The first introduction to the field of Arabic sociolinguistics, this book discusses major trends in research on diglossia, code-switching, gendered discourse, language variation and change, and language policies in relation to Arabic. In doing so, it introduces and evaluates the various theoretical approaches, and illustrates the usefulness and the limitations of these approaches with empirical data. The book shows how sociolinguistic theories can be applied to Arabic and, conversely, what the study of Arabic can contribute to our understanding of the function of language in society. Key features:*Introduces current theories and methods of sociolinguistics, with a special focus on Arabic*Topics include: language variation and change, gender, religion and politics*Aimed at students and scholars of Arabic with an interest in linguistics and students and scholars of linguistics with an interest in Arabic
Captain Murad is busy planning for the Afterlife. He dreams of a grand, sunlit mausoleum on the banks of the Nile. To realize his pharaonic folly, the retired captain kindles an unlikely romance between Hazem, a feckless architect longing for immortality, and Asma, an impoverished single mother who strives for a better life for her children. As Murad's tomb rises on the riverbank, so Hazem and Asma fall in love. A contemporary Egyptian romance of rare grace and wit, played out by characters trapped in their attitudes toward class and gender.
Focussing on nationalist discourse before, during and after the revolution of 2011, Reem Bassiouney explores the two-way relationship between language in Egyptian public discourse and Egyptian identity. Her sources include newspaper articles, caricatures, blogs, patriotic songs, films, school textbooks, TV talk-shows, poetry and novels.
This book examines diglossia within the framework of code-switching through an analysis of negation, deixis, and mood marking in Arabic monologues. It reassesses theoretical approaches to diglossia and code-switching in the light of empirical data, and examines the discourse functions of code-switching and the factors that influence it.
In this second edition of Arabic Sociolinguistics, Reem Bassiouney expands the discussion of major theoretical approaches since the publication of the book’s first edition to account for new sociolinguistic theories in Arabic contexts with up-to-date examples, data, and approaches. The second edition features revised sections on diglossia, code-switching, gender discourse, language variation, and language policy in the region while adding a chapter on critical sociolinguistics—a new framework for critiquing the scholarly practices of sociolinguistics. Bassiouney also examines the impact of politics and new media on Arabic language. Arabic Sociolinguistics continues to be a uniquely valuable resource for understanding the theoretical framework of the language.
On the eve of her fortieth birthday Egyptian academic, Professor Hanaa, finds herself alone and unloved. For twenty years she has battled with an impossible love for an unattainable colleague, and has become outcast in a society where family and friends mean everything. Her life is organized into endless routines, and her emotions are hidden behind a façade of stern, but joyless professionalism. The façade begins to crumble, however, when her birthday brings with it the realization that she is about to turn into an embittered, forty-year-old spinster. Never one to admit defeat, Hanaa determines she will lose her virginity before her birthday, and sets her sights on Khalid, her teaching assistant. An earnest, hardworking and devout young man, Khalid is an unlikely accomplice; however Hanaa's powers of persuasion know no bounds. What ensues is a lively, witty, often sly commentary on gender and power relationships in both academia and the Arab world - a 'campus' novel of a wholly different bent.
Fountain of the Drowning is a multi-layered narrative set in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a period when Egypt witnessed dramatic events, from the constructionof the Suez Canal to the British occuation, which brought about rapid modernaization and the Europeanization of social norms.
Arabic, one of the official languages of the United Nations, is spoken by more than half a billion people around the world and is of increasing importance in today's political and economic spheres. The study of the Arabic language has a long and rich history: earliest grammatical accounts date from the 8th century and include full syntactic, morphological, and phonological analyses of the vernaculars and of Classical Arabic. In recent years the academic study of Arabic has become increasingly sophisticated and broad. This state-of-the-art volume presents the most recent research in Arabic linguistics from a theoretical point of view, including computational linguistics, syntax, semantics, and historical linguistics. It also covers sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and discourse analysis by looking at issues such as gender, urbanization, and language ideology. Underlying themes include the changing and evolving attitudes of speakers of Arabic and theoretical approaches to linguistic variation in the Middle East.
