Sacred Language, Ordinary People: Dilemmas of Culture and Politics in Egypt

by Niloofar Haeri

The cultures and politics of nations around the world may be understood (or misunderstood) in any number of ways. For the Arab world, language is the crucial link for a better understanding of both. Classical Arabic is the official language of all Arab states although it is not spoken as a mother tongue by any group of Arabs. As the language of the Qur'an, it is also considered to be sacred. For more than a century and a half, writers and institutions have been engaged in struggles to modernize Classical Arabic in order to render it into a language of contemporary life. What have been the achievements and failures of such attempts? Can Classical Arabic be sacred and contemporary at one and the same time? This book attempts to answer such questions through an interpretation of the role that language plays in shaping the relations between culture, politics, and religion in Egypt.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Middle East, Egypt

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 4, 2003

Reviews

[Zora O'Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Arabic specialists, this has great insight into how dialect and classical language is used in different situations in Egypt. I especially liked the section on how dialect is 'translated' for print magazines.

[Tamar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Discusses the struggle in Egypt regarding the standardized language (Classical Arabic) and the vernacular (Colloquial Egyptian) in a clear, coherent way. She supports her statements with personal anecdotes from all sorts of Egyptian people, making it dynamic and interesting.

[Hazem Shaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب شامل يناقش اتجاهات عديدة و يتناولها بشكل جديد ، مدخل مهم و جدي للحديث عن ازمة اللغة العامية والفصحي ، أحببت اللقاءات الاستقصائية التي كانت تقوم بها الكاتبة

[Mervat · Rating 4 out of 5]

الكتاب بيدرس علاقة اللغة بالدين والدولة والسياسة والطبقة؛ بيفسر منين جيه التعظيم المبالغ للفصحى و الازدراء الغير مبرر للعامية.
والتوفيق بين اللغة العربية الفصحى والعامية معضلة فعلًا؛ وده بيظهر فى عدم اختيار لغة سهلة بداية مِن الكتب المدرسية والاعلام وحتى الروايات؛ فيهم تكلف وابتذال ومفردات صعبة مش مفهوم سبب وجودها أيه!.