The Arabic Language

Further reading
General surveys of Arabic-based pidgins and creoles in Owens (1996) and Manfredi 
and Tosco (2013); on the relevance of the study of Arabic pidgins and creoles, see 
Miller (2002). For critical discussion of Versteegh’s (1984) model of the emergence 
of the Arabic dialects, see Ferguson (1989), Owens (1989), Diem (1991), Fischer 
(1995), Holes (1995a: 19–24) and al-ʿAjamī (1997); see also Versteegh (2004).
Thomason and Elgibali (1986) review the evidence in al-Bakrī’s account of an 
early Arabic trade pidgin. The activities of Arab traders in Africa, bringing with 
them both Islam and the Arabic language, are dealt with by Miquel (1975: 127–202); 
specifically about Arab trading in West Africa, see Levtzion (2000). On Arabic as 
a trade language in Ethiopia, see Ferguson (1972); on contemporary Arabic trade 
jargons in the Horn of Africa, see Simeone-Senelle (2007). Baker (1996) explains 
why no Arabic trade language was used in Central Asia.
Arabic foreigner talk remains largely unstudied; for some information, see 
Tweissi (1990) and Al-Sharkawi (2010). Bizri’s (2010) description of Pidgin Madame 
contains not only samples of speech by Srilankan domestics, but also by Lebanese 
housewives when addressing them.
Gulf pidgins and pidgins used in Saudi Arabia were first described by Smart 
(1990), and then by Al-Moaily (2008), Naess (2008), Al-Azraqi (2010) and Bakir 
(2010); Avram (2006–7) identified a Romanian Arabic pidgin used in the oilfields, 
and published a study of the existential 
fī 
as a verbal marker (2012).
On the variety called Turku, see Tosco and Owens (1993). The Chadian Arabic 
variety spoken in Abbéché, which functions for many speakers as a second 
language, is described by Roth-Laly (1979). A short sketch of Bongor Arabic is 
given by Luffin (2008).
The first comparison of Juba Arabic and Ki-Nubi is in Nhial (1975). A short 
sketch of Juba Arabic is given by Miller (2007b); a longer one by Manfredi and 
Petrollino (2013). The verbal system of Juba Arabic is analysed by Tosco (1995). 
Mahmud (1979) discusses variation in Juba Arabic and the interference from 
Khartoum Arabic (see also Versteegh 1993b). On the linguistic and sociolinguistic 
development of the language in South Sudan, a series of articles was published 
by Miller (1985–6, 1987, 1994, 2007a, c). For the linguistic situation in Kadugli in 
southern Kordofan, see Manfredi (2013), who compares the non-native varieties 
of Arabic spoken there with those in the Horn of Africa and with Juba Arabic. All 
publications were written before the independence of South Sudan in 2011; not 
much is known about the present-day situation, but see Nakao (2012, 2013). A 
short dictionary of Juba Arabic was published by Smith and Ama (2005). A long 
spoken text in Juba Arabic with full transcription and glossing by Manfredi is 
available in the 
Corpus of Afroasiatic Languages
at http://corpafroas.tge-adonis.fr.
A description of Nubi Arabic has been available since the unpublished disserta
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tion of Owens (1977); general interest in Nubi started after the first publication of 

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The Arabic Language
a grammatical description by Heine (1982). Some publications concentrate on the 
history and development of Nubi and its relationship to the substratal languages 
(e.g., Owens 1990); others deal with the language from the point of view of general 
creole studies (cf. Miller 1994).
An extensive description of the variety of Nubi spoken in Bombo (Uganda), 
with comparative notes about the various pidgin varieties in sub-Saharan Africa 
is Wellens (2005); Luffin published a grammatical sketch (2005) and texts (2004).

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