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A SOCIOLINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF DIGLOSSIC CODE-SWITCHING IN RELIGIOUS DISCOURSE BY PREACHERS OF FRIDAY SERMONS IN JORDAN
Corresponding Author(s) : Dr. Omar Abdullah Al-Haj Eid
Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews,
Vol. 7 No. 5 (2019): September
Abstract
Purpose: The study aimed to examine the phenomenon of diglossic code-switching in religious discourse used by preachers of Friday mosques in Jordan when they deliver their Friday sermon.
Methodology: To achieve the study objective, the researcher recorded (21) Friday sermons from three different geographical locations: cities, villages, and plains. The study primarily investigated the types of functions, the forms of code-switching and subject matters that make Friday preachers code-switch from high variety to low variety. A descriptive analysis was performed by the researcher.
Main Findings: The study reveals that diglossic code-switching is purposeful and functional serving ten sociolinguistic functions such as clarity and simplicity, giving directions, warnings, etc. The analysis also reveals that Arabic consists of high variety (standard) and low variety (nonstandard). Even though high variety is much better and is frequently used in official settings, there are instances in which low variety is used because high variety does not meet Arabic speakers' daily- life communication. The study also concludes Arabic is not a pigeonholed variety as Ferguson's claimed. Therefore, Friday preachers vacillate from high to low variety to serve certain sociolinguistic functions. The research results also found three forms of code-switching: extra- sentential or tag-Switching, inter-sentential and intra-sentential. Extra-sentential was the most frequently used in the study.
Implication: This paper can be useful to a better understanding of the phenomenon of diglossic code-switching in the religious discourse in sociolinguistics in general and in particular studying the linguistic features of cod-switching in the religious discourse in the Arab world.
Novelty: No studies were conducted on diglossic code-switching in the religious discourse by Friday sermons not only in Jordan even in the Middle East.
Keywords
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- Abu Mathkour, H. 2004. Arabic with English: Code-switching in Jordanian Arabic. Academia. Retrieved September,13,2018from,https://www.academia.edu/870824/Arabic_with_English_Code-switching_in_Jordanian_Arabi1-
- Abu Melhem, A. R. (2014). Intra-lingual code alteration in Arabic: The conversational impact of diglossia. Theory and Practice in Language Studies.4(5).DOI:10.430/tpls.4.5891-902 . Retrieved September,19,2018from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269948248_Intralingual_Code_Alternation_in_Arabic_The_Conversational_Impact_of_Diglossia. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.4.5.891-902 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.4.5.891-902
- Al- Brri, Q.,Bani-Yaseen, M., Al-Zubi, M., and Al-Hersh, M (2015). Diglossia among Students: The Problem and Treatment. Journal of Education and Practice. 6( 32), 14-20. Retrieved Ootober,18/2018from, https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1083486.pdf
- Al-Heeti and Al-Abdely's study.(2016).Types and functions of code-Switching in the English language used by Iraqi doctors informal settings. International Journal of Advanced Research and Review.1,(8),10-18.Retrieved September,12/2018,from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306031490_TYPES_AND_FUNCTIONS_OF_CODE-SWITCHING_IN_THE_ENGLISH_LANGUAGE_USED_BY_IRAQI_DOCTORS_IN_FORMAL_SETTINGS
- Al-Hourani, A. (2016). The Use of Code-Switching between Arabic and English languages among Bilingual Jordanian Speakers in Malaysia. Ph.D. Thesis. University Sains Islam Malaysia Nilai. Retrieved September,13/2018 from, http://ddms.usim.edu.my/bitstream/123456789/13150/1/PhD%20thesis%20%28Alaa%29.pdf
- Al-Khatib, M. A, and Sabbah E. A., (2008). Language choice in mobile text messages among Jordanian university students. SKY Journal of Linguistics.21, 37–65.Retrieved October,22/2018 from, http://www.linguistics.fi/julkaisut/SKY2008/Al-Khatib%20et%20al%20NETTIVERSIO.pdf
- Almhairat, A. (2015). Code-switching from the Jordanian Bedouin dialect to the Jordanian urban dialect, in Amman: A sociolinguistic study. MA Thesis . Middle East University. Retrieved September,13/2018 from, https://meu.edu.jo/libraryTheses/5870d21772040_1.pdf
- Alsaawi, A.(2017). Imams' language in mosque sermons. PhD. Thesis. Newcastle University. Retrieved September,22/2018.dio: 10443/3985/1 from https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/bitstream/10443/3985/1/Alsaawi%2C%20A.A.A..pdf.
