University of Amsterdam Department of Media Studies Master New Media and Digital Culture

WHEN, HOW, AND WHY: THE SOCIO­TECHNICAL ARABIC LANGUAGE PRACTICES OF LEBANESE USERS ACROSS SOCIAL PLATFORMS

MA THESIS 2016

24th of June 2016

Supervisor: dr. T. (Thomas) Poell Second Reader: mw. dr. S. (Stefania) Milan

1 Table of Contents Abstract 3 1. Introduction 4 2. Research Question 7 3. Theoretical Discussion 7 3.1. Linguistic History 7 3.2. Role of Platforms and Softwares 10 4. Methodology 15 5. Data and Discussion 21 5.1. Netvizz 21 5.2. Semi­structured interviews and survey 34 6. Challenges and Limitations 45 7. Conclusion 48 8. Bibliography 53 9. Appendix 56 9.1. Interview Transcriptions 56 9.2. Coding Manual 131 9.3. Links to Facebook Posts 132

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Abstract This paper focuses on the possible ways social platforms like Facebook and Whatsapp shape the socio­technical language practices of Lebanese users. It studies the #YouStink movement Facebook page in order to understand these user language practices in a context of political contestation. Furthermore, this research uses Netvizz, the Facebook data scraper, to analyse the context of which Arabizi, the Arabic internet chat language, and input from 10 interviewees, and a survey conducted on 346 Lebanese users in order to study user online behaviour on two separate social platforms, Facebook and Whatsapp. The study aims to highlight the possible ways platforms may shape a Lebanese social platform user language choices through its technical architecture and purpose.

Keywords: Arabizi, platform studies, online user behaviour, Lebanon, arabic, collective identity, ​ Facebook, Whatsapp, political contestation

3 1. Introduction

Walking on Lebanon’s busy street of Hamra in Beirut, chaotic noises are in abundance: people swearing and beeping at each other in the midst of traffic, old men yelling at each other over a game of tawlé (backgammon), a group of women gossiping at the nearby hairdresser and ​ ​ university students hitting their keyboard, trying to submit their work before the deadline. The variety of sounds that one hears is very similar to the variety found online among Lebanese social media users; yet instead of sound, what is chaotic in this case is the communication amongst them. Lebanon officially has one language: Arabic, like most of the Middle East. The difference between Lebanon and other Arab countries is, however, the fact that the French and English languages have an equally important role in the country’s culture and identity. It is almost an element of pride to speak all three languages in the country, it comes with status and prestige; therefore it is only logical that a Lebanese person is capable of jumping from one language to another in conversation, or even mixing the languages together to formulate a Lebanese sentence, such as the typical example of “Hi, kifak, ca va?” (Hi, how are you, all is ​ good?); this has been the case for the past 70­80 years. However, with the sudden rise of ​ technological innovations, such as mobile phones and the Internet, in the last 20 years, another language was added to the mix: Arabizi. It is a mixture of the Arabic words arabi (aka Arabic) ​ and englizi (aka English) (Yaghan, 2008, 39). The key to understanding the uses of each character will be extensively discussed in chapter two, but for now, the basic concept of Arabizi is using Latin characters and numerals to express an Arabic word or sentence. An example of Arabizi is “Kifak ya 7abibi, shta2nellak, shou a5barak?” which more or less translates to “How ​ ​ are you my love, you’ve been missed, what’s going on these days.” According to Robert Michael Bianchi from the Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, the use of arabizi has increased due to the Internet (2012, 99). This is parallel to the notion of its use by Arab youths. The Internet is a space replete with young adults and teenagers, so it only makes sense that this style of writing is becoming more present on social media platforms. However, with the rise of this hybrid orthographic style, the Internet seems to be a space where

4 one cannot find a uniform, consistent manner of communicating in Arabic, which might add strain to an Arab’s identity. Arabs are already a complex people. They are composed of nations that are subject to similar cultures and traditions, yet each possesses its own unique identity, something that is of great importance and value. Lebanon’s irregular and unregulated form of speaking is greatly reflected online, especially with the introduction of Arabizi. As a Lebanese person, my newsfeeds on all of my social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Whatsapp) have a gamut of posts written in different languages. A friend may post something in English, while another friend replies to it in Arabizi. The lack of consistency in communication online amongst Lebanese users represents a sort of cultural instability. However, although unstable, there is a definite understanding amongst one another. Lebanese people still understand the post shared whether it is written in any of the languages. It is Lebanon’s youth that especially understand each other. The generation of Lebanese Internet users has indirectly found a way of communicating, with the help of context. They have strategies to appropriate each language to a certain context. Yet, this leaves many questions unanswered, especially concerning it’s use and development on social media platforms, the role the platforms’ architectures play in shaping this use, and the possible reflection of Lebanese culture within these language practices. The Arabic language is one that is subject to many debates due to its diglossic nature. Diglossia is a linguistic term to define a language community that either has two languages varieties, with one being used for formal situations and one for quotidian situations (Bassiouney, 2010, 101). Over the past decades, there have been issues concerning the way in which the Arabic language is being taught and used. Arab conservatives and nationalists have been attempting to promote the use of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), an Arabic that is usually used for formalities, such as political speeches and religious sermons (Bassiouney, 2010, 101), as a way of reviving the Holy Quranic language (Suleiman, 2011, 50). The reason behind these constant attempts at revival is the fact that vernacular or colloquial Arabic is gaining more and more popularity throughout Arab countries, especially concerning Arab youths (Palfreyman & El Khalil, 2003, 1), and results in unique identities among different Arab nations. For example, identifying as a Lebanese is different than

5 identifying as an Egyptian. The identification process is one that embodies the individual and takes control over his/her social actions. When one speaks Lebanese Arabic, there is a certain reputation that follows it, a certain identity; similar to one speaking Egyptian Arabic. Even within one kind of identity there are sub­identities. For example, a Lebanese person can belong to a society that speaks French and Arabic, which is a specific type of Lebanese person, sometimes associated with snobbery or prestige. While the Lebanese who belong to an English and Arabic speaking society are more likely to be associated with being open­minded and “cool,” or even closely associated to American culture. The lack of identity uniformity within the Arab population is represented within its language, and today is reflected online. This can be clearly seen on social media platforms like Facebook. Since it was first introduced to Facebook in 2009 (Chan, 2009), Arabic script can be used to write posts, comments etc. However, this created another schism: Arabic speakers are given the option to write in Arabizi, MSA in Arabic script or colloquial Arabic in Arabic script. And because most modern Arabs are bilingual (in either French or English), they can even choose to abstain from using any Arabic at all. This raises vital questions regarding an Arab user’s identity. One question could be that of the moment in which an Arabic­speaking user decides to use a specific code (whether Arabic or Arabizi) and what that this says about the user’s identity. Another question that is raised here is whether or not an Arab’s identity can be easily defined with all the languages and dialects that surround it. The question of how social media platforms and technologies have shaped the language should also be addressed as it has played a role in the way Arabic is communicated online. Furthermore, when do users decide to use a specific language and in what context? For what reason? Addressing these question, the thesis first critically reflects on the current research on the use of Arabizi. This research is almost exclusively situated in linguistics. What is missing is a socio­techno inquiry into the processes of mediation through which Arabizi takes shape. The thesis shows why such an inquiry is essential to understand the development and particular articulation of Arabizi. When studying the socio­technical processes of mediation, it quickly becomes clear that major commercial social platforms are increasingly central to the use of Arabizi. This thesis offers a contribution to new media studies. This intervention is first

6 developed in the next section by addressing the current literature, in linguistics and platform and software studies. It is further developed through research on the socio­technical practices of Arabizi. The thesis focuses on two platforms, Facebook and Whatsapp, and their use in the Lebanese context. The inquiry is developed through a case study on the social movement “#YouStink”, which concerns the current garbage crisis in Lebanon. It will be operationalized through a cross­platform analysis of Facebook and Whatsapp. For Facebook, data is scraped using the digital methods tool Netvizz. Furthermore, semi­structured interviews have been conducted with 10 young Lebanese social media activists, who have also been asked to provide screenshots of their Whatsapp conversation. Finally, I have done a survey with 346 Lebanese participants, asking them about their general online practices. The research chapters are discussed in parallel to existing literature and hopes to contribute compelling data to both the linguistic and new media studies. However, to ensure the credibility of this paper, the limitations and challenges are discussed for future researchers to take note of when researching a similar topic. The results of the study are additionally reflected on within the contexts of future implications within Lebanon and the other possibilities that may arise from it, with hopes to shed light on the importance of a user’s relationship with social platforms.

2. Research Question

To what extent do Facebook and Whatsapp shape the socio­technical language practices of Lebanese users in the context of political contestation, and what does these practices suggest about their online culture?

3. Theoretical Discussion 3.1 Linguistic history Arabizi has been studied often within the field of linguistics. Arabic linguists have attempted to define its traits and it’s social practices among Arabs. Yet, before understanding the importance of Arabizi, it is essential to have a general understanding of the Arabic language, as many of it’s characteristics are reflected on the Arabizi style. Arabic is a language with a diglossic nature. Diglossia is the term to describe a language with two different sets of varieties that co­exist

7 within the same community (Bassiouney, 101, 2010); the dual varieties are appropriated to two different levels. Low (L) level language variety is used for colloquial, conversational purposes; for example, when two Arabic­speaking college students discuss their weekend plans or when asking a butcher for steak filets, they will be expressing themselves in a low level language variety. High (H) level language variety is used for official, professional situations (Ferguson, 1959; Bassiouney, 2010); for example when a television news anchor is reading out the news or when a political figure is giving a speech to the general public. The different levels of varieties often creates a separation between social classes, since a higher level language variety is an indication of the level of education the individual has received. The higher the level one speaks in, the more he/she is associated with being well educated. Yet, diglossic nature of the Arabic language has evolved over the past decades as Arabs are more likely to speak in the lower level language variety; Yasir Suleiman points this out in his book, “Arabic, Self, and Identity: A Study in Conflict and Displacement” (2011). In his book, Suleiman discusses how his training of teachers at a school in Qatar reflects the way in which the lower language variety is more likely to be spoken in, rather than the higher variety, known as ṣḥ fu á, the more traditional way of speaking Arabic. His explanation for this practice is concerned ​ with the strict and systematic way in which high variety Arabic is taught in. He describes how many of the teachers he trained tended to move away from traditional Arabic due to the higher possibilities of committing mistakes as they speak, therefore opting to speak in a “higher colloquial level Arabic” (Suleiman, 2011, 48). Therefore the more conversational, lower variety level form of Arabic communication has become commonly accepted by anyone who speaks the language, especially in a country like Lebanon, where Arabic is supported by English and French. The move from traditional Arabic to more colloquial Arabic has become more apparent with the rise of technology and the Internet. Rarely do you find Arabs speaking in traditional Arabic on a daily basis, which is reflected online. This is where Arabizi comes in. The already shifting Arabic language paradigm, which went from Arabic being a holy, complex language to a more conversational, simpler language, has once again shifted, yet this time the conversational form has been adopted for the eyes rather than the ears.

8 David Palfreyman and Muhamed al Khalil discuss how “technical and economic considerations have restricted the use of Arabic on the Internet in proportion to the number of users of the language” (2003, 6). As computer software and hardware were first being developed, the Arabic language, among many others, was not taken into consideration. The technologies that were distributed globally were set in English: an English keyboard, an English interface etc… This was especially the case with mobile phones and the texting phenomenon (Yaghan, 2008, 41). Arabizi comes within this context as it was created because of this purpose. Arabs were forced to adopt a new language in which to communicate without actually having to learn a new language. Arabizi is “a system of writing Arabic using English characters. This term comes from two words “arabi” (Arabic) and “engliszi” (English)” (Yaghan, 2008, 39). It uses Latin numerals to substitute the sounds and letters that are not found within the English language. Therefore, ‘3’ and so on. Yet, there is no official way to write in ’ﺡ‘ and ‘7’ is ’ﺥ‘ is ’ء’, ‘is ‘5 ’ﻉ’, ‘is ‘2 Arabizi, as it was formed in non­traditionally and lacks many rules and regulations. Across the Arab world, the different societies, nations, social classes, etc. have their own style of writing Arabizi, as Dua'a Abu Elhija discusses in her 2014 article titled “A new writing system? Developing orthographies for writing Arabic dialects in electronic media.” Her empirical study is one that provides an insight into the Arabizi user demographics and the different ways it can be written. Abu Elhija finds support in a paper written by Becky Schulthies in 2014, when she studied the chaotic ways in which Arabic, not Arabizi in particular, is communicated online through her analysis of YouTube comments on Egyptian political parodies, showing the inconsistency in Arab communication online. Although lacking in official rules and regulations, Arabizi use has increased greatly with time. Robert Michael Bianchi illustrates how Arabizi has shaped the way users communicate in different contexts (2012). There is an unspoken understanding that has been established between Arab users when they communicate online. Without having to learn any sort of “Arabizi etiquette,” users manage to appropriate different languages to different contexts, and are capable of easily switching from one to the other. This is shown within Bianchi’s article as he discusses many examples of Arabizi he came across while studying a popular Egyptian blog. In one

9 particular excerpt he mentions that Arabizi is used to “write personal, intimate, and general texts” while Arabic was used for cultural themes and English for “professional and academic topics” (2012, 98). Lelania Sperrazza even goes to the extent of arguing how Arabizi shaped the way users expressed themselves online in both English and Arabic, which therefore facilitated the Egyptian revolution, since the youths had been exposed to western ideals for a long period of time, being influenced to believe that the “impossible was possible” (2014). She describes how the knowledge of Arabizi allowed Egyptian youths to reach a larger crowd, therefore gaining more support from Internet users all over the globe. Yet, the studies mentioned above are solely situated within a socio­linguistic perspective. They describe the way in which the language shapes the user and how the user shapes the language itself, through the help of computer mediation. The authors only briefly taken into consideration the role the ‘computer’ has played within the study of Arabizi. Although, Mariam Aboelezz determines the difficulties that users faced in the past, before the introduction of Arabic language to technology (2009). She illustrates how users would email each other in either English or Arabizi (or as she calls it, ‘Latinized Arabic,’ in order to communicate and further mentions how the lack of Arabic­reading software shapes this use. Aboelezz’s article indicates the possible role software and hardware have within Arabizi’s user practices. Hence, it is important to have research that concern not only the way in which the language shapes user practices, but also the way in which online platforms and softwares shape user practices. This yields the question: to what extent do social media platforms shape the socio­technical practices of Arabizi? 3.2 Role of Platforms and Softwares To answer this question, one first needs to understand the history of platforms and their relationship with the Arabic language. To begin with and as previously mentioned, the introduction of internet technologies was made available to the public, but only a certain public. As the products were designed and manufactured by “western” countries, the technologies initially targeted “western” consumers/users; therefore, creating these technologies in a language (mainly English) the western world could understand and use ‘easily.’ Naturally, with a trendy

10 new technology, it spread worldwide, becoming available in the Eastern part of the world. Yet, the language needed to use it was foreign to the non­English speaking consumer. Mobile phones, for example, were shipped globally and consisted of being in English, meaning both the hardware and software was written for an English­knowing audience. An audience that consists of people who understand and read the English language, perhaps imperfectly, but enough to be able to use the device. This was definitely the case with the Arab world. Many Arabs are bilingual to a certain extent; they are not unfamiliar with Latin­based languages such as French or English, as many were colonized by “western” powers in the past decades. In this context, there were definitely some aspects of technological determinism, where technologies played a central role in giving rise to the Arabic chat language known as Arabizi. Therefore, because of modern technological practices such as texting, emailing, instant messaging, Arab users were influenced to change the interface of their language and customize it for their own communicational benefit. This is the initial instance where technology obviously played a role in the user’s adoption of this language. It completely changed the way Arabs engaged in communication through computer mediation. This has been the case since its conception to this current point, and it will become more apparent throughout the rest of this research. The same way user’s personalized their language interface, large social media companies took it upon themselves to further personalize their already personalized interfaces. For example, in 2009, five years after it’s conception and three years after its global integration, Facebook makes the Arabic and Hebrew language feature available (Chan, 2009). For three years, Facebook users from the Arab world continued to communicate with one another within the Latin language sphere rather than it’s original Semitic language sphere; meaning using Arabizi to express themselves via a new digital, personal space. Yet, with the introduction of Arabic writing, Arab users began putting the feature into practice, yet this does not entail that they are continuously using that feature, as will later be discussed. Another corporate media company that customized its user interface is Twitter. Six years following its launch and one year after the Arab spring, Twitter introduces the Arabic feature in 2012 (Twitter, 2012). This is key to remember because Twitter was one of the most used social media platforms and acted as the prime mediator of communication amongst Egyptian activists.

11 As Sperrazza mentions in her chapter in the book titled Toward, Around and Away from Tahrir ​ (2014), Twitter facilitated the communication during the Arab Spring, allowing activists and grass­root journalists to pass along messages to others in support of the cause; also giving them a medium to organize the memorable protests that took place outside the digital realm in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. However, although the introduction of Arabic to social media platforms was beneficial for Arabic communication, it was more beneficial to the social media companies as this meant more posts, more user interaction and more users in general, which meant more dependency on the social media platform as a means of communicating, therefore opening a new market for advertisers and third­party developers. José van Dijck even points out how the modern economy is built upon user­generated content (2009), indicating the importance of developing platform features that would enable such user activity. The necessity of sustaining and maintaining users has become the main priority of corporations like Facebook, as it the users that are the main source of profit and revenue. Because such online platforms are free, users are more likely to join, however, keeping the users active on the platform is the company’s outlet for financing themselves. The need for user engagement and interactiveness has been further discussed by Anna Helmond and Carolin Gerlitz (2013), who go to the extent of arguing that the increasing use of “buttons and social plugins” on Facebook, such as ‘likes’ and ‘shares’, are creating what they call the “Like Economy,” which not only places value on human social capital, but also uses it to promote corporations, companies and brands on social media through the fabric of the web. The aim of large media corporations becomes more apparent here as it aims to make profit from human intellect (Langlois et al 2009; Fuchs 2011). To further understand the relationship between the Arabic language practices and social media platforms, one must first understand the debates surrounding the relationship of a social media platform and user practices in general. Tarleton Gillespie argued in 2010 that a platform has been understood:

Computational, something to build upon and innovate from; political, a place from which to speak and be heard; figurative, in that the opportunity is an abstract promise as much as a practical one; and architectural, in that YouTube is designed as an open­armed, egalitarian

12 facilitation of expression, not an elitist gatekeeper with normative and technical restrictions (Gillespie 2010, 352).

This definition of platforms allows for the platform itself to be a grounds of interaction between different actors such as the social media companies themselves, the users, advertisers and third­party developers (Gillespie, 2010; Helmond, 2015, 28). This entails that social media platform companies control and process the activity generated within it in order to make a profit. This is reiterated by Poell and Van Dijk when they argue that “through technological features, such as ‘retweeting’, ‘liking’, ‘following’, and ‘friending’, as well as algorithmic selection mechanisms, which privilege particular types of content, social platforms shape how users can interact with each other through these platforms. [This does not] necessarily correspond with user interests […] but are first and foremost informed by the business models of social media corporations” (Poell, van Dijk, 2015, 528). Or as Langlois, Elmer, McKelvey and Deveraux maintain: “Web 2.0 companies, software processes, and informational architectures, now play a central role in providing the very material means of existence of online publics and in framing the scope of online political practices,” (2009, 417) within the context of political communication. Meaning that they are more than just included within what is being said on the platform, but also integrated within the practices that users adopt to communicate. These observations are especially important in the light of the current political turmoil occurring within the Middle East as it entices the idea that “Western” ideology might be involved within the regulation of Arab political communication. Inspired by Deleuze and Guattari (1987), Langlois and colleagues argue that through the double articulation of code and politics on the web “that define[s] new conditions and possibilities of political action and communication” (2009, 417). They further state that this causes the restrictive nature of the platform. Through constant interface personalization, automatic updates and suggestions, platforms restrict the way in which users bond socially and culturally (2009, 419). They argue that Facebook is subject to ideological components that are hidden by its interface in order to “shape political practices and the horizon of political subjectivation” (2009, 25).

13 Particularly vital of the present research is that communication through mobile devices is becoming increasingly abundant, especially with applications such as Whatsapp and Facebook messenger. Smartphones have made it simpler for users to send messages (Evans 2015). This article provides insight on how mobile hardware and software communicate with one another to shape user­messaging practices. He describes how push notifications and “already being logged on” from your mobile application shapes, or simplifies, the way in which users choose to communicate. This point brings back the notion of language practices within social media platforms. Woltering and colleagues (2015) in their research on the We are all Khaled Said Facebook page make clear that users often “abstained from using politically factional language” as a way of creating a sense of unity. By choosing to express themselves in a certain way, the page admins of the Facebook page managed to create a community that not only existed online, but also in the physical world. The power of language is apparent as it managed to transport the cries of freedom from the comment section to Tahrir Square. Stefania Milan (2015) further proposes that algorithms can restructure joint narrative and collective identities during times of protests. She addresses the “politics of visibility” and its relationship with individuals on the platform, indicating that during times of political movements, meaning work is somehow influenced by four mechanisms pertaining from the individual: performance, interpellation, temporality, and reproducibility. These mechanisms could also be used to distinguish the possible ways online language practices of individuals involved within the #YouStink movement are in fact shaped, especially when looking at the top comments that are ordered by relevance on Facebook. Similarly, a study on performativity and regulation on Facebook also indicates the effect a social platform has on user behaviour, especially within this context. To certain extent, language could be used to define and possibly convey an individual’s intellectual capabilities, or intelligence, as it reveals that individual’s education level. Stijn van Wonderen’s paper, “Captives of the Social: Facebook and Digital Pantopticism,” (2012), he compares Facebook to ​ Jeremy Bentham’s infamous panopticon prison, Michel Foucault’s favourite example of power and surveillance. User self­regulation occurring on Facebook is similar to that of the Panpoticon’s prisoners. This self­regulation can similarly be applied to the user code choice on

14 online social platforms. Due to the Arabic language’s strict grammar policies, as pointed out by Suleiman (2011), van Wonderen’s research could explain users possibly opting for English or Arabizi rather than Arabic on Facebook. Because of Facebook’s surveillance properties, users would rather not embarrass themselves by committing language errors, and choose to communicate in the way that is more convenient to them, yet this needs to be further explored with the data collected for this research.Although it is not directly related to the platform’s architecture, it is still relevant to the field of platform studies, as each platforms are subject to certain ideals and preconceived branding reputations. Facebook has already established its brand and users conform and regulate their behaviour in exchange for their services. While the current literature provides important insights, there is a lack of answers to questions regarding a social media platform’s shaping of user language practices. They have all touched upon the ways in which Arabizi came about and the way that has been integrated within the Arabic language, and the ways in which online platforms are no longer ignored when discussing culture shaping. However, this research fails to discuss how a platform’s technical architecture shapes the choice of language used, the context within which it is used and the possible reflection of culture within these socio­technical user practices. The coming chapters will aim to resolve this gap, contributing to platform and software studies, as well as that to the field of socio­linguistic studies. It will attempt to do so by situating Arabizi within a context of Lebanese political contestation through the cross­platform analysis of Facebook and Whatsapp, two of the most used platforms in Lebanon.

