Dialect contact and koineisation in Riyadh: a study on the dialect of Alqarni tribe

This study investigates the linguistic outcomes of dialect contact among Qarni speakers who migrated from Balqarn in the southwest of Saudi Arabia to Riyadh, the capital and largest urban centre of the Kingdom. Within the framework of quantitative sociolinguistics, it examines how sustained interaction with speakers of different dialects has shaped the retention, modification, and loss of salient Qarni features. The analysis focuses on four variables that distinguish the Qarni dialect: the affrication of /k/, the use of the definite article m-, the realization of /dʒ/, and the third person singular feminine verbal suffix -an. The data are drawn from sociolinguistic interviews with 26 Qarni speakers in Riyadh, stratified by migratory cohorts, gender, and degree of contact. Speech samples were transcribed using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and analysed through both qualitative and quantitative methods, including multivariate and mixed-effects modelling. The findings show that three highly marked and salient Qarni features, the m- article, the realization of /dʒ/, and the verbal ending suffix -an, have largely receded and survive only in lexically constrained or relic contexts. By contrast, the affrication of /k/ displays ongoing variation. In particular, the affrication of /k/ demonstrates divergent trajectories: near-complete deaffrication in stem position, but residual variation in the second person singular feminine suffix, influenced by morphophonemic environment and social factors. Across variables, the unmarked supralocal forms are increasingly favoured, reflecting processes of levelling and dedialectalization. Overall, the study provides empirical evidence that Riyadh is a locus of dialect convergence in Saudi Arabia. The case of the Qarni speakers demonstrates how migration, social integration, and contact dynamics foster the erosion of localized markers and the diffusion of socially neutral variants. These patterns contribute to the ongoing emergence of a supralocal variety in Riyadh and enrich our understanding of koineisation and language change in the contemporary Arab world.