Dialect Continuum as a Dimension of Linguistic Variation in the Speech of the Algerians: a Comparative Study between Tiaret and Biskra Dialects

Abstract

This study attempts to compare two Algerian dialectal varieties namely Tiaret and Biskra. The former located in the western part and the latter in the south-eastern part. The ultimate objectives of this study were to give insight into dialectal variation in Algeria and the level of mutual un/intelligibility between the two speech communities, Tiaret Speech Community (TSC) and Biskra Speech Community (BSC). So as to confirm our research hypotheses and answer our research questions, the study adopted a mixed methods approach, a questionnaire that was administered to 200 respondents (100 each city), observation and recordings. As a matter of fact, the results showed that there were some differences in the speech of the communities at the diverse linguistic levels including phonological, morphological and mainly lexical levels. Our findings show that there is a low level of mutual intelligibility between TSC and BSC. However, this fact constitutes no hindrance towards social communication due to the flexibility of language varieties in the Algerian speech repertoire.