Rhode Island College M.Ed. In TESL Program Language Group Specific Informational Reports Produced by Graduate Students in the M.Ed. In TESL Program In the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development Language Group: Arabic Author: Joy Thomas Program Contact Person: Nancy Cloud ([email protected]) http://cache.daylife.com/imagese http://cedarlounge.files.wordpress.com rve/0fxtg1u3mF0zB/340x.jpg /2007/12/3e55be108b958-64-1.jpg Joy http://photos.igougo.com/image Thomas s/p183870-Egypt-Souk.jpg http://www.famous-people.info/pictures/muhammad.jpg Arabic http://blog.ivanj.com/wp- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Learning_Arabi content/uploads/2008/04/dubai-people.jpg http://www.mrdowling.com/images/607arab.jpg c_calligraphy.jpg History • Arabic is either an official language or is spoken by a major portion of the population in the following countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen • Arabic is a Semitic language, it has been around since the 4th century AD • Three different kinds of Arabic: Classical or “Qur’anical” Arabic, Formal or Modern Standard Arabic and Spoken or Colloquial Arabic • Classical Arabic only found in the Qur’an, it is not used in communication, but all Muslims are familiar to some extent with it, regardless of nationality • Arabic is diglosic in nature, as there is a major difference between Modern Standard and Colloquial Arabic • Modern Standard Arabic is a universal form that is known by all and is normally used in poetry, films, radio and TV news broadcasts, plays, and conversation between Arabic-speaking people of different dialects • Colloquial Arabic is spoken and can differ greatly among the Middle Eastern peoples Regional Varieties of Arabic Many dialects are formed from the Classical Arabic, these are infrequently written, though Lebanon and Egypt and a few other dialects do have a lot of literature "Colloquial Arabic" is a term for the many spoken dialects of people throughout the Middle East; some variations differ so greatly that people cannot understand each other if they were to speak in their own dialects The cause for this differentiation of the language is the influence from the languages previously spoken in the given area The major groups are: Egyptian Arabic (Egypt) Considered the most widely understood and used "second dialect" Maghreb Arabic (Tunisian, Algerian, Moroccan, and western Libyan) Hassaniiya (in Mauritania) Andalusi Arabic (extinct, but important role in literary history) Sudanese Arabic (with a dialect continuum into Chad) Levantine Arabic (Syrian, Lebanese, Palestinian, and western Jordanian) Iraqi Arabic Gulf Arabic (Gulf coast from Kuwait to Oman, and minorities on the other side) Hijazi Arabic Najdi Arabic Yemeni Arabic Writing System Arabic is written from right to left There are 28 consonants and 3 vowels, the consonants have 4 forms they are able to be written: at the beginning, middle or end of a word, or in isolation Arabic words are made from three letter “roots” that express a basic concept, other words are made by adding letters before, after, or between these roots to form associated words Words in Arabic are either masculine or feminine, however the feminine gender is also used to express singular nonhuman nouns There are two main tenses: perfect tense, and the imperfect/present tense Two main types of sentence structure are: verbal and nominal sentences. Verbal starts with the verb and is followed by the subject and object. Nominal starts with the noun or subject and is followed by the verb. The Arabic Alphabet http://www.syriatoday.ca/arabic-interactive.htm_txt_letters_cmp.gif Click on letters to see linked video Communication Style Usually acceptable to speak loudly in conversations, some Arabs regard those who speak softly as being frail Arabs speak very fast In some groups it is acceptable to retreat into silence and internal reflection during a conversation Four important factors while having conversations are gestures, intonation, facial expressions and displays of emotion Direct eye contact is very important If a man and a woman have a conversation, there is a lack of eye contact to maintain respect between genders It is often not acceptable for a woman to look a man in the eye Verbal eloquence is greatly valued, rhetorical patterns include: repetition, over assertion, and exaggeration Communication Style (cont’d) Direct answers are difficult to get, a common answer is inshalla (God willing) Communication is often indirect, listeners have to be sensitive to the underlying meaning of the speakers message Generally considered discourteous to say “no”, instead “perhaps” or “maybe” is used. A “tsk, tsk” can mean “no” to an Arab Middle Easterners tend to stand or sit close while in conversation (Americans like to have