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University student: social media affects the Arabic language of 45% of 460 persons.
King Khalid University, Media Center
A student of King Khalid University, Thafra Saeed Al Ahmari Alzyan, from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Information Systems in Mahyal Asir, has presented a research on the Arabic language and its impact and influence on modern means of social communications. The research was bolstered by a survey on 460 persons. On modern means of social communications, Alahmari explained that those programs and applications allow users to be connected permanently and continuously with their friends and followers, but they have, directly or indirectly, affected many aspects of our lives, whether positively or negatively. She said, "In my research, I focused on the negatives effects on the Arabic language when using such modern means." She stated that she had conducted her survey on a sample of 460 persons who are used to dealing with these modern communications. Their ages ranged from 40 to 66 years, and results proved that 45% of them believed that these methods had a negative impact on Arabic language. The same percentage (45%) agreed that there is a great negligence while writing in Arabic language when using modern means of communication, and this did not exclude those who achieved a good level of education, or those who are familiar with the rules and correct dictation of the Arabic Language. Alahmari added, "Most important and most prominent mistakes committed by those who are accustomed with such means of communications are the usage of unhelpful shortcuts for words, or inserting prepositions into words with repeated tide letters in a word without any benefit, or to write the words and sentences without necessary spacing due to the lack of allowable space to letters in some applications. In addition, some writing styles in the media adopt a style of writing, which is so-called "Arabizi": writing Arabic words using English letters, or vice versa, and this style adversely affect the language skills of the user.
The researcher further confirmed that these mistakes have had a number of reasons, most notably is the opening several programs or pages of social media at the same time. Such situations push the user to write quickly, and in short forms, in order to cover all pages or programs, not worrying about dictation or correct writing. In addition, such users lack attention to proper writing based on the fact that their writings are not official or important document. Other reasons of mistakes committed while writing in Arabic through means of social media are the writer himself does not care to correct his or her errors or others without irony. The problem is that these errors have become something usual among users. Alahmari showed that the importance of writing correctly and being adherent to the Arabic Language rules in social media lies in several factors, including: Arabic is the language of the Holy Quran, and it represents our identity. Thus, adherence to the Arabic Language is in fact adherence to religion and belief. Moreover, Arabic language is the language that could gather all Muslims around the world. It is also remarkable that Arabs make up a very large proportion of users of modern communication, so it is a strong chance to express their identities and prove their presence by writing correctly in their language.
There is no doubt that they - the Arabs - will gain respect of other peoples. Alahmari added that "Modern social media has become an integral part of our daily lives, and its influence is clear on the individual and on the society. Part of this influence is on the Arabic script. If users commit themselves to writing correctly, there is no doubt that this will contribute to the consolidation of the Arabic Language. In contrast, neglecting proper writing leads to the loss of the language in the long run. Furthermore, Using the Arabic Language properly will add to the talking culture, and writing in classical Arabic, especially for the new generations that have a significant correlation with modern communication". Alahmari referred to the Ministry of Education which ordered its teachers to speak classical Arabic in school surroundings, believing that it was a correct decision that contributed in the promotion of classical Arabic among students. Alahmari maintained that as a result of that order, the new generations would be able to use the classical Arabic correctly in all areas of life, producing a conscious generation which would be committed to, and proud of, the Arabic language.