Elite (Foreign) Language in Arabic Media Discourse: Impacts and Implications

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to examine the spread of the use of English expressions in Arabic media as a symbolic marker of elite discourse. The bulk of the data consists of Kuwaiti newspaper headlines including foreign language segments. These headlines are examined with an eye to checking whether the incorporation of English items in them is justified and whether the messages intended are effectively conveyed to the public audience at large (Arab readers in general and Kuwaiti readers in particular). To systematize the data, English segments are classified into five categories: code-switching, culture-bound expressions, acronyms/abbreviations, idiomatic expressions, and blended forms. The discussion shows clearly that the media writers' attempt to sound elite and gain more prestige by employing English in Arabic discourse fires back in terms of comprehensibility on the readers' part and the naturalness of Arabic texts. The implications of this phenomenon can be far-reaching on two accounts. Firstly, the promotion of a hybrid Arabic discourse would affect the integrity of the Arabic language as well as contribute to the decline of Arabic language competence in the young generations. Secondly, the intrusion of English expressions on Arabic texts would render many of them incomprehensible to a large sector of Arab readers. .