The Status of Arabic DaaD /dˤ/ in the Speech of Jordanian Youth

The present study examines the current status of Arabic DaaD /dˤ/ in the speech of Jordanian university students. Data are collected through an articulation test and a reading aloud task. The results show that although rural and Bedouin speakers are more likely to adhere to their own dialectal variants in both informal and formal contexts, both genders are increasingly influenced by the urban dialect, with females leading the change. From a socio-educational perspective, it is a must to provide school children with an awareness of the production of /dˤ/ and /ðˤ/ in their given vernaculars, as opposed to Standard Arabic, in preparation for formal contexts.