The Evolution of the Arabic Language Through Online Writing: the Explosion of 2011
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Automatic Identification of Arabic Language Varieties and Dialects in Social Media
Automatic Identification of Arabic Language Varieties and Dialects in Social Media Fatiha Sadat Farnazeh Kazemi Atefeh Farzindar University of Quebec in NLP Technologies Inc. NLP Technologies Inc. Montreal, 201 President Ken- 52 Le Royer Street W., 52 Le Royer Street W., nedy, Montreal, QC, Canada Montreal, QC, Canada Montreal, QC, Canada [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Abstract Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is the formal language in most Arabic countries. Arabic Dia- lects (AD) or daily language differs from MSA especially in social media communication. However, most Arabic social media texts have mixed forms and many variations especially be- tween MSA and AD. This paper aims to bridge the gap between MSA and AD by providing a framework for AD classification using probabilistic models across social media datasets. We present a set of experiments using the character n-gram Markov language model and Naive Bayes classifiers with detailed examination of what models perform best under different condi- tions in social media context. Experimental results show that Naive Bayes classifier based on character bi-gram model can identify the 18 different Arabic dialects with a considerable over- all accuracy of 98%. 1 Introduction Arabic is a morphologically rich and complex language, which presents significant challenges for nat- ural language processing and its applications. It is the official language in 22 countries spoken by more than 350 million people around the world1. Moreover, the Arabic language exists in a state of diglossia where the standard form of the language, Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and the regional dialects (AD) live side-by-side and are closely related (Elfardy and Diab, 2013). -
The Late Sheikh Abdullah Azzam's Books
Combating Terrorism Center Guest Commentary The Late Sheikh Abdullah Azzam’s Books Part III: Radical Theories on Defending Muslim Land through Jihad LCDR Youssef Aboul‐Enein, MSC, USN The Combating Terrorism Center United States Military Academy West Point, NY http://www.ctc.usma.edu Please direct all inquiries to Brian Fishman [email protected] 845.938.2801 Introduction Sheikh Abdullah Azzam is a name that only gets attention among true students of Islamist militancy, yet he has had a tremendous impact on Usama Bin Laden and left him with the tools needed to establish a global jihadist network. Azzam was born in Jenin, Palestine in 1941, and was evicted from his hometown of Jenin in the 1967 Six‐Day War. He spent years pursuing his studies in Islamic jurisprudence attending university in Syria and graduating with a doctorate in Islamic studies from the prestigious Al‐Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. He was nicknamed the fighting cleric for his obsession with jihadist ideology and the militant works of ibn Taymiyyah (1258 AD). Azzam believed the only way to reclaim his lost homeland was through violent jihad which later became his bsession. On or about 1980, Azzam realized that the Arab jihadists fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan required organization, safe house, and structure. He established Maktab al‐Khidmat lil Mujahideen (The Services Offices for Arab Jihadists) which attracted Usama Bin Laden, then graduating from King Abdul‐ Aziz University to join his new venture. Azzam convinced Bin Laden that his financial connections, business experience, and dedication would be of great use to his new organization in Pakistan. -
Al-Qaida Sanctions List Last Updated on 12 December 2014
