Vowel lengthening as the default strategy of arabization: Phonological adaptation of English culinary loanwords in Arabic digital media
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15548/diwanjurnalbahasadansastraarab.v18i1.2338Keywords:
Arabization, Vowel lengthening, Phonological adaptation, Culinary loanwords, Arabic digital mediaAbstract
Although the rapid proliferation of Arabic-language digital media platforms has significantly accelerated the process of arabization of English culinary vocabulary, the underlying phonological mechanisms have not been systematically studied in a digital domain-specific context. Addressing this gap, this study identifies and analyzes patterns of vowel change from English to Arabic in the maṭbakh section of the sayidaty.net website, using al-Jawaliqi's arabization theory as the primary analytical framework. A qualitative descriptive design was adopted, with data comprising English culinary loanwords sourced from the maṭbakh rubric of sayidaty.net. Data were collected through systematic non-participant observation and documented using structured note-taking techniques, then analyzed using distributional methods and translational equivalent methods with the International Phonetic Alphabet transcription system. The results show that the nine English vowel phonemes [i], [ɪ], [e], [ɛ], [æ], [a], [ə], [ʊ], and [ʌ] produce 21 distinct phonological adaptation patterns out of 112 instances found. Three cross-phonemic rules emerged as dominant: systematic vowel lengthening as the default strategy of arabization; lexical stress sensitivity; and segmental conditionality. This research contributes to the development of a domain-specific phonological model of arabization that extends al-Jawaliqi's classical framework with the dimension of contextual conditionality, while establishing a replicable methodology for the study of vowel adaptation on Arabic digital media platforms.
References
Abdulrazzaq, A.H. & Al-Ubaidy, S.M. (2023). Vowel Adaptation Patterns Within English Loanwords in Iraqi Arabic. Crossroads: A Journal of English Studies, 40, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.15290/cr.2023.40.1.01
Abdulvoris, A., & Nugmanovich, R. M. (2023). Arabic Language in the Conditions of Globalization. European Journal of Pedagogical Initiatives and Educational Practices, 1(2), 250–252. https://europeanscience.org/index.php/4/article/view/164
Alabdaly, A. H., & Metwally, A. A. (2021). Arabicization in Saudi Arabia: Procedures and Implementations. International Journal of Linguistics, 13(6), 60–72. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijl.v13i6.19317
Altohami, W. & Omar, A. (2025). Class Identity Signaling Through the Strategic Rebranding of Traditional Egyptian Food-Related Terms on Digital Platforms. International Journal of Arabic-English Studies, 25(1). 125-152. https://doi.org/10.33806/ijaes.v25i1.597
al-Athwary, A. A. H. (2016). The Semantics of English borrowings in Arabic Media Language: The Case of Arab Gulf States Newspapers. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 5(4), 233–246. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.4p.233
al-Athwary, A. A. H. (2017). The Phonotactic Adaptation of English Loanwords in Arabic. Arab World English Journal, 8(3), 392–406. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol8no3.25
al-Jarf, R. S. (2025). Innovative Word Formation and Pluralization Processes in Arabic: A Systematic Review. Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Studies, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.32996/jhsss.2026.8.1.6
al-Jawaliqi, A. M. M. (1969). Al-Mu'arrab min al-Kalām al-'Ajam 'alā Hurūf al-Mu'jam. Dar al-Kutub.
al-Shbiel, A. O. (2017). Arabization and its Effect on the Arabic Language. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 8(3), 469–475. https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0803.04
Amrulloh, M. A. (2015). Al-Ta’rib fi al-’Asr al-Hadist fi Majalah Majma al-Lughah al-’Arabiyyah (Dirasah Takhliliyyah Funulujiyyah). Jurnal Al Bayan: Jurnal Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Arab, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.24042/albayan.v7i1.376
Amrulloh, M. A., & Himmah, R. H. (2017). Analisis Perubahan Morfologis Pembentukan Ta'rib dan Pembelajaran [Morphological Change Analysis in Ta'rib Formation and Learning]. Tadris: Jurnal Keguruan dan Ilmu Tarbiyah, 2(2), 87–96. https://doi.org/10.24042/tadris.v2i2.2064
Anam, M. S. (2022). Ta'rib as an Arabic Modernization and the Spirit of Nationalism: A Historical Study of Arabization. Lughawiyah: Journal of Arabic Education and Linguistics, 4(2), 125–138. https://doi.org/10.31958/lughawiyah.v4i2.6363
Awang, R., & Salman, G. (2017). Translation and Arabicization Methods of English Scientific and Technical Terms into Arabic. Arab World English Journal for Translation & Literary Studies, 1(2), 92–106. https://doi.org/10.24093/awejtls/vol1no2.8
Bakar, K. A., Hadi, A. al-H. A., Kamarudin, M. A., & Hamdan, I. (2023). Semantic Analysis of Arabic Loanwords in Malaysian Political Discourse. International Journal of Advanced Research, 11(03), 1564–1577. https://www.journalijar.com/article/44367/semantic-analysis-of-arabic-loanwords-in-malaysian-political-discourse/
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (5th ed.). SAGE.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (4th ed.). SAGE.
