The need to move away from Arabizi: A Riyadh perspective

This is a rough translation (or rather interpretation as I had to add stylistic expressions) of an article that appeared in the Riyadh newspaper (Arabic online) opinions section contributed by Aala Badr ad-Deen where she discusses the nature of Arabizi and why she thinks it’s bad for the Arabic language. As usual no editing, my own words are italicised and the source is provided below for Arabic readers. I have also posted up a poll today about the use of Arabizi, I would appreciate it if people could vote it’s only up for six days- thanks.

———Translated text of article

Arabizi by Aala Badr Ad-Deen
Over the last couple of years it has become very normal to hear Arabic terms merged with English words, or to read Arabic words witten in latin/English script amongst the young people or those of the higher more elite classes in society (it seems here she is referring to Saudi society). This type of Arabic has been named Arabizi, the reason I was pushed to look further into this phenomenon was because of the effect [I saw] it had on the Arabic language and its speakers. Language is not merely words repeated, rather it is how human beings communicate and it is the very vessel that carries culture therefore it is the only medium through which a culture of a society can truly and precisely be expressed.  And because each culture is different and unique it is also holds that the languages (words available) carry specific meanings for its speakers that non-speakers can never appreciate. For example in Arabic we say ‘I have warmed my heart’ and the Arabic listener would feel at ease and they understand that this means the speaker is about to announce some good news. Whereas, in other languages other expressions would be used instead, this shows that the choice of words is a reflection of the fact that our [cultural/linguistic] environments affect and influence our language and thought [something of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis here- yes I know one of my favourite topics] as well as feelings and judgements. So when there are countless English words being used by Arabic [native] speakers this shows if anything something of cultural subordination [a feeling of my language is not good enough and perhaps therefore my culture?]. The strange thing in all this is that there are neighbouring countries to Britain, like France for instance, who have preserved their language and went as far as passing a law  (especially for the media) prohibiting the use of English words where the French equivalent is available. Whilst at the same time some of the Arab countries have unfortunately moved to change their curricula from Arabic into English under the pretext of keeping up with the times. Experts from the UN have recently warned that 234 languages are dead already and that in the 21st century they expect a further 90 to disappear.

If we look closely around us we will see that there is much subordination in language use, the majority of people in the Arab countries speak to foreigners in English, and there is now an unprecedented use of shop/business signs in English [even if the name is Arabic in origin]. Even products made in Arab counties like medicine, food etc have their information/ingredients written in all languages except Arabic- despite the fact they are Arab made. I often wonder at the absence of laws [to protect Arabic] prohibiting shop signs to be in English and even laws to force the Arabization of non-Arabic words. One of the outcomes of this subordination is that many countries do not know Arabic language and even when Arabs travel on tourist tours there are no translators for the Arabic language. Whereas, you will find translators for most of the world’s languages, even if that language is spoken by only one country like Japanese [what about a language spoken by more than 20 countries?]. Even when I surf the internet I don’t see many websites offering Arabic translation right away, but languages such as French and German can easily be translated into.

I am not asking for us to wage war against the English language, it’s important knowledge for us to have knowledge of it and understand the world. But no one can deny that having control over one’s language allows for creativity and innovation; and also any nation that prides itself with its language will rise up and move forward. I hope that we can realise and acknowledge the importance of our language, we will otherwise lose the chance to advance in civilization and our own history is testimony to my words.

—————-end of translation

This is a post dating back to 2007, so to be fair some of the issues about internet and translators have improved somewhat since then. But it is clear to see the emotions stirred up in someone who not only loves their mother tongue, but takes pride in it and believes that the current situation of her people can be alleviated through empowerment of their language. There is a feeling of disgust and disbelief at the level of Arabizi being used but could you imagine her writing that now with Arabizi in its more advanced stage? There is a hint at the effects of globalization and how language is suffering as a result of that, she alludes to that through her insitence on ‘subordination’. There is also the feeling that things need to be Arabized for the Arabic speakers and that Arabs in their countries should not have to accommodate English or any other language in its use of signs etc…

This is of course coming from a person who sees this phenomenon take place everyday around her and not from a removed perspective. Like I say all the time, Arabizi is not bad per se (linguistic creativity is natural and healthy], as long as the original language is still in use and the speakers can understand it. The problem is when Arabizi replaces Arabic and the speakers now communicate in English, as the previous post here on Arabizi showed that. If there is an incentive and if the education system supports the language, if the media uses it well then the people will use their language well…and that seems to be another topic for another post. Thanks for reading, any comments are welcome and thanks for the emails - apologies for the late replies I have had too much writing lately!  

