1417 lines
77 KiB
Markdown
1417 lines
77 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Stereotypes and Negative Indexes of the Nubians in Egypt"
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authors: ["asmaataha.md"]
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abstract: A difficult abstract.
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keywords: ["Dotawo", "Christian", "queen", "Gaua", "Jawe", "sixteenth century", "Joel", "Portuguese" ,"Ethiopia", "João de Barros", "Francisco Álvares", "Dongola"]
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---
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# Introduction
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For generations, Nubians (both Fadija and Kenuz)[^1] have been
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stigmatized and ridiculed in the Egyptian media. Nubian speakers of the
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Fadija and Mattoki vernaculars in Egypt are associated with
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unintelligible or incompetent Arabic, dark-skinned people, working
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lower-class jobs, and so on. Among the negative indexes used in Egyptian
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media to refer to Nubians are *barbari* 'barbarian,' *bijurt^ʕ^un*
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'speaking gibberish,' or *bijtkalem ʕarabi mekasar* 'speaking broken
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Arabic.' These pejorative and prevalent images are extensively
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emphasized by the media. These constant negative indexes have compelled
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some Nubians to speak Arabic with their children to avoid mockery,
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prejudice, and discrimination.
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Despite the stigmatized portrayals, there are Nubian speakers that have
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a positive attitude to learn their mother tongues to preserve their
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languages, identities, and ideologies. The importance of learning Nubian
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languages at home is essential for preserving not only linguistic
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diversity, but also the cultural and ideological foundations that are
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deeply embedded in Nubian homescapes. Nubian houses and households are
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not just physical spaces; they are living embodiments of history,
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identity, and social organization. By teaching and learning these
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languages within the home, Nubians can maintain a direct connection to
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their heritage, ensuring that their unique cultural practices, ways of
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life, and worldviews are passed down to future generations.
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Learning the mother tongue in the home environment reinforces the
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multisensory, embodied experience of Nubian homelife, which this volume
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explores in relation to material culture, architecture, and everyday
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practices. Language acts as a bridge that ties the past to the present,
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allowing individuals to engage with their ancestral knowledge and
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traditional ideologies, even in times of political and social change. By
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continuing to use Nubian languages in domestic settings, speakers are
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not only preserving their linguistic heritage, but also reinforcing
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their identity within the larger narrative of Nubian resilience,
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especially during periods of systemic transformation and resettlement.
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Thus, language learning at home becomes a vital practice in sustaining
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the cultural continuity explored throughout this volume.
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Nubian homes serve as a critical locus for shaping a positive Nubian
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identity. Within the home, Nubians hear and learn their native language,
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embrace their culture and traditions, and develop a deep sense of pride
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in their heritage. The home functions as a cultural anchor, preserving
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Nubian identity across generations. Through daily interactions, stories,
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songs, and communal practices, Nubian children are rooted in their
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cultural traditions, which they carry into the wider society. This
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foundation is essential for combating stereotypes and fostering a
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positive self-image, empowering Nubians to assert their dignity and
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rightful place within broader Egyptian society.
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This paper examines data from the media, including films and soap
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operas, to explore the indexical attitudes towards Nubians established
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in the media showing recurring patterns and mechanisms utilized in their
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metalinguistic discourse representations. To investigate the
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metalinguistic discourse of Nubians in the media, I utilize the
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indexicality theory.[^2] More specifically, I demonstrate different
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linguistic elements that are accompanied by noticeable patterns such as
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dress code, work type, skin color, and character traits. Media makers
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utilize these linguistic resources to create and disseminate indirect
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negative racial and social indexes by alluding to linguistic and
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non-linguistic attributions that are featured in their films or soap
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operas. In addition, this article presents discussion questions and
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analytical data showing how Nubians themselves perceive these media
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productions and how they feel about the associated stereotypes. Finally,
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this article examines how Nubian speakers react to the negative indexes
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and how they are attributed to their language and culture, highlighting
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positive movements and portrayals of Nubians. The need for fluency in
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Arabic, a skill that carries power and prestige in several domains such
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as education, religion, and public media, cannot be denied. However,
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public awareness and counterstereotypes are urgently needed among
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Egyptians---Nubians, and non- Nubians---to construct positive stances
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and provide authentic representations of the Nubian language and
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culture.
