Language Variation and Change in Sultanate of Oman
Language Variation and Change in Sultanate of Oman
Macro-Sociolinguistics
Parsa Khan
Student ID # 35700-1095
Arabic, the sixth largest spoken language in the world, which consists of 186,000,000 speakers around the globe and being the central language of the Middle East, is one of the most significant languages in this century. Sultanate of Oman which is an Arab nation and its national language is standard Arabic may not make up much of those 186,000,000 speakers but it surely has and maintains an essential part in the Arabic language. In this paper I will be discussing language variation change in Oman, focusing on Gender, Social Class and Religion. I will be especially look at the change in the use of vocabulary, dialects and tone used by the people of Oman.
The Sultanate of Oman which is located on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula and has borders with UAE, Saudi Arabia and Yemen is one of the biggest countries in Middle East in terms of its land area. The reason I'm selecting this country as my main focus is because I have lived there for almost 18 years and thus I've had the opportunity to closely interact with its people and language. The Sultanate of Oman has a very rich culture and follows the monarchy ruling approach. The first king was His highness Said Al Said and later on and till date his son, Sultan Qaboos Bin Said. In the early days, Oman was ruled by the Portuguese and then later on by the British. These two ruling parties left a huge impact on many aspects of the country, including language. Addition to that during the 19th century Oman took a lot of influence from East Africa, which included Tanzania and Kenya.
Poole (2006) said " These links between East Africa and Oman are evident today African features of some Omanis and in the use of Swahili in the Sultanate, particularly among ‘Zanzibari Omanis’, who may have been born in East Africa or else can trace their family history to that region.'' This influence leads to the
Macro-Sociolinguistics
Parsa Khan
Student ID # 35700-1095
Arabic, the sixth largest spoken language in the world, which consists of 186,000,000 speakers around the globe and being the central language of the Middle East, is one of the most significant languages in this century. Sultanate of Oman which is an Arab nation and its national language is standard Arabic may not make up much of those 186,000,000 speakers but it surely has and maintains an essential part in the Arabic language. In this paper I will be discussing language variation change in Oman, focusing on Gender, Social Class and Religion. I will be especially look at the change in the use of vocabulary, dialects and tone used by the people of Oman.
The Sultanate of Oman which is located on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula and has borders with UAE, Saudi Arabia and Yemen is one of the biggest countries in Middle East in terms of its land area. The reason I'm selecting this country as my main focus is because I have lived there for almost 18 years and thus I've had the opportunity to closely interact with its people and language. The Sultanate of Oman has a very rich culture and follows the monarchy ruling approach. The first king was His highness Said Al Said and later on and till date his son, Sultan Qaboos Bin Said. In the early days, Oman was ruled by the Portuguese and then later on by the British. These two ruling parties left a huge impact on many aspects of the country, including language. Addition to that during the 19th century Oman took a lot of influence from East Africa, which included Tanzania and Kenya.
Poole (2006) said " These links between East Africa and Oman are evident today African features of some Omanis and in the use of Swahili in the Sultanate, particularly among ‘Zanzibari Omanis’, who may have been born in East Africa or else can trace their family history to that region.'' This influence leads to the