Diversity in Language: Contrastive Studies in English and Arabic Theoretical Applied Linguistics

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Diversity in Language

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Diversity in Language Contrastive Studies in Arabic and English Theoretical and Applied Linguistics

Edited by Zeinab M. Ibrahim Sabiha T. Aydelott Nagwa Kassabgy

The American University in Cairo Press Cairo • New York

The American University in Cairo Press Cairo and New York Copyright © 2000 by The American University in Cairo Press 113 Sharia Kasr el Aim Cairo, Egypt All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the American University in Cairo Press.

Dar el Kutub No. 17881/99 ISBN 977 424 578 4 Printed in Egypt

Contents

Foreword Contributors A Note on Transliteration and Transcription of Arabic Words Abbreviations

v vii xi xiv

Arabic Language: Distinctive Features 1 El-Said Badawi An Opinion on the Meanings of i'rab in Classical Arabic: The State of the Nominal Sentence. Summary in English

1

2 Huda M. M. Ghali The Syntax of Colloquial Egyptian Proverbs

5

3 Devin Stewart Understanding the Quran in English: Notes on Translation, Form, and Prophetic Typology

31

Arabic and English: Comparative Studies 4 Nagwa Kassabgy and Mono Kamel Hassan Relativization in English and Arabic: A Bidirectional Study

49

5 Mohammad Al-Khawalda The Expression of Futurity in the Arabic and English Languages

70

6 Jehan Allam A Sociolinguistic Study on the Use of Color Terminology in Egyptian Colloquial and Classical Arabic

77

iv 7 Nancy G. Hottel-Burkhart The Canons of Aristotelian Rhetoric: Their Place in Contrastive Arabic-English Studies

Contents

93

Writing: Learning Style and Form 8 Maha El-Seidi Metadiscourse in English and Arabic Argumentative Writing: A Cross-Linguistic Study of Texts Written by American and Egyptian University Students

111

9 Cynthia May Sheikholeslami and Nabila el-Taher Makhlouf The Impact of Arabic on ESL Expository Writing

127

10 Loubna Abdel-Tawab Youssef Teaching "Form" in English Verse to Arabic Poetry Readers

147

Language Acquisition: Attitudes and Comprehension 11 Christopher W. Horger Dialectal Analysis of Freshman Writing Students' Attitudes toward American and British Dialects

162

12 Abdel-Hakeem Kasem The Acquisition of the English Copula by Native Speakers of Lebanese Arabic: A Developmental Perspective

179

13 Salwa A. Kamel Categories of Comprehension in Argumentative Discourse: A Cross-Linguistic Study

193

Follows English section

Foreword The need for creating a forum for an exchange of ideas and understanding in the fields of English and Arabic linguistics and teaching led to the First International Conference on Contrastive Rhetoric, held at the American University in Cairo (AUC), in February of 1999. This book includes manuscripts based on some of the presentations made at that conference as well as a number of papers by several other scholars. The opinions and ideas expressed in the manuscripts do not necessarily reflect our own, but we believe that they will contribute toward opening the field for further research. The focus of the book, which has been loosely organized into four sections, is on English and Arabic linguistics and teaching. The first section focuses on the Arabic language: its philosophy of tense, syntax, and the teaching of the Quran; the focus of the second section is on comparative studies; the third section looks at writing; and the focus of the fourth section is on language acquisition, especially in terms of learners' attitudes and comprehension. We would like to thank all the authors who submitted manuscripts, including those whose papers are not part of this volume. We are particularly honored to include the contribution of Dr. El-Said Badawi, a distinguished scholar in the field of Arabic linguistics and sociolinguistics. Our thanks also go to those who willingly gave of their time to review the various manuscripts and provide us with valuable insights. The editors also appreciate the support received from Mr. Mark Linz, Ms. Pauline Wickham, and Mr. Neil Hewison of the American University in Cairo Press. Finally, we dedicate this volume to our families, friends, and colleagues in the field. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to create a forum for an exchange of ideas, and we hope this volume will inspire future development in the fields of Arabic and English applied and theoretical linguistics as well as sociolinguistics.

Zeinab M. Ibrahim, Sabiha T. Aydelnott, Nagwa Kassabgy, editors

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Contributors Jehan Allam ("A Sociolinguistic Study on the Use of Color Terminology in Egyptian Colloquial and Classical Arabic") is a senior Arabic language teacher in the American University in Cairo (AUC). Her research interests include issues related to teaching and sociolinguistics. She is currently involved in research on youngsters' effect on language.

Sabiha T. Aydelott (editor) teaches in the Freshmen Writing Program at AUC. She has a doctorate in education, with specialization in reading and writing, from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She has taught in Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, and the United States. Her research interests are in reading assessment, diagnosis and remediation, comparative studies, and reading and writing across the curriculum.

El-Said Badawi ("An Opinion on the Meanings of i'rab in Classical Arabic: The State of the Nominal Sentence") is professor of Arabic linguistics at AUC. He is the Director of the Arabic Language Institute and Codirector of the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA). His book, Levels of Contemporary Arabic, is a landmark in the field of Arabic linguistics.

Huda M. M. Ghaly ("The Syntax of Colloquial Egyptian Proverbs") is an associate professor in the Department of English of the Faculty of Arts at ' Ain Shams University in Cairo. She received her Ph.D. in theoretical linguistics from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, in 1988. Her dissertation was titled A Syntactic Study of the Nominal Piece and Its Temporals in dar'eyya Arabic Based on the Theory of Government and Binding. She is the author of several articles that focus on linguistic issues.

Mona Kamel Hassan ("Relativization in English and Arabic: A Bidirectional Study") is an Arabic language instructor in the Arabic Language Institute of the American University in Cairo and has done

viii

Contributors

research in the area of pragmatics and cross-cultural communication. She holds an M.A. in teaching Arabic as a foreign language from AUC. Christopher W. Horger ("Dialectal Analysis of Freshman Writing Students' Attitudes toward American and British Dialects") teaches in the Freshmen Writing Program at AUC. His field of interest is rhetoric and composition theory; he is a recent graduate of the TEFL program at AUC. His paper in this collection grew out of a research project for a sociolinguistics class. Nancy Hottel-Burkhart ("The Canons of Aristotelian Rhetoric: Their Place in Contrastive Arabic-English Studies"), an assistant profesor in humanities and social sciences at al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco, teaches comparative rhetoric and orality/literacy in the M.A. program in applied humanities. Her Ph.D. in applied linguistics is from the University of Texas at Austin. She has taught and researched second-language writing and rhetoric since 1974, including a stint at AUC in the M.A. TEFL Program from 1987-1991. Zeinab M. Ibrahim (editor) is the Executive Director of the Center for Arabic Study Abroad. She received her Ph.D. from Georgetown University. Her research is in the fields of sociolinguistics and comparative studies.

Salwa A. Kamel ("Categories of Comprehension in Argumentative Discourse: A Cross-Linguistic Study") is a professor of linguistics in the department of English at Cairo University. Her area of specialization is syntax, and her other interests include stylistics and translation. She is the editor of Cairo Studies in English and The Symposium on Comparative Literature Proceedings. Abdel-Hakeem Kasem ("The Acquisition of the English Copula by Native Speakers of Lebanese Arabic: A Developmental Perspective") is a lecturer in Arabic language and culture studies in the School of Australian and International Studies at Deakin University, Melbourne. He is the editor of the Journal of Arabic, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (JAIMES), an academic, refereed journal published by the Faculty of Arts of Deakin University. Abdel-Hakeem is also currently working toward his Ph.D. in applied linguistics at La Trobe University in Melbourne.

Contributors

ix

Nagwa Kassabgy ("Relativization in English and Arabic: A Bidi-rectional Study"; editor) received her M.S. in teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) from the American University in Cairo and is an English language instructor in the English Language Institute at AUC. She is also involved in teacher training and has done research on EFL vocabulary acquisition and teaching grammar. She is a founding member of EGYPTESOL, an affiliate of the international organization of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Mohammed Al-Khwalda ("The Expression of Futurity in the Arabic and English Languages") earned his M.A. in linguistics from the University of Jordan in 1990. He received his Ph.D., also in linguistics from Essex University in England in 1997. Currently he is n assistant professor at Mu'tah University in Amman, Jordan. His primary interests are syntax, tense, aspect, and temporal reference. Nabila el-Taher Makhlouf ("The Impact of Arabic on ESL Expository Writing") received her M.A. in English Literature from Brown University and her M.A. in teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) from the American University in Cairo. She has taught English at a variety of levels, from kindergarten, primary, and secondary school, as well as at 'Ain Shams University in Cairo. She is currently an instructor in the English Language Institute at AUC. Maha El-Seidi ("Metadiscourse in English and Arabic Argumentative Writing: A Cross-Linguistic Study of Texts Written by American and Egyptian University Students") received her M.A. and Ph.D. in linguistics from Cairo University in 1996. Currently she is a lecturer in linguistics in the department of English at Minufiya University in Minufiya, Egypt. Cynthia May Sheikholeslami ("The Impact of Arabic on ESL Expository Writing") received her M.A. in teaching English as a second language (MATESL) from the University of Washington. Currently she is an instructor in the Intensive English Program of the English Language Institute at AUC. She studied contrastive rhetoric with Ulla Connor at the TESOL Summer Institute in Bratislava. Devin Stewart ("Understanding the Quran in English: Notes on Translation, Form, and Prophetic Typology") received his Ph.D. in Arabic and Islamic studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991, and received the Malcolm Kerr Award for the best dissertation in Middle East Studies in 1992. He is currently an associate professor of Arabic and

x

Contributors

Islamic studies in the Middle East Studies Department at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he teaches courses in Arabic and Islamic studies. His published works include Islamic Legal Orthodoxy (1998), and articles on Shi'ite Islam, Islamic law, and Arabic dialectology. Loubna Abdel-Tawab Youssef ("Teaching "Form" in English Verse to Arabic Poetry Readers") received her Ph.D. from the department of English at Cairo University, and her M.A. from St. John's College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. An assistant professor at Cairo University, she teaches English literature and rhetoric, translates books for children and writes articles on literary criticism, poetry, and travel writing. Currently she is teaching at AUC.

A Note on Transliteration and Transcription of Arabic Words Because the papers in this volume encompass a broad swath of issues dealing with Arabic linguistics, the editors have found it necessary to implement two distinct systems for representing Arabic: one a more or less standard transliteration (in italic type), and the second a simplified, American phonemic transcription (marked by oblique slashes). The latter system has been used in particular in cases that involve the representation of Egyptian colloquial Arabic (ECA) and in papers that treat the language from a phonemic perspective; in all other cases the former system of transliteration has been used.

Symbols used in transliteration Symbol ' (ordinary apostrophe) b t

th J h

kh d

dh

r z s sh ' (reversed apostrophe)

gh

Arabic equivalent

xii

A Note on Transliteration and Transcription

Geminated consonants are shown double. Short vowels are represented by a, i, and M; long vowels by a, e, i, and u; diphthongs by ay, and aw. Tamarbuta is indicated by either a or at, and a may also represent a final ya.

Symbols used in transcription /Symbol/

Phonemic description/Arabic equivalent

' b t th or s j or g H x d dh or z r z s sh S D T DH or Z

Voiceless glottal stop: fVoiced bilabial stop: M Voiceless alveolar stop: ° Voiceless interdental fricative: ° Voiced palato-alveolar fricative/voiced velar stop: £ Voiceless pharyngeal fricative: C Voiceless velar fricative: C Voiced dento-alveolar stop: j Voiced interdental/dento-alveolar fricative: J Voiced alveolar flap: J Voiced dento-alveolar fricative: -> Voiceles dento-alveolar fricative: o* Voiceless palato-alveolar fricative: o^ Velarized voiceless dento-alveolar fricative: o^ Velarized voiced dento-alveolar stop: o^ Velarized voiceless dento-alveolar stop: la Velarized voiced interdental/dento-alveolar fricative:

A Note on Transliteration and Transcription 9 gh f q k 1 m n h w y

Voiced pharyngeal fricative: Voiced velar fricative: Voiceless labio-dental fricative: Voiceless uvular stop: Voiceless velar stop: Voiced dento-alveolar lateral: Voiced bilabial nasal continuant: Voiceless dento-alveolar nasal continuant: Voiceless glottal fricative: Voiced labio-velar semivowel: Voiced palatal semivowel:

a a: u u: i i:

Low front vowel: Low front long vowel High back vowel: High back long vowel High front vowel: High front long vowel

Geminated consonants are shown doubled.

xiii

Abbreviations adj., adjective, adjectival AFL, Arabic as a foreign language AH, after the hijra (emigration of Prophet Muhammad to Medina) AUC, American University in Cairo BCE, before the common era (i.e., before birth of Christ) CA, classical Arabic CE, common era (i.e., from birth of Christ) cop., copula ECA, Egyptian colloquial Arabic EFL, English as a foreign language ELT, English language teacher ESL, English as a second language EoM, English-only movement FonF, focus on form L1, first language L2, second language MSA, modern standard Arabic MSJA, modern standard Jordanian Arabic NA, native Arabic NNA, nonnative Arabic NNS, nonnative speaker nom., nominative NP, noun or nominal phrase NS, native speaker Qur., Quran Rh., Aristotle's Rhetoric UG, universal grammar

An Opinion on the Meanings of i'rab in Classical Arabic: The State of the Nominal Sentence Summary in English El-Said Badawi The classification of Arabic sentences by classical Arab grammarians into nominal and verbal types on the basis of the one beginning with a noun and the other with a verb has recently been met with resistance by Western Arabists. They have argued that the semantic differences between a nominal sentence such as hamidun jalasa and a similar, but verbal sentence, jalasa hamidun, are so slight as to make such major structural differentiation between the two unjustifiable. For their part, Arab grammarians not only made the distinction, but they went so far in their differentiation between the two types that they not only assigned them to separate classes (i.e., nominal and verbal), but they also relegated different terms to each of their two basic constituents: the mubtadi' and khabar (subject and predicate) in the case of the nominal sentence and fi'l and fa'il) in the case of the verbal sentence. This paper, which is a part of a larger, ongoing research project, argues that in fact there is a—hitherto untreated—sufficient structural and semantic basis for maintaining the distinction.

Semantic Analysis Semantically, the argument is based on the fact that the contrast between the nominal and verbal sentences is not merely, as Arab grammarians have maintained, that the former denotes greater emphasis on the topic, but mainly that the verbal sentence denotes that a process or event is taking place along a grammatically framed time axis, whereas the nominal sentence denotes a static condition—an absoluteness. Since the elements of verbality and nominality (thanks to the derivational system of Arabic) are present in varying measurements in each of

2

An Opinion on the Meanings of i'rab in Classical Arabic

the morphological derivatives of the language (e.g., verb, verbal noun, noun of instrument, active participle, concrete noun, etc.) and because nouns (and indeed any of the other derivatives) are not limited to occurring in the initial position in the sentence or occurring in a certain number, it follows that it would be a semantic oversimplification to classify Arabic sentences into just verbal and nominal sentences. It is argued here, based on evidence of actual language usage, that nominal sentences versus verbal ones express two structural extremities, each of which stands in semantic opposition to the other. Between these two extreme boundary lines, there exist many sentence varieties, each of which is differentiated from the rest according to the particular mixture of verbal and nominal features that it exhibits. These relations can be expressed schematically, as in Figure 1. Starting from the extreme nominal boundary (NB), all the sentence varieties can thus be arranged on a scale of gradually diminishing nominal features until they reach the verbal boundary line (VB), where maximum verbal features are present. The opposite is also true of the verbal boundary line.

Figure 1. Relation of nominal and verbal features in sentence varieties of Arabic.


Structural Analysis Structurally, the paper points out the parallel and supporting features of the grammatical cases al-halat al-i'rabiya, not merely as regards their mere grammatical values, but also (and for the first time, according to the best of my knowledge) as regards the contribution they have been discovered to be making to the total semantic value of the sentence as sketched above. Because of the complexity of the total picture and because what is presented here is only one part of a larger research project, we present here only the case of the nominal sentence, designated by Western Arabists as the equational sentence, which consists of noun + noun. Of the four cases (al-raf', al-nasb, al-jarr, and al-jazm), only al-raf and al-nasb operate within the two basic parts of the equational sentence. Examination of various occurrences of these sentence types reveals that halat al-raf is associated with static, immovable, assured, and absolute value in the sentence, whereas the opposite is true of halat al-nasb. The structural theme of noun + noun sentences is subjected to alterations by the association of one of three verbs/particles known as alnawasikh. These are kana and its sisters, inna and its sisters, and zanna and its sisters. Each of these groups when associated with the noun + noun structure bring with it semantic and grammatical changes, reflecting in its totality a degree of absoluteness (or lack of it) commensurate with the totality of these interrelated grammatical and semantic features. The grammatical changes are the function of the computation of the two cases of al-raf and al-nasb over the two positions of the equational sentences (i.e., subject + predicate). This computation yields four unique structure types as regards the distribution of the indicative and subjunctive cases. These are the following: 1) Pure nominal: noun (al-raf} + noun (al-raf) 2) Kana and its sisters: noun (al-raf) + noun (al-nasb) 3) 'Inna and its sisters: noun (al-nasb) + noun (al-raf) 4) Zanna and its sisters: noun (al-nasb) + noun (subjunctive) Semantically, the absoluteness of the equational sentence is gradually eroded in a form parallel with the grammatical one above. Kana and its

4


sisters bring in time qualification (with al-raf in first position); 'inna and its sisters question, in varying degrees, the association between subject and predicate (with al-raf only in second position); and finally, zanna and its sisters, through varying degrees of doubt, question the plausibility of the sentence altogether (with no raf in either position).

Figure 2. Comparison of the nominal and verbal features of certain varieties of Arabic sentences.

The Syntax of Colloquial Egyptian Proverbs Huda M. M. Ghaly In the syntactic structure of the proverbs of Egyptian colloquial Arabic (ECA) as cited in Ahmad Taymur's book of Colloquial Proverbs (1986), there is always a phrasal or clausal category prior to the phrase with a finite verb or predicate, or matrix IP. In accounting for this syntactic behavior within the framework of the Minimalist Program of Chomsky (1995), this paper will show that the word order pertaining to these declarative sentences is not really free, because it is motivated by syntactic and semantic considerations. Since the proverbial declarative sentence requires a certain element of focus (i.e., information that is "new" and has the highest degree of communicative dynamism, i.e., the rheme, as distinct from topic, or theme), there is a strong feature in the complement (C; the head of the preIP position that determines whether the sentence is declarative or interrogative) of these declarative sentences. In other words, the presence of this strong feature in the C of these declarative sentences activates a rhetorical operation that necessitates the overt insertion of a base-generated phrasal or clausal category in that position. This, in turn, enables us to distinguish syntactically between these proverbial declarative sentences from declarative sentences of the same dialect that are not proverbial. The former sentences always have the structure of a complement phrase (CP; a declarative sentence that has an IP as a complement of its head and also a specifier to that head), because it has a strong feature in its C, but the latter declarative sentences may have the structure of either a CP or an IP.

Theoretical Background and Review of Relevant Literature Chomsky's Minimalist Program According to Chomsky's Minimalist Program (MP), operations of the computational system for human language (CHL) for constructing a sen-

6

The Syntax of Colloquial Egyptian Proverbs

tence recursively construct syntactic objects that are rearrangements of properties of the lexical items. The first operation of this computation, select, is a procedure that takes a lexical item from the numeration (N; the items in the lexicon) and introduces it into the derivation (the set of operations performed on the lexical items to produce the relevant structure). This process of derivation involves the operation merge, which takes a pair of syntactic objects and replaces them with a new combined syntactic object so that it may be interpreted at the logical form (LF; the semantic component of the string) interface. At some point in the computation to LF, there is an operation spellout, which strips away elements that are not relevant to LF, i.e., those elements that belong to the phonological component (Chomsky, 1995, p. 229). Whereas pre-spellout is overt (i.e., the constituents have overt phonetic form), the computation to LF after spellout is covert. Since "there is no clear evidence that order plays a role at LF or in the computation from N to LF" (p. 335), it is assumed by Chomsky (1995) that ordering applies to the output of morphology, which assigns a linear (temporal, left-to-right) order to the elements (p. 334), all of which are words or morphemes (X° categories) though not necessarily lexical items (p. 335). Accordingly, he regards ordering as "surface effects" on interpretation, and he feels that they "seem to involve some additional level or levels internal to the phonological component" that is "postmorphology, but prephonetic" (p. 220). In other words, "the distinction made in early transformational grammar between 'stylistic' rules and others" is still maintained by Chomsky (p. 324). Furthermore, he maintains that the scrambled element (the word or phrase that has been reordered and moved further to the front of the clause) is "a kind of adjunct, external to the major syntactic structure, [and] associated with an internal position that determines its semantic interpretation" (p. 324). As a result, full reconstruction, which is the formation of operator-variable constructions driven by full interpretation (FI; LF plus phonetic form, PF) that leaves part of a trace intact at LF and deletes only its operator, is restricted to the special case of an adjunct position (A') movement that involves operators (p. 326). The reason is that "reconstruction in the A-chains does not take place, so it appears" (p. 327). This in turn demonstrates that on strictly minimalist assumptions the only possibilities for adjunction are word formation and that the order assumed in the adjunction of a head to another head "seems rather obscure and may have no general answer" (p. 340). Chomsky still maintains that the CHL has move a (an operation that allows movement of anything, e.g., a word or phrase, anywhere, provided the movement is not prevented by other constraints). This is indicated by the fact that the "output conditions reveal that items commonly appear 'displaced' from the position in which the interpretation they receive is


7

otherwise represented at the LF interface" (p. 316). However, he now also holds the view that any displacement in language is basically reducible to morphology-driven movement and that the problems related to variable phrase (XP) adjunction do not really belong to the minimalist framework. It follows that "the primary and perhaps only case is a-adjunction" (the process by which any word is adjoined to any other, larger word) "to X , a a feature [i.e., features in words or morphemes] or (if the operation is overt) an X°" (p. 323). The reason for this restriction on a-adjunction is that this framework is concerned with last resort movement driven by feature checking within the computation (p. 319). However, it may be the case that by the strict merger of two elements or by the raising of an element, forming a chain with both elements then merging (p. 322), there are two terms but only one LF role, since "each of these is a category that is visible at the interface, where it must receive some interpretation, satisfying FI" (p. 322). But for Chomsky, such a structure is permissible only "if a is an adjunct that is deleted at LF, leaving just one term" (p. 322), such as when we have a case of "full reconstruction at LF, eliminating the adjunct entirely." Accordingly, the structure "[YP XP [yp-t...]]] (i.e., a-adjunction) is only interpreted at the trace" (p. 323). In such a case, "scrambling [is] interpreted by reconstruction" (p. 323), where the two-segment category, formed by adjunction, will be interpreted as a word by morphology. It follows then for Chomsky that "adverbials cannot be adjoined by merge to phrases that are 0-related [i.e., arguments or predicates]" (p. 330), because the adjunction of an adverbial to an XP that has a 6-role at LF to form the two-segment category [XP,XP], projecting from X, is barred when an XP is an adjective phrase (AP) or verb phrase (VP) (p. 329). This is why Chomsky believes that adverbs can "be 'base-adjoined' only to X or phrases headed by v (i.e., a verb form that has had affixes adjoined to it) or functional categories" (p. 330). He feels that apart from the fact that "adverbs seem to have no morphological properties that require XP-adjunction," there is no empirical evidence that adverbs form chains by XP-adjunctions (p. 329). In other words, "an adverb in pre-IP position cannot be interpreted as if raised from some lower position" (p. 330) and "the problem of optional raising" of the adverb can be solved by the Larsonian solution, in which a is incorporated without raising since it "appears in some higher position" (Chomsky, 1995, p. 331). Unlike the "adjunction of YP to XP" (p. 323), which does not fit easily into this general approach, the notion of a strong feature (a feature that can trigger movement) plays an important role in the Minimalist Program. The strong features are nonsubstantives that call for a category in their checking domains. In the lexicon, there are substantive elements such as nouns, verbs,

8


etc., with their idiosyncratic properties and some of the functional categories, such as the "complementizer (C)" (p. 240). Other functional categories that have semantic properties include tense (T) and determiner (D). When the functional category C is questions (Q; for interrogative sentences), it is interpretable (i.e., it has semantic content at the level of LF), in which case it need not be checked unless it is strong. And when it is strong, it must be checked by merge or by move by substitution or adjunction before spellout. If, on the other hand, a language has weak Q, it will remain in situ at phonetic form (PF). In referring to the discourse properties of English, Chomsky (1995) says that there is a null variant of the declarative C that must have been introduced covertly and must be weak since strength is motivated only by PF manifestation. However, despite the fact that "covert insertion of strong features is indeed barred," he still maintains that it "is not barred" if this "covert insertion of complementizers has an LF effect" (p. 294).

Other relevant literature Arguing against the assumption that word order in languages such as Japanese is strictly optional, Miyagawa (1997) provides evidence that its apparently flexible word order of indirect object-direct object (IO-DO) and DO-IO is base-generated (i.e., a lexical analysis), rather than involving optional VP-adjunction scrambling, since scrambling is a strictly optional movement operation. He also provides evidence that these two word orders involve argument positions (A-positions; e.g., a subject position or that of the complement of a verb, adjective, or noun), since they have properties such as binding, which can take place only in an A-position. As for the IP adjunction in Japanese, Miyagawa says that it involves A movement and PC movement. In the A movement, VP-internal materials such as the object appears to the left of the subject for case-agreement features. But the A' movement is motivated by focus. Concentrating on the PC movement, Miyagawa says that the accusative case, which is inflected for agreement (I), is licensed by the same functional category. Following Chomsky, Miyagawa assumes that languages like Japanese allow multiple specifier positions for a single head. Accordingly, he assumes that the functional head Agro (that is, the head in which there is object-verb agreement) incorporates in Agrs (that is, the head in which there is subject-verb agreement). Due to this fusion, we have a unitary functional head that checks both the nominative subject, in the lower IP, and the accusative object, in the higher IP node creadted by adjunction, forming [IPObj-acc [IPSubj-nom...Agro-Agrs]]. The notions of focus and topic have an acknowledged status in Universal Grammar (UG). Focus may be analyzed by analogy with quantifier phrases in the sense that it operates a quantification, effecting a partition of the uni-


9

verse (May, 1985), and it can occur either in overt syntax or in LF. Accordingly, focus can be realized both fronted and in situ. Phonologically, a focus constituent has always been associated with a prominence-leading accent (Chomsky, 1971). On the other hand, a topic is deaccented and separated from the sentence by an intonational break, i.e., in slow rates of speech speakers generally make a short pause between the topic and the phrase adjacent to it. As far as the syntactic analysis of the topic is concerned, Frascarelli (1997) maintains that there is no general agreement among authors whether a topic is extracted by movement from its argumentposition (Rochemont, 1989) or base-generated as an extrasentential constituent, coindexed with a predicate internal gap or clitic (Cinque, 1990). Frascarelli (1997) adds that one point that is generally agreed on makes a critical distinction between a topic and a focus: a topic in extraposed position is either an adjunct or a base-generated construction, while a focus is neither. Moreover, there can be only one focus while multiple topics are allowed. A focus cannot be resumed by a pronominal clitic, and cannot enter into coreference relations. A focus can only bind a pronominal provided it c-commands it, because in this case it is a syntactic operator. Another consideration from theoretical work that relates to the complementizers seen in proverbial declarative sentences in ECA has to do with the so-called CP hypothesis. This theory assumes that finite subordinate clauses in English that lack an overt complementizer (that-less clauses) should be analyzed as CPs with a null head, whether by adopting a rule of "that deletion" or through the lexical insertion of a null C° (a complementizer on a word, rather than a phrasal level; Chomsky and Lasnik, 1977). This hypothesis that finite subordinate clauses (with or without complementizers) share a common syntactic structure has been refuted by Doherty (1997), who has shown that there are significant differences between that and that-less clauses with respect to adjunction possibilities. He has provided evidence from adverbial adjunction, analyzing finite subordinate clauses in English without an overt C as finite IP complements, rather than as CPs with a null head.

Description of the Data There are basically six types of proverbial declarative sentences in ECA. The first type has a CP that has an embedded IP that is introduced by a subordinator such as /'in/ or /ba9dima/ generated prior to the matrix IP. The second type has a CP that has an embedded IP that is introduced by an NP operator such as the relative pronominal /'illi/ or the interrogative pronominal /min/ generated prior to the matrix IP. The third type has an

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CP that has an embedded IP that has an imperative verb generated prior to the matrix IP. The fourth type consists of three subclasses of these proverbial declarative sentences, but all have a CP with an NP that is generated prior to the matrix IP. The first subclass has an NP that may have overt case and it is also in an embedded IP generated prior to the matrix IP. The second subclass of type four has an NP that is a nominal construct generated prior to the matrix IP. The third subclass of type four has an NP with a strong pronominal form that does not have deictic function generated prior to the matrix IP. The fifth type of these proverbial declarative sentences has a CP with an NP that is introduced by the vocative particle generated prior to the matrix IP. The sixth type of these proverbial declarative sentences has a CP with a PP generated prior to the matrix IP. Type 1: CP with an embedded IP introduced by a subordinator The first type of these proverbial declarative sentences has a CP with an embedded IP that is introduced by a subordinator, such as /'in/ or /ba9dima/, generated prior to the matrix IP (see sentences and their respective trees below). It should be noted that in these proposed syntactic configurations that have been designated in the light of the Minimalist Program, the "Larsonian solution" has been used, i.e., the elements of the internal domain (whether as arguments or not) appear in some higher position (Chomsky, 1995, p. 331). This is due to the fact that "there should be no adjunction to a 6-related phrase (a 0-role assigner or an argument, a predicate or the XP of which it is predicated)" (p. 323). These configurations have also made use of the simple transitive verb construction of Chomsky (1995) before tense (T) is added to form TP. Introduced by /'in/: (1) /'in fa:tak il-mi:ri 'itmarragh fi Tura:buh/ conditional + pron. infl. (3rd per., masc., sing.) + perfective verb + pron. infl. (2rd per., masc., sing.) + def. art. + noun + pron. infl (2nd per., masc., sing.) + imperative verb + prep. + noun + pron. infl. (3rd per., masc., sing.) Lit., "If the governmental job leaves you behind, roll yourself in its dust," meaning there is nothing better than a job in the public sector. Introduced by /ba9dima/: (2) /ba9dima sha:b waddu: il-kutta:b/ temporal + pron. + pron. infl. (3rd per., sing., masc.) + perfective verb + pron. infl. (3rd per., pi.) + perfective verb + pron. infl. (3rd per., sing., masc.) + def. art. + noun + pron. infl. (pi.) Lit., "After his hair became gray, they sent him to school," i.e., he has been asked to do something that is inappropriate for him.


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Type 2: CP with an embedded IP introduced by an NP operator The second type has a CP that has an embedded IP that is introduced by an NP operator such as the relative pronominal /'illi/ or the interrogative pronominal /min/ generated prior to the matrix IP. This proverbial structure is shown in the sentences and their respective trees below. Introduced by the relative pronominal /'illi/ (3) /'illi yistoro rabbu ma yifDaHu:sh maxlu:'/ relative pron. + pron. infl. (3rd per., masc., sing.) + imperfective verb + pron. infl. (3rd per., masc., sing.) + noun + pron. infl. (3rd per., masc., sing.) + negative particle + pron. infl. (3rd per., masc., sing.) + imperfective verb + cont. of the negative particle + pron. infl. (3rd per., masc., sing.) + noun Lit., "Whosoever God shelters, nobody can expose (him)." Introduced by the interrogative pronominal /min/ (4) /min tarak 'adi:mu ta:h/ interrogative pron. + pron. infl. (3rd per., masc., sing.) + perfective verb + noun + pron. infl. (3rd per., masc., sing.) + pron. infl. (3rd per., masc., sing.) + perfective verb Lit., "Whosoever leaves his old (friend) is lost." Type 2: labeled tree diagrams With /'illi/ (proverb 3)


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Type 3: CP with an embedded IP that has an imperative verb The third type has a CP that has an embedded IP that has an imperative verb generated prior to the matrix IP. This is exemplified by the sentence and its tree below. (5) /'imshi dughri yiHta:r 9aduwwak fi:k / pron. infl. (2nd per., masc., sing.) + imperative verb + adv. + pron. infl. (3rd per., masc., sing.) + imperfective verb + noun + pron. infl. (2nd per., masc., sing.) + prep. + pron. infl. (2nd per., masc., sing.) Lit., "(If you) follow the straight path, your enemy will not know how to attack you." Type 3: labeled tree diagram

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Type 4: CP with an NP operator : There are three basic subclasses of type four of these proverbial declarative sentences. The first subclass is exemplified by sentence 6, in which there is a focused embedded CP that has itself a focused NP with overt case. The second subclass is exemplified by sentences 7-10, in which there are focused NPs with different internal structures. The third subclass is exemplified by sentences 11 and 12, in which the focused NPs have the internal structure of strong pronominal forms that have lost their deictic force. (6) /xayrin ti9mil sharran til'a / noun + genitive case + nunation + pron. infl. (2nd per., masc., sing.) + imperfective verb + noun + accusative case + nunation + pron. infl. (2nd per., masc., sing.) + imperfective verb Lit., "Good (being) done, evil returned." That is, instead of a reward for doing good, you get evil in return. Type 4, subclass 1: labeled tree diagram (proverb 6)

(7) /xi:r 'ir-rigga:la yiba:n 9ashshabbah7 noun + def. art. + noun + pron. infl. (masc., sing.) + pron. infl. (3rd per., masc., sing.) + imperfective verb + prep + def. art. + noun Lit, "When a woman's husband is rich, it is evident from her appearance." (8) /di:l 'il-kalb 9umru ma yin9idil/ noun + def. art. + noun + adv. + negative particle + pron. infl. (3rd per., masc., sing.) + imperfective verb Lit., "The tail of the dog, it is never upright," that is, old habits die hard. (9) /da waghak wala Dayyi 'il-'amar/ dem. pron. (masc., sing) + noun + pron. infl (2nd per., masc., sing.) +


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conj. + emphatic particle + noun + def. art. + noun Lit., "This, your face and not the glitter of the moon (is its equal)." This is a very cordial way of complimenting someone on his appearance. (10) /dabbu:r wi zan 9ala xara:b 9ishshu/ noun + conj. + pron. infl (3rd per., masc., sing.) + perfective verb + prep. + noun + noun + pron. infl. (3rd per., masc., sing.) Lit., "A wasp, and it kept on buzzing to destroy its nest." That is, some people harm themselves. (11) /hiyya l-Hidda:ya tirammi kataki:t/ strong pron. (3rd per., fern., sing.) + def. art. + noun + pron. infl. (fern., sing.) + pron. infl. (3rd per., fern., sing.) + imperfective verb + noun + pron. infl. (pi) Lit, "She-the kite throws away chicks (that she has caught to eat)?!" That is, is it possible that the kite would throw away the chicks that she has caught for herself? Type 4, subclass 3: labeled tree diagram (proverb 11)

(12) /huwwa 1-kalb yi9ud widn 'axu:h/ strong pron. (3rd per., masc., sing.) + def. art. + noun + pron. infl. (masc., sing.) + pron. infl. (3rd per., masc., sing.) + imperfective verb + noun + noun + pron. infl. (3rd per., masc., sing.) Lit., "He-the dog bites his nephew's ear?!" Is it possible that people would really hurt others of their own race or kind?

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Type 5: CP with an NP operator introduced by a vocative particle The fifth type of these proverbial declarative sentences has a CP that has an NP that is introduced by the vocative particle generated prior to the matrix IP. Several examples are given below as well as a tree diagramming this type. (13) /ya 'arD 'insha:'i wi-bla9i:ni/ vocative particle + noun + imperative verb + pron. infl (2nd per., fern., sing.) + conj. + imperative verb + pron. infl (2nd per., fern., sing.) + pron. infl (1st per., sing.) Lit, "You earth, crack up and swallow me." That is, I was so ashamed that I wished I could hide anywhere even it meant my being devoured by the earth. Type 5: labeled tree diagram (proverb 13)

(14) /ya 'arD ma 9ali:ki 'illa-na/ vocative particle + noun + negative particle + prep. + pron. infl. (2nd per., fern., sing.) + prep. + strong pron. (1st per., sing.) Lit., "You earth, no one is on you but myself." A description of an arrogant and conceited person. (15) /ya baxt min 'idir wi-9ifi/ vocative particle + noun + interrogative pron. + pron. infl. (3rd per.,


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masc., sing.) + perfective verb + conj. + pron. infl. (3rd per., masc., sing.) + perfective verb Lit., "Oh lucky one, who has the ability to punish his wrongdoer, and yet he forgives." (16) /ya 'alb yakata:kit ya ma fi:k w-inta sa:kit/ vocative particle + noun + vocative particle + noun + vocative particle + relative pronoun + prep. + pron. infl. (2nd per., masc., sing.) + conj. + strong pron. (2nd per., masc., sing.) + active participial predicate Lit., "Oh heart, oh poor young chick, oh what is in you, and you are silent?" That is, my poor little heart is overcome with sadness. (17) /ya ma taHt 'is-sawa:hi dawa:hi/ vocative particle + relative pronominal + prep. + def. art. + noun + noun + pron. infl. (pi.) Lit., "Oh whatever is underneath this inadvertence, [you are] misdeeds," said of anyone whose behavior in reality is different from its appearance. Type 6: CP with an NP operator introduced by a preposition The sixth type of these proverbial declarative sentences has a CP that has a PP generated prior to the matrix IP. This type of proverbial structure is demonstrated by the sentences and their respective trees below. NP introduced by /bi:n/ (18) /bi:n 'il-ba:yi9 wi-shsha:ri yiftaH 'allah/ prep. + def. art. + noun + conj. + def. art. + noun + pron. infl. (3rd per., masc., sing.) + imperfective verb + def. art. + noun Lit., "Between the seller and the buyer, God is the Provider." God may provide for the seller and the buyer if they do not agree with one another to conclude the transaction. NP introduced by /9ala/ (19) /9ala lisaini wa-la tinsa:ni/ prep. + noun + pron. infl. (1st per., sing) + conj. + negative particle + pron. infl. (2nd per., sing., masc.) + imperfective verb + pron. infl. (1st per., sing.) Lit., "On my tongue, and do not forget me," that is, do not forget me as I have not forgotten you. NP introduced by /ba9d/ (20) /ba9d il-9i:d ma yinfitilshi 1-kaHk/ temporal particle + def. art. + noun + negative particle + pron. infl.