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# Background
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This paper adopts the analytical framework of Bassiouney,[^3] a
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distinguished sociolinguist and award-winning novelist, to examine the
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stereotypes of the stigmatized *Seʕidi*[^4] dialect (Arabic spoken in
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the southern part of Egypt) in Egyptian media. The study explores how
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visual, linguistic, and literary resources are used by media producers
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to construct these portrayals. Inspired by Bassiouney's analysis, I
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offer an analysis of the negative media portrayals of Nubians in Egypt
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highlighting the visual, literary, and linguistic resources as well as
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other patterns that manifest the negative indexes found in the media
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productions. While the visual resources refer to dress code, skin color
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(make-up used to deliberately darken skin color, for example), and
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overall demeanor, the literary resources refer to characters' traits,
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recurrent names, lower-class job associations, and subordination. The
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linguistic resources or metalinguistic discourse discusses the salient
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features of Nubian characters portrayed by the media, including the
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heavy accented Arabic and syntactic and phonological errors.
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In this paper, the terms "Nubians and Nubian language" are mainly used
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to refer to both Fadija and Mattoki Nubians in Egypt. Although the term
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"Nobiin" refers to speakers of Fadija (Halfawi, Sukkoth, and Mahas are
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dialects of Nobiin spoken in Sudan and Fadija is spoken in Egypt), it is
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exclusively used in this case to refer to Fadija speakers in Egypt as
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this article focuses on the media in Egypt.
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Arabic is the official language that is valued and treated with high
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esteem in Egypt. Cairene Arabic (CA) is the most prestigious of all
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Egyptian dialects due to the fact that Cairo is the largest urban city;
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the powerful dialect is used in the media discourse. As Bassiouney puts
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it: [^5]
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> Cairo has been the focal point of the political and cultural
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> renaissance throughout the Arab world. Along with the central role
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> played by Cairo both the political arena and the sphere of culture,
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> came the rise of CA as the code that indexes power, as well as
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> cultural and political superiority and authenticity in Egypt."
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On the other hand, the Nubian language is ranked as lower status than
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Arabic in Egypt. In fact, the extensive stigma attached to Nubian
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speakers may be the reason why some Nubians speak Arabic with their
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children or refrain from teaching their native Nubian language. Yet even
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the Arabic of Nubian speakers is highly stigmatized and ridiculed due to
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the associated indexes utilized by media makers. However, there are
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Nubians who take pride in speaking both Arabic and Nubian languages.
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Abou-Ras,[^6] a Nubian academic researcher, asserts that her
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participants have positive attitudes towards both languages, yet they
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favor learning and using Nubian because it is the mother or heritage
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language. Additionally, there is widespread awareness among Nubians of
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the importance of maintaining and reviving their language. Several
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initiatives, including educational centers and YouTube channels, exist
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to teach the Nubian language and highlight the culture. Just to name a
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few, the Nubian Educational Center (NEC)[^7] and the Nubian Language
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Society (NLS)[^8] support the education of Nubians and help preserve
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their language and culture. The NEC, located in Egypt, has been actively
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involved in teaching the Nubian language and preserving Nubian cultural
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heritage. They offer language classes and cultural programs for both
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children and adults. Similarly, the NLS, a non-profit organization based
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in Washington, DC, is dedicated to promoting, documenting, and raising
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awareness of the Nubian language and culture.
