Approaches To Arabic Dialects

This volume brings together 22 contributions to the study of Arabic dialects, from the Maghreb to Iraq by authors, who are all well-known for their work in this field. It underscores the importance of different theoretical approaches to the study of dialects, developing new frameworks for the study of variation and change in the dialects, while presenting new data on dialects (e.g., of Jaffa, Southern Sinai, Nigeria, South Morocco and Mosul) and cross-dialectal comparisons (e.g., on the feminine gender and on relative clauses). This collection is presented to Manfred Woidich, one of the most eminent scholars in the field of Arabic dialectology.

This Liber Amicorum discusses topics on the history of Arabic grammar, Arabic linguistics, and Arabic dialects, domains in which Kees Versteegh plays a leading role.

The question of how to classify the different varieties of spoken Arabic is a long-standing problem in the fields of Arabic and Semitic linguistics, and it has been addressed by several authors and from a number of different perspectives. This collection of articles represents a further contribution to the vast collective effort of attempting to more effectively assess, organize, and understand the varieties of spoken Arabic, applying a classification of Arabic dialects in the broadest possible sense. The authors who contribute to this volume tackle this issue by examining varieties spoken from the Maghreb to the Mashreq and employing various approaches and perspectives, e.g., diatopic and diachronic, syntactical, and typological.

Leading teacher of Arabic, Munther Younes, explores the realities of teaching Arabic as a foreign language (AFL) and outlines his groundbreaking approach to instruction, tried and tested over many years at Cornell University. The Integrated Approach to Arabic Instruction introduces teachers to the features of an integrated Arabic program—one that simultaneously teaches the two varieties of the language, Modern Standard Written Arabic, fuṣḥā, and the dialect, āmmiyya, in a way that reflects the authentic practice of native Arabic speakers. This pedagogy, Younes argues, is the most logical, effective and economical method of instruction as it prepares students fully for the realities of the Arabic diglossic situation. Younes takes teachers through the following ground: Consideration of the current Arabic sociolinguistic situation and key debates in the field Outline of changing student goals and the needs of the modern AFL learner Overview of the Integrated Approach covering its rationale, features, implementation methods and usage of instructional materials in the classroom Response to objections to the Integrated Approach, outlining its advantages over alternative practices and clarifying crucial issues in practice The Integrated Approach to Arabic Instruction addresses a pressing issue deeply relevant to the world of Arabic language instruction, placed in the practical context of shifting attitudes among students and educators. It will be an essential resource for all teachers of Arabic as a Foreign Language.

The Routledge Handbook of Arabic Linguistics introduces readers to the major facets of research on Arabic and of the linguistic situation in the Arabic-speaking world. The edited collection includes chapters from prominent experts on various fields of Arabic linguistics. The contributors provide overviews of the state of the art in their field and specifically focus on ideas and issues. Not simply an overview of the field, this handbook explores subjects in great depth and from multiple perspectives. In addition to the traditional areas of Arabic linguistics, the handbook covers computational approaches to Arabic, Arabic in the diaspora, neurolinguistic approaches to Arabic, and Arabic as a global language. The Routledge Handbook of Arabic Linguistics is a much-needed resource for researchers on Arabic and comparative linguistics, syntax, morphology, computational linguistics, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, and applied linguistics, and also for undergraduate and graduate students studying Arabic or linguistics.

This present book studies from a dialectological perspective various African Arabic varieties, such as Maghreb Arabic, Bongor Arabic, Juba Arabic and Logorí Arabic. On the one hand, different specific linguistic aspects related to phonetics and phonology as well as to morphology, syntax and lexicology are discussed in this volume; e.g. the Arabic loanwords in Somali with regard to the strata in South Arabian, the structural features of Logorì Arabic and its use as Lingua Franca or native language, the contact-induced innovation processes in North African Arabic negation by analogy with Berber negation. On the other hand, the African Arabic theme is approached from a more general perspective analysing the contact effects on linguistic features and systems from a broader comparative, typological and universal viewpoint, e.g. a general typology of Arabic in Africa, the question of possible universal features of pidginization and creolization drawn on evidence from Arabic-based pidgins and creoles. Its outcomes offer important insights for all linguistic studies and approaches, and directly connect with other research fields such as sociolinguistics, ethnolinguistics and language acquisition.

This Liber Amicorum discusses topics on the history of Arabic grammar, Arabic linguistics, and Arabic dialects, domains in which Kees Versteegh plays a leading role.