Language and Change in the Arab Middle East: The Evolution of Modern Arabic Political Discourse

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Oxford University Press, Jul 16, 1987 - History - 226 pages
Middle Eastern society experienced sudden and profound change in the 19th century under the impact of European expansion and influence. But as Western ideas about politics, technology, and culture began to infiltrate Arab society, the old language proved to be an inadequate vehicle for transmitting these alien concepts from abroad. In this study of the rise of modern Arabic, Ayalon examines 19th-century linguistic change in the Eastern Arab world as a mirror of changing Arab perceptions and responses to the West as well as a guide to the emergence of modern Arabic concepts, institutions, and practices. Focusing on the realm of political discourse, Ayalon looks at a wide array of evidence--local chronicles, travel accounts, translations of European writings, Arab political treatises, newspapers and periodicals, and dictionaries--to show how shifts in the color, tone, and meaning of the Arab vocabulary reflected a new socio-political and cultural reality.
 

Contents

Introduction
3
1 Religious Communities and NationStates
16
2 Sultans Kings Emperors
29
3 Subjects and Citizens
43
4 The Sociopolitical EliteTraditional Standards of Seniority
54
5 The Sociopolitical EliteLeadership by Popular Election
69
6 Constitutions Laws Legislation
81
7 Government Autocratic and Otherwise
97
8 Instruments of Modern PoliticsParliaments and Parties
110
Conclusion
127
Notes
134
Sources
165
Index
189
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