Radio Arabic: an examination based, on unscripted broadcasts

Abstract

Tape recordings of five discussions or interviews:, broadcast by the Arabic section of the British BroadcastingCorporation or by the Broadcasting Corporation of the United Arab Republic, were transcribed and analysed. The broadcasts were, as far as could be established-and with the probable exception of the introductions to the UAR broadcasts, unscripted and unrehearsed. The participants were; journalists, academics, a scientist, a critic and professional radio announcers or interviewers. They were therefore considered to represent well educated speakers of modern Arabic. The subject matter of the discussions comprised an historical treatment of the Arabs in Spain, a British General Election and views on the concept of the Ideal Society. The interviews were partly autobiographical and partly an attempt to assess the interviewers' attitudesto current problems in their respective fields Analysis was carried out to try and discover whether any standard or form of language was discernible throughout the broadcasts. Expression of particular grammatical points i n the tapes, e.g. inflexion, relative and personal pronouns, the conditional, the negative etc., have been related to their form in the modem literary languages and in some important forms, of colloquial. Analysis of certain points such as forms of address has raised as many questions as it has answered. Pause fillers have been discussed without relation to either the modem literary language Or the colloquial, since standard works make almost no reference to them. The tapes are too restricted in subject matter and length to state any definite conclusions on the nature of radio Arabic. Certain trends; do however seem to be apparent, and these have been, indicated where; possible. In addition some points have been indicated as meriting further examination.