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(3rd per., sing., masc.) + imperfective verb + def. art. + noun Lit., "After the feast, the cookies are not made," that is, there is a time for everything. NP introduced by /fi:/ (21) /fi:ha l('a)xfi:ha/ prep + pron. infl. (3rd per., sing., fern.) + emphatic particle + pron. infl. (1st per., sing.) + imperfective verb + pron. infl. (3rd per., sing., fern.) Lit., "(I am) in it (else) I will dispose of it," i.e., if I am not part of it, I will put an end to it. NP introduced by /zayy/ (22) /zayy 'il-magazi:b kulli sa:9a f(i) Ha:l/ prep. + def. art. + noun + pron. infl. (pi.) + universal quantifier + noun + pron. infl. (fern., sing.) + prep. + noun Lit., "As with crazy people, each hour [they are] in a different condition," i.e., he is very moody like a lunatic. (23) /zayy 'il-marakbeyya ma yiftikiru:sh rabbina 'ilia wa't 'il-ghara'/ prep. + def. art. + noun + pron. infl. (pi.) + negative particle + pron. infl. (3rd per., masc., pi.) + imperfective verb + discontinous negative particle + noun + pron. infl. (1st per., pi.) + prep. + noun + def. art. + noun Lit., "As with the sailors, they remember God only at the time of drowning." Type 6: labeled tree diagram With /bi:n/ (proverb 18)


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Analysis of Each Proverbial Structure Type 1. If strength is motivated only by phonetic form (PF) manifestation (Chomsky, 1995), then it may be said that the strength of the C of the matrix CPs in sentences of type 1 is overtly manifested by the base-gen-

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eration of the embedded CPs as the focused element. These embedded CPs are adjunct CPs: in the tree of proverb 1, the embedded CP is an adverbial of condition, which is introduced by the conditioner /'in/, and in tree of sentence 2, the embedded CP is an adverbial of time, which is introduced by the temporal /ba9dima/. I have adopted the view that these embedded CPs are "baseadjoined" (Chomsky, 1995, p. 330) in the C of these matrix CPs due to the strong feature in the C of these matrix CPs. This is because adjunction of maximal projections headed by a word category (e.g., YP and XP, where Y and X represent variables) does not "fit easily into this general approach." (p. 323). Moreover, "adverbials cannot be adjoined by merge" to phrases that are 0-related, i.e., those phrases that play a semantic role either as an argument or a predicate (p. 330). Stated another way, this strong feature in the C of these matrix CPs is eliminated by having the focused element (i.e., the embedded CPs) base-generated in its checking domain, rather than by overt movement. Furthermore, the lexical analysis has been assumed here because there is no specific categorial feature involved in this operation. Type 2. As with the sentences of type 1, the strength of the C of the matrix CPs in the second type is overtly manifested by embedded CPs that are assumed to be base-generated in the C of their matrix CPs due to the strong feature in their C. But the embedded CPs in sentences of type 2, unlike those of type 1, have coreferential small pros (a small pro is a covert pronoun that is the subject or object of a finite clause) within their matrix CPs, and this reminds us of Chomsky's (1995) assumption that in some languages "arguments [are] attached as adjuncts associated with internal elements" (p. 324). Accordingly, in sentence 3, this embedded CP is the internal argument of the matrix verb /yifDaHu:/; this is indicated by the fact that it has a coreferential object small pro in its matrix CP. In sentence 4 the embedded CP generated in its C has a coreferential subject small pro in its matrix CP, making it the external argument of the matrix verb /ta:h/. This is demonstrated by the respective trees of sentences 3 and 4. The difference between the embedded CP like that in type 2, as represented in sentence 3, and that in type 1, as represented in sentence 1 arises from the fact that the focused CPs in the sentences of the latter type are adjuncts, whereas those of the former are arguments. When the focused CPs are adjuncts, they are not associated with internal elements within their major syntactic structures, i.e., the embedded CPs do not have coreferential small pros in their matrix CPs. But when the focused CP is an argument, it does require an internal element within its major syntactic structure for its semantic interpretation. We may, accordingly, assume that the focused embedded CPs in proverbs like sentence 3 must be base-generated in an A-position in the C of their matrix CPs; whereas the focused


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embedded CPs in proverbs like sentence 1 must be base-generated in an Apposition in the C of their matrix CPs. Another basic difference between the embedded CPs of type 2 and those of type 1 is that the former's embedded CPs are introduced by pronominals: a relative pronominal in sentence 3 (i.e., /'illi/) and an interrogative pronominal in sentence 4 (i.e., /mm/). As the relative pronominal (i.e., /'illi/) has Aproperties such as binding (i.e., in sentence 3 it binds the object small pro2 in its major syntactic structure), this demonstrates that in ECA there is also an A-position in the C of these embedded CPs. In sentence 4, it is the whole embedded CP that is the external argument of the matrix verb, as indicated by its subject small pro within the matrix CP. In either case, the pronominal in the embedded CP, whether it is relative or interrogative, functions as an operator in relation to the embedded IP it heads; accordingly, it may be regarded as the focused NP within these embedded CPs. In sentence 3 we have the noun /rabbu/, which also has A-properties such as binding. It binds the subject small pro in its major syntactic structure. But the noun /rabbu/ is a topic NP, rather than a focused NP in this embedded CP. This assumption is built on two premises: (1) this NP does not function as an operator in relation to the embedded IP it heads; and (2) it displays a different syntactic behavior from that characterizing focused NPs. Concentrating on the distinct syntactic behavior of the topic NP, we notice that it displays a flexibility of the movement that is not available to the focused NP. It has been extraposed from its pre-IP position, where it is assumed to be base-generated, to a post-IP position. Not being part of the focused element, this topic NP has been moved to the post-IP position. This movement of the topic NP /rabbu/ may be described as "not belonging] at all within [this] framework of principles" (Chomsky, 1995, p. 333) since it is a stylistic variation, which is not applicable to the focused NP. And in trying to account for this syntactic behavior of the topic NP without an overt complementizer, as distinct from the focused argument, within the framework of the Minimalist Program, we could maintain that this type of NP is base-generated as a multiple specifier of I, along with the subject small pro. Since both specifiers (i.e., the topic NP and the subject small pro) are checked by a single head (i.e., I or T), they may be regarded as multiple specifiers.3 This indicates that the A-position for the base-generation of a topic NP is distinct from that A-position in which a focused argument is base-generated be it a CP or an NP. Accordingly, it is only the topic NP that may extraposed, producing a stylistic variation. Type 3. The IP generated in the C of type 3 is similar to the embedded CPs of type 1 in that they are adjuncts, rather than arguments. Their status as adjuncts is indicated by the fact that they do not have coreferential small

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pros, within their matrix CPs. However, the basic difference between both types of proverbial sentences is that in those of type 3 the focused category is an IP, rather than a CP, and that the strong feature found in the C of this type of proverbial structure is given overt manifestation by the obligatory presence of the imperative verb form in the embedded IP, rather than the imperfective or the perfective verb forms. In other words, the strength of the C of the matrix CP in type 3 proverbs is overtly manifested by the requirement that this embedded IP have an imperative verb only. Type 4. The fourth type of these proverbial declarative sentences in this variety of Arabic is characterized by their having an NP generated in their C as illustrated by sentences 6-12; and this in turn provides us with more evidence that there is an A-position in the C of these declarative sentences for the focused argument be it an CP or an NP. The strong feature in the C of this type of the ECA proverbs is overtly manifested in different ways, leading to their subclassification into different subtypes. The first subtype is exemplified by sentence 6. This subtype is composed of an embedded CP that itself has a focused NP, but one that has overt case manifested on its nouns. The second subtype is exemplified by sentences 7-10. These sentences have focused NPs that may be internally composed of nominal constructs, as in sentences 7 and 8, or complex NP structures, as in sentences 9 and 10. The third subtype is exemplified by sentences 11 and 12, in which the focused NP has the internal structure of a strong pronominal form that has lost its deictic force. Analyzing sentence 6 first, we find that there are overt case markers and the overt indefinite marker (i.e., the nunation) in the nouns /xayrin/ and /sharran/, both features of which are marked phenomena because there are no overt case markers nor an overt indefinite marker associated with nouns in ECA. The vowel /i/ in the noun /xayrin/ is the overt case marker of the genitive and the vowel /a/ in the noun /sharran/ is the overt case marker of the accusative with the final /n/ after the overt case markers in both nouns being the nunation marker. It is the presence of the overt case marker carried by the noun /xayrin/ and the fact that it is genitive that enables us to maintain that this noun is base-generated in a complementizer A-position, rather than in an A-position within the IP. Despite the fact that both nouns in 6 (i.e., /xayrin/ and /sharran/) are the internal arguments of their respective verbs (i.e., /ti9mil/ and /til'a/), it is only the former noun that has genitive case, indicating that it differs in its base-generation from the noun /sharran/ and providing us with evidence that these two nouns cannot be base-generated in the same A-position. The noun /xayrin/ acquires its genitive case as a specifier to the head C (the spec-head relation) of the matrix CP. It is to be noted that /xayrin/ is


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generated in the focused CP, which is itself base-generated in the C of the matrix CP. The noun /sharran/, on the other hand, acquires its accusative case marker by being in a spec-head relation to the V of the matrix CP. Not being part of the focused category, the noun /sharran/ in sentence 6 has been extraposed to a position before its verb (i.e., /til'a/) as the result of "surface effects" mentioned above. This extraposition is a kind of stylistic variation that makes the word order in the matrix CP apparently similar to that found in the focused CP, making the proverb more harmonious. Sentence 6 also demonstrates that when the scrambled element is an argument whose semantic interpretation is determined by its overt case marker, there is no need for it to be associated with an internal element within the major syntactic structure. This is probably why the NP with the noun /xayrin/ does not have a coreferential small pro within its major syntactic structure, nor does the NP with the noun /sharran/ have a coreferential small pro within its major syntactic structure. In other words, the presence of the overt case marker alleviates the need for an internal element within the major syntactic structure of each of these nouns. Sentences 7-10 differ from sentence 6 in that it is only the latter sentence that has overt case markers. However, it may be said that the strength in the C of the former sentences, which are also proverbial declarative sentences, is nonetheless given PF manifestation. In sentences 7 and 8, there is a nominal construct base-generated in these sentences' Cs; in 8 there is also the adverbial particle /9umru / and the negative particle /ma/, both of which provide further evidence that this nominal construct must be in a position external to the major syntactic structure. In sentence 9, the strength of its C is indicated by the emphatic particle /la/, the demonstrative pronominal /da/, and the conjunction /wa/, all of which are generated in order to focus the noun /waghak/. In other words, the demonstrative pronominal in this sentence does not have a deictic function nor does the conjunction have a coordinating function. Similarly, in sentence 10, the presence of the conjunction /wi/, which has lost its coordinating function, focuses the noun /dabbu:r/. It is to be noted that since the NPs generated in the C of sentences 7-10 do not have overt case markers they have coreferential small pros within their major syntactic structures. It is only in sentence 9 that there is no internal element that determines the semantic interpretation of the NP that is base-generated in its C. This is because sentence 9 is a nominal sentence, in which case it is not possible to have a subject small pro. The nominal predicate, unlike the verbal predicate in Arabic, does not have inflections heavy enough for the local determination of a subject small pro A In sentence 11, the strong feature of its C is basically indicated by the base-generation of the strong personal pronominal (i.e., /hiyya/) in its C. Having lost its deictic force, this strong personal pronominal simply

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recasts the whole sentence so that it rhetorically questions the possibility of a kite ever letting go of its prey. This strong personal pronominal is base-generated prior to another noun that is also assumed to be base-generated in a pre-IP position: it is /l-Hidda:ya/. As with the tree of sentence 3, sentence 11 likewise provides evidence that in ECA there is not only an A-position in C for the base-generation of these focused NPs but also another A-position in a pre-IP position for the the base-generation of a topic NP without an overt complementizer. But this NP may be regarded as a multiple specifier, along with the subject small pro since both specifiers are checked by a single head (i.e., I). As for the focused NP, it is checked by a distinct head from that which checks the subject small pro. It is checked by a declarative C with a strong feature; and it has an operatorlike function. Despite the distinctness of these two pre-IP base-generated NPs in sentence 11, they nonetheless constitute one NP in relation to the remainder of the sentence, and this is indicated by the agreement in gender and number between them (i.e. the pronominal /hiyya/ and the noun /l-Hidda:ya/). As both of them represent the contrastive element in this sentence, together they constitute the focused element since there can be only one focus (Frascarelli, 1997), forming one phonological unit associated with a prominence-leading accent (Chomsky, 1971). Both NPs together rhetorically ask whether the proposition within its major syntactic structure is true, i.e., they constitute a syntactic operator analyzed by analogy with quantifier phrases, effecting a partition of the universe (May, 1985). Type 5. In sentences of type 5 (13-17), the strong feature in their C is given PF manifestation by the base-generation of a focused NP that is introduced by a vocative particle. As the vocative NP in ECA does not have an overt case marker, it is likewise associated with an internal element that determines its semantic interpretation within the major syntactic structure. In sentence 13 (as shown by its tree) these internal elements are the coreferential subject small pros in both CPs, while in sentence 14, the vocative NP is the internal argument of the preposition /9ali:ki/ in the underlying nominal sentence /'ana 9ali:ki/ ("I am on you"), in which there is a prepositional predicate and an object small pro. Sentence 14 illustrates an important characteristic of this type of proverbial declarative sentence: the fronting of the prepositional predicate, placing it next to the vocative NP and changing the assumed underlying structure /'ana 9ali:ki/ ("I am on you") to /ma 9ali:ki 'illa-na/ ("Not on you except me"). This fronting emphasizes that predicate, and by addressing the internal argument of the prepositional predicate and making it the


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vocative NP (i.e., /ya 'arD/,"Oh, you Earth"), the emphatic effect is even greater. In other words, with the base-generation of this focused element (i.e., the vocative NP) in the C of this type of the nominal sentence (i.e., with a prepositional predicate), the fronting of the prepositional predicate is obligatory. But this obligatory fronting of the prepositional predicate, which takes place in the nominal sentence with a vocative NP base-generated in its C, can only be regarded as falling within the domain of the rules that have been referred to by Chomsky (1995) as the "surface effects" (p. 220). This is because this fronting is contingent only on the presence of a vocative NP in a sentence with a prepositional predicate, and not on the presence of a strong feature in a nonsubstantive category. This obligatory fronting of the prepositional predicate in the nominal sentence with a vocative NP base-generated in its C is found not only in sentence 14 but also in sentence 17, in which /taHt 'issawa:hi/ is fronted due to the generation of the vocative NP (i.e., /ya ma:/). Another important characteristic of these proverbial sentences that have a vocative NP is demonstrated by sentences 15 and 16: it is the recursiveness of the focused element. Looking first at sentence 15 as an example, if we assume that this sentence is derived from the underlying structure /'illi 'idir wi 9afa baxtu kwayyis/ ("whoever has the ability to punish and yet forgives has good luck"), then the vocative NP (i.e., /ya baxt/) refers to the one who is in possession of this good fortune because he has the above qualities. The other focused element in this sentence is the compound verbal clauses (i.e., /min 'idir wi 9ifi/), which describes the qualifications of the one who is in possession of this good fortune. Sentence 16 provides us with further evidence of this recursiveness of the focused element in ECA. It has three focused elements: the first vocative element is the NP (i.e., /ya 'alb/), which describes the object she is addressing. Being the first vocative, it is base-generated prior to the other vocatives in this sentence's C. The second vocative NP, which is /yakata:kit/, is base-generated adjacent to the first vocative NP, describing the heart as a little chick. This provides an even more focalizing effect to the first vocative NP. The third vocative element is a nominal clause (i.e., /ya ma fi:k/), which describes the second vocative NP as full despite of its small size. In other words, the first vocative addresses the heart, the second describes the size of that heart, and the third vocative states the full capacity of that heart with the conjunction /wi-/, focalizing these focused elements. It is to be noted that the proposition in this sentence's major syntactic structure is not deleted: it is /inta sa:kit/ ("you [masc. sing.] are quiet and tolerant"), while in sentence 15 the proposition in its major syntactic structure is deleted. The proposition in the major syntactic structure of sentence 16 is not deleted because

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it is emphasized, as shown by its having the strong pronominal form (i.e., /inta/) as the subject NP. In other words, the meaning of this sentence would not be complete had the proposition in its major syntactic structure been deleted. Type 6. The prepositional phrases (PPs) in sentences of type 6 should also be regarded as being base-generated in the C of their sentences because adverbs do not form chains by XP-adjunction and because the adjunction of an adverbial to an XP that has a 6-role is barred when an XP is an adjectival phrase or a verbal phrase (see above, "Theoretical background and review of relevant literature"). The PPs in these sentences are also similar to the embedded CPs in sentences of type 1 in that they are focused elements that are adjuncts, and this is indicated by the fact that they do not have coreferential small pros within their major syntactic structures. Accordingly, these PPs are generated in an A'-position in their C. As with the adjunct CPs in type 1 sentences, these PPs of type 6 have been regarded as adjunct operators that are base-generated in the specifier position of CP when they modify that IP (Rizzi, 1990). It is to be noted that the topic NP (i.e., /'alla:h/) in sentence 18 and its tree is not part of the focused element, and this is probably why it has undergone a "surface effect" rule, moving it from its base-generated preIP position to a post-IP position. That the topic NP (i.e., the noun /'alla:h/) has been moved from a pre-IP position is indicated by the fact that it is assigned an external thematic role and nominative case, rather than accusative case by the verb adjacent to it. Being a topic NP with no overt complementizer, it has been regarded as the multiple specifier of the I head, along with the subject small pro. Moreover, the lack of coindexation between the topic NP and the focused element in sentence 18 indicates that they do not constitute one unit, which is the focus in this sentence.6

Conclusion In this study, it has been assumed that the proverbial declarative sentence in EGA is syntactically distinct from the nonproverbial declarative sentence. The former declarative sentence requires an obligatory focused element in a pre-IP position as a rhetorical device. This pre-IP position has been regarded as a position in C because the focused element functions as a syntactic operator as regards the IP it heads. It follows that the nonproverbial declarative sentence that does not have an overt head with an overt complementizer in EGA may be regarded as having an IP structure, rather than a CP, because it has a weak feature in its C, rather than a strong feature. In other words, the nonproverbial declarative sentence


27

that does not have an overt head with an overt complementizer in ECA does not require an obligatory focused element in a pre-IP position as a rhetorical device. It is in this respect that we may say that there are two types of declarative sentences in ECA: one for the nonproverbial declarative sentence that does not have an overt head with an overt complementizer, and another for the proverbial declarative sentence. It is the former type of declarative sentence that supports Chomsky's (1995) belief that there is a null variant of the declarative C and that this null variant of the declarative C is introduced covertly because it has a weak feature. In other words, the notion that there are strong and weak features not only distinguishes between interrogative sentences and declarative sentences in English but also between the different types of declarative sentences in ECA. The focused elements in these proverbial declarative sentences have been divided into focused arguments and focused adjuncts. The focused arguments (be they CPs or NPs) are associated with internal positions within their major syntactic structures that determine their semantic interpretation. As for the focused adjuncts (be they PPs, IPs, or CPs), these are not associated with internal positions within their major syntactic structures for the determination of their semantic interpretations. Accordingly, the focused arguments are base-generated in an A-position, while the focused adjuncts are base-generated in an A'-position. But both positions (i.e., the A-position for focused arguments and the A'-position for focused adjuncts) are external to the major syntactic structure, i.e., in C. This not only highlights the importance of this pre-IP position in the syntactic configuration of these proverbial declarative sentences in ECA, but also the distinction between arguments and adjuncts. The difference in the syntactic behavior between the focused NP and the topic NP also warrants the assumption that they are base-generated in different A-positions in the pre-IP position. Accordingly, the topic NP without an overt complementizer has been regarded as a multiple specifier of the head I or T, allowing it to be extraposed (i.e., it has the ability to subsume to rules at the phonological component, leading to its extraposition from its base-generated position, and in turn display some flexibility in the word order of these proverbial declarative sentences). This distinctness of the focused NP and the topic NP is also indicated by the fact that each type of NP is assigned a different case, providing further evidence that they must be base-generated in two different A-positions. Being the specifier of C, the focused NP is assigned genitive case, rather than nominative case, and this is overtly manifested when there is an overt case marker carried by the focused NP. As for the topic NP that does not have an overt complementizer, it is assigned the nominative case

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because it is the multiple specifier of I or T of Chomsky (1995). Thus, it is only when the declarative C is strong that it has the capacity to assign a distinct case to the NP it holds a spec-head relation with, i.e., it assigns genitive case to the focused element and not nominative case. The lexical type of analysis assumed for these focused elements is in keeping with Chomsky's (1995) assumption that 9-role assignment is the property of the base. It has enabled us to differentiate between the domain in which the focused argument is assigned a 0-role and that in which the topic NP is assigned a 0-role. Being in a spec-head relation with its C in its base-generated position, the focused argument be it a CP or an NP is assigned a 0-role by its head. Likewise, the topic NP without an overt complementizer is assigned a 0-role by its T because it is base-generated as its multiple specifier. Finally, the lexical type of analysis has been maintained in this study of the proverbial declarative sentences because the word order of these focused elements is not really free: these proverbial declarative sentences do not involve strictly optional movement operations since the focused element must be in pre-IP position, unlike the topic NP.

Notes 1 As adverbials of time such as /ba9dima/) incorporate a relative pronominal (indicated by the boldface part of this temporal), it seems more exacting to refer to them as "temporals" rather than as simply adverbs. For a more detailed discussion of the temporals in one of the Arabic dialects, see Ghaly (1988). 2 Shigeru Miyagawa (1997) has stated that binding can take place only in an A-position. 3 Shigeru Miyagawa (1997) states in accordance with Chomsky (1995) that specifiers count as multiple specifiers if and only if elements in these specifiers are checked by the same head. 4 Sentence 8 is a nominal sentence, which has been defined as sentence with a nonverbal predicate. This includes sentences with nominal predicates, with adjectival predicates, or prepositional predicates. See Ghaly (1988 ) for a discussion of the nominal sentences in one of the dialects of Arabic. 5 The feminine form of the third person, singular pronoun is used here because the use of this proverbial sentence is found mostly in female speech. But this is a separate study that would be interesting to pursue. 6 Cf. sentence 11 in which both the topic NP (i.e., /l-Hidda:ya/) and the focused element (i.e., the strong personal pronominal, /hiyya/) constitute one unit that is the focus in that sentence.


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References Authier, J.-M. 1992. Iterated CPs and embedded topicalization. Linguistic inquiry, 23:329-336. Badawi, al-Said Muhammad. 1973. Mustawayat al-'arabiya al-mu'asira fi-misr. Cairo: Dar al-Ma'arif. Badawi, S. M., and Hinds, M. 1986. A dictionary of Egyptian Arabic: Arabic-English. Beirut: Libraire du Liban. Baker, M. 1988. Incorporation: a theory of grammatical function changing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Baker, M. 1995. The polysynthesis parameter. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Burton, S., and Grimshaw, J. 1992. Coordination and VP-internal subjects. Linguistic inquiry, 23:305-313. Chomsky, N. 1971. Deep structure, surface structure and semantic interpretation. In D. D. Steinberg and L. A. Jakobovitz (eds.), Semantics: an interdisciplinary reader, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 183-216. . 1982a. Lectures on government and binding: the Pisa lectures. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Foris Publications. . 1982b. Some concepts and consequences of the theory of government and binding, Cambridge, MA: MIT. Press. . 1986a. Knowledge of language: its nature, origin, and its use. New York: Praeger. . 1986b. Barriers. Cambridge, MA: MIT. Press. . 1989. Some notes on economy of derivation and representation. In I. Laka and A. Mahajan (eds.), Functional heads and clause structure: MIT. working papers in linguistics, 10:43-75. . 1995. The minimalist program. Cambridge, MA: MIT. Press. and H. Lasnik. 1977. Filters and control. Linguistic inquiry,

8:425-504. Cinque, G. 1990. Types of A'-dependencies. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Cowan, D. 1982. Modern literary Arabic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,. Doherty, C. 1997. Clauses without complementizers: finite IP-complementation in English. The linguistic review, 14:197-220. Emonds, J. 1980. Word order in generative grammar. Journal of linguistic research, 1:33-54. Frascarelli, M. 1997. The phonology of focus and topic in Italian. The linguistic review, 14:221-248. Greenberg, J.1963. Some universals of grammar with particular reference

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to the order of meaningful elements. In J. Greenberg (ed.), Universals of language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. May, R. 1985. Logical Form. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Miyagawa, S. 1997. Against optional scrambling. Linguistic inquiry,, 28:1-25. Pollock, J.-Y. 1989. Verb movement, universal grammar, and the structure of IP. Linguistic inquiry, 20:365-424. Rizzi, L. 1990. Relativized minimality. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Rochemont, M. S.1989. Topic islands and the subjacency parameters. Canadian journal of linguistics, 34:145-170. Takahashi, D. 1997. Move-F and null operator movement. The linguistic review, 14:181-196.

Understanding the Quran in English: Notes on Translation, Form, and Prophetic Typology Devin J. Stewart All too often the traditional dictum that the Quran cannot be translated, in recognition of its inimitable eloquence and doctrinal status as God's eternal speech and the primary miracle of the Prophet Muhammad's mission, is not attended by any explanation why this might be the case, or what elements one might miss when reading a translation. Such explanations would in fact help further an understanding of the Quranic text, yet the repeated moratorium not only hinders an informed awareness of Islam and its scripture among non-Muslims, but also runs the risk of alienating nonArab Muslims from their sacred text. Teaching the Quran in English translation to American students, both Muslims and non-Muslims, I have struggled with the problems associated with producing and reading an English rendition of the Quran. I have found, overall, that they reside less in difficult grammatical constructions or recherche vocabulary than in issues of form, genre, and rhetoric. The following remarks touch on some representative problems of translation and examine prophetic typology, a crucial rhetorical strategy in the Quran.

The "Genre" of the Quran and the Problem of Accurate Translation It is widely agreed that the Quran is a beautiful text. 'Umar 'ibn alKhattab, later the second Caliph, vehemently opposed the Prophet's early preaching in Mecca but was so moved upon hearing Td Ha (sura 20) recited that he converted on the spot. What is it that makes the Quran so beautiful and that renders any translation a pale shadow of the original? Rhyme and rhythm are certainly the most outstanding elements lost in translation. Doctrinal restrictions—the idea that the Quran is miraculous and therefore should not be likened to human literary artifacts—often discourage Muslims from saying this directly, but the Quran is a profoundly artistic

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Understanding the Quran in English

and indeed poetic text. Comparison with poetry or with the statements of pre-Islamic soothsayers is explicitly denied in the Quran itself, and thus it is generally seen as heretical to call the Quran poetry or claim that it contains poetry.1 Nevertheless, a very large percentage (roughly 85%) of the verses in the Quran rhyme; a somewhat smaller proportion of the text exhibits rhyming, rhythmically parallel phrases, sometimes continuing throughout entire suras. Sura 55, The Beneficent, for example, contains 78 verses all rhyming in -an/-am that fall into groups of rhythmically parallel cola. The Arabic text of the opening verses shows the strong rhyme and rhythmical pattern, among the main reasons this sura is renowned as especially beautiful: al-rahman 'allama al-qur'an khalaqa al-insan 'allamahu al-bayan al-shamsu wa-al-qamaru bi-husban wa-al-najmu wa-al-shajaru yasjudan... (55:1-6)

This and other suras closely follow the compositional patterns of saj'—a type of writing in Arabic generally translated as "rhymed prose" or "rhymed and rhythmical prose." Though traditional Muslim exegetes have often, but by no means always, shied away from doing so, it is fair to label large sections of the Quran saj'.2 In recognition of this type of composition's poetic nature, one might even go so far as to define saj' as accent poetry, where word accents determine the number of feet or beats per line, distinguishing it from the quantitative poetry of the classical qasida tradition, where more strict combinations of short and long syllables make up each foot or beat.3 This and a number of other features having to do with verbal form are lost in translation, but nonetheless, the student of the Quran who knows no Arabic may develop a good understanding of many features of the Quran by concentrating on aspects that are less dependent on linguistic form. Many problems one faces in translating the Quran or in approaching it in translation have to do with expectations, and expectations are shaped largely by genre. The Quran is a sacred text and is approached on those terms not only by devout Muslims but also by non-Muslims and, perhaps surprisingly, even by atheists. One effect this has on translators is to make them use what they believe to be high, sacred, and often archaic language. Pickthall's translation—the translation I use for class and one of the best available, though a number of others are in print4— often uses an archaic English vaguely reminiscent of the King James


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translation of the Bible, with the archaic distinction between singular and plural second person pronouns (thou, thine, thee vs. you, your, ye) and verb forms (thou thinkest, etc.), the regular use of the preposition "unto" for "to," and other similar features. This serves to impart to the text a somewhat more holy ring, but at the same time removes it from ordinary, contemporary language and renders comprehension slightly more difficult for the average student. Translators of sacred texts tend to stick more closely to the original than translators of other types of composition. This phenomenon is of course not limited to the Quran but is clear in such texts as the Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, and the genre of sharh—Judaeo-Arabic translations or renditions of Biblical texts. This tendency is so strong in some cases as to result in translations where every word in the original is represented by a corresponding word in the target language; the original syntax is reproduced in the target language at the expense of an idiomatic rendering. One need only peruse Wycliffe's translation of the Vulgate, for example, to see how awkward and how unpoetic the results of such methods may be. Pickthall's rendition of the Quran shows many examples of this types of translation. One glaring example is his translation of the Arabic particle 'inna, which he renders regularly "lo!" This is simply a bad translation, because "lo!" indicates surprise whereas 'inna indicates emphasis, even leaving aside the fact that "lo!" occurs very rarely in contemporary English and never in every third sentence. 'Inna generally lends a slight emphasis to the sentence it introduces: The question then becomes how to represent this emphasis idiomatically in English. In many cases, it seems best left untranslated. Lo! those who disbelieve, among the People of the Scripture and the idolaters, will abide in fire of hell. They are the worst of created beings. (And) lo! those who believe and do good works are the best of created beings. (98:6-7) This could better be translated as follows: »Those who disbelieve.... »Those who believe.... The latter translation is a more accurate rendering of the Arabic and adequately brings out the intended contrast between the two groups mentioned. In other contexts, one might use italics, exclamation points, "truly," "verily," or "indeed" to convey emphasis.

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Understanding the Quran in English Lo! man is an ingrate unto his Lord (100:6) » Man is indeed ungrateful to his Lord! Lo! it is thy insulter (and not thou) who is without posterity. (108:3) » Your insulter is the one without progeny!

The particle wa- ("and") presents similar problems in translation because of differences between Arabic and English style. In Arabic, a series is listed as A and B and C, whereas idiomatic English requires A, B, and C. Pickthall and others, however, striving to stick as close to the original text as possible, usually preserve the extra "ands" in lists. ...[We] cause the grain to grow therein And grapes and green fodder And olive-trees and palm-trees And garden-closes of thick foliage And fruits and grasses: Provisions for you and your cattle. (80:27-32)

Only the last "and" here would appear in an idiomatic English rendition. In addition, wa- is often used in Arabic to begin a sentence, indicating that the previous topic has ended and marking the beginning of a new topic. This type of wa- in particular should be left untranslated, but Pickthall and other translators often leave it in. And how many a community revolted against the ordinance of its Lord and His messengers... (65:8) » How many a community...

This feature is so common in the Quran that in the second sura, for example, the longest in the Quran, 91 out of 286 verses, or just under one third, begin with "And" in Pickthall's translation. Many of these "ands" do not belong in an idiomatic rendering. The verb qala ("to say") presents similar problems, although again its meaning is apparent in a general way. While rendered regularly in translations as "say," the verb qala clearly means also "ask," "answer, respond, reply," or "command, order," depending on context, since it may be followed by a question, response, or imperative. Just as one might describe a conversational exchange in colloquial English using the verb "go" ("He goes..., so she goes...then he goes..."), the verb qala serves as an all-purpose speech introducer. Translating the verb with a more specific term according to context would improve the flow of the text and increase comprehension on the part of the reader.


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When he said unto his father and his folk: What is it that ye worship? (37:85) » When he asked his father and his people: What do you worship? And they say: When (will) this promise (be fulfilled), if ye are truthful? Say: The knowledge is with Allah only, and I am but a plain warner. (67:25-26) »They ask: When...? »Answer:... More difficult to render and more disconcerting to the average reader are the uses of the command qul ("say") to introduce various passages in the Quran that do not represent a human conversational exchange but rather the transmission of revelation to the Prophet. This occurs, among many other passages, in the last three suras in the Quran (112-114), which are clearly meant to be repeated or recited as prayers. The command "say" seems to operate here as an equivalent of quotation marks, setting off a particularly important passage the Prophet has been commanded to repeat. In order to convey this idea one might add in parentheses "Say (O Muhammad)" as Pickthall does on occasion elsewhere in his translation, but not in these suras. The functional sense behind the term, however, might be represented by stating, "Repeat (after Me):...." or "Recite (the following):...."

Form and Content If a less slavish translation of elements like those discussed above helps the reader of the Quranic text in English understand the relationship of sentences to one another within a passage or follow the flow of the text more easily, knowledge of the context of entire passages often proves crucial for an understanding of the text. Two elements are especially relevant here: immediate context of the revelation and the genre to which the passage belongs. Context has been treated extensively in the Islamic tradition, often in general exegeses but more particularly in works designated asbab al-nuzul ("the occasions of revelation"), the most famous of which are those of al-Wahidi al-Nisaburi (d. 468 AH/1075 CE) and Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH/1505 CE). Translations often present brief notes at the beginning of suras that explain something about the original context, drawing on material from the asbab alnuzul. The amount and specificity of the information provided varies and often leaves something to be desired. Pickthall explains in the short intro-

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duction to sura 108, Abundance, "The disbelievers used to taunt the Prophet with the fact that he had no son, and therefore none to uphold his religion after him." The introduction to sura 111, Palm Fibre, reads in part, It is the only passage in the whole Qur'an where an opponent of the Prophet is denounced by name. Abu Lahab (the Father of Flame), whose real name was Abdul 'Uzza, was a first cousin of the Prophet's grandfather and was the only member of his own clan who bitterly opposed the Prophet. He made it his business to torment the Prophet, and his wife took a pleasure in carrying thorn bushes and strewing them in the sand where she knew that the Prophet was sure to walk barefooted.

Both of these statements provide some vital information for an understanding of the suras in question, yet they could both be improved by a more close reliance on the material found in asbab al-nuzul. The other problem is one of genre, which has figured much less prominently in traditional exegeses. Translators generally fail to explain that both suras are essentially retorts, answers to specific insults directed at the Prophet that use linguistic forms based on the original insult. Recognition of the genre of the suras helps one understand the text better. Concerning sura 111, al-Wahidi reports: The Apostle of God ascended one day upon al-Safa and called out, "Oh ill-fated morning!" so the Quraysh gathered around him. They asked him, "What's the matter?" He asked, "Do you not see, were I to inform you that the enemy was about to attack you in the morning or in the evening, you would believe me?" They answered "Yes, of course." Then he said, "Then I am warning you of a painful torment I see approaching." Abu Lahab said, "Perdition to you (tabban laka)! Did you gather us together merely for this!"5

Given this background, it makes sense to understand sura 111 as a retort to the curse tabban laka, a curse responding directly to another curse. For this reason Pickthall's translation of the first verse of Palm Fibre, although it follows an interpretation commonly found in the traditional commentaries, is almost certainly wrong: "The power of Abu Lahab will perish, and he will perish" (111:1). Pickthall renders the verb here, in the perfect in the Arabic text, as future tense. This in itself is not surprising, for the perfect indicates future events in other passages of the Quran,


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but here, the verb is a cognate retort to a curse and thus should probably be rendered as a curse also, with the Arabic perfect serving as an optative: "May the hands of Abu Lahab perish, and may he (himself) perish!" With regard to sura 108, al-Wahidi reports, It was revealed concerning al-'As. He saw the Apostle of God coming out of the mosque when he was going in, and they met at the gate of the Banu Sahm clan and spoke. Some of the notables of Quraysh were inside the mosque, sitting. When al-'As entered, they asked him, "To whom were you speaking?" He replied, "That cut-off man (alabtar)" meaning the Prophet.6

Al-Wahidi provides another account: Al-'As ibn Wa'il al-Sahmi, whenever the Apostle of God was mentioned, would say, "Let him be. He is only a cut-off man (abtar) who has no progeny. If he were to die, mention of him would come to an end, and you would be rid of him."7

Al-Suyuti gives yet another version: "When the son of the Prophet died, al-'As ibn Wa'il said, 'Muhammad has become cut off (abtar),'' and the sura was revealed."8 Despite the differences in the versions, it is clear that the sura responds to a specific insult directed against the Prophet by al-'As ibn Wa'il al-Sahmi. The insult was the term abtar, meaning "devoid of progeny." In context, the insult was quite a grave one, not only because the Prophet had no sons except one, Ibrahim, who died very young, but also because of the enormous importance attached to sons in Arab culture. There was a prevalent idea that having sons was the only, or at least the surest means to carrying on one's legacy, so that mention of one's name— and with it praises of one's virtues and great deeds—should not die out. Knowledge of this background leads to a better understanding of sura 108, which throws the same insult back at the man who uttered it. We have granted you abundance, So pray and sacrifice to your Lord. Your insulter is the one with no progeny! (108:1-3) [my translation ]

The sura is meant to console the Prophet by turning the table on al-'As, arguing that although he will have no progeny, the Prophet will have abundant progeny. Given the nature of the insult and the fact that the sura as a

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whole is a retort, kawthar ("abundance") must be interpreted as "abundant progeny" in particular. It seems most plausible that this progeny is the Muslims or the believers, who are in a sense tantamount to the Prophet's family. Arguments found elsewhere in the Quran corroborate this interpretation, such as the statement that Noah's son, who drowns in the flood, is not actually part of Noah's family since he is a disbeliever (11:45-46), or the claim that the Jews and Christians are not true descendants of Abraham because they do not follow his religious legacy correctly (16:117-123; 57:26-29). There too, religious affiliation stands in place of blood relations. Other formal and rhetorical features act as a much greater stumbling block in the way of the average reader trying to understand the Quran in translation. When approaching the Quran, the English speaker's expectations are most likely to be shaped by knowledge—however limited—of the Bible. In a way this is helpful, because the Quran deals with a great deal of Biblical material. It may nonetheless lead to confusion with regard to form. A large portion of the Hebrew Bible, including the books Genesis through Ezra and Nehemiah, is presented chronologically, and this includes the parts of the Bible read most often. God creates the world in the opening verses of the first book, and the narrative flows, occasional interruptions aside, through antediluvian history, the age of the patriarchs, the invasion of Canaan, the period of the kingdoms up to the Babylonian captivity, and, taking up the thread again after the return from Babylon, postexilic history until ca. 400 BCE. Large parts of the text are couched in plain historical narrative, concentrating on the presentation of stories and events and making little or no commentary outside the narrative itself. The Quran, however, does not proceed chronologically. Its 114 suras or chapters are not presented in historical order, either in terms of the stories they contain or in terms of their revelation. Rather, with the exception of the short opening sura, they are presented roughly in descending order of length, an order that seems to be nearly completely arbitrary with regard to content. Moreover, individual suras often include sections describing various periods, such as sura 27, The Ant, which includes sections on Moses, Solomon, the pre-Islamic Arabian prophet Salih, and Lot. Often such material is presented in the order of Biblical history—or pseudoBiblical history, including the prophets Hud and Salih, for example—as in sura 54, The Moon, which presents sections on Noah, Hud, Salih, Lot, and Pharaoh. Elsewhere it does not keep to this order: Lot obviously comes before Moses and Solomon historically, though his story is presented after theirs in sura 27. Very few suras are devoted to a single historical narrative, the main exceptions being sura 12, Joseph, and sura 71, Noah. In addition, many of the suras which contain this type of material belonging


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to sacred history also include additional material, outside of the historical framework, referring to the present, the recent past, or the future. This leaves out the many suras and sections of suras that are devoid of narratives of sacred or prophetic history and focus instead on legal topics, exhortation, apocalyptic predictions, descriptions of heaven and hell, descriptions of the natural world, and so on. All this variety, over and above the lack of adherence to chronological order, makes the Quran a difficult and confusing book to read for an audience conditioned by expectations to look at the Quran through the lens of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament, that is, as a relatively continuous narrative of sacred history. It is not surprising that one of the suras most often read by Western scholars and most widely used in Arabic chrestomathies is Joseph, despite the fact that it is rather atypical, precisely because it fits these expectations more closely than any other sura of the Quran. Another expectation that Christians or readers in predominantly Christian societies may entertain when approaching the text of the Quran derives from their knowledge—again, however superficial—of the New Testament. It is altogether reasonable for a Christian reader to expect that just as the Gospels narrate the life and miracles of Jesus, the Quran should narrate the life and miracles of the Prophet Muhammad. This goes along with the mistaken notion that Muhammad's status in Islam is equivalent to that of Jesus in Christianity, an idea responsible for the term Mohammedanism, used formerly to denote Islam, though it has since fallen out of usage.9 The reader of the Quran is struck by the fact that Muhammad appears by name very seldom, only four times in the entire sacred text (3:144; 33:40; 47:2; 48:49). Instead, the protagonist of the Quran, the character mentioned far and away most often, is Moses, whose name appears 136 times. The Quran does not describe major sections of Muhammad's life and works in plain narratives, although it does include many references to events in the history of the prophetic mission and the early Muslim community. One example is the description of the apparitions of Gabriel to the Prophet (53:5-18), but it is worth noting that this passage is neither embedded in a general narrative of the Prophet's life nor situated temporally as having occurred before or after other specific events. The overall effect is that the reader, whether expecting an Islamic counterpart to the Gospels or even conditioned by familiarity with the form of the modern novel, is surprised not to find an extensive or connected account of the Prophet Muhammad's mission.

