We are young. We are trendy. Buy our product!' - The Use of Latinized Arabic in Printed edited Magazines in Egypt - by: Mariam Aboelezz
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‘We are young.
We are trendy.
Buy our product!’
The Use of Latinized Arabic
in Printed edited Magazines
in Egypt
by: Mariam Aboelezz
Article Three
F rom its infancy, the Internet has been
notorious for its submission to the
English language.2,3 For a long time, the
thought too high a price to pay by avid text-
ers.5 The hegemony of the English language
in cyber space is still apparent despite the
limited Latin characters in ASCII code introduction of support for non-Latin script
(American Standard Code for Informa- orthographies. Indeed, even “the term ‘ex-
tion Interchange) – which was the only tended character set’ ... suggests that the
code that the internet supported – accom- symbols used for writing English are the
modated no other language than English. norm, from which other alphabets are de-
Other Latin script orthographies had to do rived by ‘extending’ the English alpha be t
without their accents and diacritics, but it with diacritics and so on”.6 Today, software
was non-Latin script orthographies that support is hardly an issue, and yet, English
suffered the most. Internet users speaking is still the highest ranking language of all
such languages had no choice but to yield Internet content by a staggering majority7,
to the hegemony of English or to use Latin and Latinized forms of non-Latin script
characters to transliterate or ‘transcribe’ orthographies have anything but disap-
their own languages.4 In later years, soft- peared. Among these forms is Latinized
ware support for the once- neglected non- Arabic (henceforth, LA), a written form of
Latin script orthographies started to be- Arabic that uses Latin or Roman characters
come readily available, but by then the as an alternative orthographic form of the
Latinized forms had grown on the users Arabic language which normally employs
as well as extended beyond the reach of Arabic script. The use of LA in computer
the Internet. mediated communication (CMC) has been
reported across the Arab world from coun-
Even if software support would appease
tries such as Egypt8,9, Jordan10,11, Lebanon12
Latinization online, it meant little to mo-
and the United Arab Emirates.13 Despite
bile phone users where the compromise in
the pool of Arabic-content websites which
message size for non-Latin script is often
49 Examining the Use of Latinised Arabic in Printed Edited Magazines in Egypt are being accessed by Arabic-speaking us- Khalil as Common Latinized Arabic or ers from all over the Arab world14, the Lati- CLA.19 CLA differs from LA in that it is nization conventions reported in the mod- not intended for communication between est literature on LA indicate regional vari- Arabic-speakers, but rather for commu- ation influenced by local spoken dialects. nication of Arabic content to non- Arabic This variation can be mainly seen in the speakers. Thus, in CLA the phonetic value representation of Arabic consonants which of Arabic consonants is approximated by are absent in English, for which the users assigning the closest sound in the English resort to using numerals which resem- lexicon, such as in the ALA-LC Romaniza- ble the Arabic characters in appearance. tion scheme adopted by the Library of Con- Table 1 is a summary of the numerals and gress20, which is used to transcribe spoken digraphs (number + apostrophe) used to Arabic content in this paper. In LA, howev- represent LA according to three authors er, the emphasis is on retaining these Ara- reporting on conventions encountered bic sounds, and so the numbers serve as in CMC samples of Gulf Arabic15, Jorda- additional symbols (characters) that codify nian Arabic16 and Egyptian Arabic.17 Ya- these sounds so that the words sound more ghan also reports the use of the number 8 ‘locally authentic’21 to the intended Ara- to represent the Arabic /q/ sound.18 How- bic reader. Of course, this is in itself para- ever, it is not clear which regional variety doxical, as Palfreyman and Al Khalil point his data is based on. This use of numer- out, since LA “is in orthographic terms no als to represent Arabic consonants is con- more ‘Arabic’ than CLA”. Moreover, since sidered the hallmark of the contemporary CLA predates the LA discussed here, its in- form of LA which prevails in CMC between fluence can be seen in the way some writ- Arabic speakers, setting it apart from ear- ers Latinize Arabic in CMC (e.g. the use of lier forms which have specialized applica- ‘kh’ and ‘gh’ to represent /x/ and /ɣ/ re- tions – referred to by Palfreyman and Al spectively in Table 1).
