Diglossia of the Arabic Language - Research Paper Example

?Diglossia of the Arabic Language Arabic is a diglossic language in which two literary varieties coexist as ‘pure’ forms, ly ical Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic. The former retains its appeal mainly for religious reasons while the latter, which is closely related, functions as a global lingua franca amid the multiplicity of regional and local dialects and colloquial forms. The origin of the term diglossia, its applicability to the Arabic language and different schemes to explain the Arabic linguistic system are discussed, and various issues related to the diglossic nature of Arabic are also examined. The diachronic differences between Modern Standard Arabic and the Iraqi/Syrian dialect are given in-depth attention. Keywords: Arabic, diglossia, Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic, Iraqi/Syrian dialect Arabic is among the diglossic languages of the world because two formal varieties exist in concurrent use. These varieties are Classical Arabic (CA) and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Both are referred to as al-lugha al-fusha or simply fusha for short, the latter part being pronounced as al-fuS-Ha and meaning ‘pure’ or ‘most eloquent’. Badawi however, distinguishes between al-fusha al-turath for CA and al-fusha al-‘asr for MSA (Ryding, 2005: 4). This distinction reflects the historical and cultural differences as CA pertains to Arab heritage (al-turath) and MSA pertains to the modern era (al-‘asr). Vincent Monteil (1960) thus regarded MSA as a modern development of the old classical form of CA. There are also colloquial forms and various dialects but the main distinction is drawn between the two aforementioned literary forms. Many Arabs and indeed Muslims regard CA as the pure form, as it is the form used in the Holy Quran and the form used in heaven, and therefore regard all other varieties as inferior. The syntax and morphology of CA have thus remained intact but the lexicon present in MSA is changed. This classical form is the same globally although it has few fluent speakers whereas the other varieties are distinct enough “so as to impede mutual intelligibility” (Tan, 1999: 264). Nonetheless, the spoken varieties tend to be of greater practical benefit in the present age, as shown in a study by Palmer (2008). On the other hand, MSA, which functions as a global lingua franca, is used by the media and “stirs pan-Arab nationalistic feelings in the Arab world” (Palmer, 2008: 93). Above all, it also allows for greater intelligibility of the Holy Quran from being closer to CA and is the more respected and educated variety. It functions as educated Arabic speech because it is “characterized by general intelligibility among great regional and stylistic diversity” (Mitchell, 1986). Essentially therefore, despite a multiplicity of forms and dialects, Arabic is a prime example of diglossia. The term ‘diglossia’ was first used by the Greeks to describe two different varieties of their language, namely Dhimotiki and Katharevousa. Diglossia was more recently examined by Charles Ferguson (1959) in his book ‘Diglossia’ in which three other diglossic languages were identified including Arabic. It “describes any stable linguistic situation, in which there exists a strict functional differentiation between a (socially) ‘L(ow)-variety’ and a distinct ‘H(igh)-variety’” (Bussmann, 2006: 345). The latter is differentiated from the former by being more grammatically complex, standardised and formal. Gumperz (1964) considered linguistic societies as diglossic if functionally distinct varieties were found, but did not regard them as bilingual because of their close relationship whereas Fishman (1967) related diglossia closely to bilingualism. Other scholars who have studied diglossia include Kremnitz (1987) and Willemyns & Bister (1989). As far as the various dialects of Arabic are concerned, the present day dialects can be roughly divided according to four geographical regions, which are: (1) Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf, (2) Levantine, (3) Egyptian, and (4) Western (maghrebi). The Egyptian dialect has a more pervasive influence on MSA largely due its film industry and the dialects found in the Western region are the most distinct from others. An alternative scheme divides the dialects according to whether they are found among the Bedouin, rural or urban populations. Various models have also been devised to explain the entire Arabic linguistic system. Among these is El-Said Badawi’s (1973) five-tier model for describing Egyptian Arabic based on sociolinguistic factors. Another variation of this model is Keith Walters’ model, specifically devised for describing Tunisian Arabic, but which can also be applied to other varieties. Further continuum-based and other models are discussed by Badawi & Elgibali (1996) in ‘Understanding Arabic’, The diglossia of the Arabic language deserves to be studied in depth because there are a number of issues related to the language as it is used today. For example, CA exhibits much