<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Arabic-L: Thu 30 Jun 2011<br>Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <<a href="mailto:dil@byu.edu">dil@byu.edu</a>><br>[To post messages to the list, send them to arabic-l@byu.edu]<br>[To unsubscribe, send message from same address you subscribed from to<br><a href="mailto:listserv@byu.edu">listserv@byu.edu</a> with first line reading:<br> unsubscribe arabic-l ]<br><br>-------------------------Directory------------------------------------<br><br>1) Subject: Review of Arabic and the Media<br><br>-------------------------Messages-----------------------------------<br>1)<br>Date: 30 Jun 2011<br>From: reposted from LINGUIST<br>Subject: Review of Arabic and the Media<br><br>EDITOR: Reem Bassiouney<br>TITLLE: Arabic and the Media<br>SUBTITLEL: Linguistic Analyses and Applications<br>SERIES TITLLE: Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics 57<br>PUBLISHER: Brill<br>YEAR: 2010<br><br>Islam Youssef, CASTL, University of Tromso<br><br>SUMMARY<br><br>The media has recently permeated all aspects of Arab society. An increasing<br>competition among newspapers and satellite channels has created a remarkable<br>linguistic diversity that has caught the attention of language scholars. This<br>edited volume covers the use of Arabic in the written and broadcast media, and<br>attempts to offer a theoretical and methodological framework to the study and<br>teaching of media Arabic from a sociolinguistic perspective. The book raises<br>questions about the mutual influence of the media and the Arabic linguistic<br>situation on each other. This includes the various discourse functions for the<br>use of colloquial Arabic in the media, the mechanisms of diglossic switching<br>between standard and colloquial varieties in the written and spoken forms, as<br>well as the challenges and significance of teaching media Arabic to foreign<br>students. The book is recommended mainly for Arabic linguists, especially<br>sociolinguists, dialectologists and those interested in the media (both written<br>or televised). The articles also address general topics within discourse<br>analysis and sociolinguistics that may be of interest to non-Arabists. However,<br>some of the articles may be difficult to decipher for those not familiar with<br>the lexicon and structure of the Arabic language.<br><br>Part One of this book comprises three articles on newspaper language. Although<br>it does not explore Arabic specifically, Aitchison's article on ''the evolution<br>and role of newspapers'' sets the general tone for this section. She stresses<br>that journalists should try to establish the readers' feeling of coherence and<br>warm involvement with the events since the main role of newspapers is to<br>convince readers that ''their world behaves in a predictable and normal way'' (p. 21).<br><br>Ibrahim examines the diglossic situation between High and Low varieties of<br>Arabic in three Egyptian newspapers. In a small-scale corpus study (35<br>consecutive issues of each newspaper), she highlights the increasing stylistic<br>role of Colloquial Egyptian Arabic (ECA) in the opposition papers ad-Dustuur and<br>al-Masri al-Youm as opposed to the state-run al-Ahram. The different styles of<br>code-switching are illustrated, i.e. inter- and intra-sentential, with reference<br>to the high rate of ECA use in headlines and direct quotations. Contextual<br>factors are also indicated, with a detailed appendix of the Arabic data<br>classified according to newspaper section (sports, news, arts, opinion, reports,<br>etc.). An important point the author tries to communicate is how code-switching<br>in written text can express social meanings and establish solidarity with the<br>readers.<br><br>Parkinson investigates lexical variation of written Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)<br>in the newspapers of four Arabic-speaking countries: Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and<br>Kuwait. By reviewing the results of previous corpus studies with new emphasis,<br>he provides evidence against the traditional claim that MSA is identical<br>throughout the Arab World and stresses that studying written variation is<br>crucial to describe the language of the press accurately. He argues that<br>variation stems from the broad grammatical and lexical resources of Fus??a<br>(Classical Arabic), which leave plenty of room for differences to emerge in<br>written newspaper language despite attempts to suppress local usage by editors<br>(p. 59). The article touches upon several variables, which the author dubs<br>'country effects'. He points out clear and statistically significant regional<br>patterns of use in grammatical structures, writing conventions and lexical<br>choice. The article, however, fails to reference much relevant literature such<br>as Ibrahim (2009) and Haeri (2003).