Arabizi, Franco-Arab, Arabeng and other evolving linguistic hybridization

This recent article ( from Aljazeera) about the phenomenon of speaking a mixture of Arabic and English that is sweeping a certain strata of the Jordanian society has brought to my mind earlier conversations and viewpoints discussed with peers in the past.

But first let's see what “Arabizi” is? It's a contraction of the word Arabi-Englizi (Arabic -English), coined by Jordanian youth.

"Mixing Arabic with foreign languages has long been commonplace among Western-educated elites in Arab countries".

This was especially evident in Lebanon where your status was proportional to how many French words you managed to put in one sentence. I'm talking about this with firm experience. If I spoke generic Arabic with no accent where my interlocutor could not place if I was from the Gulf countries or other non-oil Arab countries ( therefore poor) I would be treated differently. I decided to try it for myself. As soon as I added phrases en Francais to the conversation, the attention span would pick up and the mood would become friendlier. In this way I have the seal of approval of belonging to an 'elite' of some kind.

In Algeria it is different, although most of their conversation is strewn with French it is not really a sign of elitism but rather mostly due to the protracted period of French colonialism - since 1830 - which tried to eradicate that country's heritage and effectively make it a part of the Republique.

Tunis is midway between both, a relic from the colonial era, but also a status symbol for the westernized people.

"But in Jordan, a poor desert country" states the article” the sudden popularity of Arabizi reflects deep changes in society since the early 1990s".

Another word synonymous with Arabizi , is Franco-Arab, this word was popular among my parents' generation where French was more of an international language especially among the cultured elite. It also covers the earlier mixture of Arabic and Western music which created many interesting hits which our parents enjoyed as teenagers and youth. This hybrid music is now of course 'normal' and we see it not just between Arab and western music, but western and Latin American, or even Asian. A good example is the new punjabi beat, or some of Shakira's hits. It's great for dancing.

"Linguists blame the growing use of English among young Jordanians on American pop culture inundating the Arab world.”

I'm not sure about that, because we have always been watching American pop culture. Moreover, I don't agree that Arabizi or other such manifestations is any threat to Arabic language or culture. Arabic in my opinion is a rich language, with a continuous potential for growth (I won't even get into the argument that it is the language of the Koran and hence its longetivity is guaranteed, because that is faith based).

Hybrid language™ ;) maybe new to Jordanian youth in general but I'm sure it is not new to graduates of science and medical schools in many Arab countries. For example in Libya, medical college students use it not as a cultural expression but out of necessity because their syllabus is in English. But the fun thing in Libya is that they end up Arabizing the English language or vice versa, and I'm not the first one who brought that up in the blogosphere. Dunia which calls it “Arabeng” has posted about it here , let me quote a hilarious extract from her post.

“Another example of Arabeng is a really funny sentence my little brother used a few days ago: "he ifsheled". Now to "ifshel" in Arabic is to fail, as in fashala, yafshulu, fa hua fashil. So "he ifsheled" uses the Arabic verb, but the English pronoun, and the English past tense suffix "-ed".”

“Arabeng is not restricted to Arabic words with English grammar though. There are quite a few instances of English lexemes changed with Arabic grammer morphemes tagged on. Usually, and a bit confusingly, those people who use Arabic words and add on English grammar are more used to English rules, and those people who use English words with Arabic grammar are more used to speaking Arabic. I think.[sic]”


A long time ago I tended to use a hybrid language with my peers unconsciously but a few weeks in Libya knocked that habit out of me because I would actually be looked down on as someone who was trying to show off.
Using a hybrid language then could also be threatening enough to destroy a relationship. A vivid example is that of my friend's cousin R. R is an MD married to an officer. Every time she meets her friends in social gatherings or would talk on the phone she would sometimes use medical expressions in English just out of habit. Her husband (who obviously has insecurity issues - sorry R if you're reading this) would never pass the opportunity to denigrate her by saying 'oh we know you are a doctor and can speak English, stop showing of'.

As for me I consciously started using a generic Arabic, and only lapsing into hybrid with those who would be of the same mentality. Of course if I'm in Lebanon or at any event in which Arabizi or Franco-Arab or any hybrid Arabic is preferable and more advantageous socially I would not hesitate to use it to further my cause or blend in, even though I believe to be fully capable of convincing someone of my point of view in classical Arabic.