Online workshops on Language and/or Nature in Southern Arabia
Janet Watson held a series of online workshops on Language and Nature in Southern Arabia through Zoom. The first workshop ran on 23rd March 2020 from 1pm-4pm, the second on 31st March from 12pm-3pm, third on 7th April from 2pm GMT, the fourth on 14th April from 12pm GMT, and the fifth on 21st April from 3pm. The last workshop ran on 28th April at 1pm BST to enable participants in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, Qatar and the UAE to finish in time to break the fast during Ramadan. The workshops focus on, but are not exclusive to, early career researchers and speakers of the languages of southern Arabia. Each session includes between 4 and 7 speakers, who each speak for between 5 and 15 minutes. Sessions have attracted increasing numbers of participants, with 41 at the workshop held on 21st April. Workshops are designed to include both academic and non-academic presenters, with at least one presentation in one of the indigenous languages of Southern Arabia. Presentations are given in English, Arabic or Mehri. The workshops have been enthusiastically embraced, with a waiting list for presenters.
23rd March 2020 Modern South Arabian
1pm GMT
Fabio Gasparini (FU Berlin): Investigating Modern South Arabian (MSAL) emphatics – a collaborative approach Hammal al-Balushi (UoLeeds): The documentation of Harsusi (in Arabic) Abdullah al-Mahri (Salalah): Children's language in Mehri (in Arabic and Mehri)
Andrea Boom (Manchester): Language, gesture and nature
Saeed al-Mahri (Salalah): The documentation of MSAL within the community Giuliano Castagna (UErlangen): The Austronesian substrate in MSAL
Said Baquir (Salalah): The sounds of Shehret (in Arabic and Shehret)
31st March 2020 Language and Nature in Southern Arabia
12pm BST Zoom Simone Bettega (UTurin): Gender and environment in the Arabic dialects of Arabia Abdullah al-Mahri (Salalah): Demonstration of children’s ebooks on human-nature relationship (in Mehri and Arabic) Roberta Morano (UofLeeds): The threat of climate change on the languages of Southern Arabia
Saeed al-Mahri (Salalah): Water sources in Dhofar (in Arabic/Mehri) Fabio Gasparini (FUBerlin): Planning a digital atlas for MSAL: ideas and perspectives Munira al-Azraqi (UDammam): Mehri lexicon: Nature words (in Arabic)
7th April 2020 Language and/or Nature in Southern Arabia
2pm BST Zoom
Amir al-Kathiri (SQUMuscat): القلب بين الشين والهاء واختلافه في مناطق عمان من ظفار حتى مسندم (in Arabic) Imar Koutchoukali (Tartu): Toponyms of South Arabia: Between ESA, MSA, and Arabic Suad al-Manji (SQUMuscat): اللغة و الطبيعة : قصص عن قدرة المجتمعات المحلية على الصمود أمام الكوارث الطبيعية : Language and Nature: Community stories around resilience in the face of catastrophic events (in Arabic) David Wilmsen (AUSharjah): The enigma of Mehri existential śī and Arabic šī
Kamela al-Barami (ULeeds)
& Said Baquir (Salalah): Butter oil: A staple traditional delicacy among the Sheret / Jibbali speaking communities of Dhofar (in English, Arabic and Shehret)
14th April 2020 Language and/or Nature in Southern Arabia
12pm BST Sam Liebhaber (Middlebury): Bin Faris, Bin Shamasa and Ba Dujana: The sovereign dynasties of western al-Mahra Jack Wilson (USalford): Phonological iconicity on MSAL
Abdullah al-Saqqaf (Dhofar): Flora and fauna terms in South Arabian Arabic dialects (in Arabic and English) Shahina Ghazanfar (Kew): The many names of grape
21st April 2020 Language and/or Nature in Southern Arabia, 3pm BST Kamala Russell (UCBerkeley): Da'abet and da'awet in Central Shehret Giuliano Castagna (Erlangen): Sound shifts in the Shehret of al-Hallaniya Abdullah al-Mahri (Salalah) & Janet Watson (Leeds): Silent articulations in Mehri
Muhammad al-Shahri (Heidelberg): المشتركة اللفظي بين اللغات السامية: الشحرية والسريانية نموذجا
28th April 2020 Language and/or Nature in Southern Arabia, 1pm BST Maryam Al Bayshak (UAE): The linguistic heritage of the Shuhuh (in Arabic)
Farida al-Manji (CoAS, Rustaq) & Suad al-Manji (MoE, Muscat): أدوات الاستفهام، و أسماء الإشارة في لهجات شمال عمان ( لهجة إبراء) Hammal al-Balushi (Leeds): Dissemination of Covid-19 information in the languages of Oman
Ibraham al-Mahri (Salalah): TBC Jon Lovett (Leeds): Institutions, economics, language and nature
5th May 1pm BST
Farida al-Manji (CoAS, Rustaq)
& Suad al-Manji (Ministry of Education, Muscat): (أدوات الاستفهام، و أسماء الإشارة في لهجات شمال عمان ( لهجة إبراء
Hammal al-Balushi (ULeeds): The status of the pharyngeal *ʕ and the glottal stop in Harsusi
Denzil Phillips(advisor to Ministry of Environment, Oman): Frankincense in Dhofar
Ibrahim al-Mahri (Salalah): حرف (شاء) باللغة المهرية