Romano-Arabica apare neîntrerupt din anul 2001 ca publicație cu peer-review a Centrului de Studii Arabe al Universității din București. În anul 2018, revista a fost evaluată de ANVUR (Agenzia Nazionale di Valutazione del Sistema Universitario e della Ricerca) în categoria A-class Academic Journal Articles, iar în anul 2020, a fost evaluată de CNCS (Consiliul Național al Cercetării Științifice) ca revistă de categoria A în domeniul științelor umaniste. Activitatea revistei este dedicată studiului limbii arabe (clasice și dialectale), literaturii arabe (clasice și moderne), găndirii islamice, societăților islamice, interacțiunii dintre civilizația arabă și alte civilizații etc. Din board-ul editorial și consultativ al revistei fac parte membrii universitari ai Centrului de Studii Arabe al Universității din București, dar și cercetători de top în studii arabe și islamice afiliați unor instituții academice prestigioase din întreaga lume. Revista este indexată în SCOPUS - https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/21100394703
Editura Universității din București - Bucharest University Press
DALAL ABO EL SEOUD (ed.). 2024. Challenges in Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language
The flourishing field of Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language (TAFL) has long suffered from a critical shortage of empirical research and pedagogical resources, particularly when compared with other major languages. Dalal Abo El Seoud’s edited volume, Challenges in Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language, represents a timely and substantial contribution that addresses this gap by bringing together eighteen professionals from diverse geographical and institutional contexts to examine the multifaceted challenges confronting Arabic language educators in contemporary academic settings. This international representation is particularly valuable for a volume addressing language teaching in today’s globalized academia, as it prevents the narrowing of perspective that can occur when expertise is drawn from a single educational tradition or regional context. By including voices from both Arab and non-Arab settings, the volume enriches the discussion and offers readers comparative insights into how different educational systems approach similar pedagogical challenges. This comprehensive collection also succeeds in bridging theory and practice while offering actionable insights for both experienced practitioners and those entering the field.
GABRIEL BIȚUNĂ, OVIDIU PIETRĂREANU, LAURA SITARU (eds.). 2025. Bridging Cultures, Building Legacies through Arabic: A Festschrift for George Grigore, Part I, II
The two volumes of Bridging Cultures, Building Legacies through Arabic stand as a rich and rigorous Festschrift honouring Professor George Grigore – an eminent linguist whose work has shaped Arabic dialectology and intercultural scholarship. The editors gather an impressive international cohort of scholars who, through 39 articles, celebrate the professor’s academic career and intellectual legacy. In the foreword, the editors highlight Grigore’s foundational role in Romanian Arabic studies and his pivotal role in institutionalizing Arabic dialectology at the University of Bucharest. They further note his particular distinction in the study of Mesopotamian Arabic varieties and emphasize his dedication to intercultural understanding and his impact as a translator of seminal Arabic texts into Romanian, including the Koran, and fundamental works of Islamic philosophy such as al-Kindi, Ibn Rushd, Ibn ‘Arabi, Ibn Ṭufayl, Ibn Sīnā among others. After years of study and published works, Professor George Grigore received well-deserved acknowledgment by being elected President of the prestigious International Association of Arabic Dialectology (AIDA – Association Internationale de Dialectologie Arabe) for two consecutive terms between 2015 and 2024.
THE FUNCTIONS OF THE VERBAL PERIPHRASES WITH KĀN: EVIDENCE FROM AN EGYPTIAN ARABIC CORPUS
This study aims to elucidate aspects of verbal periphrases involving kān in Colloquial Egyptian Arabic, drawing on excerpts from the speeches of former president Gamal Abdel Nasser. The theoretical framework relies on key studies, including Woidich’s Das Kairenisch-Arabische. Eine Grammatik and Eisele’s Arabic Verbs in Time: Tense and Aspect in Cairene Arabic. Given the frequent occurrence of these periphrases in conditional constructions, this paper will examine the relationship between conditional clause types and the associated periphrasis. Particular attention will be paid to the imperfective form bi + p-stem as it appears in kān periphrases.
