"Adopting a sociolinguistic framework that highlights the political nature of language and its role as a marker of national identity in conflict zones, this book discusses the dystopian representation of Arabic as a minority language in the linguistic landscape in Israel through the eyes of indigenous Israeli Palestinian students. Using a participatory documentary photography research tool named PhotoVoice, minoritized college students from Northern Israel were invited to document and reflect on the signage in their area. Content analysis of students' reflections revealed not only a problematic linguistic reality in which the presence of Arabic was limited and inaccurate, but also the ways the space was experienced by them as local inhabitants. The book chapters shed light on their profound cognitive and affective perceptions and aspirations as passers-by toward the (mis)representation of their native language in the country. The contribution of the book lies in demonstrating the potential of the innovative tool PhotoVoice in developing awareness to the explicit and implicit messages delivered through linguistic landscapes and encouraging action for achieving utopian, more inclusive linguistic realities where minority languages are appropriately represented"-- Provided by publisher.
This book uses a sociolinguistic framework to explore how language serves as a marker of national identity in conflict zones, focusing on the dystopian portrayal of Arabic as a minority language in Israel through the perspectives of Israeli Palestinian students.
Adopting a sociolinguistic framework that highlights the political nature of language and its role as a marker of national identity in conflict zones, this book discusses the dystopian representation of Arabic as a minority language in the linguistic landscape in Israel through the eyes of indigenous Israeli Palestinian students. Using a participatory documentary photography research tool named PhotoVoice, minoritized college students from Northern Israel were invited to document and reflect on the signage in their area. Content analysis of students reflections revealed not only a problematic linguistic reality in which the presence of Arabic was limited and inaccurate, but also the ways the space was experienced by them as local inhabitants. The book chapters shed light on their profound cognitive and affective perceptions and aspirations as passers-by toward the (mis)representation of their native language in the country. The contribution of the book lies in demonstrating the potential of the innovative tool PhotoVoice in developing awareness to the explicit and implicit messages delivered through linguistic landscapes and encouraging action for achieving utopian, more inclusive linguistic realities where minority languages are appropriately represented.
Preface
Introduction
1) Background: Arabic in Israel
2) The Linguistic Landscape Reality in Israel
3) The Linguistic Landscape Reality in Israel through the Arab
4) Theoretical Framework
5) Methodology
6) Data analysis
6a) On official signs
6b) The Absence of Arabic from commercial signs produced by Arab business
owners
6c) Religious signs
Conclusion
Rawia Hayik is a senior lecturer in and head of the English Department at Sakhnin Academic College for Teacher Education, Israel. She finished her PhD in the Literacy, Culture, and Language Education Department at Indiana University in the United States. Recently, she served as a visiting scholar in the Near Eastern Languages and Cultures department at UCLA, USA. Her research interests include critical pedagogies in the PalestinianIsraeli EFL classroom, multicultural childrens literature, the linguistic landscape, and professional identities of prospective English teachers.