- Al-Sobh, M., Abu-Melhim, A., &Bani-Hani, N. (2015).Diglossia as a result of language variation in Arabic: Possible solutions in light of language planning. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 6(2),274- 279. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0602.05. Retrieved August,5,2018doi: Retrieved September,23/2018 from,https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273906346_Diglossia_as_a_Result_of_Language_Variation_in_Arabic_Possible_Solutions_in_Light_of_Language_Planning. https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0602.05 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0602.05
- 10. Al Suwaiyan, L. (2018). Diglossia in the Arabic Language. International Journal of Language and Linguistics .5,(3).Retrieved December,3/2018 from http://ijllnet.com/journals/Vol_5_No_3_September_2018/22.pdf. https://doi.org/10.30845/ijll.v5n3p22 DOI: https://doi.org/10.30845/ijll.v5n3p22
- Bhatia, V.K. (2014) Analyzing genre: Language use in professional settings. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315844992 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315844992
- Davis, D.R. (2013) World Englishes in world religions. World Englishes, 32(3), pp. 377−379.Retrieved December,9/2018 from, https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12037 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12037
- Donovan, P. (1976). Language religious. Sheldon Press, Marylebone Road, London =W1 4DU. Flew, A. & Macintyre, A. (1955). New essays in philosophical theology. S.C.M. Press 1955.
- Ferguson, Ch. (1959): Diglossia. Word 15, 325-340.Retrieved September 5,2018,from https://www.scirp.org/(S(i43dyn45teexjx455qlt3d2q))/reference/ReferencesPapers.aspx?ReferenceID=1412218. https://doi.org/10.1080/00437956.1959.11659702 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00437956.1959.11659702
- Ferguson, Ch. (1989) Grammatical Agreement in Classical Arabic and the Modern Dialects: A Response to Pidginization Hypothesis. Al-Arabiyya 22,(2) 5-17.Retrieved August22,2018,from https://www.jstor.org/stable/43208675?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
- Fishman, J., A. (1967). Bilingualism with and without diglossia. The Society for the Psychological Study of Social .23, 29-38. Retrieved August 2/2018. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1967.tb00573.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1967.tb00573.x
- Gumperz, J. (1982). Discourse Strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511611834 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511611834
- Halliday, M. A. (1973). Explorations in the Functions of Language. London: Edward Arnold.
- Halliday, M.A (2014). Halliday’s Introduction to Functional Grammar (4th ed.). Oxon: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203783771 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203783771
- Hamers, F. & Blanc, M. (2000). Bilinguality and Bilingualism. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511605796 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511605796
- Hamouda, A. (2015). Arabic-English Code Switching in the Egyptian Talk Show ‘Shabab Beek’. MA Thesis. Arizona State University. Retrieved Dec.22/2018 from,
- https://repository.asu.edu/attachments/150610/content/Hamoda_asu_0010N_14909.pdf
- Kanakri, M. and Ionescu, V. (2010).Prototypes of Code-switching in the Speech of Romanian/Arabic Bilinguals in Jordan. Department of English, Al Al-Bayt University, Mafraq, Jordan. Jordan Journal of Modern Languages and Literature. 2.(.2),179-194 Retrieved December,22/2018 from, http://journals.yu.edu.jo/jjmll/Issues/Vo2No2_2010PDF/5.pdf
- Maamouri, M. (1998). Arabic diglossia and its impact on the quality of education in the Arab region. Philadelphia: International Literacy Institute.