Prophetic Typology in the Quran Given the fact that the Quran fails to conform to many of the English reader's expectations, thereby engendering cognitive dissonance, what can one

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do to ease his or her introduction to this difficult text? One approach that has proved successful in classes and enabled students to grasp a significant portion of the texts included in the Quran is to explain what I believe to be one of the Quran's most important rhetorical strategies: the use of the pattern of Biblical prophecies in order to comment on or serve as a model for the prophecy of Muhammad. This strategy is in fact a sort of typology, familiar to analysts of the New Testament, whereby characters from the Hebrew Bible are taken as models for or precursors of Christ or are used to make specific arguments concerning the nature of his life and works. An understanding of this rhetorical strategy helps explain the form and content of many suras of the Quran, particularly those containing series of stories of earlier prophets. Essential for a grasp of this rhetorical strategy is the basic understanding that the prophecy of Muhammad was a Biblical prophecy. It was Biblical not in the sense that it appears in the Bible, but in the sense that Biblical history was the fundamental framework within which the Islamic revelation unfolded and according to which the Prophet interpreted events and undertook his mission. As mentioned above, Moses is the main character in the Quran. This is so for a simple reason: that he serves as a model, indeed, apparently the main model, for the Prophet Muhammad. While scholars have long recognized the important connections between the Quran and the Bible, they have not sufficiently stressed the point that Muhammad's prophecy was formulated in Biblical terms, instead showing that elements were borrowed from Judaism and Christianity or comparing Quranic material with Biblical accounts.10 Furthermore, translations of the Quran often fail to recognize this Biblical framework sufficiently. In order to render it transparent, translations of key terms in the Quran and early Islamic history should reflect the Biblical connections that the original terms were based on or meant to bring out. The most obvious of these terms is, of course, "God." Pickthall and others leave Arabic "Allah" untranslated. Despite the fact that Allah was one of many gods in the pre-Islamic pantheon, Allah in the Quran and in Islam in general is the Biblical God, the same God who delivered the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and gave wisdom and prosperity to King Solomon. It makes sense, therefore, to render "Allah" regularly as "God" in the English translation. To retain Allah is like retaining Latin Deus or Greek theos in English translations of the Bible, for Allah is simply Arabic for God, and, indeed, is used as such by Jewish and Christian speakers of Arabic as well as Muslims. The term ahl al-kitab, used many times in the Quran in reference to Jews, Christians, or both, is usually rendered in English as "the people of the Book" or "the people of the Scripture." It would be more fitting to translate the term as "the people of the Bible," in order to stress the point that the book in question here is a specific one and not just any member of the category "scripture." This term glosses over the fact that Jews and


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Christians have different ideas about what constitutes the Bible, but nonetheless serves to refer to it as a recognizable unit. The hijra, the Prophet's "emigration" or "flight" from Mecca to Medina, should be rendered "Exodus," since, in all probability, it reflects a comparison between Muhammad and Moses, between the early Muslims and the Hebrews, between the tyrannical chiefs of Quraysh and Pharaoh. The term ansar, "helpers," designating the Medinan converts to Islam, is based on an analogy with the disciples of Jesus. This analogy, unlike that of the hijra, is made explicitly in the Quran itself: But when Jesus became conscious of their disbelief, he cried: Who will be my helpers in the cause of Allah? The disciples said: We will be Allah's helpers. We believe in Allah, and bear thou witness that we have surrendered [are Muslims] (unto Him). (3:52) The term ansar, plural of nasir ("helper," " ally"), intentionally puns here on nasara "Christians," which derives from al-Nasira, "Nazareth." These two terms, hijra and ansar, crucial for the history of the early Muslim community and of great importance in the Quran, are only two among many indications of the centrality of Biblical models in Muhammad's prophecy. Elements of pre-Islamic Arabian religious tradition that were incorporated into Islam and appear in the Quran are legitimated by being presented in Biblical guise. The pre-Islamic shrine of the Ka'ba is thus reinterpreted as a Biblical temple built by Abraham. For this reason, the term bayt ("house"), which appears in several passages in reference to the Ka'ba, should instead be translated "temple" (e.g., 106:3). The pre-Islamic Arabian prophets Hud and Salih are likened in the Quran to Biblical prophets. Furthermore, the pagan enemies of the Biblical prophets are conflated with the pagan Arabs. Noah's opponents, for example, worship preIslamic Arabian gods: "And they have said: Forsake not your gods. Forsake not Wadd, nor Suwa', nor Yaghuth and Ya'uq and Nasr" (71:23). In sum, Biblical prophecy is a controlling idea or theme in the Quran, one which shapes the incorporation of various religious concepts and elements into the Quranic text and Islam in general. An awareness of this Biblical framework is fundamental for an understanding of many aspects of the Quran. Biblical prophecy in the Quran involves two main ideas. First is the recognition that the careers of prophets are similar to one another in their major, important features; by and large they follow the same pattern, though they might differ in detail. The Quran provides many examples of these patterned prophetic careers, presenting a number of Biblical characters such as Noah, Abraham, and Lot as prophets even though they are not

42


termed prophets or portrayed as such in Genesis. For the purposes of typology, it matters little whether these figures are termed "prophet" (nabi), "messenger, apostle" (rasul, mursaf), "warner" (nadhir, mundhir), or "bearer of glad tidings" (bashir, mubashshir) in the Quranic text; they all perform essentially the same functions and the terms describing them appear in nearly identical contexts. Second is that the prophecy of Muhammad follows the pattern evident in earlier prophetic missions. On occasion, the comparison between Muhammad's prophecy and that of earlier prophets is explicit, while in other instances it is merely understood. The comparison is so pervasive, though, that it should always be present in the mind of the reader when interpreting Quranic accounts of Biblical figures. Sura 66, The Banning, provides a clear instance of such a comparison. Here, the text scolds the Prophet's wives for some transgression on their part involving a jealous plot or breach of confidence.11 The wives of Noah and Lot are held up as examples of bad women who suffered damnation for their evil behavior despite their close connection with men of God. The marriage bond was not enough to save them from punishment. The comparison and its implications are evident. Muhammad, as a prophet, is analogous to Noah and Lot; his wives are analogous to their wives. The punishment in Biblical history implies that, should they persist in their misbehavior, Muhammad's wives will not escape divine punishment, despite their special connection with the Prophet himself. In other passages, the comparison is perhaps less obvious, but nevertheless crucial. An analysis of sura 54, The Moon, an early Meccan sura, demonstrates how this rhetorical strategy works in many suras of the Quran. The Moon is of medium length as far as Quranic suras go: it is composed of 55 verses, all of which rhyme in -ar/-ir/-ur. As in many of the suras that contain stories about prophets, a series of accounts of various prophets occurs in the middle section of the sura (verses 9-42), sandwiched between an introductory section (1-8) and a final section (43-55), which stand outside the historical narrative. The middle section contains five subsections, each dealing with one prophet and his audience: Noah and his people, Hud and the tribe of 'Ad, Salih and the tribe of Thamud, Lot and his people, and Moses and the house of Pharaoh. The organization of the sura may be represented as follows: Introduction (1-8) Noah and his people (9-17) Hud and 'Ad (18-22) Salih and Thamud (23-32) Lot and his people (33—40) Moses and Pharaoh (41—42) Epilogue (43-51)


43

Deeds recorded in Scripture (52-53) Promise of heaven (54-55) Perhaps the most striking feature of this sura is the strong parallelism between the individual prophet subsections. These passages do not present exhaustive narratives of the prophecies, but rather highly compact and stylized summaries of their events. Their parallelism is emphasized by the repetition of specific phrases. The five subsections all begin with a statement that a people of the past, the audience of a particular prophet, denied or rejected (Ar. kadhdhabai) the prophet or the warnings he conveyed. The folk of Noah denied... (9) (The tribe of) A'ad rejected warnings... (18) (The tribe of) Thamud rejected warnings (23) The folk of Lot rejected warnings (33) And warnings came in truth unto the house of Pharaoh Who denied Our revelations, every one... (41-2) The subsections end with two successive statements that serve as comments outside the narrative proper, presenting the moral of the story, as it were; the first of these stresses God's punishments of the earlier peoples. Then see how (dreadful) was My punishment after My warnings! (16) Then see how (dreadful) was My punishment after My warnings! (21) Then see how (dreadful) was My punishment after My warnings! (30) ...Taste now My punishment after My warnings! (37) Now taste My punishment after My warnings! (39) The subsections end with a reference to the Quran itself, stressing that these punishment stories are meant to serve as instructive examples for posterity: And verily We left it as a token; but is there any that remembereth? (15) And in truth We have made the Qur'an easy to remember; but is there any that remembereth? (17, 22, 32, 40) The key terms in these last verses are the words translated as "remember" and derived from the Arabic root dh-k-r: wa-la-qad yassarna alqur'ana li-dhikri fa-hal min muddakir, which Pickthall translates, "And in

44


truth We have made the Qur'an easy to remember; but is there any that remembereth?" These statements are in fact puns of a sort, the first clause of the English translation (in verses 17, 22, 32, 40, etc.) apparently meaning that God has made the Quran easy to memorize, but the second clause asking whether anyone will take heed or learn from the punishments inflicted on past peoples. These three parallel phrases, framing each of the subsections, stress the close parallelism between the prophecy accounts themselves. Examination of the accounts in parallel shows that the prophecies all follow a predictable pattern. The following general steps emerge as belonging to the generic prophetic pattern: 1. God selects a prophet (implied) 2. The prophet addresses his people (implied) 3. The prophet warns his people of God's wrath 4. They reject the warnings 5. God annihilates the rejecters, saving only prophet and believers The middle sections of the sura therefore serve mainly to present what may be called punishment stories. Prophets have been sent to various communities throughout sacred history. The prophets warn them of God's impending punishment should they not heed the messages that the prophet relays. They reject these warnings and are punished accordingly, annihilated by God through some cataclysmic event: Noah's people by the flood, 'Ad by a raging wind, Thamud by a tremendous shout (= earthquake? eruption?), and Lot's people by a deluge of stones. The punishment of Pharaoh and his people is described in vague terms: "We grasped them with the grasp of the Mighty, the Powerful" (v. 42). Prophecy follows the predictable steps listed above, and all prophetic careers follow this same pattern. The narratives are present not as mere histories but as didactic examples to serve as a warning to a contemporary audience, that of the Prophet Muhammad. Both the introductory and the final sections are set in the present and relate the punishment stories to the contemporary situation. The introduction shows parallelism with the prophet narratives, implying that the steps occurring in the earlier punishment stories also occur in the present career of the Prophet. The sura opens with a miraculous sign, the splitting of the moon: "The hour drew nigh and the moon was rent in twain." It is referred to as a sign or "portent" (ayd) in the next verse, and is parallel to the "warnings" (nudhuf) mentioned in the punishment stories. Indeed, there is a reference to "warnings" in verse 5. "They," apparently the unbelievers in the Prophet Muhammad's audience, then deny the sign. Muhammad him-


45

self is not mentioned directly, but is commanded in the imperative in verse 6: "So withdraw from them (O Muhammad)...." It is clear that "they" in verses 2-7 are contemporary with him, but they are not identified as the disbelievers (of Quraysh) until verse 8: "Hastening toward the Summoner; the disbelievers say: This is a hard day." Thus far, the introductory section follows the prophetic pattern: 1. God selects a prophet, (implied) 2. The prophet addresses his people, (implied) 3. The prophet warns his people of God's wrath. 4. They reject the warnings.

The problem comes with the last step, God's punishment and annihilation of the disbelievers through a cataclysmic event that, in the case of the Prophet Muhammad's mission, obviously cannot have taken place yet. The text aims to resolve this discrepancy, preserving the tight parallelism of prophetic careers despite the fact that the Prophet Muhammad's career is still in progress and the annihilation of his enemies has not yet occurred. It does so by replacing the actual historical punishments of the past with a description of a future punishment awaiting contemporary disbelievers. So withdraw from them (O Muhammad) on the day when the Summoner summoneth them unto a painful thing. With downcast eyes, they came forth from the graves as they were locusts spread abroad, Hastening toward the Summoner; the disbelievers say: This is a hard day. (54:6-8)

This punishment is not a typical annihilation but rather part of the apocalyptic events of the Resurrection and the Day of Judgment. The punishments meted out to earlier peoples who denied their prophets' warnings are replaced, for the Prophet Muhammad's deniers, with the threat of Judgment. Similarly, the Prophet's withdrawal stands in place of the earlier prophets' actual escape from annihilation. A number of elements within the punishment stories also call attention to the Prophet Muhammad. In verse 9, Noah is called a madman by his audience. The same accusation was, of course, directed at Muhammad (52:29, 68:2, 81:22, etc.). The tribe of Thamud balked at following Salih on the grounds that he was a mere mortal like themselves (v. 24). Muhammad met with similar remonstrance from Quraysh (21:3). Thamud called Salih a liar (v. 25), just as the Quraysh taunted Muhammad (38:4).

46


That the earlier stories are linked to the contemporary situation is made explicit in verse 9, the beginning of Noah's story, "The folk of Noah denied before them..." The pronoun "them" here refers to the disbelievers of Muhammad's time who appear in verses 2-7 and are defined in verse 8, just preceding this verse. Verse 9 shows that the punishment stories which follow are intended as commentaries on the present situation and didactic examples. Likewise, the epilogue section reverts to the present time, comparing between the earlier peoples and Muhammad's contemporary audience: "Are your disbelievers better than those...?" (v. 43). The demonstrative pronoun "those" here denotes the unbelievers annihilated in the punishment stories presented in verses 9-42, while the possessive adjective "your" refers to Muhammad's audience: the tribe of Quraysh. This implied threat of annihilation is developed in the subsequent verses, again replacing an actual destruction with images of Judgment Day: On the day when they are dragged into the Fire upon their faces (it is said unto them): Feel the touch of hell. (54:48)

The epilogue section (verses 43-51) also parallels the punishment stories of the middle section, a fact emphasized by the repetition of the closing phrase in verse 51: "And verily We have destroyed your fellows; but is there any that remembereth?" The phrase "your fellows" refers back to the earlier destroyed people, establishing the comparison between them and contemporary disbelievers explicitly yet again. The phrase "but is there any that remembereth" of course recalls the same phrase that occurred in verses 15, 17, 22, 32, and 40. The fundamental rhetorical strategy of The Moon is typological. It comments on the situation the Prophet Muhammad faces using characters from sacred history who are analogous to him and in whose place he stands in effect. Earlier prophets preached to their peoples, and their peoples denied them. The prophets then warned them, yet they persisted in ignoring these warnings until God fulfilled his threat and punished them, inflicting destruction upon them but saving the prophets and the small groups of believers. The implication for the Quraysh is that they have been warned by Muhammad of God's impending wrath, yet they continue to ignore these warnings even when they are as obvious as the splitting of the moon in the sky. Alternatively, one might interpret the sign of the split moon as referring not to the past but to a future event. The meaning of the text might be that even were this miraculous event to occur, the disbelievers of Quraysh would still insist on their stubborn resistance to God's messages. In either case, Muhammad's audience is supposed to understand


47

that continued denial will lead to their perdition, just as it led to the perdition of earlier recalcitrant nations. Rather than threatening punishment in this world, the sura stresses the impending punishment of Muhammad's opponents on Judgment Day: they will taste the torments of hellfire. The threat is made all the more urgent through repeated mention of annihilation and emphasis on the stories' unassailable, authoritative source: scripture. This explains the mention of the Quran itself in verses 17, 22, 32, and 40 and the mention of the Scripture in verses 52-53, just before the end of the sura. And every thing they did is in the scriptures, And every small and great thing is recorded. (54: 52-53) The sura closes with mention of the abode of the righteous in the gardens of heaven (verses 54-55). This type of ending, found elsewhere in the Quran, leaves the audience with a ray of hope. Should they change their ways, they may yet avoid the terrible doom that the rest of the sura portrays so vividly. Analysis of The Moon shows that while the Quran does not narrate the life and works of Muhammad directly, the way the Gospels narrate the life and works of Jesus, it nevertheless speaks of his prophetic mission using typology, a rhetorical strategy based on model and analogy. Characters of Biblical or sacred history are defined as prophets whose careers follow a predictable pattern, reflecting the fact that they have all been sent by the one God and therefore represent the same boss, so to speak. The prophets' messages are essentially the same because God's truth is eternal, and the events of their prophetic missions are the same because neither human nature nor God's customary manner of dealing with humanity (sunnat Allah) has changed. Since Muhammad is indeed a prophet, his prophecy and his contemporaries' reactions to it can be explained, interpreted, and even to some extent predicted by analogy, using the stories of earlier prophets as a basis for comparison. This strategy is by no means limited to The Moon, but is rather quite prominent in the Quran as a whole, occurring quite clearly in suras 7, 10, 11, 14, 15, 21, 23, 26, 29, 37, 38, 40, 41, 50, 51, 66, and 69, 89, and in somewhat more diffuse form in a number of other suras. Even in suras in which there is no explicit reference to the Prophet Muhammad, such as sura 91, The Sun, which presents a summary of the story of Salih and Thamud, accounts of former prophets are in all probability intended to be understood in the typological sense. Perhaps more than any other single mode, this rhetorical strategy shapes the discourse of the Quran. Teaching this type of analysis helps students grasp the ideas behind a great

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deal of the Quranic text, elucidating the ways in which much Biblical material is used in the Quran, defining the Quranic relationship between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and bringing into relief the Quran's portrayal of Muhammad's prophetic mission.

Notes 1 A classic statement of this position is given by Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Tayyib al-Baqillani (d. 403 AH/1013 CE), I'jaz al-qur'an, edited by Muhammad 'Abd al-Mun'im al-Khafaji (Beirut: Dar al-Jil, 1991), pp. 103-109. 2 For a statement that the Quran does not contain saj' per se, see alBaqillani, I'jaz al-qur'an, pp. 110-119. 3 See Devin J. Stewart, "Saj' in the Qur'an: prosody and structure," Journal of Arabic literature, 21 (1990): 101-139. 4 Unless otherwise noted, all Quranic quotations in the following essay are from Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall's translation, The meaning of the glorious Qur'an. Beirut: Dar al-kitab Allubnani, 1973. 5 Al-Wahidi, Asbab al-nuzul (Cairo: Matba'a Hindiya, 1316 AH), p. 344; al-Suyuti, Asbab al-nuzul (Cairo: Maktabat Nusayr, 1983), p. 308. 6 Al-Wahidi, Asbab al-nuzul, p. 343. 7 Al-Wahidi, Asbab al-nuzul, p. 343. 8 Al-Suyuti, Asbab al-nuzul, p. 306. 9 See, e.g., D. S. Margoliouth, Mohammedanism (London: Williams and Norgate, 1911) and H. A. R. Gibb, Mohammedanism (London: Oxford University Press, 1949). 10 See G. Geiger, Was hat Mohammed aus den Judentums aufgenommen? (Bonn: F. Baaden, 1835); H. Hirschfeld, Beitrdge zur Erklarung des Koran (Leipzig: O. Schulze, 1886); I. Schapiro, Die haggadischen Elemente im erzdhlenden Teile des Korans (Leipzig: G. Fock, 1907); W. Rudolph, Die Abhdngigkeit des Qorans von Judentum und Christentum (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1922); J. Horovitz, Koranische Untersuchungen (Berlin: Gruyter, 1926); Ch. Torrey, The Jewish foundation of Islam (New York: Jewish Institute of Religion Press, 1933); Heinrich Speyer, Die Biblischen Erzdhlungen im Qoran (Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1961); Jacques Jomier, The Bible and the Koran, trans. P. Arbez (New York: Desclee, 1964); M. S. Scale, Qur'an and Bible: studies in interpretation and dialogue (London: Croom Helm, 1978). A recent exception that takes a typological approach is David Marshall's God, Muhammad and the unbelievers: a Quranic study (Surrey, England: Curzon, 1999). 11 See al-Wahidi, Asbab al-nuzul, pp. 325-327.

Relativization in English and Arabic: A Bidirectional Study Nagwa Kassabgy and Mona Kamel Hassan Research has established the impact of a number of factors on foreign-language learning. Motivation, age, aptitude, exposure, attitude, and input are among those factors (Larsen-Freeman and Long, 1991). Another significant and at the same time controversial factor identified by research is the impact of cross-linguistic differences and the role of language transfer. According to Doughty and Williams (1998, p. 226), "a learner's previous linguistic knowledge influences the acquisition of a new language in a principled, if not straightforward, contrastive way." Syntactic transfer, in particular, has long been controversial; research has shown evidence of absence of transfer, of both positive and negative transfer, and of the interaction of transfer with other factors in acquisition (Odlin, 1990). There are several reasons for language teachers to consider the problem of transfer, the most significant of which is that teaching may be more effective when teachers are aware of differences between languages and between cultures. An English teacher aware of Arabic-based transfer errors and an Arabic teacher aware of English-based transfer errors will not only be able to pinpoint learners' problems better, but will also better understand what may be difficult or easy for that group of learners. One of the problematic structures for most foreign-language learners identified by both researchers and teachers is relative clauses. Considerable research has been done on the acquisition of relative clauses. Keenan and Conmrie's (1977) cross-linguistic survey of 50 languages indicates that there is considerable variation in relative clause structures, which may lead to language transfer. Characteristics of relative clause structure, specifically pronoun retention, pose an interesting problem for both teachers and researchers. Research on the acquisition of English and Swedish, languages that do not use resumptive pronouns, suggests that transfer plays a role in the use of these pronouns. Gass (1979, 1983) also found that the native language does influence pronoun-retention errors in relative clauses. Hyltenstam (1984) found that speakers of Greek and Farsi, which allow pronominal retention, produced many more resumptive

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Relativization in English and Arabic

pronoun errors than did speakers of Finnish and Spanish, which do not allow pronoun retention. On the other hand, some researchers (loup and Kruse, 1977; Tarallo and Myhill, 1983; Birdsong, Johnson, and McMinn, 1984) provided evidence for universalist arguments that the erroneous use of resumptive pronouns does not indicate transfer, since learners of foreign languages that do not use resumptive pronouns often considered acceptable sentences that contained resumptive pronouns. A universalist explanation, therefore, seems plausible since all speakers of foreign languages—regardless of the use or nonuse of pronoun retention in their LI—produce or accept sentences with resumptive pronouns in their L2. Kharma (1987) investigated Arabic speakers' problems in the acquisition of English relative clauses. He identified 14 types of errors, concluding that most of the errors can be attributed to negative interference from Arabic. Another point Kharma made was that all the errors were errors of form rather than use and did not affect communication. Gass (1986, cited by Odlin, 1990) compared difficulties encountered by Italian speakers learning English with those of English speakers learning Italian. According to Odlin (1990), there is a need for more bidirectional research, as such comparisons could provide a better understanding of the general structural principles that affect transfer. To the knowledge of the authors of this paper, no bidirectional study that compares difficulties in the acquisition of relative clauses by Arabic speakers of English as a foreign language (EFL) and English speakers of Arabic as a foreign language (AFL) has so far been done. Comparing the difficulties encountered by both groups of learners could shed light on whether errors can be attributed to interference, to universalist explanations, or to a combination of factors.

Relative Clauses in English and Arabic Schachter (1974, cited in Larsen-Freeman and Long, 1991) discussed the work of Keenan and Comrie (1972) and identified three main dimensions in which relative clauses can differ and that may pose problems for L2 learners. The first dimension relates to the position of the relative clause with respect to the head noun. Relative clauses in English and Arabic— Egyptian colloquial Arabic (ECA) as well as modern standard Arabic (MSA)—follow the head noun, i.e., the syntactic pattern of word order of English and Arabic is similar. The second dimension relates to how relative clauses are marked. English uses a relative pronoun that agrees with the noun it replaces, i.e., who for subject-case human, whom for object-case human, which for non-


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human, that for both human and nonhuman, and whose for human and nonhuman possessive determiner. ECA uses one relative pronoun (/illi/) for the different structures. MSA uses relative pronouns that need to agree with the head noun in case, i.e., nominative, genitive, or accusative, e.g., /allata:n/ vs. /allatayn/; gender, i.e., feminine or masculine, e.g., /alladhi/, /allati/, and number, i.e., singular, dual, or plural, e.g., /alladhi/, /alladha:n/, /alladhirn/. In other words, English and both EC]A and MSA differ in this dimension. The third dimension identified by Schachter relates to the presence or absence of a pronominal reflex. English does not allow pronoun retention as an object noun or as object of a preposition. Both ECA and MSA retain the object noun in the relative clause in a pronominal form and a pronominal reflex as object of a preposition, e.g.: /hiyya di il-mudarrisa illi shuftaha imba:riH/ (ECA) /hadhihi hiya al-mudarrisa allati ra'aytuha 'ams/ (MSA) (lit., "This is the teacher whom you [masc. sing.] saw her yesterday") /huwwa da il-kita:b illi iddaitu lu imba:riH/ (ECA) /hadha huwa al-kita:b alladhi 'a9Taytuhu lahu 'ams/ (MSA) (lit., "This is the book that I gave it to him yesterday")

Again, English differs from EGA and MSA in this dimension.

The Current Study Research Questions. The current study attempted to answer the following questions: • What errors in the acquisition of English relatives by Arabic speakers and Arabic relatives by English speakers may be attributed to L1 interference? • What errors may be explained as developmental or universal? Subjects. The study included 86 subjects, 39 of whom were native speakers of Arabic and 47 of whom were native speakers of English. Of the 39 Arabic speakers, who were all enrolled in intensive English as a foreign language (EFL) programs in the English Language Institute and in the Center for Adult and Continuing Education of the American University in Cairo (AUC), 13 subjects were at the beginner's level, 17 were at the inter-

52


mediate level, and nine were at the advanced level. Of the 47 Englishspeaking subjects, who were enrolled in intensive Arabic as a foreign language (AFL) programs in the Arabic Language Institute at AUC, for both ECA and MSA at three different levels, 18 were beginners, 17 were intermediate, and 12 were advanced. According to the AUC catalog, AFL beginners are students "who work to develop the fundamentals of language through reading drills, within a framework of the essentials of syntax and morphology." AFL intermediate students are students "who emphasize the acquisition of vocabulary and increase the command of grammatical and syntactical structures and further develop reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills." AFL advanced students are students "who, through the reading and analysis of selected texts, are exposed to a wide range of vocabulary, idiom, and style, while reviewing the major topics of grammar." Study instrument. The instrument designed for this study was a sentencecombining task in English'that contained 10 items. The same items were translated into Arabic (Please see Appendix 1 for the English version, Appendix 2 for the ECA version, and Appendix 3 for the MSA version). The students were instructed to combine the sentences, using the second sentence as an adjective/relative clause. The test was administered to the EFL students after they had received instruction and practice in the use of relative clauses in English and to the AFL students also after they had received instruction and practice in the use of relative clauses in both ECA and MSA. In other words, the study investigated relative clause production errors made by the same AFL learners in both ECA and MSA. The students were familiar with all the words, i.e., the vocabulary, used in the sentences. The study did not examine Keenan and Connie's accessibility hierarchy with regard to the ease or difficulty of the acquisition of relativization of various types of relatives. Rather, it sought to investigate production errors on the sentence-combining task, which included a variety of relative clause structures and one relative structure not included in the accessibility hierarchy, namely, using expressions of quantity in the relative clause as in sentences 9 and 10.

Data Analysis Following is an item-by-item presentation of the results. Tables 1-8 illustrate the type and number of errors made by both EFL and AFL learners on each item. Each table is followed by a discussion, giving examples of errors made by EFL and AFL students at the three levels of proficiency. Results were not converted into percentages because this was a small-scale error analysis study


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that attempted to investigate and analyze errors in the production of relative clauses. Ungrammatical sentences are marked with an asterisk (*) and, whenever a specific error (based on the above list) was identified, it was underlined. Table 1: Comparative error analysis of Item 1. Type of error

AFL

EFL

MSA

ECA B

I

n=13 n=17 Cop

A n=9

B

I

n=18 n=17

B

A

n=12

I

n=18 n=17

A

n=12

2 1

WO

Cop = omission of copula; WO = word order. B = beginners; I = intermediate-level students; A = advanced students. EFL/AFL (Item 1) The student is from China. She sits next to me. For both EFL and AFL learners, this type of relative seems to be the easiest to acquire, which agrees with Keenan and Comrie's hierarchy. Table 2: Comparative error analysis of Item 2. AFL

Type of error

EFL B I n=13 n=17

RP

RPAg. N/Rel.pr. AgAv.

3

9

ECA A n=9

B n=18

3

14

I A n=17 n=12 2

MSA B I n=18 n=17 13

A n=12

1

1 1

3

RP = resumptive pronoun/pronoun retention; RPAg. = resumptive pronoun agreement (in ECA and MSA the pronoun is retained and agrees with the noun); N/Rel.pr. Ag. = noun-relative pronoun agreement (in MSA the relative pronoun agrees with the noun in case, gender, and number); Av. = avoidance (producing a correct sentence but avoiding the relative construction). B = beginners; I = intermediate-level students; A = advanced students


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EFL (Item 2) I knew the woman. I met her at the party yesterday. The persistent error was retention of the pronoun (RP). This can indicate transfer from L1 since Arabic is a language that retains the pronoun. Other errors relate to the use of the wrong relative pronoun, i.e., which instead of whom, and errors of avoidance, i.e., avoiding the relative and producing a correct sentence: / met the woman at the party yesterday. The use of the wrong relative pronoun can also be attributed to Arabic since in ECA, only one relative pronoun (/illi/) is used for the different structures. AFL (Item 2) /'ana kunt 9a:rif is-sitt. 'ana 'abilt is-sitt fi-1-Hafla imba:riH./ (EGA) /kunt 'a9rif al-mar'a. qarbalt al-mar'a fi-l-Hafla 'ams./ (MSA) ("I knew the woman. I met the woman at the party yesterday.") Unlike the EFL learners, the RP error, which may be attributed to L1 transfer, improved across levels, which could mean it is developmental. The 14 beginners and two intermediate students produced: * /'ana kunt 9a:rif is-sitt illi 'abilt fi-1-Hafla imba:riH/ Similarly, in MSA, the error made by 13 beginners and one intermediate student was RP, which may indicate transfer only at the lower level of proficiency, i.e., a developmental error: * /'ana kunt 9a:rif al-mar'a allati qa:balt fi-1-Hafla 'ams/ Table 3: Gomparative error analysis of Item 3. Type of error

B

I

n=13 n=17

N/Rel.pr. Ag.

Av. WO

AFL

EFL

8

B A n=9 n=18 n=17

5 2 4

A

B

MSA I

A

n=12

n=18

n=17

n=12

10

3 4

ECA I

4

16 1

2

9

6

14

N/Rel.pr. Ag. = noun-relative pronoun agreement (in MSA the relative pronoun agrees with the noun in case, gender, and number); Av. = avoidance (producing a correct sentence but avoiding the relative construction); WO = word order. B = beginners; I = intermediate-level students; A = advanced students.


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EFL (Item 3) The man is Japanese. His wallet is new. All the errors made by both the beginners and intermediate students relate to the relative whose. Instead of whose, students used *who his, *which his, *who's, and *whose his. The error made by the advanced learner was an error of avoidance; the student produced a correct relative clause, avoiding the possessive: The man who has a new wallet is Japanese. Again, there is evidence of transfer in this item since the errors are a direct translation from Arabic. The relative whose is problematic, as in Arabic the equivalent is the relative pronoun with a pronominal suffix attached to the noun. AFL (Item 3) /ir-ra:gil yabatni. maHfaDHit ir-ra:gil gidirda./ (ECA; MSA differs only in pronunciation) It is significant that none of the beginners got this item correct. Errors here seem to indicate that the possessive structure is one of the most difficult to acquire, which compares with the EFL learners. There is evidence of the use of avoidance strategies by intermediate and advanced learners. Word order seems to pose problems for both beginners and advanced MSA learners. There is evidence of the use of coping strategies and avoidance at the higher levels, which compares with the EFL learners. Table 4: Comparative error analysis of Item 4. Type of error

B

I

n=13 n=17

RP RPAg. N/Rel.pr.

WO

AFL

EFL

7

A n=9

6

B

ECA I

n=18

n=17

13

6

A

B

MSA I

n=12 n=18 n=17

1

14

6 5

5 1

A n=12

14

7

5 1

RP = resumptive pronoun/pronoun retention; RP Ag. = resumptive pronoun agreement (in ECA and MSA the pronoun is retained and agrees with the noun); N/Rel.pr. Ag. = noun-relative pronoun agreement (in MSA the relative pronoun agrees with the noun in case, gender, and number); WO = word order. B = beginners; I = intermediate-level students; A = advanced students.

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EFL (Item 4) She read the two lessons. The teacher explained the two lessons. Errors made by both beginners and intermediate students were pronoun retention and use of the wrong relative pronoun. Unlike item 2, there is evidence of improvement across levels. The only error made by an advanced student was noun-relative pronoun agreement. Again, there is evidence of L1 transfer since the students were translating the Arabic equivalent: * She read the two lessons which the teacher explained them. AFL (Item 4) /'arit id-darsain. il-mudarris sharaH id-darsain./ (ECA) Errors made by 13 beginners and six intermediate students provided evidence of L1 transfer, i.e., translating the L1 equivalent and dropping the pronoun: * /'arit id-darsain illi il-mudarris sharaH/ The errors made by five advanced learners indicated fewer problems with pronoun retention but difficulty with appropriate suffixes: * /'arit id-darsain illi sharaHha il-mudarris/ /qara'at ad-darsayn. al-mudarris sharaH ad-darsayn./ (MSA) Errors made here relate to case, use of inappropriate pronominal suffixes and pronoun retention. Fourteen beginners and six intermediate students produced the direct translation from English: * /qara'at ad-darsayn alladhaan al-mudarris sharaH/ Five advanced learners produced: * /qara'at ad-darsayn alladhi:n sharaHha al-mudarris/ * /sharaH al-mudarris ad-darsayn allata:n qara'athuma/ Error analysis of Item 5. EFL (Item 5) The doctor examined the two patients. We spoke to them. RP errors persisted across the three levels: four at the beginner's, five at the intermediate, and two at the advanced level. Other errors were use of the wrong relative pronoun (by beginners), word order and preposition omission (by intermediate students): * The two patients we spoke to them the doctor examined them. * The doctor examined the two patients which we spoke. * The doctor who spoke to them examined the two patients.


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Table 5: Comparative error analysis of Item 5. Type of error

RP RPAg. N/Rel.pr. Ag-

WO Om.Prep Av.

AFL

EFL

ECA

B

I

n=13

n=17

4

5

A n=9 2

2

3

2

B

I

n=18

n=17

12

5

A

B

MSA I

n=12 n=18 n=17

2

16

5

3

5

A n=12

3

2 1 1

1

RP = resumptive pronoun/pronoun retention; RP Ag. = resumptive pronoun agreement (in ECA and MSA the pronoun is retained and agrees with the noun); N/Rel.pr. Ag. = noun-relative pronoun agreement (in MSA the relative pronoun agrees with the noun in case, gender, and number); WO = word order; Om.Prep. = omission of preposition; Av. = avoidance (producing a correct sentence but avoiding the relative construction). B = beginners; I = intermediate-level students; A = advanced students. AFL (Item 5) /id-duktu:r kashaf 9ala il-9ayyantain. iHna itkallimna ma9a il9ayyantain./ (ECA) Problems here relate to the difficulty of attaching the pronominal suffix to the preposition rather than to the verb. * /iHna itkallimna ma9a il-9ayyantain illi kashafhum id-duktu:r/ Five intermediate students wrote the English equivalent: * /iHna itkallimna ma9a il-9ayyantain illi id-duktu:r kashaf/ It is interesting to note that whether or not a verb requires a preposition is different not only in both languages but also in ECA and MSA. Thus, this could pose problems for learners. For example, "examined (the patients)" requires a preposition in ECA (/kashaf 9ala il-mari:D/) but not in MSA (/faHaS al-mari:D/) or in English; the preposition after "speak (to)" is optional in ECA and MSA, but required in English; the verb "go (to)" requires a preposition in English and in both ECA and MSA. Items 5, 6, and 8 provide evidence that prepositions in relative clauses are problematic for learners.


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/aT-Tabi:b faHaS al-mari:Datayn. naHnu takallamna ma9a almari:Datayn./ (MSA) This item posed a bigger problem for beginners. Only one student got it correct. Sixteen students produced the English direct translation, dropping the RP with the pronominal suffix, and making a noun-relative pronoun agreement error: * /naHnu takallamna ma9a al-mari:Datayn alla:ti faHaS aT-Tabi:b/

Errors made by the intermediate and advanced students relate to use of the inappropriate relative pronoun, dropping the pronominal suffix and making a noun-relative pronoun agreement error as seen in the underlined words: * /naHnu takallamna ma9a al-mari:Datayn alla:ti faHaS aT-Tabi:b/ * /naHnu takallamna ma9a al-mari:Datayn allata:n faHaS aT-Tabi:b * /naHnu takallamna ma9a al-mari:Datayn alladhi:n faHaS aT-Tabi:b/ * /naHnu takallamna ma9a al-mari:Datayn alladha:n faHaShuma aTTabi:b/ It is very interesting to note here that in spite of the erroneous sentences produced by the advanced MSA learners, they used the correct word order in the relative clause, i.e., the verb followed by the subject. Table 6: Comparative error analysis of Item 6. Type of error

RP N/Rel.pr. Ag. Om.Prep Av.

AFL

EFL B I n=13 n=17 7

A n=9 1

ECA MSA A B A B I I n=18 n=17 n=12 n=18 n=17 n=12 8 11 2 5 4

12

1 2

2

4

3 4

RP = resumptive pronoun/pronoun retention; N/Rel.pr. Ag. = noun-relative pronoun agreement (in MSA the relative pronoun agrees with the noun in case, gender, and number); Om.Prep. = omission of preposition; Av. = avoidance (producing a correct sentence but avoiding the relative construction). B = beginners; I = intermediate-level students; A = advanced students.


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EFL (Item 6) The picture is beautiful. She is looking at it. Surprisingly, no RP errors were made by the beginners, whereas seven errors were made by the intermediate students and one by an advanced student. Other errors were omission of the preposition, word order, and avoidance. AFL (Item 6) /iS-Su:ra gamiila. hiyya bitbuSS 9ala iS-Su:ray (ECA) /aS-Su:ra jamkla. hiya tanDHur 'ila aS-Su:ra./ (MSA) Unlike the EFL learners, this item seemed to pose a bigger problem for beginners. Problems relate to dropping the preposition with the pronominal suffix and separating the relative clause from the head noun: * /iS-Su:ra gami:la illi hiyya bitbuSS/ * /iS-Su:ra gami:la illi hiyya bitbuSSaha/ * /iS-Su:ra gami:la illi hiyya bitbuSS 9alaiha/ MSA students produced similar errors, such as attaching the pronominal suffix to the verb instead of the preposition, and several students avoided the relative clause entirely. * /aS-Su:ra jami:la allati tanDHurha/ * /hiya tanDHur 'ila aS-Su:ra al-jami:la/ Four intermediate ECA students avoided the relative clause and produced correct sentences: /bitbuSS 9ala iS-Su:ra il-gami:l/ Comparative error analysis of item 7. Type of error

RP RP.Ag.

N/Rel.pr. Ag-

AFL

EFL B n=13 4

I n=17 10

A n=9

B n=18 8

ECA I

n=17 3

A n=12 2

B n=18 3 9

MSA I A n=17 n=12 1 3

3

RP = resumptive pronoun/pronoun retention; RP Ag. = resumptive pronoun agreement (in ECA and MSA the pronoun is retained and agrees with the noun); N/Rel.pr. Ag. = noun-relative pronoun agreement (in MSA the relative pronoun agrees with the noun in case, gender, and number). B = beginners; I = intermediate-level students; A = advanced students.


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EFL (Item 7) These are the two newspapers. I bought them. All of the errors made by the beginners and intermediate students involved pronoun retention, four errors by the beginners and 10 by the intermediate group. It is interesting that although RP improved at the advanced level as indicated by this item, more intermediate students than beginners made the error. AFL (Item 7) /du:l humma ig-gurna:lain. 'ana ishtarait ig-gurna:lain./ (EGA) /hata:n huma: al-jari:data:n. 'ana ishtarayt al-jaridatayn./ (MSA) This item was problematic for beginners, seven of whom did not answer. Errors related to dropping the pronominal suffix, word order, and inappropriate suffixes (MSA): * /ig-gurna:lain illi ishtarait du:l/ * /'ana ishtrait ig-gurna:lain illi du:l humma/ * /du:l ig-gurna:lain illi ishtaraitha/ * /'ana ishtarayt al-jari:data:n allatarn huma/ * /hata:n huma al-jari:data:n allata:n ishtarayt/ * /hata:n huma al-jari:dattan allahdi:n ishtaraytaha/

Table 8: Comparative error analysis of Item 8. Type of error

RP Om.Prep.

Av. N/Rel.pr. Ag-

AFL

EFL B

I

n=13

n=17

3 4 2

6 2 1

1

2

ECA A n=9

B

I

n=18 n=17

MSA A

9 7

B

n=12 n=18

1

I

A

n=17 n=12

2

2

7

6

1

1

RP = resumptive pronoun/pronoun retention; Om.Prep. = omission of preposition; Av. = avoidance (producing a correct sentence but avoiding the relative construction); N/Rel.pr. Ag. = noun-relative pronoun agreement (in MSA the relative pronoun agrees with the noun in case, gender, and number). B = beginners; I = intermediate-level students; A = advanced students.


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Item 8

EFL The meeting was interesting. I went to it. This item shows some improvement across levels. RP errors were made by beginners and intermediate students. Other errors included use of the wrong relative pronoun and avoidance of the relative.

AFL /il-igtima:9 ka:n mumti9. 'ana ruHt l-igtima:9./ (ECA) This was another problematic item. Seven beginners left it blank. Nine students made a pronominal suffix and word order error: * /il-igtima:9 ka:n mumti9 illi ruHt/ Seven intermediate students and one advanced student changed the word order to avoid using the pronominal suffix and produced a correct relative clause, i.e., evidence of the use of coping strategies: * /ruHt l-igtima:9 illi ka:n mumti9/ /ka:n al-igtima:9 mumti9an. 'ana dhahabt 'ila al-ijtima:9./ (MSA) Similarly, eight beginners left this item blank. However, seven beginners, six intermediate students, and one advanced student avoided a structure that requires a pronominal suffix and produced a correct relative clause: /'ana dhahabt 'ila al-ijtima:9 alladhi ka:n mumti9an/ It is interesting to note that although the verb "go" requires a preposition in both English and Arabic, two beginners and two intermediate students attached the suffix to the verb instead of the preposition which was dropped: */ka:n il-ijtima:9 mumti9an alladhi dhahabtu/ Item 9

EFL The members of the band came from all parts of the city. The majority of them were amateurs. None of the 13 beginners, none of the intermediate students, and only one of the advanced students got this item correct. Results here obviously indicate that this is the most difficult relative structure to acquire. Some of the errors were a direct translation from the Arabic equivalent: * The members of the band whom the majority of them were amateurs came from all parts of the city.

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* The members of the band who came from all parts of the city the majority of them were amateurs. Other errors were pronoun retention and wrong relative pronoun: * ...which the majority of them... * ...who the majority of them...

AFL /il-9a:zafi:n fi-1-fir'a il-musiqiyya gum min kull makarn fi-1madi:na. mu9DHam 9a:zifi:n il-fir'a il-musiqiyya karnu huwa:./ (ECA) Like the EFL students, none of the beginners, none of the intermediate, and only one of the advanced students got this item correct. Almost half of the students in the three levels left this item blank. Nine beginners dropped the pronominal suffix: * /il-9a:zifi:n fi-1-fir'a il-musiqiyya illi gum min kull maka:n fi-1madi:na ka:nu mu9DHam huwa:/ Interestingly, nine intermediate and two advanced students changed the word order to avoid attaching the pronominal suffix to the expression of quantity, i.e., used a coping strategy and produced: /mu9DHam 'a9Da:' il-fir'a il-musiqiyya illi gum min kull maka:n ka:nu huwa:/ /mu9DHam 9a:zifi:n il-fir'a illi gum min kull maka:n ka:nu huwa:/

MSA /ja:' 'a9Da:' al-firqa al-musiqiyya min kull 'anHa:' al-madi:na. ka:n mu9DHam 'a9Da:' al-firqa al-musiqiyya huwa:./ Again only one advanced student produced an accurate sentence and many students in all levels left the item blank. Errors relate to word order and relative pronoun agreement. Item 10

EFL The residents were given help. All of their homes had been damaged by the flood. None of the students in any of the three levels got this item correct. However, there is evidence of the use of coping strategies. Beginners produced correct sentences like: The residents whose homes had been damaged were given help. The residents were given help because their homes had been damaged by the flood.


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The residents were given help when all of their homes had been damaged by the flood. Errors made by intermediate students were: * ...whose their homes... * ...who their homes... * ...whom all their homes... * ...that all of their homes... Errors made by the advanced students were: * ...whose all homes... * ...which all of their homes... * The residents were given help, all of whose homes had been damaged by the flood.

