Communication Among Arabic Varieties: Comprehension Testing in the Yemen Arab Republic

Arabic, spoken in many countries, boasts hundreds of millions of speakers … however, not everyone speaks the same dialect. In fact, spoken varieties differ from one Arab country to another, and even from one region to another within the same country. In addition, there exists a prestigious literary form of Arabic which is the only variety sanctioned for education. This vast continuum of dialects, all referred to as Arabic, often results in communication problems. Peter took on the challenge of investigating how well speakers of rural Yemeni Arabic varieties understand three varieties other than their own. The research and results of his MA thesis, originally submitted to the University of Texas in Arlington in 1988, are reprinted in this book.