Communities Of Use In Arabic Newspaper Language: The Meaning Of The Country Effect

Abstract

[ Arabic media language, however, comprises at least also its spoken counterpart that is used in radio and television programs. Research on the segment of media Arabic, so far, has rather been limited to news broadcasts. The aim of the compilation of the Modern Arabic Representative Corpus (MARC) - 2000 corpus is to obtain an objective scientific view about the Arabic language situation and its characteristics such as it was used in the year 2000 in its most varied settings. This chapter provides an intermediate report about the empirical findings related to the methodological problems of classifying media language in general and oral media language more specifically. It also presents some methodological issues one can face in trying to define precise classifications for oral media Arabic language use in order to ensure an optimal scientific research on the sampled material. Keywords:Arabic language; Modern Arabic Representative Corpus (MARC) - 2000 corpus; oral media language , This is the introductory chapter of this book, which focuses on the use of Arabic as evidenced in visual and written media, newspapers and satellite channels. The book raises two fundamental questions: First, is Arabic influenced in its development by the media, like other languages? That is, is it changing rapidly to meet the needs of the modern world, in its standard and colloquial varieties? If so, what are the social mechanisms or institutions that shape the use of Arabic? Second, can the media give rise to new hybrid language forms? Conversely, are the media themselves influenced by Arabic? The book aims at offering a significant theoretical, methodological and applicable framework to the study of Arabic media and to the teaching of media as well. Keywords:Arabic media; newspapers ]