4. Methodology The case study at the heart of the thesis focuses on the #YouStink campaign. This campaign first began when the 17­year­old Naameh landfill in the South of Lebanon had filled up and complaints of the smells increased in July 2015. Following the landfill’s closure and the government’s failure to find a solution, Sukleen, Lebanon’s main garbage company, was unable to dispose of the waste properly, leading to garbage piling up all across the country. As the garbage continues to increase on the streets of Lebanon, more specifically, its capital of Beirut, citizens in the area naturally began complaining of the smells and impending health hazards that

15 the garbage is causing. After one month of ministry officials delaying to solve this problem, many citizens began rallying in front of the parliamentary palace in Downtown Beirut. Soon enough, what was once rallies pressuring the government to find a solution to the garbage crisis, quickly turned into a social movement against the government’s countless years of corruption and failure to provide the country with proper basic needs such as: electricity, water, employment, internet… This social movement became known as the #YouStink (Tol3it Re7etkom) campaign. The campaign’s name not only addresses the literal stench coming from the streets of Beirut, but also the metaphorical stench of the government’s corruption, and quickly turned into a movement towards a revolution. This case study was specifically chosen to study the socio­technical practices of Arabizi because Lebanon has been characterized a lot by social media use, as it has done in many other countries. But also due to its popularity and its influence on many Lebanese people fighting for their basic human rights, it acts as a platform for middle­class voices to be heard, similar to the revolutions of the Arab Spring. The #YouStink online community is comprised of citizens, both young and old, from different religious and economic backgrounds, who have grown restless with Lebanon’s political infrastructure, which is founded on sectarianism and greed. It is the first social movement that is apolitical; as most of its members are youths trying to break away from any affiliation with the country’s political parties, focused solely on finding solutions to Lebanon’s main socio­economic issues. It also encompasses the issues of Lebanon’s social culture. It generates posts that are against the traditional way posts have been previously addressed; meaning old values that still plague the country presently, are being challenged and reacted to on platforms like Facebook and Whatsapp. What is meant here, is that older social ​ movements or political demands have always been led by a party or organization with political ties, either financially or personally. The posts that have been created in that context mostly followed an “appropriate” standard, one that either favoured a certain religious or political perspective. In #YouStink’s case, one might consider them the “outlaws” or “rebels” of a social cause, as they do not follow just one leader. They follow the trend of a leaderless campaign, as was seen during the Egyptian revolution in 2011. It is “influential Facebook admins and activists tweeps [who] become “soft leaders” or choreographers, involved in setting the scene, and

16 constructing an emotional space within which collective action can unfold” (Gerbaudo, 2012, 5; Milan, 2015, 4), which is the case for this campaign. The main outlet that #YouStink activists used to organize protests, meetings, fundraisers, share opinions, decisions etc. was Facebook and from it emerged the different ways in which Arabizi in the context of contestation can be studied. Since the case study is the #YouStink (Tol3it Re7etkom) campaign, which initially started its campaigning on Facebook, the first method conducted was a page data extraction using Netvizz, “a data collection and extraction application that allows researchers to export data in standard file formats from different sections of the Facebook social networking service” (Rieder, 2013). This method was imperative to this research as it acts as the ‘fieldwork’ of this research. It involves collecting all the posts and their engagement (likes, comments, shares) from a specific page, inserting them into an Excel sheet and analyzing each post in an organized manner. For this research, the data was extracted from the campaign’s Facebook page similarly toli’t reh’itkom, Tol3it Re7etkom, or You Stink). Similar to Egypt’s) ”ﻃﻠﻌﺖ ﺭﻳﺤﺘﻜﻢ“ named ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ “Kulluna Khaled Said” page during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, #YouStink’s page acts as a platform that provides its followers, or “likers”, with updates from the ground by posting videos and photos of the protests, or posting statuses encouraging many to join and support the cause. It is also an outlet where Lebanese Facebook users, from all social and political classes, express their frustrations with the campaign or the government. They are given an opportunity to voice their opinions in the ways they see appropriate, whether it is by choosing a specific language to communicate in or posting their own videos and photos. It is a page reflecting two kinds of collective identities situated within the country, allowing for debate. Furthermore, the importance of the page is the fact that it is not run by politicians aiming to maintain a political image and encourage a political agenda. The page is run by a group Lebanese social activists who’s agenda is not to silence the people with different opinions, rather it allow them to voice their opinions on their platform. This does not mean that the campaign does not promote their own agenda, yet, the interaction between users and admins is issued in a way where fear of censorship and persecution are none existing.

17 The time frame of the data collected ranges from July 25 2015, when the campaign first joined the platform, up until April 10, 2016, which is just a few days after the campaign organized it most recent protest. The total number of posts collected from this timeframe is 1,615 ​ ​ and includes status updates, photo albums and photos, and videos posted by the page admins. To study the socio­technical practices of users, a focus on comments is appropriate as it encompasses both the context in which users are communicating or expressing themselves and more importantly, the way in which a statement is expressed, whether expressed in Arabic, English, French, or Arabizi. A content analysis was conducted on the top ten most commented on posts, since these posts portray the most reacted to posts. Writing a comment requires more effort than clicking share, like or any of the newly added emotions. They were gathered once the data was tabulated within the excel sheet. Due to the volume of comments on each post, the collection of comments were divided into two parts to obtain more accurate results: the first was collecting the ten most liked comments on each post and the second was the collection of a minimum of 10 comments per post that was selected based on every 100th post if the dataset ​ contained more than 1,000 comments, and every 50th post if the dataset consisted of less than ​ 1,000 comments. The comments were coded according to language and content. This was done by including a color to each tally added when analyzing the comments. This is necessary to the analysis as it shows the times in which the languages are used in different times and to highlight the objective to study the context Arabizi in which it practiced in, the color coding can be found in the coding manual in the Appendices. The second code were based on the comment’s content and context: ● Critical of Current Political & Social Situation ● Support for Campaign ● Critical of Campaign ● Debate ● Coordination

18 These codes were chosen to distinguish the context the comments are being communicated in. In terms of political contestation, this coding sheet offers an opportunity to examine the language users prefer to implement when expressing themselves via comments. Although this research is partly based on cross­platform analysis, the campaign’s Facebook page is the most active and most engaged with compared to their other social media accounts, such as Twitter or Instagram; therefore, data extraction from other social media platforms would have caused a gap in amount of data collected between each platform. This is where the second method plays its part. The second methodology used for this research are semi structured interviews with 10 social media activists voicing their opinions on their personal social media accounts, especially concerning the #YouStink campaign. The semi­structured interviews were necessary for the appropriation of certain reasons behind the different ways in which Arabizi is used. This method provided this research with user practices as well as providing information about other social media platforms by studying the social media accounts they are most active on; such as Instagram, Whatsapp, and Twitter. Since most of the people interviewed are actively part of the campaign on Facebook, it seemed unnecessary to study their personal Facebook profiles. For the interviews, the questions were adapted to each interviewee since each seemed to have their own way of using Arabizi. As an overall structure, the questions were formulated based on three categories: the user’s relationship with Arabizi (the how, when, why of their practices), the platform’s characteristics as a possible influencer/shaper, and finally their personal opinion about Arabizi. These categories are crucial for this research as they encompass the study’s main objective. The first allows a deeper understanding of specific user practices and provide the context in which it is used, for example if it is used within a humorous, critical, empathetic etc. situation. The second is aimed at distinguishing whether or not the characteristics of a platform, for example the infinity scroll or character count, could somehow shape their choice of code within the platform. The third will provide colored and subjective views on Arabizi, for example whether or not they would keep using it in the future, as technologies become more compatible with the Arabic language; or what the use of Arabizi means in the context of Arab or Lebanese identity.

19 The 10 interviewees were chosen based on their activity on social media and their involvement with the #YouStink campaign: ● Sarah Bou Kamel: 31, female, social activist, with a degree in Communication ​ Engineering, member of the #YouStink campaign. ● Jinane Abi Ramia: 26, female, social activist, American University of Beirut ​ Environmental Health (B.S) and Public Health (MA) graduate, core member of #YouStink movement. ● Assaad Thebian: 28, male, works in Marketing, and co­founder of #YouStink movement. ​ ● Tima Al­Ahmad: 19, female, Communication Arts student minoring in Political Science ​ at the Lebanese American University, teaches Debate and Drama at the International College, member of the university’s feminist club. ● Hamza Mekdad: 23, male, freelancer in the visual communications field, social media ​ personality. ● Imad Jawad: 26, male, freelance architect with master’s in Public Spaces, content ​ creator at a company (prefers to keep it anonymous), musician and partner in media and culture magazine “Audiokultur.” ● Edwin Harb­Kadri: 26, male, filmmaker, currently doing a master’s in Cinematography ​ in Barcelona, shot and directed many of #YouStink campaign’s videos. ● Hassan Julien Chehouri: 24, male, Lebanese American University graduate, freelance ​ filmmaker and Lebanese Vine celebrity. ● Hassan Sleit: 26, male, Architecture and decoration graduate, volunteer and protester ​ for #YouStink movement. ● Safa Hamzeh: 20, female, Communication Arts/Journalism graduate from the Lebanese ​ ​ American University, currently working in the social media department at undisclosed company. In addition to being interviewed, the participants were asked to share screenshots of their Whatsapp activity, since they all use it the most compared to any other social media platform. Each participant submitted screenshots from their personal Whatsapp conversations, which will exclude the names of actors within the conversation to respect their privacy. As aforementioned,

20 the screenshots are necessary in order to study the techno­social practices on other social media platforms, instead of only focusing solely on Facebook. Since Whatsapp and Facebook are the most used platforms among Lebanese internet users, the data collected from them are relevant for this research. The content of the screenshots is analyzed using the same method of the Netvizz analysis; meaning each screenshot will be placed under the categories listed above; yet due to the fact that these are screenshots of private conversations among individuals, the participant may not have felt completely comfortable in sharing their chats. Although the screenshots provide the opportunity for a cross­platform analysis, the sample is too little compared to the samples collected from Facebook. As a resolution to this challenge, another method was necessary to fill this gap. A survey was conducted, targeting Lebanese social media users. The survey consisted of asking questions concerning the user’s relationship with Arabizi online. The survey garnered 346 participants, which is a large enough sample to come to certain conclusions concerning the Lebanese populations’ internet behaviour. This method provides the research with a large­scale understanding of user demographics; it also encompasses a general outlook on user language preferences.

5. Data and Discussion 5.1 Netvizz The page’s data reflected the way in which users chose to speak. Interestingly, at first glance at the posts by admins, the languages that are mainly used are Arabic and English. Then, as the posts are further analyzed, it is clear that the admins initial language choice is Arabic, written in Arabic script and never in Arabizi. The first part of the research chapters will be to study the context in which Arabizi is practiced. The posts extracted via Netvizz for analysis consisted of the 10 most commented on posts starting from July 25, 2015 till April 10, 2016. The number of comments per post is organized in the descending order, starting from the most commented to the least: 1. 5770 comments 2. 2366 comments 3. 1260 comments

21 4. 1242 comments 5. 1187 comments 6. 1020 comments 7. 954 comments 8. 779 comments 9. 753 comments 10. 771 comments 50% of these posts have captions written in colloquial Arabic script, 20% in English and 30% in both colloquial Arabic script and English, where the English acted as a translated version of what is written in Arabic. This behaviour by the page is mainly in order to make sure their message reaches not just Lebanese community, but also the international community who do not speak Arabic. However, this is also due to the fact that many Lebanese users are more likely to read the post if it is written in English, as will be seen in the next chapter.

The top ten most commented on posts consisted of three different types of digital media artifacts that the Facebook platform offers as features: videos, pictures and text (status updates). Interestingly, the posts with videos generated the most comments compared to the other types of posts. In total, there were five video posts that were collected amongst the most commented on posts. The top three most commented on posts are videos with contextual captions written in Arabic script, while the other two posts’ captions are written in English. From the top three, written by the page’s admins, differed in the sense that the tones used varied between suspenseful, critical and coordinative, yet were similar in the target, which was the garbage crisis. All three videos focus on the impact the garbage has made on the country. The fact that these are the posts generated the most comments indicate that the video feature on Facebook allowed for more interaction on the post. Users were more likely to comment on something they saw, rather than something they read. Even more interesting, the top commenters on the videos seem to parallel the language the post was written in as most of them were written in Arabic script. Users are more likely to comment about the crisis in Arabic script and to criticize the country’s current political and social situation. 76% of top comments are written in Arabic script,

22 while 50% of the random comments collected show that users commented in Arabic script. Although written in colloquial Arabic, the comments portrayed a more “formal” aspect than the comments written in Arabizi. The top comments written in Arabic script expressed a serious tone, leaving out any forms of insults or terms that could weaken their argument.

This is apparent when comparing the most commented on post, a video of garbage flooding the streets of Beirut after rain, and the tenth most commented on post, a picture of the current Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Nohad el Machnouk, attending a funeral, where guns were fired into the air in the town of Zahle, in the Bekaa region. The top comments on each post differed in both context and language. The video of the garbage flooding the streets generated comments that condemned the government’s inactivity and its comments were all written in Arabic script. While the pictures of Minister el Machnouk generated comments that expressed criticisms towards the campaign, with half of them written in Arabizi. Interestingly, the contrast between the different tones between Arabizi and Arabic script are most apparent in the post about Zahle. The most liked comment on the post is written eloquently, as the user justifies the reason for the shots being fired during the funeral as a form of respect, especially since there is no law in the area forbidding it; the user ends the comment by politely paying his respects to the campaign and all those involved in the post’s comment thread. The most liked Arabizi comment on the post indicates something different, however. Not only is it longer, it expresses the same opinion as the first Arabic comment, yet more aggressively. The user expresses anguish by the campaign using his “hometown” to exploit the minister’s actions, comes to the defense of Zahle’s strength, and ends his listed rant by demanding that the campaign “fixes the way they talk” (translated from Arabizi). This is obvious throughout the post especially due to the fact that people of Zahle are taking offence by the campaign’s use of these photos to entice its Facebook followers and “prove their point.”

The fact that posts in Arabizi are more textual and expressive than those written in Arabic supports a point previously expressed by Robert Michael Bianchi in 2012. He suggested that Arabizi was used in more personal contexts, and the more personal the context, the more

23 expressive the user will be. Furthermore, as will be discussed in detail in the next research chapter, the survey result, conducted on 346 Lebanese Internet users, shows that 18.7% find it easier to type in Arabizi, while 0.9% find it easier to type in Arabic, this was also the case with the interviewees, but this will be addressed later on. This is additionally supported within the most commented on post, the “River of Garbage” video. Top commenters chose to type in Arabic, however, the texts are not as expressive or as long as the comments written in Arabizi. They most liked comment on that post links this “disgusting” sight to the government’s corrupt government officials. Many of the top comments on this post used jokes as way to portray criticism, for example one user wrote “The World’s First Garbage River ” (translated from ​​ Arabic) sarcastically refers the “pride” the country should feel with this accomplishment. This, however, moves away from Bianchi’s (2012) initial findings that Arabizi is used more humorous contexts. The findings here indicate the way in which “witty” sarcasm or criticisms are more likely to be expressed using a colloquial tone in Arabic script. In 2012, Arabic­speaking Facebook users were in the process of adjusting to the addition of the Arabic language made available in 2009. In their study of Egypt’s “Kulluna Khalid Said” page, Rieder & als (2015) describe how users had not made the full transition to writing in Arabic script, and kept the language of their Facebook’s interface in English. Yet, within this data, it is clear that users are opting to write in Arabic script in order to appear more “professional” or to leave a greater impact, as is the case with the use of humour. Users who chose to write in Arabic script, articulated their thoughts in a concise and eloquent manner, while those who opted to write in Arabizi express themselves in a more personal tone, with hasty characteristics, addressing a specific notion, rather than wanting to generally address the current situation.

The fact that it is easier for users to type in Arabizi on Facebook is linked to the “easiness” of typing in English. This partly due to Lebanese people growing accustomed to the English language, especially with its integration within the country’s educational system, Hollywood­influence within the mass media, and post­war diaspora. The relationship between the Lebanese populous and the English language is reflected and possibly encouraged on the Facebook platform. As many Facebook users initially joined the platform while it was still

24 available in only English, using the English language on the web seemed like the go to language to be integrated within the Facebook community. Pre­Arabic Facebook days gave rise to Arabizi as way to reconnect with Lebanese culture and humour, but English was the main language that was used to express the “professional, eloquent opinions,” similar to the way Arabic script is being used in this case of contestation. Although, the English comments left posts were mainly due to the fact that the post itself is written in English. This type of user behaviour follows Stefania Milan’s notion of collective identity within cloud protesting (2015). Here, the metaphoric “imagined space” put forth by Milan implies that the cloud platform, which in this case is Facebook, allows for collective action by connecting individuals in a “multi­authored” situation.

In the #YouStink context, language seems to play a role in what binds, or connects, these individuals to the cause. For example, the two of posts collected are written in English and are both videos portraying on the ground footage of protesters being physically assaulted by authorities, both the police and army. The posts urge users to “share” the videos as a way to highlight the way in which authoritative figures are mistreating the Lebanese public, instead of protecting them. These videos generated exactly what admins had hoped for, as top comments expressed the shamefulness brought on by the authorities’ actions. Although the English used is imperfect, users still opted to use the English language, with some of them choosing to mix codes, in order to further explain themselves. One top commenter used the English language to express feelings of frustration towards the authorities:

“for every time i have called ur offices when i needed help and ur officers did nothing at all, for every time u held an army block and ur officers looked at our sisters and women in a sleezy way before they can allow them to pass for every time u have have laid a hand on ur people because they were speaking out JUSTICE for every time u wore ur costume with an EGO and a GUN and used that against us for every time u have put a dollar in ur pockets to let go of criminals for every time u held a hidden price tag for the traffic law and every other so called law for every tear and every stress and every injustice ur allowing ur fake costumed men to execute on my

25 people my lebanon for everything u were hired to do but do nothing about but get ur salaries at the end of the month and benefit from the schooling discounts and supermarket purchases for everything u tried to cover up on because of ur abuse for every televised lie, for every wrong heroic broadcast WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH AND WE WILL DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT Dont u dare lay a hand on us anymore because WE THE PEOPLE VOW TO DO UNTO U WHAT U HAVE DONE UNTO US”

The comment is quite long and more expressive than those written in Arabic. And similar to the post’s other English top comments, they all follow a similar tone of frustration and anger with the government as the post. The comments below further portray users collectively typing in the same language in order to connect to the cause:

● “The government is a failure beyond imagination. This system is corrupt beyond imagination. The majority of us are numb and desensitized beyond imagination. I salute these brave men and women, these few that make me hope that one day this country can rise again.” ● “The sad thing is that all the officers and soldiers should turn around and join the people instead of facing them. They do not see that they live in the same problems as we do and that they are controlled as puppets?” ● “I wonder, if those 1500 likes and endless angry comments had actually been down there, how the scene would have been different. They are obviously scared and trying to shut this movement down, all the more reason to keep it up. See you Saturday.”

There is a similarity in the moments users choose to express themselves in Arabizi on these posts as it was used parallel to English. They reiterate the same tone and feelings expressed in the English comments. Those who chose to type in Arabizi often included English in their comments, as way to further support their opinions. However, the English language presents a sort of balance between users who choose to write in Arabic and those who choose to write in Arabizi. While English was previously used as a way to express professional opinions (Bianchi,

26 2012) as Arabic script is being used within these contexts, it is also used to express something personal, as with the other comments aforementioned. English appears to be to mending the gap between Arabic script and Arabizi. This can be seen in these users’ comments:

● “Shame on them...yifarjuna marjaleton 3l7dud m3 da3esh msh bibeirut...tfeh” ​ ● “Walla abadeyeet chatrin bel downtown ye3red 3adalato ... Remember soldier when you go back home you are one of us, the most honorable soldiers are the ones who refused to fight for a cause that they knew for a fact is unjust .... I am sure you can sleep tonight bcz of your disrespectful actions... The gun doesn't make you more powerful than me”

These users express their personal disappointment with the authorities as they wishes they use this type of action on the borders against ISIS instead of on the people they are trying to protect; oddly, the top comments written in Arabic indicate a difference of tone. Some of the comments left in Arabic either expressed the same feelings as the English comments, yet many of them actually condemn the campaign for using such a video to disparage and disrespect the “authorities that protect us from ISIS and who are just following orders,” using the same “ ,reasoning but with a different connotation. The comments such as this one ﻧﻘﺒﺮﻭ ﺣﺘﺮﻣﻮ ﺍﻟﺪﻭﻟﺔ ​ ﻟﻴﺘﺤﺘﺮﻣﻮﻛﻦ ﺍﻧﺎ ﻣﻊ ﺍﻟﺸﻌﺐ ﻭﻣﻄﺎﻟﺐ ﺍﻟﺸﻌﺐ ﺑﺶ ﻣﺶ ﺍﺯﺍ ﺑﻨﺖ ﻳﻌﻨﻲ ﺑﻴﻄﻠﻌﻼ ﺗﺴﺒﻮ ﻭﺗﻨﺪ ﺍﻳﺪﺍ ﻋﻞ ﺩﺭﻙ ﺑﺎﻟﻨﻬﺎﻳﺔ ﻫﻴﺪﺍ ﻣﻮﻇﻒ ﻣﺄﻣﻮﺭ roughly translates to “start respecting the ”, ﻭﺍﻟﺪﻓﺎﻉ ﺍﻟﺘﺮﺱ ﻳﻠﻲ ﺑﺄﻳﺪﻭ ﻳﻌﺪ ﺳﻼﺡ ﻭﻣﻤﻨﻮﻉ ﺗﻘﺮﺏ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ​ government that protects you, I am with the people and their requests, but I will not stand with you when a woman starts insulting and hitting the police; at the end of the day he’s an employee following orders, and it is his duty to defend his country, it is forbidden to do this.” While “ ,another Arabic comment expressed feelings of disappointment with police ﺑﺰﻋﻞ ﺷﻮﻑ ﻗﻮﻯ ﺍﻷﻣﻦ ​ . ﻳﻠﻲ ﻣﻦ ﺍﻟﻤﻔﺘﺮﺽ ﻳﺤﻤﻲ ﺍﺑﻨﺎﺋﻪ ﻋﻢ ﻳﻀﺮﺑﻦ ﻷﻧﻮ ﻋﻢ ﺑﻄﺎﻟﺒﻮ ﺑﺤﻘﻮﻕ ﻛﻞ ﺷﺨﺺ ﻣﻮﺟﻮﺩ ﺑﻠﺒﻨﺎﻥ ﺍﺫﺍ ﺧﻴﻚ، ﺑﻴّﻚ، ﺧﺎﻟﻚ، ﻋﻤّﻚ ﻣﻊ and pleads those who are related ”, . .... ﻗﻮﻯ ﺍﻷﻣﻦ، ﻋﻤﻮﻝ ﻣﻌﺮﻭﻑ ﺫﻛﺮﻥ ﺷﻮ ﺍﻭﻟﻮﻳﺎﺗﻦ ﺑﻠﺒﻨﺎﻥ ﺷﻲ ﺑﺰﻋّﻞ ﻭﺑﺨﻴّﺐ ﺍﻷﻡ ​ to anyone working within the Security Forces to stand with the people and allow them to demand and defend their basic human rights. The contrast between these comments identify the contrast within the Lebanese user practices. Those who chose to express themselves in English are more

27 likely to share the same opinions, almost belonging to a similar community or social background; while those who chose to write in Arabic do not follow a similar conformity, since the diverse backgrounds within the Arabic­speaking community in Lebanon is much greater. This is clear when users choose to write in Arabizi; it is still Arabic, but it just typed differently and aimed at being more personal.

Similar to the video, the two posts containing images provoked users to comment in Arabic script, unlike the post concerning El Machnouk and Zahle as previously mentioned. Both posts show images of “victims” of police brutality during the protest. The most commented on out of the two are images of a man laying on the floor receiving medical attention and another image showing the police beating a protester. The images are quite graphic, similar to the police brutality videos previously discussed, with a similar reaction from users. Top commenters conveyed signs of support by expressing their disapproval of the current “us versus them” situation. All top comments are written in Arabic; the general outlook of the comments from the random samples selected were mostly written in Arabic as well and express the same messages of support and encouragement to keep the social movement going. The comments written in Arabizi portrayed the personal factor again, as many who chose to practice it expressed feelings of sadness and disappointment with authorities:

● “zolom 3al sha3eb lem3attar,,lawenon shabab a7zaab ma 7ada starja da2 feehen,,,,,” ● “ya 3askare ya ebn lbalad rou7 drob lo 3am yesr2ak w yesro2 wledak rou7 drob li wledo bi3icho barat lebled 3a 7sebak w inte wledak 7ateton be madrseh rasmiyeh ya 3ayb choum 3a hek dawleh fesdeh”

Users chose to type in Arabizi when expressing deeper feelings of disappointment. The terminology used in this context conveys the depth of these emotions as they resonate a tone of conversational Lebanese Arabic, which is quite flowery and emotional. Oddly, the top comments also showed reference to Lebanese culture with certain terms, such as “ ” which ﺗﻔﻮﻭﻭﻭﻭ ﻋﻠﻴﻚ ​ expresses disgust, in this context towards the Lebanese government, more specifically the

28 Minister of the Environment, who also belongs to the El Machnouk family. Yet the difference between the top comments is that users “voted” comments written in Arabic “up” by liking them. This represents the comments’ relatability with the post’s audience. This could be due to the actual post being written in Arabic script, therefore the users remain consistent with the framework of the post when commenting.