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Source: http://www.alriyadh.com/2007/04/05/article238906.html

 

“Arabic: a window to the Arabian soul” according to the Saudi Gazette

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What a fascinating title, ‘Arabic: a window  into the Arabian soul’! A direct reminder of the relativity theory of language, that I often bring up time and again- is language a reflection of who we are? This article caught my attention a while ago and I am posting it here for you to enjoy it, it was quite long and so I have selected the most relevant parts; but as always you can click on the link that will take you back to the original. The writer specifically focuses in the linguistic disadvantage of the expatriates living in Arab speaking countries and yet do not speak Arabic. In his view they are missing something great, a world view only seen through the Arab eyes and linguistic brain. It is not so linguistic as it is a documentation of the social-linguistic situation in Saudi Arabia and how Arabic language is under-taught. Here is the article:

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Arabic: a window to the Arabian soul

Amal Al-Sibai

Marhaban: Greetings. Shukran: Thank you.
You already know what these two words mean. The Arabic vocabulary of the majority of expatriates living and working in the Kingdom is limited to only a handful of words. Isn’t it odd that so many people live here for 10-plus years without learning the Arabic language?
It is embarrassing to walk into a small, local restaurant and not be able to order because the men there speak Arabic only. It is frustrating to drive around and try to reach your destination where street sign posts are written in Arabic only. Although a plethora of institutes exist in Jeddah that teach English to adult males, there is only one place besides Berlitz that offers Arabic classes.
A group of proactive men saw the need for expats to be introduced to the Saudi culture, go on tours of historical sites in Jeddah, and to learn the Arabic language. And they decided to feed that growing need. As a result, Jeddah Cultural Exchange Center was founded.
The Administration Manager, Christopher John Malvar, elaborated on why it is becoming increasingly important to learn Arabic. He said, “Companies are encouraging their employees to learn Arabic to facilitate their businesses here. Our students learn to read and write memos in Arabic, send e-mails, take notes at meetings, and communicate with the locals. By learning Arabic, they get ahead in their professional careers. Our students are able to read restaurant menus, road signs, and newspapers, make hotel reservations, and communicate with hospital staff. The skills they gain at CEC builds their confidence and breaks the barrier that alienates them from the local community. If you want to learn about a culture, you need to learn the language.”
The group at CEC conducted some research to find other Arabic teaching institutes in Jeddah and found none. Dialing 905 and requesting an Arabic language institute is equally futile. One survey showed that, worldwide, Arabic is one of the top most sought after languages. Since more than 50% of Jeddah’s population are expats, the city should provide more centers to teach Arabic to this large mass of people.

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At least there are calls for language centres to cater for non-Arabic speakers, as I always say there are some linguistic environments that baffle me, and this is one of them. Usually linguists study what encourages people to learn a language, or the rate at which a language is learned, I think here someone needs to study how a language may not be learned!  I am sure we will see and hear more about topics such as these…. I better go back to my writing the word document is calling me…have a nice weekend all and I’ll post soon.

Source:

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfmmethod=home.regcon&contentID=2011030995447

 

Arabic language day: Qatari style

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It seems the winter is going slowly and it’s time for those beautiful long walks again, and for those of us who love a challenging walk this is a good time. Though now I’m told the next time I am in Scotland to try the Munro walk, actually I call it a climb, apparently it’s not for the faint hearted so I’ll have a go and see- of course the best part are the breathtaking views.   I have three of four posts to put up, of course I could not resist looking at the speeches of Gaddafi and writing about them from a linguist’s point of view (they are quite interesting, and I hope the Libyan people will soon be saved from this situation our prayers are with them).The other one is a review of an unpublished book chapter that I was sent a while ago, and it addresses the effects of the English language on the  Arabic language in Gulf schools- anyone interested should read it, well-written, well researched. Thank you and welcome to the new subscribers to the blog, I hope you will get some nice posts in your inbox and that you won’t be disappointed; and thanks to the suggestion that I should blog more often. I will do my best, I can only think of one clichéd excuse ‘there is so much work to do’ and I hate to blog rubbish since I think my readers deserve good things.

Right back to our topic, one that is once again at the heart of Arabizi (Arabizi- How we use Arabic today©2011) the fascination and inquisitiveness into how Arabic native speakers use their language today. Is the suggestion, which often offends natives, that Arabic is dying or being lost by its speakers a true statement or one unfounded? Well to answer that you’ll need to carry out some research but here based on newspaper articles we make an analysis of the state of Arabic language right now, since newspapers reflect some type of reality. 

