Imāla

{{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|'''Imāla'''}} (also {{Transliteration|ar|ALA|imālah}}; {{langx|ar|إمالة||inclination}}) is a phenomenon in Arabic comprising the fronting and raising of Old Arabic {{IPA|/aː/}} toward {{IPA|/iː/}} or {{IPA|/eː/}}, and the old short {{IPA|/a/}} toward {{IPA|/i/}}.<ref name=":0">{{Citation |last=Levin |first=Aryeh |title=ʾImāla |date=2011-05-30 |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-arabic-language-and-linguistics/imala-EALL_SIM_vol2_0022 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics |publisher=Brill |language=en |access-date=2022-12-24}}</ref> {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|Imāla}} and the factors conditioning its occurrence were described for the first time by Sibawayh. According to as-Sirafi and Ibn Jinni (10th century), the vowel of the {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} was pronounced somewhere between {{IPA|/a/}} and {{IPA|/i/}}, suggesting a realization of {{IPA|[e]}}.<ref name=":0" />

Sibawayh primarily discusses {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} as a shift of {{IPA|/aː/}} to {{IPA|/eː/}} in the vicinity of {{IPA|/i/}} or {{IPA|/iː/}}, an allophonic variation that can be characterized as umlaut or ''i''-mutation.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Putten |first=Marijn van |title=Quranic Arabic |chapter-url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004506251/BP000002.xml |chapter=What is the ʕarabiyyah? |date=2022-02-10 |pages=15–46 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-50625-1 |language=en |doi=10.1163/9789004506251_003|s2cid=246892003 }}</ref> Additionally, Sibawayh's {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} subsumes occurrences of a phonemic vowel {{IPA|/eː/}} resulting from the collapse of Old Arabic triphthongs. For this reason, not all instances of {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} can be characterized as a vowel shift from an original {{IPA|/aː/}} towards the {{IPA|/iː/}}.<ref name=":1" />

{{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|Imāla}} was not a general phenomenon, occurring only in some of the old dialects. Yet, the grammarians regarded it as a legitimate phenomenon from the normative point of view when it occurred in certain conditionings.<ref name=":0" /> In the context of Arabic dialectology, the term {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} is also used to describe a variety of phenomena involving mid-vowels in place of the Standard Arabic low-vowel. {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|Imāla}} also features in several {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|qirāʾāt}} (styles of recitation) of the Quran.

== ''Imāla'' in the grammatical tradition == Sibawayh's description of {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} is based on the linguistic situation prevailing in his time and environment, mainly al-Basra and its surroundings in southern Iraq. {{clarify span|date=May 2024|This is confirmed by evidence in the {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|Kitāb}}.}} The description of {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} by all later grammarians is based on that of Sibawayh.<ref name=":0" /> Historically and anciently, {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} was a feature in both verbs and inflected nouns. There are several processes which the term {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} describes, of the most common are outlined below:

===''i''-mutation=== The type of {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} which figures most prominently in Sibawayh's discussion is the shift of {{IPA|/aː/}} to {{IPA|/eː/}} in the vicinity of {{IPA|/i/}} or {{IPA|/iː/}}. The shift is blocked whenever there are emphatic or uvular consonants (''ṣ'', ''ḍ'', ''ṭ'', ''ẓ'', ''ġ'', ''q'', ''x'') adjacent to the {{IPA|/aː/}} or following it, but is not blocked if the umlaut-triggering {{IPA|/i/}} stands between the blocking consonant and a following {{IPA|/aː/}}.<ref name=":1" /> The blocking effect of emphatics is shown in the following examples: * Reflexes of ''CāCiC'': {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|ʿēbid}} 'worshipper' vs. {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|'''ḍ'''āmin}} 'guarantor' * Reflexes of ''CaCāCiC'': {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|masēǧid}} 'mosques' vs. {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|maʿāli'''q'''}} 'pluck of animals' * Reflexes of ''CaCāCīC'': {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|mafētīḥ}} 'keys' vs. {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|manāfī'''x'''}} 'bellows'

