One script for two languages. Latin & Arabic in an early allographic papyrus

This contribution presents a unique papyrus letter in Latin script and Latin language and in Latin script and Arabic language that is possible to date, on palaeographic grounds, from the end of the 7th to the 9th century AD. This precious witness is exam- ined under the historical, graphical, linguistic and cultural point of view and its prove- nance is discussed accordingly. An edition of the whole text is provided and a number of correspondences in Arabic are suggested

English/Arabic/English Machine Translation: A Historical Perspective

This paper examines the history and development of Machine Translation (MT) applications for the Arabic language in the context of the history and machine translation in general. It starts with a discussion of the beginnings of MT in the US and then, depending on the work of MT historians, surveys the decline of the work on MT and drying up of funding; then the revival with globalization, development of information technology and the rising needs for breaking the language barriers in the world; and last on the dramatic developments that came with the advances in computer technology. The paper also examined some of the major approaches for MT within a historical perspective. The case of Arabic is treated along the same lines focusing on the work that was done on Arabic by Western research institutes and Western profit motivated companies. Special attention is given to the work of the one Arab company, Sakr of Al-Alamiyya Group, which was established in 1982 and has seriously since then worked on developing software applications for Arabic under the umbrella of natural language processing for the Arabic language. Major available software applications for Arabic/English Arabic MT as well as MT related software were surveyed within a historical framework.Cet article examine l’histoire et l’évolution des applications de la traduction automatique (TA) en langue arabe, dans le contexte de l’histoire de la TA en général. Il commence par décrire les débuts de la TA aux États-Unis et son déclin dû à l’épuisement du financement ; ensuite, son renouveau suscité par la mondialisation, le développement des technologies de l’information et les besoins croissants de lever les barrières linguistiques. Finalement, il aborde les progrès vertigineux réalisés grâce à l’informatique. L’article étudie aussi les principales approches de la TA dans une perspective historique. Le cas de l’arabe est traité dans cette perspective, compte tenu des travaux effectués par les instituts de recherche occidentaux et quelques sociétés privées occidentales. Un accent particulier est mis sur les recherches de la société arabe Sakr, fondée dès 1982, qui a mis au point plusieurs logiciels de traitement de langues naturelles pour l’arabe. Ces divers logiciels de TA arabe-anglais-arabe ainsi que des applications associées sont présentés dans un cadre historique

Sociololinguistic competence and the bilingual's adoption of phonetic variants: auditory and instrumental data from English-Arabic bilinguals

This study is an auditory and acoustic investigation of the speech production patterns developed by English-Arabic bilingual children. The subjects are three Lebanese children aged five, seven and ten, all born and raised in Yorkshire, England. Monolingual friends of the same age were chosen as controls, and the parents of all bilingual and monolingual children were also taped to obtain a detailed assessment of the sound patterns available in the subjects' environment. The study addresses the question of interaction between the bilingual's phonological systems by calling for a refinement of the notion of a `phonological system' using insights from recent phonetic and sociolinguistic work on variability in speech (e. g. Docherty, Foulkes, Tillotson, & Watt, 2002; Docherty & Foulkes, 2000; Local, 1983; Pisoni, 1997; Roberts, 1997; Scobbie, 2002). The variables under study include /1/, In, and VOT production. These were chosen due to the existence of different patterns in their production in English and Arabic that vary according to contextual and dialectal factors. Data were collected using a variety of picture-naming, story-telling, and free-play activities for the children, and reading lists, story-telling, and interviews for the adults. To control for language mode (Grosjean, 1998), the bilinguals were recorded in different language sessions with different interviewers. Results for the monolingual children and adults in this study underline the importance of including controls in any study of bilingual speech development for a better interpretation of the bilinguals' patterns. Input from the adults proved highly variable and at times conflicted with published patterns normally found in the literature for the variables under study. Results for the bilinguals show that they have developed separate sociolinguistically-appropriate production patterns for each of their languages that are on the whole similar to those of monolinguals but that also reflect the bilinguals' rich socio-phonetic repertoire. The interaction between the bilinguals' languages is mainly restricted to the bilingual mode and is a sign of their developing sociolinguistic competence

A critical analysis of language policy in Scotland

Language offerings in Scottish universities are diverse and have their own acute sense of their situation. Some have a precarious hold, others are buoyant. In a research and teaching environment increasingly determined by league tables and “power rankings”, this paper considers a variety of insecurities which have manifested themselves in the context of the Gaelic Language Act (Scotland) 2005; in the changing landscape of modern languages, symbolically represented in the university sector; and through the new Curriculum for Excellence for Scottish Schools. In particular, it critically examines some of the less visible aspects and informal forms of language practices which thrive or survive in Scotland today. Drawing theoretically from Cameron (2012), Cronin (2003; 2006; 2012) and Forsdick (2005), and from postcolonial and indigenous scholars of languages, including Tuhiwai Smith (2012) and Muehlmann (2007), the paper considers the legislative environment with regard to language planning in Scotland and offers some theoretical ways forward