I came across the post below on a Qatari newspaper on the 4^th of March 2011, titled: ‘Qatar University holds Arabic language day’. Then it occurred to me that I never quite grasp why it’s important to celebrate one’s language and mark a special day for it, if one uses it every day in all communication?!  But then, thinking this idea over and in looking closely at the context, and my own personal experience in travelling extensively in the region- it dawned upon me:  the Arabic is never really spoken in public. It does not behave like the official languages in other parts of the world. Arabic in Qatar although the official language, in actual fact is only spoken by a minority, the majority speak English, Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Indonesian and I think Thai (I don’t know the exact distributions). The schools do not cater to promote proficiency in the teaching of Arabic, and English is becoming ever more popular as a medium of instruction (I will discuss this in the next few posts when reviewing the book chapter I mentioned above). So the result is that the language is in danger of being lost or shifted or…whatever one wishes to label this process- but one fact is real that it is not as stable as a functioning official language should be, hence the worry. Hence the special language festivals and days to mark and reinforce the importance of the language, I cannot say that this is aimed at the non-native speakers for there is also an absence of well organised institutes that teach Arabic as a second language. And the factors go on and on, I will stop now and let you read the  short article pasted without editing and at the bottom some of my thoughts on it:

———————————————————– enjoy!

Qatar University holds Arabic Language Day 

DOHA: Qatar University (QU) College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) held its third Arabic Language Day celebration this week, under the theme ‘My Language and the Other.’

The programme included an exhibition of students’ work highlighting excerpts from Dr Al Bastian’s widely-acclaimed publications, poetry recitation, and discussions on issues of Arab and Islamic communities.

QU VP and Chief Academic Officer Dr Sheikha bint Jabor Al Thani gave the opening address in the presence of Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, guest and founder of the Abdul Aziz Al Babtain Prize for Poetic Creativity Dr Abdul Aziz Al Babtain, members of QU leadership, Supreme Council of Education representatives, CAS Dean and faculty, staff, and students.

Dr Al Thani stressed the importance of promoting and celebrating the Arabic language and highlighted QU’s role in doing so.

“This event encourages communication and interaction with other languages and cultures. Our language is deep-rooted in genuine values and sentiments and is the best channel to showcase our ancient and vibrant heritage. It is everyone’s responsibility to honour our language and we have to exert every effort to develop and preserve it,” she said.

She outlined the many programmes that QU offers especially the Arabic for Non-Native Speakers (ANNS) programme which attracts international students, promotes Arab and Islamic culture, and boosts social and cultural openness.

Minister Al Kuwari pointed out the role the ministry plays to promote Arabic and Islamic language and culture.

He thanked QU for its participation in the activities celebrating Doha as the Capital of Arab Culture 2010.

CAS Dean Dr Kassim Shaaban noted that Arabic Language Day was acknowledged by the Arabic Language, Education, Culture, and Science Organisation (ALECSO) to be celebrated throughout the Arab world. He referred to some of the current challenges the language faces in competition with other languages and dialects.

“This however had the effect of increased awareness and interest in the Arabic language in terms of culture, science, and religion,” he said.

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I often talk of the nature of language being more than just words and that seems to be a strong motivation for holding these days/events. Language allows people to understand the culture of the other, for it holds the key to the belief, customs, culture and even way of thinking for the speakers. If the language is lost the culture is lost and it’s as simple as that, I think the more I come across these types of writings the more I am convinced of that fact: language is more than mere words.  At least the Qataris are trying to pre-empt the ‘death’ of their language and by default the death of their customs and culture. I am still on this journey of discovery and I hope one day I will understand the reality of language and its indispensible nature for the human being. Please share your views as always thanks for reading!

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Sources:

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/144591-qatar-university-holds-arabic-language-day.

 

The power of words: What the ‘revolution’ in Egypt illustrates

Image by StartAgain via Flickr

 It has been a while since I jotted something down for the blog, wishing you all a wonderful new year both Gregorian or Chinese and I pray that peace comes to all peoples of the earth and that we all live our lives happily. I have a few topics to write about over the next few weeks, today I am revisiting one of my favourite topics (still trying to understand it in its true meaning) the power of language or more precisely the power of words.

As a linguist there is always that need to understand the power of words or the power of how people use language in all spheres of their life, and inevitably the effect of those words. One of the topics I have discussed on this blog time and time again is the fact that language is more than mere words and that these words have far reaching meanings and implications this was done most notably through the ever recurring ‘Sapir-Whorf hypothesis’ posts. In looking at the current events in Egypt (that at times are hard to watch because of the unbelievable violence, and the hurt of looking at such a beautiful country fall apart) one thing is clear language clearly plays a major role.

