The Modern Arabic Literary Language: Lexical and Stylistic Developments (Review)

This resource review is submitted by Dr. Thana Jarjour-Moussa as a service to the Arabic Language Learning Community. The instructional value of the resource for each unique learning environment must be determined by the instructor. Note: Content reviewed here may or may not be freely available or openly licensed, so please carefully check the licensing statement for more information about the terms of use of this resource.

Resources

Title: The Modern Arabic Literary Language: Lexical and Stylistic Developments (Review)
Author: Jaroslav Stetkevych
Institution: Georgetown University Press
Licensing: All Rights Reserved

Instructional Context

Arabic Language Learning / Teaching

Keywords: colloquial, dialects, modern standard arabic (MSA), semantics, syntax, linguistics, history, history of arabic, developments, grammar, almasdar, arabic language learning, world languages

Intended User: Student, Teacher

Material Type: Readings, Resource Review

Educational Use: Curriculum/Instruction

Educational Level: Community College - Lower Division, College - Upper Division, Graduate / Professional

Proficiency Level: Advanced

Description

This book is an examination of the changes Arabic has undergone over the centuries from classical Arabic to today. It notes the ways new words have been incorporated into the language, from derivations of existing roots to the assimilation of foreign words. The author also makes note of the changes in grammar and semantics. It is intended as a resource for scholars and advanced students of the Arabic language and linguistics who wish to study the complexities of language change and lexical expansion. 

Review

This book is a great resource for scholars and teachers who are interested in the history and development of Arabic language. It presents a detailed history of the language and a methodical review of the process that led to the modernization of Arabic. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who has an interest in discovering the history of the language.

In my opinion the book is thorough, deep, and informative, but also very technical. It has a lot of good details that make it a good book for readers who are really seeking deep knowledge. The book brings to the reader a good knowledge of the classical tradition of the Arabic language and the changes that happened to it.

I hope that the book could one day be republished in a bigger font size and with better paper quality to match the quality of the book. Also, I wish the Arabic words were written with Arabic letters beside the English letters. I would recommend it for teachers of Arabic language for background knowledge of the language. I would also recommend this book to students learning Arabic as a second language at advanced levels, although I think it will still be a challenge for them to read and understand well.

If this book was written in Arabic, I believe it would have been more enjoyable to read it.

Dr. Thana Jarjour-Moussa, TASOL Program Supervisor
Education Canada College
Arabic Language Translator and Interpreter
Lincoln Intermediate Unit
Arabic Instructor and Curriculum Developer
The Johns Hopkins University CTYonline