Article Three
Table 1. Representation of Arabic consonant sounds based on three different
Arabic dialect groups: most common to least common representations from
left to right
In addition to regional variation in con- bic which is Latinized in CMC – a point on
sonant representation, there is great in- which there is absolute consensus in the
dividual variation in how Arabic Inter- literature. Bianchi refers to this as Lati-
net users transcribe vowels which are nized Arabic Vernacular (LAV).24 Another
predominantly absent from the conso- important observation has been the spread
nantal Arabic orthography.22,23 However, of Latinized Arabic outside of CMC. With
the most important observation of all has the exception of text messages, LA was
perhaps been that it is mostly spoken Ara- initially thought to have been restrict-
51 Examining the Use of Latinised Arabic in Printed Edited Magazines in Egypt ed to online communication, but there is to offline communication. This may have growing evidence that this is no longer the something to do with the recent grow- case. Palfreyman and Al Khalil25 cite exam- ing public concerns that Greeklish may ples of LA found in cartoons and in offline pose a threat to the Greek Language, and correspondence among friends, Yaghan26 the role that Greek academic institutions includes examples of LA in handwritten and scholars have played in taking up this notes and wall writings (graffiti), while El- cause.33 Tseliga points out that many of the Essawi examines the use LA in handwritten Greeklish users she has interviewed have a texts.27 This trend does not seem to be paral- neutral attitude towards the variety, mere- leled in what has been reported of Latinized ly viewing it as practical.34 Thus, the situa- forms of other non-Latin orthographies. tion in Greece is contrasted with that in the A well-documented case is that of Lati- Arab countries where no formal authority nized Greek or “Greeklish”.28,29,30 Like LA, has stepped forward to discourage the use Greeklish owes its popularity to the initial of LA.35 This, in tandem with the growing lack of support for non-Latin scripts online. popularity and acceptability of LA among Greek users also resorted to the creative young Arab technology users appears to use of numerals to express Greek sounds have facilitated the diffusion of LA into of- which do not exist in English such as 8 or fline mediums. However, nowhere does 0 for the Greek character ‘θ’ (/θ/), also LA seem to be spreading faster to offline clearly based on a visual resemblance.31,32 communication than in Egypt. Encounters Moreover, like LA, Greeklish is still vigor- with LA have become a daily business in the ously used in online communication today Egyptian capital. Not only is LA clearly vis- even though software support is no longer ible in graffiti (Figure 1), but also on mov- an issue. However, the so far similar ca- ie billboards (Figure 2), in branding (Fig- reers of LA and Greeklish diverge here: ure 3), on products such as chocolate bars unlike LA, Greeklish has not crossed over (Figure 4), and more importantly, in print,
Article Three Figure 1. LA in Graffiti on street walls in Cairo (picture taken January 2009). The message translates into “I love you, fool’ (as would be read from right to left): writing mixes Arabic in Arabic script with Arabic in Latin script with the two scripts proceeding in opposite directions. The last word is per- haps placed on a separate line to overcome this conflict in script directionality so that the writing can only be read from right to left. 7 used in the last word to denote the /ħ/ sound. with a number of magazines now including content in LA. LA has even featured in lit- Figure 2. LA on a film poster: Eza3et 7ob ‘Love erary works by young writers, published by Radio’ Malamih, a pioneering publishing house offline mediums, but because they signal with a mission to empower young Egyp- a transition from unregulated spaces to tian writers ‘without ideological, national, regulated spaces.36 From this viewpoint, or linguistic restrictions’. These develop- the speed and manner with which LA is ments are significant not only because they spreading in Egypt does not appear to be indicate the diffusion of LA from online to paralleled anywhere else in the Arab world.
53 Examining the Use of Latinised Arabic in Printed Edited Magazines in Egypt
To understand why and how
this is happening, this study
explores the use of LA in
printed, edited magazines in
Egypt. Of course, this would
hardly be possible without a
preliminary understanding
of the context and setting,
which is what the next sec-
tion seeks to deliver.
Figure 3. LA in Branding: The logo of an Egyptian band:
Uss W Laz2 ‘Cut and Paste’ The Setting:
The Sociolinguistic
Situation in Egypt
The language situation in
Egypt is a textbook case of
what Ferguson terms ‘di-
glossia’37. Broadly speak-
ing, there are two varieties
of Arabic in constant use in
Egypt. The standard, taught
(High) variety is the vari-
ety of official, religious and
highly formal use. This is
Figure 4. LA on commercial item: From top to bottom the Modern Standard Arabic
LA messages on the wrappers mean: “On my mind”; “Chill (MSA), which is most com-
out”; “I love you”
Article Three
monly found in religious sermons, politi- as a modern nation”.41
cal speeches and in print material. It is
According to Kachru, there are four main
predominantly a written variety acquired
functions which English may serve in
through formal education. On the other
countries where it is a foreign or second
hand, the vernacular, informal (Low) va-
language: a regulative function for official
riety is the variety of casual conversation
or administrative purposes; an instrumen-
and everyday use. In the case of Egypt, this
tal function as a medium of instruc-
is Egyptian Arabic. It is predominantly a
tion; an interpersonal function for social
spoken variety acquired at home. With the
communication; and an imaginative/inno-
exception of folk literature and works of
vative function involving creative and lit-
poetry or fiction which may contain vary-
erary use of language.42 Writing about the
ing amounts of Egyptian Arabic38,39, the
English language in Egypt in 1997, Schaub
overwhelming majority of printed, edited
notes that English serves limited inter-
Arabic periodicals and works of non-fiction
personal functions between professionals
in Egypt would be expected to be in MSA.
and the very well-educated.43 Similarly,
Apart from Arabic, another language which
the regulative functions are limited to
is visibly present in Egypt is English. The
international diplomacy, while hardly any
way in which the use of English has grown
English is used for imaginative/innovative
steadily in past decades suggests that it may
functions. Schaub suggests that the main
be fitting to revise its status from a foreign
application of English lies in its instru-
language to a second or additional lan-
mental function as an obligatory subject
guage40. English has become increasingly
that is introduced at preparatory level in
important as “a practical vehicle for edu-
public schools and much earlier in private
cational, economic and ... social mobility”;
schools, and as a requirement in most fac-
a development which “parallels, in many
ulties of public universities across Egypt.
