Phonological Variables in Buraidawi Arabic

This sociolinguistic study investigates how social factors influence the alternation between two phonological variants of /k/ and /g/ in Buraidawi Arabic (BA), specifically their realization as non-affricate or affricate sounds (e.g., /k/ or /ts/ and /g/ or /dz/). The research examines the role of gender, age, education, and social class in shaping these variations. Data were gathered through experimental methods, where participants named pictures containing the targeted sounds and engaged in brief conversations. The findings reveal that gender, age, and education level significantly impact the use of the affricate variant, while social class appears to have no effect. The study also provides a social context for Buraydah, a city in Saudi Arabia, where BA is spoken, and reviews relevant previous research on linguistic variation in Arabic, particularly phonological variables and affrication. The methodology outlines how the data was collected and analyzed. The results contribute to understanding the role of social factors in phonological variation, offering new insights into how these variables influence language use in BA. This research enhances the sociolinguistic understanding of how social factors intersect with phonological variation in Arabic dialects