This study aimed to provide a clearer understanding of the phonetic influence a native speaker of Arabic can experience during the acquisition of English as a second language (ESL), specifically...Show moreThis study aimed to provide a clearer understanding of the phonetic influence a native speaker of Arabic can experience during the acquisition of English as a second language (ESL), specifically for the consonants /p/ and /v/ in spelling and pronunciation. In a small-scale experiment, Arabic speakers of English were asked to translate an Arabic story to English by hand to create an authentic product of their spelling abilities. Afterwards, the same participants read a short story in English, which was recorded with audio equipment to later evaluate their pronunciation through the program PRAAT. Contrary to existing literature, the small-scale experiment conducted for this study found no significant effect for the influence of Arabic on English spelling despite this being hypothesised and proven in previous research. Along with this, no effect was found for the experiment based on the pronunciation of /p/ and /v/. Whereas the results did show that Arabic speakers of English had a Voice Onset Time (VOT) of /p/ that was considerably lower, they did not realise a [b] instead of the target [ph] as hypothesised. Speakers did not significantly devoice their /v/ to an [f], which does not directly coincide with the literature that has hypothesised the influence of native language phonology on the pronunciation of English as a second language. When evaluating the results as a whole, two things are implied: (1) there is a possible focus in ESL learning on spelling and therefore no issues were found, and (2) pronunciation is a difficult aspect of ESL learning due to the unfamiliar articulatory processes involved and Arabic learners experience difficulties when faced with the unfamiliar /p/ and to a lesser degree also /v/. However, they are able to make the distinction between the phoneme pairs. These implications may help ESL learners in the future to focus on problem areas, further improve their skills, while simultaneously providing the research niche of phonology with new material to investigate.Show less
The references about what happened after the death of Alexander in 333 B.C.E.in pre-Modern Arabic historiography are notably shorter than Alexander's himself. The information about the kingdoms of...Show moreThe references about what happened after the death of Alexander in 333 B.C.E.in pre-Modern Arabic historiography are notably shorter than Alexander's himself. The information about the kingdoms of the Successors of Alexander (“Diadochi”) are often conflicting in the Arabic pre-modern historiographical works. The question that is raised is, do Arabic historiographers consider the Ptolemaic dynasty as part of the pre-Islamic tradition of the region that their conquest to the whole Mediterranean Sea was based on? 21 And if yes, were they able to separate them from the Pharaonic past of Egypt? And last but not least, what did they want to keep in their memory-transmission works in order the future generations to know?Show less
Poetry is an important tool through which Palestinians can express their national-political identity. Palestinian poetry is part of a greater tradition of Arabic poetry throughout history. In this...Show morePoetry is an important tool through which Palestinians can express their national-political identity. Palestinian poetry is part of a greater tradition of Arabic poetry throughout history. In this case, the Arabic language is key in connecting different nation states in the Arab world. Hence, Palestinian Arabic poetry reinforces the Arab identity of the Palestinian people. Another way in which poetry affects the identity of Palestinians, is in the context of the Israel-Palestine conflict. This juxtaposition makes clear the distinct political nature Palestinian poetry can have. This research paper aims to answer in what ways poetry is used to express and reproduce the Palestinian political identity. It focuses on both aspects of the Arab identity and the Israel-Palestine conflict, set to a framework of significant historical events.Show less
The thesis deals with the reception of Lā Sakākīn fī Maṭābikh Hādhihi al-Madīna, a novel about an aristocratic family living in Aleppo, that disintegrates more and more due to the influence of the...Show moreThe thesis deals with the reception of Lā Sakākīn fī Maṭābikh Hādhihi al-Madīna, a novel about an aristocratic family living in Aleppo, that disintegrates more and more due to the influence of the ruling party. It was composed by Syrian writer Khaled Khalifa, and published in 2013. For the research project, a combination of online sources was examined, namely official reviews published on websites of newspapers, and reader responses on social networking site Goodreads. After giving an overview of reception theory and Arabic literary criticism over time, the method used for analysing the texts is described. It was derived from an article by Wendy Griswold, in which she divided readers into different audiences and described their evaluations. The same is done in the thesis, readers are divided according to the language they communicate in (Arabic vs. English / Dutch), as well as concerning the way they publish their reactions (use of social media vs. official websites). Succeeding chapters discuss important findings, firstly with regard to literary value, secondly regarding politics, and thirdly concerning social morals. Its excellent reception in the Arabic world was called into question, as well as the assumption that ‘Western’ critics do not comment on the literary value of Arabic novels. The thesis concludes by summarising its results, of which the most outstanding may be the critical attitude towards authority of users of social media in combination with their, on the whole, conservative ideas.Show less
