Chapters 5 and 6 and the section above provide data that demonstrate that, in general, students’ attitude change from negative to positive with regard to Arab culture results from learning about the language and the culture. In particular, I have found that learning about the God-expressions helps students gain a positive perspective on a culture that is usually accused of fundamentalism and backwardness. They develop a better understanding of what the expressions mean, the extent of the religiosity inherent in them, and the role they play as politeness formulas. However, as I demonstrate below, there are other related factors, both linguistic and cultural, that lead students to think more highly of the target speech community.
7.3.1 Language “complexity”
The complexity of Arabic grammar not only interested a number of students, it also led them to perceive of Arabic speakers as more intelligent and enlightened than they had realized. For example, Mark was fascinated by Arabic grammar, a positive attitude that made him interested in meeting and talking with Arab people:
I think Arabs are a great group of people. They’re definitely not an obscure culture even though we may look at them as backwards nowadays. They’re quite advanced. So that really changed my mind. That really gave me the impression that these people were cultured. They were civilized, they had knowledge, they had science, they had libraries,
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and they understood grammar. It’s a beautiful system of grammar. They figured it out. They developed it. It’s actually very useful for Semitic study. You’ll be shocked at how much we owe to the Arabs for understanding Semitic languages. I’m talking about old Semitic languages that no one could understand. (Mark)
His knowledge of the Arabic grammar system enabled Mark to better understand phrases such as Allāhu akbar, which US media included in their coverage to make Arabs appear more
threatening:
What’s Allāhu akbar? Akbar is afʿal [superlative form in Arabic] from kabīr (big). If you understand the language, you know where it’s from…But the thing is I won’t use it on the street, no. Because if people hear me, they will think that I’m doing something because they’re ignorant (laughs). Because they don’t understand. (Mark)
Shohreh found Arabic to be worthy of respect because it was “sophisticated” and “complicated.” She, like many students, was frustrated by the complexity of Arabic; however, over time, she gained a better “appreciation” of the language. Not only did she consider Arabic as part of her, she was ready to “defend” it:
I am more fond of the Arabic language than I was previously. I always had a high respect for it, but I think learning it and spending enough time with it made it feel closer to me than it was previously. I speak of it more positively than I would have in the past. It’s not that I wasn’t close to it or that I didn’t like it before. I did, I was fond of it before, and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to learn it, but that increased. That sense within me increased, and I’m glad that it did. I enjoy hearing Arabic more than I did before. I enjoy noticing that somebody is speaking Arabic or somebody is Arab, I get excited. Because in
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some sense, it has become a little bit of me and my life. It’s, in a way, a piece of me. It has become part of my identity, I guess you could say. (Shohreh)
Shohreh’s comments reveal another “positive feedback loop” of language learning that arises from the fact that a language cannot be detached from the people who speak it. She found that the more she enjoyed Arabic, the more she enjoyed Arab people: “When you respect the language more, you respect the people more.” Shohreh also clearly recognized that learning Arabic had altered her sense of identity. When the Other becomes “a piece” of oneself, the Self is no longer stable and must find a new “balance,” resulting in fundamental change.
