The Arabic language and national identity : a study in ideology / Yasir Suleiman.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-269) and index.

1. The Arabic Language and National Identity: Aims and Scope -- 1. Aims of the Study: The Disciplinary Context -- 2. What is National Identity? -- 3. Theoretical and Empirical Scope -- 4. Organization of this Book -- 2. Setting the Scene -- 1. Definition: The Achilles Heel -- 2. Two Modes of Defining the Nation -- 3. Two Types of Nation, Two Types of Nationalism -- 4. Language and National Identity -- 3. The Past Lives On -- 1. Introduction -- 2. In Praise of Arabic -- 3. Hikmat al-'Arab: Wisdom of the Arabs -- 4. Lahn: Solecism -- 5. 'Ajam and 'Arab -- 6. The Arabs as a Nation (umma): Further Evidence -- 4. The Arabic Language Unites Us -- 1. Introduction -- 2. From Ottomanism to Turkism: The Turkification of the Ottoman Turks -- 3. From Ottomanism to Arabism: Preliminary Remarks -- 4. Ibrahim al-Yaziji: From Immediate Aims to Underlying Motives -- 5. Arabic, First Foremost -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Under the Banner of Arabic --

3. Sati' al-Husri: Arabic, First and Foremost -- 4. Zaki al-Arsuzi: The Genius of the Arab Nation Inheres in its Language -- 6. The Arabic Language and Territorial Nationalism -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The Arabic Language and Territorial Nationalism: Antun Sa'ada and Regional Syrian Nationalism -- 3. The Arabic Language and Egyptian Nationalism: Early Beginnings -- 4. The Arabic Language and Egyptian Nationalism: Full Elaboration -- 5. The Arabic Language and Lebanese Nationalism: A General Introduction -- 7. Conclusion: Looking Back, Looking Forward -- 1. The Arabic Language and National Identity: Looking Back -- 2. The Arabic Language and National Identity: Looking Forward.

"The core focus of this book is nationalism in the Arab Middle East - an area of growing interest over recent times. Yasir Suleiman provides a fresh perspective on this topic by investigating the interaction between language and nationalist ideology. Although the role of Arabic has always been considered vital in nation-building in the Arabic-speaking world, this is the first time it has been examined at length.

Yasir Suleiman's treatment of this topic covers both the communicative and the symbolic functions of the language in relation to the domains of cultural and political nationalism."--BOOK JACKET.