MARGINAL LINGUISTIC SYSTEMS (ANIMAL CALLS, CHILD-DIRECTED LANGUAGE) AND POLITICAL FOLKLORE IN LEBANON: TWO CASE STUDIES

Authors

  • Arkadiusz Płonka

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6017/lev.v1i1.2155

Abstract

This paper takes a sociolinguistic approach to the analysis of the informal usage of two words common in modern Lebanese political discourse; ħarf at-tanbīh (the warning interjection) “hā,” used in Arabic inter alia in calls to animals, and the hypocoristic forename “Roro,” borrowed from the French. The paper also demonstrates how these lexical characteristics of the Lebanese dialect reveal similarities to what Ferguson termed marginal systems within languages. The paper is supplemented by graphical representations and other extra-linguistic data.

Author Biography

Arkadiusz Płonka

Arkadiusz Płonka is assistant professor of Arabic linguistics at Krakow University. He is the author of L’idée de langue libanaise d’après Sa‘īd ‘Aql (Librairie orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 2004). Recently, he has edited Mūrīs ‘Awwād. Traductions et interprétations. Mūrīs ‘Awwād. Translations and Interpretations (Librairie orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 2010).

Downloads

Published

2012-05-31

How to Cite

Płonka, A. (2012). MARGINAL LINGUISTIC SYSTEMS (ANIMAL CALLS, CHILD-DIRECTED LANGUAGE) AND POLITICAL FOLKLORE IN LEBANON: TWO CASE STUDIES. The Levantine Review, 1(1), 23–31. https://doi.org/10.6017/lev.v1i1.2155

Issue

Section

Articles