Dubbed as a revolution, we know that all revolutions whether intentionally organised or spontaneously supported and joined by people, have or move on what is termed as ‘slogans’. Slogans have a few characteristics: they are usually short this ensures that remembering them will not be hard, and depending on the language of the so called slogans they might rhyme, a further aid in helping people remember them. They are words that are repeated again and again to reinforce the feelings and stance(s) of the ‘protesters’ (not sure if that’s the right word- words can be sensitive! If they are called protesters or revolutionists what are the implications??) Slogans were very prominent in the French, Grenadian, Chinese and Russian revolutions, simple words to move the emotions the simple people who wanted more justice in their lives as they saw it at the time (See: The Power of words- Literacy and Revolution in South China 1949-95, by Glen Peterson, 1997). There were three common Bolshevik slogans during the 1917 revolution: 1. Factories for the workers, land for the peasants. 2. All power to the soviets. 3. Bread, and freedom! Short and easy to remember and I am sure even in non-technology days, these words spread fast because of the power of words.

 In Egypt they have new simple slogans created at every step through this uprising of theirs, everyday new slogans appear and sometimes more than one in a day. What is amazing is that once it is uttered in Cairo, you find it is also uttered in Alexandria, Suez, Luxor, London, Washington, Indonesia, Malaysia, France, Belgium, Beirut, Amman (I could go on) and even Japan –all in the same Arabic words, in the same tune and vigour. Is that the power of words or what? When looking at these people outside Egypt chanting these slogans one can see their seriousness and earnestness in repeating those words, perhaps it’s the association they attach to the words?! This is something that has intrigued me for days and caused me to write this post, how the whole world has viewed the unfolding of events in Egypt in an unprecedented manner, and at the centre of it all language plays a major and central role (maybe for a linguist that’s the case and for a politics student it isn’t?). It’s almost as if those outside Egypt in their solidarity marches feel as the people feel in Cairo, any new slogan they repeat it, translate it and spread it. This reminds me of the basis of NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) in which language, its repetition and what one associates with those words can help transform a person’s life for the better (maybe a topic for another post).

We cannot ignore the role of technology in all this, it is through the satellite TV stations that (live news coverage) people see the slogans or hear them chanted that they can then re-chant them. I do not think there has been anything like this in the history of popular uprising, revolutions or whatever one wishes to call them, where the words and aspirations of a people uttered in one corner of the earth are reiterated across the globe in the same tune, style and sincerity. I am not a historian (though history interests me) but I cannot remember of ever reading anywhere how the slogans of one group were reiterated and reverberated across the world in this way. In addition to the spoken slogans and the mimicking of those, there is also the power of the written words. Over the past fourteen days some pictures usually with a man or woman or child holding a banner with a message have become iconic in representing the events in Egypt. These same words are then take and re-written across the world by supporters of the people in Egypt, the power we are talking about here is doubly strong: speech and words. This was a short note on how I see language plays a major role or rather a powerful role in events such as these and that what is happening in Egypt is unprecedented on many fronts and one of those is the use of language (intentional or unintentional).

 I don’t know how things will end in Egypt (though tonight we are hearing different things?) but I hope that peace and security will be restored in Egypt and that the wonderful kind-hearted Egyptian people will be at peace soon- Allah yahmeeki ya Masr wa yahmee sha3b Masr (May God protect Egypt and its people). Please share your views on this post as always I look forward to them, I am open to suggestions or ideas, and if I have not replied to any recent messages I apologise will do so soon.

 Enjoy!

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Sources: Peterson, G (1997) ‘The Power of words- Literacy and Revolution in South China 1949-95’.

Wiki-answers: For Russian and French revolution information (slogans).

 

Does language shape thought? The results are in

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A few posts ago I mentioned that The economist was running a live debate asking us, its readers to vote on whether we thought language shapes the way we think or not. After that over the next few days different scholars and linguists debated for or against the claim,  and we had the chance to agree or disagree with their view. Well now the results are in and all the arguments for both for and against are available to be read so if you are interested please go ahead and read about it here:http://www.economist.com/debate/debates/overview/190.

Apologies for the short post I am away at the moment but someone just showed this to me and I thought I had to post it- happy break and I hope the new year will be good for everyone.

Thanks

 

Does language shape your thought? Join the debate

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Once again the debate has resurfaced- does language shape thought? I think it will always be a question and each time both sides of the argument have some type of evidence. This time it is  The Economist who are currently running a live debate on this question. They allow for readers to vote on the website asking for people’s view on this somewhat complicated question. Two brilliant scholars represent each side, Dr. Lera Boroditsky [whom I have mentioned before on this blog] and she is for the motion that yes language does shape thought. In opposition is Prof. Mike Liberman a linguist at Pennsylvania, who sees that we shape language to a certain extent, and that language cannot shape the way we think.