AFL /ka:n fi: musa:9da li-s-sukka:n. kull biyu:t is-sukka:n iddammarit bisabab il-fayaDa:n./ (ECA) This item was as problematic for the AFL learners as it was for the EFL learners. Fourteen beginners wrote: * /ka:n fii musa:9da is-sukka:n illi iddammarit bi-sabab il-fayaDa:n/ Three intermediate students wrote: * /iddammarit kull biyu:t is-sukka:n illi fi: musa:9da bi-sabab ilfayaDa:n/ One advanced student wrote: * /ka:n fii musa:9da li-kull il-biyu:t illi iddammarit/ /laqad tamma musa:9adat as-sukka:n. dummirat kull biyurt assukka:n bi-sabab al-fayaDa:n./ (MSA) Only one advanced student produced a correct sentence. Most of the students (17 of 18 beginners, and 13 of 17 intermediate, and 11 of 12 advanced learners) left the item blank. Obviously this is the most difficult relative structure to acquire, even for advanced learners.

Discussion Results of this small-scale study cannot be conclusive. Errors that persisted across the three different levels for both EFL and AFL learners involved mostly pronoun retention, use of the wrong relative pronoun, incorrect use of the possessive whose, omission of prepositions, and problems with structures with expressions of quantity. This agrees with

64


Gass (1979, 1983) and Hyltenstam (1984) who found that speakers of languages that allow pronominal retention produce more resumptive pronoun errors. Although with some items there is evidence of improvement with level, with other items errors persisted. For both groups of learners, there is evidence of transfer errors, of developmental errors, and of the use of coping strategies to overcome difficulties, i.e., avoidance errors. The findings of this study agree with Kharma's (1983) conclusion that the errors made by Arabic-speaking EFL learners are errors of form that do not affect communication. ECA relative clauses did not seem to pose as many problems as MSA for the AFL learners. This is probably due to the fact that only one relative pronoun (/illi/) is used for the different structures. In MSA relative pronouns are more problematic for AFL learners, as they need to agree with nouns in case, gender, and number, e.g., /alladha:n/, /allatayn/, alladhi:n/, etc. Pronoun suffixes that are attached to verbs and prepositions, e.g., /katabatha/, /naDHarat 'ilayha/, etc., posed problems for the learners in both ECA and MSA, yet learners made more errors in MSA. Relative structures with expressions of quantity (items 9 and 10) were obviously the most problematic for both EFL and AFL learners. This structure seems to be the most difficult to acquire.

Conclusion and Suggestions for Teaching Findings of this study support DeKeyser's (1998) claim that "although the applied linguistics literature of the 1980s was characterized by a debate over whether or not second language instruction should make students attend to form, the vast majority of publications since the early 1990s support the idea that some kind of form is useful to some extent, for some forms, for some students, at some point in the learning process" (p. 42). Research has established the role of "consciousness" and "noticing" in foreign-language learning. Communicative focus-on-form (FonF) activities, consciousness-raising tasks, and grammar problem-solving activities have been suggested as effective techniques in the grammar class (Fotos, 1994; Ellis, 1991). "Consciousness-raising tasks suggest that learners should be deliberately directed to attend to form. Teachers and materials writers seek to make students aware of new target language items, rules, or irregularities by highlighting them in the input" (Ellis, 1991, cited by Long and Robinson, 1998, p. 17). There is evidence of L1 transfer in the errors both EFL and AFL learners in this study made. If students are made consciously aware of differences between their L1 and the L2 they are learning, they may be able to avoid transfer errors. Error-identification tasks and grammaticality-judgment tasks


65

can also help learners notice differences between the two languages. Following are examples of communicative FonF activities that students can do in class: Activity 1: Matching, a card game with incomplete sentences on cards. The students are asked to find the person who has the card with the part of the sentence that begins with the correct relative pronoun to complete their sentence. When students have found the correct completion and formed a complete sentence, they are asked to stick the cards on the blackboard for peer correction. This also serves as a visual aid. This can be done in both English and Arabic since both groups of learners have problems with relative pronouns. Example sentences: This is the man This is the restaurant

whose car I bought. where we had lunch yesterday.

/dhahabt 'ila al-maTa:9im/ /sharibt ash-sha:y/ qara'na al-garidatayn/ /ishtarayt al-qalamayn/

/allati 'akal fiiha yu:suf/ /allahdi ishtara:hu li/ /allatayn Talabahuma al-mudarris/ /alladhayn ba:9ahuma al-9a:mil/

Activity 2: Students are given structures with relative clauses of different types. In groups, students are asked to figure out the rules and to provide more example sentences. Activity 3: Students are given a list of sentences containing correct and incorrect relative clauses. In pairs or groups, students identify the errors and correct them. Activity 4: General knowledge/vocabulary quiz. Students are divided into two groups. The teacher asks each group a general knowledge/vocabulary question, e.g., What do we call a person who rules with absolute power? /man huwa ar-ra'i:s al-miSriyy alladhi ughti:1 fi-9a:m 'alf tus9uma:'a wa:Hid wathama:ni:n/ A group gets one point for identifying the relative clause and one point for answering the question. The cooperative (within groups) and competitive (between groups) nature of this activity is stimulating and enhances communication. To sum up, the findings of this study support the claim that transfer is an important factor in second language acquisition. Given the existence of that influence, teachers need to become familiar with both the language and the culture of their foreign-language learners. This awareness should help not only in pinpointing learners' problems, but also in being better able to work on them.

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Appendix 1: ESL Combine the sentences, using the second sentence as an adjective clause: 1. The student is from China. She sits next to me. 2.1 knew the woman. I met her at the party yesterday. 3. The man is Japanese. His wallet is new. 4. She read the two lessons. The teacher explained the two lessons. 5. The doctor examined the two patients. We spoke to them. 6. The picture is beautiful. She is looking at it. 7. These are the two newspapers. I bought them. 8. The meeting was interesting. I went to it. 9. The members of the band came from all parts of the city. The majority of them were amateurs. 10. The residents were given help. All of their homes had been damaged by the flood.


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Appendix 2: ECA /urbuT kull gumlitain bistixda:m ism al-mawSu:l al-muna:sib ma9a taghyi:r alla:zim/ 1. /iT-Ta:liba min issi:n. iT-Ta:liba 'a:9da gambi./ 2. /'ana kunt 9a:rif is-sitt. 'ana 'arbilt is-sitt fi-1-Hafla imba:riH./ 3. /ir-ra:gil yabarni. maHfaDHit ir-ra:gil gidi:da./ 4. /'arit id-darsain. il-mudarris sharaH id-darsain./ 5. /id-duktu:r kashaf 9ala il-9ayyantain. iHna itkallimna ma9a il-9ayyantain./ 6. /iS-Su:ra gami:la. hiyya bitbuSS 9ala iS-Su:ra./ 7. /du:l humma ig-gurna:lain. 'ana ishtarait ig-gurna:lain./ 8. /il-igtima:9 ka:n mumti9. 'ana ruHt l-igtima:9./ 9. /il-9a:zifi:n fi-1-fir'a il-musiqiyya gum min kull maka:n fi-l-madi:na. mu9DHam 9a:zifi:n il-fir'a il-musiqiyya ka:nu huwa:./ 10. /ka:n fi: musa:9da li-s-sukka:n. kull biyu:t is-sukka:n iddammarit bi-sabab il-fayaDa:n./

Appendix 3: MSA /urbuT kull jumlatayn bi-stixdaan ism al-mawSu:l al-muna:sib ma9a taghirr al-la:zim7 1. /aT-Ta:liba min aS-Si:n. aT-Ta:liba tajlis bi-ja:nibi./ 2. /kunt 'a9rif al-mar'a. qa:balt al-mar'a fi-1-Hafla 'ams./ 3. /ar-rajul yaba:ni. maHfaDHat ar-rajul jadi:da./ 4. /qara'at ad-darsayn. al-mudarris sharaH ad-darsayn./ 5. /aT-Tabi:b faHaS al-mari:Datayn. naHnu takallamna ma9a al-mari:Datayn./ 6. /aS-Su:ra jami:la. hiya tanDHur 'ila aS-Su:ra./ 7. /hata:n huma: al-jari:data:n. 'ana ishtarayt al-jari:datayn./ 8. /ka:n al-ijtima:9 mumti9an. 'ana dhahabt 'ila al-ijtima:9./ 9. /ja:' 'a9Da:' al-firqa al-musiqiyya min kull 'anHa:' il-madi:na. ka:n mu9Dham 'a9Da:' al-firqa al-musiqiyya huwa:./ 10. /laqad tamma musa:9adat as-sukka:n. dummirat kull biyu:t as-sukka:n bisabab al-fayaDa:n./

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Larsen-Freeman, D., and Long, M. 1991. An introduction to second language acquisition research. London: Longman. Odlin, T. 1990. Language transfer: cross-linguistic influence in language learning. New York: Cambridge University Press. Tarallo, R, and Myhill, J. 1983. Interference and natural language in second language acquisition. Language learning, 33:55-76.

The Expression of Futurity In the Arabic and English Languages Mohammad Al-Khawalda From a linguistic point of view, the future tense is a controversial issue. Many grammarians (Leech, 1971; Quirk et al., 1972, 1985; Palmer, 1988; Pennington, 1988) have argued that the future is not a true tense, although more recently, it has been accepted as such by many grammarians (e.g., Dahl, 1985; Maslove, 1985; Comrie, 1985, 1989; Hornstein, 1990; Declerck, 1991). For the Arabic language, the situation is more complicated. It has been claimed that tense itself does not exist in Arabic (see AlKhawalda, 1997). Even when authorities accept the existence of tense in Arabic, futurity and the future form /sayaf9alu/ ("he will do") are ignored. Many scholars, following the traditional analysis of English, claim that the present form /'af9alu/ ("I do") is used to express futurity (Hassan, 1990; Comrie, 1991; Fehri, 1993). Because opinion on the definition of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is not universal, Modern Standard Jordanian Arabic (MSJA), the language of official matters in Jordan, was used as a reference point for this paper, although the author believes there is no difference between the MSA and MSJA.

Data for the Study The data base for this study was collected from three sources. To investigate the use of futurity in classical Arabic (CA), the Quran was scanned. Although CA is not the focus, the aim of investigating the use of futurity in the Quran was for comparative purposes. To investigate the use of futurity in MSJA, two sources were used. The first was the Jordanian Prime Minister's policy statement to the lower House of Parliament on September 18, 1999. The reason the researcher selected this text was that such statements frequently include a large number of promises, which means intensive usages of futurity. The second source was the Arabic translation of an English television series, Acapulco Bay (recording was made of four episodes for a total of three hours). Expressions of futurity in the series were examined in both English and Arabic. Because the aim

The Expression of Futurity In the Arabic and English Languages

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of this study was to test the hypothesis that the future in Arabic is a true tense and that /sayaf9alu/ is basically a future form (Al-Khawalda, 1997) and to avoid complex statistical computations, the data were left as simple totals and percentages .

Analysis of the Data It must be noted that the use of the negative particles such as /lan/ and /la:/, and the use of modal verbs such as /'ara:da/ ("he wanted") were excluded from the data. In general, three expressions used to express futurity were taken into consideration: the use of the present form /yaf9alu/ ("he does/is doing") to refer to the future, the use of the prefix /sa-/ with the present form /sayaf9alu/ ("he will do"), and the use of the particle /sawfa/ with the present form /sawfa yaf9alu/ ("he will do"). In this paper, appropriate forms of/fa9ala/ will refer to the verbs in Arabic, e.g., /fa9ala/ for the past form, /yaf9alu/ for the present form, and /sayaf9alu/ for the future form.

Futurity in the Quran Table 1 tabulates the distribution of expressions of futurity in the Quran. Table 1. Distribution of futurity expressions in the Quran. sawfa yaf9alu yaf9alu sayaf9alu TOTAL

42 53 114 209

20.1% 25.4% 54.5% 100%

As the table shows, the number of occurrences of futurity is around 209 times. Out of the total 209, /sawfa yaf9alu/ ("he will do") is used 42 times, which represent 20% of total occurrences. Seventeen of the occurrences (40.4%) of /sawfa/ are with the verb /ta91amu:n/ ("you (pl.) know"): /sawfa ta91amu:n/ ("you (pl.) will know"). The present form /yaf9alu/ ("he does") is used 53 times to express the future ("he is going to do"; "he will do"), which represents 25.3% of total occurrences. However, it must be noted that 12 of these occurrences appear in compound structures coordinated by /wa/ and/or /thumma/ ("then") in which /sayaf9alu/ or /sawfa yaf9alu/, ("he will do") is used in the coordinate clause. In other words, /yaf9alu/ in separate structures is used 41 times, representing about 20% of the total. The other important issue is that /yaf9alu/ ("he does"), when used to express future time, is

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generally accompanied by a future temporal adverb, such as yawm alqiyama ("the day of resurrection"), al-janna ("paradise"), al-naar ("hellfire"), al-Hashr ("the gathering day"), etc. In other words, /yaf9alu/ in itself, without a future temporal adverb, does not express futurity. /sayaf9alu/ ("he will do") accounts for 114 future expressions, the most frequent construction of the total: 54.5%. It seems to this researcher that the difference between /sayaf9alu/ and /sawfa yaf9alu/ is not significant. That is, it is difficult to identify any syntactic or semantic reason why either of them is used since they are used interchangeably in several situations. For example, it is mentioned above that /sawfa ta91amu:n/ ("you (pl.) will know") is repeated 17 times, at the same time the verb /ya91amu:n/ ("they know") is used with /sa/ in different places to express the same idea, e.g., / saya91amu:na/ ("they will know") /sata91amu:na/ ("you (pl.) will know"), etc. (see, e.g., Qur., 20:135; 67:17,29). Futurity in the speech of the Jordanian Prime Minister Table 2 summarizes the occurrences of futurity in the speech of the Prime Minister. Table 2. Distribution of futurity expressions in the Prime Minister's speech. sawfa yaf9alu yaf9alu sayaf9alu TOTAL

4 2 67 73

5.5% 2.7% 91.8% 100%

As the table indicates, the total number of occurrences of futurity is 73, with /sawfa yaf9alu/ ("he will do") occurring four times, or 5.4% of the total. Again, /sawfa yaf9alu/ appears interchangeably with /sayaf9alu/ ("he will do") for example, /sawfa yakuunu/ ("he will be") alongside /sayaku:nu/ ("he will be") and /sawfa nuwa:Sl/ ("we will continue") as well as /sanuwa:Sl/ ("we will continue"). /yaf9alu/ appears twice, for 2.7% of the total. The two cases in which /yaf9alu/ is used to express futurity are found in result clauses in the same sentence: /min xhila:li hadha al-nahj tata9amaq al-musharaka'al-ka:mila fi:T'iTa:r mumara:sat alHurriya:t wifqa mabad' seya:dat 'l-qa:nu:n mimma: yakfalu 'ija:d altawazun al-maTlu:b/ ("Through this way [of democracy] full participation is strengthened within the framework of freedom according to the principle of the sovereignty of the law, which guarantees the required balance"). It seems that the use of /sawfa yaf9alu/ ("he will do") and /yaf9alu/ ("he does") to express futurity is accidental. When we compare the num-


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her of their occurrences with the number of the occurrences of /sayaf9alu/ ("he will do"), we find that 67, or 91.7%, of the total expressions of futurity are /sayaf9alu/.

The translation of Acapulco Bay Table 3 summarizes the usage of futurity in the Arabic translation of the English-language television series.

Table 3. Distribution of futurity expressions in an Arabic translation of an American TV series. sawfa yaf9alu yaf9alu sayaf9alu TOTAL

2 1 131 134

1.5% 0.8% 97.7% 100%

As the table indicates, a total of 134 expressions of futurity occur. Of this total, /sawfa yaf9alu/ ("he will do") is used twice (1.4%). It seems that /sawfa yaf9alu/ is used randomly and there is no explanation why it is selected rather than /sayaf9alu/ ("he will do"). The present form /yaf9alu/ ("he does") is used once (0.8% of the total), where it is a structure coordinated by /'aw/ ("or...."), e.g., /'aw 'aqtuluka/ ("or I kill you"). As can be noted, the use of /sawfa yaf9alu/ and the present form /yaf9alu/ to express futurity is very low in comparison with the use of /sayaf9alu/, which appears 131 times, or 97.7%, of the total.

Futurity in English As mentioned above, a three-hour recorded videotape from the Englishlanguage series Acapulco Bay is used to analyze how futurity is expressed in English. Table 4 summarizes the ways in which futurity is expressed in Acapulco Bay.

Table 4. Distribution of futurity expressions in an American TV series. "Will"

42

30.9%

present from "be going to"

31 27

22.8% 19.9%

19

14.0%

present progressive form modals TOTAL

17

12.5%

136

100%

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As can be noted, unlike Arabic in which futurity is expressed in three ways (/yaf9alu, sayaf9alu/, or /sawfa yaf9alu/), five ways are used to express futurity in English. Of 136 cases, will appears 42 times, or 30.8%, of the total usage of futurity, which is the highest percentage. The present form is used to express futurity 31 times, or 22.7%; be going to is used 27 times, or 19.8%. The present progressive/from_appears 19 times, for 14% of the total. The rest, such as the use of would, have to, etc., are classified under modals, which are used 17 times, or 12.5% of the total.

Discussion and Conclusions The difference between the two languages, Arabic and English, in expressing futurity is significant. The dispute over whether the future is a tense in English, mentioned above, cannot be applied to Arabic. In other words, the arguments that are used to show that English lacks a future tense are not applicable to Arabic. For instance, it is contended that will indicates a general tendency, probability, willingness, etc., rather than future time, e.g., "Boys will be boys" (Pennington, 1988, p. 71). The data demonstrate that such usages typical of English (the nontemporal reference of the future morpheme) are not found either in CA or MSJA. Furthermore, /sayaf9alu/, ("he will do") has one and only one usage: locating the situation sometime after the moment of speech. That is, it truly expresses future temporal reference. Another argument against treating the future as a tense and that will is the future morpheme is that there are many ways to express futurity in English. The data support this argument. Table 4 shows the five general ways to express futurity in English, and none of them could be considered marginal. The situation in Arabic and in particular MSJA, which is the focus of this paper, is different. The data indicate that futurity in MSJA is expressed basically by the future verb form /sayaf9alu/. It scores 91.7% in the speech of the Jordanian Prime Minister and 97.7% in the translation of Acapulco Bay, whereas /sawfa yaf9alu/ and /yaf9alu/ are used marginally in both. The other important argument is that the use of "will" "be going to" the present form, the present progressive form, or modals is not arbitrary. Each of them has its own semantic meaning in addition to futurity. In other words, the differences among them is significant. For example: •It will rain (general future) •It is going to rain (there is an evidence for that) •*It is raining (ungrammatical for expressing the future since the progressive indicates arrangement) •I will visit him (sudden decision)


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•I am going to visit him (the decision has already been made ) •I am visiting him tomorrow (arrangement) In Arabic, such distinctions are not found. It seems that the selection of/sawfa yaf9alu/ and /sayaf9alu/ is arbitrary, since as mentioned above it is difficult to find any semantic or syntactic reason for selecting one expression over the other to express futurity. Moreover, unlike the simple present and past forms, future in English is expressed in a periphrastic way, that is, will is not an inflection (Quirk el al., 1985; Palmer, 1988) The future (i.e., /sayaf9alu/) in Arabic is not periphrastic. It is an orthographic whole and must be considered a morphological whole. In spite of these arguments against treating the future as a tense, many scholars argue that the future in English is a tense and that will is the future morpheme. They state that it is possible for a given morpheme to have more than one reading, and it is possible for will to express modal meaning in addition to the temporal one (for the discussion of this issue and why will is treated as a future morpheme, see Comrie, 1985; Hornstein, 1991; Declerck, 1991). Consequently, there is no reason to explain why futurity in Arabic is ignored. It is clear that the number of occurrences of /sawfa yaf9alu/ ("he will do") and the present form /yaf9alu/ ("he does") to express futurity is higher in CA than in MSJA. Nevertheless, this cannot be taken as an argument against an Arabic future tense since nowadays we are talking about MSA and that the use of the present form to express futurity is a universal phenomenon (Comrie, 1985, pp. 44-45; Declerck, 1991, p. 10; for further discussion, see Al-Khawalda, 1998). To sum up, according to our data and the above discussion, the future in Arabic is a true tense that is expressed primarily by the verb form /sayaf9alu/.

References Binnk, R. I. 1991. Time and the verb: a guide to tense and aspect. New York: Oxford University Press. Comrie, B. 1985. Tense. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . 1991. On the importance of Arabic to the general linguistic theory. Perspectives on Arabic linguistics, 3:3-30. Dahl, O. 1985. Tense and aspect system. Oxford: Blackwell. Declerck, R. 1991. Tense in English: its structure and use in discourse. London: Routledge. Declerck, R. 1995. Is there a relative past tense in English? Lingua, 97:1-36. Depraeteve, I. 1994. Some observations on the expression of temporal relation in future-time relative clauses. Linguistics, 32:459-473. Fassi, F. 1993. Issues in the structure of Arabic clauses and words.

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Dordrecht: Kluwer. Hassan, H. M. 1990. A contrastive study of tense and aspect in English and Arabic with special reference to translation. Ph.D. diss., University of Bath, UK. Hornstein, N. 1990. As time goes by. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Al-Khawalda, M. 1997. Tense, aspect and temporal reference. Ph.D. diss., Essex University, UK. . 1998. Are "fa9ala" and "yaf9alu" temporal or aspectual forms? Paper presented at the 14th International Conference on Language and Linguistics, Literature, and Translation, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan, April 28-30, 1998. Klein, W. 1994. Time in language. London: Routledge. Leech, G. 1971. Meaning and the English verb. London: Longman. Maslov, Y. 1985. Outline of contrastive aspectuality. In Y. Maslov (ed.), Contrastive studies in verbal aspect. Heidelberg: Julius Groos. Quirk, R.G., Leech, S., Greenbaum, S., and Svatvik, J. (1972). A university grammar of English. London: Longman. . 1985. A comprehensive grammar of the English language. London: Longman. Palmer, F. 1988. The English verb (2nd ed.) London: Longman. Pennington, M. 1988. Context and meaning of English simple tenses. RELC journal, 19:49-74.

A Sociolinguistic Study on the Use of Color Terminology in Egyptian Colloquial and Classical Arabic Jehan Allam The six basic color categories (white, black, red, green, yellow, and blue) belong to the physical domain and can be defined and measured in terms of their wavelengths and their relative heat intensity (Omar, 1982, p. 91). Languages seem to differ in how they treat colors. Thus, the idea of "turning yellow" indicates one is "becoming ill" in Egyptian colloquial Arabic (ECA), but in English it suggests one is "lying" or "cowardly"; to become "white-faced" means to "become ill" in English, but to be "pleased or proud" or to "emerge as victorious" in ECA and in classical Arabic (CA). According to the dictionary Lisan al-Arab, the Arabic words /lawn/ ("color") and /'alwa:n/ ("colors") are from the root /1/w/n/, which denotes a state such as blackness or redness. The color of anything is what distinguishes it from other things. Thus, /'alwa:n/ ("colors") also can refer to personality types. For example, a person is described as /mutalawwin/ ("changing his color") if he is not of a strong or steady character. /'allawn/ ("the color") is also used in CA to denote a "palm tree," on the grounds that dates grow through a series of colors (green, yellow or red, black or brown) similar to the colors that appear during sunset to darkness. The focus of this paper is on the sociolinguistic aspects of/'al-lawn/ as used in the Arabic language. Psychological aspects will also be included to examine color usage in the language. Colors have their place in many customs and traditions. It is known that green and white, for instance, are optimistic colors for Egyptians in general. Green is a sign of prosperity and white is a sign of happiness. Black and blue, on the other hand, are colors of mourning, pessimism, and sadness (Amin, 1952, p. 57). In other societies, this is not necessarily the case. In some societies, black is a color of happiness, respect, and elegance. Therefore, it is important to recognize the connotations of various color words as they are used in each language. Due to the psychological effects of colors, people tend to associate them with different aspects of their lives. Historically in the

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A Sociolinguistic Study on the Use of Color Terminology

West, blue was associated with law and the king's court, because in Roman times, prefects wore blue cloaks. "Royal" purple is just as ancient. Many of these connections have a more rational basis: blue with the sea, summer, and coolness; green with the countryside, spring, and coolness; yellow with sunlight, heat, and cheerfulness; red with warmth, passion, excitement, and fire; white with cleanliness and purity (Danger, 1968, p. 29). Aside from the psychological associations of colors, color terms often acquire, in certain fixed allocations, a range that goes beyond what they normally possess, e.g., "white" in the expression "white coffee" refers to a deep shade of brown, and a "white" (person) may be anything from an off-pink color (natural pigmentation) to golden brown (sun-tanned). In the latter example, "white" contrasts with "black," the range of which is similarly extended to cover various shades of dark brown (Crawford, 1982, p. 339). On the other hand, when referring to skin color, an Arabic speaker may use /'abyaD/ ("white") as a euphemism for /'aswad/ ("black"). In general, various societies and, as a result, various languages tend to treat colors in differently. Therefore, a sociolinguistic study of colors should show similarities or differences, since the vocabulary of color analysis is psychological and metaphorical rather than rigorously physical, for color is part of nature, life, and human relations.

/'abyaD/ ("white") /'abyaD/ is derived from the root /b/y/D/ ("to become whitened"); /bayDa:'/ is its feminine form; /al-'abyaD/, with the definite article /'al/ may be a noun or an adjective. As a noun it denotes the color itself generically, in opposition to the rest of the members of the color spectrum. /'abyaD/ is emotionally connected with purity and goodness; it is a symbol of optimism and happiness. "The color traditionally and universally used for wedding celebrations and brides is /'abyaD/" (Omar, 1982, p. 166), although in some societies, /'aswad/ ("black") is the color for celebrations. /'abyaD/ represents one end of the color spectrum: in psychological terms it generates positive rather than negative feelings. In CA, the sense of /'abyaD/ usually revolves around purity and light. However, there is the exceptional negative impact of white in the Quranic story of Joseph: there, /'abyaD/ occurs in connection with Jacob's eyes to describe his blindness (Qur., 12:84). A brief study of the use of color terminology in the Holy Quran found that the six basic colors (white, black, yellow, red, green, blue) were mentioned 32 times. /'abyaD/ is the color mentioned most often (10 times), probably because of its psychological connotation to goodness, purity, and heaven and its distinctive contrast with /'aswad/ ("black"), which is related to evil, sinfulness, and hell.


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Hence, reference to /'abyaD/ appears in both CA and ECA extensively. A survey of the meanings of /'abyaD/ in CA and ECA show that it is used in similar senses. Common expressions in ECA are frequently carried over from CA and may have metaphorical as well as literal meanings: /baya:Du-'al-naha:r/ ("the whiteness of the day," i.e., "daylight"), /baya:Du-'al-bi:D/ ("egg white"), /baya:Du'al-9ayn/ ("white part of the eye"). Common CA metaphors likewise are often retained in ECA: /bayyaDa wajhuhu/ (literally, "made his face white" and metaphorically "made him proud"), /kidhbun 'abyaD/ ("white lie," as in English), /yaddun bayDa:'/ ("white hand," i.e., generous). All these expressions have been carried over from CA to ECA. Figurative meanings may vary with different derivatives of the root. For example, masculine /abyaD/ and its feminine /bayDa:'/ is used, to denote among other things, a beautiful woman, but /'abyaD/ does not apply to the male parallel; in fact, it is used euphemistically to refer to a black man. The opposite again is not true, a black woman is not referred to as /bayDa:'/. Arabic /'abyaD/ and English "white" more or less agree in invoking the following meanings: sunlight, white race, silver or gray color, blank space, bleached clothes, and household items such as bed sheets and towels; in both languages the words are applied as adjectives to mean: honest and dependable, fortunate, clear or free from spots, morally pure, innocent, and harmless. Common expressions with "white" include: "white lie" (a minor lie uttered from polite, harmless motives), "white smith" (tin smith), and "white space" (Random House Dictionary, 1956). The Arabic term /'al-abyaDa:ni7 "the two whites" (said of milk and water) is a sign of beauty and seems to contrast in this sense with English, since milk and water are not referred to as the two whites and "white" denotes paleness, as from fear or other strong emotion. Other senses of white as used in English include that characterized by snow, e.g., "white Christmas"; in a political sense, white is used to describe something radically conservative; auspicious, or fortunate. Magic that harms no one is "white," whereas coffee that is "white" contains milk. To "bleed white" means to be or cause to be deprived of all one's resources. A project still "in the white" is in an unfinished state or condition; a "white alert" of military defense is signal that danger no longer exists. A "white beard" refers to an old man; a "white list" is a list of individuals or organizations with security clearance from government officials; someone who is "white livered" lacks courage or vitality; "white trash" is a slur on poor whites collectively; "white wing" is one who wears a white uniform, especially a public street cleaner. Other senses of white as used in Arabic include: /yadun bayDa:'/ ("white hand"), which means proof (whether by argument, allegation, or evidence) as well as a favor or benefit for which one is not reproached and

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which is conferred without being asked. It is a sign of generosity and good will. Similarly, we find in ECA, /bayyaD wishshuhum/ ("whitened their face," i.e., he made them proud of him as a result of his success or achievement) and /naharak 'abyaD/ ("your day is white," that is, it is a good day). Other common metamorphic expressions include: /'il-'irsh'il-'abyaD yinfa9 fi-l-yu:m-'il-'iswid/ ("a white piaster is useful on a black day," i.e., a little money saved helps when times are bad), /ma9andu:sh la:-abyaD wa-la:swid/ ("he has neither white nor black," i.e., he is penniless), and /sha:y 9ala mayya bi:Da/ ("tea on white water," i.e., tea made without being boiled). In CA the following expressions occur: /'al-'ayyamu-l-bi:D/ ("the white days," i.e., the 13th, 14th, and 15th nights of an Islamic month, when there is a full moon), /'al-'arDu-l-bayDa:V ("the white land," i.e., a waste of uncultivated land), and /'al-'abyaDa:n/ ("the two whites," i.e., milk and water).

/'aswad/ ("black") Emotionally, /'aswad/ ("black") is the symbol for grief, pain, misery, and death. It represents darkness, the unknown, suppression, nonexistence, and destruction. It is the color that prevails after fires; it colors the walls of old buildings in cities that have suffered great fires. In many languages, /'aswad/ ("black") is associated with charcoal, darkness, and night (Berlin and Kay, 1969). /'aswad/ ("black"; the root is /s/w/d/) is the color of evil, black magic, bad luck, and poverty, and it is associated with racial discrimination and slavery. For Egyptians and many others, /'aswad/ is the color of mourning and death. It is the color used in funerals and dresses of women in mourning. Although it is the color of pessimism, it is also the favorite color for beautiful eyes. This is probably because most Arabs have relatively dark complexions with which black eyes and black hair are the most suitable (Amin, 1963, p. 58). A large vocabulary describes black eyes, which shows Arab's appreciation of the beauty seen in the /sawa:d/ ("blackness") of the eyes. Poetic expressions to describe the eyes underscore that fine appreciation: /9aynun barja:'/ (i.e., eyes that have very clear white and very clear black); /'al-Hawar/, which is deep black contrasted with the clear white of the eye; and /9aynun da9ja:V, i.e., very dark black eyes (Ibn Sidah, 1898, pp. 98-99). In the Holy Quran, /'aswad/ is mentioned seven times, ranking it third after /'abyaD/ ("white") and /'axDar/ ("green"), /'aswad/ is used as a verb, /taswwadu/ ("to become black") and /'iswaddat/ ("became black"). It contrasts with /'abyaD/: it is hell opposed to heaven, misery opposed to happiness, mourning opposed to celebration, and night opposed to day. Metaphorically, it has been used to mean gloominess or misery: /'iswaddat wuju:hahum/ ("their faces became black") meaning became sad or dis-


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appointed, and /'al-xayTu-l-'aswad/ ("the black thread") representing the end of the night from the beginning of the day. In CA, the sense of /'aswad/ revolved around the meaning of pessimism, grief, darkness, sinfulness, as well as nighttime, dark complexion, and the beauty of the eyes. It also used to be associated with slavery, servants, or an inferior race. The only positive use of /'aswad/ is when describing the eyes, and usually other words are used for that purpose. In ECA, /'aswad/ is pronounced /'iswid/. As in CA, it is the color of pessimism. Just pronouncing the word is sometimes objectionable; that is why certain expressions use /'abyaD/ instead, e.g., /ya-nha:r 'abyaD/ ("what a white day," euphemistically for "what a black day") or /ya-xabar abyaD/ ("white news," which is used when hearing bad news), /'iswid/ is also associated with black magic and evil. /'uTTa su:da/ (a "black cat"), when it passes in front of someone, is believed to be a bad omen. People's pessimism from /'aswad/ is obvious both in CA and in ECA when they call a black man /ya-'abyaD/ and when they say in ECA/ya-ssmar/ ("tanned") in describing a black man to avoid saying /'iswid/. Comparing /'aswad/ in CA and ECA reveals similarities. Both refer to night as /'aswad/ and both appreciate black eyes: in ECA /9asha:n sawa:d 9uyu:nak/ ("for the sake of your black eyes") and /'il-9uyu:n-is-su:d/ ("the black eyes") and their beauty are commonly mentioned in songs as well as in poems in CA. Another common meaning shared in both CA and ECA is the use of /'aswad/ to mean a rough copy /miswadda/ or /taswi:da/ in ECA and /sawwadda/ in CA. Arabic /'aswad/ and English "black" more or less invoke the same following senses: pertaining or belonging to an ethnic group characterized by dark skin pigmentation, such as the dark-skinned peoples of Africa; characterized by the absence of light (e.g., "black night"); gloomy, pessimistic, dismal, sullen (e.g., "black looks"); and deliberately harmful, without any moral right of goodness, evil, wicked (e.g., "black hearted"). In both languages, "black" indicates censure, disgrace, or liability to punishment, and it is used to describe clothing for mourning. Finally, the expressions "black gold" (for "petroleum"') and "black market" are found in both English and Arabic. Metaphoric expressions used in CA to indicate different meanings of /'aswad/ include /'idha: kathura-l-baya:D qalla 'assawa:d/ (lit, "when whiteness increases, blackness decreases") where whiteness signifies milk and blackness dates (Al- Zubaydi, 1888); /sawwad/ (lit., "to cause blackness") is to write something in a rough or draft copy (Lane, 1865); and /sa:wadahu/ (lit., "made him black") is to meet someone in the blackness of the night. From this sense, it developed to mean "in secrecy," as in /sawwadtuhu/ ("I spoke secretly with him") and /sa:wada/ ("a secret speech"; Lane, 1865). /waT'atun sawda:'/ (lit., "a black footstep") denotes a recent footprint. Some of the Arabs' common expressions include: /kaththartu sawa:da-l-qawmi bi-

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sawa:di/ ("I increased the number of the collective body of people by my person"), in which /sawaad/ means "myself," with /'asa:wid/, the plural form, meaning "persons" (Lane, 1865); /sawa:du-l-9ira:q/ ("the blackness of Iraq") to refer to the districts, towns, or villages and cultivated lands of Iraq, so called because of the greenness and near-blackness of its trees and produce (Lane, 1865). /'al-dhahab al-'aswad/ ("black gold"), meaning "petroleum," is an introduced term; /'aswad-al-qalb/ ("black heart") refers to an unforgiving person. In ECA we find: /yu:m 'iswid/ ("black day'") for a bad day and /xabar'iswid/ ("black news") for bad news; /wa'9itak su:da/ and /naharak 'iswid/ both can be used as a threat; /maza:g sawdawi/ refers to a melancholic temperament; and /saHa:ba su:da/ ("black cloud") signifies a problem. In EGA the associations of black with the meaning of shameful or disgraceful is apparent in expressions such as: /9amlitak is-su:da/, literally, "your black doing," that is, "your shameful deed." Common proverbs that give this meaning include /ma yinu:b il-kaddab 'ilia sawa:d wishshu/, literally, "the liar gets only the blackness of his face" and /'il-di:n sawa:d-il-xaddi:n/, "being in debt means black cheeks," which means that debt causes one misery and shame (Taymour, 1956, p. 235).

/'aSfar/ ("yellow") /'aSfar/ is the color of the sun, it resembles /'abyaD/ ("white") and daylight, and is associated with energy, readiness, and activity. It is a brilliant and cheerful color. It is associated with sunshine, heat, cheerfulness, and summer. People who prefer yellow are said to have an intellectual bent (Danger, 1968, p. 27). According to Max Lusher's psychological color test, /'aSfar/ means a search for a way out of troubles. If chosen number one, it is a sign of happiness, hope, and good expectations, and progress and innovation. /'aSfar/ is mentioned five times in the Holy Quran and ranks fourth after /'abyaD/ (white"), /'axDar/ ("green"), and /'aswad/ ("black") in the number of times it occurs. It is used in the sense of the basic color yellow; bright yellow describes good, healthy, and strong animals. /'aSfar/ in CA revolved around gold and wealth—even good camels, in which Arabs took pride and considered part of their wealth, are /Sufr/ (pi., "yellow"). From this sense developed the expressions /Sifru 1-yaddayni/ and /ma li-fula:n la: Safra:' wa-la: bayDa:'/ to mean "penniless or empty handed." /'aSfar/ then is a synonym for wealth because it means gold and wealth. It is also used to express common physical examples of the color: dry plants and leaves are /Sufr/ ("yellow"); the sun is /'al-Safraa'/; and gold and saffron are referred to as /al-'aSfara:n/ (lit., "the two yellows"). In CA, /'iSfarra/ (MSA, "to become yellow") was used to mean "to become yellow and also black"), /Sufra/ is defined as "yellowness" and "blackness" (Lane, 1865), particularly when referring to black camels. The Arabs, presum-


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ably, conceived of black camels as yellow and/or black, hence the mixing of the two terms. This sense is not apparent in ECA. In ECA, in addition to the basic sense, /'aSfar/ revolves around sickness, e.g., /wishshu 'aSfar zayy-il-lamu:na/ ("his face is as yellow as a lemon," i.e., pale either of fear or bad health), and /'iS-Safra/ is jaundice. /'aSfar/, when it describes a complexion, indicates a sign of illness, while yellowness of the face could indicate a disease in the liver, anemia, or poisoning (Omar, 1982, after Birren, 1950, pp. 110-113). It also denotes something old: /waraq-ilkita:b 'iSfarr/ ("the pages of the book became yellow") and /waraq-ish-shagar 'iSfarr/ ("the leaves of the trees became yellow"). /'iS-Sara:ya-iS-Safra/ ("the yellow palace") is slang for a mental hospital; the origin of this name could not be determined for certain, but it might be related to the original color of the building. There is a common belief that yellow stones prevent misery or upsets, as expressed by the proverb /'illi yilbis 9aqi:q 9umru mayshu:f Di:q/ ("he who wears carnelian is always happy"). The sense of wealth as mentioned in CA does not exist in ECA in relation to /'aSfar/. Comparing Arabic /'aSfar/ with "yellow" in English shows a similarity in the two languages' use of the color to denote or describe jealousy and envy; the yolk of an egg; any yellow metal (naval brass, gold); sallow complexion, jaundice, and race (of persons). Metaphorically, ECA uses /'aSfar/ in the following expressions to denote spite: /fula:n da Safra:wi/ ("this person is yellow," i.e., he is spiteful), /DiHka Safra/ (a cunning or deceitful smile), /9i:nha Safra/ (lit., "her eye is yellow," i.e., she is envious), and /maza:gu Safraawi/ ("he has a choleric temperament"; Badawi and Hinds, 1986). The color is also used frequently to denote sickness: /wishshu 'aSfar zayy-il-lamu:na/ (lit., "his face is as yellow as a lemon," i.e., his face is pale either from fear or bad health), /'iS-Safra:/ (lit., "the yellow," i.e., jaundice), and /'iS-Sara:ya-iSSafra/ (slang, "mental hospital"). In short, English use of yellow signifies cowardice, fear and illness; ECA /'aSfar/ signifies distress and illness, whereas in CA it signifies wealth and richness.

