Arabic Sociolinguistics: Topics in Diglossia, Gender, Identity, and Politics

Arabic Sociolinguistics

Arabic Sociolinguistics Reem Bassiouney

Edinburgh University Press

© Reem Bassiouney, 2009

Edinburgh University Press Ltd 22 George Square, Edinburgh Typeset in ll/13pt Ehrhardt by Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire, and printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and East bourne

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 0 7486 2373 0 (hardback) ISBN 978 0 7486 2374 7 (paperback) The right ofReem Bassiouney to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Contents

Acknowledgements List of charts, maps and tables List of abbreviations Conventions used in this book Introduction

viii x xii xiv 1

1. Diglossia and dialect groups in the Arab world 1.1 Diglossia 1.1.1 Anoverviewofthestudyofdiglossia 1.1.2 Theories that explain diglossia in terms oflevels 1.1.3 The idea ofEducated Spoken Arabic 1.2 Dialects/varieties in the Arab world 1.2. 1 The concept ofprestige as different from that ofstandard 1.2.2 Groups ofdialects in the Arab world 1.3 Conclusion

9 10 10 14 16 18 18 19 26

2. Code-switching 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Problem of terminology: code-switching and code-mixing 2.3 Code-switching and diglossia 2.4 The study of constraints on code-switching in relation to the Arab world 2.4. 1 Structural constraints on classic code-switching 2.4.2 Structural constraints on diglossic switching 2.5 Motivations for code-switching 2. 5. 1 Motivations and discourse functions ofclassic code-switching 2. 5.2 Motivations and discourse functions ofdiglossic switching 2.6 Conclusion

28 29 30 31 31 31 42 59 59 71 85

Vl

ARABIC SOCIOLINGUISTICS

3. Language variation and change 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Language variation and change 3.2.1 Social class approach 3.2.2 Social networks approach 3.2.3 Third wave approach to variation studies: community of practice 3.3 Methodology 3.4 Sociolinguistic variables 3.4.1 Ethnicity 3.4.2 Religion 3. 4. 3 Urbanisation 3.4.4 Social class 3.4. 5 Other factors 3.5 Levelling 3.5.1 Diglossia and levelling 3.5.2 Levelling and language change 3.6 Conclusion 4. Arabic and gender 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Approaches to language and gender 4.2.1 The deficit theory and Lakoff's contribution to the study of language and gender 4.2.2 The dominance theory 4. 2. 3 The difference theory 4.2.4 Third wave approach to variation studies: community of practice theory 4.3 Women in the Arab world: framing and background information 4. 3.1 Diversity in education 4. 3. 2 Diversity in urbanisation 4. 3. 3 Economic diversity 4. 3. 4 Diversity in traditions and religious practices 4.3.5 Honour and modesty 4. 4 Politeness in relation to gender 4.5 'Mister master': names, status and identity 4. 5.1 Names and why they are hidden 4.6 When a chicken crows like a cock: women narrators 4. 7 Language variation and change in relation to gender 4. 7.1 An overview ofstudies on language variation in relation to gender 4. 7.2 An overview oflinguistic variation in relation to gender in the Arab world

88 89 90 90 92 93 94 97 97 103 111 114 116 117 119 120 122 128 128 129 130 131 132 133 133 134 134 135 135 137 138 142 148 149 155 155 158

CONTENTS

Vll

4.8

Projection of identity in the speech of educated women and men 162 in Egypt: evidence from talk shows- a case study 4.8.1 Description ofdata 163 4.8.2 Categorising the data 163 4.8.3 Detailed description ofthe data 167 4.8.4 Conclusion 185 4.9 The symbolic use of language 186 4.10 Gender universals re-examined 190 4.11 Conclusion 193 5. Language policy and politics 5.1 The power oflanguage 5.2 What is language policy? 5.2.1 Language ideologies 5.2.2 Language practices 5.2.3 Language planning

5.3

Nation and state 5.3.1 The relation between nation and language 5.3.2 The Arab nation

198 199 200 201 204 205 206 206 207 210

5.4 Countries with SA as the official language 5.5 French versus British patterns of colonisation and their relation 210 to language policies 5.5.1 Frenchpatternsofcolonisation 212 5.5.2 British patterns ofcolonisation 236 5.6 Language policies in other parts of the Arab world 254 5. 7 The role oflanguage academies in the Arab world 256 5.8 SA, politics and the aching nation: a case study 258 5. 9 Linguistic rights and political rights 263 5.10 English and globalisation 267 5.11 Conclusion 268 General conclusion

