Jabbali, an endangered language in Oman: is it worth a look before it’s gone?

The fact that the Jabbali language in the south of Oman is in danger of extinction cannot be denied. The younger generation do not have the same mastery of the language as their parents, who have even less command of it compared to their own parents. The UNESCO website lists Jabbali (which has a different spelling variation, ‘Jibbali’) as a 'severely endangered' language; and only about 5000 speakers are left.

I’m not sure what is being done about the situation of Jabbali, but it certainly needs a more serious stand and a stronger push. If the critical situation of Jabbali continues to be ignored and overlooked, the language will actually extinct. Some might argue that language change is unavoidable in situations where there is another language dominating a society (in this case Arabic), however while this might be true, it does not mean that an endangered language should be left to die without documenting and recording it.

Jabbali, just like any language is a treasure on its own. It gives you insights to the culture of its speakers, how they think and see things, how they do things and how they live their lives in general. It is a culture on its own and losing it would be a real cultural loss in Oman. The Jabbalis for instance, have a wide plant vocabulary due to their wide use of these products of nature in their daily lives. This suggests that they have a wide knowledge of herbal healing or medicating by plants. Documenting the language can save this knowledge which can lead to the development of plant science or botany.

Let’s make the most of Jabbali while it struggles to survive.

Do Omani broadcasters suffer from linguistic insecurity?

Every time I tune in the radio to a local Arabic FM channel and a music program is on, I stop to ask myself, are these broadcasters directing their speech to an Omani audience? Or are they directing it to a Gulf audience in general? As a listener of such programs (and away from being an objective linguist for a second) I would say that I find the use of ‘Khaleeji’ Arabic features in their speech radical, unrealistic and sometimes unfriendly. There is hardly any consideration for the language of the caller who is usually an Omani speaking a more ‘realistic’ variety of local Arabic that is more common in the country. It surprises me that it doesn’t seem to occur to the broadcaster that speaking in such a divergent way emphasises the distance between him/her and the caller; especially in music programs where the context is meant to be relaxed and informal. 

Many would argue that this is actually the way the broadcaster speaks and that it is far from artificial; or some might argue that it is a personal choice. Indeed both arguments could be true but when you listen to the vast majority of callers speaking in a different way and that they sound very similar to each other linguistically, while the broadcaster sounds very different, one can’t help but ask, what is it that motivates the broadcasters to continue distancing themselves from the language of the local public and choose to speak in Khaleeji Arabic? Is it because Omani dialects lack prestige? Are Omani dialects embarrassing? Is it because they have linguistic insecurity? Or is it because they look up to other Gulf countries and wish to be more similar to them? Should a broadcaster ignore the way most of his callers speak and continue to speak in the way s/he chooses? Is it really a matter of personal choice, or a deeper issue that goes beyond egocentrism?

As I listen to the FM, I'll keep wondering why there is a big gap between the linguistic reality in Oman and the public face of it which is heard through the media.

علم اللغويات للجميع

لقد اختصر علي مقال للكاتب وإخصائي اللغة بيغهام، رئيس تحرير مجلة مختصة بعلم اللغة الكثير مما اريد ان اقوله عن هذا العلم وسوء فهمه وعدم وضوحه لدى الكثيرين. اختصر علي المقال الكثير من الكلمات ، فهو يحكي واقع غاليبة من درسوا علم اللغويات. انه سوء الفهم لهذا العلم وقلة المعرفة به بل وعدم الدراية بوجوده في كثير من الاحيان!  ولا يجب ان يقع اللوم هنا على من لم يسمعوا بهذا العلم، بل على اصحاب الدراسة في رأي الكاتب الذين يجدر بهم نشر ما تعلموه بصورة اكبر وبالطريقة التي يستوعبها القارئ الغير متخصص بهذا العلم. ومما يزيد من حجم الفجوة بين المتخصصين بهذا العلم والغير متخصصين به هو عدم الاهتمام به كعلم في كثير من الدول ومنها (وبشكل كبير) الدول العربية. فلا يزال الكثيرون في هذه الدول يستصغرون العلوم الاجتماعية والانسانية.

يسأل الكاتب في حيرة عن سبب عدم ثقافة المجتمع في علم اللغة ويخشى ان يكون المتخصصين في هذا العلم السبب في ذلك لانهم لم يجتهدوا بالشكل الكافي لايصال محتوى هذا العلم ولو بشكل بسيط الى الفرد العادي في المجتمع. اي ان الكاتب يرى ان المختصون بعلم اللغة لم ينشروا هذا العلم الى القارئ الغير متخصص في اللغة كما ينبغي.

يشير الكاتب الى نقطة مهمة وملهمة جدا في نفس الوقت. يقول انه اذا كان بامكان علماء الفيزياء وعلم النفس من نشر الكثير من مفاهيم علومهم للقراء الغير مختصين في هذه المجالات بحيث تصل افاكرهم وحصيلة بحوثهم الى اي فرد في المجتمع، فلماذا لا يفعلون الاخصائيون اللغويون مثل ذلك؟ كانت هذه الفكرة المحركة للكاتب والتي شجعته على بدء مجلة عن علم اللغة التي تسعى لكاتبة مقالات عن احدث البحوث في هذا العلم وشتى مجالاته الفرعية. اي ان المجلة تكتب لغير المتخصصين في هذا المجال، بحيث تصل المعلومة بشكل مبسط وبعيد عن التعقيد لمن يود ان يتعلم عن هذا العلم بغير هدف الاختصاص.

