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Part of
Handbook of Terminology: Volume 2. Terminology in the Arab world
Edited by Abied Alsulaiman and Ahmed Allaithy
[Handbook of Terminology 2] 2019
► pp. 235–254

Chapter 10
Covering linguistic variability in Arabic

A language ideological exercise in terminology

In this article a series of Arabic terms that refer to language variability will be discussed. The basic principle of the analysis is that these terms are explicitly or implicitly informed by language ideological attitudes concerning linguistic variability in Arabic in which a diglossic division is taken for granted. Because of its common-sense and taken-for-granted nature, (language) ideology tends to be located much more in the unsaid than in what is overtly voiced. At first sight, linguistic terminology might seem straightforward and explicit. However, especially if the terms involved are commonly used, they tend to cover a set of shared attitudes toward language and language use. A study of the terminology regarding language variability, then, can be very productive in uncovering implicit assumptions concerning linguistic variability in the Arab-speaking world. We will focus on the early Islamic era and the end of the 19th century as crucial pivotal periods in the development of both language and linguistic terminology, as our basic assumption is that the semantic and ideological load of linguistic terms evolves in parallel with important social and political changes. The article will conclude with a preliminary exploration of recent terminological developments related to computer mediated communication (CMC).
Keywords: language ideology, linguistic variability, diglossia, fuṣḥā , ʻāmmīya
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The first pivotal point: luġa and its cognates
    • 2.1Dialect
    • 2.2Language
  • 3.The second pivotal point: The basic dichotomy: fuṣḥā and ʻāmmīya
    • 3.1Diglossia
    • 3.2The 19th century
  • 4.Contemporary terminology
    • 4.1Recent developments
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • The Muqtaṭaf corpus (in order of appearance)
  • Other references
Published online: 29 January 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/hot.2.11dan
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Cited by one other publication

Daniëls, Helge
2022. News broadcasts between fuṣḥā and Lebanese: Language choice as an implicit comment on national identity in Lebanon. Lingue Culture Mediazioni - Languages Cultures Mediation (LCM Journal) 8:2 DOI logo

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