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                                             Volume 12 Issue 8  Version 1.0 May  2012 
                                             Type: Double Blind Peer Reviewed International Research Journal 
                                             Publisher: Global Journals Inc. (USA) 
                                             Online ISSN:                             & Print ISSN: 
                                              
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
                 Abstract - Diglossia is a language situation in which there are two distinct varieties of a language 
                 used side by side. One variety, referred to as the High variety (H), is used only on formal and 
                 public occasions, while the other one, referred to as the Low variety (L), is used under normal, 
                 everyday circumstances. The distance between the H and L are sometimes to the extent that the 
                 two  varieties  are  mutually  unintelligible.  One  good  example  is  the  diglossic  situation  held 
                 between the Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and the Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (EA). This article 
                 aims to compare the two varieties, at different linguistic levels, to illustrate how these differences 
                 have made the two verities mutually unintelligible.     
                 Keywords : Diglossia, Standard Arabic, Egyptian Arabic, High Variety, Low Variety etc. 
                 GJHSS-F Classification : FOR Code: 160603 
                  
                 Diglossia in Arabic A Comparative Study of the Modern Standard Arabic and Egyptian Colloquial Arabic                                                             
                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                               
                                                               Strictly as per the compliance and regulations of:
                                                                                                                                                                                              
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                 © 2012. Mohammad Jafar Jabbari. This is a research/review paper, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons 
                 Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), permitting all non-commercial 
                 use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 
                  
                                                     Diglossia in Arabic 
                 A Comparative Study of the Modern Standard 
                           Arabic and Egyptian Colloquial Arabic 
                                                              Mohammad Jafar Jabbari
             Abstract - Diglossia is a language situation in which there are    language (which may include a standard or regional  
             two distinct varieties of a language used side by side. One        standards), there is a very divergent, highly coded (often 
             variety, referred to as the High variety (H), is used only on      grammatically more complex) superposed variety, the                   2012
             formal and public occasions, while the other one, referred to                                                                          y
                                                                                vehicle of a large and respected body of written  a
             as the Low variety (L), is used under normal, everyday  literature, either of an earlier period or in another speech                   M
             circumstances. The distance between the H and L are  community, which is learned largely by formal education  23
             sometimes to the extent that the two varieties are mutually        and is used for most written and formal spoken 
             unintelligible. One good example is the diglossic situation held 
             between the Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and the Egyptian          purposes but is not used by any sector of the 
             Colloquial Arabic (EA). This article aims to compare the two       community for ordinary conversation (p.336). 
             varieties, at different linguistic levels, to illustrate how these          Diglossia for Trudgill (2009), "is a particular kind 
             differences have made the two verities mutually unintelligible.    of language standardization where two distinct varieties 
             Keywords : Diglossia, Standard Arabic, Egyptian Arabic,            of a language exist side by side throughout the speech 
             High Variety, Low Variety etc.                                     community (not just in the case of a particular group of 
                             I.     Introduction                                speakers, such as Scots or Blacks) and where each of 
                                                                                the two varieties is assigned a definite social 
                   ome languages have two totally distinct varieties                               
                   used through a speech community, each of which               function"(p.113).
             S                                                                           It is noticeable that Ferguson's definition of 
                   with a different range of social functions. Whereas          'diglossia' is quite specific in that the two varieties should 
             one variety, referred to as High (H), is used only on                                       
             formal and public events, the other one, referred to as            belong to the same language. Some other scholars,                   Volume XII Issue VIII Version I
             Low (L), is used under normal daily-life circumstances.            however, have extended the term to cover situations                   
             This situation, referred to as "diglossia", is very common         which do not count as diglossic according to Ferguson's             cen
             especially in Arabic-speaking communities. Varieties of            definition. For Meyerhoff (2006:103) diglossia is a                 cie
             Arabic form a roughly continuous spectrum of variation,            situation in which "One language may be used for some 
             with the dialects spoken in the eastern and western  social functions or in a specific social context, while                           cial S
             extremes of the Arab-speaking world being mutually  another language is served for other". Fishman  So
             unintelligible. The best        example of this mutual  (1971:75) refers to Paraguay as an example of a  an
                                                                                diglossic community, in which the two varieties do  not             m
             unintelligibility is the diglossic situation, held between                                                                             u
             the Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and the Egyptian  belong to one language, but are Spanish and Guarani. 
             colloquial Arabic (EA). This article aims at illustrating the               According to Warduaugh (2005:89), "the  f H
             differences between the two varieties at different  phenomenon of diglossia is not ephemeral in nature: in                             al o
             linguistics levels, which have resulted in this mutual  fact, the opposite is true: it appears to be a persistent                      rn
             unintelligibility.                                                 social and linguistic phenomenon." In a diglossic  ou
                                                                                situation, the two varieties have co-existed for a long 
                             II.     Background                                 period, sometimes, as in Arabic-speaking communities,               bal J
                                                                                for many centuries.                                                 lo
                      Diglossia is a situation in which two distinct                     A key point in diglossia is that the two varieties         G
             varieties of a language are used. One variety is used              are kept apart functionally. One variety, referred to as 
             only on formal and public occasions, while the other  Low (L), is used at home or in other informal situations, 
             variety is used under normal, everyday circumstances.   however, if someone needs to give a lecture at a 
             The term diglossia was introduced into the literature by           university or in any formal circumstance, (s)he is 
             Charles Ferguson (1959):
                                                                                expected to use the other variety, referred to as High 
                      Diglossia is a relatively stable language  (H). For Wardhaugh, the two varieties cannot be 
             situation in which, in addition to the  dialects of the            interchangeably used. He asserts: "You do not use an H 
                  r :                                                           variety in circumstances calling for an L variety, e.g. for 
             Autho  Faculty of Literature & Humanities, Yasouj University, Yasouj, 
             Iran. E-mail : mjjabbari@mail.yu.ac.ir , mjjabbari@yahoo.com       addressing a servant; nor does one use an L variety 
                                                                                                                        ©  2012 Global Journals Inc.  (US)
              Digl
                   ossia in Arabic A Comparative Study of the Modern Standard Arabic and Egyptian Colloquial Arabic
            when an H variety is called for, e.g., for writing a serious     the need for such Arabic programs to help learners 
            work of literature"(2005 P: 90).                                 communicate successfully, argues that ”If the goal of an 
                     In a diglossic society, all children acquire the L      Arabic-as-a-foreign language program is to prepare 
            variety. Some may concurrently learn the H variety, but          students to function successfully in Arabic, then they 
            many do not learn it at all. Therefore, the two varieties        should be introduced to both a Spoken Arabic dialect 
            are not regarded as having the same degree of prestige.          and [formal Arabic] from the beginning of an Arabic 
            For example, this "diglossic situation may also be found         course.”          
            in Egypt, where both classical Arabic and colloquial                      There have also been views against teaching 
            Arabic is used"(Finch, 2005:214).                                Spoken Arabic which focuses on the impossibility of 
                                                  
