Lexical gap between old and new generations in a Jizani dialect: a sociolinguistic mixed method study

Abstract

Purpose – This study aims to identify and measure the lexical gap between the old and young generations in the Jizani dialect and determine the causes of that gap. Design/methodology/approach – A 20-item questionnaire was distributed randomly among 104 participants. Next, 12 participants were selected and interviewed. SPSS software was used to analyse the quantitative data from the questionnaire. The data elicited from the interviews was qualitatively analysed, considering age and gender factors. Findings – The major findings revealed that a lexical gap between old and young language speakers in the Jizani dialect exists. The gap between young females and the older generation was greater than that between young and old males. Some old words are likely to disappear in the coming decades. Social media, which is a time-consuming and word-borrowing medium for young people, was one of the reasons, besides the tendency of females to use prestigious words. Originality/value – This study attempted to find the differences between the vocabularies of old and young speakers. If it does exist, is it significant? What are the reasons for this lexical gap? This will help other researchers and dialectologists register the old words before they die out and try to bridge that lexical gap.

Keywords

• Arabic dialects
• Language change
• Lexical differences
• Lexical gap
• New generation
• Old generation