INVESTIGATING VARIATION IN WASITI IRAQI ARABIC

Abstract

Wasiti Iraqi Arabic is the sub-dialect spoken across Wasit Province in Iraq. This sub-dialect has its own characteristics which make it different from the other Iraqi sub-dialects in some respects. This paper attempts to investigate the linguistic variation of Wasiti Iraqi Arabic. First, Iraqi Arabic is introduced and reviewed. Next , Wasiti Iraqi Arabic is discussed first by introducing this dialect, elaborating on its phonological, morphological and syntactic variation. Linguistically, Wasit dialect is divided into three main areas: south,centre, and north .Each part is effected by the geographically adjacent dialect(s) . Finally, the paper reaches some conclusions and findings concerning the topic.