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# Media impact on societies
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In this section, I discuss the influence and impact of media on
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societies and the role the Egyptian media plays in establishing
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stereotypes and negative images of Nubians in Egypt. Media has become an
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effective and powerful tool to fuel disruption, rumors,
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misunderstandings, mockery, and discrimination. As Sánchez Macarro, a
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linguist, puts it "as individuals, we are all influenced, our opinions
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shaped, reinforced and altered by our exposure to the media.[^9]
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In describing the media discourse, O\'Keeffe,[^10] a notable applied
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linguist, characterizes it as a "public, manufactured, on-record, form
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of interaction. It is not ad hoc or spontaneous (in the same way as
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causal speaking or writing is); it is neither private nor off the
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record." The fact that media discourse is not spontaneous, but rather
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manufactured and purposefully chosen tells us that these negative images
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of Nubians are not random; they reflect specific ideologies as well as
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political and social stances. The fact that media production is public
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tells us how quickly and widely these stereotypes of Nubians are
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constructed and established. By using a critical discourse analysis to
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look at the media discourse portraying Nubians, we can see the social
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power abuse, dominance and inequality exercised against Egyptian
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Nubians.
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Bassiouney argues that "public discourse, especially in the media, not
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only reiterates shared belief systems and ideologies, but also
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constructs and controls access to them. "\[...\]" In order to construct
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the *Seʕidi* stereotype, media reiterates indexes of the region and its
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speakers."[^11] The process of stigmatization and derogation against
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Nubians and their language in media discourse reflects discrimination
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and unequal treatment of Nubian speakers on political and social levels.
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Recurring patterns and ideologies used to represent Nubians in movies,
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soap operas, and other media productions negatively influence and shape
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how Nubians are perceived by non-Nubian Egyptians eroding the cultural,
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social, and global identity of all Egyptian citizens. Participant 18, a
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thirty-year-old female, stated that she felt the brunt of the media's
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negative indexes and experienced racist and teasing responses while at
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school.
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Taha,[^12] a Nubian applied linguistic researcher, asserts that media in
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Egypt has played a significant role in perpetuating negative
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stereotypes, such as depicting Nubians as speaking incomprehensible
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Arabic and occupying lower-class jobs. The case of Nubians\' portrayal
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in the media is not only associated with fluency and job opportunities,
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but with direct insults and affronts. As Nobiin, I myself experienced
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situations of mockery and teasing by non-Nubian classmates at schools in
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Egypt. In addition, the word *barbari* 'barbarian,' is a pejorative term
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extensively used in soap operas when referring to Nubians. In addition
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to the constant prevalent images of Nubian characters as backward, less
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sophisticated, naïve, and slow.
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Media influence people and their beliefs; conversely, the media itself
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is being influenced by several social, political, economic, and social
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values. Particular ideologies are propagated in the media industry and
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these values or agendas are carefully chosen and play a crucial
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influential role in public discourse. Fairclough,[^13] an emeritus
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linguist and pioneer in Critical Discourse Analysis, asserts that "media
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output is very much under professional and institutional control, and in
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general it is those who already have other forms of economic, political
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or cultural power that have the best access to the media." In other
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words, the media industry is controlled by certain institutions that
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have political, cultural, and economic power and immense influence.
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According to Fairclough, the media is a powerful tool that can shape
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government and parties, and influence "knowledge, belief, values, social
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relations, and social identities."[^14] Thus, the media reflects our
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societal and cultural values and ideologies.
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# Data
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This article\'s data spans seventy years, including movies, soap operas,
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cartoons, music videos, and documentary movies. Notably, many of the
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documentaries have been filmed in people\'s homes. I posit that
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producers utilize three resources to portray Nubians in movies and soap
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operas: linguistic resources, visual resources, and literary resources.
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The examples in this article are derived from well-known Egyptian movies
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and the Bakkar cartoon (an Egyptian production by the Radio and
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Television Union, broadcast on Channel One, following the adventures of
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a young Nubian boy, his pet goat, and his friends) where stereotypical
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linguistic errors pronounced by Nubian characters are prevalent. In
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addition to analyzing the metalinguistic discourse in movies and
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cartoons, the study includes insights from nine discussion sessions held
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with twenty-two native Nobiin speakers. These discussions focus on how
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Nubians themselves perceive and feel about the negative representations
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and stereotypes in the Egyptian media. The discussion also reveals how
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Nobiin speakers think about their Arabic fluency and proficiency and how
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it is depicted in the media and by filmmakers and screenwriters.