English in the expanding circle of Morocco: Spread, uses, and functions

Research using Kachru’s (1984) World Englishes theoretical framework and Three Circles model has produced a wealth of knowledge about the spread and functions of English to speech communities around the world. However, there is a recognition that disproportionate attention has been accorded across these spheres. The most compelling argument outlining this gap in the literature was offered by Berns (2005) over a decade ago and was reiterated by Elyas and Mahboob (2020) just recently. Berns (2005: 85) concluded that while the bulk of academic research has focused on the use of English in Inner and Outer Circle contexts, the Expanding Circle remains mostly overlooked. Elyas and Mahboob (2020: 1), who co-edited a special journal issue on the North African and Middle East contexts, underscored that the topic of English in these regions ‘is largely under-studied and undertheorized.’ Following Berns’ remarks, numerous studies have focused on this underrepresented context. Nevertheless, despite their solid contributions, these investigations remain insufficient for constructing a comprehensive understanding of the distinct dynamics of the Expanding Circle. To contribute to the Expanding Circle literature, this exploratory, qualitative, macrosociolinguistic study employs Kachru’s (1984) World Englishes theoretical framework to investigate in greater depth the spread, functional range, and domains of English use in the multilingual country of Morocco. Specifically, this study initially provides an overview of the various languages used in Morocco, then outlines the history of its contact with the English language. It next explores English use in Moroccan media, examining in detail the language’s wide-ranging uses in broadcast, digital, print, and film media. This is followed by an in-depth examination of the linguistic landscape of the metropolitan city of Casablanca, with a focus on shop signs and outdoor advertisements. Whilst the users and uses of the English language are the major focus of analysis, additional attention is given to what such a spread means for the other four historically well-established languages of use within this Expanding Circle context: Arabic, French, Spanish, and the indigenous language Tmazight. A further aim of this study is to contribute new perspectives to the existing literature on the distinct dynamics of the Expanding Circle in general

Through U.S. Eyes: Examining Spanish Multilingual Education Policies

This article offers an overview of the main language education policies aimed at addressing the needs of immigrant background students currently implemented in Spain's multilingual schools. In particular, the article examines the politics of segregation of language immersion programs for newcomers in the Spanish State, as well as their relationship with other language learning programs implemented as part of European initiatives to promote the use of Global English. This study is based on long-term ethnographic research conducted in different schools in Madrid. Adopting a comparative perspective, we also discuss different language programs in U.S. public schools: e.g., English as a Second Language (ESL) programs, bilingual education initiatives, Transitional and Dual Immersion programs. We examine how different educational policies for English language learners in the U.S. might be able to inform Spanish language education policies, forcing us to rethink the current school integration of immigrant origin students in Spain. We conclude with a critical discussion of the lessons we can draw from both casesEste artículo revisa las principales políticas lingüísticas dirigidas a los estudiantes de origen inmigrante en los centros educativos españoles con una amplia población multilingüe. Adoptando una perspectiva comparativa, el artículo parte de las últimas investigaciones sobre política lingüística desarrolladas en EEUU. Tomando como punto de partida el trabajo etnográfico llevado a cabo en diferentes escuelas de Madrid, se analizan los resultados de las políticas segregadoras que imponen algunos programas de inmersión lingüística para recién llegados en el Estado español. Igualmente, se analiza la relación de estas políticas con otros programas lingüísticos implementados en Madrid como parte de determinadas iniciativas europeas centradas en la promoción del uso del inglés como lengua global. El objetivo es estudiar estas cuestiones desde la perspectiva estadounidense y, por lo tanto, desde el análisis de las diferentes orientaciones en cuanto a planificación de la política lingüística en sus escuelas públicas (entre otros, se parte de los programas de inglés como segunda lengua (ESL) o de las diversas iniciativas de educación bilingüe, como los programas de transición y de doble inmersión lingüística). Por lo tanto, el artículo analiza cómo las diferentes políticas educativas dirigidas a los aprendices de inglés en EEUU pueden arrojar alguna luz sobre el sentido de las políticas lingüísticas implementadas en los centros educativos españoles y, sobre todo, ayudarnos a reflexionar sobre la influencia de dichas políticas lingüísticas en la integración del alumnado de origen inmigrante. Se concluye con una reflexión crítica sobre las lecciones que pueden extraerse del análisis de ambos casos

