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The Atlantic slave trade brought significant numbers of Arabic speakers to America. Many African Muslim slaves were fluent in Arabic and thus contributed to the language's presence in the United States. [1]
Arabic language education in the United States dates back to the 17th century. Initially, the study of Arabic was introduced to complement the study of Hebrew and the Old Testament. Harvard was the first American college to offer Semitic languages, including Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Syriac in 1640, and later added Arabic between 1654 and 1672. This approach was then adopted by other institutions such as Yale in 1700, the University of Pennsylvania in 1788, Dartmouth and Andover in 1807, and the Theological Seminary in Princeton in 1822.[ citation needed ]
In the 19th century, the focus on Arabic education gradually transitioned from theological motivations to philological interests. In 1883, Paul Haupt, an Assyriologist, established a comprehensive Semitic philology program at Johns Hopkins Universit y, which later influenced the development of similar programs across the nation. By the end of the 19th century, there were sixteen major departments of Semitics in the United States, with Arabic being offered in various colleges and seminaries. [2]
During the first wave of Arab immigration, Christianity was the dominant faith and most were tradesmen. English was used as the language of worship in Arab churches due to the lack of priests who speak Arabic or Syriac. Most of these Arab tradesmen were willing to learn English as well. In the 20th century, Arabs taught and spoke to their children English in order to create an American identity, leaving no time and use for Arabic. Arabic only started to be picked up again after the 1960s when it was used in church and media. [1]
During the Second World War, there was a significant transformation in the study of Arabic in the United States. The urgent need to train the military in the Arabic language exposed the nation's lack of professionals in this area. Therefore, the federal government, with the assistance of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), tried to mobilize linguistic experts to create educational materials for numerous languages and dialects, as well as established programs such as the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) for intensive language training.[ citation needed ]
The enduring impact of this national effort resulted in providing language proficiency to a large number of individuals, many of whom later became educators, government officials, or businessmen dealing with the regions they were trained for. Additionally, the instruction of Arabic and other non-European languages became a regular part of educational programs across the country.[ citation needed ]
Numerous U.S. government agencies, including the Department of State, the National Security Agency (NSA), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the Peace Corps, established language training programs for Arabic. These initiatives contributed to the teaching and testing of Arabic, the development of instructional materials, and the training of a substantial number of individuals in Arabic dialects.[ citation needed ]
Furthermore, various universities and institutions received support to develop instructional materials and programs for different Arabic dialects under the support of the national standard. [2]
Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, Arabs and Muslims were targeted due to their identity, and labeled as enemies. [3] The stereotypes surrounding Arab and Muslim Americans have led to stigma surrounding Arabic itself. Arab-Americans have reported being threatened with violence or being targeted by police simply for speaking Arabic. [4] [5]
This stigma has also impacted Arabic education. Many Arabic teachers believe that Arabic is not a language to be used on streets because of possible implications and potential threat perceived by non-Arabs. [3] This impacts their teaching strategies, and affects the motivation for students to learn Arabic knowing that they have to be careful when speaking it in public.[ citation needed ]
Arabic speakers in the US | |
Year | Speakers |
|---|---|
| 1910 a | 32,868 |
| 1920 a | 57,557 |
| 1930 a | 67,830 |
| 1940 a | 50,940 |
| 1960 a | 49,908 |
| 1970 a | 73,657 |
| 1980 a | 251,409 |
| 1990 [6] | 355,150 |
| 2000 [7] | 614,582 |
| 2010 [8] | 864,961 |
| 2014 [9] | 1,117,304 |
| State | Arabic speakers |
|---|---|
| California | 158,398 |
| Michigan | 101,470 |
| New York | 86,269 |
| Texas | 54,340 |
| Illinois | 53,251 |
| New Jersey | 51,011 |
| Virginia | 36,683 |
| Florida | 34,698 |
| Ohio | 33,125 |
Arabic's increasing significance in the United States is showcased by the continuing growth of its speaker base. Arabic has more than 1.35 million speakers in the United States, making it the sixth most common language spoken in the country and catering to almost 0.5% of the U.S. population. [10] This marks a substantial increase from the 860,000 speakers recorded in 2010 by the United States Census Bureau. [11]
Migration from the Arab-speaking population to the United States dates back to the 18th century in the Atlantic slave trade. African Muslim slaves used Arabic as their means of communication. [1] More sustained immigration started in the late 19th century onward, following trends such as education and have continued to the present. [1] The 2017 American Census Bureau recorded 2 million Arab Americans, while the Arab American Institute suggested numbers may reach 3.7 million. [12] [13]