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# Theory and Methodology
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The indexicality theory serves as an essential theoretical framework for
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this study. It involves understanding how utterances or signs are
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interpreted within the context of their use focusing on how meaning is
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shaped by social and cultural factors. By examining how specific
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linguistic features or signs point to social identities or cultural
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backgrounds, indexicality helps in analyzing how media representations
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reinforce or challenge existing stereotypes, particularly in the
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portrayal of marginalized groups like Nubians. Through this lens, the
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study explores how language and indexes are used to create or perpetuate
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social hierarchies in media. By examining linguistic choices, visual
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symbols, and cultural references, the study can reveal how media
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reinforces existing power dynamics and marginalization. For example,
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certain language patterns or character portrayals may elevate dominant
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social groups while depicting marginalized groups in subservient roles,
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thus reinforcing stereotypes and maintaining the status quo of social
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inequality. This analysis highlights the role of media in shaping
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perceptions and sustaining social hierarchies.
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Ochs,[^15] a linguistic anthropologist, views indexicality as a spoken
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property through which socio-cultural contexts (such as gender) and
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social activities (such as gossip) are formed by taking particular
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stances that are indexed through the language chosen. In other words,
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indexicality is interpreted in light of the semiotic associations
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between linguistic forms, social meanings, and identities. Ochs
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identifies two types of indexicality, direct and indirect, and each
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performs different functions in discourse. According to Och,[^16] direct
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indexicality refers to interactional stances, including evaluative
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stances, while indirect indexicality points to social stances.
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Among those who refer to an index as contextualization cues are Hughes
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and Tracy, discourse analysts, emphasizing that signaling context and
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reinforcing pragmatic signs are crucial for effective communication.
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They define indexicality as "the function by which linguistic and
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nonlinguistic signs point to aspects of context."[^17] According to
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them, indexicality is closely related to deixis and they could even be
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"sometimes interchangeable," but they consider deixis to be a specific
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type of indexicality, which helps participants navigate the oral or
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written discourse frame through understanding references. Indexical and
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cultural contextual cues are essential to properly interpret inferences
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and understand the ideologies behind them Johnstone et al.,[^18] a group
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of linguists, categorize indexes into two types; referential and
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non-referential. On the one hand, referential indexes include pronouns
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and demonstratives i.e., the term denotation is based on the utterance
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context. On the other hand, non-referential indexes are linguistic forms
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that convey or construct social meaning. They consider 'social meaning'
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to be a "concept that encompasses matters such as register (in the
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narrow sense of situation appropriateness), stance (certainty,
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authority, etc.), and social identity (class, ethnicity, interactional
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role, etc.)"[^19] They also explain further that the relationship
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between linguistic forms and social meanings can be manifested at
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different levels of indexicality order. They consider the first-order
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indexes as unnoticeable and unintentional because they are common among
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people, unlike second-order indexes that are both noticeable,
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recognized, and intentional because of their association with social
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meanings and shared ideologies. An example of the first-order indexes is
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a regional vowel variation, while the stereotypes and negative images of
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Nubians in the movies and soap operas are examples of second-order
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indexes.
