The Hegemony of English in the Linguistic Landscape of Abha
Nadia Mohammed Aloraij, a Master's student from the Faculty of Languages and Translation, recently presented her research on the influence of English on the Arabic language in the city of Abha. The presentation, titled 'The Hegemony of English in the Linguistic Landscape of Abha,' was part of a seminar organized by the Language Research Center of King Khalid University, held on October 4, 2017, at the King Abdullah Road campus.
In her presentation, Aloraij discussed the pervasiveness of English in Abha's various sectors, seeking to scrutinize the use of English alongside Arabic and to investigate the social and psychological attitudes towards the surge of English in commercial signs. Her study also aimed to uncover the policies that govern the use of English on commercial signs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Aloraij expressed her concerns regarding the influence of English on the native language. To gather data for her research, she selected shop signs from three main streets of Abha for analysis. After a meticulous quantitative examination, she concluded that Arabic continues to be the prevalent language in the region.
The seminar turned out to be an interactive and engaging event, successfully encouraging a thoughtful exchange of ideas among the participants. Notably, the Graigor campus was also able to join the seminar through video conferencing, expanding the reach of these essential discussions.