Even more so, the post clarifying the status of a protester’s well­being the page’s followers also generated comments expressing support towards the campaign. The admins tactic to evoke sympathy from its followers is apparent as it used an image to portray the smiling innocent face of a protester who was put in hospital following the protests. The top comments were also written in Arabic script and further support the notion of Arabic script being used as a way to state an opinion formally and in a structured manner. For example, one top comment with 181 writes:

" " " : ­ ﻧﺤﻦ ﻛﻤﺸﺠﻌﻲ ﻭﻣﺆﻳﺪﻱ ﻟﺤﻤﻠﺔ ﻃﻠﻌﺖ ﺭﻳﺤﺘﻜﻢ ﺳﺄﻗﻮﻝ ﺍﻟﺘﺎﻟﻲ ﺍﻧﺎ ﻣﺎ ﺑﻬﻤﻨﻲ ﺍﻟﺸﺨﺺ ﻳﻠﻠﻲ ﻋﻢ ﺑﺪﻳﺮ ﺍﻟﺤﻤﻠﺔ ﺍﺫﺍ ﻛﺎﻥ ﺍﺳﻤﻮ ­ ­ ﻋﻤﺎﺩ ﺑﺰﻱ ﺍﻭ ﻏﻴﺮﻭ ﺍﻧﺎ ﻣﺎ ﺑﻤﺸﻲ ﻭﺭﺍ ﺣﺪﺍﻥ ﺍﻧﺎ ﺑﻤﺸﻲ ﻭﺭﺍ ﻣﺸﺮﻭﻉ ﺍﻧﺎ ﻣﻨﻨﻲ ﺗﺎﺑﻊ ﻟﺰﻋﻴﻢ ﺍﻭ ﻗﺎﺋﺪ ﺍﻭ ﻣﺴﺆﻭﻝ ﺍﻧﺎ ﺑﺘﺒﻊ ﻣﺸﺮﻭﻉ ­ ­ ﻭﻃﻨﻲ ﺑﻘﻮﻟﻮ ﺍﻧﻮ ﻋﻤﺎﺩ ﻛﺬﺍ ﻭﻛﺬﺍ ﻭﻛﺬﺍ ، ﻳﺼﻄﻔﻞ ﺑﺤﺎﻟﻮ ﻭﻫﻴﺪﺓ ﺣﻴﺎﺗﻮ ﻭﺧﻴﺎﺭﺍﺗﻮ ﺍﻧﺎ ﺗﺎﺭﻙ ﻟﺒﻨﺎﻥ ﺑﻤﺴﺆﻭﻟﻴﻪ ﻛﻠﻬﻢ ﻻﻧﻮ ﻣﺎ ﻓﻲ ﻭﺍﺣﺪ . ­ . ﻋﻨﺪﻭ ﻣﺸﺮﻭﻉ ﻭﻃﻦ ﻟﻠﺠﻤﻴﻊ ﺍﻧﺎ ﻋﻨﺪﻱ ﻋﻘﻞ ﺍﻧﺎ ﺍﺫﺍ ﺑﺤﺲ ﺍﻧﻮ ﻫﻴﺪﺓ ﺍﻟﺤﻤﻠﺔ ﺿﺪ ﻣﺸﺮﻭﻉ ﻭﻃﻦ ﺑﺘﺮﻛﻬﺎ ﻭﺑﻔﻞ ﺍﻧﺎ ﺳﻴﺪ ﻧﻔﺴﻲ ﻣﻦ ﺯﻣﺎﻥ ﺍﻛﺘﻴﺮﺭﺭﺭﺭﺭﺭﺭﺭﺭﺭﺭﺭﺭ ﺍﻧﺎ ﻣﺘﺤﺮﺭ ﻣﻦ ﻋﺒﻮﺩﻳﺔ ﺍﻟﻔﺴﺎﺩ ﺍﻧﺎ ﻋﺎﻳﺶ ﺑﻜﻨﺪﺍ ﻭﺍﻛﺘﻴﺮ ﺍﻧﺴﺎﻥ ﻣﺤﺘﺮﻡ ﻭﺍﻟﺪﻭﻟﺔ ﺍﻟﻜﻨﺪﻳﺔ ﺑﺘﺤﺘﺮﻣﻨﻲ . . ﺍﻛﺘﺮ ﻣﺎ ﺑﺴﺘﺎﻫﻞ ﺑﻼ ﻫﻴﺪﺓ ﺍﻟﺸﺎﺋﻌﺎﺕ ﻋﻦ ﻋﻤﺎﺩ ﺑﺰﻱ ﺍﻭ ﻏﻴﺮﻭﺍ ﻭﺍﻧﺎ ﺑﻌﺮﻑ ﻛﻞ ﻫﻴﺪﺓ ﺍﻻﻻﻋﻴﺐ ﻛﻠﻬﺎ ﺍﻧﺎ ًﺷﺨﺼﻴﺎ ﻣﺎ ﺑﻌﺮﻑ ﺣﺪﺍ ﺑﻬﻴﺪﺓ ." ﺍﻟﺤﻤﻠﺔ ﺑﺲ ﺍﻧﺎ ﺑﻌﺮﻑ ﻣﺸﺮﻭﻋﻦ

The comment addresses the notion to ignore rumours and continue fighting against corruption. Although grammatically conversational, the comment is “properly” written compared to the comments written in Arabizi. It is in a listed form, indicating the organized manner it is typed. It also follows an almost story­like structure that is quite efficient when addressing the general public. While the comments written in Arabizi express different kind of support, filled with sympathies and warm wishes. Such as these comments:

29 ● allah ye7mi w ye7mi kil l shabib w shabit l selmeyeen ● Ya rabbbb yshfyyyy ● Amen ya rab allah yeshfi w y2awmo bkher w saleme

The users are using Arabizi to send prayers to the man in the hospital. These terms are often used in conversational Lebanese Arabic, although they are different when typed in Arabic script, since the grammar changes as well. This is additionally parallel to one of the mechanisms Stefania Milan’s paper proposes. She states that “on the imagined space of the cloud reverberation and emotional support (e.g., emoticons and repetition) function as mechanisms for recognition, whereby users validate the content offered by others” (Milan, 2015, 5). The desire to be recognized and validated by others, could be what drives these well wishing users to communicate prayers in Arabizi. If one user witnesses another user’s communication patterns, it might be more likely that he/she will follow the same pattern.

Two status updates posted by the page’s admins also generated the most comments, however, the type of comments differed from the those left on the video posts. Debates amongst users were greater in number compared to the ones seen on other posts. Without the support of media, ie photos and videos, the textual digital artefact generated more user engagement as it relied on the meaning within text, which offers more structured and direct opinions, rather than just an exhibition of meaning as seen with photos and videos with a small caption, allowing users to interpret them as they see fit. The message admins are attempting to deliver via Facebook directly offers the cause’s motivation.

One of the posts was created following the protest led by the Free Patriotic Movement party (FPM) founded by former military commander and current Lebanese politician, General Michel Aoun, with pro­Christian views. The protest was a response to #YouStink’s anti­government protests at the time. Aoun is one of the main politicians the campaign is accusing of corruption due to the fact that multiple Parliament members belong to his party and obviously aim to implement the FPM party’s regulation within Lebanon’s sectarian government.

30 As a sort of attack to the cause, followers of the FPM party unearthed old, anti­religion Facebook statuses of one of #YouStink’s co­founders and well­known atheist, Assaad Thebian. By doing so, the FPM party attempted to weaken the social campaign by using Thebian’s anti­religion statuses to target God­fearing Christians and lure them away from a campaign possibly run by atheists with an agenda. Tol3it Re7etkom responded by posting a statuses clarifying their motivations, indicating religion is not apart of their campaign and does not play any role in their decisions, as is done within the government. This enticed much controversy due to religion’s great importance within the country. The top comments on this post mainly focused on defending Assaad Thebian and his right to be an individual with his own opinions, with a majority of the comments written in Arabic (nine out ten) and one post written in Arabizi. Users also argued by referring to the campaign’s initial motivation, which was to fight corruption irrespective of Thebian’s religious beliefs. The top comments seemed to follow the same views, however, when studying the random comments collected from this post, the debate amongst users becomes more obvious. The division consists of those who believe Assaad Thebian has no right to insult religions, while others shared similar opinions to the top comments. For example, one user wrote: “ _ # ,” this roughly translates ﻣﻠﺤﺪ ﻋﺮﺍﺳﻲ ﻭﻋﻴﻨﻲ ﺑﺲ ﻣﺶ ﻳﻬﻴﻦ ﺍﻟﺪﻳﺎﻧﺎﺕ ﺍﻻﺧﺮﻯ ﻃﻠﻌﺖ ﺭﻳﺤﺘﻜﻢ ​ ​ to “sure, let him have his own opinions, but that doesn’t mean can go around insulting other ​ religions #YouStink.” The user behavioural practices on this post indicates there is more ​ conformity with the post’s text, then on other posts. The directness of the views addressed in the status update again follows the notion of collective identity within cloud protesting. Users tended to support each other and the campaign by liking comments with similar opinions, while those who are against the status’ message did not make the list of top comments and remain unnoticed, with more difficulty to locate them. This type of measurement (Gerlitz, Helmond, 2013) is quite often used in marketing strategies and determines the author/user’s value and influence within the platform. User­generated content is also necessary when it comes to creating and establishing movement, since through this, the notion of the “we” is created and through it, the movement evolves from the digital to the physical. This is similar in the case of political contestation as it amplifies a user’s opinions by liking the comment, therefore almost shaping the opinions of other users reading the comments. The debate sparked within the status’ comment thread reflects a

31 collective opinion amongst the page’s followers, as each user takes the time to read and agree with one another, and establish their validity amongst themselves (Milan, 2015).

Similarly, the second status update generated a debate amongst users within the comment thread; however unlike the previous status, this post a relatively supportive debate. The status is coordinative as it informs its followers about the postponement of that day’s upcoming protest. Top commenters on this post were divided between those who agreed with the campaign’s decision to postpone the protest and those disagreed. Although the post is written in Arabic with an English translation below it, the top comments are completely written in Arabic script. Interestingly, the comments portrayed a supportive tone as they addressed a larger audience, rather than personally referring to a notion. It appears that Arabic script is being used here again as a way to iterate an almost philosophical, or lecturing genre of speaking. It is not as expressive and personal as Arabizi, yet it reflects the intellectual, almost poetic approach to voicing one’s opinion. One example is this top comment that generated 116 likes:

" ﺇﺫﺍ ﻣﺎ ﺑﺪﻙ ﺗﺘﺮﻙ ﻃﺎﺋﻔﺘﻚ ﺑﺎﻟﺒﻴﺖ ﻣﺎ ﺗﻨﺰﻝ ﺇﺫﺍ ﻣﺎ ﺑﺪﻙ ﺗﺘﺨﻠﻰ ﻋﻦ ﺯﻋﻴﻤﻚ ﻳﺎ ﺧﺮﻭﻑ ﻣﺎ ﺗﻨﺰﻝ ﺇﺫﺍ ﺑﺪﻙ ﺗﺠﻴﺒﻠﻲ ﺳﻴﻒ ﺍﻹﻣﺎﻡ ﻋﻠﻲ ﻭ ﻋﻤﺮ ﻣﺎ ﺗﻨﺰﻝ ﺇﺫﺍ ﻣﺎ ﺑﺪﻙ ﺗﻜﻮﻥ ﻻ ۸ ﻭ ﻻ ۱٤ ﻣﺎ ﺗﻨﺰﻝ ﺇﺫﺍ ﻣﺎ ﺑﺪﻙ ﺗﻄﺎﻟﺐ ﺑﻜﻬﺮﺑﺎ ﻭ ﻣﻲ ﻭ ﻧﻈﺎﻓﺔ ﻭ ﻃﺒﺎﺑﺔ ﻭ ﺣﺮﻳﺔ ﻭ ﺳﻴﺎﺩﺓ ﻣﺎ ﺗﻨﺰﻝ ﺇﺫﺍ ﻣﺎ ﺑﺪﻙ ﺗﻄﺎﻟﺐ ﺑﻤﺴﺘﻘﺒﻞ ﺍﻓﻀﻞ ﻭ ﻧﻈﺎﻡ ﺍﻓﻀﻞ ﻣﺎ ﺗﻨﺰﻝ ﺇﺫﺍ ﻣﺎ ﺑﺪﻙ ﺗﺤﺘﺮﻡ ﺍﻟﻘﻮﻯ ﺍﻷﻣﻨﻴﺔ ﻣﺎ ﺗﻨﺰﻝ ﻭ ﺇﺫﺍ ﻣﺎ ﻓﻴﻚ ﺗﻜﻮﻥ ﺣﻀﺎﺭﻱ ، # _ # _ _ " ﻓﻤﺎ ﺗﺸﺎﺭﻙ ﻳﺎ ﺣﻤﺎﺭﻱ ﻃﻠﻌﺖ ﺭﻳﺤﺘﻜﻢ ﻭ ﻣﺎ ﺗﻄﻠﻌﻮﺍ ﺭﻳﺤﺘﻨﺎ

This user is poetically and ironically arguing against the “hypocrites” who complain but do not take action. Within the comment, there multiple times the user includes poetic devices such as rhymes and repetition. The revolutionary tone seen here is similar to the tone of the post. The characteristics of the comments and the posts are in the spirit of encouragement and support for the cause. The random comments selected on this post are similar to the top comments in the sense that they are written in mostly Arabic script and follow the same tone of voice. The contrast, however, between what is written in Arabic script and what is written in Arabizi can be seen in a comment like this one, that generated 0 likes:

32 “1000000000000000% very true...+MAJLISS EL NOWWAB W RA2EESOO WIL HOKOOMEH W RA2EESA W KIL EL NOWWAB WIL WOZARA WIL 2AHZAB HARAMIYYEH KILON W SA2TEEN W 2ENTAHOO 2ILA EL 2ABAD.....I am going on Saturday .....even if I am dying I will come to witness how this corrupt regime represented by the illegal corrupt and demoralized parlaiment and governement with their bastard and thief deputies and ministers with all the parties to whom they belong will winess their end...and how a NEW REAL LEBANON FOR THE FUTURE WHICH REPRESENTS REAL CITIZENSHIP AND SECULARISM WILL BE BORN AWAY FROM ALL POLITICAL PARTIES AND SYMBOLS OF CORRUPTION....LET'S GATHER AND COME IN BIG NUMBERS TO REACH 3 MILLIONS AND COVER ALL LEBANON...... GO GO GO GO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOO ALL TRUE LEBANESE AND LET'S GATHER UP FOR THE SAKE OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE TRUE AND REAL LEBANON.....wla sermayteh ma yerja3oo.. kil hal nowwab wil wozara el sera2een wil 2ahzab killa w el youm 2abil bokra ghasban 3an ra2bton yredoo ser2ton el 100,000,000,000 dollar. dayn....haydeh ser2eena el nowwab wil wozara el haliyyeh wil seb2een ..w haydeh ha2ee2it el mawdoo3....”

This user expresses his/her thoughts in both English and Arabizi, and it can be seen as a way to add emphasis to the point he/she is attempting to convey. The use of caps lock can be a seen a characteristic that creates such an emphasis, which cannot be created when typing in Arabic script. The user’s emotions are reflected more obviously than they would be if this post was written in Arabic. Furthermore, the use of English in this context is an attempt to reiterate the user’s message, possibly to amplify his/her passion concerning the cause. In addition to this, the switch of languages seen in this comment is justified by the fact that the commenter uses Arabizi to express a very Lebanese tone by implementing within common Lebanese expressions with phrases such as “wla sermayteh ma yerja3oo” and “ghasban 3an ra2bton.” When ​ ​ translated into English, these expressions do not make much sense, but are more appropriate in when used in Arabizi. It is also more difficult to write such an expression in Arabic as it follows a very Lebanese tone that is inexpressible within the structure of Arabic grammar. However, the

33 fact that this comment generated zero likes, compared to the one above, indicates that users are more likely to collectively “support” a post written in Arabic during in a case on contestation. The post that mixes both English and Arabizi can reflect a sign of informality during a time where formality is key. The inconsistencies in the English used and the code switch is more conversational than it is “empowering” as seen in the other comment, although both are portraying the same idea. Interestingly, the user behaviour on this post reflects this notion, as the top comments are written in Arabic script. This is a great leap from older times on Facebook, where it was Arabic that seemed to be seen less. However, through this case study, it has become more obvious that the rise of the Arabic language is finding its way back into users lives, as will be seen in the following chapter.

5.2 Survey and Semi­Structured Interviews The results of the survey and the semi­structured interviews complemented the data collected via Netvizz. The survey contains a sample of 346 Lebanese internet users, ranging between the ages of 14 and 60. Interestingly, in the question about the languages they speak, 98.6% of the survey’s population speak Arabic, and 96.8% speak English, which is somewhat reflected within the Netvizz results, as most comments were in either in Arabic or English. Even more so, and complementary to Rieder et als (2015) previous findings, 97.1% percent of survey participants have their social media accounts set in English, with Facebook and Whatsapp being the most used social media platforms among the population. Although 95.1% of them prefer to type in English on their social media accounts, 88.2% of them type in Arabizi, more often when using their mobile phones since 81% prefer to access their social media accounts from their mobiles.

The significant role smartphones play in this case is their practicality when accessing social media such as Facebook and Whatsapp. 85.4% of users find it easier for them to access these platforms from their phones. This notion is parallel to the practicality of using Arabizi. The abundance of smartphones and their communication facilitation through their applications among users (Evans, 2015) explains why users tend to practice Arabizi more often. When asked which is easier to type in on social media, 73.4% answered that it was English, however 18.1% state it

34 is easier for them to use Arabizi, 7% say French is easier, and only 0.9% find Arabic script easier to type in, even though 55.2% consider Arabic to be their first language. English being the easiest for the majority of the users is due to the fact that internet technologies were initially introduced in English. From the survey’s results, it appears as though Lebanese internet users are not yet accustomed to using Arabic. This is especially true as 52.2% stated that their laptops/desktops do not have an Arabic keyboard, yet 57% state that they use the Arabic keyboard on their smartphones. This result is key to understanding the way in which platforms could shape user language practices since it demonstrates the restrictions a platform’s or a technologies’ could have on user behaviour. In this case, lacking an Arabic keyboard and the practicality of mobile phones may influence language choice on social media platforms. For example, returning to the comments extracted from Netvizz, texts written in Arabic seemed to have a more formal structure, one that requires attention to detail due to the language’s strict grammatical nature, possibly indicating that the user took the time to type out his comment; however, comments written in Arabizi, had a freer, more personal structure. Users are able to play around with the way the write it, meaning that they did not have to follow specific rules. The free nature of Arabizi is synonymous with practicality because it is quicker to type, allowing users to still be able to speak Arabic, yet in a manner that saves time, similar to the fundamental use of smartphone applications.

The survey also distinguishes the contexts in which Arabizi is used the most among users.

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Figure 1. Survey results indicating Arabizi contexts As shown in the graph above, Arabizi is used mostly in comedic, angry and critical contexts, and least used in a professional one. These results support the data collected from Netvizz, since the instances where Arabizi was actually used were mainly within these contextual frameworks. A closer look at the individual responses of the survey indicated many adding the fact that they use Arabizi when “in a rush” or “ever whnen I want to express something serious on social media (except whatsapp because faster)”. Similarly, survey participants also mentioned the fact that they use Arabizi when trying to express something that cannot be expressed in any other language, or as one participant explained “For phrases with no good translation, eg "Shu ya 2ashtaa?!!'”. They also mention that they use Arabizi when talking to friends or in everyday conversations, indicating the chat language’s significance concerning personal use. Arabizi can be seen here as an outlet to being “more Lebanese” online for some users, because of its comedic and non­serious connotations and resemblance to the population’s laid­back and humorous overall attitude towards things. The survey’s results reflect insights on users’ socio­technical practices concerning language, the semi­structured interviews provided an in­depth look into the language users choose to practice in terms of contestation. Overall, the interviewees shared similar answers concerning Arabizi and its use in current times. Although they all use Arabizi on a quotidian level, the majority of participants practice Arabizi while chatting, and instead prefer to write and publish their Facebook (or any other platform for that matter) posts in English, French or Arabic.

36 Assaad Thebian is prime example of this practice. From the beginning of the interview, Thebian, #YouStink’s co­founder, stated he set his own boundaries when choosing which language to communicate in on his social media platforms he is mainly active on, which is Facebook. He finds that it is essential to separate languages rather than choosing to mixing or writing them in a way that might weaken the language. He prefers to stay consistent, “if I wanna speak in English, I’ll type in English, and if I wanna speak in Arabic, I’ll type in Arabic,” however he explains that the times where he does use Arabizi are on Whatsapp and Facebook messenger, depending on the way the other person may be speaking, yet deliberately uses English sometimes to avoid using Arabizi. For a strong­willed character like Thebian, the use of Arabizi is for personal purposes and not when trying to express a serious thought. In his case, what is shaping his language choice is the platform’s brand or reputation, as is the case with many other interviewees. Safa Hamza also agrees with this notion, believing that platforms like Facebook and Twitter come with a certain audience and requirement to establish an online persona. She stated that the only platform she uses Arabizi is on whatsapp since it is “unsupervised.” This resonates with Michel Foucault’s power and control concept of a panopticon and self­regulation under surveillance. Facebook creates fundamental restrictions on user practices due to its panopticon nature (van Wonderen, 2012). The idea that “someone is always watching you” is one that is familiar in the Facebook setting, especially due to the recent algorithmic organizations on newsfeeds. Recently, Facebook’s algorithms seem to link users together based on their interactive behaviour. This could shape the way users portray themselves on the platform, since their posts are guaranteed to be seen by another user. This is definitely the case with Safa Hamzeh since she believes that she belongs to an inner online circle, where in which she communicates in Arabic script as a way to match the content she posts. Her audience, content, and her character as a self­described “old school person” who tries to “respect standardized language.” The term “it depends” was heard throughout all the interviews, yet many of them use Arabizi in any context with friends and family when chatting on Whatsapp or any instant messaging service. The screenshots below provide examples of the different times Arabizi is used among users:

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Image 1. Hassan Sleit Whatsapp Screenshot

Image 2. Hassan Chehouri Screenshot

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Image 3. Tima Al­Ahmad Whatsapp Screenshot

The images of the conversations convey various contexts in which Arabizi is being used. Image 1 is a perfect example of contrast between Arabic and Arabizi. The text written in formal Arabic script is the user informing his friend of the passing of his father’s cousin. Noticeably, the friend responds in Arabizi, displaying an empathetic tone as he uses terms such as “Hbb” (short for “Habibi” meaning my love) while paying his respects. The text that follows is another contrasting feature that indicates the user’s various purposes of practicing Arabizi; it conveys a very “familial” message to the same friend as he refers to him as “radrouda” (a possible nickname) and uses the term “brotizz,” which is a very Lebanese way of reiterating the English slang word “bro” (meaning brother). Image 2 portrays the way in which the users jump from English to Arabizi when coordinating an action, in this case about borrowing a camera. Finally, Image 3portrays a conversation between friends where the actors of the dialogue switch between Arabizi and English when reminding one another of future appointments.

Arabizi in the case of Whatsapp is also seen by the participants as “quicker and more convenient” way of talking to one another, even more so due to the fact that Whatsapp is a smartphone application (even though a web version was made available). As previously

39 mentioned above and as Evans (2015) determines in his article, the pervasiveness and abundance of an instant messaging app like Whatsapp facilitates the user’s ability to communicate, because of it’s “always on” feature. This characteristic is allows for messages to be sent at any time from anywhere to anyone on the app (granted there is internet connection) with just one click of the send button; making communication simpler. The “easy and quick” characteristics of Arabizi are synonymous to the purpose of Whatsapp and instant messaging services alike. Edwin Harb Kadri even mentions that his use of Arabizi started with the earlier days of Microsoft’s MSN Messenger. Although MSN Messenger was an instant messaging software for a computer rather than a smartphone, it was still a medium where communication was facilitated. The obvious trend that can be seen here is how users tend to move from one Internet medium to the next, while continuously pertaining to old behaviours. Harb Kadri even admits that he is not even aware of how to type in Arabic script on digital services; even pointing out the fact that when writing one of the scripts for one of the #YouStink movement’s videos, he typed the entire script in Arabizi. The influence technology has had on Harb Kadri’s code choice is quite obvious in the interview. MSN Messenger’s popularity peak was a at a time where Arabic reading software’s were not in abundance, therefore Harb Kadri socio­technical practices of Arabizi seemed to have followed him through his transition to the modern­day apps like Whatsapp and Facebook; and, to a certain extent, shaping his communication capabilities in Arabic.