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In his seminal work, Silverstein, a leading linguistic anthropologist,
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explores the order of indexicality, distinguishing between first and
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second-order indexes. He notes that the second- order indexes are
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"creative or effective" and potentially can have ethno-metapragmatically
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driven interpretation.[^20] This interpretation allows speakers to not
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only presuppose meanings based on existing social structures or
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stereotypes, but also to actively reshape and reinforce these meanings
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in dynamic, context-specific ways. In other words, the presupposed
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indexical meanings align with a higher metapragmatic order and are
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"creatively" transformed to perpetuate new or existing social
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narratives. Silverstein's theory of indexicality offers a useful
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framework for understanding how media represent Nubians both draw upon
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and reshape existing social stereotypes. By focusing on second-order
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indexes, we gain a deeper understanding of how linguistic and visual
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elements---such as accents, racialized portrayals, or specific character
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traits---are not merely reflective of preexisting social hierarchies but
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are strategically manipulated to reinforce and sustain these
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hierarchies. This framework reveals how media creators play an active
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role in constructing and perpetuating narratives of marginalization,
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embedding them within the cultural fabric in ways that maintain power
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imbalances. In the context of Nubian representation, second-order
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indexicality is evident when filmmakers and screenwriters overexaggerate
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certain linguistic features---such as accents, grammatical errors, or
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mispronunciations---and link them to negative stereotypes like
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servitude, simplicity, or inferiority. By doing so, these linguistic
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forms become socially charged and reinforce existing racial and social
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hierarchies. For example, the media's portrayal of Nubians through
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broken Arabic or exaggerated accents is a deliberate act that imbues
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these features with racial and social implications. This transformation
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from unnoticed linguistic markers to socially meaningful symbols is
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central to how media perpetuates harmful stereotypes and embeds them
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into the cultural imagination.
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Eckert,[^21] a prominent sociolinguist, emphasizes the close connection
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between speakers' ideologies and stylistic practices (both linguistic
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and non-linguistic) utilized to construct worldwide views and social
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meanings. I argue that the stylistic choices---such as dark skin
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portrayals, costumes depicting servants and doorkeepers, bright
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clothing, heavily accented Arabic, and numerous fluency and accuracy
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errors---are deliberate and conscious decisions made by producers and
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media creators. These choices are designed not only to reflect and
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reinforce their ideological perspectives, but also to cater to audience
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expectations and stereotypes. By perpetuating these negative portrayals,
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media producers exploit prejudices and biases to attract larger
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viewership and generate higher profits. It also reflects the wider media
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assumptions of Nubians' social and political roles in the Egyptian
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society.
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This article focuses on the second-order non-referential indexes that
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producers and media makers use to cast Nubians as backward, less
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sophisticated, naïve, and dark-skinned. Their stereotypical linguistic
|
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features, physical traits, and character traits are consistently tied to
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pejorative images and second-order indexes, depicting Nubians as
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low-income, lower-class workers from inferior communities. Characters in
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movies and soap operas who play Nubian roles often use specific
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linguistic resources and salient visual and literary resources alongside
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direct and indirect negative indexes to reinforce these stereotypes.
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These social meanings are highly marked, deliberately crafted, and
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reinforced by the media\'s portrayal of Nubians in the Egyptian culture.
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However, Nubians have responded by creating positive personal and social
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stances against these negative portrayals, speaking out in condemnation
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and initiating their own channels and venues to authentically represent
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their identity and culture. These efforts are discussed in detail later
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in the article, particularly in the \"Moving Forward: What Can Be
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Done?\" section.
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# Established negative indexes and stereotypes
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This section outlines the established negative stereotypes of Nubians
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through media including movies, soap operas, and songs. I highlight the
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salient visual and literary features of Nubians that carry second-order
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indexes.
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After investigating various Egyptian soap operas and films in terms of
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character roles, traits, dress codes, and visual features, it is evident
|
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that consistent patterns and attitudes shape the use of these literary
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and visual elements, along with linguistic features. Nubians, in
|
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particular, are often depicted in subordinate and inferior roles,
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typically portrayed in lower-class jobs. Throughout these media
|
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productions, they frequently appear as minor characters working as
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servants, waiters, cooks, doorkeepers, or housekeepers. Moreover, they
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are often ridiculed or criticized by both their employers and peers.
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Egyptian television dramas commonly cast Nubians in these roles,
|
||
subjecting them to mockery and insults. Similarly, many Egyptian films,
|
||
especially those from the mid-20th century, portray Nubians in menial
|
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positions, reinforcing negative stereotypes. These portrayals contribute
|
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to the marginalization of Nubians and perpetuate harmful stereotypes,
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underscoring ongoing issues with representation in the media.
