ABSTRACT
This chapter explores just what patterns people expect to see in terms of language usage and the construction of attitudes and identity in speakers of Arabic who are removed from the 'diglossic' context. It focuses on heritage Arabic speakers in the United States those who are raised by Arab parents in a context where diglossia and the concept of an Arab speech community are nonexistent. The chapter provides the historical and sociolinguistic state of affairs in Arab communities in the USA, although most of the patterns observed among Americans can be found in heritage communities in other parts of the world. Arabic is expected to persist in the social lives of heritage speakers because of the favourable attitudes toward it in Arab diaspora communities and its link to their Arab and Islamic identities. This socio affective factor is responsible for the increasing number of media and community programs in Arabic, which provide a source of continued input for heritage speakers.