                     Ferguson identifies four situations which show          dealing with the full range of Arabic dialects and the 
            the major characteristics of this diglossic phenomenon:          difficulty of choosing one dialect to teach, however, 
            Arabic, Swiss German, Haitian (French and Creole), and           some surveys are indicative of the fact that “86%  of 
            Greek. In each situation, there is a 'high variety' (H) of       students who expressed interest in learning Spoken 
                                                                                                              1      gyptian Arabic” (Al-
            language and a 'low' variety (L).                                Arabic prefer either Levantine   or E
         y  2012                                                                                    
         a           In an Arabic-speaking diglossic community, the          Batal & Belnap, 2006, p.396, cited in Palmer, 2007, p. 
         M  two varieties are standard Arabic (H) and the various            115). These two are not the most commonly spoken and 
            regional colloquial Arabic (L).                                  understood varieties of Spoken Arabic, yet “ there are 
       242                                                                   abundant materials available in each that would make it 
                     There has been this view that the spoken 
            varieties of Arabic are corruptions of MSA (Modern               relatively painless for even a native Moroccan or Iraqi 
            Standard Arabic) or CA (Classical Arabic) as found in            speaker to teach a class in Levantine or Egyptian; 
            the Quran and are, therefore, less prestigious varities of       though the reverse is not viable” (Palmer, 2007:115).
                                                                                                                                       
