Arab Research Articles

Animal Idiomatic Expressions: A Contrastive Study between Arabic and English

This study examines idiomatic expressions involving animals in English and Arabic. As a native Arabic speaker and an English university instructor, the researcher observed that both languages utilize animals in idiomatic contexts to convey specific connotations or messages that differ from the literal meaning of the expressions. The researcher identified these animal-related idioms in both languages and organized them into tables to highlight similarities and differences through a comparative approach. The findings revealed three key points: First, certain animal idioms are used in both languages to express the same indicative meaning; second, some English idioms have counterparts in Arabic that convey the same meaning but involve different animals; and third, some English animal idioms have no equivalents in Arabic. The study concludes that understanding the cultural context of idiomatic expressions fosters native-like linguistic competence. It contributes to cross-cultural understanding by systematically identifying, comparing, and categorizing animal idioms in Arabic and English, emphasizing their cultural significance and practical implications for language learners, translators, and educators.

Arabic Language Learning in Cybernetic Theory Perspective: A Case Study of Hayfa Academy as an Effort to Improve SDGs4

The quality of Arabic speaking skills among students tends to be low. This quality hurts their effective communication skills. This problem needs to be addressed because it hinders the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Arabic is essential for establishing effective communication in the global world. This study explores in depth the Arabic language learning process of Hayfa Academy from the perspective of cybernetic theory and its contribution to the achievement of SDG 4. With a qualitative method and case study approach, this study collected data through interviews, distributing questionnaires, and observations. Data that has been obtained is then analyzed using collecting data, direct interpretation, forming patterns, and naturalistic generalization as a conclusion. The results of this study reveal that Hayfa Academy uses cybernetic theory in its learning process, namely giving attention to internal and external conditions of students. Hayfa Academy's Arabic language learning process also has a positive impact on the achievement of SDG 4. Hayfa Academy has implemented the Arabic language learning process by paying attention to the achievement of SDG 4, especially point 4, namely student skills and quality education.

Barriers to Teaching Arabic Speech: A Case Study for Seventh Grade Students in Public Middle School Gresik

Arabic language learning in Indonesia must be resolved immediately because it always faces linguistic and non-linguistic problems. Non-linguistic problems include learning motivation, media, model, allocation, and learning environment. Linguistic problems include linguistic problems such as phonetics, morphology, and syntax. The age of the students and the learning environment determine many language learning problems. This article reviews the obstacles faced by seventh grade students of MTs Negeri Gresik when learning to speak Arabic. This paper uses descriptive analysis through interviews, direct observation, and document collection. After data collection and analysis results identified two main factors that cause this difficulty, one of which is factors outside the Arabic language itself. The results show that similar problems are also common in other madrasahs. Although focused on one school, this study makes an important contribution in understanding the Arabic speaking difficulties that are often experienced by grade VII students, especially in a madrasah environment. This paper can be the basis for Arabic teachers to design more effective and innovative learning strategies to overcome the problems faced by students. In addition, this research contributes to the curriculum development team, especially in terms of determining relevant learning materials and developing learning methods that better accommodate the needs of students. And finally, the results of this analysis can be a reference for future research that wants to explore similar issues in other schools

Peningkatan Kemampuan Muhādatsah di Prodi Pendidikan Bahasa Arab : Perspektif Mahasiswa

Improving the ability of speaking in Arabic Language Education Study Program is an important aspect in the Arabic language teaching process. Speaking skills are one of the main competencies that students must have, both in academic and social contexts. However, learning to speak in Arabic often faces various challenges, such as fear of public speaking, lack of motivation, and limited opportunities to practice. The purpose of this study is to explore the improvement of Arabic speaking skills from the perspective of students by analyzing various methods applied in learning to speak. The research method used is a qualitative method. The data collection techniques in this study used interview and literature study techniques. Interviews were conducted with informants who were students of the Arabic Language Education Study Program. The literature study technique was used with the aim of reviewing and analyzing various literature related to improving the ability of speaking in Arabic Language Education Study Program. The results of the study indicate that the development of more varied learning methods and providing space for students to practice speaking intensively are very important in supporting the improvement of their speaking skills. For that reason, it is important for the study program management to continue to innovate in creating methods and environments that can encourage students to be more active and confident in speaking Arabic.