I thought I’d share this with the readers as the voting ends tonight and the results will be announced on Thursday. If Linguistic Relativity interests you, this is where you need to go as there are recommendations on what to read, and a summary of the whole idea from both the linguistic and psychological perspectives.  Go and read and vote- enjoy.

The link- http://www.economist.com/debate/days/view/626

 

The power of words- a lesson from Taylor Mali

The power of words? Yes, words have power, power to move our emotions, power to make us think differently, and even to shape the way we see the world {in the loose sense or if you like in the Linguistic Relativity sense}. All through? Yes, you got it, through language. Which begs the question, what would we lose if we had no language? Apart from culture, ways of doing things or seeing the world, we’ll lose the power to influence others {positively of course} in an easy and natural way.

I like poetry and one type that really fascinates me is spoken word, and one of my favourites is one by Taylor Mali called ‘what teachers make’. Recently, I came across a CNN clip that shows how through Taylor’s poetry, many people have become teachers [to be precise 499]. So the question that came to mind for me was, how did he do it? Did he describe the excellent financial reward of being a teacher? Or maybe the glorious praise and respect from students? NO, all he did was show the passion he had for being a teacher, and showed the true nature of how important teachers are even though society does not acknowledge it. All this was done through the use of words, through the use of language, he moved people to change their lives forever- the true power of words and it doesn’t get better than this. He in effect not only changed the life of those 499 individuals but the also the lives of their many thousand students, because these teachers have passion, and when you have that anything you do will be no less than excellent. Here is the CNN clip.

Once we acknowledge the power of words and hence the importance of language preservation then we will understand why language ecologists are running and working hard to save languages from extinction- without words and language we are quite literally- nothing. That’s why the proper use and learning of Arabic is very important because if future generations lose the ability to understand and use language, they cannot therefore be affected by its power or influence others through it. Without language we could not function, we could not make our points clear, you would not be reading this post and digesting its meaning, negotiations could not take place, peace talks could never happen…..and the list continues.  Arabic may not be dying but it might one day and if it does so much will go with it and so much will be lost without it, or any other language for that matter. Language is power- a power we underestimate.

 Below I have put the original poem Taylor read at the Def poetry for HBO- enjoy and your comments are always welcome.

DEF POETRY

 

I am still thinking- does language affect the way I think? The New York Times super article

In the last post I said I’d post the popular article featured in last month’s New York Times, titled: Does language affect the way you think? I have pasted some of the article below, please go and read the rest…..it is a good read.

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by Guy Deutscher

Seventy years ago, in 1940, a popular science magazine published a short article that set in motion one of the trendiest intellectual fads of the 20th century.

At first glance, there seemed little about the article to augur its subsequent celebrity. Neither the title, “Science and Linguistics,” nor the magazine, M.I.T.’s Technology Review, was most people’s idea of glamour. And the author, a chemical engineer who worked for an insurance company and moonlighted as an anthropology lecturer at Yale University, was an unlikely candidate for international superstardom. And yet Benjamin Lee Whorf let loose an alluring idea about language’s power over the mind, and his stirring prose seduced a whole generation into believing that our mother tongue restricts what we are able to think.

Horacio Salinas for The New York Times

 In particular, Whorf announced, Native American languages impose on their speakers a picture of reality that is totally different from ours, so their speakers would simply not be able to understand some of our most basic concepts, like the flow of time or the distinction between objects (like “stone”) and actions (like “fall”). For decades, Whorf’s theory dazzled both academics and the general public alike. In his shadow, others made a whole range of imaginative claims about the supposed power of language, from the assertion that Native American languages instill in their speakers an intuitive understanding of Einstein’s concept of time as a fourth dimension to the theory that the nature of the Jewish religion was determined by the tense system of ancient Hebrew.

Eventually, Whorf’s theory crash-landed on hard facts and solid common sense, when it transpired that there had never actually been any evidence to support his fantastic claims. The reaction was so severe that for decades, any attempts to explore the influence of the mother tongue on our thoughts were relegated to the loony fringes of disrepute. But 70 years on, it is surely time to put the trauma of Whorf behind us. And in the last few years, new research has revealed that when we learn our mother tongue, we do after all acquire certain habits of thought that shape our experience in significant and often surprising ways.