about 5 feet between their conversation partner, whereas 2 feet is typical with Middle Easterners) Touching during conversation is common Do not wave or shake hands with the left hand, as that hand is considered unclean Linguistic Features to present the most difficulty to Arabic Speakers Phonology Writing, Reading and ► More stressed syllables Punctuation ► Few clearly articulated vowels ► Individual letters are not ► Pronounce silent consonants properly formed (e.g. the (e.g. b in climb) letters: o, a, t, d, and g; cursive linking of almost any letter, and ► Have no consonant clusters in capital letters are omitted) Arabic, so vowels are inserted where they do not belong (e.g. ► Trying to read right to left and ‘ispring’ or ‘sipring’ is invented misreading letters (e.g. reading for the word “spring”) form instead of from) ► Misreading a “p” for a “q” and a “b” for a “d” and vice versa ► Confusion using the comma and the period; they are reversed in the Arabic language (Cont’d) Grammar ► English does not have the same ► Future tense is hard to grasp structural basis as Arabic (the 3 since there is no future tense in root system), but is very Arabic irregular ► Arabic uses the present tense to ► -ing, -able, and un- are easily refer to the future grasped by Arabs ► Past tense in Arabic is slightly ► Word order in English differs different, as they use the from Arabic perfect tense to refer to the ► Indefinite articles are omitted or past put where the definite article should be Vocabulary ► Passive voice used less in Arabic ► Acquisition is particularly hard and is not formed easily by Arab because there is almost no speakers “positive transfer” Articulation Differences Commonly Observed Among Arabic Speakers Substitutions Errors n/ng substitution son/song, nothin’/nothing sh/ch substitution mush/much, shoe/chew w/v substitution or west/vest, Walerie/Valerie fife/five, abofe/above f/v substitution t/voiceless “th” or bat/bath, noting/nothing s/voiceless “th” sing/thing, somesing/something z/voiced “th” brozer/brother, zese/these zhoke/joke, fuzh/fudge o/a hole/hall, bowl/ball o/oi bowl/boil, foble/foible uh/a snuck/snack, ruck/rack ee/i cheep/chip, sheep/ship Language Differences Commonly Observed Among Arabic Speakers Omission of: Errors possessive ’s That Kathy book. Plurals She has 3 horse in her stable “of ” The title the story is… form “to be” She __ my friend. Prepositions Put your shoes. http://susieofarabia.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/100_2308.jpg Bibliography Books Roseberry-McKibbin, C. (2002).Multicultural students with special needs. 2nd ed. California: Academics Community Associates, Inc. Swan, M. (1997). Learner English. 10th ed. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. Internet Sites Arabic language. (2012). Arabic language schools, dictionary, and more. Retrieved from: http://www.arabic-language.org Arabic language.(2009). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language Images Famous-people.inc. (2012). Muhammad, [Photograph], Retrieved from: http://www.famous- people.info/pictures/muhammad.jpg Ivan’s Blog. (2008). Dubai-people [Photograph], Retrieved from: http://blog.ivanj.com/wp- content/uploads/2008/04/dubai-people.jpg Kherdaji, Y. (2012). Arabic interactive letters, [Image]. Retrieved from: http://www.syriatoday.ca/arabic-interactive.htm_txt_letters_cmp.gif Bibliography Images Khimji, A. (Photographer). (2006). The work of a student of Arabic calligraphy, using bamboo pens (qalams) and brown ink, tracing over the teacher's work in black ink, [Photograph]. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Learning_Arabic_calligraphy.jpg Mrdowling. (2012). 607 arab, [Photograph], Retrieved from: http://www.mrdowling.com/images/607arab.jpg Susie of Arabia. (2008). License Plate [Photograph], Retrieved from: http://susieofarabia.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/100_2308.jpg Travelocity, IgoUgo. (2000-2012). Egypt-Souk, [Photograph], Retrieved from: http://photos.igougo.com/images/p183870-Egypt-Souk.jpg [Untitled photograph of an Arab woman]. Retrieved from: http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0fxtg1u3mF0zB/340x.jpg [Untitled photograph of Arab women]. Retrieved from: http://cedarlounge.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/3e55be108b958-64-1.jpg Video ArabianWatchYou. (2009, January 30). Writing the word love in Arabic [Video file]. Video posted to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yraQ8LCJUG8&NR=1 M.Ed. in TESL Program Nancy Cloud, Director Educational Studies Department Rhode Island College, HBS 206 #5 600 Mt. Pleasant Avenue Providence, RI 02908 Phone (401) 456-8789 Fax (401) 456-8284 [email protected] The M.Ed. in TESL Program at Rhode Island College is Nationally Recognized by TESOL and NCATE .