Al-Qaida Sanctions List Last updated on 12 December 2014 The List established and maintained by the Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee with respect to individuals, groups, undertakings and other entities associated with Al-Qaida Last updated on: 12 December 2014 Composition of the List The list consists of the two sections specified below: A. Individuals associated with Al Qaida B. Entities and other groups and undertakings associated with Al Qaida Information about de-listing may be found on the Committee's website at: http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/delisting.shtml . A. Individuals associated with Al-Qaida QI.A.12.01. Name: 1: NASHWAN 2: ABD AL-RAZZAQ 3: ABD AL-BAQI 4: na وان د ارزاق د ا :(Name (original script Title: na Designation: na DOB: 1961 POB: Mosul, Iraq Good quality a.k.a.: a) Abdal Al-Hadi Al-Iraqi b) Abd Al-Hadi Al-Iraqi Low quality a.k.a.: Abu Abdallah Nationality: Iraqi Passport no.: na National identification no.: na Address: na Listed on: 6 Oct. 2001 (amended on 14 May 2007, 27 Jul. 2007) Other information: Al-Qaida senior official. In custody of the United States of America, as of July 2007. Review pursuant to Security Council resolution 1822 (2008) was concluded on 15 Jun. 2010. QI.A.157.04. Name: 1: ABD AL WAHAB 2: ABD AL HAFIZ 3: na 4: na د اوھب د اظ :(Name (original script Title: na Designation: na DOB: 7 Sep. 1967 POB: Algiers, Algeria Good quality a.k.a.: a) Ferdjani Mouloud b) Rabah Di Roma c) Abdel Wahab Abdelhafid, born 30 Oct. -
Satellite Television and Public Sphere in Egypt: Is There a Link? Dr
Satellite Television and Public Sphere in Egypt: Is there a Link? Dr. Basyouni Ibrahim Hamada Professor of Communication, Cairo University Acting Dean, Faculty of Mass Communication, MSA University www.crcegypt.com Introduction Among the most salient developments in present societies are fundamental and rapid changes of mass media. Public discussions and academic literature are speculating on the societal consequences of these changes. There is a concern that media changes contribute to a deterioration of the political process in general and to a fragmentation of the public sphere and an increase of political cynicism in particular (Schulz, in Splichal, 2001). Research on this area has mixed conclusions on how communication technologies affect the public sphere. More importantly is that political and communication sciences literature on democratization offer little guidance on the hypothesized relationship between electronic communications and public sphere and the level of democracy within a nation. This is of course not surprising; given the novelty of the Internet, e-mail, direct satellite broadcasting and even the widespread availability of fax machines. (Hill & Hughes). On the other hand, we should not read the ongoing broadcast transformation as a linear process leading to a truly independent and critical political role for television in contemporary Arab societies. The emergencies of commercial television and the restructuring of government-operated systems are in no way conducive to political pluralism and diversity in Arab societies dominated by authoritarian political systems (Aysh, 2002). I argue that most of questions about the impact of satellite television on the public sphere in the Arab world have not been answered yet and what has been written on the subject reflects individual understanding of the hypothesized links between developments of satellite television and that of public sphere. -
Saudi Dialects: Are They Endangered?
Academic Research Publishing Group English Literature and Language Review ISSN(e): 2412-1703, ISSN(p): 2413-8827 Vol. 2, No. 12, pp: 131-141, 2016 URL: http://arpgweb.com/?ic=journal&journal=9&info=aims Saudi Dialects: Are They Endangered? Salih Alzahrani Taif University, Saudi Arabia Abstract: Krauss, among others, claims that languages will face death in the coming centuries (Krauss, 1992). Austin (2010a) lists 7,000 languages as existing and spoken in the world today. Krauss estimates that this figure could come down to 600. That is, most the world's languages are endangered. Therefore, an endangered language is a language that loses her speakers within a few generations. According to Dorian (1981), there is what is called ―tip‖ in language endangerment. He argues that a language's decline can start slowly but suddenly goes through a rapid decline towards the extinction. Thus, languages must be protected at much earlier stage. Arabic dialects such as Zahrani Spoken Arabic (ZSA), and Faifi Spoken Arabic (henceforth, FSA), which are spoken in the southern region of Saudi Arabia, have not been studied, yet. Few people speak these dialects, among many other dialects in the same region. However, the problem is that most these dialects' native speakers are moving to other regions in Saudi Arabia where they use other different dialects. Therefore, are these dialects endangered? What other factors may cause its endangerment? Have they been documented before? What shall we do? This paper discusses three main different points regarding this issue: language and endangerment, languages documentation and description and Arabic language and its family, giving a brief history of Saudi dialects comparing their situation with the whole existing dialects. -