Diglossic code-switching in Kuwaiti newspapers

Phd ThesisThe present study investigates the phenomenon of diglossic code-switching between Standard Arabic, as a High variety, and Kuwaiti Arabic, as a Low variety, in Kuwaiti newspaper articles. The study was precipitated by the paucity of research on the linguistic characteristics of newspaper discourse generated within this region as well as Kuwaiti perceptions towards this medium of communication. The frameworks adopted in this research were extended to novel contexts and were also utilised to gain new insights into several dimensions of diglossia, most of which have never been explored before. The findings of this study indeed revealed important insights into how diglosia is changing and how participants both use and perceive diglossic code-switching. The investigation was carried out to explore three main dimensions of code-switching in newspaper articles in Kuwait: changes in attitudes and frequency of code-switching use, the social motivations for it and the morphosyntactic constraints associated with it in this context. The first involves the study of changes in both language attitudes and in the frequency of code-switching in newspaper articles over the last 29-30 years. The second part of the study offers a social motivations’ analysis of code-switching in newspaper articles by appealing to the ideas captured in the Markedness Model (MM), proposed by Myers-Scotton 1993a. The primary goal of this element of the research was to seek explanations for the diglossic code-switching strategies identified in a sample of twelve newspaper articles. The third aspect explored in the research relates to the testing of the Matrix Language Frame (MLF) model which applies specifically to the morphosyntactic constraints thought to operate in spoken code-switching contexts (Myers-Scotton 1993b, 2002). A key objective of the research overall was to evaluate the models themselves which have not, to my knowledge, been appraised heretofore using written data of this kind. In general terms, my findings regarding attitudinal change and code-switching frequency suggest that, despite the differences exhibited by a range of social variables, the nature of the attitudes expressed by the readers and columnists alike still reflect the traditional diglossic situation in Kuwait. Moreover, an analysis of language attitudes, ix employing the ‘apparent time’ hypothesis, shows that there is indeed a change in language attitudes in Kuwait between one generation and the next. This change, however, is contrary to predictions as it actually shows a favouring effect within the community at large for the H variety, i.e. SA. Non-parametric statistical analyses (specifically the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests) were selected as most appropriate for discriminating quantitative distinctions in the analysis of attitudes. Furthermore, an investigation of how common code-switching has become over the last three decades reveals that there is, in fact, static code-switching frequency, indicating that the practice of code-switching has remained relatively stable between 1985 and 2014-15. As for the second and third dimensions of the research, it was shown that the MM offers a very useful explanation of the linguistic behaviour of columnists and reveals the intricacies of their code-switching strategies which can be related to their understanding of community perceptions towards diglossic codeswitching in Kuwait as captured in other aspects of the research. A key finding with respect to the testing of the MLF model itself was how difficult it actually was to diglossic code-switching in a written context. My research clearly shows that the MLF approach does not, in fact, provide as much insight into the dynamics of the phenomenon as it clearly does when applied to conversational exchanges and this is partially due to the problems identified in my thesis regarding the analysis of Arabic code-switching in writing

Actions and Words: Meaning Making in a Bilingual Arabic/English Kindergarten

Much research relating to bilingual education in the early years has focused on how young children are learning a new language, viewed from a monolingual paradigm of language use (Tabors 1997, Clarke 1999, Cummins 2001, Drury 2007, Genesee 2008). Recent sociocultural research on meaning-making in communities (García and Sylvan 2011, Gort and Sembiante 2015, Wei 2018, Creese and Blackledge 2019) reveals a less rigid boundary between named languages, and an emerging theory of translanguaging. This theory offers a new perspective from which to view pedagogical practices in bilingual classrooms. The multimodal nature of young children’s meaning-making has long been acknowledged, founded on the work of Vygotsky in the 1920s, and is evident in the variety of pedagogical practices used by early years teachers to support meaning-making (Rogoff 1990, Siraj-Blatchford et al 2002). More recently, multimodal meaning-making has been explored in different communities (Kress 2000, Flewitt 2013, Bezemer and Kress 2014), revealing the many different modes of communication regularly employed to share meaning. However, in studies of early bilingual education, the significance of non-verbal behaviours has often been overlooked. This thesis therefore sets out to explore the significance of multimodal meaning-making and a pedagogy for translingual practice (Canagarajah 2013) in an early years bilingual context. Using ethnographic tools, it analyses the pedagogical practices of two teachers working in a co-teaching situation in a kindergarten in Abu Dhabi. By an iterative process of data analysis, it explores how those practices contribute to children’s development as confident bilingual learners. The findings indicate that, as teachers create new spaces for learning using action and gesture as well as speech, children are empowered to draw on both verbal and non-verbal modes of meaning-making in a fluid process of bilingual and multimodal languaging. Emergent bilingualism, translanguaging, multimodality, sociocultural theory, early years, co-teaching, Arabian Gulf

Proceedings of the 17th Annual Conference of the European Association for Machine Translation

Proceedings of the 17th Annual Conference of the European Association for Machine Translation (EAMT

Spaces of Multilingualism

This innovative collection explores critical issues in understanding multilingualism as a defining dimension of identity creation and negotiation in contemporary social life. Reinforcing interdisciplinary conversations on these themes, each chapter is co-authored by two different researchers, often those who have not written together before. The combined effect is a volume showcasing unique and dynamic perspectives on such topics as rethinking of language policy, testing of language rights, language pedagogy, meaning-making, and activism in the linguistic landscape. The book explores multilingualism through the lenses of spaces and policies as embodied in Elizabeth Lanza’s body of work in the field, with a focus on the latest research on linguistic landscapes in diverse settings. Taken together, the book offers a window into better understanding issues around processes of change in and of languages and societies. This ground breaking volume will be of particular interest to students and scholars in multilingualism, applied linguistics, and sociolinguistics