اسعدني قراءة هذا المقال لانه بالفعل لا يكاد المتخصص بعلم اللغة ان يقول انه كذلك حتى تتبدل الوجوه الى علامات استفام كبيرة او سوء فهم حيث يظن الكثيرون ان علماء اللغة هم بالضرورة مدرسوا لغة انجليزية او مترجمون او قد درسوا الادب الانجليزي.  لقد جاء الاوان لبذل جهد اكبر لاعلام الافراد في المجتمع وتثقيفهم اكثر عن هذا العلم الذي يسهم في فهم ما قد يكون من اقدم الظواهر البشرية، الا وهي اللغة والتي هي في تطور دائم.



Jabbali in Oman: reality through cartoon

The Omani cartoon Youm oo Youm indirectly contributes to linguistics in Oman in several ways. First, it is an attempt to shed light on the linguistic situation in Oman. It tries to eradicate the negative stereotypes about the Omani dialect especially since it has been used for comedy effects in other Arabian Gulf cartoons such as Shaabiyat Al Cartoon or even an episode from Freej. Second, Youm oo Youm tries to show the diversity of the Omani society culturally and indeed linguistically. Third and perhaps most importantly, is the episode below which portrays a man's effort and enthusiasm to save the Jabbali language, which is critically endangered in Oman.
In the episode, Mhaat (who is himself a Jabbali) faces endless difficulties when he requests opening a Jabbali Language Centre in Oman; he faces complications of legal procedures and eventually his request is rejected.

This episode brings hope yet presents a sad reality at the same time. On the positive side, it's a relief because it shows that some non-linguist Omanis do actually realise that their country’s linguistic treasures are in danger of extinction; which means that someone knows and cares. Yet the negative side makes the main theme of the  episode; which is basically that in reality decision makers don't really care. It shows how Oman’s linguistic treasures are being ignored and are left on the verge of extinction because no one would support the enthusiastic man’s idea. No one sees in it a preservation of a culture. The irony is that at the end he receives a phone call from what seems to be a Western university that is interested in his project. It is indeed disappointing to see that while there is hardly an effort made to save Jabbali or other endangered languages in Oman, academics overseas seem to show concern and interest in the situation of Jabbali.
Until decision makers in Oman realise that saving languages is not “useless” and is just as important as learning English or French, let’s hope that Jabbali hangs on.

Languages Spoken in Oman

This is probably not a very reliable source but it does the job of giving an overview of the kinds of languages that are spoken in Oman:

Languages in Oman

Some of these languages are dying and some are extremely endangered. Language is not just spoken or written words, it carries culture and identity and if it dies, then so does the culture with all its beauty. I hope something will be done to save these exotic languages!

Arabizi: Arabic-English Code-Switching

The following is from the documentary Arabizi, which was produced by MBC in 2005. The term 'Arabizi' is used informally to mean one of two linguistic phenomena: either Romanized and 'numeralized' written Arabic which is used in Computer Mediated Communication (CMC), such as in this sentence '9aba7 el 5air'. Or, Arabizi could be used to refer to the code-switching between Arabic and English. Code-switching can be defined as "the use by a speaker of more than one language, dialect, or variety during a conversation" (Crystal, 1999: 60). This documentary mostly discusses the latter phenomenon.

To be able to code-switch one needs to be at least bidialectal or bilingual. This documentary gives an interesting insight at how and when Arabic-English bilinguals code-switch and how it became part of their identity. Usually these individuals are exposed to the cultures of both the languages they use. Many would attack this linguistic/social behaviour and suggest that it is a threat to the Arabic language and identity. Many on the other hand, would say that it is a normal product of globalization. I leave the readers to judge for themselves.

Social Sciences in Oman...

“The Arts’ Stream is for those who choose the easy path” would say my mathematics teacher in high school. I was in the Science Stream not because I am more interested in science; on the contrary, I’ve always been more inclined towards Arts. But anyway, that’s beside the point. My point is: this kind of attitude about arts and social sciences in general is very common in Oman and indeed the Arab World. We are constantly told that the ‘big’ sciences like medicine, engineering, IT or even business is what helps a country to grow, develop and prosper.
 

To me these sciences are robotic. One plus one is two, got it? Very factual and hardly opinionated. Everything is proved. And if it’s not, then there’s something wrong. Everything has to be physically proved. Solid facts and answers… is that all we need to build a strong society?

As a person who respects other disciplines, I have nothing against these so-called “big” sciences; in fact I support and like to see Omanis who are enthusiastic about them. My point is, while these sciences are indeed important, so are the social sciences like linguistics for example. The fact that social sciences don’t always prove things does not mean that they are useless.  In fact, that’s even more difficult because you have to look for other explanations and argue about a point. This is also useful because you get to realize that there is more than one side to everything. 

The research culture in Oman is far from blooming. People are not used to being approached with a questionnaire or a request to be interviewed, let alone to record their voice to get some spoken data. What is worse is that while they have hardly heard about the field, they judge and question your research; especially if they studied something that is regarded as highly prestigious in the society (e.g. medicine, engineering). This is like a cat that goes to another animal and asks it “why aren’t you mewing?”… Well because not all animals mew; just like not all fields do research using the same tools and methods of a doctor or an engineer. 

My request is to give social sciences a chance. I know a linguist who studied the language between doctors and patients for years. He came to a conclusion that helped the patients make the most of their visits to their doctors, in the sense that they could have all their questions answered. In other words, he came up with solutions to improve the communication between doctor and patient; which in return results in a better patient-doctor consultation. Tell me that it’s not useful to society. Tell me anyone could have done that; of course not. It takes a discourse/conversation analyst to read between the lines of conversation. 

I am not going to list the ways in which linguistics is useful. I will just quote the American linguistic anthropologist Benjamin Lee Whorf:  “Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about.” Language is one of many phenomena that we have taken for granted.