A War of Words: Language and Conflict in the Middle East

by Yasir Suleiman

Overview

Yasir Suleiman considers national identity in relation to language, the way in which language can be manipulated to signal political, cultural or historical difference. As a language with a long-recorded heritage spoken by the majority of peoples in the Middle East, Arabic is a particularly appropriate language to study and provides a penetrating means of exploring the conflicts of the Middle East.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521837439
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/10/2004
Series:	Cambridge Middle East Studies , #19
Pages:	286
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.67(d)

About the Author

Yasir Suleiman is Professor of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies, and Director of the Edinburgh Institute for the Advanced Study of the Arab World and Islam at the University of Edinburgh. His publications include The Arabic Language and National Identity: A Study in Ideology (2003) and The Arabic Grammatical Tradition: a Study in Ta'liil (1999).

Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. Language, power and conflict in the Middle East; 3. When language and dialects collide: standard Arabic and its 'opponents'; 4. When dialects collide: on the banks of the River Jordan; 5. When languages collide: between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean sea; 6. Language and conflict in the Middle East: a conclusion.

Editorial Reviews

"This is a well-crafted, well organized, and eloquent book." Karin Ryding, Georgetown University

"The book is interesting and valuable for its attempt to elaborate a sociolinguistic approach to political and social conflicts." The International History Review Eliezer Ben-Rafael, Tel-Aviv University

"Suleiman does make a fine, well-reasoned, and yet passionate case for the emotion and commitment with which language communities defend their language use...A highlight of the book is his fascinating analysis of the implications of the specific language forms used on multilingual street signs in Jerusalem." - William O. Beeman

"It is a contribution to Suleiman's continued explorations of the linguistic conflicts produced by the religious and military conquests of Islam and the continuing tensions in seeking resolutions...The potential is huge, and Suleiman is one of the few scholars who are daring to tackle it." anthropological linguistics Bernard Spolsky, Bar-Ilan University

From the Publisher