Another noticeable aspect of the interviews is how the participants all agree that Arabizi is a code to be used in professional settings whatsoever and in fact it has a more “sha3bi” (meaning “folk” or “people”), as Imad Jawad suggests, connotations. A screenshot (Image 4) of Hassan Sleit’s conversation with his Islamic professor indicates the way in which Arabic is used in professional setting, or in this case, respectful and formal settings:

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Image 4. Hassan Sleit Whatsapp Screenshot 2 Curiously enough, Arabizi more or less encompasses the Lebanese Arabic dialect, which is very different from a Saudi Arabian or Egyptian Arabic dialect. Arabizi’s lack of rules and regulations allows for the Lebanese dialect to be “heard” when reading it. Because of Arabic’s preconceived notion of being stricter and stiffer, Arabizi is seemingly the outlet where in which users can express themselves in a Lebanese way. Oddly enough however, many of the interview participants associate using Arabic script as being “truer” to their identity. Hassan Chehouri, for example, states that the use of Arabic script is more “respectful” to his cultural identity; it has more significance when writing a serious post on Facebook. However, despite his opinion about typing in Arabic, Hassan’s Vine captions are always written in English. His videos are parodies of Lebanese culture, therefore are in Arabic, English and French, since Vine is “more popular in ‘Western’ countries.” Although Vine supports the Arabic language, its Arabic interface, like many other applications, is not only unappealing, but difficult to use, therefore Arabs using the application must be bilingual to a certain degree; this could explain Hassan’s code choice on the application. Referring to the survey’s results, 97.1% of survey participants answered that their accounts are set in English (see Figure 2), 95.4% type in English (Figure 3), and 93.4% (Figure ​ 4) prefer reading in English on their social media accounts. ​

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Figure 2. Survey results of interface language

Figure 3. Survey results of most practiced on social media accounts

Figure 4. Survey results of most prefered language to read on social media

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The figures above show how users actually prefer to stay within the comforts of an English interface because they have already been accustomed to it’s features and terminology. The dominance of the English language online is apparent here; despite the user’s capabilities to read and write Arabic, they still opt to keep the platform’s interface in its “original” language. The interviewees all have their social media and smartphone settings set in English, which is complementary to the survey’s results. Safa Hamzeh, Edwin Harb Kadri, Jinane Abi Ramia, Imad Jawad and Hamza Mekdad are among the participants who find English to be their most comfortable language to use on their social media platforms. They all state that they speak, read, and write Arabic fluently, yet when it comes to posting on their personal social media accounts, they are more confident by typing in English due to fear of making a mistake while typing in Arabic. This resonates with Yasir Suleiman’s study on Arabic teachers in Qatar; he noted that teachers opted not to speak in a higher level of Arabic, due to the fear of committing mistakes, which to them is embarrassing, especially as educators (2011). The participants similarly fear the judgement that they may face from their peers as the teachers do from their peers and students. Again, the participants seem to regulate themselves according to “who is watching them” and to a certain extent, this could also be possible due to the desire to generate traffic (shares, likes, comments) on their posts. All have mentioned the fact that they post according to their audiences; for example, Sarah Bou Kamel expresses the reason why the #YouStink Facebook page decides to post in both Arabic and English: audience reach. For her, the languages they use on the page increases the facilitation of communication and could promote more audience interaction and off­line traffic (ie news articles, TV news segments) where their posts would be published. Furthermore, when creating a Facebook page, credibility and formality are ideals admins follow, so it is crucial to communicate with followers in way that parallels these ideals; for admins of the #YouStink campaign, the way credibility and formality were established is by posting in Arabic script. Maintaining a professional reputation seems to have been crucial to the movement’s empowerment, especially through Facebook, a constantly “watched” platform, with over a billion active users daily. Imad Jawad notices that, in a time of political contestation,

43 especially in Lebanon, using Arabic script is more appropriate when establishing an authentic Lebanese “brand”; he believes it boosts authenticity. Hamza Mekdad agrees with this notion as well, especially when he types in Arabic. He feels that English could increase user engagement, since his circle of Facebook friends are more likely to share or like his posts when they are written in more than one language. This resonates again with Carolin Gerlitz and Anna Helmond’s paper about the “Like Economy,” (2013) as likes and shares are used to determine a user’s “measure” or “value” in an online space. It is a concept used by marketers, however, user behaviour suggests that self­promotion is encouraged by the number of likes received. Here, the user’s desire to generate affordances on a platform shapes the language the user practices in order to gain reach on the platform. This, however, only applies to a platform like Facebook, and not Whatsapp. The interview participants view Whatsapp as a medium where self­regulation is not necessary, due to its “informalness”, thus their likeliness to use Arabizi. Their fear of making an error is non­existent as opposed to Facebook because of the characteristics of the app and the language itself. They parallel one another in terms of convenience and time­saving, as many of the interviewees mentioned. In times of contestation on Facebook, whether it is for the #YouStink cause, or any other social causes within the country, using Arabic script or English are the most revered as they portray a certain persona, or even more so, credibility. Facebook posts concerning a serious issue are written in the languages that seem to reflect the message the user is attempting to convey; yet this does not mean that it is more convenient or practical, rather the term “appropriate” seems to fit the description. Yet, when it comes to expressing an opinion for such posts, users lean toward practicing the most appropriate language according the tone of the post itself, as was seen from the Netvizz­extracted Facebook data. In opposition to this notion, the Whatsapp­user culture promotes idea of a “freer” space to communicate. The app is relatively private (ie encryption, non­public sharing space), and Michel Foucault’s Panopticon metaphor is not as relevant here as it is on Facebook, so self­regulation within the app is not as intense; and more recently, with Whatsapp encryption policy, the conversations that occur on the platform are freer from judgement and surveillance compared to any other social platform.

44 It appears that when choosing a language to speak in on online, users tend to search for the more “comfortable” option depending on the situation. This research’s data defines how the socio­technical communication practices of users are mostly shaped by the context in which they communicating in as well as the online platform’s social reputation and purposes. Facebook’s interface and technical architecture (ie the likes, comments, shares, video and image support features, suggestions etc) shape the way in which users choose to regulate themselves; its algorithmic organisations to promote user activity and content generation seems to influence the choice of code and content shared by users. There is a creation of a community, or an inner circle, amongst users and the friends they are most engaged with, therefore there are preconceived notions to say something in a certain way that will increase user interaction. The cross analysis between Facebook and Whatsapp identifies two user cultures amongst a Lebanese population. The comfort experienced on each platform is indicated through user’s choosing between the easier and more challenging form of expression. While Facebook is mostly used to share a “formal” (to a certain extent) message, Whatsapp is the platform where thinking about the language in which to speak is not fully thought about, it is almost a natural instinct. The fact that Arabizi seems like it is the most used language among Lebanese internet users indicates the extent to which platforms have to shape user practices. Since Arabizi’s conceptualization was due to the lack of Arabic­reading software and hardware, the degree to which it has integrated itself within users’ daily thoughts and online behaviours indicates the extent a platform, or internet technology, has shaped their socio­technical practices; not only through the platform’s architecture but also through the reputation and branding of the platform, set forth by those who created it.

6. Challenges & Limitations The research conducted for this thesis had quite interesting results. Not only did the findings demonstrate a particular online behaviour within the Lebanese community across two different online social platforms, it also highlighted the complex nature of Lebanese culture. However, like with many research papers, challenges occurred when collecting results.

45 One challenge that was faced was the gap in collected data. Although the screenshots of Whatsapp conversations provided examples of user behaviour, the number of screenshots collected was unequal to the number of Facebook comments collected via Netvizz. The datasets did not balance each other out, therefore the Whatsapp conversations are not fully reflective of the Lebanese population, but do offer a superficial outlook on the general practices of Lebanese users. The lack of Whatsapp screenshots was mainly due to participants aiming to maintain their privacy, which is completely understandable. As mentioned throughout the research, Whatsapp is more a private platform, pertaining to conversations that are meant to be shared with the general public, therefore the content that is necessary for analysis was not sufficiently provided. Another challenge that seemed to hinder the results was the tabulation of Facebook comments on an Excel sheet. Although Netvizz has covered many aspects in the collection and organization of data, one essential feature could have been useful in studying comment behaviour: comment reply thread. The excel sheet showed whether a commented was a reply to another comment, yet one could not distinguish which comment the user was in fact replying to. This affected the results since it would have been more relevant to analyse comments that have generated the most replies rather than the most likes, as was done instead. Studying the comments and their replies would have better reflected user behaviour in terms of contestation as replies could be viewed as an online debate. Studying a debate could provide more information regarding “triggering” factors and to the language choice the user decide to use; whether it was the more personal Arabizi or the more formal Arabic, or the prestigious English. Furthermore, the randomly selected comments collected from Netvizz mostly consisted of “tags.” Some users tagged their friends on the post’s comment thread as one of sharing; however, these tags are not relevant to the study as they do not offer any space for content analysis. One cannot distinguish the user’s feelings or the reason behind leaving the comment, since all that is provided usually just the full name of the friend, followed by no text. This affected the dataset as I was forced to omit these kinds of comments from the study, therefore creating a gap in the necessary amount of comments needed for properly and correctly reaching a conclusion. To clarify, the comments that were collected and analysed still provided sufficient

46 and significant information to draw conclusions from, however it would have been more beneficial if the data was collected in equal measure. A challenge that should be mentioned here as well is the fact that the population studied belonged to certain social class. The user behaviour presented above reflects the middle to upper class in Lebanon. It is unlikely that it encompassed the lower social classes or the population who live beyond the vicinities of Beirut (such as the Bekaa region, and Lebanon’s extremities) in the country as many of them are either unable to gain access to Internet, to afford a computer or smartphone, or are generally not part of the social data movement, common among the country’s older, more conservative generations. It would have been more interesting to see whether the behaviour of those left out of the research are similar to those who were involved. Although, it is possible that some of the population that participated, especially within the Facebook page’s data, had some users belonging to the lower social classes or living beyond the Beiruti culture (which is more open minded than communities in country); yet, there is still a greater chance that those belonging to the middle to upper class were more likely to have outnumbered those who do not. The final limitation was the fact that the campaign itself mainly used one platform: Facebook. Although the members of the movements had created Whatsapp groups, they were unwilling to share their conversations as they feared it might cause issues in the promotion of their cause. Instagram and Twitter were rarely used, even though seemed to have been the facilitator of major revolutions throughout the Arab spring five years back. It would have been interesting to see the way in which the group communicated with their followers and to study how their followers’ chose to communicate when reacting to their posts across different platforms. However, it seemed quite logical to study Whatsapp and Facebook, since, as the survey shows, they are two most used platforms. Despite the challenges and limitations faced, the research procures results that reflect most of the ways Lebanese communicate. From experience by living in Lebanon for 21 years, I noticed that their online behaviour is very close to the way in which they behave beyond the web, especially in terms of communication. Unlike many countries in the Middle East, code switching in Lebanon is a lot more common in conversations, yet the only difference is that

47 online, this sort of behaviour is possibly more widely accepted than it is in other Middle Eastern countries, such as Saudi Arabia or Egypt.

7. Conclusion In a country wrought with constant political instability and backward ideologies, it is always great to experience a change in the country’s atmosphere with the help of technological innovations. Although the #YouStink movement did not generate as much hype as the ones that took place in Egypt, Syria, or Libya, it still created a spirit of change within citizens. The videos, images and statuses shared by the Facebook page reached many fed­up Lebanese citizens. It brought together people belonging to different religious and social backgrounds to fight against government corruption. Although the movement is still going on despite many efforts to end the garbage crisis and to push for the resignation of many parliament members, it gave rise to more opportunities of change. For example, for the first time since the country reestablished itself after the fifteen year Civil War in the 1990’s, the people’s voice was much louder than that of the government’s; Beirut finally had a group of Lebanese citizens, belonging to multiple backgrounds, aiming to work together to promote innovation, green spaces and solutions for the garbage crisis called “Beirut Madinati,” without influence from political or religious parties. The group’s social media presence was more powerful than that of the usual candidates and this posed as a threat to the country’s current regime. They made use of Facebook’s temporary profile picture change to integrate the group’s logo within user profile picture, as was done with the rainbow flag when gay marriage was made legal across the United States, and with the Parisian flag when the bombings occurred in Paris in November 2015. Although Beirut Madinati technically lost, it was obvious to many citizens, including government members, that in one or another it was actually the winner. One party made up of several people with the same vision managed to gain more votes with their goal to improve the country, compared to the party made up of individuals with different agendas by using money to gather votes (not to mention tampering with ballot boxes by hiring thugs to steal the opposition’s votes). The point that is trying to made here, is the way in which social media platforms, such as Facebook or Whatsapp, facilitate social change and create movement within a country, as it had

48 done in the past. Obviously, communication is key when spreading a message or ideals, so when a multilingual country like Lebanon participate in online social revolutions, they language they choose to express themselves in is important in the spread of that message. The effect that internet technologies such as smartphones and their applications or the architecture online platforms have on their users is not something to be ignored. For example, when transcribing the interview recordings, I came across difficulties when typing in what was said in Arabic, because my laptop (which I bought in Beirut) does not have an Arabic keyboard, as a way to save time I opted to type in Arabizi, rather than choosing to switch my laptop software’s language and click the “show keyboard” to type it out in Arabic. In this research, the platform elements that seemed to have shaped user behaviour the most is the technology’s initial lack of Arabic­reading software and hardware designed for Arabic speaking users. Arabizi came to existence because of this exact reason, and today, it represents the way in which Lebanese people conversationally speak online. As the figure below shows, the majority of those who partook in the survey do not have an Arabic keyboard, and even though they have the option to use it on their smartphones the majority chooses not to use it.

Figure 5. Survey results of computers with Arabic keyboard

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Figure 6. Survey results of use of Arabic keyboard on mobile phones

The graphs above demonstrates how even though some users would like to speak in Arabic script on their social media accounts, they sometimes are restricted by the devices they use, not even given the option to make a choice. However, to many Lebanese people, writing in Arabizi is a form of expressing one’s “Lebaneseness.” It plays an important part in the way Lebanon users see one another as it acts a separator of social classes on Facebook (ie those who speak English are seen as more educated, those who speak Arabic belong to particular nationalistic youth niche) but this is not the same for Whatsapp. The practices of Arabizi vary depending on the cultures of each platform. On Facebook, it is seen as less formal, not taken seriously and more annoying to read. While on Whatsapp, it is seen as the more convenient option of communication; it is easier, there is no need switch from one keyboard to another, it does not require any spell or grammar checks, and it is the most practical when trying to have quick conversations with friends, which is the today’s trend: less words, more visuals. Although Arabic script is increasingly becoming more popular and widely used amongst Arabic­speaking users, it is clear that despite its popularity, users are still opting to keep their platform interfaces in English. This is an indication of the English language’s superiority within online and digital platforms. As a side experiment, I even switched my Iphone’s language to Arabic, to experience an Arabic interface. Personally, I found it to be unattractive and not as

50 fluid as the English language interface. Furthermore, not all of my applications completely changed to Arabic. For example, social apps like Facebook and Instagram only had numbers in Arabic, but the rest of the features remained in English. This could possibly be because I have become accustomed to looking at and using my my technological devices in English. Even in my primary school days, I remember being taught to type in English and never Arabic. My whole schooling revolved around using technologies in English instead of Arabic, which could also explain why a majority of Lebanese users answered that English is their preferred language on their devices and social media accounts. Tima al­Ahmad reiterated this during her interview when she spoke about the high school students she was teaching. As a drama and debate teacher, al­Ahmad points out that when she showed her students an Arabic post on Facebook for a debate topic “no one who knew how to read it” and continued to say that they were “lost” when trying to understand the post, despite them being educated in the country’s top schools, International College. Perhaps Arabic script would become more practiced if its use was more encouraged within Lebanon’s educational system, yet it seems as though this might be considered a waste of time to some schools since the technologies they use are English­oriented, as was seen and discussed. It, would, however, be quite interesting to follow the progress of Arabic online if students start learning to type and use technological devices in both the Arabic and English language. Furthermore, and agreeing with Sarah Bou Kamel mentioned during her interview, a lot of the modern day technologies terminology are in English and do not necessarily have an Arabic translation, like the word computer for example; when translated, it refers to el­hassoob ​ or meaning data processor, however the term it kombuter or is the same word in ﻛﻤﺒﻴﻮﺗﺮ ﺍﻟﺤﺎﺳﻮﺏ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ English but with Arabic letters, the opposite of Arabizi, and it is used more often. What this research aims to do is to highlight the way in which platforms shape user practices and behaviour socially. The platform and software studies fields are continuously expanding and their importance is gaining more traction than it has in the past, especially with the world’s increasing dependence on them. This essay hopes to contribute to those studies through its connection to linguistics and by shedding light on an overlooked and complex Lebanese culture. Because of language’s importance within the country, it is important to study

51 user language behaviour on online social platforms and the way these platforms shape them. As is shown in this paper, Arabizi is the perfect example of the way in which user practices have shaped user language practices online and off, especially since has become part of the culture. Hopefully, the research around Lebanese user behaviour will continue to be studied as the importance of technological developments exponentially increase.

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55 9. Appendix 9.1 Interview Transcriptions Sarah Bou Kamel Kelly (K): I’m going to first ask you about who you are, what you do and about your involvement in the Tol3it Re7tkom campaign.

Sarah (S): Ok, baddik yene e7ke bil 3arabeh?

K: Yalli bterte7e fi.

S: As I told you, ana communication engineer so my major is bit different from the activism that I’m involved in. Six or seven years ago, I started volunteering at one of the leading environmental associations in Lebanon, so hayde el association rij3it 3amlit “Lebanon Eco­Movement,” hiyye jam3ieh bi2ie just for national causes. Hala2 wa2ta nzilit 3ala el shari3 bi mid­July lal protests w heke, ana nzilit la2anno already 3refet inno ra7 it seer shaghle private; mna3ref inno 7oukoumet Libnan ma3anda khotta, fa eventually ra7 it seer el zbele 3al ared; w ma ken shi surprising la2ilna. Ana kent 2inzal ka environmental activist ma3 el association w hek, w ba3den I met the group, and met #YouStink early in August, 7dirit kaza volunteering w hek, w I decided to join them. W hinne aslan they’re youths w mannon legal entity, so ken fina na3mol stunts w ken fina na3mol ktir protest organizing fa ana bil committee taba3 #YouStink, one of the members, ya3ne mnekhod decisions sawa on what we posts, about our events, on whats the strategic thing to do.

K: What are the social media platforms you use?

S: Awwal shi bista3mlo howwe ahhami shi Facebook. W Twitter, ya3ne balashit esta3milo ktir min zamen, ya3ne ma kent le2eh 7adan ba3rfo. Bas ma kent active 3ale ktir w hek b7iss inno Facebook el posts 3aleh bi kouno gheir; 3a twitter bi kouno shi ktir news, w shaghle fiyye a3rifa

56 bi one article w hol yalli bi kouno funny w khbar unless bi seer something funny w they use a hashtag, I just double check what’s happening aw shi.

K: But that’s your only use for Twitter?

S: Yeah, I don’t have time to keep going on Twitter, and keep checking it, cuz its like a live feed. It’s not like Facebook where you can go on a specific page tat shoufe shou sar. W bista3mol Instagram, bas mish ktir kamen, bas inno fine.

K: Do you use anything else? Like a blog?

S: Blogs la2a, ken fi fatra ken bade a3mol blog, I thought about it, bas b7iss inno metet ma3 Facebook; w ma 7asset inno badde a3mol shi website la 2ille, 7asseit inno page 3a Facebook is enough; ma3 inno sometimes I still think of doing hek shi, in terms of archiving el ishia, aw ta ysiro bi matra7 wa7ad w organized aktar. La2anno 3a facebook khalas, baddik tirja3e trou7eh 3al timeline, w you have to scroll down and it’s not easy. Shou kamen bista3mol…

K: What about Whatsapp? S: Eh for sure, for communication. Especially bi lebnan, la2anno barra they don't need to use it la2anno 3andon SMS for free, w hinne already they’re more advanced, w na7na SMS badna nidfa3 7a2o. W bitzakkar my cousin bil US 3am tib3atle messages separately, ya3ne “Hi” bi message la 7al, w “how are you” bi message, w ana iltilla leh, you’re spending too much, w alitle inno they use SMS like we use whatsapp. W kamen bista3mol Viber bas badde e7ke ma3 ahleh la2ano mssafreen, it's a free app.

K: W inte when you use Facebook, because you said you use it the most, what it is the language you prefer using it in? Ya3ne inte your Facebook bi 2ayya language?

57 S: It’s in English. It’s easier for me to use in English, 7atta telephoneh w kil shi. Its easier, hala2 fi ness bi lebnen, khassatan el kbar w ma ktir bya3rfo languages, bi7ebbo yesta3mloowa bil 3arabe; bas mishklet el 3arabe manna ktir technology friendly.

K: Have you ever tried looking at Facebook in Arabic?

S: Eh, I have. Bas its not easier la 2illeh, fine a3ref el icons w hek yalli byesta3mlowa bil marketing w bel ads, bta3rfe inno hayda icon lal messages masalan. Bas to access it bissir3a its easier bil English, 7atta to search w hek.

K: Okay we have established that your Facebook is in English but when you, yourself, writes a post or comments on someone’s picture, what’s the language you use?

S: Ana min abel, kent ista3mol Arabizy ktir. Bas ba3den, ma3 el movement w el #YouStink page, ballashit iktob bil 3arabe.

K: So it was with the movement that you felt it was necessary to write in Arabic?

S: Yes, ta toussal aktar ness bas bil 3arabeh el darij, masalan biktob shi metel “le22ona 3al share3” blabla bas maktoube bil 3arabe. Bikteba bil 3arabe la2anno its easier to read and more professional, in case 7adan baddo yshoufa, 7adan hek, btoussal aktar lal ness, w sometimes I post a call for a protest and share it on my wall; awwal nhar b7ot shi bil 3arabe, tene marra biktiba bil English.

K: So you use both English and Arabic?

S: Bil comments w heke, it depends, masalan iza 7adan ketib something, lets say, bil 3arabe, sort hala2 fakkir inno jewibo aktar bil 3arabe; bas iyyem bkoun mista3jle, bista3mol Arabizy, leh? La2anno iza kenit jimleh wa7de it’s easier to read it. Bas iza btikitbeh paragraph kbir bil

58 Arabizy, manna ktir appealing; ya3ne hala2 ana bi2riya bssir3a, bas yemken mom ma te2riya bisir3a. W ma3 inno mom bta3ref English w French w hek, bas b7iss inno shou hal language el gharibeh? W 7atta ana b7iss inno el generation el akbar ba3d 3andon resistance bil ‘3a’ wl ‘2oo.’ Masalan bayye ma bya3rifon, fa wa2ta byib3atle message, byib3atle yeha bil English.

K: Oh, so you’re father writes to you in English, but not in Arabic?

S: La2a. 7atta el keyboard la 2illo el 3arabe sa3b. Inno manno shi mwa3wad inno yiktob bil 3arabe.

K: Do you think that this because of the Arabic language itself is heavier than the English language?

S: Hiyye, khalina esta3mol example bayyeh, howwe kamen iza byista3mol el keyboard, byista3mlo bil English, hala2 fi wa7ad yigheyir el keyboard bil laptop 3ala el 3arabeh, but its not, ya3ni t3awdna 3alayon bil English, bas leh? Ana bayyeh tan 2oul ma 3ando facebook, bas shou aktar shi byista3mlo 3al internet, howwe el emails w el jareedeh; bi 7eb yi2ra jarayed. Bas iza baddo yifout 3a shi link, ma fiyyo yi fout 3ala link in Arabic, killo bil Latin, ya3ne tan 2oul, annahar, he’s used to typing in English, so switching the keyboard to Arabic seems pointless.

K: Yes, hayda ktir understandable la2anno they introduced these technologies and the Internet in English, so it makes sense that he got used to it.

S: Exactly. Masalan iza ken 3ala youtube aw shi, assra3lo to write in English, law bi 7eb el 3arabe, byiktob el khabarieh bil English.

K: For example, when you were posting something related to the protests, on Whatsapp let’s say, you’re talking to your friend, and when you’re talking about the protests, you speak to them in Arabic, Arabizy, French, English?

