The Use of Language between Generations in Saudi Arabia - Term Paper Example

? Differences in the use of language between old and young generation in Saudi Arabia Differences in the use of language between oldand young generation in Saudi Arabia Introduction This paper will examine the difference in language use between the young and the old generation in Saudi Arabia. Interviews were conducted among twenty students from Saudi Arabia who study at the University of Greensboro, which is located in North Carolina. Questionnaires were used, in the research, to evaluate the differences in language use among the young and the old generation. From this research, it is evident that different factors contribute to the difference in the language used by individuals belonging to the young and the old generation. Some of the factors that will be examined include; technology, stereotypes, and the generation gap (Bassiouney, 2009).  Literature review According to Calvert (2002) the difference in language used between the young and the old generation in Saudi Arabia has led to difficulties in communication. He reveals that the difference in language used by persons belonging to these two generations is as a result of stereotypes. Some of these stereotypes he depicts are as a result of the taboos the people of the old generation were exposed to. The participants who were interviewed in this research revealed that individuals belonging to the old generation were more formal in their communication style than the young. An examination of the stereotypes as a factor contributing to the difference in the language between the young and the old in Saudi revealed that, the differences in communication were, as a result of the difference in the expectations between these two groups. For example, the participants who were interviewed in this research showed that they experienced difficulties in communicating with persons of the old generation. This is because they were a bit slow in learning the other languages they used to communicate. Calvert (2002) also reveals that the variances in the use of linguistics between the young and the old in Saudi are because individuals belonging to the young generation incorporated some modern aspects in their language. He illustrates that this is because the young people think this would make communication between them appealing. However, he also illustrates that the old tend not to be comfortable when they incorporate such features in their communication. This is because they normally have the stereotype that persons belonging to the young generation tend to be rude when they incorporate some of the features in their communication (Calvert, 2002). Crystal (2001) illustrates that technology plays a role in the difference in the language used between the young and the old in Saudi. This is because an examination of the history of the old generation reveals that the old people did not incorporate a lot of technology in their communication. He, therefore, argues that the introduction of technology has greatly influenced the use of language among persons belonging to the young generation. The responses from the questionnaires also revealed that the introduction of the internet immensely influenced their communication styles, hence affecting their use of language. The participants claimed that the difficulty experienced by the old in adapting to the changing technology, was a factor that contributed to a difference in language use between the young and the elderly. It is evident that the introduction of technology influences the difference in language use between the young and the elderly because of the exposure of the young generation to social media. The participants revealed that the introduction of social media such as Facebook influenced language use among most young Arabic speakers. This is because of the informal language they used to communicate while chatting with friends on social media (Crystal, 2001).  The other factor that is thought to have contributed to the difference in language use between the young and the old generation is the generation gap. According to Fowler (2000), it is apparent that the existence of a generation gap has resulted to a gap in language use. It is thought the existence in a generation gap is a factor that results to differences in communication among the two generations in Saudi Arabia. From the responses that were obtained from the participants, it is evident that the young individuals from Saudi Arabia thought that they were different from the old because of their fluency in slang and the new lingo they developed (Fowler, 2000). According to Eckert, and McConnell-Ginet (2003) the difference in language use between the young and the old in Saudi is because of increased use of slang among individuals belonging to the young generation. It is evident that individuals belonging to the young generation think that by using slang to communicate they would enhance their cohesiveness and their social identity. The existence of a generation gap contributes to the variance in the use of language between the two generations. This is because each generation tends to struggle in ensuring it establishes a unique identity. For example, persons belonging to the young generation admitted that, despite their frequent use in slang during communication, they ensure they continuously learn the new words. This is because slang is an ephemeral dialect that tends to change with time. This shows how generation gap tends influence the difference in the language used by the young and the old in Arabia. The changes in the characteristics of language cause people of different generations to adopt different communication styles. The response obtained from this research revealed that persons belonging to the young generation preferred to use slang to enhance quick communication among them. This illustrates how generation gaps contribute to the differences in language use between the young and the old (Eckert, and McConnell-Ginet, 2003).  This research revealed that language brokering also contributed to the differences in language used by the young and the old in Arabia. The participants illustrated that language brokering was as a result of the dissimilarities in the primary languages that were used by persons of the two generations. The participants suggested that the translations and interpretations that they were exposed might have also influenced their language use. It is thought that failure to retain the native language among generations also influences the difference in language use between the young and the old in Arabia (Fowler, 2000). Research questions The three research queries that were handled in this research include; 1. How do stereotypes influence the difference in language use between the young and the old in Saudi? 