UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Voices from the Arabic Classroom: Arabic Learners’ Attitudes toward Using Arabic Religious Terms A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics by Kinda Al Rifae 2017 © Copyright by Kinda Al Rifae 2017 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERATION Voices from the Arabic Classroom: Arabic Learners’ Attitudes toward Using Arabic Religious Terms by Kinda Al Rifae Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics University of California, Los Angeles, 2017 Professor Susan J. Plann, Chair The motivating idea behind this research is the close and dynamic relationship between language, culture, and social identity. In this dissertation, I discuss this relationship in terms of Arabic language learners and focus, in particular, on a unique feature of Arabic—the God- expressions or Allah Lexicon—religious formulae spoken by religious and non-religious people alike in their everyday conversations. These formulae serve myriad communicative functions and are prevalent throughout the Arab world. However, they are also socially and culturally “loaded,” that is, their meanings cannot be derived from the component words themselves but must be deduced from the context in which they are used. As such, there are no “perfect” equivalents to most of these formulae in other languages, and Arabic learners may have difficulty in understanding and/or producing them. Scholarly research has demonstrated that language learning involves the process of acquiring a new identity. For some students, particularly heritage learners, the Allah Lexicon is ii not problematic to this process because they likely feel a personal, familial, ethnic and/or religious resonance when learning and using the phrases. However, I argue that for foreign language learners, the identity acquisition process can be challenging, complex, and difficult: first, because Arabic is distinctively different linguistically and culturally from English; and secondly, because the phrases of the Lexicon strongly evoke a Muslim identity—one that may drastically differ from, or even contradict, the learner’s own conceptions and beliefs. Thus this dissertation explores the ways in which Arabic learners “digest” these Arabic religious expressions. How do they understand these phrases? To what extent are they aware of their social and cultural connotations? Do learners choose to use these phrases or refuse to us them because the terms evoke discomfort? How do learners feel about using phrases that evoke a Muslim identity in the current anti-Islamic climate? The purpose of this study is to shed light on the individual learner and his/her identity shifts and struggles when learning and using Arabic and the God-expressions. Using interviews as a data collection technique, I investigate the questions I have posed and probe learners’ attitudes towards the language and its native speakers, in general, and towards this cultural aspect of Arabic, in particular. Although the main goal of this research is to better understand Arabic learners and know how they receive and perceive what is taught to them, the broader goal is to expose persistent, cultural stereotypes and bridge the gap between English- and Arabic-speaking people. iii The dissertation of Kinda Al Rifae is approved. Michael Cooperson Olga Kagan Olga Yokoyama Susan J. Plann, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2017 iv DEDICATION To my parents, family, and Arabic students v TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Research Questions 4 1.2 Research Significance and Purpose 4 Chapter 2 Linguistic and Cultural Contexts 2.1 The Phenomenon of God-expressions in Arabic 6 2.2 Cultural Specificity of the Arabic Language 13 2.3 Language-specific Stereotypes 16 2.4 Classroom Culture: Arabic Teaching and Learning in the United States 19 2.4.1 Arabic as a Critical-need Language 19 2.4.2 Arabic as a Heritage and Non-Heritage Language 21 2.4.3 Motivation for Learning Arabic 23 Chapter 3 Academic Context 3.1 Arabic God-expressions in the Literature 28 3.2 Sociocultural Considerations 32 3.2.1 Identity Theory 32 3.2.2 Social Construction Theory 35 3.2.3 Critical Applied Linguistics 36 3.3 Culture in the Foreign Language Classroom 37 3.3.1 What is “Arab Culture?” 37 3.3.2 Culture and Language 38 3.4 Conclusion 42 Chapter 4 Methodology 4.1 Why Qualitative Research? 