=== III-''w/y imāla'' === Sibawayh says that nouns with final root consonant ''w'' (III-''w'') do not undergo {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}}, eg. {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|qafā}} 'back', {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|ʿaṣā}} 'stick'. On the other hand, nouns with root-final ''y'' (III-''y'') and feminine nouns with suffix ''-y'' undergo {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}}, eg. {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|miʿzē}} 'goat', {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|ḥublē}} 'pregnant'. Such {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} is not blocked by emphatic consonants, eg. {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|muʿṭē}} 'gifted'.<ref name=":1" />

According to Sibawayh, a similar {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} applies to defective verbs regardless of the underlying root consonant: {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|ġazē}} (III-''w'') 'he raided', {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|ramē}} 'he threw' (III-''y''). However other grammarians describe varieties in which ''imāla'' applies to III-''y'' verbs, but not III-''w'' verbs. Sibawayh also describes a system in which only III-''y'' nouns and feminine nouns with suffix ''-y'' have {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}}, it being absent from verbs altogether.<ref name=":1" />

=== II-''w/y imāla'' === According to Sibawayh, {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} is applied to hollow verbs (II-''w'' or II-''y'') whose {{gcl|1sg}} has an {{IPA|/i/}} vowel, such as {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|xēfa}} ({{gcl|1sg}} {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|xiftu}}) and {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|ǧēʾa}} ({{gcl|1sg}} {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|ǧiʾtu}}).<ref name=":1" /> Sibawayh said that this was the practice for some people of Hijaz. Additionally, al-Farra' said that this was the practice of the common people of Najd, among which Tamim, Asad, and Qays.

== ''Imāla'' in Quranic recitation == Many {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|qirāʾāt}} of the Quran implement {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} at least once. Some, like those of Hafs or Qalun, use it only once, but in others, {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} affects hundreds of words because of a general rule of a specific {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|qirāʾa}} or as a specific word prescribed to undergo {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}}.

=== Lexically determined ''i''-mutation === While ''i''-mutation is non-phonemic in Sibawayh's description, its occurrences in the Quranic reading traditions are highly lexically determined.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Putten |first=Marijn van |title=Quranic Arabic |chapter-url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004506251/BP000003.xml |chapter=Classical Arabic and the reading traditions |date=2022-02-10 |pages=47–98 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-50625-1 |language=en |doi=10.1163/9789004506251_004|s2cid=246898784 }}</ref> For example, Hisham and Ibn Dhakwan apply ''i''-mutation to ''CaCāCiC'' plural {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|mašēribu}} 'drinks' (Q36:73) but not {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|al-ǧawāriḥi}} 'the predators' (Q5:4) or {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|manāzila}} 'positions' (Q36:39).

=== III-''w/y imāla'' === Al-Kisaʾi and Hamza are known for having phonemic {{IPA|/eː/}} as the realization of alif maqsura in III-y nouns and verbs, as well as in derived final-weak forms and forms having the feminine ending written with ''-y'', such as {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|ḥublē}} 'pregnant'. Warsh, from the way of al-Azraq, realizes this extra phoneme as {{IPAblink|æː}}.<ref name=":2" />

Other readers apply this {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} only sporadically: Hafs reads it only once in {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|maǧrē-hā}} (Q11:41). Šubah only has it in {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|reʾē}} 'he saw', {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|ramē}} 'he threw', and {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|aʿmē}} 'blind' in its two attestations in Q17:72.<ref name=":2" />

=== II-''w/y imāla'' === Hamza applies {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} to {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|zēda}} 'to increase', {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|šēʾa}} 'to want', {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|ǧēʾa}} 'to come', {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|xēba}} 'to fail', {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|rēna}} 'to seize', {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|xēfa}} 'to fear', {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|zēġa}} 'to wander', {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|ṭēba}} 'to be good', {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|ḍēqa}} 'to taste' and {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|ḥēqa}} 'to surround'. Some irregular lexical exceptions where Hamza does not apply it include {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|māta}} 'he died', {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|kālū-hum}} 'they measured them', {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|zālat}} 'she ceased', and {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|zāġat}} 'she wandered'.<ref name=":2" />