Whorf, we now know, made many mistakes. The most serious one was to assume that our mother tongue constrains our minds and prevents us from being able to think certain thoughts. The general structure of his arguments was to claim that if a language has no word for a certain concept, then its speakers would not be able to understand this concept. If a language has no future tense, for instance, its speakers would simply not be able to grasp our notion of future time. It seems barely comprehensible that this line of argument could ever have achieved such success, given that so much contrary evidence confronts you wherever you look. When you ask, in perfectly normal English, and in the present tense, “Are you coming tomorrow?” do you feel your grip on the notion of futurity slipping away? Do English speakers who have never heard the German word Schadenfreude find it difficult to understand the concept of relishing someone else’s misfortune? Or think about it this way: If the inventory of ready-made words in your language determined which concepts you were able to understand, how would you ever learn anything new?

SINCE THERE IS NO EVIDENCE that any language forbids its speakers to think anything, we must look in an entirely different direction to discover how our mother tongue really does shape our experience of the world. Some 50 years ago, the renowned linguist Roman Jakobson pointed out a crucial fact about differences between languages in a pithy maxim: “Languages differ essentially in what they must convey and not in what they may convey.” This maxim offers us the key to unlocking the real force of the mother tongue: if different languages influence our minds in different ways, this is not because of what our language allows us to think but rather because of what it habitually obliges us to think about.

Consider this example. Suppose I say to you in English that “I spent yesterday evening with a neighbor.” You may well wonder whether my companion was male or female, but I have the right to tell you politely that it’s none of your business. But if we were speaking French or German, I wouldn’t have the privilege to equivocate in this way, because I would be obliged by the grammar of language to choose between voisin or voisine; Nachbar or Nachbarin. These languages compel me to inform you about the sex of my companion whether or not I feel it is remotely your concern. This does not mean, of course, that English speakers are unable to understand the differences between evenings spent with male or female neighbors, but it does mean that they do not have to consider the sexes of neighbors, friends, teachers and a host of other persons each time they come up in a conversation, whereas speakers of some languages are obliged to do so.

On the other hand, English does oblige you to specify certain types of information that can be left to the context in other languages. If I want to tell you in English about a dinner with my neighbor, I may not have to mention the neighbor’s sex, but I do have to tell you something about the timing of the event: I have to decide whether we dined, have been dining, are dining, will be dining and so on. Chinese, on the other hand, does not oblige its speakers to specify the exact time of the action in this way, because the same verb form can be used for past, present or future actions. Again, this does not mean that the Chinese are unable to understand the concept of time. But it does mean they are not obliged to think about timing whenever they describe an action.

When your language routinely obliges you to specify certain types of information, it forces you to be attentive to certain details in the world and to certain aspects of experience that speakers of other languages may not be required to think about all the time. And since such habits of speech are cultivated from the earliest age, it is only natural that they can settle into habits of mind that go beyond language itself, affecting your experiences, perceptions, associations, feelings, memories and orientation in the world.

BUT IS THERE any evidence for this happening in practice?

Let’s take genders again. Languages like Spanish, French, German and Russian not only oblige you to think about the sex of friends and neighbors, but they also assign a male or female gender to a whole range of inanimate objects quite at whim. What, for instance, is particularly feminine about a Frenchman’s beard (la barbe)? Why is Russian water a she, and why does she become a he once you have dipped a tea bag into her? Mark Twain famously lamented such erratic genders as female turnips and neuter maidens in his rant “The Awful German Language.”……….. READ THE REST HERE

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See? How interesting was that? He could have also added Arabic as a language that assigns the masculine, feminine, and sometimes neutral gender! Maybe one day we’ll get to the bottom of this.  The writer has written a book, ‘Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages’  to be published by Metropolitan Books. I thinnk it’s a must read for anyone intersted in the topic, I have just ordered my copy so maybe I’ll put up a review! 

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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/magazine/29language-t.html?pagewanted=all

 

Arabic dying? Not in Egypt

As I was reading I came across this blog posting which sort of affirmed what I said in the last post and what I keep saying- that Arabic native speakers will lose their language if they do not make efforts to learn the language. Once again just to re-affirm Arabic as a language will NOT die not now not EVER, but the people will lose out, especially the native speakers. My claim is always this: Arabic will remain among Muslims as a language of religion but the cultural aspects will be lost, because without native speakers there is no sense to the proverbs or the historic aspects of why words are the way they are. What’s wrong with this? Nothing much but there will be an absence of culture and without culture a people or their way of being will be erased. It’s something that we can discuss forever, language and culture and does it really matter anyway! I have pasted the posting below, and at the bottom I make some comments.

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 Is Arabic a dying language?

