Understanding the Dialectical Variations of the Arabic Language and Implications for Treatment

Diana Deaibes

9/17/2018 4:49 AM

The majority of the clientele I work with come from a primarily monolingual English speaking family.  Occasionally, I work with clients from a bilingual family who speak both, English and Spanish languages. Every once in a while, I get the pleasure of working with clients from a monolingual Arabic-speaking family who present with complex communication needs.  This is particularly exciting for me being that I am a bilingual speech-language pathologist who is fluent in spoken Arabic and English languages.  Depending on the family’s preference, I implement the therapy session in Arabic while simultaneously speaking in English as well.

I once worked with a young girl who presented with complex communication needs whose family were monolingual Arabic speakers.  Her parents’ main goal was for their daughter to be able to express her basic wants and needs effectively and identify body parts to be able to indicate where she is experiencing pain or discomfort. During a play activity with Mr. Potato Head, I modeled body parts in Arabic by pointing to Mr. Potato head’s eyes and said “3un”, pointing to his hands and said “edan”, pointing to his mouth and said “tum”.  My client’s mother quickly corrected me and said that the family says “helek” to express “mouth”.  After pointing to the nose and saying “monkhar”, her mother again corrected me and indicated that the family refers to the nose as “anef” instead of “monkhar”.  Although the family and I both speak Arabic, we come from different Middle Eastern countries and speak a varied dialect of Arabic.  Not only do differing dialects make implementing therapy in Arabic challenging, it also requires me to collaborate with the families more especially when creating light-tech AAC tools or recording into mid-tech AAC devices for the client.

In the Pacific Northwest, many of my colleagues are unaware that there are a variety of dialects of Arabic. Our clinicians are more familiar with serving clients from Spanish-speaking families. Some of my colleagues are bilingual in Spanish, and I often make the comparison that a Spanish-speaking family from Cuba may use different vocabulary or phrases compared to Spanish-speaking families from Honduras. In the same way, Arabic-speakers with an Iraqi dialect are more difficult for me to understand compared to Arabic-speakers with a Lebanese dialect which I am most familiar with.

Various dialects also have significant implications for Arabic interpreters. It is essential that Arabic interpreters are familiar with the dialect of the family you are working with. I have had experiences working with Arabic interpreters who do not speak the same dialect as the family which resulted in occasional communication breakdown. When requesting an interpreter, it is important to identify the country of origin of the client and their family to ensure the interpreter is familiar with that dialect.


Where do people speak Arabic?

The Arab world consists of 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa including Algeria, Bahrain, the Comoros Islands, Dijbouti, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Quatar, Saudia Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates.  The primary language spoken in these countries is Arabic.  Arabic is also an important language in many countries bordering the Arab world, including Ethiopia, Chad, Niger, Mali, and Somalia.  As Arab families relocate to other parts of the world, you will find Arabic being spoken in various countries all over the world including: Europe, North America and South America.  There are various dialects of spoken Arabic which makes the application of a Arabic language in AAC systems challenging.  Not every family you may work with will speak the same dialect of spoken Arabic.  According to MyEasy Arabic (n.d.), spoken Arabic can be broadly categorized into the following dialectical groups:

· North African Arabic (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya)
· Hassaniya Arabic (Mauritania)
· Egyptian Arabic
· Levantine Arabic (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine)
· Iraqi Arabic
· Gulf Arabic (Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the U.A.E. and Oman)
· Hejazi Arabic (Western Saudi Arabia)
· Najdi Arabic (Central Saudi Arabia)
· Yemeni Arabic (Yemen & southwestern Saudi Arabia)


Are there significant differences between the various dialects of Arabic?

Dialectal differences are observed between cities, regions, and countries.  The further one country is from the other, the bigger the dialectal difference is.  Variations are noted in their vocabulary, pronunciation, and formality.  Modern standard Arabic is a formal dialect of Arabic which is widely used and understood among many countries in the Arab nation.  It is used in television shows, news, movies, and books/articles.  However, most families use an informal Arabic dialect when speaking Arabic in their home and in their community. This informal dialect is essential to consider when designing AAC systems for Arabic speakers.  A client using a formal dialect of Arabic may experience difficulty understanding their peer who is using an informal dialect of Arabic. AAC social competencies requires understanding of the degree of formality based on the receiving audience.  These dialectical differences are important to keep in mind when providing speech and language therapy to your client.  This is why it may be challenging to find an Arabic language layout in an AAC system.  It is challenging to create Arabic layouts which will support all the Arabic dialects.  Many of these AAC systems must customized to support your client’s dialect and language formality used in the home.


References and Works Consulted: 

ASHA (n.d.). Cultural Competence. Retrieved September 15, 2018, from https://www.asha.org/PRPSpecificTopic.aspx?folderid=8589935230§ion=Key_Issues

Cumoletti, M. & Batalova, J. (January, 2018). Middle eastern and north African immigrants in the United States. Migration Information Source. Retrieved               September 15, 2018, from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/middle-eastern-and-north-african-immigrants-united-states.

What is Spoken Arabic / the Arabic Dialects? (n.d.). Retrieved September 15, 2018, from  http://www.myeasyarabic.com/si...

Speech-Language Pathologist,Educator,Parent/Family Member,Occupational Therapist,Physical Therapist,Researcher,Developer Vendor,Other,Arabic

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