ways, the development of Egypt’s identity
Over the last half century, English has
55 Examining the Use of Latinised Arabic in Printed Edited Magazines in Egypt overtaken other foreign languages (par- fills a creative/innovative function which ticularly French) as the language of Schaub deemed absent a decade ago. In ad- choice for the educated elite.44 Schaub dition, there has been an important exten- also notes the role that English plays in sion in the interpersonal functions of Eng- the tourist industry, and its salient pres- lish in CMC.48 Both developments support ence in the media. In audio and visual me- Schaub’s remark that English appears to dia this includes imported entertainment have the greatest appeal among Egyptians such as music, films and TV programs. In who are characterized as young, educat- printed media, Schaub mentions imported ed, and middle or upper class.49 The over- English newspapers, publications geared reaching ideological and symbolic factors towards expatriates, and two publications underlying these changes are by no means explicitly intended for Egyptian readers. simple. However, these changes are often Although the two magazines cited by associated with globalization and the sta- Schaub, which were geared towards an tus of English as a global language.50 In Egyptian readership, have since disap- explaining the increasing interest in Eng- peared from the market, the publishing lish, Schaub states that “an obvious moti- industry and the market for magazines in vation ... is the promise of more money or general, and English publications in partic- better jobs that many Egyptians associate ular, has undergone a tremendous boom at with the ‘commodity’ of English”.51 The the turn of the century.45,46 The number of word commodity here immediately brings English magazines actively targeting Egyp- to mind Bourdieu’s notion of the linguistic tians significantly increased in a relatively market place, where: Linguistic exchange very short amount of time.47 In recent years ... is also an economic exchange which is there was also the appearance of English established within a particular symbolic literary works by young Egyptian writers, relation of power between producer, en- published by Malamih. This clearly ful- dowed with a certain symbolic capital,
Article Three
and a consumer (or market), and which view magazines which use LA in order to
is capable of procuring a certain material understand their motives and to investi-
and symbolic profit.52 gate any contributions they may be making
to regulating the use of LA. The following
Bourdieu’s theory assumes that the lan-
research questions were formulated:
guage of the dominant groups – i.e. the of-
ficial language sanctioned by the state – • Why does the magazine use LA?
would be the language of greatest cultural,
• What is the magazine’s target audience?
economic, social and symbolic power. Ha-
eri53 critiques the suitability of this model • What are the readers’ attitudes towards
for Egypt, where the state’s power to re- LA?
produce the symbolic capital of its chosen • Does the magazine moderate the use of
language is restricted to public institutions LA?
(schools, businesses and media), while pri-
The magazines interviewed had to satisfy a
vate institutions thrive on a preference for
number of conditions: they had to be based
foreign languages. In line with Schaub’s
in Egypt; they had to be printed, edited
observations, Haeri notes that foreign lan-
magazines; they had to have a considera-
guages have greater commercial and sym-
ble market share; and they had to be using
bolic capital to Egyptians than MSA, the
LA regularly for the previous year. Maga-
official language of Egypt.
zines where only the occasional odd use of
The Present Study LA could be found were not included in the
The recent developments in the use of LA study. At the end of 2008, four magazines
in Egypt are perhaps better understood satisfied the study’s conditions: Convo, G-
in the context of the recent developments Mag, Live and Teen Stuff. Convo and Live
in the Egyptian publishing industry. With have since made a silent exit from Egypt’s
this in mind, a study was outlined to inter- fickle magazine market, but G-Mag and57 Examining the Use of Latinised Arabic in Printed Edited Magazines in Egypt
Convo G-Mag Live Teen Stuff
First Published July 2007 March 2003 August 2006 April 1996
Price L.E. 10 L.E. 3.5 Free L.E. 10
Copies Printed 7,000 6,000-8,000 5,000 (soon to 10,000
rise to 8,000)
Distribution Egypt & 4 other Egypt Egypt Egypt
Arab countries
Age of Contribu- 17-35 21-26 20-29 13-21
tors
Table 2. Profile Information of the Four Magazines
Teen Stuff are still going strong, suggest- distribution of the magazines in Egypt is
ing that the tough competition in this sec- restricted to the main cities of Cairo and
tor favored more established publications Alexandria and coastal regions during hol-
iday seasons. None of the magazines had
The interviews with the magazine editors
regular distribution in other Egyptian re-
were supplemented by studying the con-
gions. Despite the varying degree of LA
tent of the magazines’ most recent issues
used in the magazines, English was the
(June to December 2008). Table 2 lists the
dominant base language of all four maga-
profile details of the four magazines based
zines. With the exception of Teen Stuff,
on the information obtained from the
which was established in 1996, the maga-
interviews. The rest of the information
zines in this study appear to have emerged
in the interviews was divided into 5 broad
in the context of the recent boom in Eng-
themes: target audience, motives for us-
lish publishing industry.
ing LA, readers’ attitudes, and measures to
regulate LA use. Convo
With the exception of G-Mag, which was Convo was the latest arrival on the market
issued every 45 days, all of the magazines among the magazines in this study. The
in this study were monthly magazines. The idea behind the publication was to createArticle Three
a magazine that used “internet-chatting
style language”, and in that sense, the mag-
azine’s family considered themselves mar-
ket innovators. As the magazine cover in
Figure 5 shows, this approach did not only
entail the use of LA but also word play us-
ing symbols, emoticons, abbreviations and
non-standard spelling – as is common in
Internet-chat.