variability and it is not commonly used as a spoken form, yet there is a very strong religious case for its preservation. It is uncertain when and how the other varieties came about, there is a debate as to which form should be taught to foreigners (Abdalla, 2006), the scope of the term fusha is not universally agreed upon, the exact definition of MSA remains unclear, and so on. There have also been significant historical and political influences that have shaped the development of the Arabic language that need to be understood before suggesting any language policies. The diglossia of Arabic is also blamed for its negative impact on the quality of education in the Arab world (Maamouri, 1998), especially in terms of reading comprehension (Abu-Rabia, 2000). The main focus of this paper however, will be on establishing the diachronic differences between MSA and the Iraqi/Syrian dialects. Detailed comparisons are drawn between the two varieties and how the differences have developed over time. Syrian Arabic is also referred to as Eastern Arabic or Levantine Arabic. It encompasses the dialects in use in cities such as Beirut, Jerusalem and Amman besides Damascus. Iraqi Arabic is closely related to the Syrian variety, especially with the form spoken in Eastern Syria. Its major differences with MSA are related to verb forms and it has a relatively simplified grammar. The Syrian and MSA varieties have many differences in terms of various linguistic aspects, yet they cannot be regarded as separate languages. “There is and always has been an intimate association and mutual influence between them …” (Cowell, 2005: xvii). However, an important trend under the influence of mass communication and the broadening of literacy is an increasing inclusion of classicisms, neologisms, and journalese in peoples’ everyday conversations. McCarus (1976) for example, compared the lexical aspects of Syrian Arabic with formal Arabic as well as English, and based on the findings, proposed to semantically categorise these aspects into categories such as state, movement, achievement and developmental. References Abu-Rabia, Salim. 2000. Effects of exposure to literary Arabic on reading comprehension in a diglossic situation. Reading & Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, vol. 13, no’s 1-2, pp. 147-157. Badawi, El-Said. 1973. Mustawayat al-carabiyya al-mucasira ft Misr. Cairo: Dar al-Maarif. Behnstedt. In Badawi & Elgibali, 1996. Badawi, El-Said & Elgibali, Alaa. 1996. Understanding Arabic: essays in contemporary Arabic linguistics in honor of El-Said Badawi. American University in Cairo Press. Bussman, Hadumod. 2006. Routledge dictionary of language and linguistics. Routledge. Brustad, Kristen. 2000. The syntax of spoken Arabic: a comparative study of Moroccan, Egyptian, Syrian, and Kuwait dialects. Georgetown University Press. Cowell, Mark W. 2005. A reference grammar of Syrian Arabic with audio CD: based on the dialect of Damascus. Georgetown University Press. Ferguson, Charles. 1959. Diglossia. Word, vol. 15, pp. 425-340. Fishman, J. A. 1967. Bilingualism with and without diglossia; diglossia with and without bilingualism. Journal of Social Issues, vol. 23, pp. 29-38. Gumperz, J. J. 1964. Linguistic and social interaction in two communities. American Anthroplogist, vol. 66, pp. 137-153. Kremnitz, G. 1987. Diglossie/Polyglossie. In Ulrich Ammon et al. (Ed’s.). Sociolinguistics: an international handbook on the science of language and society, pp. 208-218. Maamouri, Mohamed. 1998. Language education and human development: Arabic diglossia and its impact on the quality of education in the Arab region. Paper presented at the Mediterranean Development Forum of the World Bank, Marrakech, Morocco, September 3-6, 1998. McCarus, Ernest N. 1976. A semantic analysis of Arabic verbs. In Michigan oriental studies in honour of George G. Cameron, pp. 3-28. Department of near Eastern Studies, University of Michigan. Mitchell, T. F. 1986. What is educated spoken Arabic? International Journal of the Sociology of Language, vol. 61, issue 1, pp. 7-32. Monteil, Vincent. 1960. L’arabe moderne. Paris: Klinchksieck. Moore, John. 1990. Doubled verbs in modern standard Arabic. In Eid, Mushira. 2007. Perspectives on Arabic linguistics: papers from the 19th annual symposium on Arab linguistics, vol. 19. John Benjamins Publishing Company. Palmer, Jeremy. 2008. Arabic diglossia: student perceptions of spoken Arabic after living in the Arabic-speaking world. Arizona Working Papers in SLA & Teaching, vol. 15, pp. 81-95. Ryding, Karin C. 2005. A reference grammar of modern standard Arabic. Cambridge University Press. Tan, Ai-Hui. 1999. Georgetown University round table on languages and linguistics 1999: language in our time: bilingual education and official English, ebonics and standard English, immigration and the Unz initiative languages and linguistics 1999. Georgetown University Press. Willemyns, R. & Bister, H. 1989. The language continuum as a pluridimensional concept. In Ulrich Ammon (Ed.). Status and function of languages and language varieties, pp. 541-551. Read More