سياسة التعريب في سوريا ضمن إطار السياسات اللغوية
Mehmet Hakkı Suçin & Ahmet İzzettin Elşağel
Abstract
This article examines the language policies pursued since the founding of the modern Syrian state, with Arabicization as its central axis. Using a historical-descriptive method, it considers the Syrian state’s policies towards Arabic, the concrete steps taken by successive governments in the field of language planning, and the Arabicization policies applied to the country’s other local languages. The data are drawn from historical works, studies in contemporary politics, academic articles and journalistic sources.
The study concludes that successive Syrian governments between 1918 and 2024 adopted Arabicization as one of their core language policies. In this process, the use of local languages other than Arabic in education, the media and official domains was restricted, and various policies of linguistic assimilation were implemented.
At the same time, the article stresses that the state’s language-planning efforts to protect and develop Arabic were successful to a certain extent, but that more comprehensive and systematic policies are needed to adapt and develop Arabic for contemporary needs. In conclusion, it recommends legal provisions guaranteeing the linguistic rights of Syria’s different language communities, together with stronger policies for the protection and development of Arabic.
Keywords: Arabicization · language policy · language planning · Syria
Cite this work
Chicago
Suçin, Mehmet Hakkı, and Ahmet İzzettin Elşağel. “Siyasat al-taʿrib fi Suriya dimna itar al-siyasat al-lughawiyya” [Arabicization Policy in Syria within the Framework of Language Policies]. Lisanî İlimler Dergisi 2, no. 2 (2024): 395–440. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14478425.
APA
Suçin, M. H., & Elşağel, A. İ. (2024). Siyasat al-taʿrib fi Suriya dimna itar al-siyasat al-lughawiyya [Arabicization policy in Syria within the framework of language policies]. Lisanî İlimler Dergisi, 2(2), 395–440. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14478425
Publication details
Lisanî İlimler Dergisi / Journal of Linguistic Studies
Authors: Mehmet Hakkı Suçin, Ahmet İzzettin Elşağel
Volume: 2
Issue: 2
Date: December 2024
Pages: 395–440
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.14478425
Type: Peer-reviewed research article
Language of the text: Arabic