From where I sit, in Cairo, the question seems a bit laughable. Dying? True, English is a “higher status” language here. Often, when I read a menu, I will find something like this: الآيس كريم That particular word (ice cream) has legitimately made its way into the Arabic language, but you can also find the transliteration of cheese instead ofجبنة and so on. Still, Egypt is a country where life and literature are conducted (by and large) in Arabic. Of course, if I squint at the question sideways, I can say: Sure, sure. After all, I’m dying. You’re dying. We’re all dying! But scholars in the Emirates mean this in a much more urgent way—and perhaps this is part of the reason why so much Emirati money is being laid down for culture: book prizes, poetry channels, literary fairs.

 In the Emirates, Tom Hundley writes, Arabic is “no better than the third most-spoken language” after English and Hindi. And since Arabs are a minority in the laborer-laden Emirates, that’s hardly a surprise.

 But apparently even Emiratis aren’t interested in their language. Hundley reports that last fall, only five new students enrolled in UAE University’s Arabic language and literature program. And most university students, he says, take their instruction in English.

Hundley says the Emiratis are aware and concerned: A new national plan, unveiled earlier this month and aimed at 2021, the United Arab Emirates’ 50th anniversary, highlights the concern: “Arabic will re-emerge as a dynamic and vibrant language, expressed everywhere in speech and writing as a living symbol of the national Arab-Islamic values,” the plan said. But it offered few specifics on how this would occur. Hundley said that some have called for laws enforcing the use of Arabic.

 But he quoted Professor Kamal Abdel-Malek, a professor of Arabic literature at the American University in Dubai (AUD) as disagreeing with this sentiment: “We shouldn’t end up with language police,” he said. “Laws cannot maintain the vitality of a language. I don’t think you force people to preserve a language.”

Agreed. (Although I might like to read a novel where this was happening.) How, then, are we to preserve languages? Perhaps, as the Emiratis are doing, with more money for culture? After all, the death of a language is no small thing: a number of social scientists liken the deaths of languages to the deaths of species. Could we end up in a world with only a few languages, and thus fewer ideas, fewer ways of structuring existence?

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I like the way the post ends with powerful questions, we might not have the answers but at least we can begin thinking. I am not sure if money is the answer, it does help, but can it save a language? I think not. It is all to do with how people see their language, what are the benefits of me learning and deeply understanding this language? If the speaker sees no real benefit they will not ‘waste’ their time learning language. Maybe it’s only us linguists and those who love languages, who learn language for the sake of loving words and how they are similar or different from each other (like trying to see the similarity between Spanish and Italian)?! He is right that the death of a language is a serious issue, though I don’t think Arabic will ever make it to that list. He touches on an issue that has gained much attention recently – that of the connection between language and ideas or the perception of reality. I have written on it before, the linguistic relativity theory, so based on the claims of this theory we could say: if Arabic becomes weaker among its native speakers then the ideas encapsulated in Arabic language will also be weakened and not understood so well? Interesting, like I always say I have not made my mind up yet as I am reading on the subject – does language affect the way we think? And if so to what extent? I read a New York Times article on this issue so I will put it up on the next posting. Thanks for reading!

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Source: http://arablit.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/is-arabic-a-dying-language/

 

Linguistic Relativity: The Arabic take on the controversial issue? Part II

Here is part two as promised- In the last post we discussed the author’s ideas on the relationship between language and thought, and we also discussed what linguists think about this issue (Sapir-Whorf hypothesis). In this second and final post in reference to Badr’s excerpt, I take a close look at how he views the relationship between Arabic language and the Qur’an; and how he sees that relating to a speaker’s thoughts. Below is an excerpt (in bold)

Let us take a closer look at this idea of the importance of language. If it were wholly or even partly true, it would be most appropriate for us to consider the characteristics of the Arabic language, its impact on the Arabs and the reasons for the divine choice of this language as the means to reveal the Qur’an and convey the message of Islam to the whole of humanity. God says in the Qur’an: “We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and we will assuredly guard it” (15:9). This means that He guards Revelation and, consequently, also the Arabic language.

After the author maintains that language is connected to thought, he then applies that theory to the Qur’an and Arabic language (the language of the Qur’an). He believes that the choice of Arabic as a liturgical language is divine and has qualities that are unique only to it, therefore making it the most suitable language in which God chose to send His message to human beings.  Badr here quotes Chapter (Surah) 15 verse (ayah) 9, in which God (Allah) promises to “guard” the Qur’an and therefore its language- Arabic. I discussed this briefly (in the post Preservation of Arabic revisited- part 2 will be up soon- in that post I discuss the role of the hadith tradition and Qur’anic sciences in the preservation of Arabic) as one of the reasons/ motivations for the perfect preservation of Arabic. I said that maybe this verse made the scholars of Islam and the Arabic language more mindful in how they planned the future generations to understand the revelation of Allah and its language.

