Modernity or Colonialism? The Use of ‘Arabizi’ and Its Controversy
Unlike many other language communities, a majority of native Arabic speakers, especially those of younger generations, choose to utilize the Latin alphabet to replace Arabic letters in digital communication. This phenomenon is called ‘Arabizi’, a resulting combination of the Arabic words for Arabic (‘A’arabii’) and English (‘Inglizii’). While a majority of Arabic speakers are firm supporters and users of Arabizi, many oppose it entirely, including but not limited to scholars and self-identified nationalists.
In employing Arabizi, Arabic letters are transcribed into Latin letters or numbers based on their corresponding phonemes and shapes. For example, the letter ‘ع’, which does not exist phonetically in English, is transcribed as the number ‘3’ because of the similar shape. Sounds like ‘س’ and ‘ش’ are transcribed as ‘s’ and ‘sh’, respectively, because they are pronounced the same way phonetically. Oftentimes in text messages, Arabic speakers type words such as ‘ya3ni’ (يعني, English meaning: to mean), ‘5alas’ (خلاص, English meaning: stop, enough), and ‘alhamdillah’ (الحمد لله, English meaning: thank God). However, due to regional and dialectic variations, certain sounds are not standardized throughout the entire Arabic speaking world, rendering Arabizi loosely structured and largely based on an individual’s intuition and preference. For example, the sound ‘ق’ can be represented as the phenomic equivalent of /q/, /k/, /g/ or /a/.
This form of Romanized Arabic did not exist until the creation and advancement of the Internet. Towards the end of the 20th century, short message service (SMS), email, and instant chat platforms became more widespread in the Arab world. However, since many early electronic systems could not support non-Latin scripts, Arabizi presented an alternative approach to accessing digital communication. It has also appeared as the result of English’s global expansion since many English words have been integrated into the Arabic language through Arabizi. In Egyptian Arabic, for example, the English word ‘creative’ is used colloquially as “كرييتيف” (keryeitiv) and ‘message’ is “مسج” (misij).
Users in favor of Arabizi particularly enjoy the versatility and ease it provides. For multilingual speakers, code-switching can be difficult in online communication. Unlike oral communication, speakers are required to take an additional step to switch to a different keyboard on most digital devices. By using Latin alphabets, Arabic speakers who possess skills in other languages with Latin alphabets are able to type faster and communicate more effectively. As reported by several researchers, Arabizi is “easier and faster to use” since the Latin keyboard has fewer letters than Arabic, leading it to be considered a less time-consuming system. Users can also type out certain loan words from English such as “video”; since the ‘v’ sound does not exist in Arabic, the word would be written as ‘fideo’ (فيديو) instead.
Others prefer Arabizi for the assorted emotions associated with the different forms of the Latin alphabet. In classical Arabic, one is unable to express emotion solely through letters since there is no capitalization. On the other hand, Latin alphabets can be capitalized to express a variety of emotions ranging from anger to excitement. Those who like Arabizi find it easier to express themselves clearly and accurately in communicating via text.
On the other hand, those who oppose the use of Arabizi believe that the adoption of Latin alphabets harms the Arabic language and, by extension, Arab identity in multiple ways. Because of the simplified characteristics of Arabizi, Arabic’s distinct feature, ‘short vowels’, also known linguistically as diacritics, cannot be added. In the context of Classical and Modern Standard Arabic, short vowels contribute nuance to phrases and can be used as markers to distinguish words that have the same root but different meanings. Reliance on Arabizi is considered detrimental to Arabic learners as they might not be able to identify the presence of short vowels and may have difficulty assigning proper meanings to typed words.
Scholars of Pan-Arabism and Arab nationalists assert that one’s Arab identity is strongly tied to the Arabic language. Furthermore, the integration of the Latin alphabet is viewed as a symptom of Western colonization. Some speakers report that they refuse to use Arabizi out of respect for the Arabic language’s heritage as the language of Islam and the Quran. They find Arabizi offensive to the Muslim faith and extremely inappropriate in the context of formal settings and religious practices.
The Arab region has a long history of resisting European colonial powers, particularly the UK and France, countries whose respective national languages use Latin alphabets. Therefore, Arab nationalists and others view the Latin alphabet as part of the continued representation and influence of colonizers. Additionally, many features of the Arabic language’s nuanced history and culture cannot be practiced through Arabizi, including Arabic calligraphy. Some view the acceptance of Arabizi as an active effort to discard the Arab identity and celebrate colonial powers, amounting to “cultural treason”.
According to a study on students’ Arabic language development conducted by Ibrahim M. R. Al-Shaer, the Minister of Social Development State of Palestine, there might exist a direct correlation between the increased use of Arabizi and lower academic performance in Arabic. Although people often attribute low Arabic language performance to high internet usage, in Al-Shaer’s opinion, “mixing Arabic and English” is the real counter-effective cause behind the problem. Al-Shaer’s study found out that “using Latin characters and numbers as an alternative for the Arabic script weakens the students’ spelling performance” and “writing in Arabic using Arabic characters [...] has the potential to preserve Arabic spelling competency.”
On the contrary, Dr. Lelania Sperrazza, a linguist and English language professor at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, argues that Arabizi can, in fact, help students learn about multifaceted identities. She believes, “[r]ather than desiring a monocultural identity for an entire lifetime, […] I want my students to be aware that they are products of a new era, and subsequently, a new identity: one that is increasingly migratory and globalized, and one that is constantly in the process of adapting and reinventing itself. This identity, fueled by the power of an English-based technology, is the Arabizi identity.”
According to a survey conducted around Nazareth, Palestine in 2020, Arabizi has become highly normalized and standardized among Arabic speakers. To many, the integration of Latin alphabets or the usage of English expressions in people’s daily lives does not necessarily equate to disrespect for their mother tongue. Linguist and Arabic Professor at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon Dr. David Wilmsen argues, “Given the fact that English is the current lingua franca and that most technology is originally in English, this blending is necessary.”
Whether you believe its existence has had a positive influence on the Arabic language or not, Arabizi is an inevitable product of the intersecting paths of globalization and technological advancement in the Arab world. Its use will only increase as it is “considered to be ‘cool’” and a modern deviation from the strictness of grammar and spelling associated with classical/dialectical Arabic. Arabic speakers of any level can learn the system quickly. This flexibility allows a wide range of Arabic speakers and learners to partake in an individually customized version of Arabic with little room for error.
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