/'aHmar/ ("red") Psychological studies proved that red has an evocative effect; it arouses feelings of anxiety, tension, courage, revenge and desire for attacking. It causes muscle tension and increases body temperature. It has a positive and lively effect on people. By contrast, red in food, studies have proved, is the most appetizing and tempting color (Omar, 1982, p. 154). In general, /'aHmar/ ("red") is the color of blood, danger, fire and alertness. It is the color that attracts the eye. Therefore, it is used for safety measures, e.g., red cross for hospitals, red fire extinguishers, red light of traffic

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light for stop signal, etc. It is universally associated with danger and alertness. In the Holy Quran, /'aHmar/ is mentioned only once as an adjective denoting brown color describing mountains. /'al-'aHmar/ ("the red") in CA is strongly associated with white complexion and beauty, as well as blood and violence, an apparent contradiction, for both impressions are at two extremes if put on a single scale. In the first sense, /'aHmar/ is used instead of/'abyaD/ ("white") because /'abyaD/ has another significance when related to complexion—it denotes illness. According to Lisan al-'Arab (Ibn Manzur, 1982) "red and white are antonyms." This sense occurred in the sunna: /HumayraaV was applied to Aisha, the Prophet's wife. The colors of the expression /'ata:ni kull 'aswad minhum wa-'aHmar/ ("every black and red of them came to me,") denotes every single one, and one should not use /'abyaD/ ("white") in this sense (Lane, 1865). /'al-Husnu 'aHmar/ (lit, "beauty is red") means that beauty is in fair complexion; it is also a metaphor indicating that beauty is attended by difficulty, that is, he who loves must bear difficulty or distress, or "the lover experiences from beauty what is experienced in war" (Lane, 1865). In ECA, the sense of /'aHmar/ denoting fair complexion occurs in the proverb /min barra Hamra Hamra wi min guwwa halla halla/, meaning "beautifully made up from the outside but rotten inside." /'aHmar/ in both CA and ECA is associated with death, blood, and violence. In CA, we find the following expressions: /'al-mawtu l-'aHmar/ ("red death," i.e., slaughter ) and /Hamira 9ala:yya/ ("he became red on me," i.e., he burned with anger and rage against me); /Hamira/ ("became red") also applies to a horse that is out of control (Lane, 1865). The color is found in ECA in several metaphoric expressions: /warra:lu-l-9i:n-ilHamra/ ("showed him the red eye," i.e., behaved in a severe, intimidating manner toward someone), /Hammarlu 9i:nak/ ("make your eye red to him," i.e., be severe with him; Badawi and Hinds, 1986), and /'il-bijama:1-Hamra/ ("red pyjamas," i.e., the death penalty). In CA, /'al-'aHmar wa-l-'abyaD/ ("the red and the white") denotes gold and silver. /'al-'aHmar/ ("the red") is also a metaphor referring to a sort of dates that are red in color, /sanatun Hamraa'/ ("a red year") is a year of severe drought because in such years the tracts of horizon are reddish, i.e., brown in color, due to the heat and dryness (Al-Numayri, 1976, p. 35). /Hammara/ ("he caused to become red") means either to dye a thing red or to write with red ink. /Hamira/ ("to become red") in the context of leatherworking means "he pared a thong; stripped it of its superficial part or he (a sewer of leather or of skin) pared a thong by removing its inner superficial part and then oiled it, previously to sewing with it, so that it became easy to sew with; apparently because this operation makes it to appear red or reddish color" (Lane, 1865). /Hamira/ is removal of soft hair or fur and wool and /'iHamara ma 9ala 1-jild/ means "what was upon the skin became


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removed (said of hair and of wool)." Other expressions include: /Hammarahu bi-1-SawT/ ("he excoriated him with the whip") and /waT'atun Hamra:'/ ("a red footstep," i.e., a new of recent footstep or foot print; Lane, 1865). /Humrann/ is an adverb used metaphorically in the sense of having a weapon on oneself. The sword is very important to the Arab and for one to be without his weapon or sword is comparable to removing an important part of himself. /'aHmar/ in this sense is not accounted for in ECA. In ECA, common expressions include: /Hammar/ ("to make red," i.e., to fry in oil, /'itHammar/ or /'iHmmar/ ("browned or fried, became red"), /'iHmarri:t min ish-shams/ ("my skin became red, i.e., burned, from sitting in the sun"), /baTaaTis miHammara/ (lit., "potatoes made red," i.e., French fries), /laHma miHammara/ ("browned meat"). It is notable that /'aHmar/ is used in food rather not /bumuV ("brown"); this supports the concept that red is a favorite color in food. Further support can be seen in the phrase /Hama:r wi Hala:wa/ (lit., "redness and sweetness"), which is used to praise ripe watermelons. /'aHmar/ in ECA, as in CA, is associated with death, blood, and violence. In the Egyptian culture, /'aHmar/ is also a color of youth, cheerfulness, and immodesty. It is connected with make-up, decoration, and glamour, with children, young girls, and brides; elderly ladies are strongly criticized if wearing /'aHmar/. It seems that /'aHmar/ is opposed to /'iswid/, psychologically or socially, since it is not acceptable to visit a person in mourning when wearing red or even red make-up. The metaphor /sahra Hamra:'/ ("red evening") is probably borrowed from the English expression "painting the town red," i.e., celebrating "boisterously, especially by making a round of stops at bars and nightclubs" (Random House Dictionary, 1956).

/'axDar/ ("green") Egyptians consider /'axDar/ ("green") a color of optimism and a sign of prosperity (Amin, 1953, p. 58). It is associated with the color of plants and agriculture, which represented a major source of their economy; the more green is produced, the more prosperous is their year. Ever since the pharaohs, agriculture represented a main occupation for the Egyptians. As for the Arabs in general, /'axDar/ is a precious color because of its scarcity amid the vast yellow desert lands. /'axDar/ ("green") is from the root /x/D/r/ ("to become green"). Next to /'abyaD/ ("white"), /'axDar/ is the second most frequently mentioned color in the Holy Quran (eight times). It is used to refer to plants and greenery as well as to signal richness, prosperity, and heaven. /'axDar/ in CA embraces several senses. It is associated with crops, greenery, trees, profit, prosperity, and youth. It is strongly connected with

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agriculture and plants. From this sense developed connotations such as fresh (as opposed to dry) and unripe, which are extended metaphorically in expressions such as: /'al-mawadatu baynana xaDra:'/ (lit., "affection between us is green," meaning our affection is recent or fresh) and /'ixtuDira sh-shaab/ (lit., "the young man has become green," i.e., he died in his youth). /xuDra/ ("greenery") describes trees and landscape as well as pot herbs and green vegetables. Metaphorically, we find /ma:'un 'axDar/ (lit., "green water") for crystal-clear water and /xuDara/ ("greenery") for the sea (Ibn Manzur, 1982). In the sunna, we find /man xuDDira lahu fi shay'in fa-liyalzamahu/ ("whosoever is blessed in a thing [meaning an art or a trade, or a means or subsistence] let him stick to it"; Lane, 1865) and /xuDDira/ (lit, "made green") as a metaphor for blessing. Other expressions include: /9i:shatun xaDra:'/ (lit., "green life," i.e., a mode of life soft and delicate, plentiful, and pleasant; Lane, 1865) and /'ixDDara jilduhu/ (lit., "his skin became green" from carrying the produce of the land), which is a metaphor for prosperity (Lane, 1865). In ECA, /'axDar/ also denotes prosperity as evidenced by expressions such as: /sana xaDra bi-'idhn-i-llah/ (lit., "a green year if God wills," said when wishing someone a happy and prosperous year), /'adamuh xaDra 9ali:na/ (lit., "his feet are green," i.e., he brings us good luck), and /'i:du: xaDra/ (lit., "his hand is green," i.e., he has a lucky touch or he brings profit to whatever he involves himself in; Badawi and Hinds, 1986). In CA, /'axDar/ denotes /'aswaoV ("black") when referring to complexion: /'inna-1-Harith 'ibn-al-Hakam tazawwaja 'imra'atan fa-ra'a:ha xaDra:' ('ay sawda:') fa-Tallaqaha:/ (lit., "al-Harith ibn al-Hakam married a woman and discovered her to be green, i.e., black, so he divorced her"; Lane, 1865). Similarly, blackness is understood when /'axDar/ is applied to a variety of objects: /'al-katu:ba 'al-xaDra:' (lit., "the green regiment," i.e., a group of soldiers with black shields), /'ixDarra-1-layl/ (lit., the night became green," i.e., became dark and black), and /'arD-as-sawa:d/ (lit. "the land of blackness," a euphemism for Iraq, because its fertile lands and richness in greenery and trees appear black to someone coming from far away in the desert; Lane, 1865). /'axDar/ is sometimes used to mean /'azraq/ ("blue") in CA: /ma taHta l-khaDra:'t 'akrahu minh/ (lit., "there is not under the sky more hateful than he"; Lane, 1865). The interchanging of colors, /'axDar/ ("green") for /'azraq/ ("blue") and /'aswad/ ("black") in CA is interesting, yet it seems to follow a certain logic: from a distance dark green indeed seems black (as in /'arD-assawa:d/, "the land of blackness") and since /'axDar/ is the optimistic color that stands for prosperity, it is used to describe the color of the sky instead of/'azraq/, which has bad associations and is disliked (see below).


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ECA seems to conform to the general impressions of/'axDar/ in all the senses of CA, except that in ECA another sense has developed—/'axDar/ in the sense of wet and damp: /'il-hudu:m lissa xaDra/ (lit., "the clothes are still green," i.e., damp) and /'il-'arD xaDra/ (lit., "the ground is green," i.e., wet).

/'azraq/ ("blue") Blue in Western societies stands as the color of the sky and the sea; it is associated with coolness, water, men, youth, confidence, and innocence. On the other hand, dark blue reflects darkness, night, laziness, tranquillity, and rest. It has been the color of loyalty, obedience, respect and meditation. It represents responsibility, seriousness, and faith in one's aims (Danger, 1968). According to Max Lucher's color test, people who chose blue as number one are in need of either emotional stability and a feeling of security or need physical rest and relaxation. Those who prefer blue in general like tranquillity and quietness; they seek an organized environment free of disturbance and trouble. Life goes smoothly in its normal directions and they have good relations with people (Omar, 1982, pp. 61-63). In the Egyptian culture, /'azraq/ has been associated with purity and faith, and this explains the superstition of people who pin a blue stone on a baby for protection from envy and evil eyes. Yet /'azraq/ is a pessimistic color for Egyptians; they often call it /'axDar/ for this is their optimistic color. This is why they call /'al-9ataba-al-zar'a:/ ("the blue threshold") /'al-9ataba-al-xaDra:/ (lit., "the green threshold," which is a district in Cairo); it was named after a palace of the princess in this area and its entrance was /'azraq/ (Amin, 1953, p. 30). /'azraq/ is from the root /z/r/q/ ("to become blue"). As a noun with the definite article /'al/ it denotes the color itself as opposed to the rest of the members of the color spectrum. /'al-zurqa/ ("the blue"), a verbal noun, embraces in actual usage a wide range of colors, such as /'al-baya:D/ ("whiteness") and /'al-xuDra/ ("greenery"), as well as other connotations. /'azraq/ is mentioned only once in the Holy Quran where it denotes blindness (Qur., 12:84). Consideration of the use of/'azraq/ in CA shows that the word may refer to several colors. For example, /zurqa/ is used to denote /xuDra/ ("green") in reference to the iris of the eye, which may have meant a greenness or gray color intermixed with blackness or deep ash color (Lane, 1865). In ECA /'azraq/ is used in this sense only in the expression /HuSa:n 'azraq/ ("blue horse"), which is said of a gray horse. /'azraq/ seems to be an indefinite color in Arabic. It is associated with blue eyes, enemies, arrows, and war. It seems that /'azraq/ in CA conveys similar pessimistic impressions as /'aswad/ ("black"). Metaphorically, /'al'azraq/ ("the blue") is used to mean an arrow; /zurqun/ denotes arrows.

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/zarqa:' 'al-yama:ma/ in Arab tradition, denotes shrewd eyesight; /'alzarqa:'/ ("the blue") refers to alcoholic drinks. /zarraq/ (the intensive form) means a deceitful man or a great deceiver, and /9aduwwun 'azraq/ ("blue enemy") is a fierce enemy (al-Tha'albi, 1977). According to Lane (1865), an enemy "that is vehement in hostility" because of the /zurqa/ of the eyes is "prominent in the Greeks and Deylem, between whom and the Arabs is a confirmed enmity." According to Ibn Yaqub (1911) an enemy is /'azraq/ because his hatred is as clear as water; he is a pure enemy. In ECA, /'azraq/ in the sense of the color is used more often and is a more defined color, e.g., /9i:nu mizriqqa/ ("he has a bruised eye") and /wishshu 'izraqq/ ("his face became blue" due to lack of oxygen). Metaphorically, /9aDHma zarqa/ (lit., "blue bone") is used as an abusive epithet for a Copt (Badawi and Hinds, 1986) and /'azraq zayy in-ni:la/ (lit., "as blue as indigo") is an expression to describe how ugly the shade is. Other expressions include: /HaTalla9 il-bala l-'azraq 9ala gittitu/ ("I will beat him black and blue or will give him hell") /'il-dibba:n 1-azraq mish hayi9raf makkanu/ (lit., "blue flies will not know its place," i.e., will hide it well), /'il-9afa:rit-iz-zurq bititnaTTaT fi 9i:nu/ (lit., "the blue devils are dancing crazily in his eyes," i.e., he is furious), /hatishtaghalli fi l-'azraq/ (lit., "you will work in blue," i.e., you will play tricks on me). The color is also used to mean deceitful, as in the phrase /na:bu 'azraq/ (lit., "blue fangs"), which is an adjective for a deceiver. An Egyptian proverb, /ma ti'a:minsh li-'umm-9uyu:n zarqa/ (lit., "do not trust the blue-eyed girl"), underscores the association between blue eyes and deceivers; they are not trustworthy. All senses mentioning /'azraq/ in expressions or metaphorically show negative associations with the color. A comparison of Arabic /'azraq/ with English "blue" reveals similarities only in their use as adjectives, e.g., blue sky, blue sea. One interesting similarity is in the extended meaning derived from /z/r/q/, relating to /'inzaraq/, which also exists in English as "blue streak," informally denoting something moving fast, e.g., "they traveled like a blue streak through Italy" or something continuous, vehement, or interminable. In CA this meaning appears in /zaraqat 9aynuhu naHwi/ (lit., "his eye blued toward me"), which means his eyes turned toward me so that the white thereof appeared (Lane, 1865), and in /'inzaraqa/ ("passed through and went forth on the other side") and /mizra:qan/, which is said of a camel delayed behind the rest of the caravan because it moved too slowly (Ibn Yacub, 1911). In ECA, this sense is found in the expression /zaraq-il-musma:r fi 1-xashsab/ ("the nail passed through the wood"), /fula:n 'inzaraq/ (lit., "he became blue," i.e., he went out or in quietly without anyone noticing him). It seems that /'azraq/ ("blue") is characterized by a wide range of contradictory ambiguous usages both in Arabic and English; in Arabic, the usage of/'azraq/ as a protection from the evil eye contradicts its usage to


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designate evil spirits /'il-9afa:ri:t 'il-zurq/. In the English language, "baby blues" (i.e., eyes) are used to denote innocence side by side with the use of "blue movies" to denote pornography.

Conclusion A survey of the number of times colors are used in the books of teaching Arabic as a foreign language found no emphasis given to the category of color although it represents an important aspect of the language. As vocabulary items, colors are comparatively easy to teach for they all have the same pattern (the masculine form: /'abyaD/, /'aswad/, /'aSfar/, /'aHmar/, /'axDar/ and /'azraq/; the feminine form: /bayDa:'/, /sawda:'/, /Safra:'/, /Hamra:', /xaDra: V, /zarqa: V). The use of colors in the Arabic language is interesting. Every color implies different meanings depending on the context, and it is important for the learner to understand the social connotations of these colors. By studying colors, the student can learn more about the culture and beliefs. It would be interesting to contrast the connotations of these colors in ECA to other Arabic dialects. This study revealed, among other things, that the lines of demarcation between the various colors are not as clear in CA as they are in the colloquial language. This may be due to the phenomenon, observed by various sociolinguists, that modern times bring with them more color sophistication. As societies advance, more colors are isolated and more hues of the same color are identified by separate names.

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Anthropological linguistics, 14:220—227. Hussain, Taha. 1953. Al-ayyam. Cairo: Dar al-Ma'arif. Ibn Faris al-Qazsini, Ahmad (d. 1005 CE). 1970. Mutakhayar al-alfaz. Edited by Hilal Najy. Baghdad: Matba'at al-Ma'arif. Ibn Ja'far, Abu al-Faraj Qudamah. 1979. Jawahir al-alfaz. Beirut: Dar alKitab al-'Ilmy. Ibn Manzur Muhammad ibn Makran al-Ansari. 1982. Lisan al-'arab. Cairo: Dar al-Ma'arif. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawaziyah, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr (d. 1328 CE). 1970. Zad al-ma'ad fi hada khayr al-'ibad. Cairo: Matba'at Mustafa alHalabi. Ibn Sidah, Abu al-Hasan 'Ali ibn Isma'il (d. 1066 CE). 1898. Kitab almukhassas. Cairo: Dar al-Kitab al-Islami. Ibn Ya'qub, Muhammad al-Fayruzi al-Shirazi. 1911. Al-qamus al-muhit. Cairo: al-Matba'a al-Husayniya. Lane, E. W. 1865. An Arabic-English lexicon. Edinburgh: Williams & Norgate. Libby, W. C. 1974. Color and the structural sense. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. McNeil, L. 1972. Color and color terminology. Journal of linguistics, 8:21-23. Middle East Center for Arab Studies, Shemlan, Lebanon. 1969. A selected word list of modern literary Arabic. Beirut: Khayats. Murtada al-Zubidi, Muhammad ibn Muhammad. 1888. Sharh al-qamus al-musamma taj al- 'arus minjawahir al-qamus. Cairo: Al-Matba'a alKhayriya. Nicole, A., Steckler, W. A., and Cooper, W. E. 1980. Sex differences in color naming of unisex apparel. Anthropological linguistics, 22:373-381. Al-Numayri Abu Abd Allah al-Husayn 'Ibn 'Ali. 1976. Kitab al-mulamma'. Damascus: Matbu'at Majma al-Lugha al-'Arabiyya. The Random House dictionary of the English language (unabridged edition). (J. Stein and L. Urdang, eds.) 1956. New York: Random House. Salib, M. 1981. Spoken Arabic of Cairo. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press. Shawqy, Ahmad. 1950. Al-shawqiyat. Cairo: Matba'at al-'Istiqama. Sheppard, J. J., Jr. 1968. Human color perception, a critical study of the Experimental Foundation. New York: Elsevier. Snow, D. L. 1971. Samoan color terminology, a note on the universality and evolutionary ordering of color terms. Anthropological linguistics, 13:385-390.

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Taymur, Ahmad. 1956. Al-'amthal al-'ammiya al-misriya mashruha wamurattaba 'ala al-harf al-awwal min al-mathal. Cairo: Matabi' Dar alKitab al-'Arabi. Al-Tha'alibi, Abu Mansur Abd al-Malik Muhammad. 1923. Fiqh al-lugha wa sirr al-'arabiyya. Cairo: Matbu'at al-Sa'ada. Al-Tonsi, A. 1982. Egyptian colloquial Arabic, a structural review. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press. 'Umar, Ahmad Mukhtar. 1982. Al-lugha wa al-lawn. Kuwait: Dar alBuhuth al-'Ilmiya. Al-Yaziji, Ibrahim. 1904. Kitab nuj'at al-ra'id wa shir'at al-waridfi almutaradifwa al-mutawarid. Cairo: Tab'at al-Ma'arif.

The Canons of Aristotelian Rhetoric: Their Place in Contrastive Arabic-English Studies Nancy G. Hottel-Burkhart My purpose in this paper is to describe the five canons of classical rhetoric taught by Aristotle in order to illustrate the usefulness of these canons as a heuristic for contrastive studies in rhetoric. In describing these canons, or disciplines, of Aristotelian rhetoric, I intend neither to justify nor to challenge Aristotle's model of rhetoric: 23 centuries of subscription to it by the West and a somewhat shorter period of subscription-through-adaptation of it by the Arabic East1 have justified this model, so much so that John Frederick Reynolds, one of classical rhetoric's modern proponents has characterized it as "if not the 'most complete system...for the analysis and production of discourse,' then certainly...the most tenacious" (Reynolds, 1993, p.l; italics his). As for challenges, at least a dozen variations of new rhetorics today provide them, and anthologies already exist.2 Nor is my goal in describing the canons of Aristotelian rhetoric to suggest a framework through which Arabic or English rhetorical practices ought always to be compared. Certainly the rhetorical tradition of each language and culture is sufficient unto itself and, despite historical connections to larger traditions, neither tradition need be subsumed under another. What I hope will be shown here, rather, is quite simply that the five canons of classical rhetoric as described by Aristotle in his Rhetoric treat questions that are largely ignored in comparative rhetorical studies to date but which, if taken as new directions for research, would deepen, broaden, and put more clearly into the perspective of cultural studies as a whole the notion of "rhetoric" in the term contrastive rhetoric. One's first duty in undertaking the tasks stated above is to define rhetoric. Aristotle defined it as "an ability to see the available means of persuasion" (Rh.i 1.2.1; Aristotle, 1991, p. 36). Since his Rhetoric as a whole makes it clear that one not only sees the available means but also uses them and since over time explanatory as well as persuasive discourse has come to be included in rhetoric, the revised definition attributed to Aristotle has been understood as "the ability to choose the best from the means available in order to accomplish one's discourse goals." In either case, however, although

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The Canons of Aristotelian Rhetoric

the definition is succinct and adequate for rhetoric within the history of a single-language culture, it requires some elaboration if it is to be useful in crosscultural studies, for the first problem that one encounters in studying the rhetorics of the world is that they differ in the purposes for which they exist. Chinese rhetoric, for example, acknowledges "an organic universe" (Foss et al., 1991, p. 296) and exists for maintaining social harmony. The rhetoric of various African societies, it is claimed, values expression as action and perforce involve the participation of the entire audience in the rhetorical act (Foss et al., 1991, p. 287). Aristotelian rhetoric has been said to be unique in focusing on conflict (Al-Wali, 1999). With such apparently divergent starting points, it is easy to lose one's bearings from the outset. Thus, for the purposes of the present discussion, I propose a definition of rhetoric that is faithful to Aristotle's original description and that at the same time captures the commonalities of it and other rhetorics: rhetoric is an intellectual tradition of practices and values associated with public, interpersonal, and verbal communication—spoken or written—and it is peculiar to the broad linguistic culture in which one encounters it. This definition places rhetoric more squarely in the center of contrastive studies and renders a more revealing starting point for a cross-cultural discussion of rhetorical disciplines. Having settled on terms, one can proceed to claims: what are the practices and values peculiar to the rhetorical tradition inherited from Aristotle? And what do they suggest for research directions in contrastive rhetoric? For Aristotle, the practices comprised five canons, or disciplines, and I will take up each in turn: (1) invention, (2) arrangement, (3) stylistics, (4) memory, and (5) delivery.

Invention Known in Greek as heuresis, in Latin as inventio, translated into English as invention, the first canon of classical rhetoric is "discovery of what is to be said" in a discourse (Corbett, 1990, p. 32). This includes lines of thought, arguments that can be used, and basic propositions from which arguments can be developed. Invention treats, in short, what knowledge can be brought to bear on a subject and in what logical form. Its goal as a discipline is finding something relevant and important to say on a chosen subject. Aristotle classified approaches to persuasion into three well-known types: logos, or the appeal to reason; pathos, or the appeal to human needs and desires; and ethos, best described as a speaker's identification with and credibility in the eyes of the audience due to shared cultural values. In invention, one sought to discover—or recover, since in fact invention is linked to memory—the best ideas or propositions on which to base any of


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these three kinds appeals for the rhetorical task at hand. Aristotle taught that through a system of beginning points, called the topoi, an orator could, for any given rhetorical occasion, discover the best way to develop arguments. The common topoi of his system are summarized in Table 1, from Corbett's Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student, and the examples accompanying this list illustrate how the topoi could be used in a systematic fashion to discover propositions to use in lines of reasoning. The orator—and over time in this tradition, the writer—learned through daily practice to employ all of these beginning points, with their relationships to logic and to the structure of knowledge, in order to discover what was to be said in a discourse. The relative strengths of the various resulting lines of argument as well as the best approach or the best two or three approaches to the discourse under the circumstances were considered before a final choice was made. Note both the flexibility of this system within a single language tradition and also the implications of it for a cross-rhetorical study. As Struever (1992) has pointed out in showing the relationship of classical rhetoric to modern historical texts, Aristotle taught "we must not expect to find a single line of inquiry which will apply universally to all" intellectual situations (p. 341). From this citation alone, it would seem that a contrastive study of rhetorics lies within the very nature of the discipline of invention. I have mentioned the relationship of invention to knowledge: those in the classical tradition differed among themselves as to the exact relationship between invention and knowledge, but all agreed that invention involved discovering (remembering, in this case) what parts of knowledge could be brought to bear on a subject in question and in what logical relation to one another other. Thus, while Aristotle himself held that rhetoric had no subject matter and others in the tradition (primary among them Cicero) held that "the perfect orator had to be conversant with many subjects" (Corbett, 1990, p. 546), the system of topoi could discover arguments since in either case all knowledge was presumed to be housed in memory. In the time of Aristotle, knowledge was considered to be finite. Thus, bringing up knowledge in the form of arguments through the topoi may seem to us, 23 centuries later in more complicated intellectual times, to have been a simpler matter than today. Yet, as modern students of rhetoric have illustrated, and as new realms of knowledge have developed over the centuries since Aristotle, the framework of the topoi for discovering arguments has accommodated the knowledge of these new disciplines. History, as Struever (1990) points out, is one such discipline. The development of the social sciences, according to Cushman and Kovacic (1994), has actually provided rhetoric with a new form of argument called "the reasoned social scientific fact," which can be of sever-


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al kinds and thus reside at several points in the topoi. Likewise, the field of statistics, the science of probability, has provided rhetoric with complex mathematical versions of topics such as "similarity," "difference," "degree," "cause and effect," as well as "possible and impossible." Finally, to take this discussion more directly into the professional lives of some of us, the invention exercises used in current English composition pedagogy, which seem on the face of it to bear little resemblance to the list of Aristotle's common topics, actually provide one more instance of the flexibility of invention as a discipline over time and intellectual space: for example, an invention exercise like brainstorming reflects the current intellectual culture in which knowledge is so vast and emanates from so many starting points that only free recall can draw it all forth. In this way, brainstorming conforms to the general description of invention as discovering what knowledge can be brought to bear in discussion of a subject.

Table 1. The Common Topics* TOPICS

EXAMPLES of Invention Questions for the Subject "HERO"

Definition Genus Division

What is a hero? A hero is.... What are the types of heroes?

Comparison Similarity Difference Degree

A hero is like a . The difference between a hero and a leader is How many heroes can one nation have?

Relationship Cause and effect

What factors play a role in modern hero worship?

Antecedent and consequence

At what point does a soldier become a hero?

Contraries

Would you rather live the life of the hero or the life of the common wo/man?

Contradictions

What is the contradiction of a hero? (Yielding the thesis: A hero is not a coward.)

The Canons of Aristotelian Rhetoric Circumstance Possible and impossible

Past fact and future fact Testimony

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What are the requisite conditions for a hero to exist? (One answer: No hero exists without a nation.) Who were the heroes of Hiroshima? (The heroes of Hiroshima were the survivors.) General question: What does (authority/maxim/ law...) bring to bear on the subject of heroes?

Authority

Answers: The ink of the scholar is worthier than the blood of the martyr (a hadith).

Testimonial

General George Patton once said that heroes....

Statistics (noninferential)

The average number of persons who visit the Vietnam War Memorial every day is....

Maxims

Cowards die many times before their deaths/ The valiant never taste of death but once. (once authority; now maxim)

Law

"The Congressional Medal of Honor shall be awarded to the person who in the course of duty in service to his/her country...."

Precedents (Examples)

Antar / Ulysses / Hadrat Ali / George Washington

*The list of common topics is taken from Corbett, 1990, p. 97. Examples are mine.

For our purpose in contrastive studies, note an important assumption in the foregoing discussion: implicit in it is the notion of what counts as an argument. The culture in which the rhetoric is embedded will assign this value. Since this is so, the relative value of what counts to any given rhetoric may vary, and this is true not only of rhetorical traditions of two different language cultures, but also over time within one rhetorical tradition. As knowledge

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changes and as what is accepted as disciplines in the society develop, so the relative rhetorical value of the arguments discovered by each topos may change. To take one example from within the classical framework itself, in European education from medieval to modern times, definition was a frequently used common topic for lines of development of arguments. Arguments revolving around definition, the first on the original list of common topics, could be central to a well reasoned discourse even up into the twentieth century. Yet with the development of modern science and its predilection for empirical proofs, definitions no longer constitute a very large part of most lines of argument. Scientific arguments favor instead conclusions drawn from empirical observations, and this has influenced argumentation in general. Even within one discipline, preferences for what counts as argument occur: Struever (1990) points out that in certain views of history and historical argument, narrative has been considered weak and to be nearly no argument at all because it does not compel the reader to a single conclusion as do other forms of argument, such as the reasoned social scientific fact (p. 342). To bring this discussion of invention one final step further and at last to our subject of contrastive Arabic-English rhetorics, I turn now to a wellknown article by Johnstone (1986) on cross-cultural Muslim-European discourse, at the center of which lies the unspoken assumption of what constitutes an argument. Johnstone analyzed the interview of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini by Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, an interview that had degenerated into a shouting match over a mismatch in the expectations of the two interlocutors as to exactly what constituted a valid argument.3 Fallaci, as characterized by Johnstone, expected the ayatollah to respond to her questions with general statements supportable by reference to observable facts about the Iran of the time. The ayatollah, schooled in a different tradition of argument, offered instead answers based on the words of God and his Prophet. Quranic verses and hadith must be cited in careful fit to the context to which they are applied: this is one of the most important conditions for their being compelling arguments, and in the eyes of many in this tradition, the ayatollah's arguments were ironclad and clearly to the point of Fallaci's challenges. Yet Fallaci saw these "quotations" as hedging and was angered. In turn, the ayatollah saw his arguments dismissed as irrelevant, which is as much as to say that the words of God and his Prophet are insignificant. He was therefore enraged, and rightly so in his view of Who the source of all knowledge and argument is. This research article is the only one I know of that comes close to broaching the basic question in Arabic-English rhetorical studies that I have posed here: what counts as an argument? What is valid in Arabic argumentation, either classical or modern? What is valid in English? What are the common points; where the divergences, and with what correspondences to the respective intellectual cultures in question?


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Although the Johnstone study can be framed within the Aristotelian context—"authority" being one of the topoi—it leads one to see that crosscultural studies of invention must exceed the Aristotelian context. I would suggest that what is involved in this canon encompasses vastly more of an intellectual culture than is presently captured in the description of the discipline. It extends ultimately, in the words of Rashidi and Zhan (1996), in their analysis of "Chinese arguing in English," to "what constitutes a valid intellectual activity and how the world is constructed" (p. 389). Comparative studies that would bring these issues to bear on discussions of rhetoric would profoundly enrich Arabic-English rhetorical studies.

Arrangement Taxis in Greek, dispositio in Latin, is translated into English as arrangement. According to Quintillian, "arrangement is to oratory what generalship is to war" (Corbett, 1990, p. 278). Arrangement is the manner in which the arguments discovered in invention should be organized to achieve one's rhetorical ends. First, it should be noted that the structure of ideas discovered by invention and logic is not the same as the structure of a discourse that employs those ideas, and this difference constitutes the need for arrangement as a discrete discipline, independent of invention. Arrangement is the organization of elements of a discourse in order to place its ideas in the way most likely to move a particular audience or to achieve a particular persuasive end. This implies first an identification of the elements themselves, and the elements of classical rhetoric as Aristotle identified them are: introduction, statement of fact (not the same as a thesis, but the difference is beyond the limits of our discussion here), confirmation or proof through argument, refutation of opposing arguments thorough counterarguments, and conclusion. A listing of elements is by no means a strategy, and again it was Quintillian who focused on judgments and decisions about questions like these: •"When is an introduction necessary and when can it be dispensed with? •"What evidence or documents must be made use of and where in the discourse will they be most effective? •"Should we attempt to refute our opponents' arguments as a whole or deal with them in detail?"

He also addressed more general questions on how to order proofs and refutations in the most persuasive order and when to order proofs from strongest to weakest, and vice versa (Corbett, 1990, pp. 280-281).

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As with invention, one need not look as far as two different language cultures to find contrasts. Taking a historical perspective on one rhetorical tradition can provide examples, as can considering differences between genres in one language. To take an example that combines both, in a case where a genre has developed only recently, if we compare introductions in Swales' (1990) Create A Research Space (CARS) framework for research articles, we find a very different description of introductions than that of Whately (1828), who classified all introductions into one of five types: inquisitive, paradoxical, corrective, preparatory, and narrative (Corbett, 1990, pp. 283-287). Our cross-linguistic contrastive interests in arrangement should and do go back as far as Kaplan (1966) to ask what the order of elements in a discourse of a rhetorical tradition may be, but one may also ask whether the elements to be arranged in a discourse are even the same in two traditions. Published research as well as the observations of persons who are members of two rhetorical cultures confirm that the inventory of elements and subelements involved in arrangement may vary from one rhetorical tradition to another. Take, for example, the seasonal greeting in Japanese business letters as studied by Jenkins and Hinds (1987). This subelement of the introduction is one of two necessary to every Japanese business letter. It must follow the first subelement, which is the salutation, and it must make reference to the weather and stage of nature of the time. Jenkins and Hinds' example, appropriate for the month of April, is "Facing the season of glorious cherry blossoms" (p. 337). This is distinctly required in Japanese and distinctly nonexistent in English or Arabic. To take another example closer to our focus on Arabic-English rhetorical contrasts, consider in traditional Muslim-Arabic discourse, the element in ending a text in which the writer acknowledges her/his reliance on the Creator: wa min Allah al-tawfiq or wa Allahu 'a/am.4 A cross-cultural instance of the employment of this element as the ending of a text occurs in the English essay of the Moroccan student writing on a near-drowning experience when she writes as her final paragraph: "This event made me learn that we have to rely on God and only on Him and to be more wary next time" (italics mine). This instance becomes doubly interesting when we read the comment of the student's instructor, an American professor, on the italicized portion of the ending: "People in boats come in handy too," she penned, referring to the part of the young woman's story that told of her rescue by a man in a boat. "Make the connection to avoid the cliche." To the student, this ending had been a desirable conclusion in her rhetorical strategy; to her instructor, from an Anglo-American point of view of rhetorical strategy, the student's ending was hackneyed, unnecessary, and disconnected from the rest of the text.


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It is possible to cite other examples of elements that are necessary in the traditional Arabic construction of discourse of certain kinds, and one example relating to the intersection of arrangement and the third discipline of rhetoric, stylistics, will be discussed in the section on this discipline below. The examples cited so far, however, may suffice to suggest that consideration of what each rhetorical tradition includes in the inventory of elements to be arranged, not simply a description of the order of presumably universal elements, is needed in contrastive studies of rhetoric in Arabic and English.

Stylistics The third canon, in Greek lexis, "word," in Latin elocutio, "speaking the words," or putting words to arranged ideas, is referred to in English with the terms stylistics and style. In the classical framework, stylistics encompasses choice of words, kinds of sentences, lengths of sentences, marked or unusual sentences, ways of varying sentences, ways to tie words of the text together, and ways of making transitions between ideas in a text (what is referred to by Halliday and Hasan, 1975, as cohesion), as well as the traditional figures of speech, e.g., schemes and tropes. Some (e.g., Vinay and Darbelnet, 1971) would include under the term stylistics the conventions of paragraphing, which can arguably be placed in "arrangement" and, depending on the language involved, in the visual considerations—i.e., "delivery" (see the next section)—of texts as well. For contrastive purposes, stylistics could be described in its largest part as the tendencies that the structure of the language imposes on the choices that the writer of that language has when creating a text. The sentence structure of English, for example, lends itself to the possibility of asyndeton, or the omission of coordinate conjunctions, between clauses in a set of clauses that are syntactically parallel and semantically related, the stereotype of which is / came, I saw, I conquered. By contrast, in Arabic the requirement for wa in such a series mitigates against such an omission.5 The agglutinative property of Arabic, on the other hand, allows for polyptoton, or the repetition of words derived from the same root (such repetition in Arabic occurring often within one clause) for certain special effects, like emphasis or humor, while inflection-poor English cannot accomplish such repetition without making the writer sound dull-witted. The few exceptions to this, like Aldous Huxley's "Few are chosen because few choose to be chosen," are memorable because of other schemes in tandem with repetition of a single root and not because of such repetition alone. Note as well in the Huxley example that the more memorable repetition of roots occurs across clause boundaries, not within them. To carry out serious comparative studies of stylistics, intimate knowl-

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edge of two languages and their stylistics traditions is necessary. Certainly for Arabic alone the canon in its full detail of lexical choice, sentence type, meaning of and preferences for types, as well as figures of speech, has been described. Likewise, for English the full repertory of stylistic means is commonplace to those who study rhetoric. But the contrastive work that discusses how it is that the structures of the respective languages result in the English propensity for asyndeton and an Arabic impossibility for it and how it is that Arabic can repeat roots within one clause where English does so only rarely, to my knowledge, does not exist. I have characterized stylistics in its largest part as the tendencies that the structure of the language imposes on the lexical and syntactic choices. I should like now to note two exceptions to this generalization—one of which lies in the design of classical rhetoric itself, the other of which has grown out of a discussion at this conference. The classical exception to this characterization concerns certain kinds figures of speech called tropes, such as metaphors, similes, oxymoron, personification, and hyperbole, which hearken not so much from language structure as from broader cultural notions, from world view and how the world is organized. It is commonplace to note—although Lakoff and Johnson (1981) have done so in anything but a commonplace way—that the expressions of metaphors differ in culturally explainable ways. The relative presence or absence of the use of a certain trope in the language—the frequency with which a trope is used and the judgment assigned to its use—may also be due to a value in the rhetorical culture itself. Take, for example litotes (understatement) in English. It is considered to be a particularly refined form of humor and irony in English. In Arabic it does not merit expression, and when examples translated from English occur they are not particularly well understood. The humor in the reference by a member of the Royal Family of England to his life as work in the family firm is missed, as is the irony in referring to a $5 million house in Malibu as a hut on the beach. Puns, or repetitions of words in two different senses, on the other hand, while not valued in English and in fact mostly disparaged as low forms of humor, occur frequently in Arabic, are valued as subtle and sophisticated plays with language, and—especially as used in certain political discourses—are not always considered language play for the sake of mere humor. Observations like the foregoing can be made easily enough if by those who know enough of both the Arabic and the English systems of stylistics, but what values of the culture underlie them? What realities of the "universe of discourse" (Lefevere, 1992 a,b) of each culture are reflected in these tendencies and preferences? A contrastive Arabic-English version of Metaphors [and other figures of speech] We Live By seems to be called for in fact.


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The second exception to the generalization that stylistics concerns structural tendencies and their repercussions for word choice and sentence type relates to the scope of stylistic choices. It suggests that in some languages, what we consider lexical and syntactic tendencies may in fact relate not so much to stylistics as to the textually broader canon of arrangement. The impetus for proposing this exception is a study by Aziz Khalil, the object of which was the narrative structure of high school and university students writing in Arabic and in English. Employing the framework for narratives of Martin and Rotherby (1986) to analyze Arabic and English essays of Palestinian high school and university students, Khalil found that when writing in Arabic, the younger writers in his study failed to construct narratives in the usual four expected segments (orientation, complication, resolution, coda); while they constructed the resolution and coda of their stories in accordance with the assumed universal pattern of narrative arrangement, they conflated the orientation and complication. What was noteworthy in this was not the conflation itself but the sentence arrangement within the conflated section. According to Khalil, the section consisted of repetitions of the following pattern: sentence of orientation-wa-sentence of complication; sentence of orientation -wa-sentence of complication. These young writers had not simply conflated orientation and complication: they had woven them together in a clearly discernible pattern. In effect, they were making a choice in arrangement of texts—two lines of development together in one place rather than each separately its entirety and in canonical sequence. The fact that only the students with little exposure to English texts wrote in this way and the fact that they wrote this way only in Arabic point strongly to the influence of Arabic text structure and text-structuring processes on this choice of arrangement. Furthermore, it shows clearly that the particle wa is not simply a coordinate conjunction for sentence-level choices and may be instead a crucial element in the production of a particular pattern of arrangement. This seemingly small bit of information about Arabic writers' texts provides, I believe, an extraordinary opening to our discussions of crosscultural Arabic-English rhetorical studies. The statements most often made in second-language studies about Arabic speakers writing in English are that Arabic writers use abundant coordinate, parallel sentence structure (Ostler, 1987) and that they repeat one idea at the same level of generality throughout a text (Kaplan, 1966). The above-cited detail of Khalil's study suggests the possibility that these widely referred-to Arabic abundance of coordination and parallelism are not merely governed by sentence-level decisions or even by a transfer of native-language syntactic preference. It suggests that, at least in the case of narrative, the use of wa and conjoined parallel sentences may be but two details in complex pat-

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tern of arrangement, a pattern that because of its very complexity needs parallel structures and the "coordinate conjunction" to demarcate two different lines of development that are interwoven in one time-ordered train of prose.6 It may point to a use of wa and parallel structures whose text significance we have missed in the English-centered view of discourse, because we have never imagined that arrangement could work this way. Perhaps even lexically varied semantic repetitions and writing at one level of generality are related to the construction of prose in this pattern. I believe that this discovery by Khalil will allow us to begin to say something more significant about Arabic style and rhetoric than what their surface features are.

Memory and Delivery The last two canons of classical rhetoric—memory and delivery—have been mostly neglected in recent centuries by nearly all scholars of classical rhetoric, with the notable exception of those trained in classics, under the assumption that once writing became widespread, memory and delivery—both based originally on an oral model of rhetoric—were no longer relevant to rhetorical studies. That this assumption was erroneous has been recently shown by Reynolds (1993b) and his colleagues in modern English composition studies, and the recognition of these canons as indeed relevant to the production of written texts has engendered a renewal of research interest in them. Considering these canons is in fact reasonable: one must employ memory in order to construct a piece of written discourse, and as for delivery, as Connors (1993) has thoroughly illustrated, it is not only the ear that seeks to be pleased: the eye also seeks pleasure, and thus aesthetic considerations of print are centrally relevant to rhetorical studies. Yet note that almost any question we may pose about research on delivery and on memory as relates to rhetoric will apply equally to descriptive research on one single rhetoric and not only to contrastive rhetoric research, since almost any question posed is yet unbroached, not to mention unanswered. Memory. Greek mneme, Latin memoria. Memory is the place where knowledge resides, and "knowledge" means all that is known from one's culture. It includes the topoi used in invention; in fact, according to Aristotle, memory is "the key to invention" (Reynolds, 1993a, p. 6, citing Yates, 1966). It also includes the patterns of arrangements that text linguists call formal schemata. It includes familiarity with the styles of writers to whom one has been repeatedly exposed, and it includes (to look ahead to delivery) knowing the occasions for which a text must be written by hand and when rendered in print.


