Spelling Solutions for Arabic Writers: One Vowel at a Time Irena Sharshakova

1. Spelling Solutions for Arabic Writers:One Vowel at a TimeIrena Sharshakova CILS 6th Annual Research Symposium "Writing in an Intercultural World" May 14, 2010 University of British Columbia

2. L1 Interference in English Writing Common problems among EFL writers regardless of their language background: • grammar • syntax • vocabulary • content •   organization Irena Sharshakova, May 2010

3. Cultural Thought Patterns Source: Kaplan, R. (1966/84). Cultural Thought Patterns and Inter-Cultural Education Irena Sharshakova, May 2010

4. Arabic writers tend to • Generalize • A person goes into a place and says something to another person. The second person says something to the first person, who listens to that and then says something back to the second person. The thing he says is really funny. • Be wordy • Misuse “it” and personal pronouns • Omit capital letters • Omit periods • Use run-on sentences • Spelling • Irena Sharshakova, May 2010

5. Why Problems with Spelling? • Spoken Arabic vs. Written Arabic “Literary Arabic is expressed in the brain of anArabic Speaker as a second language and not as a mother tongue” “All Arabic speakers who are fluent in MSA areconsidered de facto bilinguals.” “Children acquire in parallel an auditory linguistic system aswell as a complex orthographic-visual language system.” Source: University of Haifa. "Literary Arabic Is Expressed In Brain Of Arabic Speakers As A Second Language." ScienceDaily 5 November 2009. 10 May 2010 <http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2009/11/091104091724.htm> Irena Sharshakova, May 2010

6. II. Arabic Phonetic System and Orthography • Arabic words never start with a vowel • Meaning is carried by consonantsand long vowels only Instead of vowels, they use diacritics or “auxiliary signs” - small marks that can be added to a consonant above or below to modify its value - to create a short vowel sound 3. Vowels are often not shown in Arabic writing Only in the Koran, poetry, children’s books 4. The three short vowels are insignificant Almost allophonic, not written in the script 5. Consonants: Initial position Medial position Final position Irena Sharshakova, May 2010

7. English Arabic 6 vowels a e i o u (y) 3 vowels (1+2 semivowels) alif [a:] ya [i:] & waw [u:] 16-20 vowel sounds Irena Sharshakova, May 2010 8 vowel sounds Phonological Differences between English and Arabic

8. ε bet ə enough Λ double ɒ pot ɔ: law ɜ: nurse Irena Sharshakova, May 2010 ai bite oi toy ou low uə tour eə there iə here The following English vowel sounds do not have equivalents in Arabic

9. Spelling Solutions: • Rules • Spelling patterns • Dictations • “Explaining why English spelling is unpredictable” • Vowel Clinic • Irena Sharshakova, May 2010

10. [ Ʋ] Wood [ɛ] Red [I] Pink [o] Olive [Λ] Plum [[æ] Black [Ɔr] Orange [u:] Blue [I:] Green [ei] Gray [ɑi] White [ou] Yellow [oi]Royal Blue [au] Brown [ɑr] Dark Blue [ɜr] Purple [ ə ] Magenta Sounds in Colour Vowel Chart Irena Sharshakova, May 2010 Adapted from “The Vowel Colour Chart” by Julie Finger and “The Colourful Canadian English Vowel Chart” by Cheryl Sorenson

11. Thank you! irena.sharshakova@ubc.ca