273

Bibliography Index

276 299

Acknowledgements

This work is the product of years of investigation in both sociolinguistics in general and Arabic sociolinguistics in particular. Two semesters of researchleave from the University of Utah and Georgetown University have helped me focus more on this book. I would like to thank both universities for this research period. Professor Jean Aitchison has been and will remain a constant friend and a great scholar. I thank her for drawing my attention to Edinburgh University Press. Dr Mahmoud Hassan will also remain a teacher, a friend and a model of integrity. Thank you also to Professor Yasir Suleiman for suggesting the title Arabic Sociolinguistics instead of Arabic and Society and for being an inspiring scholar. I would like also to thank the two anonymous reviewers who read my proposal and made useful recommendations. Thank you to the reader of the manuscript, whose suggestions were very useful and insightful, and whose knowledge of the field is exemplary. I am very lucky to have such a reader. Needless to say any oversight is my responsibility. I have benefited in one way or another from discussions and exchange of ideas, not necessarily about linguistics, with a lot of colleagues and friends. Among those, in alphabetical order, are: Ahmed Dallal, Marianna Di Paolo, Mushira Eid, Gail Grella, Oive Holes, Joe Metz, Carol Myers-Scotton, Karin Ryding, Keith Walters, Kees Versteegh and Malcah Yaeger-Dror. There is nothing as satisfying as having students who are interested and engaged in the topics one teaches. My students in many ways helped me clarify my ideas in fruitful and stimulating class discussions. I thank them. The team at Edinburgh University Press are a delight to work with. Nicola Ramsay and Sarah Edwards are both extremely dedicated and efficient. James Dale has been enthusiastic about the book, friendly, resourceful and efficient. Thanks also to Fiona Sewell my copy-editor for her diligent work. Thanks to all my family, whose support and belief in me were my main

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

IX

incentive always, especially my parents Nour El-Hoda and Alnned Refaat. It becomes clearer over time that without moral support from people who care, the journey is aimless. This book is dedicated to Mark Muehlhaeusler.

Charts, maps and tables

Chart 3.1 Chart 3.2 Chart 4.1 Chart 4.2 Chart 5.1

Fixed independent variables Flexible independent variables Binary approaches to gender studies Construction approaches to gender studies The education system in Egypt

Map 1.1

The Arab world

Table 1

Pronounciation of the letters of the Arabic alphabet in Modem Standard Arabic Transliteration scheme of the Library of Congress Relation between code choice and speaker's role Diversity in literacy rates Strong palatalisation in female speakers in Cairo, by social class Use of /q/ by male and female Cairene speakers, by social class Categorisation by use ofMSA variables Male speakers Female speakers Number of interruptions and overlaps initiated by women and men Languages and varieties used in Morocco and their gender associations Countries with Arabic as the joint or sole official language Language of instruction by subject and educational cycle: Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia Weekly hours per language in primary and secondary education: Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia

Table 2 Table 2.1 Table 4.1 Table 4.2 Table 4.3 Table 4.4 Table 4.5 Table 4.6 Table 4. 7 Table 4.8 Table 5.1 Table 5.2 Table 5.3

123 124 195 195 244 20

xiv xvi 84 135 160 161 164 170 170 185 187 211 233 234

CHARTS, MAPS AND TABLES

Table 5.4 Weekly hours/periods per language in primary and secondary education: Lebanon and Syria Table 5.5 Weekly hours/periods per language in primary and secondary education: Egypt, Sudan and Palestinian Territories

Xl

235

253

Abbreviations

LANGUAGES AND VARIETIES

CA CB ECA ESA ICA LCA MB MSA SA SCA SYCA TCA

Classical Arabic Christian Baghdadi Arabic Egyptian Colloquial Arabic Educated Spoken Arabic Iraqi Colloquial Arabic Lebanese Colloquial Arabic Muslim Baghdadi Arabic Modem Standard Arabic Standard Arabic Saudi Colloquial Arabic Syrian Colloquial Arabic Tunisian Colloquial Arabic

OTHER ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS

ace adj adv asp conj CP def dem det EL f

accusative adjective adverb aspect conjugation projection of a complementiser definite demonstrative definite article embeddedlanguage feminine

ABBREVIATIONS

fut gen H 1mperf indef ind juss L loc adv m ML n neg nom

NP par part pass perf pi poss par pp pr prep pres rei sub sg v voc 1 2

3

future tense genitive high, highly valued imperfect tense indefinite indicative jussive low, lowly valued locative adverb masculine matrix language noun negative marker nominative noun phrase particle participle passive perfect tense plural possessive particle prepositional phrase pronoun preposition present tense relative pronoun subjunctive singular verb vocative first person second person third person

XIll

Conventions used in this book

TRANSCRIPTION

This book uses the following symbols shown in Table 1 to transcribe examples and other linguistic data. The table illustrates the pronunciation of the letters of the Arabic alphabet in Modem Standard Arabic. Table 1

I

Pronounciation ofthe letters ofthe Arabic alphabet in Modern Standard Arabic

Jlala:

j

{J

j;.

z

0

m

r g

•

h

.J

w I u I u:



y I il i:

-a

y

b

.)

r

..:.

t

j

z

t t

.!,

()

c.)"

s

...... f

(!

j lg*

..;. f

~

q

c: t

h

(..)"'

s

~

k

...

