Learning Arabic and the Challenge of Diglossia

Learning Arabic and the Challenge of Diglossia

This semester, MIUC began offering Arabic as one of several other second languages, including Chinese, French, or Russian. I came up with the idea of writing this blog entry on the issue of Arabic diglossia from the recurrent conversations with students in class on the challenge that the differences between conversational Arabic and formal written Arabic pose for them.

Students of Arabic face continuous challenges, particularly during the initial phases of the learning process. Arabic is considered a ‘truly foreign language’ [1] having several characteristics that make it particularly challenging for beginners. Among the most noticeable obstacles faced by students when learning Arabic are becoming familiar with a new writing system, overcoming various phonological difficulties, assimilating that Arabic is not fully vocalised in written form, acquiring Arabic vocabulary, which is not easily relatable through cognates, and that the student is required to learn a lot of vocabulary before being able to speak and engaging in basic communication.

In addition the aforementioned characteristics of Arabic, diglossia is another fundamental factor which needs to be considered when learning the language. It is both a challenge for students and for professors in the learning process. Diglossia is considered one of the major obstacles with which students of Modern Arabic need to contend [2], and is key to comprehending the learning process that MIUC´s students are going through during these initial stages.  

Diglossia has been defined as:

‘[a] relatively stable language situation in which, in addition to the primary dialects of the language, there is a very divergent, highly codified (often grammatically more complex) superposed variety—the vehicle of a large and respected body of written literature either of an earlier period or in another speech community—that is learned largely by means of formal education and used for most written and formal spoken purposes’ [3].

The linguistic situation in the Arab world is strongly characterized by diglossia, which refers to the existence of two forms of language: the formal and the colloquial [4]. Some authors, such as Badawi, go one step further to argue that the Arabic language’s complexity goes beyond these two levels, and that in reality they are merely the two extremes of a whole spectrum of linguistic variations. This author identifies five different levels of speech, and points to the fact that the range would have to necessarily include: Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), Educated Spoken Arabic, Semiliterate Spoken Arabic, and Illiterate Spoken Arabic [5].

Map of Dialects of Arabic Today

Map of Dialects of Arabic Today [6]

In general, teaching of Arabic as a foreign language tends to focus on MSA as this is the form that is written and widely used in everyday communicative settings in areas such as International Business, International Relations, or Media. Colloquial or dialectal variations are normally introduced once students have become familiar with basic communication in MSA. The main dialectal variations that students can acquire can be based on a specific Arab dialect (by country) or a specific regional dialectal group. These dialects include those of the Arabian Peninsula, Levantine dialect, Egyptian dialect, or dialects of the Maghreb [7], which are notably different. Colloquial Arabic or dialects are always used in non-formal settings of everyday life.

After describing what Arabic diglossia looks like and how it frames communication in different situations, several questions arise: Which form of Arabic should be taught and how should it be taught? Is there a workable solution which reflects best the linguistic realities of Arabic? Can we teach Classical Arabic or MSA at the same time as Colloquial Arabic as part of the same course? These questions are all part of a widespread debate in which everyone involved in the Arabic learning process participates, from professors to students, and there is still no consensus as to which approach would be more beneficial for students.

Theoretically, it would be ideal to teach MSA and colloquial Arabic simultaneously, but in practice several limits to this approach surface. First, in a single class, students will surely have different interests and would like to acquire the language with different aims. These different preferences will presumably be reflected in students’ preferences to travel or research different regions of the Arabic speaking Middle East. So, which dialect should we teach? Second, in the case of students agreeing on a particular dialectal variation for the course to be taught simultaneously along with MSA, there is a high risk that students at the initial phases of their learning process will mix the two forms.

The challenge of diglossia for students of Arabic is real, and might negatively affect their motivation to learn. At those moments, it is easy for frustration to take over and undermine their high initial interest in learning the language. However, it is important to oppose the dominant myth concerning the impossibility of learning Arabic. The Arabic language in itself is not difficult, although it is undoubtedly time consuming [8]. At the end of the day, linguistic diversity is an essential component of cultural diversity, and it reflects the richness of the Arab region. Learning Arabic will give MIUC students resources to converse, learn, explore, and develop themselves in the future.

[1] Ayouby, K. K. (2001) ‘Diglossia: A Critical Issue Confronting Teachers of Arabic’, University of Michigan-Dearborn, MI, US.
Available at: https://goo.gl/Fiict3

[2] Freeman, A. (1994) ‘Introduction to Diglossia’, University of Michigan.
Available at: http://goo.gl/JLCE33

[3] Ferguson, C., (1959). ‘Diglossia’. Word, Volume 15, p. 336.

[4] ‘Diglossia and the Teaching of Arabic as a Foreign Language’, College of Liberal Arts, The University of Texas at Austin.
Available at: http://goo.gl/E0mKWg

[5] Badawi, S.M., (1973). Mustawayaat al-‘arabiyyah al-mu’aaSirah fi Misr

[Levels of Contemporary Arabic in Egypt]. Cairo: Dar al-Ma’arif, p. 89.

[6] Fisher, M. (2015) ’The Dialects of Arabic Today’, Map 12 in ‘40 Maps that Explain the Middle East’. Available at: http://www.vox.com/a/maps-explain-the-middle-east

[7] Versteegh, K. (2001) The Arabic Language, Edinburg: Edinburg University Press.

[8] Bergman, E. M. (2009) ‘Introducing Arabic: Meeting the Challenges’, Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages, Volume 6, pp. 2-13.
Available at: http://goo.gl/6LPWK8

Author: María Blanco

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