44 4.2 Research Practices 45 4.3 Research Method 47 4.3.1 Observations 47 4.3.2 Interviews 52 4.3.2.1 Interview Protocol 52 4.3.2.2 Interview Questions 53 4.3.2.3 Interview Transcriptions 55 4.4 Data Analysis 56 4.5 Study Participants 57 4.6 Data Collection 59 4.7 Positionality 60 vi Chapter 5 The How and Why of Using Arabic Religious Phrases 5.1 Introduction 64 5.2 FLLs and the Normalization of Arabic through Its Religious Phrases 64 5.2.1 Surmounting Linguistic Difficulties 64 5.2.2 Authenticity and Cultural Integration 68 5.3 Comfort in Using Islamic Phrases: Where Does It Come From? 71 5.4 A Step beyond Comfort: Incorporating the Phrases into English 74 5.5 HLLs and God-expressions 75 5.5.1 Familiarity with the Terms since Childhood 75 5.5.2 Difficulties Mastering the Formulae’s social intricacies 77 5.5.3 Personal Meanings and English Equivalents 79 5.5.4 HLLs’ Usage of God-expressions 81 5.6 Humor and Sarcasm in FLLs’ Use of Religious Phrases 83 5.6.1 Speaking Difficulties and Self-mocking 83 5.6.2 Dissonance between Meaning and Beliefs 85 5.7 HLL Humor and Sarcasm: Dealing with a Muslim Identity 86 5.7.1 Distancing Oneself 86 5.7.1 Asserting Oneself 87 5.7.3 Taking Allah’s Name in Vain 88 5.8 Conclusion 90 Chapter 6 Avoiding and/or Rejecting God-expressions 6.1 Introduction 91 6.2 FLLs’ Discomfort with God-expressions 91 6.2.1 Mild or Temporary Discomfort 91 6.2.2 Discomfort from Fear of Crossing Boundaries and Causing Offense 94 6.2.3 Resisting Islamic Phrases 99 6.3 How and Why HLLs and Semi-HLLs Avoid God-expressions 102 6.3.1 Fear of Being Stereotyped 102 6.3.2 Acknowledgment of the Arab Christian-Muslim Divide 105 6.3.3 Concern about Being Inappropriate 108 6.4 Conclusion 110 Chapter 7 From the Micro of God-expressions to the Macro of Identity: Learning Arabic as an Identity Changer 7.1 Introduction 112 vii 7.2 FLL Changes: Holding More Positive Views 112 7.2.1 Gaining New Cultural Perspectives 113 7.2.2 Seeing Similarities Rather than Differences 117 7. 2.3 Becoming more Compassionate and Curious 120 7.3 Other Components to FLLs’ Attitude Change 123 7.3.1 Language “Complexity” 123 7.3.2 Diglossic Nature of the Language 125 7.3.3 Generosity, Family, and Music 126 7.4 HLLs and Attitude Change 128 7.4.1 More Culturally Informed and Responsible 129 7.4.2 More “Arab” and Prouder 131 7.4.3 HLLs’ Identity Struggles 133 7.4.3.1 Minorities Searching for Their Identity in the Language 133 7.4.3.2 Being Subject to Stigma 134 7.4.3.3 Complex and Shifting Identities 135 7.5 Conclusion 139 Chapter 8 Heritage and Non-Heritage Learners’ Views on Learning Arabic in a Mixed Classroom 8. 1 Introduction 141 8.2 The FLLs’ Perspective 141 8.2.1 Seeking Linguistic and Cultural Authenticity from HLLs 142 8.2.2 Learning from the Diversity of HLLs 146 8.2.3 Enjoying a Safe Learning Environment 148 8.2.4 Balancing Different Levels of Proficiency 151 8.2.4.1 Discomfort Due to Different Levels of Proficiency 151 8.2.4.2 A Transactional Relationship and Equal Status 154 8.2.4.3 Advanced FLLs 156 8.3 The HLLs’ Perspective 157 8.3.1 Finding Benefits in the Mixed Classroom 158 8.3.2 Having the Opportunity to Assert Identity 161 8.3.3 Experiencing Problems in the Mixed Classroom 163 8.3.3.1 Different Proficiency Levels 163 8.3.3.2 Discomfort with Cultural Insensitivity and Social Stigmatization 165 8.4 Conclusion 170 viii Chapter 9 9.1 Introduction 172 9.2 God-expressions and the Teaching and Learning of Arabic 172 9.2.1 Arabic Religious Phrases, Fluency, and Authenticity 173 9.2.2. God-expressions and Identity 177 9.2.2.1 Secularizing Arabic is not the Answer 178 9.2.2.2 Struggling with Identity: FLLs and the God-expressions 179 9.2.2.3 Struggling with Identity: HLLs and the God-expressions 184 9.3 HLLs and the Mixed Classroom: Building a Positive Learning Environment 187 9.3.1 Avoiding censure of HLLs for their “Knowledge” 188 9.3.2. “Knowing” the HLL through Instructor Assessment 190 9.3.3 Developing a curriculum that includes HLLs’ learning needs 191 9.3.4 Making Differentiation a Teaching Approach 195 9.4 Future Research 197 References 199 ix LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1 Five Common Arabic Religious Phrases and their English Translations 14 Table 4.1 Background of Arabic Learners 58 x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the guidance and support of my committee. First, my deepest thanks go to Professor Susan Plann, Committee Chair, for all the useful conversations and advice—from the minute details of writing and organization to the deeper issues of content and analysis. Her expertise in interviewing as a research method helped me develop good interviewing skills, which, in turn, yielded informative data, and her feedback on data transcription, interpretation, and presentation in a scholarly report was invaluable. Moreover, she was always available and very quick to respond to my emails and questions.