- Martinez, J. (2017). Arabic diglossia within Palestinian-Arab folk narratives. University Honors Theses. Portland State University. Paper 421. 10.15760/honors.417 .Retrieved December 5,2018 from, file:///C:/Users/Dell/Desktop/codeswitching%20research/92ead495ca22e4d5c90a34daeac7a71e64c6.pdf
- Mustafa, R. A. A. (2011). SMS code-switching among teenagers in Jordan.MA Thesis. Middle East University, Amman Jordan. Retrieved December,22/2018 from, http://meu.edu.jo/ar/images/research%20papers/-%20SMS%20Codeswitching%20among%20Teenagers%20in%20Jordan.pdf
- Muysken, P., and Appel, R. (2006). Language contact and bilingualism: Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
- Muysken, P. (2000.) Bilingual speech: a typology of code-mixing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Myers-Scotton, C. (1993).Comparing codeswitching and borrowing. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Nilep, C. (2018). Code -switching in socio-cultural linguistics. Colorado Research in Linguistics.19, 1-22. Retrieved September,12/2018from,https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239461967_Code_Switching_in_Sociocultural_Linguistics
- Poplack, Sh. (1980). Sometimes I'll start a sentence in English Toward a typology of code-switching. Linguistics ,18(7)581-616.RetrievedDec.4/2018from, http://www.sociolinguistics.uottawa.ca/shanapoplack/pubs/articles/Poplack1980Sometimes.pdf. https://doi.org/10.1515/ling.1980.18.7-8.581 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ling.1980.18.7-8.581
- Qudah, M. (2016). A Sociolinguistic Study: Diglossia in Social Media. International Conference.ICT for Language Learning. Retrieved September,14/2018 from, https://conference.pixel-online.net/ICT4LL/files/ict4ll/ed0010/FP/4139-ICL2733-FP-ICT4LL10.pdf
- Sardar, A.,Mahdi, A., Mohd, Y. (2015). Code-switching in daily conversation among Iraqi students in Malaysia . Arab World English Journal 6 ,(3) 309-309. Retrieved December,25,2018 from,https://www.academia.edu/16377562/Codeswitching_in_Daily_Conversations_among_Iraqi_Students_in_Malaysia. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol6no3.20 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol6no3.20
- Salih, S., M. (2015). Reevaluating diglossia: The Case of Iraqi Arabic. International Journal of Educational Investigations.l2,(.5),103-117.RetiriedSeptember,5,2018from http://www.ijeionline.com/attachments/article/42/IJEI_Vol.2_No.5_2015-5-09.pdf
- Wardhaugh, R.& Fuller, J. (2015).An introduction to sociolinguistics (7th ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- Yacoub, M. (2015). Diglossic Situation of Arabic Language in Egypt: Is low variety planned to get standardized? International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research.3,1,382-387. Retrieved October,16/2018 from, file:///C:/Users/Dell/Downloads/Diglossic%20Situation%20of%20Arabic%20Language%20in%20Egypt%20Is%20Low%20Variety%20planned%20to%20get%20standardized-1246.pdf
References
Abu Mathkour, H. 2004. Arabic with English: Code-switching in Jordanian Arabic. Academia. Retrieved September,13,2018from,https://www.academia.edu/870824/Arabic_with_English_Code-switching_in_Jordanian_Arabi1-
Abu Melhem, A. R. (2014). Intra-lingual code alteration in Arabic: The conversational impact of diglossia. Theory and Practice in Language Studies.4(5).DOI:10.430/tpls.4.5891-902 . Retrieved September,19,2018from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269948248_Intralingual_Code_Alternation_in_Arabic_The_Conversational_Impact_of_Diglossia. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.4.5.891-902 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.4.5.891-902
Al- Brri, Q.,Bani-Yaseen, M., Al-Zubi, M., and Al-Hersh, M (2015). Diglossia among Students: The Problem and Treatment. Journal of Education and Practice. 6( 32), 14-20. Retrieved Ootober,18/2018from, https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1083486.pdf