THE POLYSEMOUS NATURE OF THE VERBS LIGĀ AND LĀGA IN SUDANESE ARABIC
This study focuses on two verbs issued from the triliteral verbal root /l/ /g/ /y/ and their polysemous nature in Sudanese Arabic, which is analysed and described through examples. This study resulted from a qualitative observation, and the data was gathered by the author by taking part in discussions involving native Sudanese speakers2 resident in Paris and by listening to phone conversations involving some of them and their families in Sudan. Those observations allowed the documentation of the meanings associated with this verbal root, from which four Sudanese Arabic verbs arise: ligā, lāga, itlāga and istalga, with the last two having only one meaning each; therefore, this study will only focus on the verbs ligā and lāga, which showed an interesting polysemous character. Two broad semantic categories have been identified for the meanings associated with these verbs: lexical meanings (“to find” for ligā and “to meet” for lāga, also attested in some other Arabic spoken varieties) and contextual meanings, which present a semantic extension, somehow associated with the notions of exposure to something and/or contact, most of the time unexpectedly.
Developing Arabic Language Skills for Academic Purposes: An Approach to Critical Reading
Teaching Arabic for academic purposes at the university level remains a largely neglected area and requires updated pedagogical approaches that address students’ academic needs in today’s world, especially amid the prevailing reliance on foreign languages in research. This study explores the key challenges students encounter when writing in Arabic, including limited access to specialized learning resources and insufficient language proficiency among advanced learners. Key reasons for this include the teaching methods through which they initially learned Arabic and the limited training in critical thinking skills, particularly critical reading and writing. Accordingly, the study advocates for the integration of critical reading as an effective means to enhance academic language proficiency. It will present the importance of critical reading in developing both analytical and linguistic skills, and propose an integrative approach built on three principles: critical language awareness, close reading, and functional grammar. This approach aims to refine learners’ understanding of how language functions in academic texts and support the production of high-quality writing that clearly articulates ideas. The study will also include an applied example for engaging with texts through critical reading.
THE EXPRESSION OF FUTURE IN CONTEMPORARY WRITTEN FUṢḤĀ2 PRAGMATICS: ONE/GRAMMAR: ZERO
Contemporary Written Fuṣḥā (also known as Modern Standard Arabic, MSA) is often perceived as only the lexically modernized form of classical Arabic. However, significant examples of syntactic evolutions are not lacking (amongst others, the conditional systems). To show the evolution of Contemporary Written Fuṣḥā, mainly in Arabic newspapers, this article will look at some cases of so-called “new” constructions, some of them are even ancient but perceived as impossible and faulty to the canons of the classical language. From surveys made on the Internet, in newspapers, and in novels written in Contemporary Written Fuṣḥā, this article shows the existence of other forms of negation in the future than that of lan + subjunctive. It demonstrates that the so-called MSA grammar books are, once again, descriptively inadequate when facing the reality of the texts. While arguing for a renewal of the teaching of MSA grammar, this article shows that these forms are much older than they appear and proposes assumptions to analyze the conditions for their emergence. More specifically, following Larcher and drawing on the principle of non-synonymy, the article proposes that the coexistence of several forms of negation in future contexts signals a probable reorganization of the negation system where, on logical and pragmatic bases, the difference would be made between a descriptive negation on one hand and a modal negation (= denial) on the other. Then the article addresses the combinations involving sawfa where the latter is preposed to sa-yafʿalu, therefore already a future form, as well as to faʿala, so a past while sawfa is supposed to be a marker of future intervening only before a muḍāriʿ. These evolutions, perceived by the supporters of a frozen Arabic language and other deaf and blind guardians of the language as only faults, are nevertheless meaningful, showing the strength of pragmatics over mere reference to a grammatical norm that is quite incapable of so many nuances.
DIGLOSSIA IN ARABIC LANGUAGE LEARNING: INSIGHTS FROM FOREIGN STUDENTS IN TUNIS
The present research attempts to explore the learners’ perspectives regarding the linguistic variation of Arabic and its implication in the learning process. In the last few decades, several proposals have been made to introduce colloquial varieties of Arabic to non-native students, with the aim of meeting their needs, that often include communication in informal settings. The present fieldwork has been conducted in Tunis between December 2020 and July 2021 with informants that were studying either Standard Arabic, Tunisian Arabic, or that were learning both varieties in two separate courses. The data collection was carried out with semi-structured one to one interviews. The study shows the importance of individual factors related to the learners in choosing which variety (or varieties) of Arabic to study, as well as their personal experience in studying one or both and using them outside the classroom. Furthermore, the possibility of mixing more than one variety of Arabic was pointed out by the informants as a communication strategy and, at the same time, as a potential issue in the learning process.