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Memory includes the storing and recalling of single facts as well as the reciting of long texts. It consists not of a single skill nor even of several skills of the same type. Memory as treated in the classical tradition of rhetoric in fact contained all of the following faculties of memory, according to Francis Yates (1966) as cited in Reynolds (1993a): improving the memory, imprinting the memory, memorizing in order, making memorable, holding in memory, retrieving from memory, delivering from memory, and preserving in memory (p. 5). Imprinting on the memory and retrieving from memory are related to schema theory. Modern psychological studies of memory which conclude that storage of events differs from storage of facts are treating holding in memory. Gardner (1983), in recognizing the ability to recite the entire Quran as a kind of intelligence distinct from all others, is perhaps giving us an example of a phenomenon that encompasses the above memory skills in their entirety. However, most questions of concern to us in rhetoric today remain to be researched. Are schemata for arrangement—for example, the formal schema for writing a business letter—held and recalled in the same way as an event or as facts? Is there a phonological element involved in the skill of making memorable in the Arabic writers' composing processes? This question has been suggested by some of the students at my university who write in both languages and say that when they review what they have written in Arabic for editing, "we literally read it aloud...it must sound right," by which point, according to them, they are referring in part to rhythm.7 What skills are involved in memorizing and reciting of long texts like the Quran or the Psalms as recited in whole every 24 hours by monks in the Western Desert of Egypt? In either tradition, what have been the methods of teaching memory skills? Aristotle and his contemporaries devised an entire system for training the memory in all its composite skills, and if we read Yates (1966), we easily see that what is encompassed today by mnemonics covers only a fraction of the techniques and kinds of techniques in the original Aristotelian system. Was the oldest Arabic system, or are remnants of it today, anything like Aristotle's? Were the same faculties assumed to be involved? Were the techniques similar? In reference to skills used in memorizing and reciting the Quran, does mastering these have an impact on composition processes in Arabic? This canon is more than asking for research: it is begging for it. Delivery. We come finally to delivery, the aesthetics of the medium in which a message is presented. Called hypokrisis in Greek and pronunciatio in Latin, delivery is the aesthetics of the finished product—the performance of a speech, the final version of a written text. In an aurally received medium, delivery traditionally has to do with voice qualities—

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pitch, volume, intensity, rate of speaking, pauses, intonation—and with patterns and variations in all of these. It has to do with articulation, with eye contact, with the distance between the speaker and his/her audience, with body stance, with gestures, with naturalness and readiness, whether a text is memorized as in classical times or read aloud as in modern ones. In what Sa'adeddin (1989) has called the "visual" medium, delivery involves the material on which writing or printing takes place—rice, cotton rag, or parchment—its size and thickness and weight, its color, and as well involves the instrument with which ink or another substance is impressed upon it. It involves the ink or other substance itself: is it black, indigo, blue, red, or green, and for what rhetorical occasions? It involves viscosity of ink: there was a time in the United States, for example, when ballpoint pens were not acceptable for school essays, and only fountain pens would do. The aesthetics of the visual mode involves choices of typeface on a typewriter and of font on a word processor; it relates to thickness of typefaces and the uniformity and spacing of letters in a given font. It involves serifs and the effect which they have on readability of a text (Connors, 1993, pp. 68-69). It involves when to write a letter or an essay by hand, when to type or print it, or when to send it by e-mail. As for contrastive studies of delivery, I know of anecdotal data only. In Morocco, any letter of application for a job, whether in Arabic or in French, is written by hand, whereas the curriculum vitae for the same application is always printed. Students in Moroccan schools must submit written work in black or blue ink; teachers correct in red. Such anecdotes are crucial at this stage, and what is important in them is not whether black ink or blue is used but what value is assigned to the choice. Despite an absence of contrastive studies of this canon of rhetoric per se, one scholar has made an important contribution to it by the turn of a phrase. This is Sa'adeddin (1989), reported in Connor (1996), who as mentioned above has used the term "visual language" to refer to the language used in written texts. Although Sa'adeddin makes use of the term to distinguish the syntactic, lexical, and semantic features of one mode of Arabic from another rather than to discuss the canon of delivery, he nevertheless has provided the canon with a term that gives the aesthetics of the written text its due. The fact that this term, though reminiscent of the title of the journal Visible Language, comes from an Arab scholar rather than from an American or an English one is noteworthy in a discussion of contrastive rhetoric and corroborates all anecdotal evidence I have found for an aesthetics in written Arabic rhetoric which seems to differ in degree if not in kind from its counterpart in English. At any rate, the values that such differences embody should interest us in contrastive rhetoric.


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Conclusion What I hope I have brought to light in this paper is that it is not at the level of narrow linguistic contrasts but rather in the purview of rhetoric as a whole that profound differences between Arabic and English rhetorics are to be found. Whether in questioning what counts as an argument under the canon of invention, in considering what elements of arrangement may not be common to all discourses, in pointing to uncharted aspects of stylistics in Arabic-English studies, or in proposing a place for the forgotten canons of memory and delivery in contrastive rhetorical studies, examination of Arabic-English rhetorical studies in the Aristotelian framework with its five canons can deepen our understanding of what constructs and values may indeed be involved in a culture's rhetoric. In doing so, it not only uncovers new research fields ripe for investigation but also gives us the opportunity to attain a truly rhetorical perspective in contrastive rhetorical studies.

Notes 1 The generally accepted European view of the Arab adoption of Aristotelian rhetoric is not unchallenged. See al-Wali (1990) for the most radically stated view that Arabic rhetoric has always been its own independent (at least Eastern) tradition. 2 See, for example, the second edition of Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric, by Sonya Foss, Karen Foss, and Robert Trapp (1991). 3 The choice of this discourse as being relevant to Arabic rhetoric has been questioned, first on the grounds that the language of the ayatollah was Persian, not Arabic, and secondly from the claim that the reference to rhetorical arguments from Muslim discourse are not central to Arabic rhetoric. I will answer each objection in turn. First, to the objection that Persian and not Arabic is the language spoken by the ayatollah, it must be understood that the original language of the current religion of Persia has always been Arabic and that as a religious leader the ayatollah most surely knew intimately the language and those of its rhetorical traditions related to religion. Nevertheless, if one insists on reference to the secular language of the rhetorics involved (and here, it might have been added, that Italian, not English, is the language of the secular tradition of Ms. Fallaci), I restate that rhetoric, as defined at the beginning of this text, is an intellectual tradition associated with, but not limited to the linguistic culture in which it is found. Thus, the language in which a rhetoric is practiced need not be the only important language of that particular rhetorical tradition, nor need it be even the most distinctive element in that

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rhetoric; nor is a rhetoric subscribed to limited to the language in which its practices and values are originally found. If the opposites of the above statements were true, English would not today have a 2,000-year-old rhetorical tradition in common with that of Europe and ancient Greece. At the same time, one of the most widely understood facts about the Arab intellectual tradition is that it and the Persian tradition have a long and multifaceted history of exchange and mutual influence and borrowing, and rhetoric is known to be among the disciplines that has benefited from this common heritage (see, among others, al-Wali, 1990). Not to recognize this common heritage is to misunderstand the multilinguistic scope that a rhetoric as an intellectual tradition can have. As to the point that the ayatollah's choice of Muslim argumentation should be removed from consideration in discussions of general Arabic rhetoric, I would answer, first, that the intellectual tradition of rhetoric, involving as it does both practices and values, is pervaded by all values of the society, including especially the religious ones. (See Garret, 1991, passim, for brief discussion of religious values and their impact on a rhetorical tradition as far removed from our focus as China.) In addition, in the rhetorical traditions of both English and Arabic, religious discourse has exemplified the best of a culture's rhetoric rather than being peripheral to it. In the English rhetorical tradition, many of the best orators and writers of their times have been ministers of the Church (e.g., Cardinal Newman, Martin Luther King) and indeed a large number of professors of rhetoric in the Scottish/American tradition in particular have been men of the cloth. (See especially pp. 563-570 of Corbett's 1990, account of 18th-century English rhetoric.) Neither the presence of religious values in the rhetoric of English nor the examples of religious leaders as English rhetoricians have ever been brought forth as reasons to question the appropriateness of persons such as Dr. King as representatives of their language's rhetoric; I find it odd that the ayatollah or his Muslim discourse and arguments should be so challenged. Thirdly, while it is true that religious discourse is not the only or even the main type of discourse historically treated in Arabic rhetorical studies, the practices of the religious tradition as culturally acquired values are nevertheless of interest—or should be—in contrastive rhetorical studies. In any case, the discourse contrast in question has been first described as Muslim-European rather than as Arabic-English in recognition of the rhetorical traditions involved as cultural and intellectual phenomena and not as narrowly defined linguistic ones. That this recognition is missed in contrastive studies is in fact the thesis from which the present chapter proceeds, and the objections raised here to my choice of example are merely cases in point.


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4 The use of this example is not to suggest that all writing or rhetoric in Arabic is informed by Muslim ideals. It is, nevertheless, the case that the overwhelming majority of native Arabic writers are Muslim and are thus, depending on the educational system in which they have learned to write and the writing tasks in which they are engaged, influenced by such cultural practices. See also note 3 above. 5 I am grateful to my colleague Abdeslam Khalafi of al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane for his assistance in confirming my nonnative intuitions about Arabic stylistics. 6 Basil Hatim (1991) has argued as much for certain Arabic text types in his discussion of "through-argument." 7 I am grateful to Alaaeddine El Koussaimi and Hind Benrhanem of the spring, 1999, graduate course "Contrastive Rhetoric and Translation Theory," at al-Akahawayn University in Ifrane, for their comments on their composing processes in Arabic.

References Aristotle. 1991. On rhetoric: a theory of civic discourse. (G. A. Kennedy, trans.) New York: Oxford University Press. Connor, U. 1996. Contrastive rhetoric: cross-cultural aspects of second language writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Connors, R. J. 1993. Actio: A rhetoric of written delivery (iteration two). In J. F. Reynolds (ed.), Rhetorical memory and delivery: classical concepts for contemporary composition and communication. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 65-77. Corbett, E. P. J. 1990. Classical rhetoric for the modern student. New York: Oxford University Press. Cushman, D. P., and Kovacic, B.1994. The rhetoric of reasoned social scientific fact. Argumentation, 8:33-47. Foss, S. K., Foss, K. A., and Trapp, R. 1991. Contemporary perspectives on rhetoric. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press. Gardner, H. 1983. Frames of mind: the theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books. Garrett, M. 1991. The Asian challenge. In Foss et al. (1991), pp. 295-306 and 311-314. Halliday, M. A. K., and Hasan, R. 1975. Cohesion in English. London: Longmans. Hatim, B. 1991. The pragmatics of argumentation in Arabic: the rise and fall of a text type. Text, 11:189-199. Jenkins, S., and Hinds, J. 1987. Business letter writing: English, French, and Japanese. TESOL quarterly, 21:327-349.

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Johnstone, B. 1986. Arguments with Khomeni: rhetorical situation and persuasive style in cross-cultural perspective. Text, 6:171-187. Kaplan, R. 1966. Cultural thought patterns in intercultural education. Language learning, 16:1-20. Khalil, Aziz. 1999. Analysis of superstructure in Arabic and English narrative writing produced by Palestinian EFL students. Paper at the First International Conference on Contrastive Rhetoric, held at the American University in Cairo, February 19-20, 1999. Lakoff, G., and Johnson, M. 1981. Metaphors we live by. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Lefevere, A. 1992a. Translation, rewriting, and the manipulation of literary fame. London: Routledge. . (ed.). 1992b. Translation/history/culture: a sourcebook. London: Routledge. Ostler, S. E. 1987. English in parallel: a comparison of English and Arabic prose. In U. Connor and R. Kaplan, Writing across languages: analysis of L2 text. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, pp. 169-185. Rashidi, L. S., and Zhan X. 1996. Chinese arguing in English. In B. Hoffer, The 22nd LACUS forum. Chapel Hill, NC: LACUS, pp. 389-395. Reynolds, J. F. 1993a. Memory issues in composition studies. In J. F. Reynolds, Rhetorical memory and delivery, pp. 1-15. . (ed.). 1993b. Rhetorical memory and delivery: classical concepts for contemporary composition and communication. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Sa'adeddin, M. 1989. Text development and Arabic-English negative interference. Applied linguistics, 10:36-51. Schaub, M. 1999. Contrastive rhetoric in historical context. Paper at the First International Conference on Contrastive Rhetoric, held at the American University in Cairo, February 19-20, 1999. Struever, N. 1992. Classical rhetorical topics and contemporary historical discourse. Argumentation, 6:337-347. Swales, J. M. 1990. Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Vinay, J.-P, and Darbelnet, J. 1971. Stylistique comparee dufranqais et de l'anglais: Methode de traduction. Paris: Didier. Al-Wali, Muhammad. 1990. Al-sura al-ashi'riafi al-khitab al-bala'iy wa al-nathri. Casablanca: Al-Markaz al-Thaqafi al-'Arabi. . 1999. Greek rhetoric and Arabic rhetoric. Lecture, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane, May 12. Yates, F. 1966. The art of memory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Metadiscourse in English and Arabic Argumentative Writing: A Cross-Linguistic Study of Texts Written by American and Egyptian University Students Maha El-Seidi Writers of argumentative texts use metadiscourse expressions to demonstrate their assessment of and attitude toward the information and views they present about the subject matter. As defined by Vande Kopple (1985), metadiscourse devices do not add anything to the propositional content, but represent "discourse about discourse or communication about communication" (p. 83). Writers on metadiscourse have consistently emphasized that metadiscourse acts signal the writer's involvement in the text. Brandt (1990) lists metadiscourse as one of the features of involvement interacting with features of literacy in essayist writing. Crismore et al. (1993) explicate that by using metadiscourse acts, "writers project themselves into text [to explain their] attitude toward the content and the readers. In other words, writers convey their personality, credibility, considerateness of the readers, and relationship to the subject matter" (pp. 39-4-0). Beauvais (1989) proposes that metadiscourse functions to indicate the "writer's communicative intent" in presenting the propositional content and how it is organized into a "purposeful text" (p. 17). A variety of taxonomies for metadiscourse classes has been proposed. Of these, Vande Kopple's (1985) catalog, which is primarily based on Williams (1981), is the most widely used. Two classes of metadiscourse, namely, validity markers and attitude markers, particularly function to signal the writer's credibility and attitude to the propositional content. Validity markers are used to indicate "how [writers] assess the probability or truth of the propositional content [they] express and to show how committed [they] are to that assessment" (Vande Kopple, 1985, p. 84). Validity markers include the subcategories of hedges and emphatics. Hedges are expressions that indicate the probable truth of some generic statement. By using hedges, writers "signal a tentative or cautious assessment of referential information"

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Metadiscourse in English and Arabic Argumentative Writing

(Crismore and Vande Kopple, 1988, p. 185). Besides, hedges, according to Chafe and Danielwicz (1987, p. 109), help writers "escape blame for instances which fail to correspond to [the] generalization." Examples of hedges in English are perhaps, generally, possibly, and it seems (to me). These appear to have the following equivalents in Arabic: rubbama ("perhaps"); 'ammatan ("generally"); min al-mumkini ("it is possible"); and yabdu li ("it seems to me"), respectively. Emphatics, on the other hand, signal the writer's strong commitment to the truth of the propositional content, e. g., "undoubtedly," bi-la shakkin; "of course," bial-tab'i; and "certainly," min al-mu'akadi. An Arabic emphatic device that may not have an obvious English equivalent is the particle 'inna, (translated here, following Johnstone 1991, as indeed), which occurs initially in nominal clauses. According to Hasan (1995, p. 631), the emphatic meaning of 'inna (and some types of 'anna) consists in "emphasizing the ascription, that is, the ascription of the predicate [khabar] to the subject [mubtada'], and eliminating doubt or denial of it." Concerning the appropriate use of these two particles, Hasan points out that "it is rhetorically wrong to use them unless the predicate is subject to doubt or denial. And emphasis by them indicates that their predicate is certain and unquestionable for the speaker." In identifying the various uses of 'anna, Hasan points out that this particle functions emphatically only when it occurs with words that denote "positive cognizance and conviction" or ascertained "fear and caution" (p. 644). On the other hand, he indicates that 'anna can occur with words that denote probability, in which case it may not be used emphatically. Consequently, in the present study only clause-initial cases of 'inna are counted as emphatics. Expressions containing 'anna are assigned the emphatic function only if they contain words denoting certainty. (As will be shown by some of the examples below, 'anna may occur in hedging expressions.) As for attitude markers, they reveal the writer's mental attitude toward the informational material. They include such expressions as "regrettably," ma'a al-'asaf, "surprisingly," min al-mudhishi; and "it is wrong," min al-khata'i. Although scholars working on written language have been increasingly concerned with investigating metadiscourse, cross-linguistic examination of its use has not received adequate attention. Chief among the few studies in this respect are Crismore et al. (1993) and Mauranen (1993). Crismore et al. investigated culture and gender variation in the use of various classes of metadiscourse in the native persuasive writing of American and Finnish university students. They observed that students in both groups used all the categories and subcategories of metadiscourse listed in their catalog. Their findings, however, indicate cultural and gender variation in the frequency and types of metadiscourse. Mauranen (1993) also


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observed cultural differences in the amount and variety of metadiscourse in the English academic writing produced by Anglo-American and Finnish academics, with the former group showing the greater amount and larger variety of metadiscourse expressions. Concerning English-Arabic contrastive rhetoric studies, the use of metadiscourse, particularly validity markers and attitude markers, has hardly received adequate attention. As pointed out above, these particular categories are the ones that directly signal aspects of the writer's involvement in and interaction with the conventions of essayist prose for producing written argumentation. The present study investigates the use of validity markers and attitude markers in English and Arabic argumentative writing. The research is cross-linguistic on more than one level. It is concerned with comparing the use of these two classes of metadiscourse in native English and native Arabic argumentative essays. It also explores the variation in their use across the written argumentation by native and nonnative speakers in each language. An attempt is made to interpret the differences detected between LI and L2 essays in each language. Such differences have been usually ascribed to negative transfer of L1 discourse modes to L2 writing (Kaplan, 1966, was the seminal work in this respect; other works worthy of mention include Kaplan, 1987; Grabe and Kaplan, 1989; Clyne, 1987 and 1991). Some researchers, however, have proposed alternative explanations for these differences. Mohan and Lo (1985), Stalker and Stalker (1989), and Kaplan (1997) point out the effect of instructional and/or developmental factors in this respect. Building on this, it is proposed here that the general level of proficiency and the amount of experience with the reading and writing in L2 may account for the discourse-level problems identified in texts produced by L2 writers. The research addresses the following questions: 1. What are the similarities and differences in the use of metadiscourse in native English and native Arabic argumentative essays? 2. In what ways are the texts of native speakers different from (or similar to) those written by nonnative speakers concerning the use of metadiscourse? 3. Which of the differences detected are due to L1 transfer and which call for alternative interpretations?

Description of the Study The data base for this study consists of 160 argumentative essays, 80 were written in English and 80 in Arabic. The English and Arabic groups consist of two sets each. The first set (40 essays) were written by NSs of each language. The second set (40 essays) were produced by NNSs of the language. Care was taken to select participants with comparable educational background. The native English data were elicited from NSs of American


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English who were senior and graduate university students. The L2 English essays were written by Egyptian fourth-year English majors. Fourth-year Egyptian university students produced the Arabic L1 texts. As for the Arabic L2 essays, they were written by upper-intermediate and advanced American students (mostly graduates) of Arabic as a Foreign Language (AFL). Most of the participants wrote the required essays as classroom tasks. Only a few of the graduate AFL students were paid to complete the tasks. Instructions for completing the writing tasks were provided in writing to each subject. All the participants were asked to mention their major and gender. Additionally, the AFL students were asked to provide the number of years of studying Arabic. The essays were written on four topics. Since the two groups of participants belonged to different cultures, it was necessary to avoid culturespecific topics, i.e., topics that refer to issues that may be interesting to or perceived by one cultural group rather than another. The following topics were thought to be interesting to participants from the two cultural groups: •Arab-American relations •The major benefits as well as the challenges involved in learning a foreign language •Equality between men and women •A significant change in the writer's country during the past 10 years1 (For a more detailed description of the subjects and procedures, see ElSeidi, 1996.)

Findings Native English vs. native Arabic texts The findings related to the frequency of validity markers (hedges and emphatics) and attitude markers in the two sets of essays written by native speakers are shown in Table 1. Table 1. Categories and frequencies of metadiscourse in native English and native Arabic texts. Native English Hedges Emphatics Attitude markers TOTAL

No. 66 18 13 97

%* 11.7 3.0 2.2 16.9

Native Arabic No. 71 102 18 191

%* 8.7 12.5 2.2 23.4


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These findings indicate that the overall frequency of metadiscourse in the Arabic L1 essays is higher than it is in their English counterparts. Emphatics score higher in the Arabic L1 essays, accounting for the overall larger amount of metadiscourse in this group. On the other hand, hedges are used more frequently in the English L1 essays than in the Arabic L1 texts. Finally, attitude markers are used with an equal low frequency in these two sets. In order to avoid repetition, the findings concerning the forms, functions, and contexts of the (sub)-classes of validity markers and attitude markers as demonstrated in the two sets written by native speakers are presented in the following two sections, devoted to native English (NE) vs. nonnative English (NNE) and native Arabic (NA) vs. nonnative Arabic (NNA) texts, respectively. Native English vs. nonnative English texts Table 2 provides the findings for the frequencies of validity markers and attitude markers in English L1 and L2 essays. Table 2. Categories and frequencies of metadiscourse in native and nonnative English texts. Native English

Nonnative English

No.

%*

No.

%*

Hedges

66

11.7

60

7.8

Emphatics Attitude markers

18 13

3.0 2.2

41 11

5.3 1.4

TOTAL

97

16.9

112

14.5

* Percentage is to the total number of clauses. The table shows that the overall frequency of metadiscourse acts in the NE essays is higher than that in the NNE ones. NE writers use more hedges, while NNE writers use more emphatics. However, the difference in the frequency of hedges is not as significant as that of emphatics. Attitude markers score almost similar low frequency in the two sets. The following subsections demonstrate the forms, subcategories and contexts of the individual classes of metadiscourse. (The classification of hedges, emphatics and attitude markers is based mainly on the inventories of Vande Kopple, 1985, and Crismore et al., 1993). Hedges. The following formal devices are used to code hedges in the English data: •Verbs of cognition with a first-person singular subject, e.g., I believe, I think, I feel

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Metadiscourse in English and Arabic Argumentative Writing •Modal auxiliaries, e.g., may, might •Adverbs of epistemic modality, e.g., probably, perhaps, possibly •Adverbs of frequency, e.g., sometimes, generally •Expressions such as in my opinion, it seems (to me) •Predications such as we can see, we can notice (only in the NNE data)

The underlying function of hedges, as pointed out above, is to indicate a tentative or cautious evaluation of the truth of the informational content. This underlying function of hedges seems to be related to the types of contexts in which they operate in the argumentative essays. In the present study, hedging devices are identified almost exclusively in clauses representing "key rhetorical points" (Barton, 1995), i.e., thesis statements, main arguments, and closing arguments. This is not surprising since it is these parts of the argumentative essay that convey the writer's interpretation and evaluation of the argued state of affairs. On the other hand, writers will not normally hedge the support points since they present them as observed facts to support their interpretations. Within these underlying contexts, various hedging devices are observed to perform subtly different functions, all of which again are drawn from the underlying function. The first of these subfunctions is to indicate the writer's direct involvement in the argumentation; in other words, hedges help the writer project him/herself into the text. This function is performed by verbs of cognition with an 7 subject and in my opinion expressions. Prefacing the argument with an / believe or in my view, the writer claims responsibility for the truth of its informational content, while delimiting its universality, or making it clear that it is not meant as a universal generalization. This is the most commonly used hedging technique in the two sets, accounting for 39% of the hedges in the NE texts and 53% in the NNE ones. In the essays of the two sets, the / believe and similar predications are detected mostly in thesis statements, the first main argument for the thesis, and closing arguments. NE writers use various verbs of cognition such as feel, see and think to form these hedges. On the other hand, NNE writers, seem to rely solely on / think in this respect. The following thesis statements from a NE and NNE texts, respectively, are hedged by this device (in all the examples emphasis is added to highlight the constructs being exemplified): (1) Though it is a challenge, / believe that learning a foreign language can be a very worthwhile and beneficial experience. (2) 7 think that equality between men and women has been achieved long ago but full equality will take long time to be achieved.2 The use of the first-person singular in these contexts seems to serve to limit the universality of the generalization while indicating the writer's direct responsibility for its truth. Writers may alternatively choose to alleviate the force of the argument, but avoid direct claim to its truth value.


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The editorial we seems to be one of the devices of this self-effacement. Predications like we can say are used only by NNE writers for this purpose. Out of the 60 hedges in these essays, 11 cases fall under this subcategory, occurring mostly in closing arguments, e.g., (3) Finally, we can say that the sound and real democracy which began years ago began to gain results. The second subfunction served by hedges is to shed necessary doubt on the truth-value of the argument, providing room for disagreement (Salager-Meyer, 1994). The modal auxiliaries may, might, adverbs of epistemic modality, such as probably and perhaps, and the clauses it seems and it appears serve as signs of the writers' awareness of the tentativeness of their interpretations. This type of hedge is demonstrated much more frequently in the essays of the NE writers (representing 30% of the total number of hedges vs. 10% in the NNE essays). These "toning down" hedging devices are detected mostly in clauses expressing main arguments and, less frequently, closing arguments. The following examples illustrate these devices as used by NE and NNE writers, respectively: (4) Perhaps all of these relations will change due to the Arab-Israeli peace efforts, rise of fundamentalism and further disintegration of the former Soviet Union. (5) ...but may be it [the social role of women] is greater than that of man. An interesting subgroup of this last function of hedging devices, present only in NE essays, includes adverbials like most probably and more than likely. These seem to convey a stronger endorsement of the argument on the part of the writer than would be indicated by their unqualified counterparts, though not strong enough to be expressed by an unhedged assertion. The following instance illustrates: (6) Whether people direct their frustration and opposition is uncertain, but people would most probably draw connections with their situations and US-Arab relations. With the third class of hedging devices writers communicate necessary limitations on the range of applicability of the informational content of their arguments. Hedges serving this purpose mostly take the form of adverbs of frequency such as usually, sometimes, often. Also adverbs and phrases that denote that the argument content is not always true but primarily, largely, or for the most part true belong to the same class. The difference in frequency between the two groups for this subcategory is insignificant. (Devices of this sort account for 11.6% of the hedges in the NE group and 10.6% in the NNE set.) Similar to the other hedging devices, this class occurs almost exclusively in clauses denoting key rhetorical functions. The following two the-

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sis statements illustrate this device in NE and NNE essays, respectively: (7) For the most part these bonds are a relatively recent phenomenon resulting from the rise of American hegemony in the wake of the second world war. (8) The Arab-American relations are based, generally, on the mutual interests of the two sides. Emphatics. Emphatics are functionally the counterparts of hedges since they indicate the writer's strong commitment to the truth-value of the propositional content of the argument. On the other hand, the underlying context of emphatics is the same as that of hedges, i.e., key rhetorical points of the argumentation. The two sets of essays show rather different types of the formal devices acting as emphatics. In the NE data emphatics mostly take the form of adverbs such as indeed, really, clearly, and of course (when it means naturally or certainly). In the NNE, although these forms can be identified, emphatics are mainly coded by predications like nobody can deny that, it is taken for granted that, and we know that. Despite the difference in the preferred forms of emphatics in the NNE essays, they occur in similar contexts to those in the NE essays. The following two examples demonstrate how NE and NNE writers, respectively, show strong commitment to the truth of the claimed state of affairs: (9) Thus, mutual feelings of superiority—cultural and religious from the Arab perspective versus political and technological from the American perspective—clearly shape the relations between Arabs and Americans. (10) No one can deny that learning a foreign language is very important in our life. Attitude markers. Attitude markers convey a different aspect of the writers' involvement with the written message, i.e., their mental attitude toward the propositional content. The two groups of essays differ with respect to the common formal devices of this metadiscourse act. NE writers mostly use adverbs such as hopefully, regrettably, and unfortunately. NNE writers prefer longer constructs such as it is a wonderful thing, it is a curious thing. The following examples from the NE and NNE texts, respectively, illustrate this subjective attitude toward the content of the arguments: (11) The words "Arab" and "terrorist" will regrettably be linked in the minds of Americans for some time to come as we witnessed last week in the bombing in Oklahoma City. (12) ...and it's a curious thing [that the Egypt-U.S.A. relation is a perfect one] if one tries to perceive perfectly because of the fundamental difference between the two countries.

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Native Arabic vs. nonnative Arabic texts Table 3 shows the frequency of the three classes of metadiscourse in the Arabic data. Table 3. Categories and frequencies of metadiscourse in native and nonnative Arabic texts. Native Arabic Hedges Emphatics Attitude markers TOTAL

No. 71 102 18 191

%* 8.7 12.5 2.2 23.4

Nonnative Arabic No. 69 48 20 137

%* 9.4 6.5 2.7 18.6

* Percentage is to the total number of clauses. These findings indicate that the overall frequency of these classes of metadiscourse acts is higher in the NA group than that in the NNA set. Also, although the class of emphatics is considerably more frequent in the former group than the latter, accounting for the difference in the overall frequency, the difference in the frequency of hedges and attitude markers is insignificant. In the following subsections the subcategories, functions and contexts of these devices are demonstrated. Hedges. The formal devices used to code hedges in the Arabic essays can be categorized into the same classes identified in the English data (with the exception of the category of modal auxiliaries): •Verbs of cognition with a first-person singular subject, e.g., 'a'taqidu ("I think"); 'uminu ("I believe"), and 'azunnu ("I guess," "I think") •Particles of epistemic modality such as rubbama ("perhaps"); qad and la 'alla ("may" or "might"; qad has this meaning only with present tense verbs) •Adverbs of frequency like 'ahyanan ("sometimes"); 'adatan ("usually"); and 'ammatan ("generally") •Expressions like min wijhati nazari ("from my point of view"); yabdu (li) ("it seems (to me))"; min 'al-muhtamali ("it is likely"); and min almumkini ("it is possible") •Predications such as nara ("we see") and nastati'u 'an naqula ("we can say") As was the case in the English essays, hedges are mostly attached to clauses expressing leading rhetorical functions. In a further similarity to the

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English essays, the hedging techniques can be classified into three subcategories that serve subtly different functions. First, using devices like 'a'taqidu ("I believe") or fi ra'yi ("in my opinion"), the writer declares direct responsibility for the content of the argument while indicating that the statement is not to be taken as universally true. This hedging function is the most frequently represented one in the essays of the two sets (30% of hedges in the NNA group and about 27% of these in the NA group belong to that category). Example (13) demonstrates a thesis statement hedged with 'a'taqidu ("I believe") in a NA essay, while example (14), taken from a NNA essay, is a main argument featured by 'azunnu ("I guess"): (13) 'a'taqidu 'anna 'al-musawata bayna 'al-rajuli wa 'al-mar'ati shayunyas'ubu 'al-wusulu 'ilayhi. bal 'a'taqidu 'annahumin 'al-mustahil 'al-wusulu 'ilyahi dunnama yahduth zulman li- 'al-rajuli 'aw li 'almar'ati. ("I believe that the equality between man and woman is something difficult to achieve—rather / believe that it is impossible to achieve it without injustice befalling the man or the woman.") (14) lakin 'azunnu 'anna kulla lughatin ta'kisu thaqafataha wa 'ab'ada mukhtalifatan min 'al-tafkiri 'al-'insaniyi. ("But / guess that every language reflects its culture and different dimensions of human thinking.") The second subfunction of hedges, indicating the tentative rather than absolute truth of the propositional content, is coded in the Arabic essays by means of particles like la 'alla and rubbama ("perhaps") and expressions like yabdu ("it seems"), and min 'al-muhtamal ("it is likely"). These devices account for about 29% of the hedges in the NNA essays and about 21% of these in the NA group. The following examples illustrate this toning down technique of arguments in Arabic L1 and L2 essays, respectively: (15) hatta 'al-'ashkhas 'al-qa'iminna 'anfusuhum 'ala ta'limi 'allughati 'al- 'ajnabiyati yumkinu 'an yumathilu 'aqabatan fi saili tahqiq 'al-ta'allumi bi-l-nisbati li-l-muta'allimina min haythu 'uslubi 'alia 'amuli 'aw tariqati 'al-tadris ('al-ta'allum). ("Even the people responsible for teaching foreign languages themselves may represent an obstacle in the way of achieving learning on the part of learners concerning the manner of treatment or the teaching [learning] method.") (16) wa 'akhiran wa rubbama 'aqyamu fa'idatin li-ta'limi lughatin jadidatin hiya tahsinu shakhsiyati 'al-talibi. ("And finally and perhaps the most valuable benefit of learning a new language is improving the personality of the student.") The third subfunction of hedges, communicating necessary limitations on the scope of applicability of the propositional content of the arguments, is expressed in the Arabic essays by adverbials like 'ahyanan ("sometimes"), 'adatan ("usually"), now'an ma ("somewhat"), and ghaliban ("mostly"). These devices are used more often by the NNA writers,


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accounting for about 23% of the hedges in their essays vs. about 9% in the NA essays. The use of this device by NNA writers is illustrated in the following example: (17) wa hakadha qad yastakhlisu 'al-shakhu min hadhihi 'al-haqa'iqi wa 'al-'alaqati 'al-tarixiyati bi-shaklin 'amin 'anna 'al-tarafayni muttafiqani 'ala 'anna 'amrika mithla 'al-khali 'al-ghanyi, 'akbaru 'altarafayni wa 'aqwahuma. ("And thus one may conclude from these historical facts and relations generally that the two sides agree that America, like the rich uncle, is the greater and more powerful side.") Emphatics. The following formal devices are used to code emphatics in the Arabic essays: • expressions like bi la shakkin ("undoubtedly"), bi-wuduhin ("obviously") and bi- 'al-tab 'i ("of course") • clause-initial 'inna. Emphatics are used to a far greater extent by Arabic L1 writers (Table 3). This considerable difference in frequency seems to be due to the more frequent use of the emphatic particle 'inna in the NA essays. This device also appears in the Arabic L2 essays, but with a lower frequency (nearly 7% of the clauses in NA essays are prefaced by 'inna vs. nearly 3% in the NNA texts). Again, the underlying context of emphatics in the Arabic essays is key rhetorical points, i. e., thesis statement, main arguments and closing arguments. The following example, the thesis statement in a NA essay, is prefaced by the emphatic 'inna ("indeed"): (18) 'inna 'alaqata misra bi-'al-wilayati 'al-muttahidati 'al-'amrikiyati hiya wahidatun min 'ahammi 'al-'alaqati ' al-dawliyati fi 'al-sharqi 'al-'awsati, 'alaqatu shuraka'in fi 'al-salam ("Indeed the relation of Egypt and the United States of America is one of the most important international relations in the Middle East, a relation of peace partners"). An example of other devices that show strong commitment to the argued views appears in the following from a NNA text: (19) ma min shakkin fi 'annata'allumi 'al-lughati ' al-'ajnabiyati yutihu bid'afawa'ida wa manafi'a li-l-talib ("There is no doubt that learning foreign languages offers some benefits and uses to the student"). Attitude markers. Writers of the Arabic L1 and L2 essays mainly use similar formal constructs to indicate their mental attitude toward the propositional content of the written message. Expressions like the following are common in the two sets: 'al-shay'u 'al-'akbaru 'ahamiyati ("the more important thing"); 'akbaru dalilin 'ala dhalika ("the most significant evidence for that"); and less frequently, min 'al-khata 'i ("it is wrong") and ma'a 'al- 'asaf ("regrettably"). In example 20 below, taken from a NA essay,

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the writer voices her rejection of the pressure faced by female university graduates in her society by prefacing the argument with an attitude marker: (20) wa 'al-shay'u 'alladhi yufajjiru ghayzi huwa 'anna 'al-mar'ata taqifu 'amamaha mushkilatu 'al-zawaji ba'da 'al-takharruji haythu yabdu 'u 'al- 'addu 'al-tanazuli ("And the matter that explodes my anger is that the woman is hampered by the problem of marriage after graduating, when the countdown begins"). The use of attitude markers by NNA writers is illustrated in the following example by use of a closing argument that features by ma 'a 'al'asaf ("regrettably"): (21) wa lakina tusaytiri al-'umur al-siyasiyati wa al-'iqtisadiyati 'ala al-'alaqati bayna al-'alami al-'arabiyi wa 'amrika ma'a al-'asaf. ("And yet the political and economic issues dominate the relations between the Arab world and America regrettably"). The results presented above indicate the following significant observations. First, the NA essays contain the largest amount of metadiscourse expressions, whereas the NNE set shows the least amount. NNA texts demonstrate more frequent use of metadiscourse than the NE ones. The most significant difference concerning the individual classes relates to emphatics, which score the highest in the NA group. Concerning hedges, NE essays contain more hedged arguments than any of the other groups. The frequency of attitude markers is almost similarly low in the four groups, but is the lowest in the NNE group.

Discussion It seems plausible to suggest that in all languages writers use metadiscourse expressions to convey their assessment of and mental attitude toward the communicated informational content. The data of the present study show that in both their L1 and L2 writing, English and Arabic, NSs used the same categories and largely the same subcategories of the metadiscourse investigated here in mostly the same contexts. Certain differences, however, in the frequency and preferred forms of the three classes of metadiscourse are detected by the comparison of the two native sets as well as by the L1-L2 comparison in each language. The comparison between the two native sets reveals the following observations. First, metadiscourse scores higher in the NA texts than the NE ones. This overall higher frequency appears to result from the fact that writers of this group used a larger amount of emphatics. This in turn is due to the frequent use of the clause-initial 'inna by these writers. This device does not seem to have an obvious English equivalent. Concerning the comparison between English L1 and English L2 essays, the findings relating to the fre-


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quency of hedges and emphatics (the most frequent metadiscourse categories in the two sets of texts) suggest two important observations. In both sets hedges occur more frequently than emphatics. This indicates that both groups of writers tend to sound modest with respect to their generalizations and attentive to the possibility of disagreement. However, the significant higher frequency of emphatics in NNE texts and, to a lesser extent, the slightly higher frequency of hedges in the NE texts reflect that this tendency to tentativeness may be stronger on the part of English L1 writers. The interesting finding related to the Arabic L1-L2 comparison is the higher frequency of emphatics in the former group, which is again ascribed to the frequent use of 'inna. This device also seems to be the preferred one for Arabic L1 writers, whereas Arabic L2 favored other devices, which are, more or less, the equivalents of the English ones, e. g., bi-wuduhin ("obviously") and bi- 'al-tab 'i ("of course"). Holistic assessment of the NNA essays reveals that 'inna is mostly used by the most proficient writers in this group. This observation naturally needs to be consolidated by further research focusing on the correlation between L2 proficiency level and the use of metadiscourse. These results suggest some significant implications. First, English NSs used more hedges than emphatics in both their L1 and L2 essays. It seems that their concern to mitigate their arguments is transferred to their L2 writing. Second, it can also be assumed that the tendency on the part of Arabic NSs to use emphatics in their L1 writing persists in their L2 essays. Nevertheless, another result in this respect would present counterevidence to the transfer hypothesis. That is, the English NSs used a larger amount of emphatics in the Arabic L2 essays than that identified in the English L1 essays. It is suggested here that L2 writers try to abide by the norms of the target language. It is further suggested that, different as they may be from those of the native language, rhetorical conventions of the target language can be learned.

Conclusion It has been proposed that metadiscourse is one of the features of involvement in written texts. It may be further suggested, based on the data investigated in the present study, that metadiscourse as an involvement signal is a universal rhetorical device (Crismore et al., 1993). It has been shown that both English and Arabic NSs, in their L1 and L2 writing, use metadiscourse expressions to "project" themselves into texts, indicating the degree of commitment to the written message and their mental attitude toward it. This universality of metadiscourse is further evidenced by the comparison of the contexts of the various (sub)-categories of metadiscourse in the four sets. Validity markers and attitude markers have been shown to be attached to key rhetorical points of argumentation in the four sets of

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essays. Furthermore, the three functional subcategories of hedges have been demonstrated in the four sets of essays. Thus, whereas the frequency and the preferred forms of metadiscourse expressions vary, both between the NE and NA sets and across the L1-L2 texts of each language, these expressions largely appear in the same contexts in the four sets. The study suggests a number of applications in the field of teaching L2 writing. The concept of metadiscourse may prove useful in L2 writing classes. Students need to be acquainted with the concept and various classes of metadiscourse. They should also learn the appropriate contexts of every class of metadiscourse. They need to learn the various expressions of each class which are available in the target language. It is necessary to train the students in the purposeful use of metadiscourse as a rhetorical device. Guided reading of authentic texts which demonstrate the effective use of metadiscourse may prove useful in this respect. There are a number of suggestions that might be taken to further the research offered here. First, the approach adopted here can be extended to other kinds of written argumentation. It would be useful to examine the use of metadiscourse in texts produced by professional writers. Second, it would be interesting to examine the frequency and contexts of metadiscourse in other genres of discourse, e.g., informative, procedural, or descriptive discourse. Finally, it would be significant to conduct an experimental study to investigate the effect of formal instruction on the students' ability to use metadiscourse effectively.

Acknowledgments This paper is based on a section of my Ph.D. dissertation. I wish to express my gratitude to my thesis supervisors, Dr. Saad Gamal and Dr. James Stalker for their guidance, constructive criticism, and encouragement. I also wish to extend my thanks to members of my dissertation committee, Dr. Hilmi Abul Fituh and Dr. Paul Stevens, for their valuable comments and detailed evaluation of the study. I am grateful to Dr. Zeinab Ibrahim for her helpful comments on an earlier draft of the paper. My thanks also go to the American and Egyptian student-writers who provided me with the data.

Notes 1 This topic was used in Scarcella (1984). 2 Some L2 and even at times L1 examples cited here show a few grammar or mechanical errors. No attempt has been made to correct these errors, nor are they marked with the distracting sic.