The Effect of a Specialized Dyslexia Arabic Font, Arabolexia, on Reading Performance of Children with Dyslexia

: Dyslexia-friendly fronts have gained interest thanks to their potential advantages on the reading performance of dyslexic children. Most studies, however, were done on Latin-based languages, such as English. Studies investigating the reading performance of people with dyslexia in languages with different writing systems, such as Arabic, remain scarce. Arabolexia, a font developed for dyslexic Arabic speakers, has demonstrated a facilitatory effect on the reading of children with dyslexia. Yet, the features contributing to these advantages have not been empirically studied. The current study examines the elements of Arabolexia —such as letterform, spacing, and font size —that might improve reading. We compared the reading performance of dyslexic children (n=45, mean age = 11.10 years) using texts in both Arabolexia and Simplified Arabic font, a widely used standard font, under four conditions: default Arabolexia, Simplified Arabic with matched font size only, Simplified Arabic with matched spacing only, and Simplified Arabic over-all matching. The results show that Arabolexia’s advantages disappear when Simplified Arabic is adjusted to match its spacing. These findings suggest that the facilitatory effect of Arabolexia stems from its spacing parameters rather than its unique design.

The securitisation of the other through language planning: the Israeli case

ABSTRACT This study examines how language planning is deployed to address security concerns. Specifically, in a Foucauldian sense, it problematises the conditions, approaches and contexts of the language planning mechanisms Israel has used to communicate with Arab speakers in Gaza, the West Bank and neighbouring Arab nations, aiming to maintain security rather than to facilitate communication. The analysis focuses on two primary dimensions: conflict management and conflict prevention. Regarding conflict prevention, this study problematises the Mista’arvim (Arabic: المستعربون الإسرائيليون , English: those who become like Arabs, Hebrew: מסתערבים), which can either refer to specialised counter-terrorism units within the security apparatus or Israeli public figures and military personnel who actively engage on social media to defend Israel’s interests and promote its political agenda. Regarding conflict management, this study scrutinises Israel’s airborne leaflet tactics carried out by Malat (in Hebrew המרכז למבצעי תודעה ), which is a unit in the Israeli Defense Forces Operations Directorate that specialises in psychological warfare. In particular, the context in which Malat’s psychological tactics operate and the objectives it serves are scrutinised. This study concludes with a call for a policy shift towards desecuritisation in Israel’s language planning mechanisms used to communicate with Arab speakers.

Expoloring the Difficulties Native Mandarin and Arabic speakers Facing when Learning English

This paper presents a comparative analysis of Mandarin, Arabic and English in the phonological part. The study focuses on the challenges and difficulties faced by L1 Mandarin and Arabic speakers in acquiring English pronunciation. Chinese is tone-based, and Arabic has a simpler vowel system; in contrast, English, a Germanic language, uses a complicated inventory of vowels and consonants, elaborate syllabic structures, and prominence-related stress patterns. The study looks at how the Arabic vowel and consonant inventory and the Pinyin system, a Chinese phonetic transcription tool, affect phonetic transfer problems when learning English. The study aims to help native Mandarin and Arabic speakers have a better understanding of the difference among different languages which would help them overcome the challenges and achieve more native-like fluency in English speaking.

DarijaBanking: A new resource for overcoming language barriers in banking intent detection for Moroccan Arabic speakers

DarijaBanking: A new resource for overcoming language barriers in banking intent detection for Moroccan Arabic speakers

Machine Learning and Deep Learning Approaches for Arabic Sign Language Recognition: A Decade Systematic Literature Review.

Sign language (SL) is a means of communication that is used to bridge the gap between the deaf, hearing-impaired, and others. For Arabic speakers who are hard of hearing or deaf, Arabic Sign Language (ArSL) is a form of nonverbal communication. The development of effective Arabic sign language recognition (ArSLR) tools helps facilitate this communication, especially for people who are not familiar with ArSLR. Although researchers have investigated various machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) methods and techniques that affect the performance of ArSLR systems, a systematic review of these methods is lacking. The objectives of this study are to present a comprehensive overview of research on ArSL recognition and present insights from previous research papers. In this study, a systematic literature review of ArSLR based on ML/DL methods and techniques published between 2014 and 2023 is conducted. Three online databases are used: Web of Science (WoS), IEEE Xplore, and Scopus. Each study has undergone the proper screening processes, which include inclusion and exclusion criteria. Throughout this systematic review, PRISMA guidelines have been appropriately followed and applied. The results of this screening are divided into two parts: analysis of all the datasets utilized in the reviewed papers, underscoring their characteristics and importance, and discussion of the ML/DL techniques' potential and limitations. From the 56 articles included in this study, it was noticed that most of the research papers focus on fingerspelling and isolated word recognition rather than continuous sentence recognition, and the vast majority of them are vision-based approaches. The challenges remaining in the field and future research directions in this area of study are also discussed.

