‘Not enough research on how brain processes Arabic’

Abu Dhabi: Far too little research is done on how the human brain learns and processes the Arabic language, despite it being the fourth most widely spoken language across the world, experts have said.

Such research could help linguists and educators promote and preserve Arabic, which is processed very differently from English, Dr Sami Boudelaa, associate professor of linguistics at UAE University, told Gulf News.

“Even though there about 280 million Arabic native speakers at present, there is currently no university department or research centre in the Arab World that focuses on the psycholinguistics of Arabic. Understanding this field is, however, key to promoting a language that is structured very differently from most other tongues,” Dr Boudelaa added.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the International Conference on Educational Neuroscience, which kicked off early this week. The two-day forum, which is being organised by Abu Dhabi-based higher education institution the Emirates Centre for Advanced Education (ECAE) saw 110 linguists and education experts convene to discuss developments in their fields.

According to Dr Boudelaa, Arabic requires its users to constantly break down words to their roots and contexts to understand the meaning.

“So our brains work harder to understand Arabic than many other languages, and this kind of ‘work’ could help delay the onset of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s,” he explained.

But the Arab World first needs to adopt a culture of research, delegates said.

“Many educators are resistant to learn more about how the brain works with languages as this would call for a change in traditional teaching methods. In addition, most Arab government authorities do not yet promote research projects, which could take years to produce yields and quantifiable benefits,” said Dr Mohammad Fahim, director of educational neuroscience research centre at ECAE.

In fact, the 2010 development of Aralex, a new lexical database of Modern Standard Arabic (the formal and written form of the language), was funded by the British Academy.

The designation of 2016 as the Year of Reading is, however, bound to promote a greater love for Arabic among the youth, Dr Boudelaa said.

“Perhaps this interest will provide the stimulus needed to investigate Arabic-associated neuroscience further,” he added.