Convo targeted youth and young adults (17
to 35 year-olds), who belonged to the A+ to
B social classes. Their audience included
university students, young employees and
married people. According to the assistant
editor, Rania Hussein, they bridged the
Figure 6 Cover of the December 2008 is-
gap between magazines for teenagers and sue (no. 17) of Convo magazine
grownups, catering for a niche that had
been neglected. LA was an integral part prisingly, most of the letters and feedback
of the magazine’s identity and its “fun and that the magazine received contained LA.
easy” language since its inception, and this LA was not restricted to any one section of
original use of language in the magazine Convo, but could rather be seen scattered
received positive feedback from the begin- in bits and chunks throughout the maga-
ning. Hussein noted that this was in part zine. According to Hussein, LA was ideal for
owing to the launching campaign which when the writer wanted to say something
featured celebrities and VIP clients prais- in Arabic which is not readily translatable
ing the magazine’s unique style. Not sur- into English. When asked if LA could be re-59 Examining the Use of Latinised Arabic in Printed Edited Magazines in Egypt
placed by Arabic in Arabic script (AA), Hus- thetic function, as well as act as a marker
sein said ‘no’ adamantly: “But what would of Arabic words.
be special about the magazine then?” She
G-Mag
added that the magazine may as well be-
come an Arabic magazine if it started us- G-Mag was the first magazine to use LA
ing AA. This response is interesting in that regularly in print. It is part of Core Publica-
it has two subtle implications. It suggests tions, a publishing company which started
that LA is not Arabic, and it implies that out with an English magazine Campus in
the magazine identified itself primarily as the 1990’s. Then came G-Mag in 2003, fol-
English (and not Arabic). lowed a few years later by an Arabic maga-
Hussein noted that there was great varia-
tion in contributors’ use of LA, and that the
spelling of LA words might be modified in
the editing process. With regard to quanti-
ty, editors would only interfere if the whole
article were written in LA. Some measures
were also taken to standardize consonant
representation. For instance, 5 is changed
to 7’ (representing the sound /x/), “be-
cause it is less confusing”. Other changes
were made, according to Hussein, so that
the words ‘look better’, or so the words
would not be mistaken for English words.
This includes changing ‘kh’ to 7’ and ‘gh’ to Figure 6. Cover of the 1 December 2008 to
15 January 2009 issue (no. 48) of G-Mag
3’. This justification is important as it sug-
gests that the numerals in LA serve an aes-Article Three
zine E7na which uses Egyptian Arabic in ily English with a bunch of Arabic words
Arabic script.54 G-Mag’s price (L.E. 3.5) thrown in”.55 Zidan highlighted the posi-
is proportional to its compact size. It is a tive attitude towards the magazine’s style
pocket magazine which serves as a guide of writing among its loyal readership. He
to dining and events around Egypt and also mentioned the very positive response
provides reviews of newly released films that the magazine had when it first started.
and books. It also contains jokes and light, Most of the feedback and contributions
humorous pieces usually containing spe- that the magazine received from readers
cific references to aspects of Egyptian life contained LA. According to Zidan, LA was
or culture. The corporate definition of the inserted in the text “to give it a local feel”.
age of G-Mag’s target audience is 9 to 99. He explained that there were some things
However, a closer look at the magazine’s which simply could not be translated, par-
content suggests a readership in the 15 – ticularly words referring to the local cul-
30 age range. As readers are expected to ture, which, if translated, would no long-
have at least some basic understanding of er conjure the same image in the readers’
English, the magazine is generally targeted minds. Although LA had been a distinctive
at those in the A and B social classes. part of G-Mag’s identity since its incep-
tion, Zidan concedes: I’m pretty sure that
Junior editor, Eddie Zidan, described the
no one actually sat down and thought,
writing style of G-Mag as that of one friend
well, we’re going to do this. It’s actually a
talking to another, telling them were to go
matter of, we’re talking to people, so we’re
and what movies to watch. He described
just going to write exactly the way we talk
the language of the magazine as “witty, hu-
... and the way we talk, is that sometimes
morous, everyday language, with no big
we do use Arabic in the middle of English.