Formulas Against the Evil Eye in the University of Jordan

This paper reports on the findings of a contrastive study exploring the frequency of the use of formulas against the evil eye. It also explores the different categories of compliment responses. The subjects are 100 female and male native speakers of Jordanian Arabic and native speakers of American English. The data are elicited through a DCT that consists of 10 situations. Analysis of the data showed that formulaic expressions were used by native speakers of Jordanian Arabic and native speakers of American English to keep the evil eye away from the speakers. There were no significant differences between the female and male students in complimenting. The participants employed different types of compliment responses. The most frequent category was to accept compliments. A future study is recommended to examine the similarities and differences between the compliments used by teachers and students using online classes.

"What can I do? fight him?" Perceptions and Experiences in Reducing Secondhand Smoke Exposure during Pregnancy: A Qualitative Study among Israeli Women.

Second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure during pregnancy is associated with negative health outcomes. We aimed to explore Israeli pregnant women's perspectives on SHS exposure, with a focus on barriers and enablers to reducing SHS exposure at home and in the car. Qualitative semi-structured telephone interviews with 68 women - 54 Jewish and 14 Arab. Inclusion criteria: pregnant or up to 12 months post-partum; living with a person who smokes; age 18-45; Hebrew or Arabic speakers. Participants could be from any smoking status. Interviews were analyzed according to a reflective and collaborative thematic approach supported by the Capability (C) Opportunity (O) Motivation (M)-Behaviour model. Participants knew SHS is harmful, but lack of specific knowledge (C) was evident across all smoking status groups and population groups (Jewish, Arab). Women harbored misconceptions regarding their SHS exposure (C), employing ineffective strategies to eliminate exposure. Many perceived smoking as a significant source of tension in their relationship with their partners (M). Women described feeling uncomfortable asking people to not smoke around them (O) and bemoaned the lack of support from health professionals (O). Women who never smoked or formerly smoked described situations where they felt trapped and helpless. Specifically, Arab participants reported social isolation(O). The living environment (e.g., building with no elevator) was a commonly mentioned barrier to reduce home SHS exposure (O). Despite high motivation, the low level of knowledge and negotiation skills, misconceptions about exposure and effective strategies, together with insufficient support, lead to behaviors resulting in high SHS exposure. This research explored women's experiences of SHS exposure during pregnancy, and barriers and enablers to reducing prenatal SHS exposure. Interventions need to empower pregnant women to feel confident in asking people not to smoke around them, focus on acquiring negotiation skills, raise awareness to actual exposure and increasee self-efficacy to use effective SHS reduction strategies. Interventions should be inclusive of all family members who smoke. These findings will inform the development of a digital intervention. Digital interventions have the potential for high reach among socially disadvantaged populations while allowing tailoring of individualized messaging to the pregnant woman and her partner.

Occidentalism Revisited: Insights from Contemporary Anglophone Arab Diasporic Literature

: Occidentalism has traditionally been regarded as a theoretical perspective through which the Arab “self” represents the Western “other.” Scholars who have made critical and insightful contributions to the development of the concept of Occidentalism within Arab literary traditions include Hasan Hanafi, Rasheed El-Enany, Zahia Smail Salhi, and most recently, Ahmed Shalabi and Yousef Abu Amrieh. Shalabi and Abu Amrieh have proposed a new definition of Occidentalism, primarily informed by the study of contemporary Anglophone Arab diasporic literature. They identify a gap in previous discussions concerning the scope and applicability of Occidentalism as a viable theoretical framework. Building on their findings, this paper aims to analyze Layla AlAmmar’s Silence Is a Sense and Omar El Akkad’s What Strange Paradise as Occidentalist texts that depict the challenges and hardships Arab immigrants and refugees face in their pursuit of a new life in the “West.” We argue that, through the lens of Occidentalism, the two texts offer nuanced portrayals of the suffering experienced by Arab immigrants and refugees. In doing so, these narratives seek to demystify the romantically held notions about the “West” that many Arab people have adopted while simultaneously drawing Western readers’ attention to the agonies of immigrants and refugees. We conclude that Occidentalism can be utilized as a theoretical framework through which the Arab “self” strives to capture the elusive and delusive reality that many Arab individuals choose to overlook.