ANALYSING STUDENT ERRORS: A CONTRASTIVE APPROACH TO ARABIC AND ROMANIAN NOUNS
This research, part of an ongoing PhD thesis, focuses on the noun in both Arabic and Romanian language, aiming to identify and analyse the most common errors made by Romanian students learning Arabic. By examining the theoretical framework and linguistic rules governing noun usage in both languages – particularly aspects such as gender, definiteness, case and number – the study employs a contrastive analysis to uncover key linguistic differences that may contribute to learning difficulties. Through an analysis of several noun groups in Romanian and how they were translated into Arabic by Romanian students, the research seeks to pinpoint specific challenges faced by learners. The study not only highlights the influence of Romanian, as the native language, on students’ acquisition of Arabic but also shows recurrent patterns of error in their writing. This contrastive approach is critical for understanding the underlying difficulties Romanian students meet in learning Arabic, providing them with a clearer understanding of why these errors occur. Overall, this research aims to add to the broader discourse on effective language pedagogy, shedding light on learner needs in multilingual educational settings.
NEW NOTIONS ADAPTED TO THE ARABIC LANGUAGE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
The adaptation of new or foreign concepts to the Arabic language is a difficult and ongoing struggle, due to its morphological particularities (Elmgrab, 2016: 75-85). This article endeavours to present a series of notions brought to the attention of the general public in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and their adaptation to the Arabic language. The study was conducted based on online materials and articles, as well as on Internet queries for the period 2020-2024. The analysis focused mainly on articles identified on the Al-Jazeera platform, which served as a base for specific examples and statistics. The aim of the article is to follow the degree of terminological consistency with regards to the adapted notions, as well as to identify the processes based on which the adapted Arabic syntagms were formed.
Between "lecture" and "exploration"! Learning culture in Arabic as a second language
This paper seeks to answer the following questions: What is “culture” in the field of second language acquisition? What are the challenges of learning it? What aspects of culture should we teach? And how can culture be integrated into learning materials and presented to learners? The paper employs a descriptive-analytical methodology based on the researcher's practical experience, as well as references to other studies to support the arguments presented. It begins with a brief overview of the major shifts in the field of second language acquisition, to pinpoint the place of the cultural component within it. It then attempts to define the role of culture in Arabic as a second language instruction. Furthermore, it proposes a framework for what cultural content should be presented to learners at each proficiency level, accompanied by suggestions on how to present and integrate it with the language. The paper emphasizes the necessity of incorporating culture into Arabic language learning materials and courses, through design and implementation that contribute to enhancing linguistic proficiency. While the paper does not showcase examples of learner outputs in cultural activities, it does offer some applied models for cultural learning strategies. The paper encourages cultural learning and exploration, advocating for learners to explore the culture themselves, rather than relying solely on classroom-based cultural instruction.
MNEMONICS IN TEACHING ARABIC GRAMMAR: A PILOT CASE STUDY ABOUT THE NUMERAL
The retention of key grammatical concepts remains a challenge in contemporary grammar instruction. Memorization is a skill that can be developed to better address this issue. Mnemonics, a set of cognitive strategies to enhance memorization across domains including language, offer potential benefits. Considering the historic role of memorization in Arabic grammar pedagogy, the pilot experiment presented in this study examined the effect of mnemonics for teaching/learning the polar agreement of the Arabic numerals. Participants were divided into two groups: one received a concise mnemonic phrase framing the agreement rule and the other was given a conventional explicit grammar rule. The results revealed some suggestive trends of mnemonics facilitating learning while reducing cognitive overload. Although multiple experimental limitations preclude definitive conclusions, the findings provide a promising premise for a full-scale experiment that could yield more rigorous evidence and pedagogical insights.
LE RECOURS À LA TRADITION GRAMMATICALE ARABE DANS L’ENSEIGNEMENT DE L’ARABE : QUELS RISQUES ET QUELS AVANTAGES ?