== ''Imāla'' in modern Arabic dialects == {{expand section|date=May 2024}}

=== ''i''-mutation === In the modern {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|qeltu}} dialects of Iraq and Anatolia and in the modern dialect of Aleppo, the factors conditioning medial {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} (''i''-mutation) correspond to those described by Sibawayh in the 8th century. In these modern dialects, medial {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} occurs when the historical vowel of the syllable adjacent to {{IPA|/aː/}} was {{IPA|/i/}} or {{IPA|/iː/}}. For instance:<ref name=":0" /> * *{{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|kilāb}} > {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|klēb}} 'dogs' in Christian Baghdadi, Mosul, Anatolia, and Aleppo * *{{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|jāmiʿ}} > {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|jēməʿ}} 'mosque' in Christian Baghdadi, Mosul, and Anatolia * *{{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|sakākīn}} > {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|sakēkīn}} 'knives' in the Jewish dialect of Mosul.

It does not occur in the proximity of ''ə'' < *''a'' or ''ə'' < *''u'', however:

* *{{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|xabbāz}} > {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|xəbbāz}} 'baker' in Jewish Baghdadi * *{{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|sukkān}} > {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|səkkān}} 'inhabitants' in Jewish Baghdadi.

In addition to the mentioned dialects, this type of medial {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} occurs in the {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|qeltu}} dialect of Deir ez-Zor, the dialects of Hatay and Cilicia in Turkey, and the dialects of some Bedouin tribes in the Negev.<ref>{{Cite book |last=International Arabic Dialectology Association. Conference |title=Alf lahǧa wa lahǧa : proceedings of the 9th Aida Conference |date=2014 |others=Olivier Durand, Angela Daiana Langone, Giuliano Mion |isbn=978-3-643-90334-1 |location=Wien |oclc=827974163}}</ref>

=== III-''w/y imāla'' === Sibawayh's description of the final {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} (III-''w/y'' {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}}) is also, in general, similar to that prevailing in the modern {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|qəltu}} dialects and in the dialect of Aleppo. One of the most striking points of resemblance is that in some dialects in Sibawayh's time, this final {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} occurred only in nouns and adjectives, and not in verbs; in the modern {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|qəltu}} dialects and in Aleppo the situation is exactly the same, as illustrated by the examples {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|sakāġi}} (< *{{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|sakārē}}) 'drunk (pl.)' and {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|aʿmi}} (< *{{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|aʿmē}}) 'blind' vs. {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|bana}} (< *{{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|banā}}) 'he built'.<ref name=":0" />

=== Consonantally conditioned medial ''imāla'' === Many modern dialects outside Iraq have an {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} completely conditioned by the consonantal environment of {{IPA|/aː/}}. This type of {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}} does not correspond to any type mentioned by Sibawayh. It occurs in many Lebanese dialects, in the Druze dialects of Hauran and the Golan, in the dialects of the Syrian desert oases Qariten and Palmyra, in the Bedouin dialects of Sahil Maryut in Egypt, and in the Jabali dialect of Cyrenaica.<ref name=":0" />

==Effect on other languages== {{Unreferenced section|date=December 2022}} The accent of Andalusia in Moorish Spain featured {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|imāla}}, and many Arabic loanwords and city names in Spanish still do so. A notable example is the name of Andalusia's largest city, Seville, deriving from the Arabic {{Transliteration|ar|Wehr|Išb'''ī'''liya}}, from the Latin {{lang|la|Hisp'''a'''lis}}.

==References== {{Reflist}} * Word-final imaala in contemporary Levantine Arabic : a case of language variation and change, Durand, Emilie Pénélope, University of Texas, Austin, 2011, [https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/ETD-UT-2011-05-3465 read online]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Imala}} Category:Phonetics Category:Arabic language Category:Arabic phonology Category:Lebanese Arabic