Contact-induced change from a speakers’ perspective
A study of language attitudes in Siwa
The article presents the speakers’ perception of contact-induced linguistic change in the Egyptian oasis of Siwa, based on data
collected during the authors’ doctoral research (Serreli 2016). The research
explored language attitudes and ideologies in Siwa with a qualitative approach built on sociolinguistic and linguistic
anthropological theories. Linguistic change is presented by speakers as a generational variation; it is attributed to the
increased contact between the Siwi and Arabic languages that followed the wider socioeconomic change in the community in
recent decades. Moreover, Siwi speakers hold a variety of attitudes towards linguistic change, appreciating phenomena
perceived as adjustments to the current times, while criticizing those perceived as a betrayal or corruption of their native
language.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Brief overview of Siwa
- 2.1General background of the oasis
- 2.2Sociolinguistic overview
- 2.3Siwi and Arabic in contact
- 3.
Perceived contact-induced change in Siwi
- 3.1Introductory considerations
- 3.2Presentation of data
- 3.2.1General patterns of Siwi variation
- 3.2.2Loss of Siwi lexicon related to the traditional lifestyle
- 3.2.3Integration of Arabic loanwords into Siwi
- 3.2.4Codemixing and “broken Siwi”
- 4.Conclusion
-
Notes
-
References
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Cited by (1)
Cited by one other publication
Schiattarella, Valentina
2023.
Essais de classification et analyse lexicale du siwi dans le xix e et xx e siècle.
Études et Documents Berbères N° 48:2
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