X

u:.. 4

J

l

..

J

d

.J..

~

m

!

J

Note: *In Egypt, g is accepted as the MSA pronunciation of the letter I! in addition toj.

This study uses a broad kind of transcription. However, it should be noted that the data used in this book is mainly spoken data. Thus there is considerable variation within that data. For instance, the same word could be pronounced by the same speaker first with a long vowel and then with a short one in the same stretch of discourse. It is important for sociolinguists to capture the performance of speakers, rather than the idealised way in which words and phonemes are 'supposed' to be pronounced. Thus, the aim of transcribing the data is not to idealise but to render actual pronunciation. Within the examples, a forward slash denotes a short pause, while two slashes denote a long pause.

CONVENTIONS USED IN THIS BOOK

XV

GLOSSES

For the benefit of students and researchers who are not necessarily specialised in Arabic, or in all dialects of Arabic, most examples are glossed, except those in which the structure is not highlighted. In the glosses, whenever verb forms are fully analysed, the gloss follows the translation for verbs in the perfect (which has a suffix conjugation in Arabic), whereas the gloss precedes the translation for the imperfect (which has a prefix conjugation), while the mood marking of the verb - if present - is glossed in its natural location at the end of the verb unit. However, the glossing of examples is related to the context of the example, and is not always detailed. If the example is intended to demonstrate how individuals switch between two varieties, or languages, and if this demonstration concentrates on specific morpho-syntactic variables (such as demonstratives, negation, tense, aspect, mood marking and case marking) then the glossing is detailed as in the example below from Chapter 2: (76) ka:na 1-gahd!!:. mustanfaran .fi muwa:gahati mufkila:ti To be-3msg- det-effort- exerted-ace m facing-gen problemsperf nom gen l-ams det-yesterday 'All efforts were exerted to face the problems of the past.' If, on the other hand, the example is used to demonstrate an argument which is more related to content, then the glossing is more basic, as in the following example from Chapter 4: (56) ya rabbi dafwa min ?alb fumru mafaqad if- 'Jamal wala il-?ima:n hi:k' Voc God/ prayer from heart never neg lost the hope nor the-faith in-you 'Oh God. This is a prayer from a heart that never lost hope or belief in you.' Thus, the glossing is not consistent but changes with the change in the nature of the analysis of the data. However, all abbreviations and symbols are listed above. Now note this last example, from Chapter 4: ·~J UlS J .. ~ ~~ [IJj ~ 0 _,u1J:! '1 1.,ns•. w'~ .:~y.w ~J Jl.lll .~ ~ .w.. ~4.1 ~~ '1 U.) ~ [Jj!i Uf. ~'"i ,.S.~ J1i J ...:.tiJ...,...- J IJ~~~ ~ J.Ji..~ iJS.I r.l J .. ~~l

(58)

laqad daxaltu ha:oa ad-da:r wa hiya mugarrad gudra:n/ Already enterthis the-house and she only walls lsg-perf

XVI

ARABIC SOCIOLINGUISTICS

Ia: yuwa:fiqu:n fa!a zawa:g Jabi: kum minni: I ka:nu: from-me marriage fatherbe-3m pi- neg 3mpl-agree on yours perf Jabawayyil wa~i:dat kuntu wa parents-mine and be-lsg-perf lonely wa lam 'lakun folia: ~a/ fazaraftuhuma: 'lafga:ran wa xu¢ rawa:t and neg lsg-be peasant/ plant-lsg-they trees-ace and vegetables li-Jabi: kum/ kayfa gaddukum qa:la wa and say-3msg-perf grandfather- to-fatheryour-pi how your-pi fa: 'lila !aha: I tatazawwag bint 'larmala Ia: neg family to-her 2msg-marry girl widow

'I had come to your grandfather's house when it was just walls. They did not approve my marriage to your father. I was an only child and I was no peasant then. Since then, I have planted trees and vegetables. Your grandfather then asked your father how he can marry a mere widow with no family.' This example is, in fact, from a novel written in Egypt about Egyptians. I transcribe it as an Egyptian would read it; with the g rather than the j.

PERSONAL NAMES, TITLES AND TOPONYMS

This book employs the transliteration scheme of the Library of Congress to transcribe names and titles. This facilitates the search for these materials in Library catalogues, where the same conventions are used (Table 2). Table 2

Transliteration scheme ofthe Library of Congress

I

a

~

dh

.J,;,

y

b

.)

r

...::..

t

j

z

.!:..

th

!>'

s

...... f

[

j

JJ.

sh

..:;

q

~

k

•

(

~

(..)"'

~

~

()

m

t

'

•

h

t

gh

.J

w/u



y/I

t

kh

u"'