59

S: It depends 3al shakhiss iyyeman. Masalan iza 3am be7ke ma3 7adan kbir, bib3atlo bil 3arabe, b7ess its easier iktob bil 3arabeh. Iza 3am be7ke 7adan, w mesta3jle, inno biktob bsir3a bil 3arabe bas mish 2ad el English aw Arabizy, fa biktiblon bil English. Bas it depends 3al shakhiss, la2anno iza katabit la 7adan kbir, b7iss ma ktir ra7 yifham el Arabizy, so it depends on min I’m targeting. W iyyem biktob bil English, “Join us, don’t forget the protests.”

K: And what language do you use on Instagram?

S: On Instagram, akid el hashtags bi kouno, ya3ne, it depends on the events w hek ishia. Masalan ana 3adatan wa2ta bista3mol shi la You Stink, b7ot #tol3itri7tikom, #moustamiron, #youstink, #garbagecrisis, #zbeletloubnan, w hek, fa it depends. Bas 3a instagram I try to use both hashtags.

K: And why do you find it important to use both?

S: So that there’s a reach. Because on Instagram there are no limits, so when I put #YouStink, so anyone bi 7at #Youstink ra7 titla3 el soura, w nafs el shi lal reach.

K: And what about Twitter? Because of Twitter’s character count, do you think its easier for you to write in Arabic or Arabizy etc…

S: Arabeh aw English, mish Arabizy. Hala2, iyyem ba3mol reply la comments bil Arabizy. Bas hayde bit 2assir bi shou, min wara el #YouStink, w ana I’m an activist, so byijike followers, ya3ne using Arabizi is not professional, so baddik shoufe your target, masalan fi ness badda ti2ra bil 3arabe w ness badda ti2ra bil English, w 7atta assra3 for the message to be spread in English or Arabic compared to Arabizy, ya3ne bitbayen professional w wad7a, aw sometimes when someone needs to use it for any types of media, its more professional.

60 K: If you see a post on Facebook or Twitter, written completely in Arabizy, would you take the time to read it?

S: I’ll read it, bas iza ktir kbir, b7iss inno asshalleh 2i2raha bil English aw bil Arabeh. Ya3ne b7issa easier 3al 3eyn, hala2 iza kenit bi jimleh, jimilten, its fine, bas wa2ta ktir kbir w fi mishkle kamena bil 3arabizi, masalan ktir ness ma byista3mlo el vowels, ya3ne fi ness bkitiba in a different way, masalan iza baddik tiktibeh ‘bokra’ tiktibia aw ‘boukra’ aw ‘bukra,’ aw ‘3am’ aw ‘3m’ masalan hayde hayneh bas aw2et bit koun ass3ab la2anno kil wa7ad byikitba bi taree2a, bit koun ass3ab ta ti2riya. La2anno ma fi norms.

K: Yes exactly, it doesn't have any rules. But when you write Arabic, you don’t write formally do you?

S: La2a, b2oul, “7an mout min el zbele” aw “kirmel wledna, le2oona lyom 3al se3a bla bla” w hek ossas, bas ana I write in correct Arabic, ya3ne el spelling w grammar; so I’m picky, w ana ktir mni7a bil 3arabe so already I know, masalan iza bitikbeh bil 3arabe el darij, ma fieh iktob el kalimat ghalat, so ana I’m picky bil hal shi.

K: Have you ever commented on a youtube video, related to the protests? Or no?

S: No.

K: When you’re on Facebook and you see a funny joke, is it funnier for you when it’s written in Arabic or Arabizy?

S: Definitely bil 3arabeh el darij, 2a2rable. Hala2 fiya tkoun bil Arabizy w bitda7ik w 2aribe, bas howwe usually, bas 3am min koun 3am ne7ke bil siyesseh bi Libnan, btije bte7ke “Sectarian leaders” inno gheir wa2ta bit 2ouleh “za3ran el tawayif,” ya3ne bas te7ke bil English, 3an el wadi3 hon, you don’t feel it as much when you say “fasad” bit 2oule “corruption” inno, mish zet

61 el shi. Masalan na7na 3adatan 3ala Facebook on #YouStink, we always write in Arabic, w dayman el first comment is a translation of the main post. W dayman we make sure inno we translate it all in English, bas kirmel nikat w heke… layke hiyye el Arabe, mitel ma 2ilte, inno ma ken fi keyboard 3arabe, ma ken present. Bas hala2 sarit aktar beyn el ness el activists. W bta3rfe bi libnen fi mishklet languages inno fi ktir mabya3rfo English, so bye7ko Arabeh, aw bil French la2anno ‘class’ aktar, bas they miss speaking Arabic; ya3ne b2illa la rfi2teh inno wa2ta bit3araf 3a shakhiss, be7ke bil 3arabe, inno aktar shi byitla3 shakhsiyteh bil 3arabe, inno lougha ghaniyye. K: Tab wa2ta bit kouneh 3a Facebook, and you see a large text in formal Arabic, could be a quote, or whatever, how would you react to it or go about it?

S: 7assab el topic, iza b7iss inno shi interesting , aw hek informative, eh bo2ra, ma3andeh mishkleh iza ken na7awe, la2anno already m3awdeh 3al 3arabe, mish inno shi.

K: So the ‘face’ of Arabic doesn't intimidate you?

S: La2.

K: So when you see a text in Arabic, you never say, ‘uff, ma 2ileh jlede’ ?

S: Hala2, layke el 2ossas yalli bit khawwif hiyye el 2ossas el kbire. Dayman ossas el kbireh, ana masalan bi2riya bil diagonal, law kenet English aw 3arabeh.

K: And when you use Arabizy, do you use it with different languages?

S: I mix. For example, bil jimleh wa7de b2illik “layke, ma fina lyom to meet, so I’ll let you know.” B7ot hek, 3arifteh? B7iss asshaleh e7kiyon, plus beyn ass7abe, be7ke English. Fa kermel hek b7iss enno bil kitabeh inno khalas, iyyem I mix, so no mish dayman nafs el shi.

62 K: So you wouldn’t use Arabizy for an entire conversation on Whatsapp?

S: Layke, iyyem, bas ktir iyyem I mix. W kamena, b7iss 2a2ssar bil English, la2anno ma fi switch keyboard w hek. Aw kamena, masalan bista3mol ‘suggestions’ so dighre bikboss 3aleya bala ma iktob kel el kilme.

K: Do you think it's the same for Arabic?

S: Yes, it does, masalan wa2ta 3am biktob post khassa bil 3irak, bi sir bade iktob ossas mitl ‘a’ ‘l’ ‘f’ byijni kelmet “Al fasad,” aw 7atta wa2ta biktob el hashtag lal campaign, dighre byijineh el hashtag as soon as I write ‘t’.

K: And have you been seeing a lot of posts, as in replies to the page’s posts, that are written aktar shi in Arabic or in Arabizy or English etc?

S: Hay btifro2, ya3ne b7iss inno el Arabizy aktar shi mesta3mle bi libnan, aktar min el dowal el 3arabieh, 7adan 3arabe bijewib bil 3arabeh, hinne aktar shi byista3mlo hiyye el 3arabe, masalan ne7na 3anna bi libnan, el math w physique 3alamnehon bil second language, mish bil 3arabe, fa barra byit3allamo hol el ossas bil 3arabe. Fa hinne they use, 7atta bil ossas el math aw exponential aw parallel, hole killon bya3rfowon bil 3arabe. Hinne they’re used to using Arabic w asshalon. Na7na iyyem bte7ke 3arabe ktir awwiyye, ma byifhammouwa el libnaninye, el shabe, ma eh el comments yalli btijine 7assab el shakiss, el kbar bi faddlo dayman yiktobo bil 3arabe aw2et bil English. Ana iyyem masalan biktob “hahaha” bil English, la2, unless baddeh kaffeh el jimleh bil 3arabe.

K: Would you ever mix Arabic and English together? Inno Arabe maktoub?

S: Eh, sometimes baddeh 2oul shi jimle bil English, masalan, “Mwaf2eh, you rock”?

63 K: Do you feel it affects your “Arab” identity when writing in Arabizy? As in, do you feel more distant from it?

S: La2 la2, ana ma b7iss inno, masalan ana ktir against el wled mab tit3alam el 3arabe el mazbouta, la2anno ri7it ktir ma7alet, w dayman I found inno el 3alam bas 2illon inno ana ba3ref three languages, bi 2oulo waw inno three languages, w barra yalli bi 7ebbo el languages, w dayman b2illa la rfi2teh inno 2ou3a te7ke bintik, ya3ne hiyye bitfakkir 3am te7kiya bil 3arabe w ass7aba bit fakir inno la2 its superior to speak in French aw English, bas inno la2, inno actually el walad, w ana ktir I fight bil hal mawdoo3, w ktir byiz3ijneh, w bye2harne 3al wlad, la2anno wa2ta lezem yikoon 3andon mother language, bas bi kouno awaya bil mother language, bi siro awaya bi gheir languages, lezem yi koon 3andon lexic ktir aweh, w aslan 2ad mat kouneh bte7ke fluent ma ra7 fike, unless ahlo ajanib, te7ke metel, kif shou bya3rifna, kif el ness Libnaniye bil balad bye7ko, aw el ness el libnaniye yalli bye7ko English aw French, unless keno m3alamin barra, unless keno 3aysheen bara, mabya3rfo ye7ko, 7atta el ossas bil mojtama3 bi tawwir el 7eke, w inte iza bte7ke English hon aw French, ma ra7 fike tetawareh el languages mitl ma barra 3am titawar in terms of the 3amiye, bas hon bil 3arabe masalan ktir mnista3mol kalimat ahleh ma keno yesta3mlo, masalan “wozze” aw “jagal,” inno 3a iyyem ahleh ma ken 3andon hek kalimet, bas ana kamen bi nafs el wa2it, ma3 inno b7eb 7afiz 3ala lougha, w koon ne7na 3anna yeha awwiyye, inno bil 3akis it opens more opportunities la kil shakhiss, masalan bokra wa2ta baddik tishteghleh bi balad 3arabe, dighre you can get it la2anno 3andik hal language, so you can communicate ma3 el ness bil 3arabe, bas bi nafs el wa2it ana manneh m3a2ade inno masalan walla 2ool la2 ma tikitbe bil English la2anno kirmel el hawwiye, inno I don't care about. Ana ma3 el shi el pratique w iza hay bitsahileh yeha lets do it fine, inno it doesn't affect me or my identity. Inno ana fiye koon ba3ref hal languages w be7ke fiya w ekhir shi 3am 7afiz 3ala el identity.

K: Do you think arabizy needs some sort of regulation? In order to make communication clearer?

64 S:I don't think ra7 ya3mlo hek shi, la2anno actually bil Arab world hiye el language taba3na 3arabe ma 3am bi tawrouwa, ma 3am tittawar ma3 el zaman, kel shi mnista3mlo, masalan wa2ta baddik t2oule kilmet “computer,” howe “7assoub” bil 3arabe, bas actually we don't say that, ya3ne 7atta ana wa2ta bade iktob kilmet computer bil 3arabe, biktiba “combootir,” fa ma 3am tittawar el lougha, and don't they’re gonna organize it.

K: So for you it's a quick and easy way to speak Arabic?

S: Yes, w 7atta iza bit shoufeh el pannoyet w el billboards w el ads bit 7isse, la2 inno 3am byista3mlo 3arabe, the only times you see them use the “3” is maybe when they create a hashtag aw shi, bi hal 2ossas, but recently Arabic is becoming a cool language aktar 3al internet.

K: And for the campaign, do you use an Arabizi hashtag? Because I am aware that you have an English one and an Arabic one?

S: No not really, inno we don’t really need to use it, la2anno we already have an established title in English and Arabic, even when we reply to user comments we use Arabic or English.

K: Okay, well then that’s all I have to ask you! Thank you!

Jinane Abi Ramia

K: Could you start by introducing yourself, tell me who you are and what you do?

J: Okay, my name is Jinane Abi Ramia, I am core member in the You Stink campaign/Tol3it Re7etkom, I’m an activist, I am an AUB graduate and was active in the USFC here so kamena, 3atoul ken fi activism bil mawdoo3.

65 K: And what are the social media platforms you use?

J: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, bas 2a2al shway YouTube kamen, bas aktar shi Facebook w Instagram.

K: W inte, your Facebook is in what language?

J: Its in English.

K: And why is that?

J: I’m not sure, barke because it is more comfortable for me. Inno everything I read, killo bil English bit kon. Even in Lebanon in universities and schools, manna m3awadeen niktob bil 3arabe aw ni2ra bil 3arabe, its basically English everywhere.

K: And what about the things you post?

J: My posts are mixed. Before they were all in English, walla marra katabit in Arabic, even 7atta Arabizi ma kent ktir esta3mila on Facebook, aktar shi Whatsapp, oh I forgot to mention Whatsapp as one of the social media apps. Bas lately sar fi trend, maba3ref, between activists, khsouseh after 7irak, w You Stink, so sar fi ktir Arabic speakers yiktobo bil 3arabe and not Arabizi, pure Arabic so 7abbeit el fikra because I can make jokes and reflect the current situation in Arabic sentences aktar min English; plus you need to target, masalan iza I want to target the population yalli 3am byinzalo 3ala protests w heke, hole el activists relate more to Arabic than English. W la7azit shaghle, inno whenever I write in English, usually likes or comments are from AUB or LAU students; where as if I write in Arabic, they’re from everywhere else, khssousseh the older population yalli 3andi yehon on Facebook, so this attracts more viewers.

K: Arabic?

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J: Ya, that’s why.

K: Do you think if you used Arabizi it would attract the same amount of people? Like if the post was written entirely in Arabizi?

J: Yes I think it would, but I don’t think they would take it as seriously as they would if I write it in Arabic or pure English.

K: Why do you think they won’t take it seriously?

J: Cuz its known to be the youth language and the new trend so for example at work, ta nitla3 shway 3an You Stink, if we want to do any, uh masalan we wanted to do an event for Haigazian students, and we were thinking of a title for the event, w ken badna niktob shi bil 3arabe, pure Arabic, ba3dena 2ilna inno students wouldn't be attracted to it, so let’s write something in Arabizi so they think inno khay inno this is something we relate to, inno its modern, aktra shi modern, mish inno shi classical, so 7assab who you are talking to.

K: So it depends on your target?

J: Yes.

K: And for Tol3it Re7etkom, you said that it was a trend for activists to use Arabic, so is it Arabic darij or formal?

J: Its both, bas ana, masalan, bista3mol el darij aktar, usually 3al page taba3 You Stink what we do for formal posts, very formal ones, like statements w heke, its all in foss7a.

K: Can you define what you mean by formal?

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J: Statements for uhh… for example the bayanet, the statements that you read for press conferences ijmelan, so we put them on Faebook w bikoono in foss7a basically. Iza fi an invitation for a certain protest or event aw shi, kamena el invitation bit koon bil foss7a. Bas iza fi post, for example, if we post a picture about the garbage river, we can write in Arabic, but darij, so we relate more to people. As if 3am min fishil2on khil2on bil 7ake. Fa eh, 3am jarrib itzakar, 3al page we don’t really write in English, its basically Arabic.

K: Well I interviewed Sarah Bou Kamel the other day and she told me that the only time you write in English is when you are translating what you said in Arabic in the comments. But you wouldn't use it in the actual posts?

J: No, no, la2anno ta ma yikoon ktir tawil, aw ta el 3alam ma tshouf a very long post, w they don’t end up reading it.

K: And how about when masalan a person comments on a post that you put, w maktoobe bil 3arabe bas hinne 3am bi riddo 3alaykon bil Arabizi. If you had to reply to them, what would you reply in?

J: Uh we usually follow their language so those who write in your pure 3arabe we reply back in pure 3arabe, arabizi we reply in arabizi, English we reply in English, so kil 7adan, inno hala2 3am na3mol strategy inno we reply to every single comment la2anno fi ktir ness they just write comments w bital3o judgements w khalas, la7azna when we reply back bi tari2a to convince them bi 7isso they matter, 3am bi 7isso inno 3am min 3abirron, so they become supporters faj2a w bi siro convinced aktar, inno good luck, inno eh okay 2tana3it w hek.

K: And have you noticed when people comment on certain posts, when they comment in Arabizi, do you feel a certain similarity between those who comment in Arabizi, aw kill wa7ad naw3o shi?

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J: la2, b7isson similar aktar ma ba3ref leh, iza hayda shi judgement aw stereotype aw la2, I feel like 3andik el ness yalli shway aktar byijo professional, bye7ko purely English, w those who are professional bas byirte7o bil 3arabe, bi7ebbo yiktobo bil 3arabe, aw yalli ma bya3rfo ye7ko bil English maba3ref they write purely in Arabic. Fi 3andik the youths, the more modern ones, yalli ma ktir illon jlede yiktobo, maba3ref, so byikitbo aktar ta yi fish2o khil2on, hay hiyye, so bikoono hek m3assbeen aw they want to heke express something, b7iss inno aktar shi they use to express themselves hiyye Arabizi, la English la 3arabe, so bit koon ktir derje, ka2anno 3am bye7kooke directly.

K: Okay, now I am going to ask about your personal use. So for you, when do you think it is appropriate to use Arabizi, what are the contexts in which you use it?

J: Definitely not professional ones, ya3ne if I want to talk to my boss aw hayda 3a whatsapp masalan, 2alil ktir that I use it, unless hiyye she talks to me bi hal tari2a, bi ridd 3alaya.

K: so its only when the older, or superior person talks to you in that way, you reply to them in the same way?

J: Yes, bas basically bista3mila aktar shi whatsapp with everyone aktar min iktob 3arabe, la2anno birte7 aktar, w …

K: So btirte7e aktar bil 3arabizi on Whatsapp?

J: eh khssoossatan la2anno bikon 7atta my main language bil English w be7ke ma3 el English, bas iza fi masalan, la2… you know it doesn’t depend on the person, it depends on me, masalan shou ana 3abele e7ke, so be7ke Arabizi.

K: Do you notice the times where you use it the most?

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J: When I’m angry, haha! Inno mabtitla3 minneh la English la 3arabe, be7ke arabizi bi 2oowe, w iza bade wassil fikra aw 7ar2assa 3a whatsapp for example, aw 7atta conversation on facebook masalan, biktob Arabizi.

K: Bit 7isse 7alik libnaniye aktar iza btiktibe hek, aw iza bit fish2eh khil2ik bil Arabizi?

J: Eh, eh, maba3ref leh, mmm b7issa comfortable aktar, assra3le, mish 2ossit iza Libnaniye aktar, inno fiye iktob bil 3arabe, w lately sirt shatra fiya, bas ma berte7, ya3ne baddeh seer fakir bil kilme several times abel ma iktiba, baynama Arabizi is informal w fike tiktebe li baddik yeh, bas bil 3arabe bi siro inno yi ghallateh hon, w ghallate hon, so haydikeh more practical.

K: so you feel that because arabizi doesn't have these rules and regulations like Arabic, inno khalas that you can use it in whatever way you want?

J: Yes definitely. Its very practical, w very 2aribe 3al 2aleb w 2aribe 3al ness, cuz it expresses mazbout shou baddik aktar min English aw Arabic 3ade.

K: So you said you use Twitter right?

J: Yes

K: So when you use Twitter, what language do you use?

J: Ma ktir bista3milo, bas wa2ta bista3milo, its either in English or Arabic, I don't use Arabizi on twitter.

K: Not even because of its 140­character count? Are you capable of fitting in everything you want to say in Arabic or English?

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J: Hala2 ana personally 3a twitter, wa2ta biktob ayya shi, byitla3o 2a2al kamen

K: And when You Stink posts stuff on Twitter, the posts are in Arabic as well?

J: Yes, but the replies are sometimes in Arabizi, but not the posts because the target population ktir kbire w they take the page very seriously, so ma fina ne7ke, inno ma finna nbeyyin inno ba3dna very young or immature bi nissbe lal akbar bil 3omr. La2anno you don't know 3anjad min el population yalli 3am byi2ro, w plus fi ktir, inno hayde kamen shaghle, inno media usually bya3mol screenshots 3an el page w they post it on the news, or on TV, so ktir iyyem mnitala3, inno oh sheyleen el comments aw shayleen el posts, fa we cannot really… we should be very professional.

K: And on instagram what do you use?

J: Aktar shi English, w iyyem Arabizi, 3arabe 2alil 3ala Instagram.

K: So when do you use Arabizi on instagram, on your own posts or when you comment?

J: El comments aktar min el captions, bas iyyem hek iza fi shi joke aw shi, b7otta bi Arabizi, bas inno mostly 3adatan el comments bil 3arabizi, la2anno bye7kooneh hek w brid 3alayon hek.

K: And what about when you’re scrolling on your feed, and you see a long post masalan written in Arabizi, would you read it?

J: La2, not really, maba3ref lesh bas la2.

K: What if it was written in Arabic?

71 J: Ya, I guess, maba3ref leh. B7iss, ta2illik leh, bas maybe hayde pre­judgement min 3ande, inno bas 7adan yiktob long post bil Arabizi, b7iss inno ka2anno theyre not very serious about it, aw kamena bit koon very emotional w 3am bi fisho khil2on, aw 3am bi 3abro 3an shi emotional, inno ma darroure 2i2ri w ma ileh jlede, bas iza ken Arabic, ya3ne yimkin ykoon fi shi fact mhimmin bi2albo, w iza bil English kamen fi koon shi statement aw shi position m3ayyaneh, hay hiyye.

K: And what about if you saw a joke in Arabizi? Would you treat it the same way you would treat any other post written in Arabizi?

J: No, usually, I read them.

K: And what if it was a joke written in Arabic?

J: No I wouldn’t hahahaha! Hala2 3am bintibih, bas ma ba3ref leh hek ba3mol! I should reconsider my selections hahaha

K: Haha no don’t worry! This is the point of the interview, to study your relationship with, because some people really don’t like reading Arabizi at all, for them its waja3 rass just to read a small paragraph.

J: Lah ktir 3ade, inno bti2riya bala mat fakre w bala waja3 rass for me, bas yimkin fi shaghle, el variable el teneh w 3and el kil, inno ba2a illna jlede ni2ra long posts, hala2 hayde el generation ba3da ktir inno yalla yalla bssir3a bssir3a, fa kif 3ala twitter iza fi shi sghir bi2ri, iza fi shi kbir I just keep scrolling, aw I scan it very quickly if it looks important.

K: Tab on Twitter, do you have any Arabizi posts on your newsfeed?

J: Ktir 2alil, maba3ref mab shouf hek ishia ktir bshouf aktar shi Arabeh aw English bas.

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K: What do you prefer the most, Arabic posts or ?

J: La2 I prefer English.

K: And when you use Arabizi, do you use other languages with it? Masalan do you use English with Arabizi?

J: La2, I stick to one thing.

K: So you never feel its necessary to add English or another language to express yourself?

J: La2 no, w ijmelan, 3a facebook, mafroud lal short messages 3am bit 3abre 3an shi, aw maz7a aw hek tari2eh, 3refte, so you write it in arabizi aw for example 3ala tol3it re7etkom mnitmasskhar 3al wade3 bi Libnan aw 3al dawleh aw shi ijmelan, so its for criticism w sarcasm, bit 7attiya in Arabizi, you don’t need to write it with other languages.

K: Would Tol3it Re7etkom post anything in Arabizi if they were making doing a masskhara?

J: Inno aktar shi mnista3mol el 3arabeh el darij, bas la2anno our target hiyye kil el age groups, kil el backgrounds, fi ness ma byi2ro English letters and stuff, so ma badna n7assis 7adan w 3anjad we don’t want to make them feel inno walla its excluding people, we’re trying to be as inclusive as possible, so 3arabe aktar shi and we translate it to English.

K: And do you feel there is more reach when it is translated to English?

J: Yes for sure, especially for an international audience.

K: So you have that in mind when you translate it?

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J: Yes, w khssossatan in the protests we see a lot of international people, inno ma bit sad2eh.

K: Okay, the last question is about your opinion on it in general, do you feel that its kind of killing the Arabic language in way online?

J: no actually, I feel that they will coexist. Maba3ref iza its because of my connections on Facebook, la2anno ba3d tol3it re7etkom, most of my facebook friends maba3rifon, bas byinzalo 3al protests w bikoono activists, so byista3mlo Arabic, 2abel ma kenit hek, inno all my friends, kil my newsfeed kenit ktir in English aw Arabizi, hala2 sar fi new kinds of connections, w killo 3arabe. But in general, I think they can easily co­exist.

