Switching between modern standard Arabic and Algerian Arabic

Abstract

The present study investigates children‘s switching between Modern Standard Arabic and Algerian Arabic. It aims at examining the mechanisms of diglossic switching, its functions and its structures, and whether the code used by the interlocutor affects the children‘s speech and choice of code. To attain these aims, a qualitative research is adopted using an ethnographic method with twenty-four (24) pre-school children aged from five to six (5-6) years at ‗Dib Tahar‘ primary school at Elkroub, Constantine- Algeria. It is based on triangulation: participant observation, the teacher‘s and the children‘s interviews and the analysis of the artifacts. Data are collected using some tools namely: recordings and transcription using the International Phonetic Alphabets. The results obtained have revealed that pre-school children do switch between the varieties of Arabic in the class and may deviate from the standard pronunciation of the Algerian words. They can produce different types of switching: intersentential, intrasentential and intra-word switching are very common in their speeches. Further, Children‘s choice of the code is not influenced by the code used by their interlocutor. When children know the structure and the words necessary for building well-structured and meaningful sentences in Modern Standard Arabic, and even if their teacher uses Algerian Arabic, they opt for the exclusive use of Modern Standard Arabic or they switch to Algerian Arabic for unknown words. Therefore, the results of the study have challenged Ferguson‘s definition of diglossia and called for reconsidering the separation of its domains. The results also have led to generating hypotheses that need to be tested in further research.