The first systematic and comprehensive analysis of the dialects of Baḥrain.

Arabic and English. Title on added t.p.: al-Lughah wa-al-uṣūl al-lughawīyah fī al-Baḥrayn. Map on folded leaf of plates in pocket.

Preface --Transcription and transliteration -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- Field work and the Informants -- Tape recordings and transcriptions -- Arrangement of the material -- The schools and the emergence of Pan-Arabic 'koine' forms -- New items pertaining to agriculture -- The media -- Non-local element in the population -- Geographical distribution of the Baḥārnah -- Linguistic contact between local and nonlocal elements -- Previous studies of East Arabian speech -- Local view on current spoken Arabic -- Notes -- Part I: Section (A) -- The ancient region of al-Baḥrain -- Baḥrain and Umān -- ?Awāl island and the region of al-Baḥrain -- The early settlers -- The emergence of Abd al-Qais tribes -- On the early inhabitants of the island of ?Awāl -- Diverse Arab elements in contemporary Baḥrain -- Part I: Section (B) -- Notes on the geography of the islands of Baḥrain -- The significance of the islands -- Historical survey of the islands -- The emergence of Shi'ism in the region -- Notes -- Part II: -- The phonology of the Baḥārnah dialect -- The consonants -- The vowel system -- Consonant clusters -- Gemination or duplication of a consonant -- The syllabic structure of certain nominal and verbal forms -- Stress in B -- Notes -- Part III: -- The morphology of the Baḥarni dialect -- The strong verb -- The weak verb -- Geminate verbs -- The passive verb -- Quadriliteral verb -- Derived themes -- Active and passive participles -- The numerals -- The personal pronouns -- Particles -- Part IV: -- Some syntactic features -- The verb -- The noun -- Sentence structure -- Part V: -- Lexical features -- Part VI: -- Comparative analysis -- Phonology -- Morphology -- Lexis -- Summary and conclusion -- Appendices and texts -- Bibliography -- General index -- Index of lexical items -- Arabic Section -- Editor's note -- Preface by the author -- Glossary of linguistic terms: English-Arabic.