K: So you don’t feel that it somehow alters an person’s identity in anyway?

J: No, at all, especially the youths, 3am byista3mlo arabeh for sarcasm aw shi, la2anno 3am 7issowa a7la bil 3arabe, ijmelan ma kenit hek; ya3ne masalan iza shifit 3alam ketbin bil 3arabe, b2oul inno uff min hole, b7iss inno bihon, bas hala2 sarit trend yektobo bil 3arabe bas I don't think arabizi can compete with it, bas it would attract the younger population aktar, bi 7ayala shi teneh, schools, universities, bit 7otte shi title la event, they relate to it more.

Tima Al­Ahmad

K: Can you start by introducing yourself?

T: My name is Tima­Al Ahmad, I am student in LAU and I study Communication Arts with an emphasis in TV and Film and I minor in political science, and I work at IC, I teach debate and Drama.

K: And how old are you?

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T: I am 19 years old.

K: What’s your relationship with Arabic language like in general?

T: Unfortunately, fi 3ande shway mishkle because I do not know how to use the Arabic language as properly as I can, I wish I was capable of doing w yarit ba3ref hal2ad bas unfortunately I don’t.

K: But you know you how to speak Arabic?

T: Yes! Ba3ref e7ke 3arabe el derij, bas hiyye el foss7a is my problem, ya3ne there are a lot of terms ma bi2dir le2iyon bil 3arabe so I would have to go back to using it in English, and I face that problem usually with interviews, bikoono baddon yehon bil 3arabe, w I become very anxious because there are specific words ma 3am ba3rifon bil 3arabe so I have to use them bil English.

K: And do you use Arabizi?

T: Yes, actually most of the time I use Arabizi when I’m either texting, chatting comments aya shi; but sometimes when im talking about more about social issues I try to use Arabic, but I also face problems with it, ya3ne I have to ask someone does this make sense? Can you read this properly, do you find this mafhoome? Because you can find the problems using the “kaf” or the “alef” or how to use the exact letter and the exact sentence properly.

K: And what are the social media platforms that you are the most active on?

T: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Whatsapp

75 K: And what are the times that you use Arabizi?

T: First of all, its always there when Im texting, ya3ne most of the time when Im texting in Arabic its in Arabizi, not English, because I try to speak in Arabic as much as I can. So on whatsapp, facebook twitter, like even my tweets… halla2 twitter actually I tend to use English aktar.

K: And why is that do you think?

T: I don't know, maybe because the way I usually use twitter is just for a statement about something that I went through or like something that happened and its very short and straight to the point, and its better than using more than one language, like English and Arabic, I just tend to use English because its easier.

K: Does the fact that twitter has a 140­character count play a role in your decisions?

T: Yea, that's a huge factor, because usually in Arabic you have to put a lot of af3al and verbs and stuff, but whenever you’re using English, it tends to be mookhtassar aktar.

K: And when youre looking at your facebook feed masalan, just scrolling through, and you see that there is a post where someone is 3am bi fish khil2o written in Arabizi, would you take the time to read it?

T: Yes I would actually. K: Would you take it seriously?

T: Yes I would, because, let me repeat, when we’re talking about social issues, ktir I prefer it being in one language, and should be consistent. But I understand the trouble that comes with writing consistently, because unfortunately ma3anna hal2ad taw3iyye 3ala our own language, w

76 even when it is, ya3ne baddik te7ke bil 3arabe foss7a, its very difficult, wa2ta baddik te7ke 3ammiye using Arabic letters is also difficult, bit seereh bit di3e inno… masalan when el 3alam baddon yi2ro shi bil 3arabe, they expect to read foss7a, but then it turns out to be 3ammiye, w 7ay di3o, w fi ossas ma ra7 yifhamowa completely, bfaddel 3arabe but its difficult, its not an easy language.

K: but you don’t mind reading long posts in arabizi then?

T: no I don't

K: like if its just someone talking about himself and his problems?

T: yea exactly, but I cannot take an article seriously if it is written in Arabizi, fi credibility that’s lost, inno some is writing a whole article or an incredibly long block, mish like just a couple of statements, inno bit sire bit di3e inno where is the credibility, w who is he trying to target, which audience group is he trying to target.

K: yes, because not everyone understands it.

T: Exactly, miyye bil miyye. Bas you know whats kind of interesting is that more people tend to understand arabizi than they do Arabic 3ammiye.

K: Can you provide an example of this?

T: yes of course, for example some students at IC, marra we were looking at an article for a debate topic, w fata7na an Arabic post, wa7de 3an el play that I was acting in, it was in Arabic 3ammiye, but no one knew how to read it, so saro yi di3o ktir, inno hayde alef walla qaf, walla ya, w they’re IC students, w some of them don’t even know how to read Arabic bil marra in

77 general, bas fi minnon bi koono inno la2 can you please explain this to us, bas then whenever you talk in chat language everyone understands it; our whatsapp group is in arabizi.

K: But when the students talk to you they speak in Arabic?

T: Sometimes they use Arabic, but they tend to use English more. Ne7na masalan, for me, be7ke 3arabeh w btitla3 kelme bil English bil ghalat, bas la2 hinneh its more btitla3 kelme el arabeh bil ghalat.

K: So in what context do you think you would use it more often?

T: For me its chatting, most of the time; ya3ne ktir ktir 2alil ta ifta7 my Arabic keyboard and to write in Arabic, when chatting on whatsapp or facebook message, like ktir 2alil, and sometimes when I see someone talking to me in Arabic and then Im answering to them in Arabizi, then they answer back to me in Arabic, I start to feel self­conscious shway, like should I answer them in Arabic, should I not, and then this is when I might change my keyboard to Arabic letters, bas 99% of the time I use Arabizi when I chat.

K: So switching to the Arabic keyboard is problematic for you?

T: Inno not so much, but m3awdeen, to think whenever im using the Arabic keyboard I have to look for the letters while in English, you don't need to look anymore, you’re just more fluid and w 3anjad, whats also interesting is inno ana for me using the two is easier than looking for Arabic letters, like the alef ma3 hamza, aw teh el tawile, aw ma3 fat7a.

K: And do you feel that, as an arab, do you feel that arabizi is a language that might distance you from your Arabic roots?

78 T: yes, that's very true, I have this conflict with myself, ya3ne if you go through my facebook posts a year ago I used to have way more, inno I used to write way more the statements I want to present aw shi and used to use arabizi, but now I post less because ma badde ista3mol 3arabizi to share a post and this is why I mainly use English, and anyway its either advertising for a play or a production or its for an article that I enjoyed that has to do with a social issue that I care about, like feminism, so yes for me I find it very troubling inno I do not know how to use my Arabic language. My foss7a is terrible, ya3ne even my courses in Arabic, I’m taking a course and my teacher tells me your ideas are there but your language ktir d3ife, even though I’ve been studying Arabic since I was born. But to think of it, last time in the first class we had we were required to write the date min fo2 and did you know that it has been two years since I’ve actually written a date in Arabic, like just any, fa di3et and I felt very inno uff, its been two years only and ana ma3 3am bitzakkar iza hayde el sitteh aw el tnen, so I do think it's a very major issue, w khssoosseh inno na7na 3anna ktir min rik 3ala 3ammiye mish 3al foss7a, w el Libnaneh aktar shi. Ya3ne masalan el soureh, 2ad ma fi similarities bi tari2et el 7ake, you feel inno 3andon kalimat 2aribeh 3al foss7a aktar min kif ne7na 3anna yeha, ya3ne ne7na our words ktir b3ad 3an el foss7a, completely different, 7atta el a7rof taba3on, fi ness masalan bi 2oulo “ta2iss” and they don't think theres anything wrong with that, ma3 2inno hiyye el “ta2” its actually “taqiss,” ya3ne el “ta” shilneha w el “qaf” shilneha, ya3ne it makes the word sound completely different.

K: Exactly, and do you use arabizi with a different language? Would you ever mix it with English?

T: Yes all the time, which I think is also an issue la2anno wa2ta bitkoneh 3am te7keh bil 3arabe, ma fike t7atteh English words masalan bil noss when you’re talking in Arabic Arabic, but when youre using arabizi, you’re saying stuff in Arabic but using English letters, but then that would compel you to use an English word in it, so easier for you to do that.

K: When you see an arabizi post that is meant to be funny, how do you react to it?

79 T: I think its normal, acutally I think I see it most when it's a joke, because most of the people I follow are funny and like to post funny things on their newsfeed and its usually in arabizi. But wow, I just realized that its mainly used for humour rather than it is for social issues, la fatileh nazareh.

K: W inte, have you ever voiced an opinion concerning the tol3it re7etkom campaign?

T: inno not about tol3it re7etkom in specific but any issue that is related to the government, or anything anti­government thing im almost with all of them. Bas yes, bil awwal I was always sharing their posts, but not as much anymore, for example the things I love to share the most, I don't know if you’ve ever heard of it, its called the “Legal Agenda” they’re majmo3et lawyers that talk about legal issues and how the laws are corrupt w hek khbar, and I love that they type in 3arabeh foss7a, bas those I share their posts aktar shi.

K: Alright, w inte when you had your whole thing with Machnouk, and the comments you received on that video, what language were they in?

T: Ken fi kaza anwe3, ken fi arabizi, ken fi English bas usually the ones that showed the most support used Arabic and a lot of the people that shared the post keno 3ambyiktobo bil 3arabe, but those who didn't approve of what I did, wrote in arabizi. Because usually a lot of activists in Lebanon tend to use Arabic, they think its more appropriate culturally speaking ya3ne, and when you want to target a larger group you use Arabic and when you want to target a younger group you use Arabizi.

K: And what is you involvement in the women’s secular club?

T: I’m a secretary.

K: And are you involved in their social media?

80

T: Yes I am.

K: So when you post stuff masalan, you post them in Arabic?

T: yes or complete English. Sometimes we comment in arabizi, but the posts are completely in Arabic or completely in English.

K: and do you ever notice those who post in arabizi are either older or younger?

T: I’ve never looked into it honestly, but ba3d the whole Machnouk incident, we had a lot more followers and a lot of them were from completely different groups, ya3ne maybe we can see that before the incident but mainly, before the incident it was people from the group or students from the university who were interacting, and we work a lot with a feminist group from the Lebanese University club called Radical, for example their members, it was more of the same social group, w ba3d el incident sar fi ktir ikhtilaf, bas in general we don’t get that many comments in the first place, its mainly likes or shares or people who like to be very negative towards feminism.

K: And when you see tol3it re7etkom post of something that’s official, would you take it seriously if it was written in Arabizi? T: No, not really actually, cuz for me it is no longer an individual expressing himself, now its something bigger, whether its an NGO or a group, you realize that their working with lawyers, with professionals, so I think they need be more credible when using a specific language, and sometimes using English not a negative thing; it depends fi ktir campaigns done bil English for a specific group.

K: But if you saw the same post masalan but written by an individual on your personal newfeed, it would be different for you?

81 T: Eh it would be very different. Like I said, that user would probably not know how to express himself properly in English or Arabic Arabic, and it might easier for him to do it Arabizi, for me a person has the right to express themselves in any way they want to.

K: And do you think that Arabizi could possible “kill” the Arabic language online?

T: To a certain extent it is, ya3ne, wsolna la ma7al, inno if you look on your facebook w fi ktir ness mikhtilfeen, and you look through the posts, aktareeton the posts are in Arabizi or in English, ktir 2alil tle2eh ossas bil 3arabe so it is happening because its easier to use and its practical w heke fike t7otta aktar min one language bi alba and it works, w it is killing it and it is also affecting the way that we use Arabic in schools. Inno bitzakar in my school, bil Hariri, they used to tell us to speak English during our breaks, tan 2awwe our English, but they never thought inno la2 badna n2awweh our Arabic, inno leh mamne7ke foss7a, leh mamne7ke 3arabe.

Hamza Mekdad

K: So basically the study is, how people use Arabizi, like what is the context that they use it in, if ​ the platform itself has an effect on your use of it, masalan 180 characters on Twitter, bterte7 bi Arabizi more than Arabic, hek ossas… And the study is also around the development of Arabizi, and how it got developed, and where it is today. So basically what I’m going to ask you is how you, in general, use Arabizi, your use of it, your lifestyle with it, if you use it, if you don’t, when, how, bla bla bla… First I’m going to ask you by introducing who you are and what you do in life. H: I’m Hamza Mekdad, I’m twenty­three , I work in the visual communication domain in general, freelance…And I’m pretty active on social media, mostly Facebook now. K: What social media accounts do you have in general? H: Like, what other platforms? K: Yeah, what are the other platforms you use? H: Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Snapchat. I don’t know what else?

82 K: Youtube. Do you have a Youtube account? H: Yeah I have a Youtube account. I uploaded a couple of videos, but I removed them because they’re too embarrassing. K: Okay, so do you use Arabizi? H: Yes, but I used to use it much more before. Now, like I mainly use Arabic or English ya3ne if I want to type something in Arabic, like today, it was all in Arabic. Bes Arabizi is still more practical than Arabic la2enno u know how we use the “kaf” but we say “2a”, so it’s really hard to write that in Arabic and that people understand it. This is why we tend to use Arabizi, and for Twitter, arabizi is easier than Arabic la2enno you use less characters. K: Enta on Twitter, what do you use, main language? H: Main language on Twitter is English. K: Enta your main language on Facebook is what? H: It’s English, but like one fourth of the posts are in Arabic, maybe or less… K: When do you use Arabizi on Facebook? When are the moments that it comes up in your conversation? H: Depends on the target of the post. So if it’s a joke that only like hardcore Lebanese people would understand, I would write it in Arabic, because khalas, only the ones who read Arabic would understand it. But if it’s something that also foreigners in Lebanon would understand or Lebanese people who speak Arabic but can’t read Arabic, then I use Arabizi. Halla2 before no,I used to use Arabizi all the time, I never used actual Arabic letters. K: why was that you think? What changed? H: It’s really hard to type in Arabic ya3ne I’m not used it. Halla2 it’s getting easier with the Arabic QWERTY keyboard. Yeah that was the main issue. K: So it’s just that it was harder to write in Arabic. And enta do you see on your newsfeed in general on Facebook, do you see a lot of people using the Arabizi? H: Yes, everyone still uses it the same. K: And is there usually a similar context that they usually use it in? Or is it just about anything? There’s not anything in specific that they talk about?

83 H: It’s not all the same bes some of them use it mostly for their sarcastic posts or whatever. When it’s something really serious they use Arabic or English. Bes these are the social media gurus, other people use it for everything. K: And when you write in Arabic not in Arabizi, it’s derej or fos7a? H: It’s derej. Fos7a is hard to understand to anyone bes when you want to write derej, you can’t write it because the words that we use in derej are not meant to be written down. So when you want to say “halla2” like you start thinking should I write it “hallak” or “halla2”. And this is why it’s easier to use Arabizi. K: Yeah, because of the regulations that come with Arabic, Arabizi doesn’t have any… H: Arabizi is like the written derej, it works well with the derej. K: Yeah, exactly. And enta when you use Arabizi, you use it on Whatsapp right? H: Mostly, yeah. More than anything. K: Would you ever use it for professional conversations with people? H: No. K: What language do you use? H: English or Arabic, depends on the person. K: Would you ever use Arabizi with any other language? H: In what way? K: Ya3ne would you mix Arabizi with English? H: Oh yeah! Definitely. Arabizi always have a lot of English words in it. Bas kamen, the thing that I’ve been noticing lately enno even with the Arabizi, I stopped using the numbers, especially while texting la2anno you have to press the number button then choose it enno khalas it’s just easier to tap double “A” instead of 3, rather than going back. Khalas people get it. K: So you think that with time people start to understand without even using the numbers like you can just have the Arabic without having the substitute of the letters? H: Yeah, just the Latin alphabet. K: Does the platform of Facebook affect the way that you write your posts? Just the way that it is in general, its characteristics you know quick read, scrolling, infinity scroll and stuff like that.

84 H: At some point I started blogging. I wrote like a couple of blog posts, which were shit. Because I thought I knew how to write because I can write like small paragraphs on Facebook, bes my style is not that coherent to write an essay. Facebook it just quick­read and could be just bullet points of your ideas. K: Does it affect the language that you use? Like do you feel that I don’t feel like writing in Arabic la2anno btekhod ktir wa2et 3a Facebook so bes ra7 ektob bil Arabizi if masalan you wanted to comment on someone’s post H: For some reason kamen 3arabe is always used for sarcasm, not just Arabizi. Ya3ne when we comment on each other’s posts its usually like saying English words in Arabic letters. This is the new trend. Not that new actually… What was the question sorry? K: When you comment on Facebook, you feel that it’s easier for you to comment in what language? H: If the post is in Arabic, I comment in Arabic. If the post is in English, I comment in English. Bes kamen Arabizi is “passe par tout” sometimes. K: When do you use it the most out of anything? H: Akid texting. K: So instant messaging, quick things. H: Texting especially with my mom cause mom texts in Arabic so I have to reply in Arabizi. K: And she understands it? H: Yeah, yeah. She used to text in Arabizi K: And then she found the Arabic keyboard. And are you in any way active with the tel3it ri7etkon campaign? H: No, I went to a couple of the protests but no I’m not active. K: Have you ever posted anything related to it? H: Yeah. K: And what language did you use to post about? H: It was in English.

85 K: And why did you feel that it was better for you to post it in English, in specific to this campaign? H: All the foreigners in Lebanon were pro tel3it ri7etkon, ana I was pro the protests, but I was never pro tel3it ri7etkon because they were monopolizing the whole revolution. This is why I had to make things clear for people who don’t know what’s happening. Ya3ne I have a lot of friends who don’t read Arabic and these are the ones who are not well­rounded with politics and social things that are happening in here. So this is why I had to write it in English wa2ta. K: So you felt it was more of a way to clarify to your followers, the people who you’re friends with on Facebook. H: Yeah, it depends on the audience. K: And do you think that Arabizi in any way affects your identity as an Arab, masalan? Enno you feel less Arab when you use it, you feel more Arab when you use it? Or is there a difference between being Arab and Lebanese? H: Yeah, ma there’s this. We were talking about this. Mish enno I’m Phoenician or whatever, but there’s a difference in our subcultures K: in humor, in culture… H: Yeah, everything! Even food and whatever. Though I think it’s good that we have Arabizi now. I was actually thinking once enno when are they going to write the Quran in Arabizi? That’s going to be something… K: You think they would? H: I think, I mean la2anno halla2 fi like the Quran in Arabic and the translated Quran for foreigners, but like it doesn’t count as them reading Quran if it’s translated, they have to read the actual Arabic one. So what if they did that for them? K: I think that they’re trying to actually write it in Arabizi, at some point. That’s what I’ve read superficially somewhere a long time ago. But do you think they’ll actually do it? Maybe… H: Yeah, I would like to witness it. See their reactions and whatever K: So you don’t think it affects an Arab person’s Arabic in general? El Lahje.

86 H: No, it does! Bes, not necessarily in a bad way. La2anno khalas, we’re heading towards globalization and we need an international language. And the main international language for now is English, and Arabizi is one step towards that from Arabic. Halla2 if you still want to master your Arabic, you can still do it if you want. So people shouldn’t blame it on the Arabizi K: And on Instagram what language do you use? H: English, except for once. Ah no actually twice. Once I posted a poem in Arabic as caption and once kein fi geotag film sex 3arabi, so I used it.

Assaad Thebian K: can you start by first explaining, introducing who you are, basically? A: my name is Assad Thebian, i’m twenty eight, and i work in marketing, and I helped cofounding You stink movement K: okay, and what’s your relationship to arabizi;how you use it and if you use it? A: i try my best not to use it. either if i want to speak in english i type in english, or if i want to speak in arabic i type in arabic, but sometimes it just slips,whether on whatsapp or Facebook chat. These are the two main mediums i would be using arabizi, and its most of the time its a response of people using that language so you write it back to them. many of the times i deliberately replied in english, some would not understand and most of the times when i use arabic to reply back a lot of people wouldn't know how to read arabic. K so you use arabizi as a form of communication. so you're saying you basically use it when other people use as a form of just to be on the same level and on whatsapp A: yeah and Facebook chat. K: and what are the social platforms that you use? A: Facebook chat, Instagram Twitter, Snapchat, Youtube, you name it…everything. K: So when you post things on Facebook, do you post them in either english or arabic, you never post in arabizi? A: Never,I don't think i ever did that. I don't recall I ever posted any posts that originated form me on my page or even the page i run with the arabizi format. Even i do marketing for clients

87 and i use social media for them, I doubt, can’t remember if it even reached one percent that i ever used arabizi. It’s either plain english, or plain arabic. K: And why do you think that is for you, in your case? Why don’t you like to use arabizi? A: It’s because there’s a language called arabic, there’s a language called english, they have their own letters so basically we should be using their own letters. And personally i don’t support the use of english letter for any language, and that’s not only the case for the arabic, there’s also the case with a lot of other languages, where English or Latin letters is being used more than the origin letters. I know that this is definitely the result of cultural domination especially when it comes to the internet of the english but I don't really support that. K: so when the times that come up that you use arabizi,what are the contexts that you use them in usually? A: i just mentioned, only when I’m replying to other people in private communication when it’s one on one, sometimes when it’s in group on whatsapp I deliberately stop myself from using arabizi and use either arabic or english. K: so you’re always aware with what language you’re using A: i’m aware whenever i write a word in arabizi, it looks very ugly to me K: So even if you’re just like making a plan, enno “shou khayye weynak?” A: No, these are the… K: …the times that you use it. So like very informal conversational times, never anything professional? A: Oh, definitely K: Enta do you use twitter a lot? A: I used to. Now it’s less frequent, but i still log in to twitter at least once every week. K: And your posts on twitter as well, are either in english or in arabic? A: yes K: so you’re very consistent in the way that you use it and khalas arabizi no way for you? A: yeah K: ok. What happens when you come across a post, like a serious masalan,but it’s maktoube in arabizi? Would you read it, would you take it seriously?

88 A: it depends on who wrote it and what is the content , so sometimes if i’m really interested in the topic i bare myself the trouble to do it but personally i wouldn't be very comfortable with the idea. K: And what if it was, let’s say, a joke masalan? A: That’s a joke, that’s not serious conversation, it will pass. K: So you’re okay with that? A: yeah, yeah. K: And do you feel that when you're using a platform that it’s harder for you to use like arabic for example? A:thats not an issue anymore with tablets and smartphones because you switch the keyboard and it’s very easy. I memorize, typing in arabic on my laptop, i don’t have the arabic letters but i know them by heart. K: Ah, nice nice. So the fact that your laptop doesn't have the arabic keyboard, it doesn't effect your use of arabic. A: No, in the old times i had problems even when with softwares like “Yemli”, I even had a problem believing that they existed but then with the practice and knowing people, I know how many people suffer with typing arabic and they really need such a platform so they type the arabizi and it gives them the arabic language. i can understand why it exists, i wish it didn't but lets face it,not everyone is keen into typing with their own mother tongue language. K: Exactly. And when you write in arabic btiktob bil derej aw bil…? A: It depends, both. I would do both. K: it depends on the situation. But Tel3et ri7itkom is all in…when you write masalan posts? A: I was one of the individuals who pushed for 3ammiyye not fos7a because i think we are talking about people concerns and people troubles and we need to use the language that they use on a daily basis which is the 3ammiyye not the fos7a. And i think this was a major shift in talking to the people now because most of the times, most of the political demonstrations and actions that were taking place on the ground, all the speeches were used in dull arabic which people really didn't associate to. This time we broke the language barrier and if you can see most

89 of the speeches we've given in the demonstrations were 3ammiyye even in writing on the Facebook page we use 3ammiyye. K: Even writing on the Facebook page is 3amiyye? A: not most, ya3ne we …. you can go check that… K: And when you see people posting, replying to your posts, in arabizi i’ve heard that you guys replied to what they say the way they say, like you said. A: Depends on who's replying, if it was me i would be replying in plain arabic or plain english. most of us would do the same. few of our member have access to reply as admins of the page might use arabizi but that’s rare cases. K: And do you feel that when people comment on your posts in arabizi, do you feel that there’s a certain similarity between those who comment, like a certain topic of voice or tone of voice that they have when they’re talking? A: Not really. most of the people would comment on our page with arabizi i would say. No, not most, I would say it’s divided into equal thirds, between arabic, english and arabizi. From what I've seen, I'm not the person who replies most of the time on comments, I leave it to other people to do so. I’m more into what the original posts are, ( not sure about this) the content. But I've seen the replies as well, we don't support arabizi that much. K: you don’t support arabizi? A: yeah. K: Do you feel that when other people use arabizi, let’s say on twitter, concerning this topic, tel3et ri7itkom, do you feel that maybe they're restricted by the number of characters that you're allowed to use on twitter? that they prefer to use arabizi cause they know masalan the number of characters…(dogs barking) A: not necessary, number of characters is limited in any language. i think if they can express themselves in the same number of letters in any other language. but i think its because they're used to it, typing and everything thats why they do it. K: Do you ever get bothered when other people mix arabizi and english or arabic and english, if that ever happens.