Al-Qata'i' is a historical novel set in Egypt over several periods of time and explores the legacy of Ibn Tulun, who ruled Egypt in the 9th century. Inspired by Ibn Tulun's mosque, which still stands as the largest in Cairo and one of the oldest in Africa, the story takes place in and around the smaller cities that were the historic precursors to Cairo in the 9th and 10th centuries, Fustat, Qata'i, and Giza. Ibn Tulun built the city of Al-Qata'i and its mosque as a city where people of multiple beliefs could live together. Bassiouney's novel brings this period of time to life through vivid descriptions and by showing the everyday struggles of people of the time period. These are woven together with scenes from 1918 and 1919 which represent the modern discovery of the historic Tulunid mosque and adjoining houses and function as a narrative bridge between the events of the 9th and 10th centuries and today, showing how this period could present a model for Egyptian harmony today. The structure of the novel is similar to Bassiouney's last novel, Sons of the People. It takes place over three periods in time across three connected sets of characters and is thus in three parts: "Maisoon," "Ahmad's Dream," and "The Pledge." The first part gives a glimpse of life in Egypt before Ibn Tulun arrives. At the start it is very bleak, with a despotic regime ruling Egypt. It ends with Ibn Tulun's rise to power. Part Two relates three different perspectives on Ahmed Ibn Tulun. For Bassiouney, Ibn Tulun was a visionary, uniting Greek, Roman, Coptic, and Arab elements of Egyptian society into his army and the city of Qata'i. This part develops several story lines, including a love story. Part Three recounts the story of Aisha, daughter of Ibn Tulun, after his death. Bassiouney's novels have been praised for their inclusion of strong women characters and focus on viewpoints not often seen in Arab literature and this novel includes a similar focus on women characters"--
This monumental family saga offers a vivid portrait of Egypt’s Mamluk period, one that is at both sweeping in scope and intimate in detail. Set in medieval Cairo, the novel centers on three generations of Egyptians, foreign-born Mamluks, and their descendants as their trials and victories mirror those of their turbulent country. The first volume, "Sons of the People", introduces us to Zaynab, the daughter of a middle-class merchant in Cairo who catches the eye of the powerful Mamluk amir Muhammad. After they marry, Zaynab is transported to the foreign world of Mamluk politics and wealth where she must navigate the complicated machinations of various rulers and raise their four children. Their oldest son becomes an architect and embarks upon the monumental task of building a grand mosque with Sultan Hasan as a symbol of the Mamluks rise to power. In the second volume "The Judge of Qus", Bassiouney tells the story of Amr ibn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Karim, a wise and compassionate judge of Islamic law whose refusal to bend to the demands of the Mamluk rulers ultimately leads to Amr’s downfall. The final volume, "Events of Nights," weaves together testimonies from three characters, each with narrow and differing perspectives on the novel’s events, subtly calling the readers’ attention to the unstable nature of historical fiction. Filled with compelling drama, ruthless ambition, and tragic love, Bassiouney’s masterful trilogy brings the Mamluk’s rich cultural and architectural heritage to life through the eyes of one family.
In this second edition of Arabic Sociolinguistics, Reem Bassiouney expands the discussion of major theoretical approaches since the publication of the book’s first edition to account for new sociolinguistic theories in Arabic contexts with up-to-date examples, data, and approaches. The second edition features revised sections on diglossia, code-switching, gender discourse, language variation, and language policy in the region while adding a chapter on critical sociolinguistics—a new framework for critiquing the scholarly practices of sociolinguistics. Bassiouney also examines the impact of politics and new media on Arabic language. Arabic Sociolinguistics continues to be a uniquely valuable resource for understanding the theoretical framework of the language.
Focussing on nationalist discourse before, during and after the revolution of 2011, Reem Bassiouney explores the two-way relationship between language in Egyptian public discourse and Egyptian identity. Her sources include newspaper articles, caricatures, blogs, patriotic songs, films, school textbooks, TV talk-shows, poetry and novels.
