CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

When people emigrate from their original countries to new ones, they bring with them
their ethnic languages. Some of these languages may survive while others may vanish.

Therefore, the researchers have decided to investigate this problem among the Muslim
Arabs in Vancouver/ Canada, by focusing on how they use Arabic and English in different
domains and what attitudes they have towards these languages. Results of this investigation show
whether the second Muslim Arab generation, born in Vancouver, has maintained Arabic or has
shifted to English.

Research on language use and language attitudes among ethno-linguistic minorities has
been quite extensive. Studies reviewed show how some immigrant groups have dealt with the
ethnic language and, therefore, have maintained it or lost it. Other studies have focused on
language attitudes which might have helped ethnic minorities to maintain language or shift to
another one.

1
 CHAPTER II

DISCUSSION

A. Identity of Journal

Title : Language Use and Language Attitudes among the Muslim Arabs of
Vancouver/ Canada.

Volume : Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 75-99

Author : Prof. Bader S. Dweik , Mohammed

Published by : American Research Institute for Policy Development

B. TEORY REVIEW

Fishman (1966) indicates that the field of language maintenance and language shift is
interested in the relationship between change or stability in habitual language use and the
ongoing psychological, social, or cultural processes, when populations differing in language are
in contact with each other. He suggests three major topical subdivisions for this new field;

(1) the habitual language use at more than one point in time or space under conditions of
intergroup control; (2) the psychological, social and cultural processes related to stability
or change in habitual language use under conditions of intergroup contact; and (3) the
behavior toward language in contact setting (p. 242)

Similarly, Weinreich (1974) discusses the outcome of bilingualism in a language contact

2
contact showing that “when a language-contact situation is examined in detail, the interrelation
of socio-cultural conditions and linguistic phenomena is apparent” (p.83).

Fishman (1989) discusses three resolutions that can be considered the outcome of
languages in contact. He points out that some immigrant languages dominate the situation and
defeat the host language like English in the United States where many of the aboriginal Indian
languages are defeated. The second resolution refers to the situation when the immigrant
language is defeated as what happens to some ethnic immigrant languages in the United
Kingdom. The third and the final possibility involves a situation where the ethnic immigrant
language is used side by side with the host language tied by a diglossic relationship where each
language is used in certain domains and each language has positive attitudes by its speakers.

Winford (2003) examines different types of language contact and claims that the
different outcomes stem from different social situations. In other words, language contact
phenomena can be categorized and better understood by considering the situations under which
they are formed. He names different contact outcomes such as language maintenance, language
shift, and language creation and shows that different circumstances and differing levels of
contact intensity produce different linguistic results within these general outcomes.

On the empirical level, many studies have been conducted in different parts of the world
examining the outcome of language contact and the status of ethnic/immigrant languages i.e.
Holmes, Roberts & Aipolo (1993), Dweik (1998), Duan (2004), Tuwakham (2005) and Dweik
and Al-Obaidi (2014).

New York in an attempt to identify the social, psychological, historical, religious and
linguistic processes that may have affected the maintenance of their mother tongue (Arabic)
under the influence of the majority language (English). He selected a fifty-person sample to be
interviewed and to respond to the questionnaire. The investigation showed that the tightly-knit
community, the positive attitude towards Arabic, the habitual use of Arabic in different locations
and domains, the mosque and its affiliated institutions, their pride of being Arabs and the internal
marriage system had the advantage of retaining the mother tongue as the subjects of the study
created a social isolation to support the maintenance of language, culture and religious practices.

3
 Duan (2004) investigated language use and language attitudes of the Bai people in China.
The research instruments included a questionnaire submitted for 252 subjects, informal
interviews, and participant observation. Both quota sampling and systematic sampling were used
to determine the research sample. The results of language use analysis demonstrated strong Bai
language vitality and great potential in language maintenance. The results of language attitudes
analysis demonstrated that the majority of Bai people interviewed have positive attitudes towards
their language, culture, and related issues.

Moreover, Tuwakham (2005) studied the language vitality and language attitudes of the
Yong people in Lamphun province. The subjects were 48 Yong people chosen from two
communities and the sociolinguistic data were collected by a questionnaire and an observation.
The results of this study showed the Yong people in Lamphun had positive attitudes towards their
own language as well as other languages such as Kammuang and Standard Thai.