7.3.2 Diglossic nature of the language
Students become more aware of the diversity of Arab culture when they understand its diglossic nature: Arabs speak and/or understand both a formal and “informal” Arabic, i.e., one of many regional dialects. In an interview, I asked Kurt what would he include in an article about Arab culture addressed to people who do not know Arabic. He said he would demonstrate the diversity of Arab culture by describing its many dialects:
I’ll talk about the differences between the countries and the differences between Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic. And I’ll show them, “Here’s how you’d say ‘Hello,’” or “Here’s my name in Egyptian and there’s how you say it in Morocco, and that’s not even the same.” I would actually focus on how different it is, how Arab culture might not even be a thing. Lebanese people are very distinct from Egyptian people versus if you’re talking about the Maghreb, that’s almost completely different. Yeah. I think I just found out that it was a lot more diverse, you know. (Kurt)
Similarly, Alfega, who had lived in Indonesia, gained a greater appreciation of Arabic and Arab culture when he learned about the different dialects:
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In Indonesia, you just have this vision that Arab is a one thing. It’s like a uniform one identity that is the same for everything. You have that vision, and then once you start learning Arabic you start to see that even the languages are different. Shami [Levantine] is different from Masri [Egyptian]. And in countries that speak Shami, there are some differences…, and within the same country you have different dialects. You start to realize that there are these differences going on. (Alfega)
Students like Kurt and Alfega began Arabic with a simplistic concept of Arab culture as one uniform construct. However, as the learning process unfolded, their concept was proved to be false, and they began to understand the extent of the diversity and complexity of Arab culture. 7.3.3 Generosity, family, and music
Students admired the generosity in Arab society, the strong family and community relationships, and the music. For example, Christopher, who had talked about the generosity and optimism inherent in God-expressions (Chapter 5), became aware of the “optimism” and “energy” of Arab culture after learning about the way in which Arab families gathered for celebrations. He noted that the “comfortable,” “casual,” and “fun” side of Arab culture is not portrayed in Western media, but he felt that he could experience it in the classroom. This experience was
complemented by the actions of his dorm friend from Dubai who always offered him food and insisted on paying when they were in restaurants, scenes that replicated a class video in which two individuals “went on forever,” offering and rejecting tea.
Mark was similarly impressed by the generosity of a Saudi friend, whom he had met in a language exchange event. They had first formed a transactional relationship in which they practiced language skills, but their friendship strengthened:
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I went to my Saudi friend’s home, and he made a whole meal for me, Koufta or
something. It was really nice. It was really good, too. I’d only met him a couple of weeks and he made a whole meal for me. He said, “Oh, we eat it with our hands, but I’ll get you a fork if you don’t feel comfortable.” How friendly they are. How open they are. Every time you go they always give you something to eat. Every time. And I’ve been there many times. They’re always like “Oh, you’re hungry? Eat, eat.” That’s really nice. (Mark)
Nathan had also been touched by the hospitality of that family that hosted him in Oman and impressed by the sense of community entailed in the Friday prayer ceremony.
Every Friday, all their family got together. And before I left everyone came and brought food and everyone came to see me…And that touched me just because I was not part of their family, and I was only with them for a couple of months. But the hospitality and the welcoming nature and taking me into their family—that really left an impression on me because they didn’t have to do that by any means. I am still in contact with them. (Nathan)
For students, music was another portal into Arab culture. They not only enjoyed Arabic music, they also gained greater awareness of the diversity in the culture. Shohreh echoed other students when she said:
I did really enjoy learning some of the artists, though. Like, I didn’t know about Fairuz, for instance, and I became obsessed with her after I learned about her. I still listen to her music sometimes, and that was really refreshing. I especially liked the diversity of artists in term of gender, in terms of religion as well. I really enjoyed the fact that Fairuz was not a Muslim, and yet she is tremendously famous across the Arab world. Neither was
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her husband, and he was also tremendously famous. It’s just refreshing to see that togetherness, in a sense, and knock down the barriers that we often assume have to exist. I liked that. (Shohreh)
Shohreh’s experience coincides with my own classroom observation that students often find it strange seeing video-clips of Arabic songs that appear Western and liberal as opposed to Arab and conservative. Thus, although some songs may contain religious phrases, the context is completely secular, e.g., the female singer of a love song wearing revealing clothes.
FLLs are not alone in appreciating the cultural aspects of hospitality and the strong bonds among Arab people. HLLs also value the generosity, strong community ties, and music of their heritage culture. However, these cultural characteristics do not change their attitudes towards the culture because HLLs are exposed to them, in varying degrees, at home and at an early age. In the next section, I discuss how and why HLLs’ reaction to the Arabic learning experience is unique and peculiar to them.