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Two recent soap operas stand out as exceptions to the general portrayal
|
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of Nubians. The first soap opera is *as^ʕ^diqaa* 'Friends,' 29-episode
|
||
series streamed in 2002. In this show, the Nubian character was not
|
||
treated as an equal by one of the friends, but rather as an outsider
|
||
included only because of a mutual friend who did who does business with
|
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him. Despite this, there was a notable positive shift in the portrayal
|
||
with other lead characters enjoying his Arabic and Nubian songs. In
|
||
episode 12 of the 'Friends' soap opera, the show featured a pretend
|
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Nubian wedding as a performance for tourists, intended to promote one of
|
||
the lead characters' businesses by highlighting the cultural diversity
|
||
of Egyptians and showcasing a unique authentic tradition.[^22] Overall,
|
||
two of the main characters spoke very highly of Nubians, expressing
|
||
respect and appreciation for both the people and their culture.
|
||
|
||
The second soap opera, *il-muɣani '*The Singer,' broadcasted in 2016,
|
||
features a famous Nubian actor, Mohamed Mounir, as the main character,
|
||
with the entire series revolving around him and his life. Although it
|
||
did not gain the widespread popularity of other soap operas, it stands
|
||
out for its authentic representation of Nubian culture. The series
|
||
showcases Nubian homescapes and daily life, including traditional Nubian
|
||
houses, the Nile River, typical Nubian songs, palm trees and dates,
|
||
boats, and musical instruments. These elements offer a rich and genuine
|
||
portrayal of Nubian heritage. For instance, episode 5 poignantly depicts
|
||
the forced relocation of Nubians from their homeland villages, with
|
||
characters dressed in traditional Nubian clothing, sorrowfully leaving
|
||
their own homes.[^23] This scene tries to emphasize both the cultural
|
||
and historical significance of the events, providing a glimpse into the
|
||
struggles and resilience of the Nubian people, while grounding the
|
||
narrative in real experiences and traditions.
|
||
|
||
In relation to character traits, Nubian characters are usually depicted
|
||
as less sophisticated than non-Nubian characters, yet they are sometimes
|
||
more honest and trustworthy. However, they are mainly portrayed as
|
||
naïve, slow, backward, and unintelligent, who are easily manipulated and
|
||
tricked with intelligibility issues or disabilities. The names of the
|
||
characters are mainly *Othman*, *Idris, or Seliman*. In the *il-fa:nu:s
|
||
ʔa-siħirj* 'The Magic Lantern,' a Nubian waiter fails to recognize that
|
||
two pretend waiters, who are trying to retrieve magic lanterns, are not
|
||
Nubians.[^24] The two characters who only used a single word in Nubian
|
||
*maskagna* 'hello,' then make totally random sounds that do not belong
|
||
to any language whatsoever. When asked if he understood the other two
|
||
waiters, the Nubian waiter explains "I am not a fool, they are not from
|
||
my hometown, but they are coming from a high honorable place. I know, I
|
||
am not a fool." Despite the waiter's confidence, he was easily tricked,
|
||
and too ignorant to know if others were speaking his language.
