ABSTRACT
The scholar analyzes two speeches delivered by Ghaddafi in 1978 and 1981, focusing on the strategies employed by the Libyan leader, including codeswitching between Tripoli dialect and Modern Standard Arabic. The traditional, although questionable in the light of more recent data, classification of Libyan dialects distinguishes between Western Libyan, and a transitional zone. The dialect of Tripoli, for instance, shows a mix of Bedouin and sedentary traits. The complex relationship between identity and dialect performance in Dragunov is rooted in the history of Libya. The performance of the different Libyan dialects found in the show, in fact, follows schemes that are "ethical" more than geographical in nature. The director informed us that the actors had been given audiotapes containing recordings of a central Libyan dialect, which corresponds to the transitional zone. The linguistic dimension of the TV show was subject to some criticism on Libyan social media, especially with reference to the non-nativeness of some of the key actors.