<br><br>Part Two examines linguistic variation in the Arabic media in eight articles.<br>Van-Mol attempts to provide a definition of 'media Arabic'. Furthermore, he<br>explores the methodological challenges of classifying the overwhelming amount of<br>data from satellite television according to the program type, the speaker's<br>identity (nationality, age, gender) and the language used (origin, spontaneity,<br>written versus oral sources). He argues that there is an overlapping problem of<br>classification that requires the development of a well-defined system.<br><br>Myers-Scotton argues that the Matrix Language Frame (MLF) model and its new<br>development, the 4-M model, can explain the patterns that occur in Arabic<br>diglossic code-switching (CS) as similar to patterns of classical bilingual<br>switching. These common patterns of CS are characterized by two types of<br>asymmetry: one involves a dominance relation in the participating<br>languages/varieties (Matrix vs. Embedded) and another involves morpheme types in<br>their distribution within CS (content vs. system morphemes). The author examines<br>five problematic patterns in Arabic CS and how they can be explained in terms of<br>the MLF model. Media Arabic is only mentioned in the last section of the<br>article, as an increasingly common source of diglossic switching.<br><br>Bassiouney provides another study of diglossia within the framework of<br>code-switching (see also Bassiouney 2009). More specifically, she examines the<br>use of MSA and ECA in talk shows, shedding light on code-choice and<br>code-switching by women in relation to identity (p. 97). Her data consist of 15<br>TV hours from five talk shows. A major challenge for her study was to<br>consistently differentiate between MSA and ECA, which she resolved by<br>establishing seven progressive categories based on counting variables (lexical,<br>morphosyntactic or phonological). She concludes that the use of standard<br>features is not related to the gender of the speaker but rather to which part of<br>their identity they appeal to. Thus, educated women can and do use MSA in the<br>media as a discourse function to establish status and authority (p. 119).<br><br>In an interesting and original study, Doss investigates the linguistic choice<br>and the ideological position behind the colloquial news bulletin ?aal id-Dunya<br>of OTV. The language of ?aal id-Dunya is reminiscent of 'amiyyat<br>al-mutanawwiriin, the educated colloquial variety described in Badawi (1973). It<br>is colloquial in its sounds, intonation, and morphosyntactic features, as well<br>as its informality and the kind of light news items presented. However, it still<br>exhibits a fair amount of MSA influences as a result of the writing process<br>which underlies it (p. 139). The article also touches on the increasing role of<br>colloquial Arabic in written texts and the potential process of its<br>standardization. Finally, Doss presents the reservations and criticisms this<br>choice provoked among editors and audience alike.<br><br>Matar explores the mediated charisma of Hizbullah's leader, Hassan Nassrallah,<br>and his religious-political discourse that can be effective in temporal contexts<br>such as the 2006 war with Israel. In analyzing his speeches, she shows how ''he<br>incorporates historically-significant and meaningful discourses, signs and<br>symbols drawn from a shared cultural repertoire and adapted to the particular<br>historical context to summon and construct the intended audience as subjects''<br>(p. 155). She also refers to his diglossic use of Arabic to construct an image<br>of a national and religious leader in the relevant context with his subjects.<br><br>Al-Azraqi surveys Gulf Asian Pidgin (GAP) used in Gulf Arabian countries by<br>Asian workers and their Gulf Arabic-speaking employers. Her data consists of six<br>hours from TV series in addition to face-to-face interviews with Asian workers.<br>While GAP has mostly a Gulf Arabic (GA) lexicon, not all morphosyntactic<br>features of GA appear in GAP. An example is the use of the particle 'fii' to<br>perform combined syntactic functions (e.g. copula, expletive, definite article,<br>possessive pronoun) which are expressed by various mechanisms in GA. The author<br>notes the recent presence of this pidgin in the media, written and spoken, to<br>impersonate Asian characters while it is stigmatized by native Saudis (p. 172).<br><br>Samin considers internet bulletin boards in the larger context of the expanding<br>media environment in the Middle East, and its role in reducing the information<br>monopoly of the state (p. 197). He compares and contrasts the discourses on two<br>Saudi internet bulletin boards. On the one hand, Al-A?saa' Cultural Board<br>comprises a platform for empowering the marginalized Saudi Shiite minority. On<br>the other, the bulletin board of the Najdi Qa?tan tribe embodies some<br>state-supported prerogatives such as religious and tribal affiliations (p. 198).