Arab World English Journal (January 2022) Theses ID 283 Pp. 1-46
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/th.283
Arabic diglossia and its impact on the social communication and learning process of non-native
Arabic learners: Students’ perspective
Abdullah Mohammed Harbi
Yanbu English language & Preparatory Year Institute
Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, Saudi Arabia
Email: hrbi.abdullah1@gmail.com
Author: Abdullah Mohammed Harbi
Thesis Title: Arabic diglossia and its impact on the social communication and learning process of non-native
Arabic learners: Students’ perspective
Institution: English Department. Faculty of Languages and translation, King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia
Degree: Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics
Major: Applied Linguistics
Year of award: 2021
Supervisor: Professor Abdullah Hady Al Kahtany
ORCid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9864-6541
Keywords: Arabic, diglossia, communication, colloquial Arabic, modern standard Arabic, non-native Arabic language learners
Abstract:
The Arabic language is characterized as a diglossic language. Hence, this study dealt with this sociolinguistic phenomenon and examine the impact of the Arabic diglossic situation in terms of social communication and the Arabic language learning process based on the second Arabic language learners’ perspective. The study starts with reviewing and discussing the literature by considering the Arabic diglossia from both linguistic and educational perspectives. To achieve the research objectives the researcher used mixed-method research namely, a close-ended questionnaire for quantitative data and open-ended questions for qualitative data. The sample included 26 students from different nationalities at the Arabic Language Center for Speakers of Other Languages at King Khalid University. The researcher concluded that the Arabic diglossic situation, especially the difference between the functionality of MSA (Modern Standard Arabic) and CA (Colloquial Arabic) is an impactful factor that can create an obstacle for the second Arabic language learners in terms of social communication in real context as well as the Arabic language learning process. The data prove that the second Arabic language learners in the Arabic Language Center for Speakers of Other Languages at King Khalid University are aware of Arabic diglossia and its impact on their social communication in real-life situations. Moreover, it was found that the Arabic diglossic situation slightly impacted their Arabic language learning process in terms of their desire to continue learning the Arabic language and the switching between MSA and CA that take place in the educational setting by some teachers.
Cite as: Harbi, A. M. (2022). Arabic diglossia and its impact on the social communication and learning process of non-native Arabic learners: Students’ perspective, English Department. Faculty of Languages and translation, King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia (M.A.Thesis).Retrieved from Arab World English Journal (ID Number: 283) January, 2022:1-46.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/th.283
References:
]1[ Alzour, N. N., & Albzour, B. A. (2015). Arabic uniglossia: Diglossia revisited. Studies in Literature and Language, 10(3), 7-12. https://2u.pw/QnaUz
]2[ Al-Kahtany, A. H. (1997). The’problem’of diglossia in the Arab world: An attitudinal study on modern standard Arabic and the Arabic dialects. al-‘Arabiyya, 1-30. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43192773
]3[ Al-Mamari, H. (2011). Arabic Diglossia And Arabic As A Foregn Language: The Perception Of Students In World Learning Oman Center. https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/capstones/2437
]4[ Al-Osaimi, S., & Wedell, M. (2014). Beliefs about second language learning: The influence of learning context and learning purpose. The Language Learning Journal, 42(1), 5-24. https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1080%2F09571736.2012.661753
]5[ Al‐Wer, E. (1997). Arabic between reality and ideology. International journal of applied linguistics, 7(2), 251-265. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1473-4192.1997.tb00117.x
]6[ Al Zahrani, M. A. A. (2013). A Study on the Impact of Arabic Diglossia on L2 learners of Arabic: Examining Motivation and Perception School of Linguistics, Bangor University Wales, UK. (Master’s Thesis). https://awej.org/images/Theseanddissertation/MahaAbdelrahmanAlHaririAlZahrani/Mahafulltesis.pdf
]7[ Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. 3rd ed. Los Angeles: Sage
]8[ Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methodologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
]9[ Ferguson, Charles A. “Diglossia.” word 15.2 (1959): 325-340. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00437956.1959.11659702
]10[ Hudson, A. (2002). Outline of a theory of diglossia. International journal of the sociology of language, 2002(157), 1-48. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/216843207_Outline_of_a_Theory_of_Diglossia#fullTextFileContent
]11[ Ibrahim, M. H. (1986). Standard and prestige language: A problem in Arabic sociolinguistics. Anthropological linguistics, 28(1), 115-126. https://www.jstor.org/stable/30027950
]12[ Kaye, A. S. (2001). Diglossia: the state of the art. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2001(152), 117-129. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl.2001.051
]13[ Khalil, S. (2011). The evolution of the Arabic language through online writing: The explosion of 2011. In Annual Conference of Change and Continuity in the Middle East: Rethinking West Asia, North Africa and the Gulf after. https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/151357/SaussanKhalilBRISMES%20paper.pdf
]14[ Pennycook, A. (2017). The cultural politics of English as an international language. Taylor & Francis.
]15[ Palmer, J. (2008). Arabic diglossia: Student perceptions of spoken Arabic after living in the Arabic-speaking world. Journal of Second Language Acquisition and Teaching, 15, 81-95. https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/AZSLAT/article/view/21255/20835
]16[ Palmer, J. (2007). Arabic diglossia: Teaching only the standard variety is a disservice to students. Journal of Second Language Acquisition and Teaching, 14, 111-122. https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/AZSLAT/article/view/21267/20847
]17[ Ryding, K. C. (1991). Proficiency despite diglossia: A new approach for Arabic. The Modern Language Journal, 75(2), 212-218. https://sites.middlebury.edu/arabicsociolinguistics/files/2013/03/Ryding1991-LearningDiglossia.pdf
]18[ Younes, M. (2013). Integrating the Colloquial with Fuā in the Arabic-as-a-Foreign-Language Classroom. Handbook for Arabic language teaching professionals in the 21st century, 157.