The Use of Loanwords in Emirati Arabic According to Speakers’ Gender, Educational Level, and Age

Abdul Salam Mohamad Alnamer, Sulafah Abdul Salam Alnamer

Abstract


This study aims at identifying the loanwords commonly used in Emirati Arabic (EA), determining their origins and identifying the reasons behind using them. It also investigates the impact of gender, education, and age of speakers of EA on the use of loanwords. To meet these ends, a questionnaire was designed and distributed among 90 speakers of EA who were then classified into three groups: 1) gender; females and males, 2) education; educated and uneducated, and 3) age; young and old. The results show that female EA speakers, educated EA speakers, and young EA speakers use loanwords more than their counterparts in their specific groups. Moreover, the results show that EA speakers use loanwords of different origins like English, Persian, Hindi, and Turkish in addition to a few words of French, Italian, German, and Spanish. The study discusses the possible reasons for these results and concludes with some recommendations for further research.

Keywords


Loanwords, Emirati Arabic, Gender, Educational Level, Age

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.7n.4p.158

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