Muhammad Hasan Amara, Politics and sociolinguistic reflexes: Palestinian border villages (Studies in Bilingualism 19). Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1999. Pp. xix, 261. Hb $87.00.

Abstract

Amara begins his study of language variation in Palestinian border villages in Israel and the West Bank with three main premises: (1) researchers have not paid enough attention to the sociolinguistics of what he calls “radical political situations,” of which the Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an example; (2) the connection between macro-sociolinguistic issues, such as language planning and language attitudes, and micro issues, such as variation in use of linguistic structures, has not been explored enough; and (3) socio-political events and changes affect (i.e., change) patterns of use of linguistic structures. On the third point, Amara predicts, “When a society is divided, we should expect to find a reflected linguistic division; when two societies share common cultural or political values, we should expect to find some reflection of this in their languages.” Amara sets out to investigate this prediction for three villages on the border between Israel and the West Bank. Two of the villages, Zalafa and Western Barta'a, are situated in the area of Israel called the “Little Triangle,” which designates an area that Jordan agreed to cede to Israel in the armistice agreement following the Arab–Israeli War of 1948. The armistice line drawn between Israel and Jordan in 1949 divided several Palestinian villages and cities, including Barta'a. The third village in Amara's study, Eastern Barta'a, is situated in the West Bank. Western and Eastern Barta'a were reunited in 1967, when Israel took control of the West Bank.