In the past decade, the question of Arabic dialect(s) teaching in the classroom has intensified and split Arabic instructors and experts in the American universities and led to a civil crisis a la Sunna and Shia. Indeed, while there is clear and valid disagreement between those who champion introducing dialect teaching in the classroom and those who don't, we tend to forget a third group that makes the point for both. There is also the growing controversy around the legitimacy of some dialects over others. I firmly question the validity of the legitimacy of one dialect over another and make the argument that an introduction of dialects teaching in the classroom while, it shouldn't be a focal component in the curriculum of teaching Arabic in American universities, it remains vital. Like many experts in the field, I firmly believe the ideal situation to learn dialects is through a study abroad experience, but I seek to show that this should be preceded by "Introducing" the learner to "more" than one dialect in the classroom in the American college. With this in mind, my paper will be in three parts: First, I give a review of the literature on diaglossic scenes as well as introduce new findings in the sociolinguistic field starting from Psicharsi (1928) to the present. Second, I compare Moroccan and Egyptian dialects to shed light more on the common features in both dialects than on the distinctive ones. In my third part, I share my experiment, based on topical and communicative approaches, on how it is possible to "introduced" 6 dialects (Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Egyptian, Yemeni, and Syrian) over 18 weeks- one semester- as a cultural activity involving second year students in preparation using the internet, songs, scenes from movies...and through visits to the classroom by native guest speakers of the sampled dialects. I also suggest other ideas on how to expand this experiment beyond the classroom in a Film series format (a pressure-free-tool) that represent the 6 dialects. In conclusion, I hope to make the case that more than one dialect should be "introduced" in the Arabic class at a lower scale compared to MSA to give both due credit to the Standard language teaching [MSA] but also to approximately reflect the socio-cultural scene in the Arab world(s).

This paper discusses the current status of Arabic and ideas of nationhood and citizenship based on six debates on Al-Jazeera that span from 1998-2008. These debates parallel the debate from the 'Nahda' on national identity in the Arab world that still remains unresolved. The Nahda debate was about 'who are we in the modern ager' and 'how does this correspond to the post World War I state systema' At the heart of the debate was the Arabic language. Some ideologues called for modernizing the literate "fusha" form, while others called for adopting the local "amiyyah" as a literacy medium. This debate is still much alive today. The Al-Jazeera debates highlight the relationship between the current status of Arabic and ideas of citizenship. Al-Jazeera interviewed Arabic linguists, Islamic scholars, academicians, writers, and members of Arabic Language Academies. Three visions which mirror the old debate emerge: Arabic as an Islamic language, Arabic as a literary language with an intellectual history, and Arabic as several languages, thus, a vision which promotes the elevation of the "amiyyah" to the level of national languages. These Al-Jazeera debates highlight the disconnection between legal citizenship and cultural nationalism in the Arab world. Moreover, the participants in these debates are attempting to legitimize one vision of nationhood and delegitimize others through prescriptions on the nature and use of the Arabic language.

The Druze are a unique religious community with four main concentrations in the Middle East: Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. There are over 100,000 Druze in Israel and about 10% of them reside in 'Isfiya on Mount Carmel, not far from Haifa. The Arabic spoken in the village is classified as Palestinian Arabic spoken by Israeli citizens (separate from the Palestinian Arabic spoken in the West bank and Gaza strip). Their Arabic is in close contact with Hebrew, the majority language in Israel, and as is usual with languages in close contact, they influence each other to a large degree. In this paper we would like to investigate the Hebrew components in the speech of the people of 'Isfiya. This research is part of a larger project where we investigate the influence of Hebrew on the Arabic spoken in Israel and the influence of Arabic on the Hebrew spoken there. Our research is based on theories of languages in contact and interference and draws its data from several recordings and interviews conducted by us in 'Isfiya. The interference can be examined from two directions. In what we term "Direction A" Hebrew is the recipient language and Arabic is the source or primary language. Hebrew components experience interference from Arabic but are incorporated fully into the Arabic, taking on the Arabic structure. For example, when the Hebrew verbal root sh-m-r 'guard' takes Arabic verbal pattern to result in /byushmur/ 'he guards.' Furthermore, Hebrew /tsimer/ 'Bed and Breakfast,' which itself comes into Hebrew from German, takes in Palestinian Arabic a plural Arabic morpheme to arrive at /tsimeraat/. In "Direction B," on the other hand, Arabic is the recipient language and Hebrew is the source languages. In this direction Arabic experiences interference from Hebrew, thus in this direction the components may appear in Arabic "as is" without taking on the Arabic structure. For example, the Hebrew term /yi'uts/ 'academic advising' is transferred into the Arabic "as is" in /biddi a'mal yi'uts/ 'I would like to ask for academic advising.' In such a case Arabic experiences interference from Hebrew, and therefore leaves the Hebrew noun untouched. Sometimes, Arabic in this direction even adopts the Hebrew structure as in the proper name /maxmud/ 'Mahmoud.' Arabic /mahmuud/ underwent phonological changes influenced by the Hebrew phonological system: the stress on the first syllable and the shift of /h/ > /x/ in Modern Hebrew.

The Druze are a unique religious community with four main concentrations in the Middle East: Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. There are over 100,000 Druze in Israel and about 10% of them reside in 'Isfiya on Mount Carmel, not far from Haifa. The Arabic spoken in the village is classified as Palestinian Arabic spoken by Israeli citizens (separate from the Palestinian Arabic spoken in the West bank and Gaza strip). Their Arabic is in close contact with Hebrew, the majority language in Israel, and as is usual with languages in close contact, they influence each other to a large degree. In this paper we would like to investigate the Hebrew components in the speech of the people of 'Isfiya. This research is part of a larger project where we investigate the influence of Hebrew on the Arabic spoken in Israel and the influence of Arabic on the Hebrew spoken there. Our research is based on theories of languages in contact and interference and draws its data from several recordings and interviews conducted by us in 'Isfiya. The interference can be examined from two directions. In what we term "Direction A" Hebrew is the recipient language and Arabic is the source or primary language. Hebrew components experience interference from Arabic but are incorporated fully into the Arabic, taking on the Arabic structure. For example, when the Hebrew verbal root sh-m-r 'guard' takes Arabic verbal pattern to result in /byushmur/ 'he guards.' Furthermore, Hebrew /tsimer/ 'Bed and Breakfast,' which itself comes into Hebrew from German, takes in Palestinian Arabic a plural Arabic morpheme to arrive at /tsimeraat/. In "Direction B," on the other hand, Arabic is the recipient language and Hebrew is the source languages. In this direction Arabic experiences interference from Hebrew, thus in this direction the components may appear in Arabic "as is" without taking on the Arabic structure. For example, the Hebrew term /yi'uts/ 'academic advising' is transferred into the Arabic "as is" in /biddi a'mal yi'uts/ 'I would like to ask for academic advising.' In such a case Arabic experiences interference from Hebrew, and therefore leaves the Hebrew noun untouched. Sometimes, Arabic in this direction even adopts the Hebrew structure as in the proper name /maxmud/ 'Mahmoud.' Arabic /mahmuud/ underwent phonological changes influenced by the Hebrew phonological system: the stress on the first syllable and the shift of /h/ > /x/ in Modern Hebrew.