Classical and Modern Standard Arabic. An overview of the history and varieties of Arabic and the position of Arabic within Semitic is followed by discussion of dialectical differences and similarities in various chapters covering the phoneme system and representation of phonological features; the syllable and syllabification; word stress; derivational morphology; inflectional morphology; lexical phonology; and post-lexical phonology. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Janet C. E. Watson has held lectureships in Arabic at the universities of Edinburgh, Durham and Salford, and has also taught at the University of Manchester. She travels regularly to the Middle East and has spent extended periods of time in Yemen and Egypt. A fluent speaker of Yemeni Arabic, her recent research work has concentrated on the phonology of Arabic. Her previous book publications include A Syntax of San'ani Arabic (1993), Sbahtu! A Course in San'ani Arabic (1996) and Wasf San'a: Texts in San'ani Arabic (2000).