What should be the goal of teaching grammar in the language learning process? What is the best method to adopt in the specific case of the Arabic language, which has its own millennial tradition of grammatical studies? Can the use of this tradition, which has developed a peculiar conceptual framework and its own perspective of analysis, be helpful to teachers and students who have been formed within the Western linguistic tradition? Might the pitfalls hidden in juxtaposing two different traditions of study exceed the advantages and thus undermine the efforts? An attempt to answer these questions will be made in this article, but only after providing a brief definition of the concept of grammatical tradition and mentioning the changes undergone by the term naḥw as for its semantic field and scope. A careful consideration of the complex problem of the terminological correspondence and the translatability of Arabic terminology will, therefore, allow us to lay the terms of the issue. Finally, the thesis that, faced with approximate interpretations and unconvincing explanations given by Arabists, the recourse to the tradition of Arab grammarians can be helpful, provided it is motivated, oriented, and reasonably limited, will be argued through the discussion of two fundamental grammatical topics: on the one hand, the function of the mubtadaʾ as it is described in a previous article by Michele Vallaro (1948-2023); on the other hand, the alleged opposition between māḍī and muḍāriʿ, in which the Arabic verbal system would be grounded, compared with what is stated by ʾAbū al-Qāsim al-Suhaylī (d. 1185) in his Natāʾiǧ al-fikr fī al-naḥw.
EDUARD BOGDAN COJANU. 2024. La Pragmatique dans la Didactique de l’Arabe Langue Etrangère
The field in which Bogdan Cojanu’s work develops – Arabic language teaching – is a long-standing concern for Arabists who also carry out teaching activity, more so since, as the author emphasizes, the diglossic and, at times, multilingual situation in the Arab world can set up as many obstacles in the acquisition of this linguistic code. Bogdan Cojanu’s work is, therefore, an attempt to answer – through a scholarly and informed problematization of the subject – an essential question for the Arabic teacher and their students. How does one teach Arabic better? How can one better acquire the language? Which teaching methods should we use or better said which are most useful? And finally, what kind of Arabic? What kind of Arabic are we learning? No doubt, Bogdan Cojanu’s demonstration is valid for the acquisition of any language other than the mother tongue, but especially for linguistic contexts similar to the one configured in the Arab space marked by a pronounced dialectal diversity complemented by the existence of a literary register that does not fulfill the condition of mother tongue of Arabs, but is nevertheless the language of culture of the space and a common inter-Arab communication code.
PHONETIC ADAPTATION OF ARABIC LOANWORDS IN THE DOBRUJAN TATAR
As indicated by the title, this study deals with the phonetic adaptation of the Arabic loanwords in the Dobrujan Tatar. This Turkic variety possesses a large number of Arabic lexical borrowings due to the fact that Arabic is the language of the Quran, a language of high prestige for Muslims. Arabic, as a donor language, is closely related to the spread of the Islamic religion among the Turkic populations. Several phonological processes in Dobrujan Tatar apply with regard to the adaptation of lexical borrowings from Arabic.
Muhammad Naffāʻ and His Linguistic Distinction
This article focuses on the distinctive characteristics that set the Palestinian writer, Muhammad Naffāʻ (1940-2021), apart from other writers, and on the period during which Naffāʻ was literarily active. This is accomplished through a presentation of critics' views regarding the different literary stages experienced by Palestinian literature, Naffāʻ’s affiliation with one of these stages, and the characteristics of this stage of which Naffāʻ was not only a part but one of its most prominent writers. This article attempts to present the common denominators among Palestinian writers who remained in the territories of (1948), as they have been conventionally termed, at the level of content; and it shows that Naffāʻ’s themes were similar to those of other writers. However, this article demonstrates critics' consensus that what distinguished Naffāʻ was not the content of his stories, as the stories revolved around roughly the same subjects; rather, Naffāʻ was distinguished from others by his unique literary language. This article identifies the specific elements that formed the foundation upon which this language was built. Critics have pointed to two main elements that constituted the most important components of Naffāʻ’s literary language: Palestinian heritage and colloquial language. Naffāʻ relied primarily on these two elements in constructing his language, though to varying degrees. The proportion of these elements increased as Naffāʻ progressed in his creative journey, with these elements beginning to fill the spaces of his pages and thus crystallizing his distinctive style. The unique aspect of Naffāʻ is that the elements upon which his literary style was built accompanied him from the beginning of his literary journey until its end. They appeared in his first story and increased in his last story, though they remained the same elements, even if their prominence varied across his stories. Critics have pointed to these inherent elements in his language, making Naffāʻ the writer distinguished by his language from other writers. This article illuminates this aspect theoretically, while the practical aspect would require another article.