2. How does technology influence the difference in language use between the young and the old? 3. How does the generation gap influence the difference in language use between the young and the old in Arabia? Methods of data collection Since the main intention of the study was to investigate the difference in language between the young and the old in Saudi, a group of Saudi students were selected as subjects for the study. The subjects were enrolled in the University of North Carolina in Greensboro. The sample study comprised ten female and ten male participants. The reasons for this mode of selection were to enhance the credibility of the information obtained from the study. The author and the participants are all members of the association of Saudi students in the University of Greensboro. This enhanced easy access of information. The participants who were interviewed had identical instructional language background. The participants were aged between 20 to 30 years. They were homogeneous since they spoke the same language, which was Arabic. Their educational and social background also matched. The data for the research was collected from a questionnaire adopted from a study by (McMullin, Comeau, and Jovic, 2007). The design of the questionnaire was simple and to the point for easy response. The questionnaire comprised the following sections. A. The impact of stereotypes on the difference in language use B. The impact of technology on the difference in language use C. The impact of generation gap on the difference in language use These questions explored the beliefs that were held by the participants on the differences that exist in language use between the young and the old in Arabia. The questions were presented as multiple choice answers on a scale from those who strongly agree to those who strongly disagree. Results and discussion This section will present the results of the interviews according to the factors that were stated previously. These include the factors that influence the difference in language use between the young and the old in Arabia. Some of the factors that were examined include stereotypes, technology and the generation gap. It was necessary that the results analysis of the responses given by the participants is examined. The tables below will combine the questions that were presented to the participants by the questioner. Table1 (The impact of stereotypes on the difference in language use) Statement 1 Some of the taboos that the old people in Arabia were exposed to influence the differences in language use between the young and the old. 2 The old tend to be more formal in their communication hence influencing their language use. 3 The old tend to be slow in learning the other language used by the young people in Arabia to communicate. 4 There are modern aspects the young people incorporate in their language that the old people cannot understand. 5 The features incorporated by the young people in their communication are normally to make their language use more appealing hence the difference in language use. In order to answer the group of questions as presented in table 1, the instruments were used to elicit the participant’s views regarding the difference in language use between the young and the old in Arabia. All the participants interviewed admitted that there were differences that existed in language use between the young and the old because of stereotypes. However, they also illustrated how stereotypes did influence the differences in language use between the two generations. The most common reason that was given by the participants was the inability of persons belonging to the old generation to learn the language spoken by those belonging to the young generation. The formality of the language used by the old in Arabia also proved to be a factor that influenced the difference in language use. Table 3 (The impact of technology on language use between the young and the old) Statement 1 The enhancement of technology impacts the difference in language use between the young and the old. 2 The exposure of the young people to the internet influences their difference in language use. 3 The introduction of social media such as Facebook has also influenced language use among the young. 4 The informal language used while chatting with friends in social media has also made me change my language use. From the responses obtain it is evident that technology did influence the difference in language use between the young and the old in Arabia. It is thought that establishment of social media among most young Arabians had an impact in their language use because of styles of communication they used. Most of the participants admitted that their frequent use of technology is what made them change their communication styles. However, most of the responses revealed that technology did influence the difference in language use between the young and the old in Arabia. Table 2 (The generation gap and the difference in language use) Statement 1 The generation gap has influenced the difference in language use between the young and the old this is because of the development of new lingo and slang. 2 I prefer using slang in my communication because it makes me identify with people of my generation. 3 My desire to obtain identity with my generation has caused me to continuously learn any new vocabulary that is used by the young people. The results obtained from this interview revealed that the existence of a generation gap between the young and the old did influence the difference in language use between the two generations. Most of the participants stated that they learnt new lingo and even slang because they wanted to identify with people of their generation. It is also evident that the formality in the language that was used by the old because of the generation gap influenced this difference. Conclusion In conclusion, this study reveals that there are differences that exist in language use between the young and the old in Arabia. However, these differences are as a result of different factors, which include stereotypes, technology and the existence of a generation gap. Some of the difficulties that were encountered during the study included the inability to obtain sufficient information from the participants. This is because most of the participants came from different areas of Arabia and so they had different dialects. Therefore, no common characteristic would have been found among the participants. One of the limitations of this study was the limited number of participants who were interviewed. The number of participants interviewed should have been more than twenty to ensure that sufficient information is obtained for the study. Further investigation of the topic is necessary because this study has revealed that there exists differences in language use among the young the young and the old in Arabia. If future studies are to be conducted, individuals from all the dialects in Arabia should be interviewed (Versteegh, 2001).  References Bassiouney, Reem (2009). Arabic Sociolinguistics, Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. Calvert, S. L. (2002). Identity construction on the internet. In S. L. Calvert, A. B. Jordan & R. R. Cocking (Eds.), Children in the Digital Age: Influences of Electronic Media on Development (pp. 57-70). Westport, CT: Praeger. Crystal, D. (2001). Language and the Internet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Eckert, P., and McConnell-Ginet, S. (2003). Gender and Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Fowler, R. (2000). Language in the News: Discourse and Ideology in the Press. London, Routledge. 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