THE EFFECT OF PRAGMATIC TRANSFER AND LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY ON MOROCCAN EFL LEARNERS’ PRAGMATIC COMPETENCE

In the present study, we investigate the potential effects of first language negative pragmatic transfer and target language proficiency on Moroccan EFL learners’ pragmatic competence as reflected in their request productions. The data were collected by means of a written discourse completion task from four samples of Moroccan Arabic native speakers, American English native speakers, and two proficiency groups of Moroccan EFL learners. The results revealed some pragmatic transfer of direct requesting strategies, especially the imperatives and want statements. Proficiency also had a positive impact on learners’ use of request perspective and lexical downgraders. However, the lower-level group was not the most direct as expected, indicating a negative correlation between proficiency and pragmatic competence. The study concludes with several research and pedagogical implications.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0712/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Teaching Arabic Using the Language Immersion Method at University: Approaches and Implementation

Teaching Arabic in Indonesia often challenges fostering practical language skills, particularly at Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) and universities. The Language Immersion method, which involves intensively using the target language in natural situations, offers an appealing alternative to enhance Arabic proficiency. While several studies have discussed this method, there remains a gap in its systematic application in academic settings. This study aims to explore the approach and implementation of the Language Immersion method in Arabic teaching at UIN Kiai Haji Achmad Siddiq Jember. It employs a qualitative approach with a case study design. The research locus is the Arabic Language Education Program at UIN Kiai Haji Achmad Siddiq Jember, with lecturers and students as subjects. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, classroom observations, and documentation. Data analysis was conducted using data reduction, presentation, and conclusion-drawing techniques. The findings reveal that the language immersion method significantly improves Arabic students' speaking, reading, and listening skills. Through discussions, role-playing, and presentations, students learn contextually. However, challenges such as lecturer consistency, limited resources, and the need for Arabic-speaking environments outside the classroom must be addressed for optimal results.

Tests of Arabic Speaking Skill for Non-Arabic Speakers

Tests of Arabic Speaking Skill for Non-Arabic Speakers

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the sedentary behaviour questionnaire among Arabic speaking healthy adults

ABSTRACT Subjective evaluation of sedentary behaviour using questionnaires can be used to measure sedentary time. The Sedentary Behaviour Questionnaire (SBQ) is a valid and reliable way to measure sedentary time. Our objectives were to: 1) linguistically and culturally adapt the SBQ to the Arabic-speaking populations; and 2) assess its psychometric properties. The SBQ translation and cross-cultural adaptation were performed according to published guidelines. The psychometric properties of the translated version were investigated in a sample of ambulatory healthy adults from the general population in Jordan. The Arabic version of the SBQ was produced (SBQ-Ar) with good face and content validity. In terms of convergent validity, significant Spearman’s correlations were found between weekdays total sedentary hours and item 26 of the Arabic version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-Ar) (rho = 0.26; p < 0.001); and between weekends total sedentary hours and IPAQ-Ar’s item 27 (rho = 0.38, p < 0.01). Regarding discriminant validity, there were no significant differences in total sedentary hours/week with respect to body mass index and physical activity. There was a significant negative correlation between participants’ age and total sedentary hours/week (rho = −0.23, p < 0.01). Regarding reliability, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for weekdays, weekends, and all days were as follows: ICC(2,1) (95% CI) = 0.83 (0.65–0.91); 0.86 (0.74–0.92); and 0.85 (0.70–0.92) respectively. For internal consistency, Cronbach’s alpha for weekdays and weekend items were 0.41 and 0.42, respectively. This study translated and culturally adapted the SBQ into Arabic, but the resulting questionnaire demonstrated inadequate internal consistency, requiring further research.

