School of Languages and Linguistics - Theses
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ItemThe use of Arabic in media and the internet by the Arabic-Speaking Melbournians( 2004)Internet communication has gone through rapid stages of development in the past two decades with dramatically growing numbers of users throughout the world. These communication tools have been overlooked as a significant domain of language use and maintenance over the past decade in spite of the major role that these tools would play in language maintenance, language shift, bilingualism, literacy, and cultural identity. This thesis explores the current state of the Arabic language among the members of the Arabic-speaking Australians living in the area of Melbourne and investigates the area where language and technology can be combined, examining 54 participants in these fields. The survey was conducted through the administration of a questionnaire that was supported by a pre-survey interview with key informants in the community. The questions of the survey were a combination of closed, open-ended, and hypothetical questions that explored participants? background, language use, Arabic use domains, literacy, and computer experience. The questionnaire was ultimately preferred only in paper form due to the lack of an available list of email addresses for the members of the community. Questions were coded and trends were classified for comments on language and technology preference, literacy, opinions of the importance of speaking Arabic, participation in group activities through Arabic organizations, exposure to Arabic-language media, and opinions about the viability of Internet communication in Arabic. (For complete abstract open document)