Modern Arabic Sociolinguistics ─ Diglossia, Variation, Codeswitching, Attitudes and Identity

This up-to-date textbook overviews and evaluates the major approaches and methods used in Arabic sociolinguistic research with respect to diglossia, codeswitching, language variation, language attitudes, and social identity.Modern Arabic Sociolinguistics outlines the main research findings in these core areas and relates them to a wide range of constructs, such as social context, speech communities, prestige, power, language planning, gender, education, ethnicity, and religion. In addition, it examines two emerging areas in Arabic sociolinguistic research: internet-mediated communication and heritage speakers. These two areas are examined in relation to globalization, language dominance and interference, and language loss and maintenance. This textbook analyses the interplay of these various sociolinguistic aspects, illuminating the complex nature of the Arabic multidialectal, multinational, and multi-ethnic sociolinguistic situation. The value of the work as a reference book is also enhanced by its inclusion of empirical studies that are based on the author’s fieldwork in four Arab countries between 2013 and 2014. This book will be essential for researchers and students in the fields of Sociolinguistics, Arabic Linguistics, and Arabic Studies.

Abdulkafi Albirini is an Associate Professor of Arabic and Linguistics at Utah State University.