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.). (2018). The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research (5th ed.). SAGE.
Elgobshawi, A. E. (2022). Translation and Arabization of Computer Terminology: A Study of Learners' Preferences and Attitudes. Eurasian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 8(1), 313–322. http://dx.doi.org/10.32601/ejal.911537
Fitrisia, D., Sibarani, R., & Ritonga, M. U. (2018). Traditional Food in the Perspective of Culinary Linguistics. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, 5(2), 24–27. https://www.allsubjectjournal.com/archives/2018/vol5/issue2/5-1-58
Fitriyah, T. (2022). Loanwords in BBC Arabic Instagram. Lisanan Arabiya: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Arab, 6(2), 199–224. https://doi.org/10.32699/liar.v6i2.3106
Fitriyah, T., Amrulloh, M. A., & Nashoih, A. K. (2023). Word Formation in Arabic: A Morphological Analysis of Egyptian-Produced Snacks. An-Nabighah: Jurnal Pendidikan dan Pembelajaran Bahasa Arab, 25(2), 163–176. https://doi.org/10.32332/an-nabighoh.v25i2.7700
Hamdan, H. J., & al-Salman, S. (2021). The Use of Arabic Neologisms in Social Media Applications. International Journal of Arabic-English Studies, 21(1), 45–60. https://doi.org/10.33806/ijaes2000.21.1.3
Harris, Z. S. (1951). Methods in Structural Linguistics. University of Chicago Press.
Haugen, E. (1950). The Analysis of Linguistic Borrowing. Language, 26(2), 210–231. https://doi.org/10.2307/410058
Ibrahim, M. (2022). Al-Ta'ribat Mufradat Modern Pada Lingkup IT: Analisis Leksikografi [Modern Vocabulary Ta'rib in the IT Domain: A Lexicographic Analysis]. Uktub: Journal of Arabic Studies, 2(1), 23–38. https://doi.org/10.32678/uktub.v2i1.6031
International Phonetic Association. (1999). Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet. Cambridge University Press.
Khabirova, E., & Oudah, H. A. R. (2020). Integration of English Loanwords in Arab Online Communication. In WUT 2020: Word, Utterance, Text: Cognitive, Pragmatic and Cultural Aspects (pp. 1583–1589). European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences. https://doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2020.08.183
Mahfud, C., Astari, R., Kasdi, A., Mu'ammar, M. A., Muyasaroh, M., & Wajdi, F. (2022). Islamic Cultural and Arabic Linguistic Influence on the Languages of Nusantara: From Lexical Borrowing to Localized Islamic Lifestyles. Wacana: Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia, 22(1), 224–248. https://doi.org/10.17510/wacana.v22i1.914
Mivtakh, N. B. A. (2019). Arabic Language Neologism on the Field of Technology in al-Akhbar Newspaper. Izdihar: Journal of Arabic Language Teaching, Linguistics, and Literature, 2(1), 17–34. https://doi.org/10.22219/jiz.v2i1.7553
Muassomah, M. (2024). Language of COVID-19: Language Absorption in the Pandemic Vocabulary from English to Arabic. International Journal of Arabic-English Studies, 24(1), 173–192. https://doi.org/10.33806/ijaes.v24i1.565
Rosa, A., & Budiman, A. (2023). Word Formation of English Loanwords in Mode Rubric. International Review of Humanities Studies, 8(2), 513–529. https://doi.org/10.7454/irhs.v8i2.1120
Shakil, E., & Siddiq, S. (2023). A Morpho-Pragmatic Analysis of Culinary Neologisms from Instagram Pages. Pakistan Journal of Society, Education and Language, 10(2), 80–93. Retrieved from https://pjsel.jehanf.com/index.php/journal/article/view/1274
Syaifullah. (2020). Ta'rib (Arabisasi) Istilah-Istilah Budaya dalam Majalah Alo Indonesia [Arabization of Cultural Terms in Alo Indonesia Magazine]. Jurnal Penelitian Sejarah dan Budaya, 6(1), 78–98. https://doi.org/10.36424/jpsb.v6i1.162
Thawabteh, M. A. (2024). Translating English Neologisms into Arabic. Arab World English Journal for Translation & Literary Studies, 8(3), 2–11. https://doi.org/10.24093/awejtls/vol8no3.1
Vadasz, V. (2020). Culinary Traditions as Key Elements of Cultural, Educational and Linguistic Heritage Transfer within the Israeli Hungarian community. Hungarian Education Research Journal, 10(3), 296–313. https://doi.org/10.1556/063.2020.00026
Zibin, A. (2019). A Phonological Analysis of English Loanwords Inflected with Arabic Morphemes in Urban Jordanian Spoken Arabic. SAGE Open, 9(2), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019841927
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Husnul Khatimah, Nurain, Arini Alfa Mawaddah, Amal Syahidin
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
