The Language(s) of Arabic Literature

volume miscellaneo in cui si trovano saggi di linguistica e dialettologia araba, letteratura araba classica e del periodo premoderno, e di letteratura araba moderna e contemporanea. Particolare attenzione \ue8 sempre data all'aspetto linguistico e alle sue declinazioni anche all'interno di testi letterari

Phonation and glottal states in Modern South Arabian and San’ani Arabic

This chapter examines phonation categories and glottal states in the Modern South Arabian language, Mehri, as spoken in southern Oman and eastern Yemen with reference also to its sister language, Śḥerɛ̄t, and in San’ani Arabic from an Emergent Features perspective (Mielke 2008). Within the paper, we consider the extent to which these language varieties may inform research on the phonological categories of the early Arabic grammarians. The innovation in this paper lies in addressing the relationship between phonological patterning, phonetics, and distinctive features. We present data to show that voiced and emphatic phonemes pattern together in these varieties in opposition to voiceless phonemes, leading us to postulate a phonological account in terms of two ‘emergent’ laryngeal features [open] and [closed], that draws on Morén’s Parallel Structures model (2003). Key concepts are phonation, glottal state, hams ‘whisper’ and jahr ‘clear speech’

The tooth of a giant sea creature Otodus (Megaselachus) in the material culture of Neolithic maritime hunter-gatherers at Sharbithat (Sultanate of Oman)

International audienceA mega-tooth belonging to a Miocene fossil shark was discovered along the shores of the Arabian Sea inside one of the Neolithic domestic settlements at Sharbithat (SHA-10) (Sultanate of Oman). Attributed to a representative of the extinct genus Otodus (Megaselachus), this tooth is the first ever discovered in the Arabian Peninsula. In the field, research permitted the localization and study, a few kilometres away, of the palaeontological deposit where this retrieval was made. The shark, traditionally extensively hunted on the shores of the Arabian Sea, is well attested in the region's Neolithic ichthyological assemblages. Moreover, during this period, some groups of seaborne hunters were specialized in this form of fishing, which was indeed quite dangerous. But why did an individual some 5,500 years ago collect this curio, an unusual fossil, but also one he could easily recognize? The fossils of large sharks sometimes played an important part in ancient societies. Could this also have been the case in SouthEastern Arabia