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22 - Variation and Social Change on Syrian Dissidents’ Social Media

A Sociopolitical Approach to a Digital Sociolinguistics of Arabic

from Part V - Arabic Linguistics and New Media Studies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 September 2021

By
Francesco L. Sinatora
Edited by
Karin Ryding  and
David Wilmsen
Karin Ryding
Affiliation:
Georgetown University, Washington DC
David Wilmsen
Affiliation:
American University of Beirut
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Summary

Taking on a contemporary topic of pervasive importance, Francesco Sinatora examines in detail linguistic heterogeneity and identity construction as they impact Arabic Facebook and YouTube discourse. Key issues of identity, positioning, performance, and multimodality are embedded in Arabic speakers’ use of discourse strategies that convey meaning in multiple ways and on multiple levels. ‘Social media’, states Sinatora, ‘provides a platform for the emergence of more hybrid practices, including the mixing of the vernaculars with MSA, as well as the localization of multilingual forms and global pop culture references.’ Sinatora reviews concepts of intertextuality and indexicality as they pertain to the use of language both written and spoken in Arabic-based social media. He connects these concepts to the idea of ‘vernacular globalization’, which refers to the linguistic construction of identities through diverse and multimodal formulation of powerful and appealing text messages. The second part of his paper documents how dissent is expressed through close examination of postings on Facebook and on YouTube. Through both written and spoken text analysis and face-to-face interviews with authors, Sinatora takes steps toward creating a new methodology for analysing variation in Arabic.

Keywords

FacebookmultimodalityvariationSyriahybriditywritingvernaculardiglossiacodeswitching
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Arabic Linguistics , pp. 532 - 562
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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