They attempted to highlight the domains where the Chaldo-Assyrians of Baghdad use
Syriac and Arabic and their attitudes towards both languages. They selected a sample that
consisted of (135) Chaldo-Assyrians who were interviewed and responded to a sociolinguistic
questionnaire. Results indicated that the Chaldo-Assyrians in Baghdad used Syriac in different
domains mainly at home, in religious settings and in their inner speech; and used it side by side
with Arabic in many other social domains such as neighborhood, place of work, media and other
public places. The study revealed that the attitudes of the Chaldo-Assyrians towards Syriac and
Arabic were highly positive.

CHAPTER III

4
 JOURNAL REVIEW

A. Critical Review

Broadly speaking this journal explains how Arab Muslims use Arabic and English in
European countries, namely Canada. We can see they live in different domains and the way they
respond to them. In addition, it also discusses some groups who have immigrated to a different
country with different languages as well as whether they can maintain their language or who may
have already died.

In this Journal, A sample of seventy Muslim Arabs who live in Vancouver/ Canada has been
selected based on convenience and availability. The intended sample has been selected by using
the 'social network' model proposed by Milroy and Milroy (1978) which approaches the subjects
through a third party. The participants have been chosen from the second generation born in
Vancouver whose parents have emigrated from different Arab countries. A questionnaire is
distributed in order to get information about their community and their social background.

The researchers have designed a sociolinguistic questionnaire based on Fishman (1964 &
1966), Dweik (2000), Freed and Collentine (2004) and Al-Khatib and Al-Ali (2005). (See
Appendix). Yet, they have made some changes to suit the current study. The questionnaire
consists of three sections: The first section focuses on collecting demographic data about their
background. The second section aims to find out the use of English and Arabic in seven different
domains: home, school, neighborhood, workplace, religion, media and se lf-expression. Each
domain is followed by four options: Arabic, English, Both, Other language. The third section
consists of their attitudes towards Arabic and English.

In the results chapter and discussion of this journal, the data that has been obtained from
70 respondents are presented in table form and have been interpreted by the author. Some of the
data that has been presented shows a comparison that can facilitate conclusions such as data on
the percentage of use of Arabic in their daily lives in Canada, the data show that the majority of
the respondents use Arabic when interacting at workplace. Sixty percent indicate that they use
Arabic in discussing general topics (weather, sports, and politics) with their Arab colleagues and
75% use Arabic with their fellow workers. Similarly, 57% use Arabic with their Arab customers
and 55% use Arabic in giving oral instructions at workplace. 43% use Arabic with their bosses

5
and 40% when they discuss technical matters with their Arab colleagues. Only 18% use Arabic in
writing e-mails to their Arab colleagues.

From all data that has been input and presented by researchers we can draw
conclusions that it is Results also show that 92.57% perceive Arabic as the symbol of their
ethnic identity, and 91.43% as their national language with a Mean of 4.63 and 4.57
respectively.

B. Leason Learned

These results indicate that the Muslim Arabs of Vancouver also have positive attitudes
towards English, but still not as high as Arabic. For example they still have more positive
attitudes towards English by considering it more prestigious or useful than Arabic. They have
positive attitudes towards teaching their children how to communicate in English effectively.
They assert that it is the official language of the state and it unifies them with all other
Canadians. These results support Holmes et al (1993) who indicate that positive attitudes towards
the ethnic language have a key role in maintaining the ethnic language and its culture. They are
also consistent with Duan (2004), Tuwakham (2005) and Dweik and Al-Obaidi (2014) who
conclude that the participants in their studies held positive attitudes towards their ethnic
languages and cultures.

Data obtained indicate that the second generation of Muslim Arabs of Vancouver has
been using Arabic and they are proud of their Arabic identity and their Arabic language and
culture. Moreover, the Muslim Arabs of Vancouver use Arabic and English, each of which is
used in specific domains and under different circumstances; Arabic is used in the interaction
between family members and relatives. It is also used in religious activities and supplications
after praying; in Arabic schools; in media; in inner speech and in domains outside workplaces.
Yet, English is mostly used in the domain of work. Furthermore, the Muslim Arabs of Vancouver
have positive attitudes towards both languages. Their attitudes towards Arabic and English are
positive.