English Abstract
Abstract :
This study examines the dynamic nature of Bahraini Arabic, a dialect that has
undergone significant changes over the past decades. For the purpose of
understanding these changes, it is crucial to identify the factors influencing
Bahraini Arabic among its speakers of different age groups. Therefore, a
mixed-method approach was employed in this research, including an online
Word Familiarity Test shared with 300 Bahraini Arabic speakers, and in-depth
interviews that were conducted with 20 of them. By utilizing statistical
analysis techniques, the results showed a lexical gap between old and young
speakers, with the former exhibiting more familiarity with traditional Bahraini
words and a higher usage of Modern Standard Arabic. In contrast, younger
generations relied heavily on loanwords and code-switching. It was also found
that globalization, education, and technology are key drivers of lexical
change, along with gender and individual preferences. Nevertheless, older
generations perceived the loss of traditional words as a threat to their cultural
identity, while younger speakers saw this lexical change as a natural part of
language evolution. This research contributes to our understanding of
linguistic variation and change and highlights the importance of preservation
efforts within the Bahraini Arabic-speaking community. However, the limited
sample size of the study hinders its generalizability to the broader Bahraini
Arabic-speaking population. Therefore, further research with a larger sample
size is necessary to increase the accuracy and generalizability of the findings.
