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Arabic language education in the United States dates back to over a century before the Declaration of Independence. Initially, the study of Arabic was introduced to complement the study of Hebrew and the Old Testament. Harvard was the first American college to offer Semitic languages, including Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Syriac in 1640, and later added Arabic between 1654 and 1672. This approach was then adopted by other institutions such as Yale in 1700, the University of Pennsylvania in 1788, Dartmouth and Andover in 1807, and the Theological Seminary in Princeton in 1822.
After that, the focus on Arabic education gradually transitioned from theological motivations to philological interests. In 1883, Paul Haupt, an Assyriologist, established a comprehensive Semitic philology program at Johns Hopkins University, which later influenced the development of similar programs across the nation. By the end of the nineteenth century, there were sixteen major departments of Semitics in the United States, with Arabic being offered in various colleges and seminaries.[1]
The Atlantic slave trade brought significant numbers of Arabic speakers to America. Many African Muslim slaves were fluent in Arabic and thus contributed to the language's presence in the United States.[2]
During the Second World War, there was a significant transformation in the study of Arabic in the United States. The urgent need to train the military in the Arabic language exposed the nation's lack of professionals in this area. Therefore, the federal government, with the assistance of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), tried to mobilize linguistic experts to create educational materials for numerous languages and dialects, as well as established programs such as the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) for intensive language training.
The enduring impact of this national effort resulted in providing language proficiency to a large number of individuals, many of whom later became educators, government officials, or businessmen dealing with the regions they were trained for. Additionally, the instruction of Arabic and other non-European languages became a regular part of educational programs across the country.
Numerous U.S. government agencies, including the Department of State, the National Security Agency (NSA), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the Peace Corps, established language training programs for Arabic. These initiatives contributed to the teaching and testing of Arabic, the development of instructional materials, and the training of a substantial number of individuals in Arabic dialects.
Furthermore, various universities and institutions received support to develop instructional materials and programs for different Arabic dialects under the support of the national standard.[1]
| State | Arabic speakers |
|---|---|
| California | 158,398 |
| Michigan | 101,470 |
| New York | 86,269 |
| Texas | 54,340 |
| Illinois | 53,251 |
| New Jersey | 51,011 |
| Virginia | 36,683 |
| Florida | 34,698 |
| Ohio | 33,125 |
Arabic in the United States and its ever-growing presence showcase the increasing significance of the language. Arabic has more than 1.35 million speakers in the United States, making it the sixth most common language spoken in the country and catering to almost 0.5% of the U.S. population.[7]
This number demonstrates the increasing popularity of Arabic as it continues to grow from a decade ago, when only 860 thousand speakers, according to the United States Census Bureau, were recorded, indicating a remarkable growth to where it is now.[8] More frequent migration of the Arab-speaking population has led to this change. Migration from the Arab-speaking population to the United States dates back to the 18th century in the Atlantic slave trade. African Muslim slaves used Arabic as their means of communication.[2] More sustained immigration started in the late 19th century onward, following trends such as education and have continued to the present.[2] According to the 2017 American Census Bureau, there were 2 million Arab Americans recorded, while the Arab American Institute suggested numbers may reach 3.7 million.[9][10]
Growing philological interest in the Arab and Middle Eastern world has also factored in the development of the increase in Arabic speakers. Universities have been able to provide many more courses related to the Arab and Middle East regions, including Middle Eastern studies, religious studies courses, and, more significantly, language courses for Arabic. From a study involving many notable universities, motivation for learning the language was diverse and ranged from "literature and culture", "wanting to travel/live in the Middle East," "to talk with Arabs," to "research of original sources".[11] Learning Arabic would be a gateway to cultural appreciation, communication between cultures, and career and research opportunities and that would only be possible from learning the language. According to the Modern Language Association, Arabic is shown to be the 8th most studied language in secondary education, with 31,554 enrollments in Fall 2016 and 22,918 enrollments in 2021.[12] Arabic languages being taught did not only include Arabic but also "Arabic, Classical," "Arabic, Egyptian," "Arabic, Gulf," "Arabic, Iraqi," "Arabic, Levantine," "Arabic, Modern Standard," "Arabic, Moroccan," "Arabic, Qur’anic," "Arabic, Sudanese," and "Arabic, Syrian," to cater to the different dialects, focuses, and regional tones.[12]
Despite the obstacles of prejudicial beliefs and racial profiling, the Arabic language has established its cultural and educational phenomenon in the United States. The migration of Arab-speaking communities, along with a significant surge of motivated learners, ensures that the language will become increasingly prevalent in the future. The article will follow through a more detailed exploration of the history, development, and challenges of the Arabic language in the United States.