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References Barton, E. 1995. Contrastive and non-contrastive connectives: metadiscourse functions in argumentation. Written communication, 12:219-239. Beauvais, P. 1989. A speech act theory of metadiscourse. Written communication 6:11-30. Brandt, D. 1990. Literacy as involvement: the acts of writers, readers, and texts. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press. Chafe, W., and Danielewicz, J. 1987. Properties of spoken and written language. In R. Horowitz and J. Samuels (eds.), Comprehending oral and written language. New York: Academic Press, pp. 83-113. Clyne, M. 1987. Cultural differences in the organization of academic texts. Journal of pragmatics, 11:211-47. . 1991. The sociocultural dimension: the dilemma of the German-speaking scholar. In H. Schroder (ed.), Subject-oriented texts: language for special purposes and text theory. Berlin: de Gruyter, pp. 49-68. Crismore, A. and Vande Kopple, W. 1988. Reader's learning from prose: the effects of hedges. Written communication, 5:184-202. , Markkanen, R., and Steffensen, M. S. 1993. Metadiscourse in persuasive writing: a study of texts written by American and Finnish university students. Written communication, 10:39-71. El-Seidi, M. 1996. Rhetorical structure in English and Arabic expository prose: a cross-linguistic study. Ph.D. diss., Cairo University. Grabe, W., and Kaplan, R. 1989. Writing in a second language: contrastive rhetoric. In D. Johnson and D. Roen (eds.), Richness in writing: empowering ESL students. New York: Longman, pp. 263-283. Hasan, Abbaas. 1995. Al-nahw al-wafi. Cairo: Dar al-ma'arif. Johnstone, B. 1991. Repetition in Arabic discourse: paradigms, syntagms, and the ecology of language. Amsterdam: Benjamins. Kaplan, R. 1966. Cultural thought patterns in intercultural education. Language learning, 16:1-20. . 1987. Cultural thought patterns revisited. In U. Connor and R. Kaplan (eds.), Writing across languages: analysis of L2 text. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, pp. 9-21. . (1997). Contrastive rhetoric. In T. Miller (ed.), Functional approaches to written text: classroom applications. Washington DC: English Language Programs, United States Information Agency, pp. 18-32. Mauranen, A. 1993. Contrastive ESP rhetoric: metatext in Finnish-English economic texts. English for specific purposes, 12:3-22. Mohan, B., and Lo, W. A. 1985. Academic writing and Chinese students: transfer and developmental factors. TESOL quarterly, 19(3):515-33. Salager-Meyer, F. 1994. Hedges and textual communicative function in

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medical English written discourse. English for specific purposes, 13:149-170. Scarcella, R. C. 1984. How writers orient their readers in expository essays: a comparative study of native and non-native English writers. TESOL quarterly, 18:671-688. Stalker, J. W., and Stalker, J. 1988. A comparison of pragmatic accommodation of nonnative and native speakers in English. World Englishes, 7:119-28. Vande Kopple, W. 1985. Some exploratory discourse on metadiscourse. College composition and communication, 36:82-93. Williams, J. (1981). Style: ten lessons in clarity and grace. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.

The Impact of Arabic on ESL Expository Writing Cynthia May Sheikholeslami and Nabila el-Taher Makhlouf As teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) to students who are native speakers of Arabic, we are very conscious that a student who has mastered English syntax and idiomatic usage still produces writing that sounds foreign. ELTs (English language teachers) who are familiar with the EFL writing of Arab students immediately detect that one major problem is due to the impact of a rhetorical style transferred from their native language writing. We endeavor to pinpoint the source more precisely.

Arabic Rhetoric: Oral vs. Written Genres Turning to previous literature on the contrastive rhetoric of Arabic and English, we analyzed Kaplan's pioneering 1966 study, "Cultural thought patterns in intercultural education," familiarly known as the "doodles article." Kaplan argued that rhetorical expression in English, reflecting the logic of the thought patterns of English speakers, is linear, but that the logical pattern of Arabic and Hebrew, both Semitic languages, is zigzag, due to the excessive use of repetition, coordination, and parallelism, instead of deletion and subordination. However, Kaplan's analysis reflects oral rather than written discourse, as he has subsequently (1987) recognized. In 1987 Shirley Ostler analyzed the written English of Arabic speakers, concluding that it reflects classical Arabic (CA) sentence structure. Her model of CA sentence structure is based on the Quran. After comparing the written English of Arabic speakers with that of English speakers, she concluded that Arabic speakers make frequent use of parallel constructions and balanced and rhythmic coordination between related components. However, the Quran is an oral text that has been written down, and thus has characteristics of oral texts. The use of repetition and ornate style, as well as the use of internal rhyme between two or three words or groups of words, do not reflect the sentence structures found in expository prose written in CA (see sample text A in the Appendix). Ostler states,

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The Impact of Arabic on ESL Expository Writing

furthermore, that Arab scholars, fearing diglossic dangers to Arabic, the language of the Quran, prescriptively devised an elaborate science of CA grammar and lexicography, and 11 centuries later, the same grammar is taught in Arabic schools. Although Kaplan (1987) claimed the same grammar and vocabulary are shared by the oral and written modes of any given language, there are differences between the grammar and vocabulary of Quranic, CA, and written modern standard Arabic (MSA), and contemporary spoken Arabic. It is true that the grammar and vocabulary of CA are still taught, but not the rhetoric of an oral text for written exposition, despite frequent use of quotations from the Quran in written and spoken Arabic. In fact, in Egyptian schools today, there is virtually no rhetorical instruction in writing classes, which are in themselves inadequate. Ulla Connor, while discussing the rhetoric of Arabic in her textbook Contrastive Rhetoric (1996), cites Johnstone's 1986 comparison of a nonlinear "Middle Eastern" argument with a linear "Western" tone. The "Middle Eastern" argument is exemplified by an interview conducted through an interpreter in 1979 by the Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci with the Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini, originally written and published in Italian. The interviewer's style was aggressive, so the Iranian president avoided direct answers to the interviewer's questions as a defensive strategy. Again, the genre of the interview was an oral one, and, moreover, it was conducted through an interpreter. Furthermore, Khomeini was replying to questions in Persian, an Indo-European language, and not even in Arabic! In Connor's discussion, the Arabic-speaking countries and Iran are lumped together as Middle Eastern with the implication that they share a common rhetoric of argumentation, which contrasts with "Western" written argumentative discourse. As Brown and Yule pointed out in Discourse Analysis (1983), spoken and written discourse in English have different characteristics (pp. 14-19). There have been numerous studies on the rhetorical organization of both oral and written discourse in English. However, to the best of our knowledge, no such comparison is available for the rhetorical organization of Arabic oral and written discourse, although there are, of course, studies of the differences between the grammar and lexicon of CA and the various colloquials. As Connor (1996) noted, the work of Swales (1990) has demonstrated that in a given language, aside from the differences in the spoken/written discourse, one must distinguish the different genres of speaking and writing. Previous work in the contrastive rhetoric of English and Arabic has compared oral genres of Arabic with written genres of English. Furthermore, the comparisons have been on the intrasentential and intersentential levels, and have not dealt with the discourse level of whole


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texts. In the written discourse of Arabic, the rhetoric of expository prose, even in the Middle Ages, was directly influenced by Aristotelian rhetoric, and has characteristics similar to the rhetoric of modern English expository prose (see sample texts A [CA] and B [MSA] ). A text by the medieval Arab historian, mathematician, and geographer Abu al-Fida Isma'il 'Ali (1273-1331 CE) discussing the use of lines of longitude and latitude to measure the globe's circumference is an example of linear logic, an important feature in both Arabic and English expository prose. After presenting a theory stated by Ptolemy (who lived and worked in Alexandria), Abu al-Fida describes the experiment conducted to verify the validity of the theory, and draws the conclusion. No repetition, deviation, ornateness, or incoherence disturb the Aristotelian logic of the treatise (see sample text A). In a contemporary Arabic newspaper article, "Fractures in the edifice of behavior" (Al-Ahram, January 25, 1999), the writer, Dr. Muhammad Hassan Rasmy of Cairo University, complains that the once-venerated forms of behavior of Egyptians, forms that were an integral part of their culture, have fallen to pieces. The introduction has a slightly ornate style, with examples of anaphora and rhetorical questions as the author wonders about the causes of the phenomenon, for reflecting his agitation. Then, in a strictly organized form, he enumerates the "fractures," developing each one as much as space allows. The conclusion sums up the result of the collapse in two and one-half lines (see sample text B). Clearly, then, the "nonnativeness" of the rhetoric of the EFL writing of Arab students is not due to transfer from the rhetoric of Arabic expository prose. Furthermore, many textbooks that the students read in Arabic are either translations of English textbooks or might be claimed to reflect the conventions of English expository prose since they present western knowledge and ideas, and have been written by Arabs educated in the West. Neither possible influence is reflected in the inappropriate rhetoric that appears in the ESL expository writing of Arab students. In thinking about the genre of written Arabic that could be expected to have the greatest influence on the English writing of our students, we realized that, as is generally the case in modern literate societies, they had learned to write both Arabic and English in school. Moreover, the genre of English essay that we teach them is the school or examination five-paragraph essay (see, for example, O'Donnell and Pavia, 1986, p. 13). We hypothesized that our students, recognizing that the English genre that they are being asked to write is the school essay, might be expected to transfer the rhetoric of the same genre in Arabic into their EFL/ESL writing. Our study therefore compared the rhetoric of (1) the model school essay in Arabic, (2) the model English school essay in Arabic schools in

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Egypt, and (3) the five-paragraph model school essay commonly taught in EFL and ESL classrooms worldwide. We had Egyptian students write essays in both Arabic and English to enable us to see which features were common to both and thus might have been transferred from the students' first to their second language writing. To return for a moment to the intersentential level of analysis, the study by al-Warraki and Hassanein on The Connectors in Modern Standard Arabic (1994) shows that one of the characteristic features of Arabic prose is the use of wa as a text-organizing feature that is not comparable to the English coordinating conjunction and (see sample text C, where this type of wa is underlined). This has also been pointed out by Sa'adeddin (1987). The sentence-initial wa in Arabic merely serves to indicate that the writer is still developing the same main idea, since there are no fixed punctuation or indentation rules in written Arabic. If we analyze the example of ESL writing by an Arabic-speaking student included in Kaplan's 1966 article (p. 9), we can see that half of the examples of and in the student text are sentence-initial, raising the possibility that the student is merely transferring into English a text feature of Arabic, rather than employing a coordinating conjunction (a function wa can also perform in Arabic). It may also be possible that in this sample— which is not even a complete text—the student was influenced by an oral genre, story-telling, as the text has a narrative organization. Coordination is a characteristic feature of oral narration (see Brown and Yule, 1983, pp. 14-19). Since neither the topic the student was asked to write about nor a composing process protocol is available for this sample, there is now no way to determine the source of a possible Arabic influence on this student's English writing. Equally possible as a source is the influence of the emphasis in recent decades on audiolingual and communicative approaches to the teaching of English in Arabic schools, methods that focus on oral rather than written genres of English. In other words, the text may have been influenced by oral rather than written rhetoric from either Arabic or English.

Impact of the Model School Essay One type of Arabic writing that could be a source of negative impact on the English writing of Arabic-speaking students is the school essay. A model essay in an examination-preparation book (Adb al-Wahhab and Awad Allah, 1998) that is very popular among Egyptian students is a typical example (see sample text D). The topic, expressed in a very bombastic style, is the project to expand the inhabited land near the Nile. In the essay, the writer speaks highly of the project and its benefits in very gen-


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eral terms without ever mentioning its name. As he sings its praises, he mentions the expected returns—minerals, tourism, poultry and cattle breeding, agricultural crops, and industry. These are repeated in other terms, but the benefits are never developed in any detail. Quotations from the Quran and Arabic poetry are used to commend the work of people who plan such rewarding projects. There is no overall organization or coherence, so that, even if a student who has memorized it leaves out a part by mistake, it will not affect the flow of words in individual sentences. This is the type of model that students may have in mind when they write in Arabic. This kind of writing caters to large classes (50-60 students) where teaching writing and following up a student's progress is almost an impossible task. The EFL writing of Arab students frequently displays features of this type of Arabic writing, which is not, however, representative of expository prose in Arabic. The same topic was given to Arabic-speaking graduate students at the high intermediate level in the English Language Institute at the American University in Cairo before an intensive program in writing instruction in English began. The students wrote at home and had an opportunity to revise their texts, after reading and discussing a newspaper article on the topic in class. An analysis of one sample (see sample text E) reveals, however, that further experience with written Arabic exposition during undergraduate studies in an Egyptian university has obliterated the influence of the school essay. The logic is linear, cause and effect follow smoothly, and little deviation or unnecessary statements obstruct the flow. The writer briefly mentions the problems of overpopulation, especially in Cairo, necessitating the building of housing complexes near and away from Cairo, although those built do not have the necessary facilities and services. The student moves on to the two major agricultural projects in the desert, naming them and mentioning specific details about them, thus developing these points. The writer concludes by stating the overall benefits and recommending that services and facilities be good enough to attract residents. Model essays in another examination-preparation book that is very popular among Egyptian students learning to write in English are another possible source of influence. A typical example (see sample text F) begins with reference to an external authority and the reader is led to expect a problem-solution-evaluation structure. However, the use of the in quotation marks in the second sentence indicates that the writer does not believe overpopulation is even a problem. Lexical cohesion is largely limited to repetition of vocabulary, whereas terms such as, family planning and birth control, while in the same semantic field as overpopulation, contradict the writer's stance that it is not a problem. The second paragraph sets up a

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contrast to the United Nations' claim and also moves into expression of personal opinion and generalizations. The two sentences about food production apparently return us to the problem-solution mode, although this is not made clear as the writer never relates this idea to the topic. Reference to the lack of fresh water is tacked to the end as a solution, again with no relationship to the problem of overpopulation indicated. In short, this essay lacks logical organization and cohesion, and gives the impression of a group of mostly unrelated sentences dropped onto the page. The same topic was given to Arabic-speaking graduate students at the high intermediate level in the English Language Institute at the American University in Cairo before an intensive program in writing instruction in English commenced. The students wrote 30-minute timed essays in class. An analysis of one sample (see sample text G) clearly showed the influence of the model essay on the same topic. The writer begins by denying that overpopulation is a problem, and then goes on to describe solutions to the problem, finally claiming that overpopulation is itself a solution. A lack of logical organization and cohesion similar to that of the model essay is apparent. These examples support our claim that the model school essay is a likely source of transfer in the EFL writing of Arab students. However, students more experienced with Arabic expository prose are able to write English expository prose in an acceptable rhetorical style. At the conclusion of his 1966 article, Kaplan recommended two types of exercises to teach students how to follow a linear rhetorical structure in their written discourse. ELTs will recognize these as pervasive exercise types in writing courses. Both exercises are restricted to the paragraph level, which Kaplan defines as a logical though "artificial thought unit employed in the written language to suggest a cohesion which commonly may not exist in oral language" (Kaplan, 1966, p. 16). The first exercise is to scramble the order of sentences from a paragraph and ask the students to rearrange them in what appears to them to be a normal order, and then compare it with the original order, which should be explained and justified by the instructor. The results will, Kaplan claims, "demonstrate the diversity of views or cultures represented in the classroom" (p. 16). The implication is that the students will thereby learn to recognize the contrasting rhetorics of their native language and English. Our experience, however, indicates that this type of exercise is dependent on the background knowledge of the topic that the student has (i.e., the student's schema) and is not a useful way to demonstrate the rhetoric of English expository prose. Kaplan's second recommended type of exercise is for the instructor to provide a topic sentence with a partly completed outline of the remainder of the paragraph, and ask the students to fill in the remaining examples and


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illustrations to support the point. If the topic is difficult, the instructor might provide the examples in scrambled order. These exercises, Kaplan states, will fulfill the limited aim of the EFL or ESL class of providing students with an acceptable form in which they can write English. Teachers will recognize that students are likely to produce rather formulaic writing as a result of the influence of this type of exercise. The students do not develop a nativelike grasp of the rhetoric of expository prose in English. It should be pointed out that the school essay is an artificial genre and that the actual rhetorics of the various genres of written English correlate only very slightly with this form. The students who learn the school essay genre have not learned to control the rhetorics of written discourse that are accessible to the native writer of English, and thus their writing will continue to seem non-native outside the confines of the school environment. We might echo Liebman's 1992 plea "that, if ESL writing teachers want their students to succeed at a variety of academic writing tasks, they must become aware...of these different forms" (pp. 158f.) Liebman goes on to urge that ESL writing instructors also be more aware of the differences in instructional backgrounds of their students to enable them to vary their approaches to instruction in written English. Both the Japanese and Arab students surveyed by Liebman "had few experiences writing for audiences other than the teacher...[and] very little experience writing outside school...[as is the case with] their British and American counterparts.... This lack of variety extend[ed] to the functions of their writing...[as] they had written mainly informative prose for...'the teacher-as-examiner'" (p. 150). Liebman's results also support our claim that school writing is an important source of influence on EFL students' writing.

Strategies for Improvement The response to this problem in the teaching of writing to native speakers of English in the United States in recent years has been the Writing Across the Curriculum movement, where students learn to write in the various academic genres when they are enrolled in courses in these disciplines. In his 1987 article "Cultural thought patterns revisited," Kaplan himself stated, "it is the responsibility of the second-language teacher to increase the size of the inventory" available to the nonnative writer. American ESL writing instruction has recently paid more attention to strategies of invention, focusing on the writing process as well as the finished product. Egyptian students in our classes at the American University in Cairo frequently express the need for more help with invention, the lack of which may be a contributing factor to the poor content development that is such a noticeable feature of their EFL writing. Their revision of

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their writing, however, rarely if ever extends beyond sentence-level grammar and vocabulary to discourse-level organization of the written text. Thus, they tend not even to be aware of the text's rhetorical organization, since it is not a focus of revision. Whereas authentic ESL/EFL reading materials present a variety of both academic and nonacademic genres of written English to students, the students are not expected to attempt to write in most of these genres, other than postcards, letters, and occasionally simple stories. The focus of instruction continues to be the classic five-paragraph school essay and the development of the ability to arrange ideas in a linear fashion, an ability students are not thought to be aware of from their exposure to written Arabic. Such an approach betrays the continuing influence of Kaplan's 1966 article rather than his more recent analysis, as well as the fact that researchers in the contrastive rhetoric of Arabic and English have not had a sufficient knowledge of Arabic and written discourse in Arabic to draw valid conclusions. More research in the written and oral discourses of Arabic, particularly employing composition protocols, is needed to come to a better understanding of the impact of Arabic on ESL writing. The researchers involved in these studies should be bilingual or work in cooperation with native speakers of each language. Nevertheless, it is clear that at least one source of transfer from Arabic into English writing among our students is the genre of the school essay.

Appendix Sample Text A: Sample of CA expository prose (English translation and Arabic original) Abu al-Fida Isma'il 'Ali (1273-1331 CE), from Taqwim al-buldan ("Regional geography") Reproduced in Ahmad Fahmy Abu al-Khair, 'Ulum al-'arab al-riyadiya ("Arab mathematical sciences"), 1930. The earth is spherical and geocentric. Its surface, which is convex, is parallel to the sky, which is concave. The longitude and latitude lines measured from the meridian are parallel to those of the sky and are divided into 360°, the meridian being an imaginary line passing through the North and South poles. These imaginary lines (longitude and latitude), as they start from the North Pole reaching the South Pole, are straight, undisturbed by elevations and depressions, with a space between each of one degree, equivalent to 66 2/3 miles, the sphere measuring 360°. This was the theory of ancient scientists such as Ptolemy who wrote al-Majest. A number of learned men in the time of the Caliph al-Ma'amun studied the works to verify the validity of the theory and were summoned to the wilderness of Sanjar in


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Iraq to do so. One group went northward, and the other southward. After measuring the pole's elevation (astronomically), the two groups met again; the northward group had covered a distance of 65 l/3 miles, while the other covered 65 only. They agreed to take the lowest figure, which is 65 miles, as equivalent to one degree.

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Sample Text B: Sample of MSA expository prose (English synopsis and Arabic original) Muhammad Hassan Rasmy, Thuqub fi jidar al-suluk ("Fractures in the edifice of behavior"), Al-Ahram, January 25, 1999, p. 10 The writer complains that the once venerated forms of behavior of Egyptians, forms that were a solid part of their culture, have fallen to pieces. The introduction, in a somewhat ornate style, laments the situation. The writer moves on to the supporting points of his argument: the first "fracture" is (1) love, then (2) generosity, followed by (3) commitment, (4) respect, (5) truth, (6) good taste, and finally (7) forgiveness. The writer concludes that man without refinement of feelings and proper behavior is only a living creature who needs thousands of years to become human.


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Sample Text C: The use of wa as a text-organizing feature of Arabic (in the English translation, connectors are underlined; the text-organizing wa, boldfaced in the Arabic text, is not translated) Nariman Naili al-Warraki and Ahmed Taher Hassanein, The connectors in modern standard Arabic. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 1994. Naguib Mahfouz was born in al-Jammaliya, one of the poorer (people's) quarters of Cairo, which is situated near al-Husayn Mosque. His father had been a civil servant and then later worked in business. Mahfouz was an excellent reader for he read books by al-Manfaluti and translated some of his works. Then he read from the works of Taha Hussein, al-Akkad, Salama Musa, Ibrahim al-Mazini, Tawfiq al-Hakim and others, and did not fail to read the classics, whether Arabic or Western. He began his literary activity at an early age by writing the essay and by translation. Then he turned to writing the short story and the novel. At present, Mahfouz is considered the most famous Arab novelist for he wrote a great number of novels and short stories, which gained fame whether in Egypt or in other Arab countries.

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Sample Text D: Model essay from an examination-preparation book popular in Egypt today A. Abd al-Wahhab and M. A. Awad Allah. Al-mu 'allim fi-l-muraja' al'amrna wa-l-niha'iyya li-l-marhala al-thanawiya al-'amma. Cairo: AlMu'tamada. 1998, pp. 331-332.


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Sample Text E: Sample of Arabic-speaking graduate student at high intermediate level (English synopsis and Arabic original) Overpopulation in the old valley has become a problem in Egypt and a hindrance in its road to progress and a better life. This is particularly evident in Cairo, especially since during the day its population reaches ten million. For this reason, housing compounds have been planned around Cairo. Similarly, to get out of the crowdedness of the narrow valley, new towns far away from Cairo have been built. However, they still need many facilities to attract people. As the increase in population also needs agricultural land, the government has planned two projects. The first is the al-Salaam Canal, which will flow from the Nile to Sinai. The second is the Toshka project, which will be irrigated from Lake Nasser, thus making a new valley in southern Egypt. All these projects will provide better housing and employment opportunities. However, planning roads, facilities, and services must be well studied to vie with Cairo, which has the best in the country.


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Impact of Arabic on ESL Expository Writing

Sample Text F: Typical example of a model essay from an examination-preparation book A. Saad, GEM English language special course, third year secondary (sc & arts), Cairo: Maged Printing Press, 1992. Do you think overpopulation is a problem? The United Nations Organization says that overpopulation is a serious problem. It holds conferences to deal with "the" problem. International and local funds are raised to carry out family planning and birth control programmes. One of the overt reasons given by the Super Powers for space travel race is to "search for a solution" to the overpopulation problem. However, I believe that overpopulation is not a problem. "Population" or "manpower" is one of the factors of producton and therefore, it should not be considered a problem in any sense. With the highly advanced technology and with the introduction of computers in almost every field of activity, food could be produced in abundance and even from non-organic sources. Floating farms, desert plantations, fish production and animal raising are rightfully easy activities. Sweet water is no longer a problem. Atomic and nuclear energy are being used for a wide spectrum of activities and with a great deal of safety. In short, it is true that "Many hands make light work!"


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Sample Text G: 30-Minute essay written in an EFL class by an Egyptian student Do you think overpopulation is a problem? No doubt that there's an argument between people about Overpopulation Is it a problem or not. Both sides have a point of view. And I think it isn't a problem if there are good planning. Turning our market into a productive one from its state, as a consumer market, is the way to get good results. This will become a reality by the government encourging to the investors to come and invest in our giant projects. Huge projects like developing the desert and making big industries areas, can use overpopulation postively. Not only by making a large number of people works in the project of developing but also by employ them in the factorys and by finding them a place to live in. In conclusion, I think that good planning can give a good results, by dealing with the overpopulition as a solution not as a problem.

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References Abd al-Wahhab, A. A., and Awad Allah, M. A. 1998. Al-mu'allim fi-lmuraja' al-'amma wa-l-niha'iyya li-l-marhala al-thanawiya al'amma. Cairo: Al-Mu'tamada. Abu al-Khair, Ahmad Fahmy. 1930. 'Ulum al-'arab al-riyadiya. Cairo: Al-I'timad Press. Connor, U. 1996. Contrastive rhetoric: cross-cultural aspects of secondlanguage writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. , and Kaplan, R. B. (eds.). 1987. Writing across languages: analysis of L2 text. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Inani, M. 1997. Fann al-tarjama. Cairo: Egyptian International Publishing Company-Longman. Kaplan, R. B. 1966. Cultural thought patterns in intercultural education. Language learning, 16:1-20. . 1987. Cultural thought patterns revisited. In Connor and Kaplan (1987), pp. 9-21. Liebman, J. D. 1992. Toward a new contrastive rhetoric: differences between Arabic and Japanese rhetorical instruction. Journal of second language writing, 1:141-165. O'Donnell, T. D., and Pavia, J. L. 1986. Independent writing. Boston: Little, Brown. Ostler, S. E. 1987. English in parallels: a comparison of English and Arabic prose. In Connor and Kaplan (1987), pp. 169-185. Rasmy, Muhammad Hassan. 1999. Thuqub fi jidar al-suluk. Al-Ahram, (Jan. 25), p. 10. Sa'adeddin, M. A. 1987. Three problem areas in teaching translating to native Arabic literates. Anthropological linguistics, 29:181-193. Saad, A. 1992. GEM English language special course, third year secondary (sc & arts). Cairo: Maged Printing Press. Swales, J. 1990. Genre analysis: English in academic research settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Al-Warraki, Nariman Naili, and Hassanein, Ahmed Taher. 1994. The connectors in modern standard Arabic. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press.

Teaching 'Form' in English Verse to Arabic Poetry Readers Loubna Abdel-Tawab Youssef Teaching freshman writing in English to Egyptian students, I observed that they have difficulty in understanding the idea of form. Helping them to overcome this difficulty is vital, since in the Freshman Writing Program (FWP) at the American University in Cairo (AUC), they must acquire the skill of structuring an essay and an academic paper with a plausible argument. They must also learn that unity, cohesion, and organization contribute to the overall effect of the paragraph and the essay in general. Several factors in the Egyptian students' education might account for their inability to grasp the concept of form. However, the focus here is on the effects of the way in which they studied Arabic poetry for at least six years at school. What is imprinted on their minds and what affects the way they read a text in verse or in prose, in Arabic or in English, is the concept of the line (a distich or a monostich) as a poetic unit, one that is independent of the surrounding verses and is therefore the fundamental unit for literary analysis. The purpose of this paper will be to shed light on what pupils learn about Arabic poetry and the consequences of this for the students and to show how reading an English sonnet can help them in understanding the idea of form in order to apply this understanding to structuring their own essays. Admittedly, these students will not be writing in verse, but reading an English sonnet, which is "compact, shapely, highly finished, and able to contain, in concentrated form, almost all that is human" (Spiller, 1992, p. 1), raises their awareness of many of the challenges of writing

The Impact of Egyptian School Anthologies Brought up on the tradition of Arabic poetry, Egyptian students in the FWP are aware that poetry has been the predominant mode of literary expression in Arabic. Their school textbooks have led them to believe that all Arabic poems are composed of lines, each of which is divided into independent or interdependent hemistichs. They remember certain notions

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about Arabic poetry from their school days: the Arabic "voices:" in poetry tend to be more public than private; the qasida (p1., qasa'id; "ode"), a long poem composed of hemistichs and with both meter and rhyme, starts with a description of the 'atlal (a deserted encampment) and proceeds to a traditional section about the journeys of the poet in the desert before even the real purpose of the poem is mentioned (praise of the' tribe, denigration of an enemy, or the fostering of tribal pride and solidarity); and pre- and post-Islamic Arabic poetry belong to an oral tradition and thus there can be differing versions of a poem depending on the transmission from the poet to the reciter (rawiri) who both have the ability to improvise. Enani (1986) succinctly sums up what the school textbooks focus on in the following statement: The traditional qasida usually opened with a few lines on the beauty of the beloved, on the pangs of unrequited love, sometimes on separation, then proceeded to the central subject usually of public interest, the accepted general genres being: the panegyric, the satire, the praise poem that celebrates the glories of the individual poet or his tribe, the virtues of asceticism, praise of Prophet Muhammed, love, or wine (p. 17). Rereading some of the extracts and poems that Egyptian pupils study made me realize that although in the 20th century "the Arabic poem ceased to be an open-ended collection of lines of equal length, sharing the same rhyme, with varying themes, and became the record of an emotional experience" (Enani, 1986, p. 17), the extracts and even the selection of extracts from the modern period that Egyptian pupils study belong to the classical tradition or are written by poets who revive this tradition. Thus, in addition to the pre-Islamic and early Islamic extracts cited below by al-Khansa' , alNabigha, al-' A'sha, 'Antara, as well as others like these, they read late 19thand early 20th-century poetry by Mahmud Sami al-Barudi (1838-1904 CE), Khalil Mutran (1872-1949), Ahmed Shauqi (1868-1932), Hafiz Ibrahim Muhammad (1872?-1932), Ibrahim Nagui (1898-1953), Abu al-Qasim alShabbi (1909-34), all of whom were educated in the West, but whose poetry does not sound modern. The fact is, when Egyptian youngsters remember classical Arabic songs, echoing in their minds and hearts is the voice of Om Kalthoum singing lines by Hafez Ibrahim,

[1] "Men have stood watching me erect the house of glory all by myself


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[2] And, at times of challenge, the builders of the Pyramids spoke on my behalf *

by Ahmed Ramy,

"Egypt, the land in my mind and on my mouth, I love her with all my heart and soul."

and others like these. At this early stage of their education, pupils are not introduced to the controversy between critics who belong to the conservative critical tradition that expressed the view that the structure of the qasida is fragmented and others who have recently challenged this attitude in their analyses in order to show that the different sections of a qasida reflect the poet's purpose in dealing with a variety of subjects that interest his audience. Heinrichs (1973), for example, discusses in detail the idea that scholars of Arabic poetry and poetic theory must "distinguish three classes of deficiencies: the failure of the theorists to understand (a) complex structures, (b) developments, and (c) the true extent of the segments of reality that are treated in poetry" (p. 35). In Beyond the Line, Van Gelder (1982) insisted that "Classical Arabic poems have been described as lacking 'unity' ever since Western critical standards were applied to them" (p. 14). This enlightening remark is followed by Van Gelder 's reference to the recent reassessment of the corpus of classical Arabic poetry by the application of new ideas in analysis and theory, thus demonstrating the richness of the tradition available to us. He says: In recent times a number of studies on the structure of classical Arabic poems have shed more light on this concept of 'molecularity' and have given ample attention to the ways in which poems hang together. Techniques of description and analysis differ; some look for symmetries at the levels of phonological, morphological and syntactic patterning, other construe taxonomies of opposing thematic classes, while digging for archetypal and mythical bedrock. The status of the results varies according to whether they are based on the analysis of one, five, or a large number of poems, but all authors stress coherence and unity rather than disjunction and disunity, on the assumption, tacit, or overt, that they have set things right by revealing the hidden and hitherto neglected beauties of Arabic poetry, (p. 15)

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Reading a sonnet with my students, I was struck by an immediate response: they could not understand that the poem has an end. So far as they are concerned, a line of verse is the unit, the only unit imaginable. It is grammatically complete and the idea is conveyed and can stand by itself. Teaching them to read a sonnet, i.e., a poem that advances more like a logical argument from beginning to end or from premise to conclusion, both confirmed my observations that for Arabic-speaking students "form" is a problem and helped me find solutions. Because what they have studied in this case pertains to their own culture and identity, it is engraved in their minds and being exposed to a different concept from another culture is not easy at best. It may be helpful to quote a few lines by poets from the different phases of Arabic poetry from Egyptian school textbooks. (In no way are these meant to lead to a comparison between classical and modern Arabic poetry with its different schools, an evaluation of either, or a survey or description of the different schools of Arabic poetry.) These examples show how there is "form" for the line, but not for the poem as a whole, and that the couplet is the only form that Egyptian pupils are familiar with. To start with, here are extracts that focus on different types of the theme of praise by poets from the pre-Islamic and early Islamic era. In a moving elegiac tribute to her brother Sakhr, al-Khansa' (fl. end 6th c., CE) touches on the merits of this noble individual who died in tribal combat when she writes:

[1] "Oh, my eyes, flow with tears and never dry, won't you grieve for the generous Sakhr? [2] Won't you grieve for the young master? [3] Of enormous height and estimable rank? Chief of his tribe, though still a youth. [4] If men stretch their arms toward glory, Glory would stretch its very arm toward him."

Al-Nabigha al-Zubyani (Abu Imama ibn Mu'awiya; d. 604 CE) praises Amr ibn al-Harith el-Ghasani, who helped him while he was in exile in Ghasan, saying:


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[1] "I owe Amr many a favor rendered undiluted by his father. [2] When the true men of Ghasan attack, I trust he will always be victorious."

Al-A'sha (Maymun ibn Qays; d. ca. 629 C.E.) glorifies his beloved in the following lines:

[1] "Bid Horaira farewell, the caravan is parting! Man, would it be easy to part? [2] A maiden with fair brow, long hair, and bright teeth, treading slowly like a delicate foot treading on mud."

Finally, 'Antara ibn Shaddad (fl. 6th c., CE), the illustrious warrior who was known for his love for his cousin 'Abla, expresses pride in his own prowess, saying:

[1] "My enemies were deceived by my silence And thought I had forgotten the glory of my people. [2] How can I be oblivious to the fine men Who have raised me up in their plenty? [3] If ever they were threatened by an enemy They'd call me and I'd readily answer. [4] The edge of my sword reaps lives, And my lance is a deadly blow in the chest. [5] My heart was made tougher than steel; Though steel can be molded, my heart cannot."

Although poets, scholars, and critics in the 20th century have attacked "the mistaken but commonly held belief, popularized by medieval Arabic literary critics, that the classical Arabic poem consisted of single independent lines loosely strung together" (Badawi, 1993, p. 35), Egyptian

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school textbooks do not refer to the idea of structure or unity. In the case of the examples of classical poetry cited above, it is assumed by modern textbook authors that whether these lines are originally from the beginning, the middle, or the end of the poem, there is no significance to the ordering of the lines. Pupils are encouraged to believe that the lines can be rearranged without any consequences for the meaning or the poetic significance of the work. The idea of development is relevant, Egyptian students are taught, only in so far as the description and imagery are related to the theme. Unfortunately, the late 19th- and the 20th-century Arabic poetry that pupils study is regarded as similar in many ways to classical poetry, although the syntactic and semantic links between the lines are obvious to any mature reader. The selections pupils study show that modern Arabic poets adhere to monorhyme and monometer (Moreh, 1998) and the line is still the poetic unit. These lines are from a poem that secondary school pupils study about the agony of love and the suffering from sickness by Mutran who "systematically and deliberately sought to achieve unity of structure" (Badawi, 1985, p. 108):

[1] "In vain have I consoled myself with hopes, In an exile that would, they said, cure me. [2] If this body can be cured by its fresh air, Can ever fire be put off by air so fresh? [3] In vain do I traverse those lands, And my exile is a double malady, not a recovery. [4] I live solitary with my longing, solitary with my misery, solitary with my suffering." True, the compilers of the school anthologies do in fact point out that Mutran belongs to the Romantic school of modern Arabic poetry (critics like Badawi, Van Gelder, and others explain the danger of applying Western critical terms to Arabic poetry, and state that this is done for convenience), but they discuss the lines of the poem independently. So pupils are introduced to schools of modern Arabic poetry and learn that new themes (e.g., patriotism, nationalism, freedom, independence, revolution, socialism, commitment, national causes) are dealt with; however, the diction is classical and the shape of the poem is the same: the lines rhyme and


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are divided into hemistichs. Here are a few examples. Al-Barudi, who is "the true precursor" of the Arabic poetic revival by whom "Arabic poetry was brought once more to bear upon the serious business of life" (Badawi, 1993, pp. 25-26), indirectly attacks Khedive Ismail for being greedy and unjust:

[1] "Man wishes to posses the whole earth, Not knowing what God has disposed. [2] Wealth could, sometimes, lead its owner to perdition, And greed often turns against itself."

While in exile in Spain poet laureate Ahmed Shauqi wrote about homesickness, saying:

[1] "My homeland—even if immortality lured me with its call, my soul would still drag me back to it. [2] And my heart would be moved, even when in the springs of heaven, by its thirst for the suburbs of Ain Shams."

Ibrahim Nagui, who belongs to the Apollo school of Arabic poetry, writes about a personal experience when he sits on a rock and recalls a feeling:

[1] "Oh, cliff of reunion, I ask you When will time bring together what it has sundered? [2] You are a cliff that has brought two souls together, Seeking shelter in its unsurpassed beauty."

These samples show that the compilers of the school textbooks know that Arabic poetry has been going through an era of transformation and experimentation since the beginning of the 20th century. Nevertheless, they chose extracts that demonstrate that although the themes dealt with in modern poetry might be different, the shape of the line is the same.

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Form in the English Sonnet To explain to students with this background and training the literary term form, which is inclusive, variable, variously interpreted, and therefore ambiguous, proved more difficult than expected. For homework, the students of the two classes I teach (English 112 and 113 of the FWP) were assigned to read a sonnet by Shakespeare ("When in Disgrace with Fortune") and another by Shelley ("Ozymandias"), and look up the terms form, sonnet, and all the key words in each sonnet in a collegiate dictionary. After a quick discussion about the different meanings of the word form, I distributed a photocopy of the entry on form and another on sonnet from Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.2 The first exercise was to have them exclude the meanings that are not relevant, while the second required them to formulate a definition that they can use in discussing the sonnet by combining the relevant points. Of course, the fact that item 5 of the dictionary definition of form (see note 3) directly and appropriately refers to "the sonnet form in poetry" proved helpful. They realized that at one level, form can refer to structure; at another, to metrical patterns; at a third, to the characteristics that a text may share with others; and at a fourth, to the orderly arrangement of ideas and words. In fact, all of these levels can and should be noted in a thorough analysis of the form of the two sonnets in question. In the experience with my two classes, four steps of analysis are taken to help students grasp these four levels of form: (1) form as structure (including metrical patterning); (2) form as development; (3) form as cohesion; and (4) form viewed from the end.

Form as structure For my Arabic-speaking students, the superficial structure of the sonnet was problematic: the basic difficulty was that the end of the line did not bring an end to the sentence or the idea: the Shakespearean sonnet is one long sentence, whereas Shelley's "Ozymandias" has four sentences, one of which is nine lines long and another is three words. Initial questions that relate to structure and metrical patterns can be asked: why a "quatorzain"3? why 14 lines? why an octave and a sestet? Heninger (1994) has an interesting theory that the division into an octave and sestet "when reduced to its lowest ratio, this proportion becomes the relationship between four and three" (p. 73). "Four," he adds, "is the mundane number...the number of the four elements that comprise the macrocosm, ... of the four seasons that comprise the annual unit of time.... Four signifies this world" while "in the Platonic-Christian tradition...three signifies the deity" (p. 76) and "the sum of these integers, seven, represents the entire range of human experience from lowest to highest" (p. 77).


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Both "When in Disgrace with Fortune" and "Ozymandias" have the octave-sestet pattern in which the poets convey different experiences that deal with a state of despair that they overcome in different ways leading to an image of the sublime. For example, Shakespeare's lover, the "I" in the poem "When in Disgrace with Fortune," is the central character who is transformed to a state of bliss when he remembers his beloved: When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes, I all alone beweep my outcast state, And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, And look upon myself, and curse my fate, Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, Featured like him, like him with friends possest, Desiring this man's art and that man's scope, With what I most enjoy contented least; Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising— Haply I think on thee: and then my state, Like to the lark at break of day arising From sullen earth, sings hymns at Heaven's gate; For thy sweet love rememb'red such wealth brings That then I scorn to change my state with Kings.

Shelley's "I," however, is one of four characters that speak in the sonnet: the narrator, the traveler, Ozymandias, and the sculptor each has a voice. Known for his "autobiographical impulse" (Clark, 1989, p. 7), Shelley uses direct speech here to attract the attention of the reader and to stress that this is a personal experience of great value: I met a traveler from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal these words appear: 'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!' Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.

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More questions come to mind: How does this information about the two sonnets affect the study of the structure of the sonnet and how can "form" be interpreted as structure? Clearly, the idea of structure is metaphoric, because a poem consists of words and utterances—phonological units rather than bricks and mortar. The idea of building requires the student to imagine a kind of edifice with a foundation, pillars, support walls, and so on. This itself may be difficult for a youngster to associate with a poem. So it may be easier to begin by establishing the idea that there is a starting point for every work of art that may be regarded as the basis. This may be an image, a feeling, a theme, or an attitude. The student thus can be made conscious of a central idea representing the foundation of the building. Identifying this foundation in itself can be conducted as a sort of game for the students. For Shakespeare, the starting point is a deceptive conditional clause with the relative pronoun of time, "when." This clause allows the suspension and resumption of syntax in which the poet uses grammar to deal with the plausible but unreal list of imaginary "miserable conditions" (conveyed in the words "beweep," "trouble," "look," "curse," "wishing," "featured," "desiring," "enjoy," "despising"). The accumulation of these words may be regarded as a specific poetic ruse, building up to a climax that introduces the one real operative verb in the sonnet: "I think on thee." The form takes a line marked out by grammar until a climax comes almost as a surprise, although it is necessitated by the sense. Shakespeare's two-part division invites the reader to an admirably unified octave that leads to a volte-face which is followed by a "turn" of thought and shift in feeling in the sestet. At the outset, Shelley uses the narrative mode which at the superficial level seems simple and straightforward, but the exotic mood initiated by the encounter with "a traveler from an antique land," who tells his own enigmatic story, creates an atmosphere of mystery that pervades the sonnet. The two first speakers fade in the background of the picture that Shelley portrays: the king and his sculptor take over, though we are never sure who makes the final remark. The octave and the sestet are bound together by means of three factors: the extended description of the remains of the statue of the king, the conjunction "And" at the beginning of the sestet and the interlocking rhyme scheme. The four main verbs in the four sentences that constitute the sonnet are static verbs that imply lack of movement, but the poem starts in the past tense ("met") and proceeds and ends in the present with only three main verbs: "lies," "remains," and "stretch." Unlike Shakespeare, who has three quatrains and a couplet that follow the regular rhyme scheme abab—cdcd— efef—gg, Shelley chooses to bind his quatrains together by using a rhyme scheme that suits his purpose.


