Suchergebnisse

This study presents the policy of Arabization in Tunisia as an example of language planning which has been used to pursue and maintain power. It argues that Arabization has been promoted only to the extent that it served the interests of the politico-economic ruling elite. After reviewing the relevant literature, the study evaluates the language situation in Tunisia in terms of the degree of implementation of Arabization in three domains: 1) education; 2) government administration; 3) the media and general use. The study shows that the official authorities have been quite inconsistent in promoting Arabization, and that they have encouraged bilingualism (Arabic and French) and biculturalism (Arab-Islamic and Western European, mainly French) much more consistently. In this light, the study analyzes the attitudes and objectives of the authorities, who represent the influential elites, as they interact with other competing elites in order to maintain power.

This article describes the progressive depopulation of the Arab neighborhoods of West Jerusalem following the outbreak of the fighting in late 1947. By the time the State of Israel was proclaimed on 15 May 1948, West Jerusalem already had fallen to Zionist forces. Quoting from eyewitness accounts, the author recounts the widespread looting that followed the Arab evacuation and the settlement of Jewish immigrants and Israeli government officials in the Arab houses. By the end of 1949, all of West Jerusalem's Arab neighborhoods had been settled by Israelis.

The controversy over the selection of a national language & the course of Arabization in postcolonial Algeria is examined. The independence movement that originated under the leadership of Abd al-Qadir & concluded with the formal declaration of separation in July 1962 is documented. It is suggested that early educational policies that instituted the teaching of Arabic in French elementary schools commenced the Arabization process; however, the paucity of qualified Arabic instructors delayed the realization of change. It is noted that Arabization resembled a socialist nationalist movement rather than focusing on the promulgation of religious or cultural ideology. An analysis of Kateb Yacine's Le Polygone Etoile ([The Polygon Star] 1966) reveals the linguistic alienation experienced by many Algerians; nonetheless, Yacine's preference for writing in a French dialect confounded attempts to establish an Algerian literary tradition. The novels of Assia Djebar are explored to demonstrate the problematic of being both Algerian & female in a patriarchal postcolonial Algeria. It is concluded that Algerian intellectuals viewed the process of Arabization as a reaffirmation of Arabo-Islamic heritage, rather than an absolute denial of their French past. J. W. Parker