Northeastern, which has been advancing confidently to the forefront of major development in some educational and research areas, from technology to global economy, is also making strides in the areas of world languages, particularly in Arabic. The university is responding to the increasing demand for Arabic classes and the growing number of students enrolled in these classes by hiring new faculty and seeking expert input to create a robust and successful program.

However, apart from enlisting the expertise of Arabic professors and improving the curriculum, Northeastern’s Arabic language program, like all other Arabic programs around the United States, also finds itself embroiled in the debate around three issues. The most important of the issues is the type of Arabic that should take precedent over others.

Let me explain; Arabic language is a diglossic language. Diglossia, a term made popular by Stanford University linguist Charles Ferguson, literally means “two tongues.” Most Arabs, in 22 Arab countries, particularly the literate, learn two types of Arabic: the official language or modern standard Arabic and the local dialects, which include the Persian Gulf, Levantine and North African dialects.

The second issue pertains to language immersion programs. Northeastern has been increasing the number of language immersion programs, including the Dialogue of Civilizations trips to Egypt and the Gulf region, as well as study abroad programs.

The university has recently added a Dialogue of Civilizations to Morocco that will start this summer. When I taught Arabic students, they also expressed interest in having classroom instruction, drills, exercises, presentations and dialogues to be conducted in Arabic all, if not most, of the time so as to get the full benefit of classroom time.

The third issue is for the university, particularly members of the Arabic language, faculty and students, to keep an eye on the gradual emergence of a new type of Arabic that is neither modern nor dialect. In academia, it is known as Middle Arabic. The Arabs themselves, particularly journalists, educators and officials, have been using it all along but finally recognized its full potential.

This evolving Arabic language, whose grammar and vocabulary are significantly simpler than the rigorous and complicated Arabic of Sibawayhi (the father of Arabic grammar), could become the wave of the future, and as such, Arabic faculty and students will truly benefit from monitoring its development and thus be better prepared for the future.

– Fathi El-Shihibi is an

associate academic specialist

in the World Languages Center.