Requests in Saudi Pidgin Arabic

Abstract

This study aims to investigate Saudi Pidgin Arabic (SPA) as one of the linguistic varieties that has emerged as a result of the interaction between Saudis and Asian workers. Linguistic and sociolinguistic analysis has been conducted for requestive expressions made by two generations of Saudi female speakers to female Asian workers in the cafeteria of a governmental institute in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The study shows that the use of SPA is largely limited to the simplest forms of verb and noun phrases that are used in Najdi Arabic (the variety that is used in the middle region of Arabian Peninsula), the lexifier language of SPA. The impact of English on the younger generation is shown by the tendency of younger participants to employ English expressions. A sociolinguistic analysis also shows the impact of the social variables of power, status, social distance and the age of the requester.