Major trends in the speech of the modern Arab youth of Qatar
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Abstract
The article examines the current trends of youth speech in Qatar in the context of the language situation in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf. The following phenomena were investigated: the code-switching between English and Arabic in the speech of Qatar University students; choice of language when native Qataris and people from other Arab countries communicate with their children; the transmission of Arabic text through a combination of Latin letters and numbers in online communication, which is known as Arabizi. The material of the research was the author’s own observations during her studies at Qatar University (2018–2019) and her interviews with informants directly in Qatar (2022–2023), correspondence with speakers of the Qatari dialect via Facebook and WhatsApp, as well as materials from Internet resources. It was found that during conversations of young Qataris, about 40 % of the words used are from the English vocabulary, and 60 % – in the Qatari dialect, the vocabulary of which consists of words of Arabic origin which are common to the Modern Standard Arabic, words common for the Arabic dialects, as well as lexemes from sedentary or Bedouin dialects. At the same time, it was found that about 75 % of parents in autochthonous Qatari families speak to their children predominantly in Arabic, and 25 % – mainly in English. One of the reasons for this trend is the presence of nannies and housekeepers who communicate only in English. On the other hand, 60 % of young parents who are from other Arab countries and have been living in Qatar for a long time speak mainly English with their children. It was concluded that the trends in the speech of Qatar’s youth are influenced by the studies at international schools and universities, and the presence of foreign nannies and housekeepers.
How to Cite
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sociolinguistics, State of Qatar, youth speech, Arabic language, English language, code switching, Arabic dialects
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