Al-Qata'i' is a historical novel set in Egypt over several periods of time and explores the legacy of Ibn Tulun, who ruled Egypt in the 9th century. Inspired by Ibn Tulun's mosque, which still stands as the largest in Cairo and one of the oldest in Africa, the story takes place in and around the smaller cities that were the historic precursors to Cairo in the 9th and 10th centuries, Fustat, Qata'i, and Giza. Ibn Tulun built the city of Al-Qata'i and its mosque as a city where people of multiple beliefs could live together. Bassiouney's novel brings this period of time to life through vivid descriptions and by showing the everyday struggles of people of the time period. These are woven together with scenes from 1918 and 1919 which represent the modern discovery of the historic Tulunid mosque and adjoining houses and function as a narrative bridge between the events of the 9th and 10th centuries and today, showing how this period could present a model for Egyptian harmony today. The structure of the novel is similar to Bassiouney's last novel, Sons of the People. It takes place over three periods in time across three connected sets of characters and is thus in three parts: "Maisoon," "Ahmad's Dream," and "The Pledge." The first part gives a glimpse of life in Egypt before Ibn Tulun arrives. At the start it is very bleak, with a despotic regime ruling Egypt. It ends with Ibn Tulun's rise to power. Part Two relates three different perspectives on Ahmed Ibn Tulun. For Bassiouney, Ibn Tulun was a visionary, uniting Greek, Roman, Coptic, and Arab elements of Egyptian society into his army and the city of Qata'i. This part develops several story lines, including a love story. Part Three recounts the story of Aisha, daughter of Ibn Tulun, after his death. Bassiouney's novels have been praised for their inclusion of strong women characters and focus on viewpoints not often seen in Arab literature and this novel includes a similar focus on women characters"--
“It was Saturday. I remember. And while he was standing on a step ladder in the hall, changing a light bulb in the faint light coming through the window, I decided to love him.” So begins this wonderfully exuberant novel of quixotic adolescent longing and the enduring search for self. Set in middle class urban Egypt, the story chronicles young Wafaa’s struggle to come to terms with her own sexuality and her romantic infatuation with her cousin Ashraf, a spoiled and confident young Egyptian who was educated in England. Ashraf’s worldliness and carefree attitudes stand in sharp contrast to Wafaa’s provincial Islamic piousness. As both mature they find outside events encroaching upon their sheltered lives, forcing each to confront challenges to their youthful ideologies. Ashraf is chastened by an economic turnaround that takes him to the United States as an impoverished immigrant, and Wafaa begins to question her rigid fundamentalist beliefs that seem increasingly inadequate to make sense of the complex world around her. Reem Bassiouney effortlessly captures the voices of her characters, bringing them to life and allowing the reader to be fully immersed in their lives as they unfold in moving, often funny, and eventually triumphant ways. The Pistachio Seller introduces Bassiouney’s work to an English audience for the first time.
This monumental family saga offers a vivid portrait of Egypt’s Mamluk period, one that is at both sweeping in scope and intimate in detail. Set in medieval Cairo, the novel centers on three generations of Egyptians, foreign-born Mamluks, and their descendants as their trials and victories mirror those of their turbulent country. The first volume, "Sons of the People", introduces us to Zaynab, the daughter of a middle-class merchant in Cairo who catches the eye of the powerful Mamluk amir Muhammad. After they marry, Zaynab is transported to the foreign world of Mamluk politics and wealth where she must navigate the complicated machinations of various rulers and raise their four children. Their oldest son becomes an architect and embarks upon the monumental task of building a grand mosque with Sultan Hasan as a symbol of the Mamluks rise to power. In the second volume "The Judge of Qus", Bassiouney tells the story of Amr ibn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Karim, a wise and compassionate judge of Islamic law whose refusal to bend to the demands of the Mamluk rulers ultimately leads to Amr’s downfall. The final volume, "Events of Nights," weaves together testimonies from three characters, each with narrow and differing perspectives on the novel’s events, subtly calling the readers’ attention to the unstable nature of historical fiction. Filled with compelling drama, ruthless ambition, and tragic love, Bassiouney’s masterful trilogy brings the Mamluk’s rich cultural and architectural heritage to life through the eyes of one family.
Fountain of the Drowning is a multi-layered narrative set in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a period when Egypt witnessed dramatic events, from the constructionof the Suez Canal to the British occuation, which brought about rapid modernaization and the Europeanization of social norms.
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