            Arabic. According to Wardhaugh (2005):                                    To shed light on the diglossic nature of Arabic 
                                                                             and to sport his argumentation in favor of incorporating 
                     "The H variety is the prestige variety; the L 
            variety lacks prestige. In fact, there can be so little          Spoken Arabic in program curricula. Palmer (2007:115) 
            prestige attached to the L variety that people may even          cites the following sentences:   
            deny that they know it although they may be observed to                   "On the political level, a rather spectacular case 
            use it far more frequently than the H variety]……[This            of this manipulation of linguistic variation is to be found 
            feeling about the superiority of the H variety is reinforced     in the political speeches of the late President Nasser. He 
            by the fact that a body of literature exists in that variety     used to begin his speeches at an elevated level, spoken 
            and almost none in the L variety. That literature may            slowly and rhythmically, because of the formality of the 
         Volume XII Issue VIII Version Ireflect essential values about the culture. Speakers of situation. But then his sentences would become 
            Arabic in particular gain prestige from being able to  gradually more and more colloquial, spoken in a faster 
         ce allude to classical sources. The folk literature associated      tempo, until he reached a purely colloquial level. At the 
         n
         e  with the L variety will have none of the same prestige" (p.      end of his speech, he would conclude with a few 
         ci
            90).                                                             sentences in Pure Standard Arabic. Such a mixture 
         al S        Watson (2002) asserts that” Dialects of Arabic          reflects the inherent problem for politicians in the Arab 
         ci
         o  form a roughly continuous spectrum of variation, with            world: on the one hand, by identifying with colloquial 
         S
            the dialects spoken in the eastern and western extremes          speech they wish to involve their audience, who for the 
         an of the Arab-speaking world being mutually unintelligible”        most part do not use or even understand the higher 
         m
         u  (p.8).                                                           levels of standard Arabic, on the other hand, they 
         f H         Palmer (2007), pointing out to a great increase         cannot simply switch to colloquial language, since this 
         al oin the number of Arabic programs and students  would be regarded as an insult to their audience"( 
         n  interested in learning Arabic, argues that most students         Versteegh,2000, p. 196).
         r                                                                                               
         u  learn only the formal variety of Arabic. This situation 
         o                                                                   Palme
                                                                                    r adds:
         al J“creates a fake of model of oral proficiency by                                 
         b  presenting the students with an artificial variety that is                "This passage elaborates the diglossic nature of 
         lo not used by the native speakers since no one uses  Arabic in two ways:”first it reveals that Nasser’s 
         G  [formal Arabic] for daily-life situations”(Al-Batal,             audience-  the common people-“ do not use or even 
            1995:122).  It is also believed that these programs must         understand “ MSA; the second, that Nasser felt obliged 
            not be limited to the formal variety of the language if          to include some MSA in order to fulfill his role as an 
            they are to train future professionals to communicate            educated persona(emphasis added) in a formal setting” 
            effectively with the Arabic-speaking world.“The Arabic           (Palmer, 2007: 115).      
            classrooms can and should be a place in which multiple                                     a f            u
            registers co-exist, as they do in real life“(Al-Batal                       III.     Dat o  theSt dy
                                                                                                                             
                                                                           
            &Belnap,2006:397). Younes (1995:233) commenting on                        The data of the study are collected from the 
                                                                             Lingaphone Egyptian Arabic Course. The course 
                 
            1 - A dialect spoken in part of Syria.                           includes 30 written and tape-recorded dialogs in 
                  22  G Glolobbal Jal Joouurrnnaalsls I Inncc.  .  (U(US)S)
             © 201
             © 201
                          Digl
                                    ossia in Arabic A Comparative Study of the Modern Standard Arabic and Egyptian Colloquial Arabic
                       Egyptian Arabic. The dialogs are translated in writing                                                                           a)      Pronunciation Key 
                                                                                                                                                                                                 
