Imāla
Imāla (also transliterated imālah ; Arabic: إمالة, literally "slanting") is a vowel shift exhibited in many dialects of Arabic, where the open vowel, be it long or short, is raised to [ɛ] or even [e] in certain morphological or phonological contexts. Imāla occurs in modern colloquial as well as classical variants of Arabic, including several qirāʾāt ("styles of recitation") of the Quran. As a very noticeable phenomenon, imāla is often one of the most distinguishing features in dialects in which it occurs, such as Lebanese Arabic.
Classical Arabic
Historically, imāla was a feature of the ancient dialects of Najd and Tamim, where it occurred in both verbs and inflected nouns. There are many cases in which imāla is appropriate; some of the most common are outlined below:
Morphological reasons
Example: الأعلى ([ælʔæʕleː], "the highest")
Phonological reasons
Podcasts:
-
by Jim Lowe
-
by Jim Lowe
-
by Jim Lowe
Four Walls
by: Jim LoweOut where the bright lights are glowing
You're drawn like a moth to a flame
You laugh while the wine's over-flowing
While I sit and whisper your name
Four walls to hear me
Four walls to see
Four walls too near me
Clo-osing in on me
Sometimes I ask why I'm waiting
But my walls have nothing to say
I'm made for love, not for waiting
But here where you've left me, I'll stay
Four walls to hear me
Four walls to see
Four walls too near me
Clo-osing in on me
One night with you is like heaven
And so, while I'm walking the floor
I'll listen for steps in the hallway
And wait for your knock on my door
Four walls to hear me
Four walls to see
Four walls too near me
Clo-osing in on me