MINORITY LANGUAGES AND URBAN NORMS - A CASE-STUDY

Urban sociolinguistics has tended to focus on the identification of pa tterns of variation based on significantly different groups: the prest ige norm of a particular class or network-based lects are reflexes of this focus. In this paper data is presented from the spoken Arabic of Maiduguri, Nigeria, which is more prominent for the lack of predictabl e grouping parameters than for their presence. This pattern is related to its status as a minority language and to the sociodemographic char acteristics of its speakers. In a brief comparative section it is sugg ested that a lack of linguistic focus may be relatively common among u rban varieties.