Event Details

Title: Negotiating Arabic: Diglossia Language and Intercultural Proficiency in American EducationAbstract:

The sociolinguistic phenomenon of diglossia in the Arabic language complicates avenues for Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language (TAFL). Ferguson describes diglossia as the division between ‘High’ (H) and ‘Low’ (L) varieties in a language (Ferguson 1959). Subsequent scholars have analyzed the Arabic language on a continuum with multiplicities of hybridized varieties existing between the H and L forms. Native Speakers (NSs) typically do not employ the H variety in daily speech and instead use their L varieties, or dialects, to communicate. Some of these dialects are mutually unintelligible and challenge linguistic unity in the region. Standardization is important when deciding pedagogy and curricula for TAFL. Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), the H variety, is often the form of choice in American classrooms, neglecting the instruction of L varieties. The increased government interest in and funding of Arabic as a critical language following the events of September 11th, 2001 has further exacerbated this void of knowledge in American classrooms, prioritizing the instruction and professionalization of the H variety. These directions in TAFL have suppressed intercultural proficiency, or the capacity for cross-cultural understanding and diplomacy, in the American classroom. A shift must be made towards curricula that implement the L varieties and encourage the development of meta-linguistic awareness between the H and L forms of Arabic.