Previous Issues
Volume :5 Issue : 20 1985
Add To Cart
Download
Language Loyalty and Language Shift Among Early (1890's -1930's) Arabic Speaking Immigrants in the United States of America
Auther : Mohammad Sawaie
This paper explores the history of Arabic among early Arabic-speaking immigrants in the United States. The focus in on four institutions in which Arabic Ws used by these immigrants. These institutions include 1) the periodic press. 2) places of worship 3) community ethnic schools 4) organizational societies. Several factors that precipitated the shift from Arabic monolinguals to bilinguals, and finally to English monolinguals are discussed.
The thesis of this paper is that each of these four Arabic using institutions had operated in a similar pattern: initially Arabic was the predominant language, then a gradual shift to English and Arabic bilinguals occurred, and finally English prevailed at the expense of Arabic.
This discussion is based on scant data produced by an about Arabic speaking communities in the United States.