A Comprehensive NLP System for Modern Standard Arabic and Modern Hebrew
A Comprehensive NLP System for Modern Standard Arabic and Modern Hebrew Morphological analysis, lemmatization, vocalization, disambiguation and text-to-speech Dror Kamir Naama Soreq Yoni Neeman Melingo Ltd. Melingo Ltd. Melingo Ltd. 16 Totseret Haaretz st. 16 Totseret Haaretz st. 16 Totseret Haaretz st. Tel-Aviv, Israel Tel-Aviv, Israel Tel-Aviv, Israel [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Abstract 1 Introduction This paper presents a comprehensive NLP sys- 1.1 The common Semitic basis from an NLP tem by Melingo that has been recently developed standpoint for Arabic, based on MorfixTM – an operational formerly developed highly successful comprehen- Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Modern Hebrew (MH) share the basic Semitic traits: rich sive Hebrew NLP system. morphology, based on consonantal roots (Jiðr / The system discussed includes modules for Šoreš)1, which depends on vowel changes and in morphological analysis, context sensitive lemmati- some cases consonantal insertions and deletions to zation, vocalization, text-to-phoneme conversion, create inflections and derivations.2 and syntactic-analysis-based prosody (intonation) For example, in MSA: the consonantal root model. It is employed in applications such as full /ktb/ combined with the vocalic pattern CaCaCa text search, information retrieval, text categoriza- derives the verb kataba ‘to write’. This derivation tion, textual data mining, online contextual dic- is further inflected into forms that indicate seman- tionaries, filtering, and text-to-speech applications tic features, such as number, gender, tense etc.: katab-tu ‘I wrote’, katab-ta ‘you (sing. masc.) in the fields of telephony and accessibility and wrote’, katab-ti ‘you (sing. fem.) wrote, ?a-ktubu could serve as a handy accessory for non-fluent ‘I write/will write’, etc. -
The Ḥaram Al-Sharīf No. 302 (MSR XXII 2019)
An Arabic Marriage Contract and Subsequent Divorce from Mamluk Jerusalem: The Ḥaram al-Sharīf No. 302 iruhammaMuhamMuhaMBruham A Marriage Contract and Divorce Muhammad N. Abdul-Rahman King Faisal University An Arabic Marriage Contract and Subsequent Divorce from Mamluk Jerusalem: The Ḥaram al-Sharīf No. 302 Introduction Documents from the Ḥaram al-Sharīf 1 are considered to be among the most im- portant historical sources from Mamluk Jerusalem because there are so few nar- 10.6082/pkrn-4q45 rative or documentary sources that chronicle the city in this period. In addition, URI they are the oldest extant documents concerning the affairs of the city’s Muslims in particular, and its Jews and Christians in general. Among the most important of the Ḥaram al-Sharīf documents are those related to the situation of dhimmīs in Jerusalem during the Mamluk era. 2 As is well known, the Jews and Christians shared their lives in Jerusalem with Muslims, and the mingling of customs and traditions was a defining characteristic of the society of medieval Jerusalem. This is a revised version of a paper given at Writing Semitic: Scripts, Documents, Languages in Historical Context: The Sixth International Society for Arabic Papyrology Conference, hosted by the Committee of Semitic Philology of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 7–10 October 2014. I would like to thank Matt Malczycki and Lucian Reinfandt, as well as the anonymous reader, for their helpful remarks on my edition of the document and for their useful comments on this paper. I am also grateful to them for checking my English. -
Classical and Modern Standard Arabic Marijn Van Putten University of Leiden