The 2000 U.S. census reported 1.2 million Arab Americans, with significant population concentrations in metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, Detroit, New York, Chicago, and Washington, DC. The largest proportion of Arab Americans traced their heritage to Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt. Regarding socio-economic characteristics, Arab Americans have largely maintained an economic advantage compared to the overall U.S. population. They are engaged in management-level and professional work at a larger proportion compared to the general population. [1]
The study of Arabic language maintenance found two contrasting results. One study found that English continues to be the dominant language spoken by Arab Americans. However, another research found varying degrees of multilingual proficiency in the Detroit area and deduced that Arabic continues to play a vital role for all in the community. Their standard or classical Arabic language functions as a symbol of unification among all language speakers, as it is an expression of identity. Moreover, Arab Americans share more affinity to the Arabic language and culture as it could be either tied to their ethnic identity or their common religion. [1]
Growing philological interest in the Arab and Middle Eastern world has factored in the development of the increase in Arabic speakers. Universities have increased the number of offered courses related to the Arab and Middle East regions, including Middle Eastern studies, religious studies courses, and, more significantly, language courses for Arabic. From a study involving many notable universities, motivation for learning the language was diverse and ranged from "literature and culture", "wanting to travel/live in the Middle East," "to talk with Arabs," to "research of original sources". [14] According to the Modern Language Association, Arabic was the 8th most studied language in secondary education, with 31,554 enrollments in Fall 2016 and 22,918 enrollments in 2021. [15] Classes were offered in multiple vartieties of Arabic, including MSA, Classical/Qur’anic, Egyptian, Gulf, Iraqi, Levantine, Moroccan, Sudanese, and Syrian. [15]
Arabic exists in many forms, with a standard version, Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), and a myriad of dialects from different regions of the Middle East and North Africa. The debate over which version of Arabic is to be taught at American schools has long existed. [1] Before the September 11 attacks, it was common for higher education institutes in the USA to teach solely Modern Standard Arabic, and as of the 2020s, it is still prevalent in universities to teach Modern Standard Arabic first to new learners of the language. After students have gained some degree of proficiency, they then switch to be taught Arabic dialects. Focus on dialects has increased since 2001. Some difficulties come from this: the use of Modern Standard Arabic is limited, while materials used in Arabic language teaching, such as films and reports produced by media based in the Middle East, come in various dialects that may not be fully comprehensible to speakers of MSA. [16]
Other challenges remain despite the increasing investment in Arabic language programs. There is a lack of formal training to prepare and support the teachers for teaching Arabic. [3] This affects the quality of the learning and hinders further development and maturity of the programs. [1] This creates an issue as students of Arabic language programs can be composed of different backgrounds and speak different variations of the language. Deciding which form of the language to use for instructions and how to improve teaching techniques to be inclusive of all the students becomes important. Besides students from the different regions of the Arabic Muslim world, Arabic is also a language of Islam to non-Arab followers of Islam. The language could be used for communication for some while only being used during the practice of religion for others. [1]
Heritage speakers of Arabic are undoubtedly a crucial constituent of the Arabic-speaking community of the USA. Arab Americans, almost 3.7 million strong as of 2023 according to census data provided by the Arab American Institute, [17] do not all speak Arabic, and less than half are Muslim. [1] Some scholars reported observing a swift transition from using Arabic to using English among Arab immigrant families in the US. Nevertheless, the Arabic language is still spoken by a great number of heritage speakers and is regarded as a symbol of ethnic or religious identity by many. [1] The phenomenon of "code-switching", namely the mixed usage of English and Arabic words in a sentence while speaking, has been observed in an increasing number of Arab Americans. [1] [16] In the early years of the 2020s, an increase in heritage speakers enrolled in Arabic language lessons at universities has been observed. [16]
Similar to other cultural minority groups in the U.S., by the third generation, it is predicted that English will become the primary language as the newer generation becomes more Americanized and assimilated into the western culture. [1]
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