Al-Heeti and Al-Abdely's study.(2016).Types and functions of code-Switching in the English language used by Iraqi doctors informal settings. International Journal of Advanced Research and Review.1,(8),10-18.Retrieved September,12/2018,from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306031490_TYPES_AND_FUNCTIONS_OF_CODE-SWITCHING_IN_THE_ENGLISH_LANGUAGE_USED_BY_IRAQI_DOCTORS_IN_FORMAL_SETTINGS
Al-Hourani, A. (2016). The Use of Code-Switching between Arabic and English languages among Bilingual Jordanian Speakers in Malaysia. Ph.D. Thesis. University Sains Islam Malaysia Nilai. Retrieved September,13/2018 from, http://ddms.usim.edu.my/bitstream/123456789/13150/1/PhD%20thesis%20%28Alaa%29.pdf
Al-Khatib, M. A, and Sabbah E. A., (2008). Language choice in mobile text messages among Jordanian university students. SKY Journal of Linguistics.21, 37–65.Retrieved October,22/2018 from, http://www.linguistics.fi/julkaisut/SKY2008/Al-Khatib%20et%20al%20NETTIVERSIO.pdf
Almhairat, A. (2015). Code-switching from the Jordanian Bedouin dialect to the Jordanian urban dialect, in Amman: A sociolinguistic study. MA Thesis . Middle East University. Retrieved September,13/2018 from, https://meu.edu.jo/libraryTheses/5870d21772040_1.pdf
Alsaawi, A.(2017). Imams' language in mosque sermons. PhD. Thesis. Newcastle University. Retrieved September,22/2018.dio: 10443/3985/1 from https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/bitstream/10443/3985/1/Alsaawi%2C%20A.A.A..pdf.
Al-Sobh, M., Abu-Melhim, A., &Bani-Hani, N. (2015).Diglossia as a result of language variation in Arabic: Possible solutions in light of language planning. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 6(2),274- 279. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0602.05. Retrieved August,5,2018doi: Retrieved September,23/2018 from,https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273906346_Diglossia_as_a_Result_of_Language_Variation_in_Arabic_Possible_Solutions_in_Light_of_Language_Planning. https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0602.05 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0602.05
10. Al Suwaiyan, L. (2018). Diglossia in the Arabic Language. International Journal of Language and Linguistics .5,(3).Retrieved December,3/2018 from http://ijllnet.com/journals/Vol_5_No_3_September_2018/22.pdf. https://doi.org/10.30845/ijll.v5n3p22 DOI: https://doi.org/10.30845/ijll.v5n3p22
Bhatia, V.K. (2014) Analyzing genre: Language use in professional settings. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315844992 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315844992
Davis, D.R. (2013) World Englishes in world religions. World Englishes, 32(3), pp. 377−379.Retrieved December,9/2018 from, https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12037 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12037
Donovan, P. (1976). Language religious. Sheldon Press, Marylebone Road, London =W1 4DU. Flew, A. & Macintyre, A. (1955). New essays in philosophical theology. S.C.M. Press 1955.
Ferguson, Ch. (1959): Diglossia. Word 15, 325-340.Retrieved September 5,2018,from https://www.scirp.org/(S(i43dyn45teexjx455qlt3d2q))/reference/ReferencesPapers.aspx?ReferenceID=1412218. https://doi.org/10.1080/00437956.1959.11659702 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00437956.1959.11659702
Ferguson, Ch. (1989) Grammatical Agreement in Classical Arabic and the Modern Dialects: A Response to Pidginization Hypothesis. Al-Arabiyya 22,(2) 5-17.Retrieved August22,2018,from https://www.jstor.org/stable/43208675?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Fishman, J., A. (1967). Bilingualism with and without diglossia. The Society for the Psychological Study of Social .23, 29-38. Retrieved August 2/2018. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1967.tb00573.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1967.tb00573.x
Gumperz, J. (1982). Discourse Strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511611834 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511611834
Halliday, M. A. (1973). Explorations in the Functions of Language. London: Edward Arnold.
