Academy criticises wide use of colloquial Arabic in media

AMMAN — Colloquial Arabic dominates the content of TV channels, newspapers and other media outlets, according to the Jordan Academy of Arabic.

The use of colloquial Arabic is even common in advertisements published in newspapers and in TV commercials, some of which are government ads, the academy said in a recent letter to Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani.

The academy, which monitored and observed media outlet content, said it also noticed that the editing of Arabic content in television news is weak. 

The language used during talk shows is also close to colloquial Arabic, which is “inappropriate”, the academy added.

It pointed out that all public and private entities as well as professional associations, NGOs, political parties and companies, are required to use Arabic in their formal activities as stipulated by the law on the protection of Arabic.

A bill on the follow-up of the enforcement of this law is being studied at the Cabinet and it will help address any violations to the Arabic language, the academy indicated.

“It is unfortunate that almost no one is using classical Arabic except at academic institutions such as universities, and that does not even happen all the time,” Areej Hammoudeh, a teacher of Arabic at a private school in Amman, told The Jordan Times on Tuesday.

“This is our language and we have to preserve it by using it. Even when it comes to writing, young people are either writing very poor Arabic or using Arabizi [colloquial Arabic written using English letters] to express their thoughts, especially on social media networks,” Hammoudeh said over the phone.

“I always tell my students how important it is to know classical Arabic and be capable of using it… Even on the Internet, Arabic content is lacking and it is rarely in classical Arabic,” she added.

But Alaa Mousa, an accounting student, does not believe classical Arabic should be used everywhere.

“I don't think I would like to watch any show in classical Arabic. It would be so boring. I prefer colloquial Arabic. It makes things more fun,” the Balqa Applied University student said over the phone.

“If a show is in classical Arabic, I guess it will be rigid and bore viewer. Maybe it should be only used in writings and formal letters”.

The idea of establishing the Jordan Academy of Arabic began to take shape in the first years after the founding of Transjordan in the third decade of the 20th century. 

The Journal of the Arab Scientific Academy in Damascus published the news of the Jordan Academy of Arabic's establishment in January 1924.

It was the second academy of Arabic set up in the Arab world after the Arab Scientific Academy in Damascus, which was founded in 1919. 

But the Jordanian academy was short-lived due to the scarcity of financial, scientific and human resources. 

A Royal Decree was issued in 1976 to establish the Jordan Academy of Arabic, which officially assumed its responsibilities on October 1 that year, and joined the Cairo-based Union of Arab Scientific and Language Academies in 1977, according to its website.