Chapter 3 Classical and Modern Standard Arabic Marijn van Putten University of Leiden The highly archaic Classical Arabic language and its modern iteration Modern Standard Arabic must to a large extent be seen as highly artificial archaizing reg- isters that are the High variety of a diglossic situation. The contact phenomena found in Classical Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic are therefore often the re- sult of imposition. Cases of borrowing are significantly rarer, and mainly found in the lexical sphere of the language. 1 Current state and historical development Classical Arabic (CA) is the highly archaic variety of Arabic that, after its cod- ification by the Arab Grammarians around the beginning of the ninth century, becomes the most dominant written register of Arabic. While forms of Middle Arabic, a style somewhat intermediate between CA and spoken dialects, gain some traction in the Middle Ages, CA remains the most important written regis- ter for official, religious and scientific purposes. From the moment of CA’s rise to dominance as a written language, the whole of the Arabic-speaking world can be thought of as having transitioned into a state of diglossia (Ferguson 1959; 1996), where CA takes up the High register and the spoken dialects the Low register.1 Representation in writing of these spoken dia- lects is (almost) completely absent in the written record for much of the Middle Ages. Eventually, CA came to be largely replaced for administrative purposes by Ottoman Turkish, and at the beginning of the nineteenth century, it was function- ally limited to religious domains (Glaß 2011: 836). -
Timeline .Pdf
Timeline of Egyptian History 1 Ancient Egypt (Languages: Egyptian written in hieroglyphics and Hieratic script) Timeline of Egyptian History 2 Early Dynastic Period 3100–2686 BCE • 1st & 2nd Dynasty • Narmer aka Menes unites Upper & Lower Egypt • Hieroglyphic script developed Left: Narmer wearing the crown of Lower Egypt, the “Deshret”, or Red Crown Center: the Deshret in hieroglyphics; Right: The Red Crown of Lower Egypt Narmer wearing the crown of Upper Egypt, the “Hedjet”, or White Crown Center: the Hedjet in hieroglyphics; Right: The White Crown of Upper Egypt Pharaoh Djet was the first to wear the combined crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, the “Pschent” (pronounced Pskent). Timeline of Egyptian History 3 Old Kingdom 2686–2181 BCE • 3rd – 6th Dynasty • First “Step Pyramid” (mastaba) built at Saqqara for Pharaoh Djoser (aka Zoser) Left: King Djoser (Zoser), Righr: Step pyramid at Saqqara • Giza Pyramids (Khufu’s pyramid – largest for Pharaoh Khufu aka Cheops, Khafra’s pyramid, Menkaura’s pyramid – smallest) Giza necropolis from the ground and the air. Giza is in Lower Egypt, mn the outskirts of present-day Cairo (the modern capital of Egypt.) • The Great Sphinx built (body of a lion, head of a human) Timeline of Egyptian History 4 1st Intermediate Period 2181–2055 BCE • 7th – 11th Dynasty • Period of instability with various kings • Upper & Lower Egypt have different rulers Middle Kingdom 2055–1650 BCE • 12th – 14th Dynasty • Temple of Karnak commences contruction • Egyptians control Nubia 2nd Intermediate Period 1650–1550 BCE • 15th – 17th Dynasty • The Hyksos come from the Levant to occupy and rule Lower Egypt • Hyksos bring new technology such as the chariot to Egypt New Kingdom 1550–1069 BCE (Late Egyptian language) • 18th – 20th Dynasty • Pharaoh Ahmose overthrows the Hyksos, drives them out of Egypt, and reunites Upper & Lower Egypt • Pharaoh Hatshepsut, a female, declares herself pharaoh, increases trade routes, and builds many statues and monuments. -
Incarceration As a Gateway to Wonder in the Poetry of Ahmed Fouad Negm
Contemporary Literary Review India CLRI Print ISSN 2250-3366 | Online ISSN 2394-6075 Vol. 7, No. 4: CLRI November 2020 | p 1-27 Incarceration as a Gateway to Wonder in the Poetry of Ahmed Fouad Negm Ahsan Ul Haq Ph D Research Scholar, Dept. of English, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, J & K. Abstract Ahmed Fouad Negm (1929-2013), was an Egyptian poet writing poetry in colloquial Arabic. He is one of the most celebrated revolutionary poet of Egypt. Negm was arrests and imprisoned multiple times for his outspoken and dissent voice. It was behind the prison walls that he found his voice. His prison poetry has strong impact on the minds of Egyptian folk, and inspires resistance against the dictatorship and regimes. Negm, remains the most popular and vernacular poet of Egypt. Typifying the artist’s