Research Techniques for the Study of Arabic Dialects, Princeton University, USA

August 25, 2010

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Grant for the study of Arabic dialects at the Near Eastern Studies Department, Princeton University

Job Description: The training will be conducted by two experienced Arabic dialectologists, Professor Werner Arnold (Heidelberg) and Professor Otto Jastrow (Tallinn). The summer school is funded by a generous grant from the Gardner Fund of the University’s Council of the Humanities.

Background and Rationale
The study of Arabic dialects is an important part of any program of scholarly research into the Arabic language, but it is by no means a matter of merely academic concern. To this day vernacular Arabic is used in everyday communication between native speakers in all Arabic countries, from Morocco to the Gulf, and Modern Standard Arabic remains the written form, its oral use being reserved for official occasions, radio and TV broadcasts, etc. Vernacular Arabic itself is divided into a large number of different dialects, with a limited number of so-called “prestige dialects” (usually based on the speech of capital cities) assuming the role of unofficial national spoken languages. Thus the knowledge of vernacular Arabic is indispensable for anybody – whether an individual or a corporation – wishing to enter into direct communication with the Arab world. Of course it is always possible to use Modern Standard Arabic or even English, but by doing so one is cut off from direct contact with ordinary people.

This was the reason why in the 1960s the United States Office of Education made a contract with Georgetown University to produce a series of textbooks for the major varieties of spoken Arabic. The books in the resulting series, today called “Georgetown Classics in Arabic Language/Linguistics,” can still be used with profit because they are based on serious dialect research. Ever since then, the interest in Arabic dialectology has been in steady decline, and nowadays the United States – probably the country with the largest number of specialists in Arabic in the world – lags behind most European countries in its contribution to Arabic dialectology. The predominant interest in linguistic theory and a concomitant lack of interest in fieldwork has brought about a decline in descriptive techniques and first-hand knowledge. The results of a century and more of dialect research have been largely forgotten, and recent papers sometimes treat Arabic dialects as if the whole field were a terra incognita.

The aim of the summer school is to reverse this trend and to lay the foundations for a renaissance of Arabic dialectology in the United States. The number of participants is limited to ten; typically (though not invariably) they are expected to be graduate students, postdocs, or tenure-track assistant professors who already have a major area of research in the study of the Arab world and are interested in practicing Arabic dialectology alongside it. They are expected to hail predominantly from the North-American continent, but qualified applicants from other parts of the world will also be considered. The summer school will concentrate on the techniques for analyzing primary data, teaching participants how to transcribe, analyze, and interpret oral data recorded in the field. By using examples from a variety of dialects it will also introduce the participants to the principles of Arabic dialectology. After completing the summer school, participants will be ready to undertake fieldwork on their own, and are expected to do so. Possible areas of fieldwork will be suggested to them and they will receive financial support for a one-month field trip. The specialists teaching the summer school will supervise the young researchers, and ensuing publications, if deemed suitable, will receive a printing subsidy.

There is no fee payable for attendance at the summer school. The grant from the Gardner Fund will cover the following items: travel to and from Princeton; accommodation on Campus; a small per diem allowance; and lunch each working day.

Application process and deadlines

Applicants should be strongly motivated to embark on research in Arabic dialectology.
They must demonstrate excellent knowledge of Modern Standard Arabic and/or Classical Arabic. The following qualifications are helpful but not a precondition: some previous knowledge of Arabic linguistics/dialectology, practical experience in any one Arabic dialect, and travel in Arab countries.

Applications must be emailed to Sarah Boyce at the Near Eastern Studies Department at Princeton University by September 15, 2010 (seboyce@princeton.edu); those received after this date will be considered only in special circumstances.

The subject line of the email should read: “Princeton Arabic Dialects Summer School 2011 Application.”

The application should comprise the following items:
Letter of application with statement of interest
CV
Transcript, especially documentation of courses taken on Arabic and grades received
Names, positions, and email addresses of up to three referees

All items should be included in a single attachment, which may be a scan.
Applicants may be invited for interviews in November 2010.
Successful applicants will be notified by early December 2010.

Further Grant Information and Application

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Scholarship Tags: Arabic Dialects, USA