Globalization and the Borrowing of “Weekend” from English into Arabic

This study was driven by the observed prevalence of the English word “weekend” among Arab speakers, whether in informal written or spoken communication. It aimed to examine the current status of this foreign word and determine if it is ready to be integrated into the Arabic lexicon. The study relied on a linguistic corpus including contexts containing the Arabized version of “weekend”- “?????” on the popular social media X-platform. This data was supplemented by a questionnaire distributed to 316 Arabs and a comprehensive survey of the status of English as the dominant language in the era of globalization. The analysis revealed an intriguing linguistic phenomenon. The data showed that the word “weekend” is linguistically prepared for integration into the Arabic vocabulary system. However, this integration is still being resisted, as most Arabs expressed their disagreement with the word officially joining their lexicon. While they acknowledged their widespread use of the word and its convenience compared to the native equivalent, they insist on maintaining the Arabic phrase "????? ????? ???????" /'ij?zat nih?yat al-'usb??/. The study concludes that the potential entry of “weekend” into Arabic depends on the conflict between globalization and the increasing acceptance of the word on the one hand, and the rejection by the majority to preserve the Arab identity. Any future societal trends towards accepting this word will pave the way for its integration, as it is already linguistically prepared.

Verb semantics in second language French: Transitivity, unergativity & unaccusativity

This study investigates the acquisition of verb semantics by L1 Arabic-L2 French learners. We examine the effect of proficiency and the L1 transfer on the interlanguage of beginning and advanced adult learners of L2 French. We used a context-based acceptability judgment task with correction to test transitivity, unergativity, pure unaccusativity and alternating unaccusativity using (un)-grammatical illustrative sentences that are similar or different in the two languages. We tested two groups of beginning and advanced learners of L2 French and a group of French native speakers. We used non-parametric tests for within- and between-group comparisons. The results confirmed the influence of the L1 transfer and proficiency on the performance of the beginner and advanced learners respectively. The L2 beginners had instances of under-causativization affecting transitive verbs and over-passivization marking unergative verbs. Further, pure unaccusative verbs are prone to over-passivization while alternating unaccusative verbs presents substantial under-causativization and over-passivization. Comparatively, the L2 advanced learners attained nativelike proficiency on transitivity and unergativity. However, under-causativization affects alternating unaccusative verbs and over-passivization pure unaccusative verbs. The study fills a gap in the empirical research on the acquisition of verb semantics in L2 French by Arabic speakers.

Possibilities and power during early Head Start Home visits: Comparing family- and home visitor-opened decision-making.

Decision-making by families and professionals about how to support children's development is an integral aspect of home visits. This study investigated home visit decision-making in a US program for families experiencing poverty, Early Head Start (EHS), through the following questions: What types of decisions do home visitors and families make about children's development during EHS home visits? How and to what extent do home visitors and families participate during these decisions? A convergent mixed methods research design was implemented to investigate participation through frequency counts and discourse analysis of home visit transcripts. Home visitor participants were four women, three white and one Black. Twelve families participated (12 mothers, 2 fathers). Parents identified as white (n=8), Black (n=3), and multiracial (n=3; Black and white). One parent was a bilingual Arabic and English speaker. A total of 66 decisions about children's development were identified, with 49 decisions initiated by home visitors and 17 initiated by families. Although families talked more and took on active roles when they initiated (i.e., opened) decisions, home visitors predominantly controlled decision-making. Quantitative and qualitative participation differed only in the beginning of family-opened decisions, and home visitors gradually took more control.

Subdivisions of Faifi Arabic: a perceptual dialectology approach

This paper investigates the perspectives held by native speakers of Faifi Arabic concerning the categorization of Faifi Arabic subdialects. Through the utilization of perceptual dialectology research techniques, participants engaged in two distinct tasks. The first task entailed the grouping of phonological features to articulate their perceived classification of dialects. Subsequently, they were tasked with pinpointing on a map the locations where the resulting feature groups were believed to be spoken. The outcomes of the study reveal that respondents identified four distinct subdialects within the mountainous areas, demarcated by clearly defined boundaries. These subdialect divisions appear to be correlated with the tribal divisions present within the region. This research highlights the necessity for further investigation into the perceptions that Arabic speakers uphold in relation to their own dialects, as well as to the dialects of other tribal communities within the Arabic-speaking context.