Cover not available

In:Arabic in Contact
Edited by Stefano Manfredi and Mauro Tosco
[Studies in Arabic Linguistics 6] 2018
► pp. 349–368

Get fulltext
PDF logo with download linkDownload Chapter PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload Chapter EPUB

Contact-induced change from a speakers’ perspective

A study of language attitudes in Siwa

 | University of Bayreuth
Open Access logo
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Published online: 10 July 2018
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/sal.6.18ser
Abstract
The article presents the speakers’ perception of contact-induced linguistic change in the Egyptian oasis of Siwa, based on data collected during the authors’ doctoral research (Serreli 2016). The research explored language attitudes and ideologies in Siwa with a qualitative approach built on sociolinguistic and linguistic anthropological theories. Linguistic change is presented by speakers as a generational variation; it is attributed to the increased contact between the Siwi and Arabic languages that followed the wider socioeconomic change in the community in recent decades. Moreover, Siwi speakers hold a variety of attitudes towards linguistic change, appreciating phenomena perceived as adjustments to the current times, while criticizing those perceived as a betrayal or corruption of their native language.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Brief overview of Siwa
    • 2.1General background of the oasis
    • 2.2Sociolinguistic overview
    • 2.3Siwi and Arabic in contact
  • 3. Perceived contact-induced change in Siwi
    • 3.1Introductory considerations
    • 3.2Presentation of data
      • 3.2.1General patterns of Siwi variation
      • 3.2.2Loss of Siwi lexicon related to the traditional lifestyle
      • 3.2.3Integration of Arabic loanwords into Siwi
      • 3.2.4Codemixing and “broken Siwi”
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
References (40)
References
Battesti, V. (2006). ‘Pourquoi j’irais voir d’en haut ce que je connais déjà d’en bas?’, Centralités et circulations: comprendre l’usage des espaces dans l’oasis de Siwa. In V. Battesti & N. Puig (eds.), Égypte/Monde Arabe, Troisième série, 3. Terrains d’Égypte, anthropologies contemporaines (pp.139–179). Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Belgrave, D. (1923). Siwa, the oasis of Jupiter Ammon. London: John Lane.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bliss, F. (1984). Kulturwandel in der Oase Siwa. 2nd ed. Bonn: PAS.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chaker, S. (2008). Langue. In Encyclopédie berbère, 28–29, Kirtēsii–Lutte, Aix-en-Provence: Edisud. Retrieved on 31/05/2014 from [URL]. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cline, W. (1928). Notes on the origin of the people of Siwa and Gara. Man 28, 24–25. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cole, D., & Altorky, S. (1998). Bedouin, Settlers, and Holiday-Makers. Egypt’s Changing Northwest Coast. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Duchêne, A. and M. Heller (eds.). (2007). Discourses of Endangerment: Ideology and Interest in the Defense of Languages. London: Continuum.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ellis, M. H. (2012). Between Empire and Nation: The emergence of Egypt’s Libyan Borderland, 1941–1911. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ennaji, M. (2005). Multilingualism, Cultural Identity, and Education in Morocco. New York: Springer.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ennaji, M. and F. Sadiqi. (2008). Morocco: Language, Nationalism, and Gender. In A. Simpson (ed.), Language and National Identity in Africa (pp.44–60). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fakhry, A. (1973). Siwa oasis. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gal, S. (2006). Linguistic Anthropology. In K. Brown (ed.), Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (2nd ed.), vol. 7 (pp.171–185). Oxford: Elsevier. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Garret, P. (2001). Language Attitudes and Sociolinguistics. Dialogue, 626–630.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2006). Language attitudes. In C. Llamas, L. Mulling & P. Stockwell (eds.), The Routledge Companion to Sociolinguistics (pp.116–121). London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Haeri, N. (2003). Sacred Language, ordinary people: Dilemmas of culture and politics in Egypt. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hoenigswald, H. M. (1966). A Proposal for the Study of Folk-Linguistics. In W. Bright (ed.), Sociolinguistics: Proceedings of the UCLA Sociolinguistics Conference, 1964 (pp.16–26). The Hague: Mouton.