<br><br>The last article in this section touches only indirectly on the media, as<br>Abboud-Haggar examines the use of dialect in literary works. Her study of two<br>bestselling novels, ''Girls of Riyadh'' and ''The Yacoubian Building,'' reveals that<br>colloquial Arabic is used either to reflect the attitude of the writer or to<br>bring readers closer to the characters (p. 213). The article poses questions<br>about potential challenges for contemporary writers including the geographical<br>comprehensibility barrier in the use of local dialects.<br><br>Part Three explores the role of teaching Arabic through the media. Ryding<br>highlights the central role of the media to the study of Arabic language and<br>culture ''in terms of its reach, its role, its structure and its content'' (p.<br>219). More specifically, the article stresses the use of written media Arabic<br>(both in print and electronic format) as a reliable source for studying Modern<br>Standard Arabic. The last section makes reference to several textbooks and<br>proficiency techniques for teaching written media Arabic. The author argues,<br>however, that even though textbooks can facilitate the acquisition of<br>vocabulary, syntax and style, the actual newspapers are invaluable components<br>for the Arabic learning experience.<br><br>El-Essawy offers ways in which teachers might use printed media as a valuable<br>source of different text types to introduce and practice new vocabulary. She<br>thoroughly discusses the techniques and principles of vocabulary acquisition in<br>Arabic and how these can be translated into classroom practice.<br><br>Abdalla conducts a thorough investigation of the teaching and learning of media<br>language in Arabic programs. He argues that the media (journalism and TV<br>broadcasting) offers a rich authentic resource for holistic language learning,<br>and if it is used creatively, it can engage learners in the natural use of<br>language (p. 285). The article covers a discussion of the characteristics of<br>media language, the debate on the use of colloquial Arabic and the lack of media<br>literacy in the Arabic language curriculum. It concludes with some<br>recommendations for future program planning and for training Arabic language<br>teachers.<br><br>EVALUATION<br><br>As the editor rightfully claims, there are no reference books in the market<br>devoted exclusively to the study of Arabic media from a sociolinguistic<br>perspective. The book is, therefore, a pioneering attempt in this area and is<br>also a valuable contribution to Arabic sociolinguistics and discourse analysis.<br>The articles reflect a concerted effort to cover complementary aspects of media<br>Arabic and to reflect the diverse social and linguistic realities of Arabic<br>speaking audiences. In addition, they convincingly challenge some established<br>ideas on visual and written media Arabic. Although the volume claims to cover<br>aspects of media language across the Arab World, most of the articles focus on<br>Egypt and partially on Gulf and Lebanese Arabic. The editor acknowledges that<br>the Arabic of North Africa is not represented for purely circumstantial reasons.<br><br>With regard to style and readability, the book is generally reader-friendly. I<br>noticed, however, certain inconsistencies in presenting the Arabic data across<br>the articles. For example, while Bassiouney makes use of transcriptions and<br>glosses but no Arabic characters, Parkinson's article lacks any glossing or<br>transliteration. Aside from such minor shortcomings, this work is a welcome<br>contribution to the research on media Arabic, and anyone interested in this<br>aspect of Arabic linguistics should consider reading it.<br><br>REFERENCES<br><br>Badawi, Said. 1973. Registers of Contemporary Arabic in Egypt (in Arabic).<br>Cairo: Daar Al-Ma'aarif.<br><br>Bassiouney, Reem. 2009. Arabic Sociolinguistics: Topics in Diglossia, Gender,<br>Identity, and Politics. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press.<br><br>Haeri, Nilofar. 2003. Sacred Language, Ordinary People: Dilemmas of Culture and<br>Politics in Egypt. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.<br><br>Ibrahim, Zeinab. 2009. Beyond Lexical Variation in Modern Standard Arabic:<br>Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.<br><br>ABOUT THE REVIEWER<br><br>Islam Youssef is a research fellow/PhD candidate at the Center for Advanced<br>Study in Theoretical Linguistics (CASTL), University of Tromso. His<br>research interests include phonology, phonetics, morphology and Arabic<br>dialectology. He has presented and published research on the Cairene and<br>Baghdadi dialects of Arabic and on Buchan Scots English.<br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>End of Arabic-L: 30 Jun 2011</body></html>