A first of its kind in Qatar, the Seminar Series aims to enrich debate and dialogue, on many cultural, intellectual and artistic issues.
Titled 'Has the Status of the Arabic language declined in our societies?' yesterday's seminar was held at the College of Law at QU.
The panellists were Dr Ali Ahmed al-Kubaisi (professor of Arabic at QU and member of the Scientific Council of the Doha Historical Dictionary), media personality Amal Arab, and poet Abdul Rahman al-Dulaimi.
Journalist Mohamed Taher was the moderator.
Among the audience were cultural and academic elites and scholars, who enriched the seminar with their commentaries and questions within the scope of the debated topic, especially with regard to the importance of the Arabic language and its connection to society.
Dr al-Kubaisi stressed that the Seminar Series is a good platform that provides an opportunity to exchange views on issues that enhance the cultural movement.
It is a strategic support for the Ministry of Culture.
"Answering the question of the seminar requires a scientific study that diagnoses the reality about the status of the Arabic language, with a sober scientific method, provided this results in outcomes reinforced with facts.
In the absence of such studies, we have no choice but to resort to indicators that help us reach judgments dominated by personal opinion.
"It is possible to give in a nutshell the views on this regression which is due to three estimations: the first one believes that the status of the Arabic language has declined, but it is a temporary situation and will disappear.
The second believes that the status of Arabic has declined and considers it a dangerous matter.
The third believes that the status of the Arabic language is preserved by the text of the Holy Qur’an and the rule of the constitution.
"The difference between these three estimations is that the first and second ones are based on the reality of using the Arabic language in various situations of life, whereas the third estimation cites Holy Qur’an and the constitution," said Dr al-Kubaisi while explaining the manifestations of the decline in the status of the Arabic language in several points.
The first of which is the family environment, where the child does not receive what enhances his acquisition of classical Arabic.
Secondly, education, which he noted that despite the development that took place on the curricula in a number of Arab countries, the inherent weakness is still clear.
Thirdly, he stressed that the lack of awareness of the importance of the Arabic language resulted in concepts that led to the preference of foreign languages over it."Then the common saying that it is difficult to learn it.
The fourth factor, is the low demand for reading in Arabic, as the West tends to prefer foreign books.
Fifth, we find that many Arab audio-visual media use the local dialect as a means of communicating with the public.
"Sixth, the social environment, where the prevalence of the use of the foreign language in many sectors in the Arab environment indicates a decline in the Arabic language, especially with regard to advertisements and advertising boards.
Seventh, Arabic does not keep pace with technological progress."
Dr al-Kubaisi referred to the repercussions of the decline in the status of the Arabic language and its results.
He stressed that this decline has negative consequences, the most serious of which is related to future generations, who may prefer a foreign language if they do not find any means of connection to the Arabic language.
This is in addition to the disturbance they may feel in their linguistic identity, he added.
Poet al-Dulaimi said, in his presentation: "The question about the Arabic language and its place in society leads us to believe that there are solid obstacles to awareness that we hope to remove by finding the appropriate position for the language, especially since language is the connecting bridge and the main entry point to awareness and knowledge.
"The research about language and its status, is not limited to language as a single subject, but a complex set of basic cultural, social, political, economic, and other secondary psychological factors.
The decline and advancement of the status of any language depends on the interaction of its society members in creating and perpetuating knowledge."Society, with the diversity of all its spectrums, must have a continuous vital interaction and keep pace with the material, cognitive and moral reality.
The Arabic language has a great ability to provide a space or a background for dealing with all kinds of knowledge and structures necessary in the appropriate place and time in terms of wording and meaning.
There are many evidences of its remarkable position and contribution to the history of global knowledge."
Poet al-Dulaimi highlighted that the Arabic language is a very suitable means to meet societal necessities.
There is no difficulty in adapting it for the benefit of society, especially its culture and effective level of awareness."We are not establishing something new, but rather developing a language rooted in us and authentic by nature, since the Arabic language has been written for time immemorial, regardless of our assessment of its position." He called for the necessity of discussing the language from the space through which the features of its strength and beauty emerge, such as philosophy, scientific research, literature, and audio-visual arts.
The social aspects in which language affects both cognitively and morally should also be reviewed.
Media personality Amal Arab explained there is no evidence to confirm or deny the Arabic language in terms of the availability of official figures."The talk about this topic comes through novels and stories from individual experiences or through what we live and are affected by within society, families or within schools, or manifested in the words of some officials," she said.
The speaker then talked about the most prominent problems that the Maghreb countries suffer from with regard to the status of the Arabic language, specifically in her country, Algeria.
She clarified in this context that what is said about the sovereignty of the French language was due to colonialism that extended for nearly a century, and it is a problem that made the government exert intensified efforts since the seventies to strengthen the status of the Arabic language.
"It is true that some citizens of the Maghreb tend to resort to French in their discourse, as during the colonial time, mosques were targeted in order to limit the teaching of the Arabic language.
From there it began to close mosques and Qur’anic schools to prevent the teaching of the Arabic language, in order to eradicate it from its patriotism.
Many attempts have been made to Arabise the curricula and have indeed achieved good results during the recent period."
With regard to the common mistakes in the Arabic language, Amal Arab was of the view that the speakers need to continue to learn a lot of standard Arabic words, and continue to practice them and seek to be well informed.
She also talked about certain mistakes committed by some media professionals, which indicate the low status of the Arabic language, stressing that these types of errors can affect the ability to persuade the media discourse directed to the audience.
Those with weak language lack the sentences and linguistic structures that help them to present a distinct media discourse, she added.
PULLQUOTE Poet al-Dulaimi highlighted that the Arabic language is a very suitable means to meet societal necessities.
There is no difficulty in adapting it for the benefit of society, especially its culture and effective level of awareness."We are not establishing something new, but rather developing a language rooted in us and authentic by nature, since the Arabic language has been written for time immemorial, regardless of our assessment of its position." He called for the necessity of discussing the language from the space through which the features of its strength and beauty emerge, such as philosophy, scientific research, literature, and audio-visual arts.
The social aspects in which language affects both cognitively and morally should also be reviewed.
