Abstract

Speakers’ individual and collective identities are socially constructed through their linguistic and social behavior, and inevitably shaped by the socio-political and cultural situation of a region and its observers. It stands to reason, therefore, that significant changes in a community’s linguistic practices are often catalyzed by noteworthy socio-political developments within the same community. In this light, the present study aims to explore recent linguistic developments regarding speakers’ use of Arabic and their perception of its status in Lebanon in the midst of a time of profound social and political change: The October Revolution.
 The present study opens with an introduction that reviews Lebanon’s linguistic panorama before October 17th, 2019, and provides a brief synopsis of the succession of events now widely known as ‘The October Revolution’. The second section explains the study’s theoretical approach and the nature of the data. The third and last section focuses on how the events of the October Revolution have, at least temporarily, affected the use and status of Arabic in Lebanon and reshaped this language’s place in the public sphere.

Highlights

  • Speakers’ individual and collective identities are socially constructed through their linguistic and social behavior, and inevitably shaped by the socio-political and cultural situation of a region and its observers (KROSKRITY 2000, 2004; IRVINE & GAL 2000; FULLER 2008)

  • The present study aims to explore some apparent developments in the situation of Arabic in Lebanon after the October Revolution, especially those concerning Lebanese speakers’ attitudes towards Arabic as a whole, in order to shed light onto the emerging social ideologies that are being created and enhanced among groups of speakers in Lebanon in view of the socio-political situation that the country is witnessing in recent times

  • The present study explores the changes happening in the panorama of language attitudes of Lebanon since the start of the October Revolution, the most significant of these being a noticeable update in the status of Arabic within parts of Lebanese society

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Summary

Introduction

Speakers’ individual and collective identities are socially constructed through their linguistic and social behavior, and inevitably shaped by the socio-political and cultural situation of a region and its observers (KROSKRITY 2000, 2004; IRVINE & GAL 2000; FULLER 2008). The spread of French as an instructional and governmental language fostered a specific educational curriculum that contributed to the diffusion of the already present ideology of “Phoenicianism” in Lebanon (KAUFMAN 2001), which encouraged Christian Lebanese to think of their origins as different from those of the Arabs, creating another identitarian division between Christians and Muslims in the country. This triggered feelings of socio-economic exclusion and resentment among many members of the

GORDON 1985
Conclusions
Findings
Do you think you have been using more Arabic since the revolution started?
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