|
||
|
||
In movies and soap operas, literary elements are closely intertwined
|
||
with visual and linguistic resources to reinforce stereotypes. As for
|
||
the visual resources, Nubian characters are depicted with dark skin, and
|
||
in several cases, actors use blackface to inaccurately represent Nubian
|
||
skin color. Both male and female characters are typically shown with
|
||
dark skin and are often dressed in the uniforms of cleaners or waiters,
|
||
or men wearing the traditional white *galabia* 'a loose-fitting
|
||
garment'. Figure 1 provides a typical example of a blackfaced Nubian
|
||
character in movies and soap operas. The scene is from the movie *ʕija:l
|
||
ħabiba* 'Love Birds,' which streamed in 2005. In the movie, the Nubian
|
||
character is constantly subjected to ridicule and insults due to
|
||
stereotypical portrayals of dark skin by other characters. Throughout
|
||
the film, numerous derogatory references are made toward the Nubian
|
||
character and his family. Shockingly, some of these discriminatory
|
||
remarks come from the character himself, who is impersonating a Nubian
|
||
man in blackface. In one particularly offensive scene, the actor Ramez
|
||
Galal addresses the Nubian character, saying, "Come on, you don't want
|
||
your heart to be black, just like your face."[^25] This film contains
|
||
numerous racist and discriminatory indexes, perpetuating harmful
|
||
stereotypes
|
||
|
||
*Figure. 1 shows a non-Nubian actor named Soliman Eid in blackface
|
||
pretending to be Nubian. Source: ʕija:l ħabiba 'love birds' (2005)*
|
||
|
||
Similarly, media makers explicitly and frequently make several direct
|
||
insults and negative indexes about Nubians by hurling clear and
|
||
affronting insults and derogatory references. In the soap opera *nikdeb*
|
||
law*ʔula: mabinħibʃ* 'We'd Be Lying to Say We Didn't Love,' streamed on
|
||
TV in 2013, a major female actress, Ragaa Al-Giddawy, refers to the
|
||
Nubian male character and his family as "barbarians" saying "Listen, I
|
||
won't let you marry my daughter unless you bring all your barbarian
|
||
folks right here to ask for her hand in marriage."[^26] In another soap
|
||
opera *ħuru:f ilnas^ʕ^b* 'Letters of Fraud', released in 2000, the actor
|
||
Hisham Selim impersonates a Nubian by wearing waiter apparel, darkening
|
||
his face, and referring to himself as "Othman Abdel El-basset, the one
|
||
Egyptian barbarian."[^27] In a movie produced in 1998 *s^ʕ^eʕidi fi
|
||
ilgamʕa ilamerikja* 'An upper-Egyptian at the American University of
|
||
Cairo', the actor Mohamed Henedi, tells a minor Nubian female character
|
||
"No need to turn the light off. I cannot see your face already. Your
|
||
face is as dark as the night."[^28]
|
||
|
||
These examples highlight how media productions reinforce and perpetuate
|
||
negative stereotypes about Nubians through both visual and literary
|
||
elements. The use of blackface, derogatory language, and offensive
|
||
depictions further marginalizes Nubians, casting them in demeaning and
|
||
inferior roles.
|
||
|
||
These portrayals are not isolated incidents but part of a broader
|
||
pattern of racial discrimination in media, where negative depictions of
|
||
Nubians are normalized and repeatedly portrayed. This ongoing
|
||
misrepresentation embeds harmful stereotypes into popular culture,
|
||
contributing to the wider social marginalization of Nubian communities.
|
||
|
||
Having established the connection between the visual and literary
|
||
resources used to propagate these stereotypes, I will now turn to an
|
||
analysis of linguistic resources and metalinguistic discourse. This next
|
||
section will explore how specific linguistic choices, such as
|
||
intentional grammatical or pronunciation errors portrayed by characters
|
||
impersonating Nubians, are used to ridicule and reinforce negative
|
||
stereotypes. These deliberate linguistic inaccuracies often serve to
|
||
mock Nubians, further entrenching racial and social hierarchies. By
|
||
examining these elements, I aim to offer a nuanced understanding of the
|
||
role language plays in the construction and perpetuation of these
|
||
harmful portrayals.
|
||
|
||
# Metalinguistic discourse: examples and analysis
|
||
|
||
This section examines the metalinguistic discourse or linguistic
|
||
resources of Nubian characters focusing on the stigmatized linguistic
|
||
and pronunciation errors portrayed and derived from movies and soap
|
||
operas. In particular, I analyze several examples of stereotypical
|
||
language errors produced by characters portraying Nubians in movies and
|
||
cartoons.[^29]
|
||
|
||
## Actor Ali Kassar[^30]
|
||
|
||
INSERT TABLE
|
||
|
||
In example 1a, a Nubian character is talking to a female character in
|
||
Arabic, but he mistakenly addresses her using a masculine possessive
|
||
form, which indicates that his Arabic is poor.[^31] Similarly, in
|
||
example 1b the Nubian character shows his lack of accuracy by using a
|
||
feminine demonstrative with a masculine noun which is ungrammatical.