90 A: i do get pissed when people mix any 2 languages, even arabic and english alone without arabizi. It’s because people should be more consistent in the sentence they wanna say, so pick a language you're really good at and then just say it unless if you were someone who is very dull in a language and you wanna express your ideas and the words cant come out and the person in front of you doesn't understand the second language that is an exceptional case. But if we’re having a dialogue now and we both speak english then let’s have it in english not jump from one language to another, or arabic would do the same. K: okay thank you so much.

Imad Jawad

K: Can you start by introducing yourself? I: I’m an architect, I graduated from architecture in NDU, my thesis was about Public Spaces and I’m also a musician, Ive been playing music for 15 years, and I’ve been part of the music community for about 10 years now, and I’ve been in a lot of bands that are actually part of the community when it was growing that's why I actually switched to, well I’m still freelancing as an architect but mostly I’m focusing on my job at XX (prefers name of company to be omitted) ​ which is more content and media, and I am also partner of magazine called AudioKultur, which we basically focus on the local community as much as possible. And I’m 26!

K: And what’s your relationship with social media like, what accounts do have on social media?

I: Instagram and Facebook, actually I’m a huge fan of Facebook, I want to be a fan of twitter, but I prefer to leave to journalists because I like to read their tweets the most, I hate it when regular people just use twitter to say the dumbest shit. But not im quite active on Facebook.

K: And do you use Whatsapp?

91 I: Ya ya ya

K: So, on any of your social media accounts, do you use Arabizi?

I: Sometimes, not a lot. You know it depends on the tone I’m going for.

K: So when exactly do you use Arabizi?

I: Well, mostly with my mom, but when its something that I post, its usually when I’m referencing something local, I use English mostly to communicate, but if I want to use the English /Arabic kind of approach, its usually just when you’re trying to add to the persona of like “Shou bek ya bro” you know?

K: So have you ever posted or shared statuses that have been written in Arabizi?

I: No, no, mainly in English, with just a tag line in Arabizi.

K: So when you use Arabizi, do you use another language with it? Like when you’re chatting for example?

I: Yes, yes, but not Arabic, cuz then I would literally have to switch keyboards. But yes with English and French I mix it with Arabizi.

K: Would you ever use it for anything that's probably not in a humorous context? Would you ever use it when talking about the You Stink campaign or any thing that has to do with politics?

I: No, not really, because I acutally use the Arabic language sometimes to post about that, because I am trying to communicate something specifically in Arabic, so that's when I just use

92 the Arabic letters; I’m actually not a big fan of it by the way, like the whole Arabizi, to be honest. K: Haha no worries that's your opinion!

I: And just for you to know, even during the protests, the protest area, the whole campaign, it was very Arabic centered, but as in written in Arabic.

K: How do you think that relates to the Lebanese culture? Or the identity of a Lebanese person in general? Why do you think the language is an important part of the whole social movement?

I: Yes of course, well movements like You Stink, or technically Tol3it Re7etkom, and Badna Teghyir, and all of these people, were actually trying to reach people on a mass level than more to the little indie community which is more English focused. I am actually dealing with this in my current work environment right now, which is people really respond to Arabic much more than to English, and that was the whole approach of it, to reach the masses however, people speaking English or communicating it in English, there’s nothing wrong with modern Arabism, that's acutally my thesis, in design, which is I don't think the language defines your identity anymore or the world is too mixed up and if anything we’re always reaching out to other people not just in our country, but to actually communicate ideas and enhance our ideas and share knowledge and share experience and just putting in one little box where I am gonna speak Arabic because this is who I am is quite limiting to what we’re trying to achieve.

K: So you don't think it matters, just as long as the message is sent?

I: Ya cuz we’re not in the 1600s or 1500s, we’re in a age right now where as long as the context of which we’re trying to communicate in is the common ground, it doesn't matter how you are trying to communicate, I think I’ve had the best conversations about Muslim religion in English and I’ve had with people who are from different places in the world, I love talking about religion, I love sharing these things with people, cuz I’m an atheist by the way, so I love

93 speaking to people about these different things, but I always find it interesting that you can actually, I mean you can never share your culture if its not accessible to people in another form and us being able to translate that into other languages is actually kind of a strength; I don't think its limiting for me, it doesn't define us.

K: And do you feel, like when you were posting something for example, when you actually use Arabizi on social media, maybe the platform itself has somekind of affect on which language you choose to reply in, in certain contexts?

I: Um, for sure, like on facebook, when I write a very correct status and im trying to communicate something, if its in a uniform language and very focused, the problem with Arabizi is that I always felt that not a lot of people can actually understand it and it takes more time for people to read it, but I always noticed that whenever something is shared in a very uniform way, whether its completely arabizi, or completely Arabic, or completely English or completey English, it actually has a lovely effect.

K: so the facebook platform itself, for example, maybe when you’re on your mobile phone you have to switch between English and Arabic, just to type something to someone, to post something in general, do you feel like that has ever influenced you?

I: no no, for its more just a frame of thinking, like it depends on the subject really.

K: So you use arabizi, like you said, for jokes and stuff?

I: I use it in the context for which it was created, which is just sha3bi, you know? I use it in a sha3bi context, like modern sha3bi,

K: But you would never actually send an email in Arabizi, right?

94 I: No haha, forget me and my prefrences, I don't think its socially acceptable.

K: so you think its unprofessional?

I: Um just because its inno, its not common, like if someone sent it to me I’ll probably have a chuckle, but like I don't mind it and I wont take them less seriously.

K: And what if someone mixed two languages, in one, not in arabizi, but they mixed some English with some Arabic, would that be weirder for you than if they did that with arabizi?

I: Um no, its fine, they’re both fine, I wouldn't mind, as long as he doesn't tell me “shou bek bro” in the email

K: Hopefully that wont happen haha! And in your line of work, you said you work in media…

I: yes I am media content creator.

K: do you think people would react differently if people shared content that was written in arabizi?

I: Yes, for sure.

K: What kind of impression do you think the audience would take from it?

I: Well, I’ll answer you in a different way and hopefully this will help, um at least with AudioKultur, the program I run and with XX, are both programs that are considered premium and I promise you Arabizi is not considered premium on that domain. Its more in the sha3bi context, so I wouldn't want to communicate somethting like that.

95

Edwin Harb Kadri

K: So how long have you been using Arabizi?

E: Good question, I think since the MSN days, ya3ne 2001 or 2 I think, that’s how we started with the text messages, when we first got a phone in the first place, so when you speak to people who aren’t necessarily super advanced in English or French, khssoossatan when you’re younger, and you have like 10,000 friends when you’re older, like you have 3 friends and a half so communicating with people usually we used to do it with this type of language, donc ana I’d say like from 2002 which means 14 years.

K: So you’re saying that when MSN and text messaging came about; that’s interesting, because at that period, did you know there were no Arabic reading softwares or Arabic designed technology, so it’s interesting to see how you are one the people that actually adapted to the technology.

E: Exaclty, adapted, and I don’t think its just the manufacturer’s fault, its also ours, la2anno min el 2assses na7na, within the educational system, you didn't have many people who were properly introduced to using Arabic as an everyday language, so I think we directly took this shortcut, la2anno min el 2asses deja we have this easier way of doing things…

K: So when do you find yourself using it the most? What’s the context?

E: Let me think about that… like close relationships, like with Romy I don’t use it, with my parents we talk in French, with people in general we don’t use it, even on Facebook they directly go towards English, but with buddies, like male friends, we usually go directly towards this.

K: And why do you think that is?

96

E: I think its slangier, or we’d be righting in a very formal Arabic, w ma biftikar fi zet el proximity bayneh w baynon, we have this, I’m talking about myself by the way ma 3am bijmo3, I have this vision of the classic Arabic language, inno fi une distance bayneh w bayn el 3alam en general, like an old school thing, but using it, de un I think, khalike ma3eh shway, inte jeeteleh bwa2it inno je me suis remise en question totale de mon identite libanaise, fa ijet 3al 2ad el khabarieh, and Romy has to live with me while I go through my identity crisis; like listening to Ibrahim maalouf noss din el leil… la2 I think that it reminds us, or reminds me, inno 3am biktob inno I can easily write them in French or English, which they both understand, bas I think it makes sense part of this bubble that we created, being us and this language, inno ma7adan ghayrna byista3mlowa, and its easier because you express exactly what you have in your mind, while going towards English or French or classic Arabic, wouldn't express the way kif ana w yeke 3am ne7ke, so its really our way of talking.

K: one of the people I spoke to, told me that it's a sha3bi way of speaking, in ya bro kifak ya man, a Lebanese understanding between friends…

E: yes, exactly, nobody else has that.

K: so the times that come up when you’re talking to your friends, in a manyake way

E: Manyake and eh super super, imagine the scene of the guy alonger sur son lit, ma ilo jlede yihizz ma ilo jlede ya3mol shi, bas baddo yitmanyak, hes in a manyak mood, so he talks to his friends in this language, ya3ne it's like being on your sixth drink and khalas ma 2illek jlede ba2a ta3mle efforat, w its condensed, and it's the same thing like fuck this shit I wanna talk like I want, in my opinion, la2anno telmizet Lycee w hek, we bred the biggest manayeks on earth that’s why we start talking that way

K: Do you use arabizi with other languages, or do you just keep it consistent?

97

E: I think its just in arabizi when speaking in Arabic with friends, khssoosstan because I live in Europe so… (refers to Romy) do we use it with anyone else…

Romy (from the back): inno oui, avec ma mere,

E: Ah avec ta mere… Sma3teh?

K: Avec sa mere?

E: Eh she speaks it with her mother

K: How come? What makes you speak it with your mom?

R: I don't know, we speak Arabic sometimes, because she writes it this way aslan

E: Eh 7atta when Romy sent her mother a screenplay, il y avait plusieurs partie bil screenplay that had to be translated to Arabic, and her mother had to give her feedback on it, and she replied in Arabizi, the formal language was written in Arabizi. Ya3ne theres a speech that goes “ya wallah el 3azim” whatever, it was written with the twos and the threes. That’s weird actually I’ve never thought about it… but sorry what was your question again haha?

K: Haha, well if you use it with any other language, like you mix it with French or English or…?

E: Ah you mean when I’m speaking to Lebanese people? I thought you meant with people other than Lebanese people

K: Yes

98 E: Balla, akid! I always mix it.

K: And why do you think that’s the reason? Is it because…

E: it's a lack of identity hahaha, layke there are some words that you can’t necessarily find in Arabic, solely in Arabic, khssoossatan ne7na we’re part of a generation where things are moving so fast and you have so many influxes of information, so there are actual words and terms that we know better in foreign languages than we do in our own, so it gives us the advantage of using it while youre using the arabizi, so bit jamliya, you try to make it pretty

K: so it's a way to strengthen the senstence?

E: Yes

K: And how often do you use it? Do you feel that you use it a lot, or do you use English more, do you use French more… what do you feel you use the most when you talk? Or when writing posts on Facebook?

E: Hmm. Good question. My posts on Facebook are ba3ti2id the same niha2iyan in English, when I wanna criticize something Lebanese I use Arabizi. Eh masalan imagine theres a conversation between me and the ra2iss el jomhouriye, and I wanna be condescending to him, this is where in the post I write deux points, ouvre les gimmets, and I put it.

K: So in the context of the You Stink campaign, when you’re trying to voice your opinion, and you see a politician posted something about the garbage, what would you say?

E: I would use Arabic… no wait… no no when we’re condescending, when we attack we attack in Arabizi, but when you wanna be more… fouteh 3al You Stink campaign, shoufeh el wall taba3on, when they reply to people, even when the people write something a bit aggressive in

99 Arabizi, they reply in perfect Arabic script so I think its just to be condescending when its about those things; this part of social media is about being condescending or if you’re talking about an elderly person talking to you in Arabic, bit ridd 3aleh, inno theres a very clear line between the two I think.

K: So you feel that it is more for condescending purposes, like you wouldn’t see a politician posting something in Arabizi?

E: No, never, and I follow some of them, I follow Fouad Abou Nader, I follow Charbel Nahhas, I follow those guys, and its always super Arabic.

K: So you’re active on how many social media platforms, like which ones?

E: Just Facebook and Whatsapp, and I’m very late in these things, just yesterday, at CK’s, t3alamet shou ya3ne snapchat.

K: What? You don’t know what Snapchat is? Its so fun!

E: Hahaha I didn't know it existed, I have conflicting feelings, where I am against social media but its also a huge, huge, platform I’ve heard so, and I can’t ignore it, get addicted like everyone else; bas inno its just Facebook.

K: So you’re mostly active on Facebook? You said that most of your posts are in 90% English right?

E: Yes.

K: Would you use Arabizi when you comment on something?

100 E: Well, that's a good question, 7assab the proximity with my friends.

K: So if you're really close to them, you would use…

E: Arabizi, definitely, unless I wanna appear very smart, with a smart comment or smart post, a smart context, other than that, inno inte masalan if we added something on Facebook and you posted something about something, and I wanna reply to you lets say this is the first time I see you, and the second time im gonna talk to you, ra7 e7kike bil English; bas if we go towards friendship that’s closer, bridd 3alayke bil 3arabizi.

K: And if you see, from a user perspective, if you see someone using Arabizi on a Facebook post masalan, but manna tawile ktir, bas inno 3ade, would you read it?

E: That’s a very good question, because I get tired, pour dechifrer whats going on, it takes time to really take every word, its not a fast thing, you can’t read it just like “brrrrr” you have to look at the 2’s and the 3’s and the way its being shifted morphed into Arabic, and when you do that it takes a lot of thought and if its long, ma 3ande zet el jlede inno i2ra shou 3am bi seer; inno I have… what happened there is friend of mine, George Rahme, who writes very funny things like really very funny things, hes super funny, bas byiktibon killon in this way, in Arabizi, w I don't follow him, like mab foot fiya.

K: So it doesn't interest you to read a post like that?

E: Mish 2ossit interest, a couple of times I do read it…

K: Then it's annoying?

E: Inno eh when its longer khalas, I just disconnect

101 K: Okay, and do you feel like the platform itself, the way it is, like how its made for short posts, and mainly an English platform, like the majority of people who use facebook are using it English, so…

E: Yea, like even the people who don’t speak English, insist on typing in English, like “Habby barsday to my sown” une maman qui ecrit for her son’s birthday quand ells veulent, when they want to write in English, mossirreen inno all of it has to be in English, even though we have no idea how to speak the language ever, but yea facebook directly takes towards writing in English…

K: So it does kind of influence you, like you wouldn’t put Facebook in French would you?

E: Hala2 ana my French and English are almost the same, so … ah la2 la2! 3am te7ke 3an el settings?

K: Eh haha!

E: Yea no I wouldn't, directly go to English, like if I see 7adan min ass7abeh 7attito bil arabe aw bil French, b2illo inno shou bek bro, leh hek?

K: You know I find that so strange, because most of my Dutch friends here, have their settings set to Dutch.

E: Yes, I’ve seen Catalan friends of mine putting it in Catalan, and I’m just like guys you're, you’re maba3ref man, its like you’re saying English is the centre point, and if you want to go around it, inno maba3ref its weird

K: Haha yea I feel like English is simpler to use…

102 E: Yea exactly and everyone has become accustomed to it, like its something that has become an everyday language, like words like telephone or table, inno kil el 3alam sarit ta3rif shou ma3neton

K: And what is your opinion on Arabizi in general, what are your feelings towards it?

E: I think its something that we created, whether we like it or not, hala2 other Arabic countries use it bas mitl el 3ade with us its more refined bi tari2a, ya3ne I try to see my Egyptian friends posting, bas bifham kelme li bi2olowa, while our thing is much more, well Lebanese is much more accessible min el 2asses, so we made it even more accessible with this and I have foreign friends, ya3ne Tara Jane, a friend of mine, who spent the last two­three years in Lebanon, she’s American, but she writes in Arabizi.

K: Tara Jane the bouncer?

E: Haha yes exactly, she writes in Arabizi, its incredible, when she sends me inboxes, half of them are in that language, so maba3ref ana I think bil 3akis ana Im happy ya3ne, but because masalan if im posting something on facebook to make me look credible, because im conscious of the impact facebook usually has on your social image, I will never post in arabizi, unless I am trying to give a humour appeal.

K: Whats your involvement with the You Stink campaign?

E: Hala2 ne7na, when I talk about myself, I always talk about me and Romy, because we did this together; so Romy and I started going to the first manifestastion, the first first first one wa2ta anja2 ken fi abou adde babe, shi miten, tlet mit shakhiss, it was like 200, 300, people and we went down out of curiousity… babe… so we just went down and no one was politically involved before that, bas I always was involved with the political apporoach, or comment on dit, la construction politque de la pays, because my father always was very interested interested in

103 politics, so I always grew up reading political books… GETS UP, GETS A COPY OF THICK ​ POLITICAL BOOK CALLED LES SECRETS DE LA GUERRE DU LIBAN this is my light reading, bas I always grew up being extremely interested in politics, because I find that we have a structure manna tabi3iye, like you would never see this type of government, so when we went down to the first protest, it made think, seriously think inno okay there is a black hole we’ve been in for a while, w fi shi 3am byit7arrak, give me one major event, like from when Martin Luther King started, to resonate with the community, fi shi khalas you feel as though, inno as cheesy as it sounds, you remember the scorpions song, Winds of Change? Well the song says that there is something in the wind and you feel the change, bas without really knowing what is going on, so we felt that, bas ken fi mitten, tlet mit shakhiss, bas then we said, inno shou 200, 300 people, manna shi, and when they started actively campaigning for the first real protest, honeh, fhimit inno there was something that was happening, and I posted a video of myself, and I never do this shit, and I was at work and extremely bored, waiting for el moozahara, ana w Romy, and I just posted a video of myself making fun, inno yalla yalla lets go lets go, mnikila shwayyit khabit, yalla yalla, let’s kick some ass, and people went crazy and shared, w inno yih shou 3am bi seer, and we went down Romy and I and it was, sara7atan one of the greatest experiences of my life; the first time we were there, like when we got beat up, bloody, wa2ta the nation was in shock, you remember shou 3am bi seer, but there was also a big sense of accomplishment, for the first time we saw that we were scaring the shit out of them, for them to react this way, like big time; we went back home, Romy and I, got a bottle of wine, opened it and sat on the balcony, crying for like two hours cuz we were realizing what just happened, inno mish ma32oul sar hal shi, and the next day I tell Romy, listen, I think we should do something to encourage people to go down, to make them feel what we just felt, so I call up Naji and Alex, two friends I hadn’t seen in a very long time, who were with in school bil Lycee, so, I call them up and tell them that we need to organize a small video, la2anno shifton bil moozahara abel layaleh, so I thought that would be interested, and they call Joey Dagher who is also a friend of ours, whos father is the owner of LBC, and Joey was our school mate, and so Joey says lets meet up, we went had a burger, and said okay, lets film, je pense le lendemain, yea lets film tomorrow, so I call up a friend of mine whos a camera operator, and I call up a friend of mine whose a

104 sound guy, we get the material for free, kif jibneh wa2ta, min khalta la Romy, cuz she works in production, so she called somebody who gave us the cameras for free, we got two actors, one of them is my girlfriend’s ex and the other was her brother’s friend, a3adnehon we had a very clear vision of what we wanted, we shot it in like 5, 6 hours, edited it the same night, bas like actually the same night, ballashna tossweer 3al 3ashra, w I said cut at 2 am, 3 am we go home, we edit, we release the same morning, at 8 am, and people went nuts.

K: Was this the video with the two news anchors?

E: La2, it was the first one, remember keno a3deen 3al canabeye, 3am byi7adaro el moozahara, and one says to the other, “ma badde inzal 3al moozahara”

K: Oh yea! Ah that was you ??

E: Haha yes, so we call up Joey Ayoub, one of the You Stink guys, and we tell him, inno listen we’re offering you this, w hayde el gift minna la ilkon tat 7arko el 3alam shway and it was crazy, we posted it at 8 am and at 9 it had 80,000 views, 2,000 shares, w ana 3am bitalla3, inno what the fuck is this and at the end of the day, khalas people went nuts and it was shared on two different platforms and it got like 500,000 views and then we’re like lets do the second one. When we do the second one, which is, I don’t know if you remember this one, a3deen 3al ba7er and you back out at the end and you see the zbele?

K: Yes, of course!

E: Eh hayde I wanted to put something even more technical, it just got people even more excited, but then the problems in the moozaharat started, so people were less hayda, and the last act of desperation was Marwan Maalouf, one of the You Stink heads, calls me, and hes the guy that always does the press conferences, he has a beard and shway nasi7, and asks me to have a cup of coffee, me him and Joey Daher, Marwan is sitting completely panicked and paranoid, like yo

105 what’s going, and then he says you see the car over there, they’re following us, inno 3am bi re2bo el ghada to see whats going on, so please, we really need you to do a third video, and we did the third, the one with the anchors, and it wasn’t as successful, and then we just backed out; hala2 it worked but people were sick and tired of protesting, because for Lebanese people it's a mooda.

K: Haha yes, its like theyre going to down to take selfies and leave.

E: Hahaha, exactement, bas hala2 fi Beirut Madinati, I really hope it works.

K: yea hopefully it will start pushing things; did arabizi have a role in your campaigning, you would talk to Joey Daher on whatsapp masalan?

E: Eh in Arabizi, we wrote the scripts in Arabizi, when I sent the things to the actors, Arabizi, everything was in Arabizi, because here it was, well I told you there is a thin line between being condescending and serious, so when you’re serious you don't write in Arabizi, but when you’re condescending you write it in Arabizi, when there is something that has to do with time, you need it to be fast, and you’re low on time, and you really need to get things done right, khalas theres no room for ceremonies, you speak in Arabizi directly. Because when you write in English and French w kaza, theres a way of formulating sentences, making yourself understood, while whe you’re writing in Arabizi, inno shou ya khayye yalla waynak, jib el camera, tla3 3a tene tabi2, lets put this lets do this, its in Arabizi. I actually never thought about this, hala2 you opened my eyes.

K: It was something that came natural to you, like you didn't even think about it

E: Eh, theres no backthought, even na7na lebneniye theres always a backthought, but honne la2.

Hassan Chehouri

106

K: Can you start by introducing yourself?

H: D’accord. I’m Hassan Julien Chehouri, I’m 24, and I’m a freelance filmmaker, who just recently happens to be a social media personality in Beirut, and I have gathered a small fan base here in Beirut Lebanon.

K: So, Hassan, can you tell me about which social media platforms you use?

H: I have an account on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Vine, my top three are probably Facebook, Instagram and Vine, in that order.

K: And what about Whatsapp?

H: Oh yea, well if whatsapp counts, then I use it the most for communication, because it is the most available, and the cheapest.

K: So what language are your social media accounts set in? Their interface?

H: All three of them are in English, well all of them actually.

K: And you prefer it that way? You wouldn’t change it to French or Arabic?

H: No, I prefer it in English the most.

K: Why is that?

H: I think because the English language is the easiest to use, its simple, tout les mots qu’on n’utilise, all the words that are in technology are in English, so we’re used to that.

107

K: And, when you post stuff on Facebook, what languages do you use?

H: I mostly post in English, after that French, and the last one is Arabic. And I when I choose to write in Arabic, depending on the seriousness of the context, like if its very serious, I write it in normal Arabic, and if I’m gonna post something comic ou vite fait, im gonna post it in Arabizi.

K: So the times that you write in Arabizi, are in comedic contexts, like when you’re joking or making fun of things.

H: Yea maybe on Facebook probably, but I prefer the Arabic alphabet to be honest, but on Whatsapp, when Im speaking in Arabic, naturally its in Arabizi.

