First Personal Pronouns: Their Origin and Development in Arabic and Its Dialects The researcher studied the first person pronouns in Arabic ?an? (I) and nahnu (we), their origins, and their development into their present form in modern standard Arabic and its dialects. The study involved a comparison of Arabic with other Semitic languages, including living languages such as Hebrew, Syriac and Amharic, and extinct languages such as southern and northern Arabic, Canaanite and others; as well as among modern Arabic dialects (Levantine, Arabian, Iraqi, Egyptian, and North African) with respect to origin and structural use. The study made apparent that of all lexical items in Arabic, the first person pronouns have remained closest to the origin they are presumed to share with other Semitic languages, since they are among the most stable pronouns in the Arabic language, having exhibited very little change even on the dialectical level. Keywords :Arabic pronouns, Semitic languages, Comparative Study, Arabic dialects.
Publishing Year
2014