Arabic Wāsţa from a Sociolinguistic Perspective

Sakarna, Ahmad Khalaf and Kanakri, Mahmoud (2005) Arabic Wāsţa from a Sociolinguistic Perspective. Acta Orientalia, 58 (4). pp. 391-407. ISSN 0001-6446

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Abstract

Language and society are interrelated. One linguistic phenomenon that illustrates this relationship is Arabic “Wāsţa”(W), literally 'connection' and idiomatically 'intermediation between twopersons'. Although, there is a common belief in the Arab World that “Wāsţa”(W) exists, there is no linguistic evidence whatsoever that it is proven or documented. In this paper, we are providing linguistic evidence based on special terms, expressions, and slogans that demonstrate that W exists. We point out the different aspects of this linguistic evidence. We argue that W should be fought by using new slogans and expressions that are able to replace the productive ones that are used daily.

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