Rudolf De Jong – författare

Written by four leading experts, this book provides a comprehensive overview of sociolinguistic variation and linguistic change in Arabic. It introduces sociolinguistic theory, methods, and data step-by-step, using accessible language and extensive examples throughout. Topics covered include sociolinguistic methodology, social variables, language change, spatial variation, and contact and diffusion. Each topic is explained and illustrated using empirical data drawn from a wide array of Arabic-speaking communities in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as other parts of the world where Arabic is or was spoken, to provide a rich resource of individual dialects, as well as a comparative view of variation in Arabic. Each chapter also contains annotated suggestions for further reading and elaborate exercises. It is an essential resource for students studying Arabic in its social context, as well as anyone wishing to expand their knowledge of variation in Arabic.

Written by four leading experts, this book provides a comprehensive overview of sociolinguistic variation and linguistic change in Arabic. It introduces sociolinguistic theory, methods, and data step-by-step, using accessible language and extensive examples throughout. Topics covered include sociolinguistic methodology, social variables, language change, spatial variation, and contact and diffusion. Each topic is explained and illustrated using empirical data drawn from a wide array of Arabic-speaking communities in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as other parts of the world where Arabic is or was spoken, to provide a rich resource of individual dialects, as well as a comparative view of variation in Arabic. Each chapter also contains annotated suggestions for further reading and elaborate exercises. It is an essential resource for students studying Arabic in its social context, as well as anyone wishing to expand their knowledge of variation in Arabic.

Written by four leading experts, this book provides a comprehensive overview of sociolinguistic variation and linguistic change in Arabic. It introduces sociolinguistic theory, methods, and data step-by-step, using accessible language and extensive examples throughout. Topics covered include sociolinguistic methodology, social variables, language change, spatial variation, and contact and diffusion. Each topic is explained and illustrated using empirical data drawn from a wide array of Arabic-speaking communities in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as other parts of the world where Arabic is or was spoken, to provide a rich resource of individual dialects, as well as a comparative view of variation in Arabic. Each chapter also contains annotated suggestions for further reading and elaborate exercises. It is an essential resource for students studying Arabic in its social context, as well as anyone wishing to expand their knowledge of variation in Arabic.

Much of the insight in the field of Arabic linguistics has for a long time remained unknown to linguists outside the field. Regrettably, Arabic data rarely feature in the formulation of theories and analytical tools in modern linguistics. This situation is unfavourable to both sides. The Arabist, once an outrider, has almost become a non-member of the mainstream linguistics community. Consequently, linguistics itself has been deprived of a wealth of data from one of the world's major languages. However, it is reassuring to witness advances being made to integrate into mainstream linguistics the visions and debates of specialists in Arabic. Building on this fruitful endeavour, this book presents thought-provoking, new articles, especially written for this collection by leading scholars from both sides. The authors discuss topics in historical, social and spatial dialectology focusing on Arabic data investigated within modern analytical frameworks.

After publishing A Grammar of the Bedouin Dialects of the Northern Sinai Littoral: Bridging the Linguistic Gap between the Eastern and Western Arab World (Brill:2000), Rudolf de Jong completes his description of the Bedouin dialects of the Sinai Desert of Egypt by adding the present volume. To facilitate direct comparison of all Sinai dialects, the dialect descriptions in both volumes run parallel and are thus structured in the same manner. Quoting from his own extensive material and using a total of 95 criteria for comparison, De Jong applies the method of 'multi-dimensional scaling' and his own 'step-method' to arrive at a subdivision into eight (of which seven are 'Bedouin') typological groups in Sinai. An appendix with 68 maps and dialectrometrical plots completes the picture.