Language attitudes in fast-growing societies: new insights in the dynamism dimension

Laila Mobarak Alhazmi ()
Additional contact information
Laila Mobarak Alhazmi: King Abdulaziz University

Palgrave Communications, 2023, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract This paper explores broad language attitudes in Saudi Arabia. Using a verbal guise technique in an online questionnaire, the study investigates 568 Saudi participants’ attitudes toward four main dialects in the country. The results revealed a three-dimensional model that includes a two-type dynamism dimension and a solidarity dimension. The model adds to the previous discussion on language attitudes research, particularly to the topic of the dynamism dimension. The dimensional model contributes to language attitudes theory by challenging the dominance and significance of the dynamism dimension instead of the status dimension in rapidly urbanised countries such as Saudi Arabia. The findings also indicate that attitudes are affected by the social factors of dialect, gender, place of birth, and level of education. Three patterns emerged from social background effects: in-group loyalty, female participants’ willingness and acceptance towards dialect variations in Saudi Arabia and the impact of education in fostering less biased attitudes. The paper discusses the implications for Saudi Arabia’s educational system, proposing the inclusion of an educational programme in schools to enhance understanding of the value of linguistic and cultural diversity. Additionally, it highlights the role of media in reducing prejudice towards specific dialects.

Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-023-01988-1 Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palcom:v:10:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-023-01988-1

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/palcomms/about

DOI: 10.1057/s41599-023-01988-1

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Palgrave Communications from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().