Sonority Constraints in Frozen Jordanian Arabic Binomials

Authors

  • Yasser A. Al-Tamimi

    English Department, Alfaisal University, Riyadh 11533, Saudi Arabia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i2.8141
Received: 19 November 2024 | Revised: 4 January 2025 | Accepted: 7 January 2025 | Published Online: 17 January 2025

Abstract

This study examines whether binomial constraints reflect universal linguistic trends or are influenced by language-specific factors, with a particular focus on phonological patterns in Jordanian Arabic binomials. Setting aside potential influences from semantics, pragmatics, morphology, word frequency, prosody, and cultural factors, the analysis centers on the applicability of onset and coda sonority constraints. While these principles are often associated with universal linguistic tendencies, examining a corpus comprising 400 frozen Jordanian Arabic binomials reveals that 60.25% of onset binomials and 67.33% of coda binomials deviate from expected sonority sequences. These deviations, manifesting as "reversals"(sonority inversion) and "plateaus" (sonority stagnation), challenge the universality of such principles and highlight context-specific and language-driven variability. Statistical analysis highlights pronounced patterns of non-conformity, indicating that universal applicability is more the exception than the rule. These findings underscore the need for further cross-linguistic research to investigate the interplay between universal trends and language-specific factors in binomial ordering.

Keywords:

Phonological Constraints; Language-Universal; Language-Specific; Onset and Coda Sonority; Jordanian Arabic; Binomials

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How to Cite

Al-Tamimi, Y. A. (2025). Sonority Constraints in Frozen Jordanian Arabic Binomials. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 7(2), 16–31. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i2.8141

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Vol. 7 , Iss. 2 (February 2025): In Progress

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