Arabic dialects in Yemen are spoken as a mother tongue in most parts of the country, except in the eastern province of Mahra and on the island of Soqotra, where Modern South Arabian languages are the native languages of the inhabitants. The Yemeni Arabic dialects are characterized by a great diversity and by a number of unique traits not found elsewhere in the Arabic-speaking community. Although not the best known Arabic varieties, some of them have been studied since the end of the 19th century…