ARAB STUDIES IN THE GREEK ACADEMIA: HISTORICAL CONTINUITIES, MODERN TRENDS AND CHALLENGES
This essay intends to shed light on the historical evolution of Arab Studies in Greece from the establishment of its modern state in the 1830s until the present. More specifically, the major driving forces behind the Greek educational and academic institutions’ re-discovery of the so-called ‘‘Orient’’ are discussed, reflecting the great orientalist traditions of Europe, in addition to domestic political considerations and regional geopolitical repercussions. Taking into account the relevant academic literature written in Greek and today’s respective university departments and courses, as well as the dominant approaches towards the teaching of Islam and the culture of the Arabs, this research addresses first the historical and intellectual peculiarities of Greek Orientalism and then analyzes the factors that have affected and continue to affect the content and orientations of Arab Studies in the Greek academia between the 20th and the 21st century. The essay concludes with an assessment of the continuities with past experiences and the most recent trends regarding the status of Arab Studies.
Analyzing Classical Arabic Poetry Texts: An Applied Model of Educational Competencies in Literature Instruction
This study seeks to examine Catherine Kerbrat-Orecchioni’s model of speaker competencies within the context of teaching Arabic literature – particularly poetry – to non-native speakers. It is well known that teaching poetry, and literary texts in general, poses significant challenges in language instruction due to various cultural, aesthetic, linguistic, and communicative factors. Many non-native Arabic speakers find it particularly difficult to understand classical Arabic poetry and to analyze its components. This paper adopts Kerbrat-Orecchioni’s framework to explore the difficulties learners face in constructing and decoding implicit meanings, with the aim of identifying, classifying, and ultimately overcoming these challenges. The model is grounded in four core competencies: linguistic competence, encyclopedic competence, logical competence, and pragmatic-rhetorical communicative competence. The study aims to translate these theoretical discussions into practical applications in the teaching of classical poetry. To test this approach, we selected a short poetic excerpt (a fragment) from Al-Mufaddaliyyāt, specifically the third mufaddaliyya attributed to al-Kulḥaba al-ʿUrnī - one of the oldest poetic selections to have reached us. Its brevity allows for an in-depth analysis, helping us identify specific challenges that may arise in the pedagogical process. In this context, we present analytical tables derived from real classroom engagement with students from the Russian Federation, who studied the poem during an Arabic language course at Sultan Qaboos University in the fall of 2024. This lends the theoretical model both relevance and empirical credibility within the field of language education.
Pragmatics and literature instruction for non-native speakers
Theory of the implicit and language learning
AN UNEDITED POEM OF ʿABD AR-RAḤMĀN AL-BŪṢĪRĪ FROM THE ARCHIVE OF THE ACCADEMIA NAZIONALE DEI LINCEI IN ROME
This paper aims to present the version of an unedited poem of ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān al-Būṣīrī preserved in the Conti Rossini Archive at the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in Rome. The poem was composed on the occasion of the occupation of Libya by the Italian Army in 1911 and its themes are war, occupation, resistance and ḥamāsah (lit. “valour”). The poem, which constitutes an important expression of Libyan Amāzīġ heritage, has no title and was most likely copied by Conti Rossini himself. The poem is written in classical Arabic and is composed of nineteen lines, each of which is divided into two hemistichs. The present work will focus on the linguistic and literary aspects of the poem and the description of its salient features, function and meaning. The literary text, such as the one presented in this article, represents a textual typology characterized by a high quality of both linguistic and cultural input. It allows us to appreciate the art of the poet and his contribution to the literary tradition, to understand the characteristics of the historical period taken into consideration and, more generally, the culture of a population. In addition, literary text, especially that written in classical Arabic, is a valuable tool for teaching the Arabic language itself; indeed, it is an authentic and real text, which leads the student to a personal re-elaboration of the contents and, consequently, to a greater production in terms of linguistic output. Thus, its use should be re-evaluated in teaching Arabic language in today’s Academia.