K: Why do you think you chose Arabizi over Arabic script on Whatsapp as compared to Facebook?

H: Because on Whatsapp it's a conversation that's happening in real time, it's goes back and forth, donc in order for it to be faster, naturellement I’m gonna speak in Arabizi, but on Facebook, since I have the time to post my status, or anything, I am gonna post it Arabic out of respect for the Arabic language.

K: So you feel that writing in the Arabic language is respectful towards your culture?

H: Oui, definitely.

K: and on your whatsapp, do you have different keyboards that you switch from? Do you have the Arabic keyboard setting on?

H: Yes, I switch from Arabic to English

108

K: But its easier for you in terms of, its faster to type in Arabizi, cuz you don’t have to switch keyboards right?

H: Yes.

K: and I remember you did a video for Iron Heyoka, and it was in Arabic, you spoke in Arabic, criticsing Samir Geagea’s anti­drug video?

H: It was all in Arabic, but I used some words like bro, aw marijuana.

K: And when you post your Vines, you tend to speak in Arabic, most of the time?

H: Yea most of the time they’re in Arabic, because I’m making fun of Lebanese culture, so it's a mixture of Arabic English and French, when its two characters talking to each other,

K: but I’ve never seen you post your captions in Arabic masalan, theyre mostly in English

H: yes that's true

K: And why do you think that is?

H: Because it's a culture thing, and most of my followers I feel are bilingual, they’re English educated, and because vine is more or less a western medium, so you are accustomed to reading your captions in English but then contrast it with an Arabic content

K: So you feel it's a good balance when trying to represent a culture that you belong in?

109 H: yes, because if someone from Europe or the western world, and I always think about that, like if someone from Europe or the states or Africa or wherever they randomly find my vine, theyre gonna understand my captions, but not really what I say, but there is still a hint where im from, and what I’m trying to do.

K: so you feel its truer to your comedy?

H: To my comedy, yes. For example, on Instagram, cuz that’s my serious side, its my photography, Im not comic at all, and everytime there is a word in Arabic, I’m gonna write it in Arabic.

K:So you write in Arabic on your Instagram?

H: Yes, for example, I have a picture on instagram, called “Ma journee avec” .., in Arabic “3ammo chauffeur el service” because it's a serious post.

K: So you’re using Arabic script for more serious situations?

H: yes.

K: And have you ever posted anything about the Tol3it Re7etkom campaign?

H: I rarely share any political things. Rarely, maybe once ever three months if something is up, but I’ve never posted anything about Tol3it Re7etkom.

K: Alright, then talking about that isn’t relevant in this case. So when you’re facebook masalan, and you see posts in Arabizi, you take them seriously, or not?

110 H: Maba3ref, theres a small part of me that’s annoyed by me reading the arabizi, cuz some people post large comments or statuses about something serious in arabizi, and I don't struggle to read it but like you said, the tone in which Im reading it, ka2anno 7adan wozzeh, where as a lot of my friends, like Marwa Harati who’s a big figure on social media, she writes her statuses in Arabic, full long paragraphs, and very serious. Or Hamza’s example masalan, when he got hassled at the embassy, I mean imagine if he written what he wrote in Arabizi, at first glance, ya3ne I might have kept scrolling, but I didn't scroll down, because it was in Arabic.

K: You feel that Arabic may have more of an impact on people when they read it? Like do you feel it is worth the read, because people took the time to write something more difficult?

H: Yes, exactly, it looks more official, and if its written in Arabic then it must be serious, where as if its written in Arabizi, I am just expressing myself 3al sari3.

K: You feel like the platform itself, like Facebook, restricts your choices? Like has the facility of the infinity scroll ever affected which statuses you see or like? Or maybe your newsfeeds contains a similar language base, or is it a mix of everything?

H: Honestly, I think it's a mix of everything and to be honest kamen, status­wise, for the Arabic language statuses are more than that of Arabizi, and this is something that has happened recently, it wasn't always like this, like two years ago three years ago, especially in 2010, like 2008, 9, 10, when I just started using Facebook there was barely any Arabic on my newsfeed, but now its kind of all over.

K: Intersesting that you say that, because Facebook didn't actually introduce the Arabic language until 2009, so people didn't really have the choice to type in Arabic, even if they wanted to.

H: For me, like now recently in these two years, and maybe its stupid for me to say, maba3ref, but that's what I feel, people are starting to take a certain pride in Arabic, that's what I think,

111 especially now inno ana personally, min sinten la halla2, im taking a lot of pride in my Arabic, even in public, and in my culture, and in my music and im taking a lot of pride in the fact that I can write and read Arabic and speak and write it fluently.

K: Do you feel that when people write in Arabizi, they kind of cheapen the Arabic language?

H: Not on whatsapp, because I understand, its faster to communicate, inno I do it all the time, but on facebook, like I said, if its something serious, im just making a statement and its written in Arabizi, the seriousnesss goes, but im not gonna judge someone if hes posting something in Arabizi, masalan “kent sayyi2 w kent ktir sakran” c’est vite fait.

K: And I notice that when you post in Arabizi, you have conversations with Hamza or Sammy Serhan, where you, titmanyako 3a ba3d, it's a very manyake form of speaking when using Arabizi.

H: Eh exactly, it is manyake, bas something new that I discovered in myself, is that I always wanted to do that bas inno cuz I work in film, and everytime I wanna make a film I think of it in Arabic, like in local Lebanese, the titles, in English and Arabic, there has to be Arabic present.

K: But you feel the need to include English, like to increase audience reach?

H: That and basically to ease commnunication for people who don't understand Arabic, but we grew up like this, especially in what I studied, western cinema, western music, western aesthetics, so… c’est innée.

K: Do you feel that arabizi is always used in the context that you use it in, or do you see it expressed differently?

112 H: I noticed actually, you know the memory thing on Facebook, that posts were mostly written in a serious context but now that these people grew up, theyre proudly writing in Arabic.

K: So you feel its like an old school thing?

H: More or less, yes, bas ce n’est tellement facile, its not that simple bas maybe yes, I do kind of feel that way

K: and when you see posts in Arabic masalan, do you feel that is harder for you to read it, or that you’re more likely to read it or less?

H: Neither, but at times when you have a thing in Arabic, and they give you the translation in English, not autotranslate, when they post it in Arabic and then translate it to English in the same post, I do read the Arabic first, but just to make sure that I completely understood what was written, I read the English as well.

K: So you need a bit of support when you read the Arabic, as way to make sure you completely understood everything ?

H: Yes exactly, I don’t understand Arabic very well, but in Arabic you can express yourself in a billion words, which I might not know, so just to make sure I read the English, but to return to your question, if I read something in Arabic I will be interested.

K: So its not unattractive in your eyes?

H: No, au contraire, it attracts me more

K: Last question, do you feel that in way Arabizi is dying and Arabic is taking its place or you feel that it will always be there for specific things online?

113

H: No I think it will always be there, as you said, like for communication, faster give and take, ca facilite beaucoup de chose, bas Arabic as a language, as a form and as aesthetic and culture, for my generation, I feel its more and more, getting acknowledged. Bas masalan, imagine im watching a Lebanese film, tan 2ool ismo, imagine Hala2 La Wayn est sorti, and you have the English title, and the title in Arabizi, well that doesn't work. And in Lebanese cinema, we always always, every Lebanese film, during and after the war mostly, they had the Arabic title and the others were mostly French titles, genre Kharij el 7ayat was Hors La Vie, Risala min El Abb, les … des Desire, Phantomes Beirut, Ashba7 Beirut, West Beirut, Beyrouthe el Gharbieh tu vois? But theyre in French not English.

K: yea, I guess the popularity of French was overshadowed by English.

H: Like you have exceptions like Jeel el 7areb is War Generation beceause it's a catchy title, but the directors are French educated.

FACEBOOK MESSENGER INTERVIEWS

Safa Hamza

∙ Kelly Sadek ​ ​ ​ Can you start by introducing yourself, how old you are, what you do and the social media accounts you are most active on Safa Hamza safa hamzeh, 20, comm arts/journalism graduate,

i use facebook, twitter, tumblr, instagram and less snapchat

im mostly active on twitter and facebook

ill start with the inactive ones

114 i use tumblr as an obsever and use english mainly facebook i use both i communicate in english with young people who dont use arabic i communicate mainly in arabic wiht my lets call it"intellectual syrian friends" Kelly Sadek Okay, and do you whatsapp? Safa Hamza i rarely use arabizi ah yes i do whatsapp is the only place i use arabizi in but the thing is i dont use arabizi mpstly because it is faster to type in a standard keyboard Kelly Sadek Okay, so why do you use Arabizi on whatsapp only? Safa Hamza and not transliterations ok i think because it is the most unsupervised platform Kelly Sadek The keyboard of you phone or your laptop, or both? Safa Hamza both Kelly Sadek Ahh okay Safa Hamza like i wouldnbt use it on twitter or facebook i havee a different audience Kelly Sadek How come? Safa Hamza taht would be judging

115 because it is no longer fashionable and less intellectual; while on whatssapp i only use it with close friends, and the platform is less serious and faster if i talk to say uncl;es on whatsapp i switch to arabic keyboard if i talk to someone semi­fornally Kelly Sadek So you feel its mainly appropriate for chatting with friends and family? Safa Hamza i use arb/eng yes on whatsapp you just act hayala on other platforms you try ti maintain a persona aw a character that is made of your content and tone Kelly Sadek I see Safa Hamza aw used language Kelly Sadek And what kind of persona are you trying to portray with your language choices?

Have you ever felt frustrated because you could not express yourself the you wanted to when writing in Arabic? Safa Hamza semi­intellectual gracious Caucasian character

116 lol jk hmm i think Kelly Sadek Hahaha Safa Hamza humbly id say i am a very old school person so i trry to respect standardized language i do use dialects but it would often be not serious no i can totally convey my ideas in arabic unless it is very technical/academic and i am not familiar with the terminology i switch to english i do that in my speech as well Kelly Sadek Alright, but in cases when you use Arabizi, do you feel that you are more expressive? Safa Hamza not really english would be better because usually i communicate with young people on these platforms and these are memes mediums pop mediums pop/memes are in english so pop language would be in english as well yekhreb bayton Kelly Sadek Hahaha

The times that you use Arabizi when chatting,do you think there is a specific identity you are trying to reflect?

117 Especially amongst your friends Safa Hamza not really it is the most carefree one aw not limited one Kelly Sadek So you use it when you're talking about anything? Safa Hamza yeah unless it is easier to talk in english Kelly Sadek Not only when you're, let's say, trying to be funny or "3am titmanyake" Safa Hamza yes Kelly Sadek Okay, and have you always had this way communicating online? Safa Hamza no id say few years ago i used to use arabizi more frequently Kelly Sadek Ya, why do you think that it? is* Safa Hamza idk maybe it was more popular back then in my circles Kelly Sadek Why do you think it was more popular then? Safa Hamza social media was something new and maybe people were looking for a way to use it and communicate aw to combine ben their own language and the language of that platform Kelly Sadek Yes exactly, and as a person who experienced this transition, do you feel that there is a difference in the tone or manner that Lebanese people are communicating on such platforms?

118 As in do you think the language they choose to speak in, whether Arabic, Arabizi, or English, somewhat defines their online identity? Safa Hamza not in my social niche. cz you know that what i accept as friend or follow as a tweep would become my oonline circle so if i went to other oonline circles id be surprised it is still widely used among people like i work at a marketing company and i manage social media accounts a good part of the comment is arbizi comments im not sure maybe it is the most convenient to them cz it is easier to use latin characters on a digital device idk Kelly Sadek Yes for the most part, many users tend see Arabizi as quicker and simpler to use online

And your Facebook and Twitter, they are set in English?

As in the platforms language interface is in English? Safa Hamza yes because the english setup is shit \ the arabic* Kelly Sadek Have you ever tried it? Safa Hamza not completely accurate in translation or practical Kelly Sadek

119 Oh yea?

Do you have an example? Safa Hamza no but i know from my PC setup and other users maybe cz i am used to english yeah like how features are translated Kelly Sadek I see Safa Hamza it is annoying sort of Kelly Sadek Why is it annoying

In what way?

Do you have an example that your friends once told you about concerning the Arabic interfaces? Safa Hamza no cant think of any one more thing i mix sometimes when i want to use an arabic expression like: yaane bas aw Kelly Sadek And what compels you to mix? Safa Hamza i feel like it is unconscious i dont think of it precisely it just comes out naturally and i think because i am so used to using more than one language and code swithcing Kelly Sadek Is this the same when you speak? Safa Hamza

120 yeah Kelly Sadek Ahh yea, that's a very Lebanese thing I think, I do it often

Actually, my sentences are always mixed when speaking to Lebanese people Safa Hamza it is common among bilingual people mixing is more expressive Kelly Sadek Yea it is!

And which platform do you find it easier to post on? Safa Hamza tq=witter Kelly Sadek Like is it easier for you to post Arabic on twitter than it is on Facebook, or something like that

Okay, how come? Safa Hamza no in general Kelly Sadek So you don't feel that the platform facilitates your choice of language? Safa Hamza mbalas as i said :p it depend one the extent of freedom of expression that you have pm that platform Kelly Sadek Well, I mean the actual architecture of the platform

Like have you ever felt restricted by the 140 character count on twitter?

Has it ever influenced what language you choose to type in? Safa Hamza no i dont think it is relevant Kelly Sadek

121 As in, if you wanted to express something in English, but there were too many characters, so you decide to say it in Arabic Safa Hamza if you are good at expression you can use hayala language plus you cna add a follow up tweet :p it is twitter afterall Kelly Sadek I see! so for you, what regulates you language choice is the audience on the platform?

Haha true true Safa Hamza yes and feasibility or convenience Kelly Sadek Okay

My final question, is just about your opinion of Arabizi, why do you like or not like it, do you think it that it pushes Lebanese people away from their national roots or something

Just tell me what you think about Arabizi in general and what do you think its future might be? Safa Hamza yeah totally because we care about arabic no but ive seen patters those who stick to non native languages like to demonstrate some kind of capability and to dissociate themselves from the language used by the masses those using arabic exclusively like to demonstrate authenticity and hold their tradition and maybe intellectualism

122 Hassan Sleit

Kelly Sadek Can you start by introducing yourself and what is it you do?

Haha good:) Hassan Sleit oki bass 7aa jewbik bik 3arabee ente 3melee translate

:p Kelly Sadek Eh 3ade! Hassan Sleit yala Kelly Sadek W adde 3omrak Hassan Sleit esmee hassan jamal sleit men day3aa esma ain w zein bil shouf , 3omre 26 sene , elee 2 y m5araj architecture andd décoration ... maa beshte8ill bii shhedte l2anoo maa fii ma7al laa moustaweyee l3elmee w eza bade eshte8il balish 500 $ ... Kelly Sadek Okay

And what is your involvement with the You Stink campaign? Hassan Sleit asdik l7amlee .. sa7 ? Kelly Sadek Eh el movement

Ya3ne how did you participate Bil movement, nzilit 3al sheri3, you posted or shared things on Facebook, hek ossas Hassan Sleit ana kenet shab moutatawi3 metell ayaa shabb kenn bye7lam bii balad mdiff 5elee men fasedd .. Kelly Sadek Eh, w kif sharakit

123 Hassan Sleit asdik eno kiff t3arafet 3alayon ? w hek osas ? Kelly Sadek Inno how did you help the movement, ya3ne did you protest, did you share statuses on Facebook, did you share posts from their page?

Kif sa3adton ta 7areb el fased Bil balad Hassan Sleit ok kenet reji3 men she8lee w tala3et 3ala tv w shefet arabtee asaaad 3am yekoll atlee :p elet 3alayee w 3ala 2a3de2ee w shefet shabeb 3am ta3moll mousta7ill laa twasill sawtaa elet maa fii mahrabb manee 2a2all menon w betzakar kenn 18 abb te8yirr bii hayetee

7ewalet 2a3mol na2lee bi hayeteee .. metell sawraa 3ala nafsee bi 7okom eno men 3aylee m7afzaa mamnou3 ta3tee ra2yaa 8err lrouss kkbiree Kelly Sadek Okay, and what social media platforms do you use the most? (Facdbook, whatsapp, twitter etc) Hassan Sleit bi 7okom eno 3ayletnaa m2admee lal hezeb eshtirakee ktirr faa kenitt metell na2mee 3alayee bass karamtee w sa2aftee w 3elmee maa byesma7o dall sekitt 3an 8alat ararett se3idd shabeb bi kell emkeniyetee w nzelet ma3on 3ala tari22 rafa3ett sawteee w tmaradet 3ala khat li kenoo meshyin ahlee fii laa za3imonn maa benkorr t3aradett ktirrr laa dou8outat eno wa2ifff li 3amm ba3mloo bass bya3rfounee eno maa bsheri3 ella 3ala 7a2 ... w men honee ejit awall mousheraktee ma3 shabeb kenitt bi 19 ­ 8

124 Kelly Sadek And did you use social media platforms to express your opinions on the situation? Hassan Sleit w yawmetaa akalnaa atlee w nrashaynaa may bas kermell tjara2tee w tmaradtee 3alayon ... w ehh sta3malet social media l2ano bi nazaree maa fi ensen maa byet2asar men hall eshyaa w aktar shiu besta3mloo houwe facebook ... Kelly Sadek Okay, and which ones did you use the most? (Facebook, whatsapp, Twitter, Instagram)?

What about whatsapp? Hassan Sleit l2ano a8labiyet aw bik a7raa kell l3alam 3andaa account w 3alee khabar byente2ill bser3aa bil * Kelly Sadek Okay, what is the language your Facebook is in? Hassan Sleit whats up houwe kenit wasilet tawasoll baynaa w ben shabeb laa ne7kee w netra7 shii action na3mella bi 7okom telephonetnaa mra2abee kenet ektobb bil English w bil español bi 7okom 3eshet 3 y bi spain Kelly Sadek Okay, and when you would write posts on your Facebook about the movement, what language did you use? Arabic, English, or Arabizi?

Ah okay Hassan Sleit laa wasill laa ref2atee lii bi espaniaa kif 3amlin sawraa 3ala fasedd Kelly Sadek Bta3rif shou hiyye el Arabizi? Hassan Sleit

125 katibet inter :p ? Kelly Sadek Eh hahaha Hassan Sleit hahahaha kenet ektoh bil 3arabee kamen :p ektob :p Kelly Sadek Bas shi marra katabet post Bil Arabizi, because you seem to use it a lot when chatting? Hassan Sleit ehh eza kenet mnazal post :p shii video sayir shii w bade efda7 fii kenet esta3moll arabizi :p Kelly Sadek Okay, and which is easier for you to type in, Arabic or Arabizi? Hassan Sleit l2ano a8labiyet l3alam bterte7 fii :p w ana awalon .. arabizi ... Kelly Sadek Why do you think? Hassan Sleit aw español l2ano lo8aa haynee stahwantaa aktar men english arabizi l2ano maa fi ensen naa bya3rif ... :p naza3naa l7areb englize :p laa nhayin 3ala l3alam :p Kelly Sadek Okay, and for you, it's okay to use Arabizi in any situation? Hassan Sleit 7asabb sha5ess .. metell shii sa7afee ajnabiyee kenet etar esta3mol ma3aa lo8aa ta3iyetaa Kelly Sadek Explain a situation where you choose to use arabizi and one where you chose to use Arabic Hassan Sleit arabic bas tkounee 3am ta3mle makall w badik aktar ness te2raa ... faa men laye2aa tektbee arabic Kelly Sadek Okay, and when do you think it's most appropriate to use Arabizi, in what context?

126 Ya3ne when are the times you use Arabizi? For what purpose? Hassan Sleit bass badik tetmas5aree 3ala shi wazirr aw shi neyib bi baladnaa li henee 3amlinaa mas5araa lali byeswaa w li maa byeswaa Kelly Sadek Okay, w inta, when you're chatting 3ala whatsapp aw 3a Facebook messenger, you use arabizi mostly, aw marra sta3malet el 3arabeh? Hassan Sleit w 3ala twitter :p bass stalamnaa mashnou2 kermell osit postetoo :p w khasatan post shahir 3an bar8ash w li men warahaa balak noss sha3eb lebnenee anaa besta3moll arabizi

97 % l2ano berte7 fiyaa :p ma3 enoo 8alat arabic besta3mloo eza shi 7adan maa bya3riff lo8et arabizi besta3mello lo8aa li bado yehaa bass afdaliyee lal arabizi Kelly Sadek Okay, and why do you think berte7 fiya aktar? Hassan Sleit l2anoo bteherbee menaa men maferi2 lo8aa w hek 5barr w bet waslee fekertik bi shoulee Kelly Sadek Okay, Bas would you ever write in Arabizi on when actually writing something that is not on the Internet? Hassan Sleit kif ya3ne ? Kelly Sadek Masalan ma3 war2a w 2alam, iza baddak te7ke 3arabeh, btiktob Bil Arabizi aw arabeh 3ade?

127 3rifit shou azde? Hassan Sleit no arabee bass eza riselit 8aram :p metel maa kenaa wledd :p law kenet ektebaa arabizi Kelly Sadek Okay, fa izan, for you, why do think its easier to type in arabizi online over Arabic? Fi shi reason m3ayyan? Hassan Sleit enoo haydee le8it l2omm maa finaa net8ayar aw notla3 menaa Kelly Sadek Masalan, maybe the keyboard on your laptop ma3ando Arabic symbols, aw la2anno mannak m3awad te7ke arabeh 3al internet? Hassan Sleit ana mane m3awad 2e7kee arabee 3ala internet bass keyboard 3ala laptop maa fi arabic symbols Kelly Sadek Okay, Bas did you put the Arabic keyboard option on your phone? Hassan Sleit yess w 7ataa 7atit español Kelly Sadek Okay, and how often do you use the Arabic keyboard? Hassan Sleit bas :p yetla3lee 7adan maa bya3riff ye2raa arabizi :p aw bade efda7 shii safa2aa ... Kelly Sadek ahh okay

Tab do you think Arabizi can be used professionally? Hassan Sleit noo

128 akid no bas hiyee badill laa lo8it lom l2om * Kelly Sadek Okay, w do you think Arabizi might have an affect on the identity of Lebanese people? Hassan Sleit kif ya3ne ? Kelly Sadek Inno concerning kif bye7ko, kif bi bfakro

La2anno fi ktir 3alam bit 2oul Inno Arabizi 3am bit 2assir 3ala kif el 3alam sarit bte7ke w tektob 3arabe, w kif hayde 3am bit 2assir 3ala el identity taba3ne

Ka2anno sayreen western aktar aw relying more on English language than our own mother language Hassan Sleit halla2 eh fiyaa te2sirr Kelly Sadek T2assaret 3alek shi? Hassan Sleit halla2 ehh shaway Kelly Sadek Kif? Hassan Sleit enoo badell maa esta3mol english Kelly Sadek Shou asdak? Hassan Sleit eno masalan halla2 fiyee ektebonn bil english bass re7ett laa ahayn shii ... eno 3am t5alee ensen ra5ouu w heke Kelly Sadek Ahhh okay

129 W inta, wa2ta btista3mol English aw bit shouf 7adan lebnene 3am byiktob shi Bil English 3ala Facebook, what do you think of them? Hassan Sleit hehehhee :p mashii niyello shou ello khele2 ...

130 9.2 Coding Manual

Red=Arabic

Blue= English

Yellow=French

Orange= Arabizy

Arabic+Arabizy=Grey

English+Arabizy=Green

French+Arabizy=Purple

Arabic+English=Black

French+Arabic= Brown

Emoji=Light Blue

131 9.3 Links to Top Ten Most Commented Facebook Posts

https://www.facebook.com/tol3etre7etkom/videos/165228563170 0218/ https://www.facebook.com/tol3etre7etkom/videos/166252546400 9568/ https://www.facebook.com/tol3etre7etkom/videos/170146232011 5882/ https://www.facebook.com/tol3etre7etkom/posts/163452779680 9335 https://www.facebook.com/tol3etre7etkom/videos/162808539745 3575/ https://www.facebook.com/tol3etre7etkom/posts/163064950719 7164 https://www.facebook.com/tol3etre7etkom/videos/162970422062 5026/ https://www.facebook.com/tol3etre7etkom/posts/163407596685 4518 https://www.facebook.com/tol3etre7etkom/posts/163068986052 6462:0 https://www.facebook.com/tol3etre7etkom/posts/164954601530 7513

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