                       into Standard Arabic and then tape-recorded, by Qamari                                                                                            Arabic shares a good number of phonemes 
                       (1993), for the purpose of teaching the two varieties of                                                                         with other languages. Yet , there are a number of 
                       Arabic to students majoring in the Arabic Language and                                                                           phonemes, only found in Arabic and some sister 
                       Literature, at Iranian universities. By Standard Arabic is                                                                       languages. The Arabic phonemes are presented in 
                                                                                                                                                                                        3
                       meant the variety based on the speech and writing of                                                                             tables (1) to (4).   
                       educated native speakers of Arabic.                                                                                                                           Table 1 : Arabic Vowels. 
                                                  IV.             Methodology                                                                                   V      owel           Arabic            Arabic  Example                         Meaning
                                                                                                                                                                                      Letter
                                        To illustrate the linguistic differences between                                                                                  /a/                ﹷ             ﻦﺤَﻧ    /nahnu/                      we
                       Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), and Egyptian Colloquial                                                                                 S
                                                                                                                                                             ho            /i/               ﹻ             ﻦﻣ      /min/                        of, fr
                       Arabic (EA), the Surface Strategy Taxonomy has been                                                                                                                                    ِ                                          om
                                                                                                                                                             r
                                                                                                                                                             t            /u/                ﹹ                   ٌ                              room
                       utilized. This perspective, "highlights the ways surface                                                                                                                            ﺔ ﻓ ﺮ ﻏ    /ɤurfa/
                       structures are altered" (Dulay, Burt and Krashen, 1982:                                                                                            /a:/               ﺍ             ﺏﺏﺍ      /ba:b/                      door                               2012
                                                                                                                                                             lo                                                                                                                  y
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 a
                       150). Categorizing linguistic items according to the                                                                                  ng           /u:/               ﻭ                ﻭ ﺎﺻ                              soap
                                                                                                                                                                                                           ﻥﺏ         / sˤa:bu:n/                                                M
                       surface strategy taxonomy helps researchers analyze                                                                                                /i:/              ﻱ                ﻱﻑ     /fi:/                       in,  at
                       linguistic alterations, in more details. To achieve this, (1)                                                                                                                                                                                         25
                                                                                                                         2
                       the collected data are transcribed phonemically  , (2) the                                                                                              Table 2 : Arabic Diphthongs. 
                       meanings  are given in English, (3) when needed, a                                                                                      Diphthong                Arabic                         Meaning                    English 
                       rough literal (morpheme-based) translation of the                                                                                                                Example                                                  Example
                       (Arabic) examples into English is given, to help the non-                                                                                      /aw/                 ﻡﻮﻳ    /jawm/               day                 house
                       Arab reader follow the discussions, and (4) necessary                                                                                           /aj/                ﻒﻴﺿ  / ðˤajf/               guest               eye
                       explanations are provided.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                Table 3 : Specific Consonants. 
                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                    
                                                Consonant                          Arabic               Ara                                         Meaning                                                  Featu
                                                                                   Letter                      bic  Example                                                                                             res
                                                         / sˤ/                           ﺹ                ﺡﺎﺑﺹ              /sˤaba:h/                   morning                  (Emphatic) Voiceless alveolar fricative
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Volume XII Issue VIII Version I
                                                                                                          ﻒﻳ                       
                                                         / dˤ/                           ﺽ                   ﺽ                / dˤajf/                    guest                  (Emphatic) Voiced alveolar fricative                                                              
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 cen
                                                                                          ﻁ               ﺐﻟﺍﻁ                                                                                                                                                                   cie
                                                          /tˤ/                                                                /tˤa:lib/                 student                  (Emphatic)                Voiceless dental-alveolar                                             al S
                                                                                                                                                                                 stop                                                                                            cio
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 S
                                                                                                               ﻅ
                                                         / ðˤ/                            ﻅ               ﻑﺭ                  / ðˤarf/                  envelop                  (Emphatic) Voiceled dental-alveolar stop                                                        an
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 um
                                                            ʔ                          ﺊ  ﺌ ﺍ                 ﺎﻧﺍ               ʔ                              I                 (Voiceless) glottal stop                                                                        f H
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 al o
                                                          / /                                                                 /   ana/                                                                                                                                           rn
                                                          /ʕ/                             ﻉ               ﻉﻱﻥ                  /ʕajn/                       eye                  Voiced pharyngeal fricative                                                                     u
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 o
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 bal J
                                                                                          ﻍ               ◌ً ﺍ ﺩ ﻍ                               
                                                                                                           ً                 /ɤa                      tomorrow                   Voiced uvular fricative                                                                         lo
                                                          /ɤ/                                                                      dan/                                                                                                                                          G
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                          ﺥ               ﻝﺎﺧ                   /xa:                         nc                     ocel         s uvular fricative
                                                          /x/                                                                         l/                  u le                   V i        es
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                          ﺐﻳﺭ   
                                                          /q/                             ﻕ                    ﻕ             / qari:b/                   relative                Voiceless uvular stop
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                 
                      2           transcription is read from left to right although Arabic is written from right to left in the script.
                         - The
                      3                                                                                                                                                                    
                         - The symbols used are taken from:  Wikipedia-Arabic Phonology.
                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            ©  2012 Global Journals Inc.  (US)
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...Volume issue version may type double blind peer reviewed international research journal publisher global journals inc usa online issn print abstract diglossia is a language situation in which there are two distinct varieties of used side by one variety referred to as the high h only on formal and public occasions while other low l under normal everyday circumstances distance between sometimes extent that mutually unintelligible good example diglossic held modern standard arabic msa egyptian colloquial ea this article aims compare at different linguistic levels illustrate how these differences have made verities keywords etc gjhss f classification for code comparative study strictly per compliance regulations mohammad jafar jabbari review paper distributed terms creative commons attribution noncommercial unported license http creativecommons org licenses nc permitting all non commercial use distribution reproduction any medium provided original work properly cited include or regional st...

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