Special Issue of Asiatic: Research in English Linguistics and Literature in West Asia

Call for Papers:  June 2020

Special Issue of Asiatic:  Research in English Linguistics and Literature in West Asia

Asiatic: IIUM Journal of English Language and Literature 

(Indexed in Scopus and Clarivate Analytics’ WoS [ESCI])
http://journals.iium.edu.my/asiatic  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiatic_(journal)   

Guest Editor:  Dr. Normala Othman (King Saud University, Riyadh, KSA)

English has been around in West Asia for centuries, as long as colonisation has taken place. Economic stability within the region has seen to the exponential progress in education and academic activities. Aligning themselves as global players, countries in the region have come to see the English language as a strategic communicative tool to achieve their international goals. Thus, English has been inching into a civilisation as old as the history of mankind from the Nabatean empire, stretching from Jordan to Saudi Arabia, to the land of the prophets in Palestine. This provides richness in the linguistic diversity and recorded literature of this ancient region. Arabic remains the major language in the West Asian countries, closely guarded by the Egyptian and Arabian peoples and cultures. Efforts to adopt English as the other language, in addition to Arabic, began a while ago with the strong support of governments introducing English in the education curriculum starting from the elementary years. As in all other communities, the use of English outside the school has met with plenty of resistance, mainly for the sake of maintaining identities and cultures.

This special issue of Asiatic explores the diachronic or synchronic issues with regard to the English language and literature in West Asia, particularly Arabia, that reflects the dynamicity of resistance, change, acceptance as well as maintenance among the communities in the region. Thus, we invite contributions which discusses and describes the state of English in West Asia within any theories of linguistics and literature.

Preliminary considerations begin with a 300-word proposal of original research which have not been previously published. The proposal should have clear objectives, theoretical framework and research design to support the title. It should also be a work in-progress evidenced by the richness of the brief content and clarity of the presentation.

The proposal should be emailed in Word document to Dr. Normala Othman (norothman@ksu.edu.sa) or Professor M.A. Quayum (mquayum@gmail.com) by October 1, 2019.  If the proposal is accepted, a final draft of 5000-7000 words should be submitted by February 1, 2020. Please note that British spelling and the MLA style should be adhered to. There will be a minimal fee to cover operating expenses.

Proposal Deadline: October 1, 2019

Paper Deadline: February 1, 2020