progress, from inside the prison/jail Negm continues to speak for the voiceless Egyptians. This paper is an attempt study his prison poetry, and how jail/prison infused spark in his art. The paper will Contemporary Literary Review India | pISSN 2250-3366 / eISSN 2394-6075 | Vol. 7, No. 4: CLRI November 2020 | Page 1 Incarceration as a Gateway to Wonder in the Poetry of Ahmed Fouad Negm | Ahsan Ul haq examine some of the best prison testimonials translate in English. Keywords: Ahmed Fouad Negm, prison/jail, incarceration/imprisonment, revolution, poetry. Introduction The themes of incarceration and exile are predominant in the poetry of Egyptian Vernacular poet, Ahmed Fouad Negm (1929-2013), who spent eighteen years of his life prisons. Negm was nicknamed as Al-Fagomi (the impulsive). -
Togo Mizrahi and the Making of Egyptian Cinema
8 Frames of Influence Anouar Sedki, the frustrated star of the filmI Sacrifice My Honor, vents his pent- up rage at the film’s director, Kayro Jacobi. “It’s always like that with you others,” Sedki barks. “We, the Egyptians . you duped us, you cheated us out of our salary, you made us wait long hours in dressing rooms and stifling studios, you insulted us with your arrogance. But everything comes to an end, and one day—” Jacobi interrupts, “What do you mean by ‘you others’? Explain.” “You others, khawagat.“ Jacobi responds, “Khawalat? No one has ever done that to me.”1 Sedki and Jacobi are characters in a novel by Paula Jacques, Kayro Jacobi, juste avant l’oublie (Kayro Jacobi, Just before Oblivion, 2010). The eponymous character, a Jewish Egyptian cinema director and producer, was inspired by the life and work of Togo Mizrahi.2 For her francophone readers, Jacques glosses the colloquial Arabic word play between actor and director as follows: “khawagat = foreigners; khawalat = inverts [sic], homosexuals.”3 In this scene, set in 1952, the fictional actor, Anouar Sedki, spouts Egyptian nationalist-inflected stereotypes at the Jewish director, calling him a duplicitous khawaga. Kayro Jacobi parries the actor’s use of the epithet “kha- wagat” with the queer “khawalat.” Jacobi’s retort mimics the way Togo Mizrahi disarmed exclusionary nationalist discourses with the pluralist, queer Levantine. The scene succinctly indexes both the historical context—the inimical environ- ment for Jews in Egypt in the mid–twentieth century—and Jacobi’s/Mizrahi’s queer Levantine cinematic idiom. The novel is framed by the voice of Norma Jacobi, who laments her husband’s drift into obscurity. -
I) If\L /-,7\ .L Ii Lo N\ C, ' II Ii Abstract Approved: 1'
AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Asaad AI-Saleh for the Master of Arts Degree In English presented on _------'I'--'I--'J:..=u:o...1VL.c2=0"--'0"-=S'------ _ Title: Mustafa Sadiq al-Rafii: A Non-recognized Voice in the Chorus ofthe Arabic Literary Revival i) If\l /-,7\ .L Ii lo n\ C, ' II Ii Abstract Approved: 1'. C". C ,\,,: 41-------<..<.LI-hY,-""lA""""","""I,--ft-'t _ '" I) Abstract Mustafa Sadiq al-Rafii, a modem Egyptian writer with classical style, is not studied by scholars of Arabic literature as are his contemporary liberals, such as Taha Hussein. This thesis provides a historical background and a brief literary survey that helps contextualize al-Rafii, the period, and the area he came from. AI-Rafii played an important role in the two literary and intellectual schools during the Arabic literary revival, which extended from the French expedition (1798-1801) to around the middle of the twentieth century. These two schools, known as the Old and the New, vied to shape the literature and thought of Egypt and other Arab countries. The former, led by al-Rafii, promoted a return to classical Arabic styles and tried to strengthen the Islamic identity of Egypt. The latter called for cutting off Egypt from its Arabic history and rejected the dominance and continuity of classical Arabic language. AI-Rafii contributed to the Revival by supporting a line ofthought that has not been favored by pro-Westernization governments, which made his legacy almost forgotten. Deriving his literature from the canon of Arabic language, culture, and history, al-Rafii produced a literature based on a revived version of classical Arabic literature, an accomplishment which makes him unique among modem Arab writers.