Intergenerational Patterns and Prestige Drift: A Diachronic Exploration of Iraqi Arabic in Karbala and Baghdad

Subject Areas :

Mustafa Talib Mutashar Jabri ¹ , Bahram Hadian ² , Raad Shakir AbdulHasan AlNawas ³ , Atefeh Sadat Mirsaeedi ⁴

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Received: 2024-06-26 Accepted : 2024-09-17 Published : 2025-12-12

Keywords: Iraqi Arabic, Sociolinguistics, Apparent-Time Change, Intersectionality, Linguistic Insecurity, Hypercorrection, Dialectology,

Abstract :

This inquiry scrutinized temporal linguistic shifts and psycholinguistic dynamics within the Ara-bic vernaculars of Baghdad and Karbala. Leveraging an apparent-time construct and an intersec-tional lens, the research parses phonological and morphosyntactic variability among 192 native adult interlocutors, who were demarcated by age, gender, educational attainment, and urbanici-ty. The findings evince a fluid dialectal topography in which younger, urbanized, and educated cohorts, preeminently women, are spearheading the assimilation of socially valorized variants (such as particular consonantal articulations and urban progressive markers). This corroborates the perpetual transmutation of these vernaculars under the impetus of metropolitan norms and pedagogy. Moreover, the research probes affective phenomena like perceived linguistic defi-ciency and hyper-standardization. Intersecting demographics—such as young, educated urban women in Karbala gravitating toward Baghdadi prestige forms, and middle-aged, educated men in Karbala exhibiting over-adherence to quasi-Modern Standard Arabic norms—instantiate par-adigms of excessive prestige form appropriation. These paradigms manifest differently across the two cities, betraying disparate local hierarchies and aspirational linguistic targets. By fore-grounding these evolutionary developments rather than offering a purely synchronic snapshot, this work delineates the trajectories of linguistic change as they are molded by imbricated social identities and psychosocial exigencies.

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