Halliday, M.A (2014). Halliday’s Introduction to Functional Grammar (4th ed.). Oxon: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203783771 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203783771
Hamers, F. & Blanc, M. (2000). Bilinguality and Bilingualism. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511605796 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511605796
Hamouda, A. (2015). Arabic-English Code Switching in the Egyptian Talk Show ‘Shabab Beek’. MA Thesis. Arizona State University. Retrieved Dec.22/2018 from,
https://repository.asu.edu/attachments/150610/content/Hamoda_asu_0010N_14909.pdf
Kanakri, M. and Ionescu, V. (2010).Prototypes of Code-switching in the Speech of Romanian/Arabic Bilinguals in Jordan. Department of English, Al Al-Bayt University, Mafraq, Jordan. Jordan Journal of Modern Languages and Literature. 2.(.2),179-194 Retrieved December,22/2018 from, http://journals.yu.edu.jo/jjmll/Issues/Vo2No2_2010PDF/5.pdf
Maamouri, M. (1998). Arabic diglossia and its impact on the quality of education in the Arab region. Philadelphia: International Literacy Institute.
Martinez, J. (2017). Arabic diglossia within Palestinian-Arab folk narratives. University Honors Theses. Portland State University. Paper 421. 10.15760/honors.417 .Retrieved December 5,2018 from, file:///C:/Users/Dell/Desktop/codeswitching%20research/92ead495ca22e4d5c90a34daeac7a71e64c6.pdf
Mustafa, R. A. A. (2011). SMS code-switching among teenagers in Jordan.MA Thesis. Middle East University, Amman Jordan. Retrieved December,22/2018 from, http://meu.edu.jo/ar/images/research%20papers/-%20SMS%20Codeswitching%20among%20Teenagers%20in%20Jordan.pdf
Muysken, P., and Appel, R. (2006). Language contact and bilingualism: Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Muysken, P. (2000.) Bilingual speech: a typology of code-mixing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Myers-Scotton, C. (1993).Comparing codeswitching and borrowing. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Nilep, C. (2018). Code -switching in socio-cultural linguistics. Colorado Research in Linguistics.19, 1-22. Retrieved September,12/2018from,https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239461967_Code_Switching_in_Sociocultural_Linguistics
Poplack, Sh. (1980). Sometimes I'll start a sentence in English Toward a typology of code-switching. Linguistics ,18(7)581-616.RetrievedDec.4/2018from, http://www.sociolinguistics.uottawa.ca/shanapoplack/pubs/articles/Poplack1980Sometimes.pdf. https://doi.org/10.1515/ling.1980.18.7-8.581 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ling.1980.18.7-8.581
Qudah, M. (2016). A Sociolinguistic Study: Diglossia in Social Media. International Conference.ICT for Language Learning. Retrieved September,14/2018 from, https://conference.pixel-online.net/ICT4LL/files/ict4ll/ed0010/FP/4139-ICL2733-FP-ICT4LL10.pdf
Sardar, A.,Mahdi, A., Mohd, Y. (2015). Code-switching in daily conversation among Iraqi students in Malaysia . Arab World English Journal 6 ,(3) 309-309. Retrieved December,25,2018 from,https://www.academia.edu/16377562/Codeswitching_in_Daily_Conversations_among_Iraqi_Students_in_Malaysia. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol6no3.20 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol6no3.20
Salih, S., M. (2015). Reevaluating diglossia: The Case of Iraqi Arabic. International Journal of Educational Investigations.l2,(.5),103-117.RetiriedSeptember,5,2018from http://www.ijeionline.com/attachments/article/42/IJEI_Vol.2_No.5_2015-5-09.pdf
Wardhaugh, R.& Fuller, J. (2015).An introduction to sociolinguistics (7th ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Yacoub, M. (2015). Diglossic Situation of Arabic Language in Egypt: Is low variety planned to get standardized? International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research.3,1,382-387. Retrieved October,16/2018 from, file:///C:/Users/Dell/Downloads/Diglossic%20Situation%20of%20Arabic%20Language%20in%20Egypt%20Is%20Low%20Variety%20planned%20to%20get%20standardized-1246.pdf