Program/Diglossia and Multilingualism: A help or a Hindrance to Arabic Wikipedians?
- Notes
- Format
- Presentation
- Keywords
- diglossia
- multilingualism
- literacy acquisition
- Arabic
- Arabic dialects
- education
- knowledge
- When and where
- Sunday 22 July, 12:00
- Duration: 25 minutes
London
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- Presenter(s)
- Topic area
- Relationship to theme
Language & literacy
Knowledge forms
Abstract
One of the most noteworthy characteristics of Arabic is its diglossia, the state where language simultaneously has two variants: the (al-)fuṣḥā Arabic (الفصحى) and vernacular Arabic (المحكيّة). While the first is the standardized literary register used in textbooks and newscasts and is considered a basic identifier and tool for literacy acquisition among all Arabic speakers, the second varies from region to another forming a wide range of dialects and linguistic identities in Arab countries from Morocco to Iraq. This presentation wishes to explore the ways students who are native speakers of Arabic in a multilingual educational system overcome the obstacle of sharing knowledge by using a common idiom while allowing millions of readers engage with the content they create. This session will also suggest solutions for communities with similar language challenges inspired by the educational model used in Arabic-speaking schools that participate in the 'Student Write Wikipedia' program.
Outcomes
This sessions aims to present a reading of the experience of school students in overcoming the challenges of simultaneously using two registers of Arabic in a multilingual educational environment, and crafting a common idiom when creating Wikipedia content. It hopes to provide interested attendees with solutions to similar cases of diglossia and multilingualism in classrooms and editing workshops.