Monophthongization
vowel sound change
Monophthongization is a sound change by which a diphthong becomes a monophthong, a type of vowel shift. It is also known as ungliding, as diphthongs are also known as gliding vowels. In languages that have undergone monophthongization, digraphs that formerly represented diphthongs now represent monophthongs. The opposite of monophthongization is vowel breaking.
Arabic
Classical Arabic had two diphthongs, /aj/ and /aw/, which are realised as the long vowels /eː/ and /oː/ in numerous Arabic dialects. This monophthongization has further developed into /iː/ and /uː/, respectively, in urban North African dialects.
Some notable exceptions to this monophthongization are some rural Lebanese dialects, which preserve the original pronunciations of some of the diphthongs. Other urban Lebanese dialects, such as in Beirut, use the mid vowels /eː/ and /oː/. Another exception is the Sfax dialect of Tunisian Arabic, which is known mostly for keeping the Classical Arabic diphthongs /aj/ and /aw/. Some varieties might maintain the diphthong for words recently borrowed from Standard Arabic or use them in free variation.
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