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Form as development Another means of reaching the idea of form is through development. The students may be taught that the poem advances from simple to complex ideas or from the particular to the general or from one idea to the next logically and gradually or through binary opposition, such as antitheses or contrasts. The students will therefore be encouraged to make use of the analytical mechanisms used in other disciplines (entailment, embedding, etc.) in following up the progress of the poem and in tracing out a certain line of development. The theme Shakespeare deals with is developed into an idea, an argument, and a resolution. First, his idea in the first quatrain concerns hypothetical conditions of shame, ill repute, alienation, loneliness, hopelessness, failure, poverty, and more. In the second quatrain, when he compares himself to others who are more fortunate, he becomes envious, which leads not to self-pity but to more misery, contempt, and lack of selfrespect. Finally, the resolution is foreshadowed in the third quatrain with the use of the verb "think." The implication is that the mind and the heart can change this world from a living hell to a heavenly place. "Ozymandias" demonstrates how exquisitely the theme of the transience of life vis-a-vis the survival and permanence of art and nature can be dealt with by engaging the reader in interpreting the sonnet. The particulars that are disclosed one by one, namely the legs, the visage, the hand and the heart and the pedestal, convey a sense of fragmentation that shows the destructive effect of time. The extended details with which Shelley describes the statue show that he has a zoom lens that initially brings us close to see the expression on the king's face and then even closer to read the words on the pedestal. After hearing, seeing, and reading the words of the king, we take a few steps back for a full view of the "colossal wreck" in the "boundless" desert. History tells the truth and the truth is that men live and die however great. This is revealed through a series of juxtapositions: life versus death, life versus art, art versus death, dynamic versus static, present versus past.

Form as cohesion Another means of driving home the idea of form is through relating the details to one another through what is commonly called cohesion and which ultimately is conducive to coherence. When groups of images are drawn from nature and center around a specific scene or landscape, they generally have internal ideational links that may help the student grasp the cohesion of the general framework. Exercises in relating such images or clusters of images to one another will heighten the student's concept of

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form. If more links are found or established within these clusters (color, sound, etc.), the students will realize that the texture itself has form and that the use of significant details is governed by an inner logic closely tied with the poet's vision or poetic intuition. In the first quatrain of the Shakespearean sonnet, the poet uses words that allude to Adam after the Fall: "disgrace," "outcast," "deaf heaven," "bootless cries," "curse my fate." These conjure up an image of hell. The poet, who is now associated with Adam and represents man, lists one simile after another to depict himself in various conditions in which he has feelings of discontent excited by the superiority or prosperity of others. At the end of the second quatrain, in which he is indirectly claiming that envy prevails on earth, he states that he suffers from lack of satisfaction in giving an impression that nothing can alleviate his suffering. After a slow-moving octave, the sestet, which brings about relief and joy, is set in heaven. The sharp contrast between the sense of doom portrayed in the octave and the dynamic movement in the sestet is meant to show how one's mental state can have an exalting effect. In a vibrant image that fills the sestet with an uplifting feeling, the poet compares himself to a lark, which stands for joy, freedom, singing, harmony, poetry, and divine inspiration. To establish a link between the octave and the sestet, Shakespeare resorts to internal music that is achieved through the repetition of certain words ("state," "heaven," "like"), ideas ("fortune," "rich," "wealth"; "disgrace," "curse"; "alone," "outcast"), and syntactic structures (adjectivenoun combinations: "outcast state," "deaf heaven," "bootless cries," "sullen earth," "sweet love"; present participle: "wishing," "desiring," "despising," "arising"; and past participle: "featured," "possest," "contented"). The image of "sullen earth" alludes to the story of creation and directly refers to a chaotic state of existence, the one portrayed in the octave. The transformation from the "outcast state" to a state in which he "sings hymns at heaven's gate" is a reference to the sublime. Shelley's sonnet tells a highly ironic story of Ozymandias, a once powerful king who seeks immortality, but is remembered on account of his statue, which is a heap of broken stone in a pathetic state in the desert. This statue of Ozymandias shows the skill of the sculptor who captures the essence of life rather than the grandeur or the glory of the king. The closeup on the "visage" and the "pedestal" indicates that looking closely one understands the meaning of life. Ironically, the visage, which is the "power mask" that exhibits a haughty, tyrannical expression, is half-buried and although the king is not alive, his "words appear" on the pedestal. This is an epiphanic moment in which the king, who stands for history, uses direct speech. Yet the fact remains that he is being remembered because of the sculpture not because of his "works."


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Form viewed from the end Nothing can clinch the idea of form in a short poem more than the analysis of the end. Just as with the foundation, a clear ending gives shape to the whole. When the end is not haphazard or a random line thrown in for good measure, but is an inevitable consequence of all that has proceeded from stanza to stanza, the students will feel that there is an end. And when they feel an end, they will sense that there must have been a beginning and a middle. Aristotelian though this concept may be, there is no harm in utilizing it for the approximation of the idea of form at this initial stage. Variations of the Aristotelian pattern may be given at later stages, but I believe they should be avoided at this early stage. The couplet is epigrammatic and inclusive in this Shakespearean sonnet. The experience happens in one minute: initially, he is unhappy and wants what others have, but in the end he is content and regrets and scorns his previous desires. "Sweet love" enables him to break the shackles of depression that chained him to "sullen earth." The idea is that in the absence of "sweet love" he is in an "outcast state": he "trouble[s] deaf heaven" with his "bootless cries." The end thus takes us back to the beginning, to the image of Adam. The reader experiences a sense of relief that the image of the "bootless cries" to "deaf heaven" is now transformed to that of "the lark at the break of day arising/ From sullen earth, [that] sings hymns at Heaven's gate." With the allusion to Adam and the story of creation, it is now possible to infer that the "sweet love" could be a reference to the love of God. Unlike Shakespeare, Shelley's final statement is disturbing: art and nature remain, not man. True, the statue is "colossal," but it is also a "wreck" in a state of "decay" because of time, which is what is awesome. The desert too is awesome: it is the master, with the statue representing only a spot. The "sands" here are described with terms that generally refer to the sea: "sunk," "wreck," and "breathless." This metaphor depicts a fearful picture of the sand that is "bare," i.e., lifeless, especially since this is where human beings are buried. The idea that is comforting, however, is that the creator of this poem, the poet, is the one who really survives.

Conclusion Discussing these four steps in focusing on form proved to be a rewarding experience for me and for the students. Observing them struggle to identify the main subject and verb in the Shakespearean sonnet, and in so doing become aware that all 14 lines constitute one syntactic structure (that is not a run-on sentence!), and in Shelley's sonnet to compare the

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nine-line-long sentence with the one that is only three words, made me realize that this is an exercise that they will not easily forget. Moreover, apart from experiencing the vitality of a different culture's poetic tradition, Arabic-speaking students reached another goal: comprehending the two general principles that reading and appreciation of English poetry can lead to the improvement of one's own writing skills and that there is a bond between form and content.

Notes 1 Randa Abou-Bakr, lecturer in the Department of English Language and Literature, Cairo University, translated all the Arabic verses in this essay. To her, I am truly grateful. 2 "Form; 1. The shape or structure of anything; also, a mold for giving a desired shape to anything. 2. A body, esp. of a human being. 3. A set way of doing something. 4. A prescribed order of words or action: hence: a Conduct regulated by convention or custom; also, empty ceremony; as, merely a matter of form. b A social convention or manner of behaving. c manner of doing something; as, his form in diving is bad. 5. Orderly arrangement; also, a special manner of arrangement: also, the sonnet form in poetry. 6. Kind; species; variety; as, the different forms of carbon. 7. Physical and mental condition, as of an athlete; as, he was at the top of his form. 8. A long seat or bench, esp. in a schoolroom; hence, a class of students in a school; as he was in the fourth form. 9. A printed document with blank spaces for insertion of required information; as, an income tax form. 10. Grammar. Any of the changed spelling or pronunciations a word may take in declension or conjunction or compounding; as, a passive form. 11. Philosophy. a The essential nature of a thing as distinguished from the matter in which this nature is embodied; that in a thing which it has in common with every other thing called by the same name; thus, the form of a (or any) diamond is pure crystallized carbon; opposed to matter. b The pre-existing idea of which all actual things are copies. 12 In printing, type arranged and fastened in a chase. "Syn. Form, figure, shape, confirmation, configuration, outline, contour, profile. In general, form is the aspect under which a thing appear; figure is oftener form as defined by outline; Shape is more colloquial than form; it often suggests form as given or acquired. Confirmation and configuration denote form as dependent on disposition of parts. Outline suggests the bounding line of a figure; contour connotes rather body or mass as (esp. gracefully) outlined. Profile is esp. outline in side view. See CEREMONY." "Sonnet; A rhymed poem of fourteen lines (usually iambic pentame-


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ters) expressing a single idea or sentiment. The type of sonnet, the Italian sonnet, called also Petrarchan, or regular, sonnet, is quatrains (often rhyming abba, abba), and sestet, composed of two tercets (commonly rhyming edc, edc or ede, ede}. Milton and Wordsworth wrote sonnets of this type, but their division between parts is marked only by a change in the rhyme scheme. Another type, English sonnet, called also Elizabethan, or Shakespearean, sonnet, has four stanzas, or three quatrains and a couplet (commonly rhyming abab, cdcd, efef, gg)." 3 This is the Italian term that was used until Gascoigne coined the term sonnet to refer not to short poems in general but to poems "whiche are fourtene lynes, every line conteyning tenne syllables" (1.55).

References

Badawi, M. M. 1985. Convention and reward in modern Arabic poetry. Modern Arabic literature and the West. London: Ithaca Press. . 1993. A short history of modern Arabic literature. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Clark, T. 1989. Embodying revolution: the figure of the poet in Shelley. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Enani, M. M. 1986. An anthology of the new Arabic poetry in Egypt. Cairo: General Egyptian Book Organization. Gascoigne, G. 1575. Certayne notes of instruction concerning the making of verse or ryme in English. Reprinted in Elizabethan critical essays (1904), edited by G. G. Smith. London: Oxford University Press. Heinrichs, W. 1973. Literary theory: the problem of its efficiency. In Arabic poetry: theory and development, edited by G. E. von Grunebaum. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Heninger, S. K., Jr. 1994. The origin of the sonnet: form as optimism. In The subtext of form in the English Renaissance. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. Moreh, S. 1998. Studies in modern Arabic prose and poetry. Leiden: Brill. Spiller, Michael R.G. 1992. The study of the development of the sonnet. London: Routledge. Van Gelder, G. J. H. 1982. Beyond the line: classical Arabic literary critics on the coherence and unity of the poem. Leiden: Brill.

Dialectal Analysis of Freshman Writing Students' Attitudes toward American and British Dialects Christopher W. Horger The 19th and 20th centuries have seen the spread and rapid global adoption of English as a lingua franca throughout the world. Much to the chagrin of many British speakers of English, the preeminence of American (U.S.) English since World War II seems to threaten the once sacrosanct position of British English, particularly within business, communications, and education. Due in large part to U.S. world dominance in mass culture, primarily in publishing, film, and music, many people seem to want to talk like an American. But not everyone is rushing to adopt American standards of speech. Modiano (1996) claims that most language schools in Europe still cling to British linguistic forms in their curricula, including British phonology, syntax, and lexicon. This retention of the British standard is often met with great resistance from students, who see it as limiting in terms of the number of people they will ultimately be able to communicate with. Indeed, there seems something absurd about forcing on students a dialect (Received Pronunciation) that is spoken by a small minority within England. As Modiano points out, 70% of all native English speakers speak with an American dialect. To become fluent in English as a foreign language and still be frequently unintelligible to the majority of native English speakers does not sound like a very good bargain. The reason for such strict maintenance of this dialect in European language schools is tradition and the notion of prestige. Tradition maintains that British English is "better," "cleaner," "more intelligent," and "more pure," as opposed to American English, which is "lazy," "vulgar," and "unsophisticated." Even Prince Charles is on record as attacking the American dialect as "corrupt" (Modiano, 1996). But these traditional attitudes toward dialects die hard. Indeed, even some Americans see their own speech as inferior to British English. And while many L2 English learners seem desirous of adopting an American dialect, they too cling to

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some of these traditional notions about dialectal superiority and inferiority when it comes to British vs. American speech. The following study grew out of a desire to measure some of the attitudes the American University in Cairo (AUC) students hold toward the two different dialects. Students at AUC represent particularly good subjects for study, since most are products of the various private language schools in Cairo. And although a considerable number clearly speak with a British accent, the majority uses the American dialect. What is more noteworthy, many of them adopt the American dialect in the course of their brief years studying at AUC. Whatever remnants of their British linguistic training are still intact on entering AUC seem to be almost wiped out by the time most are seniors. The questions guiding this study are as follows: • How linguistically aware are AUC students of the differences between British and American dialects? • Is there a positive correlation between proficiency in English and the ability to differentiate between British and American dialects? • What are some of the affective reactions to the two different dialects? • Which dialect do students prefer as a medium of instruction and to speak in general, and what are some of the reasons for this preference?

Review of Literature Within sociolinguistics, the history of attitudes toward language is a relatively recent one, slightly more than 30 years old. Beginning in the 1960s and coming into full bloom in the 1970s and 1980s, the study of attitudes toward various dialects and whole languages has taken on many forms in many regions. Most of the studies were done within the English speaking world, particularly in North America, although some notable exceptions exist. The three major focal points of attitudinal studies in North America were Black English, Latino/American, and Anglo/French Canadian, where different dialects and languages come into frequent contact. Measurements of attitudes often included such things as perceived levels of intelligence, understandability, education, and class. More recently, studies have expanded to include Japanese, Arabic, and Israeli attitudes toward English. Some of the better-known landmark studies in language attitudes are summarized below. One of the earliest studies was conducted by Tucker and Lambert (1969) who set out to measure attitudes toward standard American English and Black English. They used as their subjects three groups of college students (northern white, southern white, and southern black) to evaluate six dialects of American English: television network, educated white south-

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ern, educated black southern, Mississippi peer, Howard University, and New York alumni. Respondents on the whole rated the network speaker most favorably, but when it came to ethnic and regional dialects, the northern white and southern black groups all rated the educated southern black dialect more favorably, whereas the southern white group rated itself higher. With the exception of the favorable attitudes toward network speech, southern whites and southern blacks exhibited an "us and them" attitude toward each other, finding their own dialect more pleasant. D'Anglejan and Tucker (1973) conducted a similar study in Quebec. Using both Anglo and French speakers as judges, the researchers measured attitudes between European French and two dialects of French Canadian. They hypothesized that the prestige dialect (European French) would rate higher in status but not in things that mark solidarity: friendliness, trustworthiness, and the like. The general consensus favored the European French in terms of intelligence, and socioeconomic status, but surprisingly also found them to rank higher than their Canadian counterparts in levels of friendliness and trustworthiness. Similarly, Carranza and Ryan (1975) measured attitudes among Anglos and Mexican-Americans toward their own dialects and found that both groups favored the commonly accepted high-prestige form (AngloEnglish) over the low-prestige one (Latino) in terms of intelligence, ambition, education, etc. They also found that Mexican-Americans valued the Anglo dialect in terms of friendliness, sociability, etc. More recently, attitudinal studies have diversified to include measurements of ethnic groups to whole languages. Kraemer and Birenbaum (1993) conducted a study in an Israeli context to discover correlations between ethnicity and gender and the three languages of Israel: Hebrew, Arabic, and English. They hypothesized that ethnicity would determine preferences toward Hebrew and Arabic, but that preferences toward English, since it is considered a neutral language in Israel, would find a correlation only in gender, and that females would favor it over males. They found that ethnicity determined not only preferences toward Hebrew and Arabic, but English as well; the Hebrew-speaking students rated English more favorably than the Arab students. The proffered interpretations for this finding were both economic and political. More recently Levin et al. (1994) conducted a study to measure attitudes toward levels of formality, asking respondents to rate a speaker who read a passage with a proliferation of Latinate English words against a reader reading with a primarily Germanic lexicon. As expected, the results showed that the highly Latinate version was measured positively in terms of intelligence, ambition, and social stature, as opposed to the Germanic version, which generally scored low on these constructs. Conversely, however, the speaker who used the


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more Germanic lexicon was valued for his sincerity, friendliness, and trustworthiness, while the Latinate one was not. Giles et al. (1995) took a different approach in studying attitudes toward Anglo- and Latino-accented speakers by adding the level of persuasiveness to the semantic differential scale. Using a matched guise technique, the researchers recorded a bidialectal speaker to read two brief argumentative passages in each dialect, one an argument in favor of the English-only Movement (EoM), the other against it. The researchers employed questionnaires that asked subjects to measure the recorded voice according to the level of dynamism, superiority, and attractiveness. The results confirmed the hypothesis. Subjects who had originally been in favor of the EoM were largely convinced to alter their view after hearing the Anglo version against the EoM, whereas the Latino-accented version did not carry as much persuasive weight. Curiously, those who were against the EoM were not strongly affected by the anti-EoM argument when it was articulated by the accented recording, and indeed showed a slight movement toward altering their view after hearing the Anglo speaker. The implications of this study are quite clear and frightening. Mainstream dialects carry more intrinsic authority than do minority dialects. Often it is not so much the meaning in the message, but rather the dialectal quality of the message that persuades people. The final two studies in this literature review have a direct bearing on the study reported here, since they attempt to measure L2 English speakers' cognitive and affective attitudes toward various English dialects. The first, by Alford and Strother (1993), was an attempt to measure native English speakers' affective reactions toward regional American dialects against those of normative speakers. They wanted to know whether L2 speakers of English could detect regional dialects as most American L1 speakers can. Furthermore, they hoped to discover whether L2 speakers shared some of the same attitudes and perceptions toward these dialectal differences as Lls did. Six readers, three males and three females, represented the three dialects: northern (New York), southern (South Carolina), and midwestern (Illinois). The respondents listened to each recording, and then evaluated personality characteristics on a seven-point Likert scale. The personality constructs measured were levels of intelligence, family training, education, ambition, confidence, professionalism, trustworthiness, sincerity, friendliness, patience, gentleness, and extroversion. The findings clearly indicate that L2 English speakers are capable of detecting differences in dialects and ascribing to them the same characteristics as L1 speakers. The question that arises from these results is, how do L2s acquire these attitudes, especially since many had been in the States for less than a year? Are they media influenced? Or do these perceptions come from immersion in the regional dialect? More studies need to be

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conducted to shed light on such linguistic attitudes. The final study reviewed most directly ties in with the present study and was the guiding inspiration for it. Al-Kahtani (1995) conducted an attitudinal study among 14 Saudi Arabian students studying in the United States to measure perceptions toward three dialects: standard American English, Black English, and Indian English. He hypothesized that correlations exist between the independent variables of L2 English speakers' level of proficiency, motivation for learning, and age and the dependent variables of character traits perceived in the various dialects. The general results indicated a positive preference for Standard American dialect. Black English scored a bit lower, and Indian English consistently scored the lowest. Furthermore, the combined means suggest a marked preference for standard American English as a medium of instruction and in overall linguistic quality. In terms of the hypothesized correlations, Al-Kahtani found a positive correlation between proficiency and age, and desirability of standard American English. The implications of this study, according to Al-Kahtani, are that ESL students do establish dialectal preferences and attitudes similar to native mainstream speakers, often in a short period of time. Clearly, social biases and prejudices permeate language at all levels of proficiency. And as will be demonstrated, students at the American University in Cairo (AUC) are no exception to this phenomenon.

Procedure All of the above studies employed some form of a semantic differential scale to measure both cognitive and affective reactions toward the various dialects and languages. Hence, this study incorporates this research design with minor modifications. Since one of the purposes was to discover any traditional attitudes held toward British English (BE) and American English (AE), I drew on some of the better known stereotypes of BE and AE in putting together the semantic differential scale. For example, a common stereotype of British speakers is that they are more sophisticated and cultured, yet often arrogant. Americans, on the other hand, are often thought to be less cultured and sophisticated, but more friendly. The questionnaire distributed contained three parts (see the Appendix). The first part contained eight personality constructs to which subjects were asked to rate in response to the speaker's reading. Six traits were affective (in the sense that students were asked to respond intuitively): level of intelligence, sophistication, friendliness, class, arrogance, and culture; two, level of education and articulateness, tried to measure a more tangible trait. Each personality trait could be ranked on a five-point scale (e.g., from very intelligent to very unintelligent). The second part of the questionnaire consisted


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of personal data designed to elicit information about the subject's cognitive reactions to the two dialects. The third part was a lexical questionnaire designed to elicit either an American or British form. Students were given 10 sentences with a key word omitted. Below each sentence were four multiple-choice answers that contained at least one commonly used standard American lexical item and one British lexical item, e.g., apartment/flat. Respondents were asked to choose the form they would most likely use. A portable cassette recorder was used to record four speakers, two British and two American. The two British speakers consisted of a standard British dialect (in this case, B.B.C. London-based British) and the other was a northern English (Manchester) dialect. The two American speakers consisted of a standard American (TV network) dialect and a more highly marked Wisconsin dialect. Regrettably, the Manchester and Wisconsin speakers were dropped from the study as a result of time and space constraints. (Out of curiosity, however, I did play these two dialects after the questionnaires were complete and asked both groups to guess at the dialectal origin. Most could not place the Manchester dialect within England and none guessed the Midwest for the Wisconsin dialect.) The speakers all read the same short passage from a recent Cairo Times article about al-Horreya Cafe/bar. The average time duration for each speaker was roughly a minute and a half. The speakers were encouraged to read as naturally as possible in their own dialect. The study was conducted at two different times: May of 1998 and February of 1999. The first time did not include part three, the lexical questionnaire; thus, the sample is small.

Methods The subjects for this study came from four of my own freshman writing classes at AUC, two sections of English 112 and two of English 113. They were a sample of convenience and should in no way be considered representative of the larger AUC student body. Nevertheless, they do provide a somewhat heterogeneous sample, since they run the gamut of varying levels of proficiency. Another virtue of this sample is that they already comprise two separate levels of English proficiency. English 112 is the entry level writing course required of all AUC students. As such, many often exhibit poor English language skills, more so in writing than in speaking. The total number of English 112 students in this study was 29. The English 113 students are usually much better speakers and writers than English 112 students, by virtue of the fact that they have had to demonstrate a certain level of English proficiency to pass from 112 into 113. The total number of English 113 students was also 29.

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Students were prepared for the questionnaire/testing a week in advance to ensure a good turnout. I explained to them the nature of the study, but to insure objectivity, I kept my own feelings quiet. On the day of the study, I carefully explained the questionnaire and asked them to respond as honestly as possible. They were not told who the speakers were or where they came from. I played the two recorded speakers and asked them to respond to the first part (the semantic differential scale) before having them fill in the second part on personal attitudes toward the two dialects. After compiling all the data, I first determined ability to discern between dialects. Table 1 shows these results. Because there were surprisingly quite a few who could not discern between British and American dialects, and who had no sense of linguistic differences, their responses were pulled from the rest of the study. It seemed fruitless to include someone's reactions to the semantic differential scales, someone who gave very low ratings to both speakers on most items, and then claimed those very dialects would make excellent media for instruction. Thus, only the 16 subjects who were able to accurately differentiate between British and American dialects were included in the rest of the data analysis. All items were given a mean score based on a five-point scale.

Findings The first question to answer was how linguistically aware students were of the differences. Could they distinguish between a British and American dialect? Table 1 shows the overall number of participants from both classes and the combined number and percentage of those who could distinguish between dialects. As we can see, 45 out of a total 58 students (77.58%) were able to discern between dialects. If we were to answer the first question according to the results in this table, the answer would be "somewhat aware." Table 1. Profile of study population. Study Participants

No.

English 112

29

19

65.51

English 113

29

26

89.65

Total

58

45

77.58

Dialect ability*

%

*Dialect ability = the ability of students to distinguish between the British and American dialects. More revealing, however, are the differences between the two levels of English classes. Clearly, the English 113 classes were better able to dis-


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tinguish between dialects. In the English 112 class only 19 out of 29 students could place the speaker's country of origin (65.51%), whereas 26 out of 29 students (89.65%) could in the 113 class. This would seem to support the hypothesis that language proficiency correlates positively with linguistic and dialectal awareness. Following al-Khatany (1995), affective responses to personality traits were identified. Some modifications to al-Khatany's original series were made to account for perceived stereotypes of British and American dialects. Students were asked to characterize the speakers as intelligent, educated, articulate, sophisticated, friendly, upper class, arrogant, and cultured, and to rate these traits on a five-point scale (see Table 2). Table 2. Judgment of personality traits of readers by entire study population (N = 45). Personality Traits* (meanst+) Dialect American

INT 3.77

EDU 4.44

ART 4.04

SOPH 2.84

FR 3.73

UC 3.68

ARR 1.88

CUL 3.80

Briti4.06 4.64 3.73 4.11 2.26 4.11 3.71 3.93

* INT = intelligent; EDU = educated; ART= articulate; SOPH = sophisticated; FR = friendly; UC = upper class; ARR = arrogant; CUL = cultured + Based on a five-point scale.

In terms of some of the affective responses to personality traits, the findings are perhaps not surprising. I averaged all the personality data from Part I in the questionnaire into three major groups: the total population, the English 112 population, and the English 113 population (tables 3 and 4, respectively). In general students ranked the individual traits of the British dialect more favorably, with the notable exceptions of friendliness and articulateness. Invariably, the American dialect gets the higher score in these two categories, that is, American English sounds more friendly and is easier to understand. It is worth noting, however, that high scores for the personality traits should not always be equated with a positive attribute. For example, arrogance is seldom a highly valued social construct. In effect then, the low scores for the American dialect under the category of arrogance speak more in its favor. To sum up the findings of Part I, students generally find British English to be more intelligent, educated, sophisticated, upper class and cultured, whereas American English is more articulate, friendlier, and less arrogant.

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Table 3. Judgment of personality traits of readers by English 112 students (n = 19). Personality Trait* (meant) Dialect American British

INT 3.89 4.05

EDU 4.30 4.76

ART 4.00 3.36

SOPH FR 2.89 3.63 3.89 1.94

UC 3.47 4.10

ARR 1.84 3.89

CUL 3.89 4.89

* INT = intelligent; EDU = educated; ART= articulate; SOPH = sophisticated; FR = friendly; UC = upper class; ARR = arrogant; CUL = cultured + Based on a five-point scale. Curiously, it is under the three categories of sophistication, friendliness, and arrogance where the most dramatic and statistically significant differences in mean scores appear. The other five personality traits show marginal differences in scores, but sophistication, friendliness, and arrogance consistently show more than a whole percentage point in difference (the exception being English 113 students' scoring of sophistication, Table 4). This would seem to suggest that these three traditional stereotypes have the greatest influence on student's perceptions of dialectal differences. Another explanation might be that both speakers were actually similar in their levels of education, intelligence, articulateness, and so on, and students were not able to perceive significant differences. Table 4. Judgment of personality traits of readers by English 113 students (n = 26). Personality Trait* (meant) Dialect American British

INT 3.69 4.07

EDU 4.30 4.53

ART 4.07 4.00

SOPH FR 2.80 3.80 3.61 2.50

UC 3.47 4.11

ARR 1.84 3.57

CUL 3.73 3.96

* INT = intelligent; EDU = educated; ART= articulate; SOPH = sophisticated; FR = friendly; UC = upper class; ARR = arrogant; CUL = cultured + Based on a five-point scale. Questions 9 and 10 in Part I of the questionnaire provided the data for tables 5, 6, and 7. These questions asked students to rank both dialects in terms of appropriateness for educational instruction and overall linguistic quality. These findings are surprising and a bit ironic. Table 5 shows the mean scores for the entire population of participants. In terms of overall


171

linguistic quality, BE scored 4.06% out of a possible 5.00%, whereas AE scored 4.00%—a difference that is not significant. What is significant is the dialectal preference for educational instruction. After showing slight preference for the British dialect in overall linguistic quality, students generally seemed to agree that the American dialect was more suitable for classroom instruction. Table 5. Attitude of entire population (N = 45) toward educational and linguistic value of each dialect. Trait (meant)

Dialect American British

Appropriateness for education

Linguistic quality

3.51 2.77

4.00 4.06

+ Based on a five-point scale. If we take a close look at tables 6 and 7, which represent the preferences of English 112 and 113 students respectively, we find some striking differences. Table 6 shows English 112 students ranking AE higher in linguistic quality as well as educational appropriateness. But their desire for AE as a medium of instruction over BE is dramatically significant: almost two points greater than BE on a five-point scale (roughly 40%). Table 7, on the other hand, shows a considerable reversal of this trend among 113 students. They ranked BE marginally higher in both overall quality and appropriateness for instruction. Table 6. Attitude of English 112 students (n = 19) toward educational and linguistic value of each dialect. Trait (meant)

Dialect American British

Appropriateness for education

Linguistic quality

4.0 2.05

4.0 3.63

+ Based on a five-point scale.

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Table 7. Attitude of English 113 students (n = 26) toward educational and linguistic value of each dialect. Trait (meant) Appropriateness for education Dialect American British

3.15 3.30

Linguistic quality 4.00 4.38

+ Based on a five-point scale. How do we account for these discrepancies? At least two interpretations for these findings can be offered. The first is that English 112 students are not yet confident in English and therefore have a low ambiguity tolerance. Since most students perceive AE as clearer and more understandable, it stands to reason that less proficient students would cling to that which is more straightforward and comprehensible. The second explanation has to do with the sample size of this study. Only 26 English 113 students were included in this study, half from the spring 1998 class and half from the spring 1999 class. When this study was first conducted in 1998, there was a unanimous preference for AE as a medium for instruction. After including the 1999 sample, however, the pendulum swung in the opposite direction. Notably, 11 of the 15 students in the 1999 class have been to British schools, an unusually high concentration for one class. Evidence of this group's British preferences is reinforced by findings from the lexical questionnaire, which shows a high frequency of British forms, e.g., interval and surgery were preferred over intermission and office. Still, the primary inclination among most students is toward American English for instruction and as a dialect to speak. One wonders why students would favor a dialect that they generally considered inferior. To answer this question I returned to the open-answer segment from Part II of the questionnaire. The majority of respondents claimed that American English is easier to understand, that it will better prepare them for a career in the professional world, and that almost everyone else is speaking it. A few even said it just sounds "cool," and that exposure to American film and music has a huge influence on their choice of dialects. The final findings in this study came from Part III, the lexical questionnaire. As was stated earlier, this was only administered to the spring, 1999, groups; thus only 30 participants were included: 15 from the


173

English 112 class and 15 from the English 113 class. A quick glance at Table 8 shows a general preference for American lexical items, but it is revealing to see how frequently British items were chosen. The fact that words such as interval, surgery, rubber, pavement, and zebra crossings were chosen at all suggests a stronger British influence than was anticipated. Clearly, British English is alive and thriving at AUC. Table 8. Lexical choices of English 112 (n = 15) and English 113 (n = 15) study subgroups. American (112/113)* Intermission 4/6 Office 7/6 French Fries 12/11 Eraser 10/9 Sidewalk 6/9 Trunk 11/11 Crosswalks 12/8 Apartment 14/11 Elevator 9/8 Great 13/10

Other

British Interval Surgery Chips Rubber Pavement Boot Zebra crossings Flat Lift Smashing

6/8 5/8 2/2 4/6 9/6 1/2 1/5 1/4 4/5 2/4

5/1 3/1 1/2 1/0 0/0 3/2 2/2 0/0 2/2 0/1

* Number of students from English 112/English 113 choosing the particular lexical item.

Conclusions and Recommendations The findings of this study need to be taken cautiously. The sample was too small to generalize to the larger AUC population. Still, one can not ignore the clear correlation between proficiency in English and the ability to recognize dialects. In terms of how AUC students pick up some of the traditional notions and stereotypes about British and American English, it might just be the result of mass media, language school training, or even Egypt's British colonial past. This fondness for a glorious British past could certainly influence the way people regard the two dialects, and traditions in Cairo (linguistic or otherwise) seldom fade quickly. Besides, American influence in Egypt is relatively recent and still on the rise. Attitudes toward languages ultimately evolve like languages themselves. A similar study conducted 20 years from now might find students claiming British English to be hopelessly archaic, provincial, and rustic, while

174


American English may get high grades for cosmopolitanism, articulateness, and intelligence. Future dialectal studies certainly promise to shed light on the complex issue of language attitudes.

Appendix: Questionnaire on Dialects Part I. Instructions: Listen carefully to the different speakers. Feel free to silently read along with them from the handout. After hearing each reader, place an X in the appropriate blank. For example, if you think the speaker is very intelligent, you should mark it as follows: : : : : Unintelligent Intelligent: X If you thought the speaker was very unintelligent, mark it as: Intelligent: : : : : X : Unintelligent If you had no opinion or could not tell, mark it as: Intelligent: : : X : : : Unintelligent If you thought he was somewhat intelligent, but not very intelligent, mark it as: Intelligent: : X : : : : Unintelligent If you thought he was somewhat unintelligent, but not very unintelligent, mark it as: Intelligent: : : : X : : Unintelligent Speaker #1: Do you think the speaker is

?

1. Intelligent: : : : : : Unintelligent 2. Educated : Uneducated 3. Articulate : Inarticulate : Unsophisticated 4. Sophisticated 5. Friendly : Unfriendly : Lower Class 6. Upper class 7. Arrogant : Not arrogant 8. Cultured : Uncultured 9. Do you think this5 form of English should be used as a medium of instruction? : : : : : Disagree Agree ? 10. Do you think thatat the speaker used : : Poor English Good English 11. Do you know what kind of English the speaker was using? yes no 12. If yes, specify


175

Speaker #2: Do you think the speaker is 1. Intelligent Unintelligent 2. Educated Uneducated 3. Articulate Inarticulate 4. Sophisticated Unsophisticated 5. Friendly Unfriendly 6. Upper class Lower Class 7. Arrogant Modest Uncultured 8. Cultured 9. Do you think this form of English should be used as a medium of instruction? Agree : : : : : : Disagree 10. Do you think that the speaker used ? Good English : : : : :_ : Poor English 11. Do you know what kind of English the speaker was using? Yes No 12. If yes, specify

Part II. Instructions: Please read through the following questions and respond as honestly as possible. l.Name:. 2. Age:_ 3. Years studying English:_ 4. Major: 5. What is your goal in learning English?

6. Do you use English for purposes other than school? Yes No 7. If so, what other purposes do you use English for? (examples: with your friends, family, when shopping, work or business, etc.)

176


8. Which language do you use most frequently? Please rank in order of frequency with 1 being the most frequent and 3 being the least. Arabic English Other 9. How aware are you of the differences between British and American English? Very aware Somewhat aware Not very aware 10. Which dialect do you think is more prestigious? American British Neither 11. State some of your reasons:

12. Which dialect do you think you come closest to using? American British Other 13. How did you acquire this dialect?

14. How would you describe the differences between these dialects?

15. Which dialect of English would you prefer to use? American British Other_ 16. State some reasons for this preference:

Part III. Instructions: Circle the letter to the answer which you think best fits the blank. 1. I went to see the movie Titanic last week and during the I ran into an old friend. a. intermission b. intervention c. interval d. introspection 2. The operation was minor and the doctor was able to take care of it in his a. cabinet

b. store

3. I ordered some a. pomme frittes b. chips

c. surgery

d. office

with my cheeseburger and shake. c. french fries d. fingers

4. "May I borrow your pencil? The a. eraser b. leaf

on mine is used up." c. rubber d. button

Dialectal Analysis of Freshman Writing Students' Attitudes 5. The a. field

177

is for pedestrians, and the street is for cars. b. sidewalk c. pavement d. tarmac

6. Most people keep a spare tire in the a. glove compartment b. trunk c. boot

of their car. d. shoe

7. In Cairo are often painted onto streets at intersections, but many drivers barely slow down for them. a. atlases b. crosswalks c. hotels d. zebra crossings 8. My cousin lives in a beautiful a. apartment b. compartment

in Maadi. c. pad ' d. flat

9. She had to walk up ten flights of stairs because the wasn't working. a. raiser b. ascensior c. lift

d. elevator

10. I think Braveheart was a a. perfidious b. smashing

d. egregious

film. c. great

in her building

References Alford, R. L., and Strother, J. B. 1993. Attitudes of nonnative speakers toward selected regional accents of English. TESOL quarterly, 24:479-95. Carranza, M. A., and Ryan, E. B. 1975. Evaluative reactions of bilingual Anglo and Mexican American adolescents towards speakers of English and Spanish. International journal of the sociology of language, 6:8-104. Giles, H., Williams, A., Mackie, D., et al. 1995. Reactions to Anglo- and Hispanic-American-accented speakers: affect, identity, persuasion, and the English-only controversy. Language and communication, 15:107-120. Al-Kahtany, A. 1995. Dialectic ethnographic "cleansing": ESL students' attitudes towards three varieties of English. Language and communication, 15:165-180. Kraemer, R., and Birenbaum, M. 1993. Language attitudes and social group memberships. International journal of intercultural relations, 17:437-149. Levin, H., Giles, H., and Garrett, P. 1994. The effects of lexical formality and accent on trait attributions. Language and communication, 14:265-274.

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Modiano, M. 1996. The Americanization of Euro-English. World Englishes, 15:207-215. Shuy, R.W., and R. Fasold (eds.). 1978. Language attitudes: current trends and prospects. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. Tucker, G. R., and Lambert, W. E. 1969. White and Negro listeners reactions to various American-English dialects. Social forces, 47:463-468.

The Acquisition of the English Copula by Native Speakers of Lebanese Arabic: A Developmental Perspective Abdel-Hakeem Kasem One of the main objectives of theories of second-language (L2) acquisition is to account for the manner and order in which a second language is acquired and develop an explanation that is applicable across language-specific boundaries regardless of the learner's first language (L1). Most current theories of second-language acquisition assume that the learner's native language plays a role in the acquisition; however, what role the native language plays is something less certain and controversial. Some researchers are of the view that speakers of L1 are initially transferred to the interlanguage grammar, but given the appropriate input will ultimately be adjusted to the correct L2 setting (e.g., White's "transfer hypothesis" of 1987). On the other hand, other researchers believe that L1 serves as a "surrogate" Universal Grammar (UG) for the learner and that only those aspects of UG that are manifested in the native language will be acquired by the learner (e.g., BleyVroman's "fundamental difference hypothesis" of 1989). The main objectives of the present study are: (1) to investigate and establish the developmental sequences or patterns for the acquisition of English copula structure by native speakers of Lebanese Arabic in a classroom environment, and (2) to establish what role LI plays in the acquisition of L2. According to Wode (1976) and Meisel et al. (1981), the term developmental sequences implies that language learners go through a number of steps before achieving a targetlike proficiency in any L2 structure. These steps, more importantly, are not random but rather systematic. The changes, or variations, in a learner's language are the result of a number of operations, such as modification and generalization, that learners apply to linguistic structures as they gradually move closer to mastery of the target language. The present study draws on the assumption that L1 and L2 are acquired in the same way (L1=L2) and that L2 learners' errors are similar to those made by L1 learners. This assumption is substantiated by longitudinal data of Lebanese young adult learners acquiring the English copula in a classroom environment.

180

The English Copula by Native Speakers of Lebanese Arabic

Developmental studies focus on the learning process and the learner's strategies rather than simply on the order of certain morphemes. The view taken by researchers working within the developmental approach is that while still learning the grammar of the target language, second-language learners use forms that do not belong to either the second language or the native language. These forms are known as transformational forms (Dulay et al., 1982). A number of other researchers (e.g., Wode, 1976, 1978, and 1981; and Meisel et al., 1981) employ the term developmental sequences to refer to these same transitional constructions and the order in which they occur. Furthermore, researchers in developmental studies argue that the similarities between first language and second language (L1 = L2) far outweigh the differences. When differences exist, they are usually the result of the fact that adults are mentally more sophisticated and, therefore, can produce a wider variety of a particular structure than children learning the same language as their native language (Al-Buanain, 1987, p. 53). Several researchers, including Wode (1978), Hatch, (1978), Meisel et al. (1981), and Ellis (1994), found that errors observed in the transitional constructions produced by L2 learners bore no relation to their L1. These errors are intralingual in nature, resulting from a developing system, rather than interlingual resulting from the learner's L1 interference. The learner's language is treated as a linguistic system in its own right, rather than a distorted version of the target language system (cf., Larsen-Freemen and Long, 1991). The learner's language is also viewed as a dynamic system, which undergoes continual and constant change as learning unfolds and progresses toward target-language norms. The dynamic nature of the learner's language is, nonetheless, systematic, and it is possible to formulate rules and principles that account for its development from one stage to another. A dynamic linguistic system cannot be completely described in terms of categorical rules, however, but must permit the use of variable rules. Variability could result from any of a number of factors, such as transfer, age, motivation, context, and input. These variables have, in fact, an effect on the manner in which the learner's language evolves as we shall see below (see "Analysis of learners' errors," p. 185).

The Sample As this was a longitudinal study over a period of six months, it was not appropriate or feasible to deal with too many subjects. The sample for the present study involves a total of 10 newly arrived Lebanese-born students (five males and five females) randomly selected from Brunswick Language Centre in Melbourne, Australia, to provide data for this investigation. The 10-student sample was selected on the basis of their age, their

The English Copula by Native Speakers of Lebanese Arabic

181

ethnolinguistic background (i.e., L1 speakers of Arabic), their motivation for learning English (i.e., academic purposes) as well as their previous experience with the language (i.e., little or no exposure prior to beginning their intensive English course. Of the 10 subjects, eight were 13 to 15 years old. The remaining two subjects were 16 and 17 years old at the time when the study began (March, 1997). All the subjects had arrived in Australia shortly before entry into the study (

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