words”. If he had to put a language label
And you see that everywhere – this whole
on the language they used, he said it would
idea of Franco-Arab – where mumkin a’ūl
be something like “Franco-Arab: Primar-61 Examining the Use of Latinised Arabic in Printed Edited Magazines in Egypt
kilmitein bil ‘arabi [I might say a couple general, only the numbers 2, 3 and 7 were
of words in Arabic] and then suddenly used to denote Arabic consonants. Num-
switch back to English and it’s totally fine. bers such as 6 and 9 were never used, and
the sounds /ɣ/ and /x/ were de noted as ‘gh’
When asked, why he says that they switch
and ‘kh’ respectively (rather than 3’ and 7’
from English to Arabic when, as Arabic
or 5). As an advertising-based magazine,
speakers, it might make more sense to say
the opposite, Zidan explains, “this is an Live
English magazine in the end. It’s not an
Live was the only magazine in this study
Arabic magazine.” This highlights how the
which was distributed for free. It was also
magazine regarded itself primarily as an
the only magazine with an online edition
English publication. It also points to the
(although Teen Stuff did make some old-
manner in which the magazine attempted
er archived articles available online). Live
to simulate the speech of its target audi-
was geared towards people aged 18-32 and
ence. On the question of using AA, Zidan
belonging to the A and B+ classes who are
felt that it would stand out too much, add-
well-educated English speakers. Live’s ex-
ing that the different script and script di-
ecutive manager, May El-Naggar, nar-
rection would be odd-looking and off- put-
rowed the audience down further to
ting to the reader. As part of the editing
young English-speaking Egyptians with a
process, the editors would go over the LA
particular interest in art and culture. These
content to make sure it is readable. Some-
are people who have dual cultural sensitiv-
times, this involved adding vowels to make
ity in that “they are bilingual as well as bi-
sure that consonants are separated by vow-
cultural”. However, El-Naggar was careful
els where necessary. Also, 2 (denoting the
not to exclude the expatriate community of
/ʔ/ sound), would be omitted if it occurred
English speakers living in Egypt from the
in an initial position in a word, “since the
magazine’s target audience. She identified
letter ‘a’ does the job,” explained Zidan. InArticle Three
the magazine went through a series of ex-
perimentation phases with the language
it used, and that LA was one of the things
they experimented with. The initial moti-
vation behind using LA was to get closer to
the way that a segment of the magazine’s
target audience speaks. However, this im-
plied alienating another segment of the
audience, which, however small, “is still
readership”. This gradually changed the
magazine’s approach to LA which featured
much less in the magazine’s later issues.
El-Naggar noted that the only readers who
complained they could not understand
Figure 7. Cover of the November
LA content were in their forties or fifties,
2008 issue (no. 28) of Live well above the target age of the magazine.
Magazine
Having said that, she pointed out that the
Live as an English magazine, but one based overwhelming majority of the feedback
in Cairo, which she felt was an integral part they receive from readers included LA.
of its identity. El-Naggar described the According to El-Naggar, the manner in
magazine’s writing style as humorous, which contributors used LA was charac-
daring and personal, and mentioned the terized by randomness and inconsistency:
influence of blogging journalism on the sometimes they would use numbers, and
magazine’s style. She described the lan- sometimes they would use letters to denote
guage as neither formal nor informal, with the same sounds. “The writers are con-
lax spelling restrictions. She explained that fused,” El-Naggar remarked, “which con-63 Examining the Use of Latinised Arabic in Printed Edited Magazines in Egypt fuses me as an editor”. El-Naggar explained fect the meaning if I take it out. So, it is that she had started editing such contribu- just to serve the content, and not the other tions to moderate the use of LA. Her in- way round; the content won’t promote this terventions would depend on the content: kind oflanguage. Live had no clear guide- first, she would attempt to remove the LA lines for editing LA, but the sounds /ɣ/ and and replace it with an English translation, /x/ were de noted as ‘gh’ and ‘kh’ respec- if she felt that the content would suffer, tively, while 3 and 7 were still occasion- she would then remove all the numbers ally used for /ʕ/ and /ħ/ respectively. and replace them with English charac- Her plan for the future was to develop a ters (converting LA to CLA) followed by style book to regulate the magazine’s use an English translation in brackets, so that of LA. She mentioned that she referred to the text became accessible to non-speakers the Associated Press style book with regard of Arabic. However, El-Naggar explained to the English content, and that she would that sometimes she had no choice but to like to have a similar point of reference for keep the numbers in LA. Examples in- LA. In general, she planned to use Arabic cluded quoting segments from chat con- only when absolutely necessary in the fu- versations, or reviewing a film whose title ture, but she added: That is not to say I appeared in LA on billboards. The con- will not use Latinized Arabic in the form tent was always the determining factor: of English letters. I would. Definitely. We If I cannot present an English alternative are an English magazine released in Cai- to an Arabic word, then I write it in Arabic ro. This is how we speak. We insert some using Latin characters but without the Arabic words in the middle of our speech, numerals which would result in narrow- even when we’re speaking English. El- ing down my readership; and then it’s up Naggar did not rule out the possibility of to the reader to research the word ... I will using AA instead of LA either, saying that it keep it [LA] only when I feel that it will af- might provide an interesting visual experi-
Article Three
ence that she is not opposed to as an editor
so long as it is there to serve the content.