Teaching Arabic language skills to non-specialist university students between the acquisition of basic skills and the mastery of the skill
This study aims to know the Feasibility of the used way in the study of the skills of the Arabic language, and the perception of the optimum in the teaching; Where the viewer notices the emergence of the elements of the language, especially the grammar rules in the description of the skills of the Arabic language and its goals. This study answers the question: Is the method followed in teaching the Arabic language skills course based on choosing an element or a group of linguistic elements from among the language systems and their branches (phonology, morphology, grammar, lexicography, and semantics) useful in developing the student’s skills and linguistic abilities in reading, writing, speaking, and listening? The question branches into a sub-questions, such as: Is the most important thing in teaching this course the branches of language, especially grammar, or its skills? What is the benefit of choosing the course vocabulary to access lectures, activities and exercises? How can we benefit from illustrative means and putting students in practical situations in enabling these students to express themselves and discover the mistakes they make, such as giving a speech, holding a dialogue, managing a conversation, or writing an article? The student does not need more than the amount that helps him to master the skill from grammar. Therefore, he must enhance his appreciation of the language and knowledge of its culture, and train himself to read its texts and write in it professionally and functionally or artistically and creatively.
CEFR’S MEDIATION, A KEY FOR TEACHING ARABIC’S DIGLOSSIA?
Mediation has emerged as the fourth mode of language activity within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). This shift from the traditional focus on four skills to the recognition of four communication modes – reception, interaction, production and mediation – reflects an acknowledgment of the social dimension of language. As highlighted by Brian North and Enrica Piccardo, mediation takes “the dynamic nature of meaning to another level” (North and Piccardo 2016: 5). Mediation encompasses three distinct types: mediating a text, mediating concepts and mediating communication. Alongside, we also have mediating strategies that align with the new treatment of the communicative language strategies within the context of communicative language activities (reception, production, interaction and mediation). Mediation engages with different aspects, such as participating in an oral discussion involving several languages or the strategic use of plurilingual and pluricultural repertoires. Further, it addresses contexts where linguistic, social or cultural mediation is necessary to enhance accessibility and mutual understanding. Given the inherently pluriglossic nature of Arabic, characterized by frequent alternation between language levels, this study explores how CEFR mediation descriptors can be relevant for Arabic language instruction. The study discusses the implications of our findings for enhancing Arabic teaching practices.
The first recorded studies on Moroccan Arabic date back to the late 19th century, as a consequence of the interest of the French administrators and Orientalists who were focused on Morocco’s political and economic importance to France. These first studies aimed to report grammatical descriptions and transcriptions of spoken varieties. Since its beginning, the 20th century brought a more extensive attentiveness in understanding the local language varieties of the colonised North Africa, which led to more systematic studies that described Moroccan Arabic phonetics and phonology, as well as comparative observations on the Maghrebi varieties. After World War II, European linguists introduced a modern approach in Moroccan dialectology and sociolinguistics, discovering relationships between different Moroccan Arabic varieties and documenting regional ones. The 21st century studies keep pace with the modern reality in the Moroccan society, revealing cultural, sociolinguistic, educational, and socio-political influences in the spoken Moroccan Arabic.
TEACHING ARABIC IN HEBREW ACADEMIA: CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES
Arabic is recognized as one of the most prominent and widely spoken languages globally (Amara, 2024: 69), attracting numerous learners due to its historical and cultural significance. It is acknowledged as the mother tongue and national language of Arab Palestinians, a language of the Middle East, closely related to Hebrew, and a language of cultural heritage for nearly half of the Jewish population in Israel (Graysi, 2018). In Hebrew academia, Arabic has been continuously taught from 1948 to the present day. Despite the presence of universities and colleges specializing in Arabic instruction, educational practices reveal significant disparities in objectives and curricula across different institutions. This variability poses substantial challenges to the development and enhancement of Arabic education and its academic standing. Providing a sociolinguistic study of the status of Arabic in Hebrew academia, this article aims to decode the challenges and explore the perspectives of teaching Arabic. It will identify the conditions and context of teaching Arabic as a second language. By examining sociolinguistic theory and referencing precise examples and sources, we seek to provide a comprehensive overview and in-depth analysis, to evaluate the current academic reality of Arabic language teaching in Hebrew universities, and to describe the main obstacles to creating an academic environment that effectively encourages balanced and active language learning.