In this connection, the Egyptian scholar, `Abbas Mahmud al-`Aqqad, discusses some aspects of the Arabic language: its vocabulary, phonetic and phonemic aspects: “ The human speech system is a superb musical instrument which no ancient or modern nation has used as perfectly as the Arab nation, as they have used the entire phonetic range in the distribution of its alphabet. Therefore, it is these qualities of the Arabic language that made Arabic poetry a perfect art, independent of other arts” [`Abbas Muhammad al-`Aqqad, al-Lughah Al-Sha`irah (Cairo: Maktabat Gharib, n.d.)] According to al-`Aqqad, these qualities are not found in any other language, for “Arabic eloquence has taken the human speech organs to the highest point ever reached by man in expressing himself by letters and words.” [Ibid, p. 70.]

A high praise indeed for Arabic language, and phonetically he might be right. The Arabic language has many of the sounds that the human speech apparatus can produce. The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a table which captures all the possible sounds made in human speech/language. We use it to transcribe (write down) speech and we can also show tone, pitch and intensity used whilst producing the sounds. Most linguistics students learn this skill and it is especially handy when it comes to research projects or documentation of languages and grammars.  If you look closely at the table, you can see that all the sections across are the places of emanation (what we call in Arabic/ Qur’anic sciences ‘Makahrij al Huroof’ – the points where letters emanate) like bilabial [both lips meeting to pronounce a letter] where p and b are made (say p – try it!). And the sections going down are the ways in which the sounds are produced (what we call in Arabic or Qur’anic Sciences ‘Sifaat al Huroof’- the characteristics of letters). Taking the same place of emanation as above, bilabial, we can see that the sound can have a nasal characteristic which is manifested in the letter m, or it can be fricative; which is not in English but some languages put so much air in the b sound that the lips do not completely seal and there is small vibration. The IPA   also captures clicks, rolls, taps and other strange phenomena of the human speech apparatus! Anyway I am sure you can read better and clearer notes than the ones I am putting up here (see sources). Here is the top part of the IPA the rest of it is quite complex as it deals with vowels and tones:

 Phonetically Arabic is the only language in the world that contains the sound of the letter ض /dhaad/ is according to the IPA:  [dˁ] emphatic voiced alveolar plosive, and is often referred to as Lughat ad-dhaad, the language of Daad.  So we see why the quoted author says that the Arabic language has used the “the entire phonetic range in the distribution of its alphabet”, meaning it has covered all the major areas of pronunciation.

It is most astonishing to see this robust language (Arabic) growing and reaching a stage of perfection in the midst of the desert, and in a nation of nomads. The language has superseded other languages by its wealth of vocabulary, precise meanings and perfect structure. This language was unknown to other nations. But when it came to be known, it appeared to us in such perfection that it hardly underwent any change ever since. Of the stages of life, that language had neither childhood nor old age. We hardly know anything about that language beyond its unmatched conquests and victories. We cannot find any similar language that appeared to scholars so complete, and without gradation, keeping a structure so pure and flawless. The spread of the Arabic language covered the largest areas and remotest countries. [Anwar al Jundi, Al-Fusha:Lughat a/-Qur'an (Beirut: Dar Al-Kitab Al-Lubnani, 1982), p.27]

Badr here sees Arabic as the most perfect of all languages, having a vocabulary and eloquence that is unmatched by any other language. He once again mentions the idea that Arabic language has not undergone any changes for over fourteen hundred years. He continues further to say that because of this the language maintains and retains the same values and views from its inception until today. In the same way that the Qur’an has retained its form, content and message; the Arabic language has maintained its structure, words and world view!  Powerful statements to make and I think it is high time that such statements were taken seriously and objective research was conducted. Does the mind of a Qur’an reader view the world differently from the mind of an avid Agatha Christie reader?  If the Qur’an contains a certain view of good and evil does that shape the mind of the Arabic reader/speaker to see good and evil in that way and only in that way? Or can they view good and evil in different ways based on the language the concept is represented in?  Badr supports the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis in the sense that a language shapes the thought of its speaker, and Arabic is a “vehicle of contemplation”; because Qura’nic Arabic speakers think in the Qur’anic world view. This sets three challenges: for someone to read the Qur’an over and to pull out all the possible world views and to then study all the linguistic aspects of Arabic and finally to show how the two non- arbitrarily relate to one another.  Overall I think that Badr has raised many important points and the onus is now with Arab linguists to substantiate or dispute the statements presented here. Cognitive linguistics is a fast moving field with ever-improving research methods and I am sure sooner rather than later this issue will have to be addressed- objectively and scientifically.

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Sources:

 IPA in general: http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&source=hp&q=international+phonetic+alphabet&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=4a9850f25e5993a0