However, she conceded that the different
script would bring up design and typeset-
ting issues, making proof-reading more
difficult and time-consuming. When asked
if this would not put off readers who do not
speak Arabic, she responded, “Well, I’m
sure that the 3 and the 5 would put them
off just as much”.
Teen Stuff
Teen Stuff was the oldest of the magazines Figure 8. Cover of the Decem-
ber 2008 issue (no. 130) of
in this study, which may explain the fact Teen Stuff Magazine
that it was also the magazine with the larg-
est circulation and widest fan base. This is metna, also directed to Egyptian teenagers,
emphasized on the magazine’s cover (see but written in Standard Arabic and some
Figure 8) with the sentence “Egypt’s best- Egyptian Arabic in Arabic script. Teen Stuff
selling English magazine” which appears ’s content is a combination of contributions
below the title. The use of the word ‘Eng- sent by readers and material prepared by
lish’ on the magazine cover already implies in-house teenage ‘staff’. Most of these in-
a claimed identity. Teen Stuff is based on house writers fell between the 16-19 age-
the slogan “from teens to teens”, alluding range despite the magazine’s aim to attract
to the fact that the contributors are teen- a wider age range of 13-21. This is the same
agers who write for teenagers like them- as the age-range of the magazine’s target
selves. It also has a sister magazine, Kel- audience who belong to the A and B social65 Examining the Use of Latinised Arabic in Printed Edited Magazines in Egypt
classes; mainly English-educated school it remained in Arabic, whereas “English
and university students. would kill the joke”, according to content
supervisor Omneya Ragaie.
Teen Stuff ’s chairperson, Manal El-Mah-
dy, described the magazine’s language as LA was mainly used for its comic effect and
“light English”; “English that is not sophis- because it made it easier for the Egyptian
ticated at all”. Teen Stuff did not use LA at reader to relate to some content. This ex-
all when it first appeared on the market. plains why most of the articles containing
In fact, it was not until very recently that LA were found in the “Fankesh” section of
the magazine started using LA. El-Mahdy the magazine (a section for jokes and com-
is not sure when exactly this happened, ic pieces). Commenting on the possibility
but says that the trend grew in the last two of replacing LA with AA, Ragaie said that
years. She explained that it started rath- it would look odd because of the different
er spontaneously with LA appearing in script – “it would not suit the magazine
feedback mail and in contributions by because it is an English magazine.” She
readers. “I am not in favor of it, but I can’t added that AA would only be used in “very
help it,” she said, “personally, I would like rare and very obvious” occurrences such as
to stick with English.” in a book review or a coverage of an event
where the picture of the book or the logo of
In readers’ feedback, which abounded in
the event is in Arabic script, and in these
LA, readers would sometimes use LA to
cases the AA becomes an image rather than
write expressions that they did not know
text. Measures taken by the magazine con-
how to translate into English. On the oth-
tent supervisors Omneya Ragaie and Mai
er hand, writers would typically use LA in
Hany to moderate LA use included limit-
articles where there was a funny quote in
ing LA content. This entailed excluding
Egyptian Arabic that would only “click”
articles with too much LA since, as Hany
with the mainly Egyptian readership if
points out, “it [Teen Stuff] is still main-Article Three
What Convo G-Mag Live Teen Stuff
would happen
The magazine will lose no no no no
popularity
The magazine will lose yes yes
appeal among its current
audience
It will be more difficult to yes yes yes yes
convey cultural content
The magazine will be- yes yes no no
come less unique
Readers will object no not sure no not sure
Table 3. Magazines’ Responses to the Final Question in the Interview
ly an English magazine.” While the con- verted commas.
tent supervisors were less explicit about
Discussion
the type of amendments that they might
make to the spelling of LA words, they said The importance of LA to the magazines in-
that they would generally modify the spell- terviewed in this study varied according to
ing slightly (e.g. by adding vowels) if this the identity that the magazine claimed for
made the word easier to read, especially if itself. This is illustrated in Table 3 which
a misreading could alter the meaning of the summarizes the responses of the four
word. Their criterion was that, if they find magazines to the final question in the in-
a word too difficult to read, then the read- terview: If the magazine were to stop using
ers probably would too. They also men- LA, which of the following – if any – would
tioned that LA words would sometimes be likely to happen?