relationship between academia and Arabic language
HUMOR IN ABU AL-SHAMAQMAQ’S POETRY: A UNIQUE APPROACH TO STUDYING A CLASSICAL ARABIC POEM
This research presents an innovative methodology for teaching and studying classical Arabic poetry, with particular emphasis on its humorous elements. The study centers on analyzing the works of the Abbasid poet Abu al-Shamaqmaq, employing contemporary theories of humor in the examination of his poetic output. This approach, developed as part of my doctoral thesis,2 integrates theoretical frameworks derived from psychology, philosophy, and sociology with the practical analysis of classical Arabic poems. The methodology offers a novel interdisciplinary perspective on understanding and interpreting medieval Arabic literary humor. This article is divided into two sections. The theoretical section provides a brief overview of selected theories of humor. The practical section applies these chosen theories to the poem, demonstrating how these theories manifest within it.
Language shift in teaching Arabic as a second language
Code Switching is a communication strategy between individuals and groups; it’s the alternation between two languages whiting the same discourse. The phenomenon is common in language centers for teaching foreign languages. So, we will work through this research to address some of the issues associated with the phenomenon from a social, linguistic and educational perspective. The problem that the research will discuss is, "Is the code switching a building block or a stumbling block to teaching Arabic to non- native speakers? One of the objectives of this research is to demonstrate the importance of code switching and its effectiveness in developing Arabic language teaching and determining its added value. In view of the specific nature of the subject, we have undertaken a field study using the quantitative social approach during the collection of data, through the preparation of two electronic questionnaires for non-speaking Arabic students and their teachers to study the extent of its contribution to the development of linguistic learner’s levels. We concluded that the code switching played an active role in the teaching of Arabic and that there's nothing abnormal or linguistically disturbing about switching from one language to another in the classroom. It is not an obstacle to a learning process, but only if such use is regulated and made an auxiliary strategy for teaching and learning Arabic.
ACQUISITION AND PEDAGOGY OF THE ARABIC EMPHATIC CONSONANTS
English learners of Arabic struggle with acquiring Arabic emphatic consonants (Odisho, 2005), such as [ṣ], [ṭ], [ḍ], which are alveolar consonants marked by pharyngealization or uvularization as secondary articulation (Herzallah, 1990, Zuwaideh, 1999). Pedagogical research suggests that the pronunciation of these second language (L2) sounds can improve when teaching involves various classroom activities, training sessions, and feedback (Celce-Murcia and Goodwin 1996). However, it is unclear which specific types of activities (e.g., controlled versus communicative practice activities) are most effective for improving the perception and production of L2 Arabic emphatic sounds. Four tasks (articulatory, controlled, guided, and communicative activities) were prepared to study L2 learners’ acquisition of Arabic emphatics, followed by perception and production tests to monitor the learners’ progress. The results suggest that articulatory and controlled activities are more effective at improving learners’ perceptions, while guided and communicative activities are more effective at enhancing learners’ pronunciation. The results also show that different learners made progress after some training sessions, suggesting that diversifying the types of activities is crucial for learners with different learning styles and pace of convergence with native-like pronunciation.
controlled and communicative practice activities
Teaching Arabic Rhetoric in Current University Circles: Challenges and Solutions
This study is an attempt to clarify the most important ways to achieve creativity in teaching the Arabic language in general, and rhetoric in particular, in the present and future of university education. In this, it is based on the belief that this creativity cannot be achieved except by reviewing the most prominent criticisms that scholars have taken against Arabic rhetoric, which are the criticisms that have justified some modern trends to claim to be heirs to rhetoric, as stylistics did, or to define themselves as “New Rhetorics", as the Argumentation School did, for example. After examining these shortcomings, the study suggests what can be done to deal with them in a way that serves the main purpose, which is creativity in education. In its aforementioned endeavor, the study uses the descriptive and analytical approach, highlighting ten of the most important criticisms that Arab scholars and others have taken against rhetoric, which many of them like to describe as “traditional,” trying to consider the extent of the objectivity and realism of these criticisms, linking them to the special historical circumstance of the emergence of Arab rhetorical studies. And an attempt to suggest what might make overcoming these drawbacks - if they are real - possible, and even desirable.
