ABSTRACT
WNA has been exposed only to a single adstrate/superstrate language, namely Arabic. It is flooded with Arabic vocabulary which has, however, except for very recent loans, been adapted to WNA phonology and morphology so as to become almost indistinguishable from the inherited stock. In phonology and morphology WNA is very conservative, reflecting closely the language structure of Middle Aramaic (between 500 and 1000 CE approximately).
