ABSTRACT

The Arab world represents an intriguing area of inquiry for scholars interested in language contact and language conflict. Several instances of language contact and conflict, at varying levels and degrees, can be witnessed in different parts of the Arab world today, and many are intertwined with other political, ethnic, social, and cultural conflicts. Language conflict persists in the Maghreb, where Arabic vies with French and Berber; in Lebanon, where friction occurs between Arabic and French; and in Iraq, where Arabic and Kurdish contend with each other. In addition, language contact takes place on a large scale in many parts of the Gulf region, where Arabic meets English, Persian, Hindi, Urdu, and other languages spoken by the tens of thousands of foreign employees working there. Moreover, one finds constant interplay between the standard or formal language, fusha, and the various dialects on the one hand, and among the dialects themselves on the other. Contact among some of these dialects has led to conflict in some spheres. One example of such conflict can be found in Lebanon, where some people have voiced their opposition to the dominance of the Egyptian dialect in songs sung by Lebanese singers, and demanded that these singers adhere to the Lebanese dialect in their songs.2 Another example can be seen in Egypt, where serious restrictions are placed on radio and television programming in any other Arabic dialect.3