Hassaniya is a dialect of Arabic derived from the Arabic spoken by the Beni Hassan tribe, who extended their authority over most of the MauritanianSahara between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. Though clearly a western dialect, Hassaniya is relatively distant from other North African variants of Arabic; its geographical isolation exposed it to influence from Zenaga and Wolof, and insulated it from the influence of northern Berber languages and Romance languages. The primary differences among the numerous dialects of Hassaniya are phonetic.
Hassaniya is derived from the beduin Arabic spoken by the Bani Hassan tribe, who extended their authority over most of the Mauritanian Sahara between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Hassaniya is not closely related to other North African variants of Arabic, probably because the Arab invaders of this southwestern portion of the Sahara remained relatively isolated from the great Berber tribes of the northern Sahara.
The primary differences among the numerous dialects of Hassaniya are phonetic.
Though clearly a western dialect, Ḥassānīya is relatively distant from other North African variants of Arabic; its geographical isolation exposed it to influence from Zenaga and Wolof, and insulated it from the influence of northern Berber languages and Romance languages.
All phonemes of Classical Arabic are represented in the dialect, but new phonemes are numerous, too.
As in most western Arabicdialects, etymological short vowels are generally dropped in open syllables (except for the feminine noun ending /-a/): */tak.tu.biː/ > /təktbi/ 'you (f.
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