HUMANIZATION OF ANIMALS IN ARABIC LITERATURE: IMAGINATION SYMBOLISM AND EMPLOYMENT AESTHETICS
The aim of this research paper is to delve into the paths of Arabic discourse to reveal the humanization of animals and the way they are used in Arabic literature. It goes beyond the stereotypical narrative and descriptive styles associated with human characters to writing about animals or through their voices. In the latter the animals evolved into primary protagonists who create events and penetrate deeply into human existences, thus taking a prominent place within literary composition. Consequently, the animal turns, in the process of writing, into a rational and dreaming being, capable of comforting the individual and compensating for his loneliness. What is striking about the issue of employing animals is the writer’s attention to the imaginative and symbolic aesthetic aspect without neglecting the underlying repercussions and goals. Hence, this style of writing enjoyed great importance and a unique position in Arab culture, ancient and modern.
MANUELA E.B. GIOLFO, FEDERICO SALVAGGIO (editors). 2023. More than Just Labels Relating TAFL to CEFR Levels. Roma: Aracne. 248 pp. ISBN: 979-12-218-1094-3
More than Just Labels Relating TAFL to CEFR Levels is a volume edited by Professors Giolfo and Salvaggio that brings together contributions from distinguished scholars with the aim to find answers and, more important, to raise awareness about the question of whether to relate the teaching of Arabic to European standards.
ZAHRA ALI. 2020. Féminismes islamiques (deuxième édition). Paris: La Fabrique éditions. 234 pp. ISBN: 978-2-35872-190-5
Zahra Ali brings together the most relevant scholars, researchers and activists in what is called Islamic feminism in a second edition of this volume that captures the latest developments in the field. The work starts with two fundamental desiderata: the need to decolonize the reading and understanding of feminism in the Islamic space and to place it in the continuation of efforts to reform Islamic societies by reinterpreting its fundamental sources. In the introduction to the book Zahra Ali draws attention to the danger of generalization in approaching the Islamic world and the social status of Muslim women who live in a variety of environments each of them contextualized politically, economically and culturally. The editor warns that the articles making up the volume are in clear rupture with the orientalist and racist vision that characterizes the controversies about women in the Islamic world. Islamic feminism as conceptually described by the authors of this volume develops within the Islamic religious system by strongly challenging the patriarchal dimension of the reading of the Koranic text, overturning several general lines present in the common perception, Western and Islamic alike.
NARRATIO BREVIS IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA: FROM THE FIRST ITTIǦĀHĀT TO THE RECENT PRODUCTION OF ḪALDŪN AL-DĀLĪ
Narratio brevis, in the renewed form of the short story (SS), gained the spotlight in the Arabian Peninsula and played the role of cultural rendez-vous or multaqā in Arabic. Michalak-Pikulska noted that the short story (qiṣṣa qaṣīra QQ) expresses the awareness and sense of injustice suffered in many contexts. In addition to this, Ramsay and Bū-Ša‘īr summarized some main tendencies of the short story, spanning from (magical) realism to folklore, up to (refuse of) modernism. War and conflict are of course found in the Kuwaiti narrative, triggered by the Gulf War events. Al-Ḫarrāṭ individuated the rise of a new sensitivity (ḥassāsiyya ǧadīda) as the underpinning factor for the QQ, and he also defined it a phenomenon of transgeneric writing (al-kitāba ‘abra al-naw‘iyya). Taking into due account all the above, and the historical factors that framed the literary production, this paper traces the main steps and literary developments of the SS in the Peninsula and focuses on the recent production of Khaldoun al-Dali (Ḫaldūn al-Dālī), a young Yemeni writer who is author of very short stories. The aim is to provide an overall but representative outlook of the literary developments, after al-Faraǧ the Kuwaiti pioneer of SSs in the area.