The 2000 U.S. census reported 1.2 million Arab Americans, with significant population concentrations in metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, Detroit, New York, Chicago, and Washington, DC. The largest proportion of Arab Americans traced their heritage to Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt. Regarding socio-economic characteristics, Arab Americans have largely maintained an economic advantage compared to the overall U.S. population. They are engaged in management-level and professional work at a larger proportion compared to the general population.[2]
The study of Arabic language maintenance found two contrasting results. One study found that English continues to be the dominant language spoken by Arab Americans. However, another research found varying degrees of multilingual proficiency in the Detroit area and deduced that Arabic continues to play a vital role for all in the community. Their standard or classical Arabic language functions as a symbol of unification among all language speakers, as it is an expression of identity. Moreover, Arab Americans share more affinity to the Arabic language and culture as it could be either tied to their ethnic identity or their common religion.[2]
In conclusion, the history of Arabic in America shows the enduring influence of linguistic diversity, cultural exchange, and the frequent migrations of Arabic communities. From the precolonial period to modern times, the Arabic language and its cultures have deeply shaped American society, as well as made interconnections and exchanges with the American culture.
Heritage speakers of Arabic are undoubtedly a crucial constituent of the Arabic-speaking community of the USA. Arab Americans, almost 3.7 million strong as of 2023 according to census data provided by the Arab American Institute,[13] do not all speak Arabic, and less than half are Muslim.[2] Some scholars reported observing a swift transition from using Arabic to using English among Arab immigrant families in the US. Nevertheless, the Arabic language is still spoken by a great number of heritage speakers and is regarded as a symbol of ethnic or religious identity by many.[2] The phenomenon of "code-switching", namely the mixed usage of English and Arabic words in a sentence while speaking, has been observed in an increasing number of Arab Americans.[2][14] In the early years of the 2020s, an increase in heritage speakers enrolled in Arabic language lessons at universities has been observed.[14]
Arabic exists in many forms, with a standard version, Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), and a myriad of dialects from different regions of the Middle East and North Africa. The debate over which version of Arabic is to be taught at American schools has long existed.[2] Before the 9/11 attacks, it was common for higher education institutes in the USA to teach solely Modern Standard Arabic, and as of the 2020s, it is still prevalent in universities to teach Modern Standard Arabic first to new learners of the language. After students have gained some degree of proficiency, they then switch to be taught Arabic dialects. Focus on the dialects has increased post the 9/11 events. Difficulties have been reported that arise from this situation: the use of Modern Standard Arabic is limited beyond Islam, while materials used in Arabic language teaching, such as films and reports produced by media based in the Middle East, come in various dialects that may not be fully comprehensible to speakers of MSA.[14]
While the development of Arabic language education in the USA has been significant since the start of the 21st century, with several identifiable trends in the scale and methods in which the language is taught, it is also in the face of obstacles mainly serving from socio-political factors of the USA.
Following the 9/11 event and specifically during the presidency period of Donald Trump, Arabs and Muslims were targeted due to their identity, and labeled as enemies.[15] Due to the prejudicial association of Arabs and Muslims as terrorists, men are viewed as violent and women are viewed as passive and terrorist extensions. Thus, the language itself is often labeled as threatening and un-American. These common prejudicial beliefs have impacted the daily lives of Arab Americans, making them fearful of speaking Arabic in public.