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hohler, T. B. (1900). Report on The Oasis of Siva. London: Waterlow and Sons Limited printers, London Wall.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ibrahim, M. H. (1986). Standard and Prestige Language: A Problem in Arabic Sociolinguistics. Anthropological Linguistics 28 (1) 115–126.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jennings-Bramly, W. (1897). A Journey to Siwa in September and October, 1896. The Geographical Journal 10(6), 597–608. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kossmann, M. (2013). The Arabic Influence on Northern Berber. Leiden/Boston: Brill. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kroskrity, P. (2004). Language Ideologies. In A. Duranti (ed.), A companion to Linguistic Anthropology. (pp.496–517). Malden: Blackwell Publishing Ldt.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Laoust, E. (1932). Siwa I: son parler. Paris: Ernest Leroux.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Milroy, L. & Preston, D. R. (1999). Attitudes, Perception and Linguistic Features. Journal of Language and Social Psychology 18(1), 3–8.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Niedzielsky, N. & Preston, D. R. (2000). Folk Linguistics. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sayahi, L. (2014). Diglossia and Language Contact. Language Variation and Change in North Africa. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schiattarella, V. (2015). Le berbère de Siwa: documentation, syntaxe et sémantique. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). École pratique des Hautes Études, Paris.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Serreli, V. (2016). Society, languages and ideologies in the oasis of Siwa. Listening to people’s voices. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Sassari, Sassari, and University of Aix/Marseille, IREMAM, Aix-en-Provence.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2017). Sentimenti di identità e appartenenza dei berberi egiziani di Siwa. In Melis, N. (ed.) Frontiere, confini e zone di frontiera nella regione MENA. Afriche e Orienti XIX (2), 53–70.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Silverstein, M. (1979). Language Structure and Linguistic Ideology. In P. Clyne, W. Hanks, & C. Hofbauer (eds.), The Elements: a Parasession on Linguistic Units and Levels. (pp.193–247). Chicago: Chicago Linguistic Society.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Simpson, G. E. (1929). The heart of Libya; the Siwa Oasis, its people, customs and sport. London: H.F. & G. Witherby.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Souag, L. (2009). Siwa and its significance for Arabic dialectology. Zeitschrift für arabische Linguistik 5, 51–75.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2013). Berber and Arabic in Siwa (Egypt). A Study in Linguistic contact, Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.Google Scholar logo with link to Google ScholarStein, L., & Rusch, W. (1978). Die Oase Siwa. Die Oase Siwa. Unter Berbern und Beduinen der Libyschen Wüste Leipzig: VEB F.A. Brockhaus Verlag.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Suleiman, Y. (2013). Arabic Folk Linguistics: Between Mother Tongue and Native Language. In J. Owens (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Arabic Linguistics. (pp.264–280). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Thomason, S. G. (2001). Language Contact. Edinburg: Edinburg University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Thomason, S. & Kaufman, T. (1988). Language Contact, Creolization, and Genetic Linguistics. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: University of California Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Versteegh, K. (2001). Linguistic contact between Arabic and other languages. Arabica 48, 470–508. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wākid, ʿA. (1949). Wāḥat Amūn: baḥṯ šāmil li-wāḥat sīwa. Cairo: Maṭbaʻat al-Muqtaṭaf.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Walters, K. (2006). Language Attitudes. In K. Versteegh (ed.), Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics 2 (pp.650–664). Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (2)

Cited by two other publications

Schiattarella, Valentina
2023. Essais de classification et analyse lexicale du siwi dans le xix e et xx e siècle. Études et Documents Berbères N° 48:2 ► pp. 207 ff. DOI logo
Serreli, Valentina
2019. Siwa : histoire et société. Sociolinguistique. Encyclopédie berbère 43 ► pp. 7457 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 1 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue