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Interacting with domestic workers in Kuwait: grammatical features of foreigner talk. A case study

Abstract From the beginning of modern sociolinguistics, a major goal has been the study of speech communities characterized by language contact. Languages don't actually come into contact with each other. It is always the speakers of the languages who are in contact. This article is a sociolinguistic investigation of a simplified Kuwaiti Arabic form that Kuwaitis use when interacting with their domestic workers and which may be categorized under “foreigner talk”. The argument is basically based on foreigner talk theories, and simplified and broken forms of language. Ferguson (1975) defines foreigner talk, hereafter (FT) as a simplified register used by native English speakers when interacting with linguistically incompetent non-native speakers. Mainly, the article sheds some light on some of the simplified grammatical constructions Kuwaitis use through verbal interaction with their domestic workers. Five Kuwaiti families were chosen as subjects of the study. Each family has three domestic servants working for them. Tape-recording was done in different social contexts. A total of 72 hours were obtained and then transcribed and qualitatively analyzed. Eleven simplified grammatical constructions through twenty eight social contexts were fully analyzed.