This thesis examines syllable structure in Qassimi Arabic (QA), a Najdi dialect spoken in Al-Qassim region in Saudi Arabia. Syllable-related phenomena in QA have not been fully addressed and understood because QA has not received attention in the available literature on syllable structure within Arabic dialects. Thus, the present study aims to provide an analysis of syllable structure in QA and to contribute to the current research on Arabic syllable structure. Adopting the framework of Optimality Theory, this study explores the effect of high vowel deletion on syllable structure and the treatment of superheavy syllables in QA. Results confirm three main arguments proposed in this study. First: onset clusters in QA are prohibited. Second: trimoraic syllables in QA are prohibited. Third: the concept of contiguity, which prevents internal epenthesis into certain strings, accounts for both the site of the epenthetic vowel and the existence of non-final CVVC and CVCC syllables.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis examines syllable structure in Qassimi Arabic (QA), a Najdi dialect spoken in Al-Qassim region in Saudi Arabia. Syllable-related phenomena in QA have not been fully addressed and understood because QA has not received attention in the available literature on syllable structure within Arabic dialects. Thus, the present study aims to provide an analysis of syllable structure in QA and to contribute to the current research on Arabic syllable structure. Adopting the framework of Optimality Theory, this study explores the effect of high vowel deletion on syllable structure and the treatment of superheavy syllables in QA. Results confirm three main arguments proposed in this study. First: onset clusters in QA are prohibited. Second: trimoraic syllables in QA are prohibited. Third: the concept of contiguity, which prevents internal epenthesis into certain strings, accounts for both the site of the epenthetic vowel and the existence of non-final CVVC and CVCC syllables.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Al Motairi, Sarah Soror"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"English Language and Literature","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Beverley Goodman, Ph.D., Chair","T. Daniel Seely, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-04-27T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-04-27T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:06Z","subjects":["Grammar","Comparative and general","phonology","dialectology","Saudi Arabia","Arabic language","Linguistics"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/612","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Beverley Goodman, Ph.D., Chair","T. Daniel Seely, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Al Motairi, Sarah Soror"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-07-23T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English Language and Literature"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Grammar","Comparative and general","phonology","dialectology","Saudi Arabia","Arabic language","Linguistics"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/612"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis examines syllable structure in Qassimi Arabic (QA), a Najdi dialect spoken in Al-Qassim region in Saudi Arabia. Syllable-related phenomena in QA have not been fully addressed and understood because QA has not received attention in the available literature on syllable structure within Arabic dialects. Thus, the present study aims to provide an analysis of syllable structure in QA and to contribute to the current research on Arabic syllable structure. Adopting the framework of Optimality Theory, this study explores the effect of high vowel deletion on syllable structure and the treatment of superheavy syllables in QA. Results confirm three main arguments proposed in this study. First: onset clusters in QA are prohibited. Second: trimoraic syllables in QA are prohibited. Third: the concept of contiguity, which prevents internal epenthesis into certain strings, accounts for both the site of the epenthetic vowel and the existence of non-final CVVC and CVCC syllables.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["An optimality-theoretic analysis of syllable structure in Qassimi Arabic"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Beverley Goodman, Ph.D., Chair","T. Daniel Seely, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Al Motairi, Sarah Soror"],"dc:date.available":["2015-07-23T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis examines syllable structure in Qassimi Arabic (QA), a Najdi dialect spoken in Al-Qassim region in Saudi Arabia. Syllable-related phenomena in QA have not been fully addressed and understood because QA has not received attention in the available literature on syllable structure within Arabic dialects. Thus, the present study aims to provide an analysis of syllable structure in QA and to contribute to the current research on Arabic syllable structure. Adopting the framework of Optimality Theory, this study explores the effect of high vowel deletion on syllable structure and the treatment of superheavy syllables in QA. Results confirm three main arguments proposed in this study. First: onset clusters in QA are prohibited. Second: trimoraic syllables in QA are prohibited. Third: the concept of contiguity, which prevents internal epenthesis into certain strings, accounts for both the site of the epenthetic vowel and the existence of non-final CVVC and CVCC syllables.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/612"],"dc:subject":["Grammar","Comparative and general","phonology","dialectology","Saudi Arabia","Arabic language","Linguistics"],"dc:title":["An optimality-theoretic analysis of syllable structure in Qassimi Arabic"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English Language and Literature"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:06Z"}