be flagged by inserting them between in- As Table 3 indicates, for Convo and G-Mag,67 Examining the Use of Latinised Arabic in Printed Edited Magazines in Egypt LA was an indispensable part of the maga- which first introduced LA to the magazine, zine identity despite the fact that they still and so, the editors felt that it is possible classed themselves as mainly English. For that some readers might object if the mag- each of these two magazines, LA was part of azine were to stop using LA. Eddie Zidan the magazine’s appeal, and it contributed of G-Mag was not sure that the readers to its uniqueness. For Live and Teen Stuff were as conscious of the presence of LA as on the other hand, the use of LA was not we might assume, and thought that they indispensable. This was clearly associated might not immediately notice if it disap- with these two magazines’ consciousness peared. He offered an example to make his of a need to conform to their self-descrip- point: If they stop putting sesame seeds on tion as English publications. May El-Nag- the bread buns in fast food, you will prob- gar of Live magazine says, “If I am stand- ably eat it the first couple of times without ing out because I use 3 and 7 then I have noticing. But then the fourth time you’ll a big problem – as a magazine; as a publi- wonder: where did the sesame seeds go? cation. If that’s all that’s going on for me, The four magazines in this study started then we have a serious issue to address.” using LA within the last decade. They were This serious issue would be the clash be- also all staffed by young writers and geared tween the magazine’s claimed identity and towards young readers. These similarities attaching excessive importance to LA. The all suggest a trend in the growing popular- responses in Table 3 also indicate that the ity and acceptability of LA. However, the main motive for using LA was the fact that discrepancies in the measures adopted by it facilitated the expression of references to the four magazines in this study to regulate the local culture. On the other hand, maga- LA suggest that there is a long way yet to- zines were less sure about the importance wards an agreed ‘standard’ for LA. For in- of LA to their readers. For Teen Stuff, it stance, while Live and G-Mag favored the was readers’ feedback and contributions CLA variants ‘gh’ and ‘kh’ for the sounds
Article Three
/ɣ/ and /x/ respectively, Convo uses 3’and ants that they admitted to a set of ad
7 ’for the same sounds . Indeed, the ex- hoc guidelines. It was clear that the four
amples from billboards and graffiti are no magazines were still negotiating their way
more consistent. An interesting observa- into a set of rules for editing LA specifical-
tion is that, with the exception of Live, the ly, which may explain conflicts between
magazine editors did not seem to be con- the editing guidelines that some of the
scious of the steps they are taking to regu- editors cited in the interviews and actual
late LA use. When asked about how they instances of LA use which were found
regulated LA use, their responses always in their respective magazines. Despite the
pertained to quantity rather than qual- differences in the specific age ranges of the
ity. It was only when they were asked target audiences of the four magazines,
how they represented specific LA vari- there is still a significant overlap; that
is, young, English-educated Egyptians of
the more advantaged social classes. This
is consistent with Schaub’s56 description of
the group to whom English is of the most
interest, and with Haeri’s57 group to whom
foreign languages have the greatest sym-
bolic and commercial value. This group also
happens to be the fastest growing group
of Internet users in the Arab world.58 Pal-
freyman and Al Khalil59 indicate that it is
this younger generation among whom the
use of LA is most popular. It is perhaps no
surprise then that May El-Naggar remarks
that LA is used by the advertising industry69 Examining the Use of Latinised Arabic in Printed Edited Magazines in Egypt
to send the message: We are young. We are English, LA has become a commodity that
trendy. The movie is cool. The ad is cool. has symbolic and commercial power, and
Buy our product. Watch our movie... It’s a their value appears to be maximized when
selling mechanism. You are trying to ap- combined. The magazines in this study use
peal to a younger audience, and this is part LA to make it easier to refer to objects or
of your strategy: using their language. concepts in the local culture, but more im-
This statement suggests that it is not just portantly, they use it in order to speak the
English which has symbolic and commer- language that their audience speaks. Even
cial value in Egypt, but also LA. Indeed, where the magazine also caters to a non-
combining the two appears to maximize Arabic speaking audience, it is difficult to
their value. This also explains the reluc- ignore the audience of young Egyptians to
tance of some of the interviewees to attrib- whom LA has clear appeal. Here, striking a
ute the same value to AA: because LA uses balance becomes a tricky issue. Despite the
the Latin script like English, it becomes magazines’ efforts to regulate the use of LA,
more like English than Arabic, making it the steps they have taken appear to be pro-
easy to forget that LA is still Arabic. ceeding in different directions, suggesting
that these attempts will remain, at least for
Conclusion
the time being, isolated efforts which re-
LA continues to grow in popularity and ac- flect the magazines’ respective needs with
ceptability in Egypt, and its spread to print no far-reaching implications.
magazines is one manifestation of this.
