Language Soc. in Arab World

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

The course explores the relationship between language and society in the Arab World. Introduces and examines the diglossic relation between Standard Arabic and the different colloquial varieties. Explores language variation and change, with special focus on the relation between linguistic variation and other social variables, such as ethnicity, religion, urbanization, social class, gender, power, and ideology. Introduces the social phenomenon of codeswitching between Arabic and other languages, mainly English and French, as well as diglossic codeswitching. Analyzes the structural characteristics of codeswitching and the socio cognitive motivations behind it. Introduces and discusses language policy and planning in the Arab World.