Dialectal Atlas of the Arab World - between Intention and Reality

摘要

Arabic dialectology has a long history and achieved significantprogress in collecting and analyzing linguistic data and itsclassification. The present paper analyses modern trends in thelinguistic situation in the Arab world and defines the topicsessential for the Arabic dialectology, which require an urgentsolution. During the last century, several attempts have beenundertaken to create dialectal atlases of different regions of theArab world. Besides this, considerable work also has been doneon synchronous descriptions of modern and ancient Arabicdialects.Meanwhile these researches do not always reflect fully andadequately the current state of the dialectal continuum, whichunderwent significant transformations as a result of social andeconomic changes in the region, development of newtechnologies. Globalization and leveling of dialectaldifferences, spread of languages of internationalcommunication will lead to disappearance of small dialectalgroups and vernaculars, among them those that are notsufficiently described or are little known at all, whichpresupposes their urgent investigation.In recent years digital methods of research open new horizonsfor scholars and put on the agenda the task of building of thedialectal atlas of the Arab world basing on the previousexperience and data collected as well as application of ICT.