The popularity of LA among the younger
generation appears to be an important Endnotes:
motive behind its growing use, particu-
1 An earlier version of this paper was presented at the
larly among businesses which capitalize 18th Sociolinguistics Symposium: Negotiating Trans-
national Spaces and Multilingual Encounters, Septem-
on LA’s appeal to the youth market. Like ber 1-4, 2010, Southampton, UKArticle Three 2 Crystal, D., Language and the Internet, 2nd ed., abic slang’, Design Issues, Vol. 24, No. 2, (Spring (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006). 2008). pp. 39-52. 3 Danet, B. and Herring, S. C., ‘Introduction: Wel- 12 Abdallah, S., ‘Online chatting in Beirut: sites of oc- come to the multilingual Internet’, in B. Danet and S. casioned identity-construction’, Ethnographic Stud- C. Herring (eds.), The multilingual Internet: Lan- ies, No. 10, (May 2008). pp. 3-22. guage, culture and communication online, (New 13 Palfreyman, D. and Al Khalil, M., ‘A funky language York: Oxford University Press, 2007). pp. 3-39. for teenzz to use: Representing Gulf Arabic in instant 4 Cf. Beesley, K. R., Romanization, transcription and messaging’. transliteration, http://open.xerox.com/Services/ara- 14 Hofheinz, A., ‘Arab Internet use: popular trends bic- morphology/Pages/romanization, (1998). Ac- and public impact’, in S. Naomi (ed.), Arab media and cessed 01/08/2010. political renewal: Community, legitimacy and public 5 Crystal, D., Txtng: The Gr8 Db8, (Oxford: Oxford life, (London: I.B. Tauris, 2007). pp. 56-78. University Press, 2008). 15 Palfreyman, D. and Al Khalil, M., ‘A funky language 6 Palfreyman, D. and Al Khalil, M., ‘A funky language for teenzz to use: Representing Gulf Arabic in instant for teenzz to use: Representing Gulf Arabic in instant messaging’. messaging’, Journal of Computer-Mediated Commu- 16 Al Share’, B., A sociolinguistic analysis of Jorda- nication, Vol. 9, No. 1, (November 2003). Reprinted nian netspeak (JNS). in B. Danet and S. C. Herring (eds.), The multilingual 17 Aboelezz, M., ‘Latinised Arabic and connections to Internet: Language, culture and communication on- bilingual ability’. line. 18 Yaghan, M., ‘“Arabizi’’: A contemporary style of Ar- 7 B. Danet and S. C. Herring (eds.), The multilingual abic slang’. Internet: Language, culture and communication on- 19 Palfreyman, D. and Al Khalil, M., ‘A funky language line. for teenzz to use: Representing Gulf Arabic in instant 8 Aboelezz, M., ‘Latinised Arabic and connections to messaging’. bilingual ability’, in S. Disney, B. Forchtner, W. Ibra- 20 R. K. Barry (ed.), ALA-LC romanization tables: him, and N. Millar (eds.), Papers from the Lancaster Transliteration schemes for non-Roman scripts ap- University Postgraduate Conference in Linguistics proved by the Library of Congress and the American and Language Teaching (LAEL PG), Vol. 3, (Lancas- Library Association, (Washington: Library of Con- ter: Lancaster University, 2009). gress, 1997). 9 Warschauer, M., El Said, G. R., and Zohry, A., ‘Lan- 21 Palfreyman, D. and Al Khalil, M., ‘A funky language guage choice online: Globalization and identity in for teenzz to use: Representing Gulf Arabic in instant Egypt’, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communica- messaging’. tion, Vol. 7, No. 4, (July 2002). Reprinted in B. Danet 22 Al Share’, B., A sociolinguistic analysis of Jorda- and S. C. Herring (eds.), The multilingual Internet: nian netspeak (JNS). Language, culture and communication online. 23 Warschauer, M., El Said, G. R., and Zohry, A., ‘Lan- 10 Al Share’, B., A sociolinguistic analysis of Jorda- guage choice online: Globalization and identity in nian netspeak (JNS), Unpublished MA dissertation, Egypt’. (Irbed: Jordan University of Science and Technology, 24 Bianchi, R. ‘Revolution or fad? Latinised Arabic 2005). vernacular’, in P. Davidson, M. Al Hamly, J. Aydelott, 11 Yaghan, M., ‘“Arabizi’’: A contemporary style of Ar- C. Coombe, and S. Troudi (eds.), Proceedings of the
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Article Three
49 Schaub, M., ‘English in the Arab Republic of
Egypt’. p 235.
50 Warschauer, M., El Said, G. R., and Zohry, A.,
‘Language choice online: Globalization and identity
in Egypt’.
51 Schaub, M., ‘English in the Arab Republic of
Egypt’. p. 228.
52 Bourdieu, P., Language and symbolic power,
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1991). p. 66.
53 Haeri, N., ‘The reproduction of symbolic capital’,
Current Anthropology, Vol. 38, No. 5, (1997). pp.
795-816.
54 Borg, G. ‘How to be Kool in Arabic Writing: Lin-
guistic observations from the side line’. In E. Ditters
& H. Motzki (eds.), Approaches to Arabic Linguis- MARIAM ABOELLEZZ is a PhD can-
tics (Leiden: Brill, 2007). pp. 527-542.
55 Cf. Aboelezz, M., ‘Latinised Arabic and connec- didate and teaching assistant at the
tions to bilingual ability’. department of Linguistics and English
56 Schaub, M., ‘English in the Arab Republic of
Egypt’. Language at Lancaster University in
57 Haeri, N., ‘The reproduction of symbolic capital’.
the UK where she completed an MA in
58 Hofheinz, A., ‘Arab Internet use: popular trends
and public impact’. Language Studies in 2009. Her PhD
59 Palfreyman, D. and Al Khalil, M., ‘A funky lan-
guage for teenzz to use: Representing Gulf Arabic in
research examines changes in lan-
instantmessaging’. guage roles and powers in revolution-
All pictures: ©Mariam Aboelezz ary Egypt and her research interests
include diglossia, computer mediated
communication, linguistic landscapes,
writing systems, and reading research.
She has recently been studying the lan-
guage of protest messages during the
Egyptian revolution and has given a
Mariam is a PhD candidate and teaching
number of presentations on this topic
assistant at the department of Linguis-You can also read
