Double Subject Pronoun in the Dowsari Dialect of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Dowsari Arabic is one of the major dialects of the central zone of the Kingdom, which in many cases match the dialect of Riyadhi Arabic. In this dialect, the incorporated subject pronoun is expressed by repeating it. However, the Dowsari dialect of Saudi Arabic constantly repeats the 'incorporated subject pronoun', duplicating the so-called 'separated subject pronoun' this subject is first person singular or second person masculine singular. This study tries to explain this phenomenon in a principled way by conducting a comparative study by looking into various dialects of the Arabic language that may have the same or similar phenomenon. The conceptual development in this study is held through a detailed review of literature conducted on this topic to identify different reasons behind pronoun doubling, primarily in the various dialects of the Arabic language. The study arrived at a speculation of the fact that duplicating pronouns is used for emphasis. It is argued that the Dowsari Arabic has its own idiosyncratic phenomenon where the incorporated subject pronoun is duplicated for emphasis and disambiguation, since the first person singular and second person singular masculine are morphologically identical.