Hate crimes are common, and the only way for non-Arabic people to distinguish those who are Arabic is through observing their language. In 2015, Said Othman just picked up his wife and son from school and were taking a casual stroll down a neighborhood. While speaking Arabic to his wife, the couple encountered two teenage boys who cursed and stabbed Othman, clearly stating that he deserved to be stabbed for being Arab.[16] This exemplifies the risk that Arab Americans are subjected to in their daily lives for speaking their language. Many Arabic teachers believe that Arabic is not a language to be used on streets because of possible implications and potential threat perceived by non-Arabs.[15] This impacts their teaching strategies, and affects the motivation for students to learn Arabic knowing that they have to be careful when speaking it in public. In Chicago, protests were held to call for law enforcement to stop the racial profiling against Muslims and Arabs. The community has received multiple suspicious activity reports (SAR) just for daily activities, including taking photos and speaking Arabic.[17] With constant fear surrounding speaking the language, the continued use of it could potentially decrease, and students would be less likely to learn the language.
Additionally, the Khalil Gibran International Academy, a dual language school of Arabic and English, was meant to open in Brooklyn, NY, on September 4, 2007, but was met with panic and resistance upon its opening. Conservative columnists claimed that the school has a fundamentalist Islamic curriculum. The school first caught attention when the first principal of school, Debbie Almontaser, was labeled as the "intifada principal" for seemingly defending the Palestinian intifada. With the accusation of her attempting to start a jihad in NY, she was eventually fired and replaced by a Jewish principal. This portrays the language panic as people disregarded the facts that Khalil Gibran International Academy's curriculum also incorporated other faiths, such as Judaism, and that Khalil Gibran is a peace advocate and Christian by faith.[2] However, none of these mattered when it came to evaluating the public and political discourse of this academy. It further shows the linkage of the terms Arab, Muslim, jihadist, threatening, and terrorist to non-Arabs with little to no knowledge of these terms.
When it comes to the Arabic language itself, multiple challenges still remain despite the increasing investment in Arabic language programs. There is a lack of formal training to prepare and support the teachers for teaching Arabic.[15] This affects the quality of the learning and hinders further development and maturity of the programs. Since Arabic is the native language of over twenty sovereign nations and territories, each region has its own dialect, and some regions speak more than one form of it.[2] This creates an issue as students of Arabic language programs can be composed of different backgrounds, thus speaking different variations of the language. Deciding which form of the language to use for instructions and how to improve teaching techniques to be inclusive of all the students becomes important. Besides students from the different regions of the Arabic Muslim world, Arabic is also a language of Islam to non-Arab followers of Islam. The diversity of the speakers of the language imply that there is no single Arabic identity in the United States. The language could be used for communication for some while only being used during the practice of religion for others.[2]
Another challenge posed to the Arabic language in the United States is the replacement of Arabic with English. During the first wave of Arab immigration, Christianity was the dominant faith and most were tradesmen. English was used as the language of worship in Arab churches due to the lack of priests who speak Arabic or Syriac. Most of these Arab tradesmen were willing to learn English as well. In the twentieth century, Arabs taught and spoke to their children English in order to create an American identity, leaving no time and use for Arabic. Arabic only started to be picked up again after the 1960s when it was used in church and media.[2]
Similar to other cultural minority groups in the U.S., by the third generation, it is predicted that English will become the primary language as the newer generation becomes more Americanized and assimilated into the western culture.[2] This poses a challenge in preserving the Arabic language as a heritage language. Language is often viewed as part of identity, so maintaining the language is crucial for Arabic in the U.S. Thus, more effort and research are still needed to implement more and better Arabic language programs whether to maintain Arabic as the heritage language of Arab Americans or to be taught to non-Arabs for other purposes.
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