|
||
|
||
## Actors Gomaa Edriss and Ali Oraby[^32]
|
||
|
||
INSERT TABLE
|
||
|
||
In addition to the gender agreement language error, there are sometimes
|
||
fluency errors i.e., pronunciation errors such as example 2a. In that
|
||
example, the Nubian character fails to produce the /x/ sound, so he
|
||
replaced it with the /h/ sound i.e., *il-ha:mes* 'fifth' instead of
|
||
*il-xa:mes*. Additionally, in the same example, the Nubian character
|
||
mispronounced the vowel in the word *il- shuʃt* 'section' instead of
|
||
*il-shoʃt.* In example 2b, there are multiple accuracy language errors.
|
||
First, the Nubian character addressed a group of people using a singular
|
||
masculine form *usta:z* 'sir'. Then, he switched to using a feminine
|
||
singular form, rather than a plural form. Examples 2c and 2d are
|
||
ungrammatical as the Nubian character uses plural and third person
|
||
masculine forms, respectively, when he refers to himself.
|
||
|
||
## Actor Sayed Sulieman[^33]
|
||
|
||
INSERT TABLE
|
||
|
||
In example 3a, the Nubian character is looking for his boss's cigarette
|
||
and the lighter used a possessive marker that does not agree,
|
||
gender-wise, with the noun it modifies. Similarly, in example 3b, the
|
||
same Nubian character talks to a female co-worker about the woman he
|
||
works for using masculine forms (masculine participles), and hence,
|
||
there is gender disagreement.
|
||
|
||
The following examples show the gender disagreement between determiners,
|
||
quantifiers, and possessive markers and their modified nouns.
|
||
|
||
## Actor Ali Oraby[^34]
|
||
|
||
INSERT TABLE
|
||
|
||
Example 4a, 4b, and 4c are ungrammatical because they show disagreement
|
||
between modifiers and the nouns that are being modified. These examples
|
||
purposefully demonstrate the Nubian character's lack of accuracy and
|
||
proficiency. In 4a, *mawdʕuʕ di* 'this matter,' the feminine
|
||
demonstrative does not agree with the masculine noun in gender. In
|
||
contrast, in 4b, ʕaj*:la waħid* 'one family,' the masculine quantifier
|
||
does not agree with the feminine noun. In a similar way, the Nubian
|
||
character uses masculine possessive markers when talking to his sister,
|
||
rather than the feminine using possessive markers *bita:ʕek* 'your'.
|
||
|
||
## Actor Mohamed El Adendani[^35]
|
||
|
||
INSERT TABLE
|
||
|
||
Example 5a shows a case of noun-verb disagreement, whereby the Nubian
|
||
character uses plural verb conjugation when referring to himself. On the
|
||
other hand, he chooses the wrong word i.e., using *rubatʕaja* 'gang'
|
||
instead of *rabtʕta* 'union' in example 5b as an example of his
|
||
intelligibility and incoherence. Example 5c shows an interesting case of
|
||
pronunciation in which the actor produces the word by mixing it between
|
||
*Seʕidi* dialect and Modern Standard Arabic, which makes it sound odd
|
||
and peculiar.
|
||
|
||
As we can see, all examples present syntactic disagreement
|
||
(noun-adjective agreement, verb-noun agreement, demonstrative and
|
||
pronoun disagreement) or phonological errors or idiosyncrasy, often
|
||
accompanied by a heavy accent of Arabic. The question is, why these
|
||
language errors in particular? There are two possible hypotheses or
|
||
scenarios to explain the media fixation on these intentional
|
||
metalinguistic discourse errors. The first postulation goes back to the
|
||
fact that the earliest Nubians, the monolingual speakers of Nubian, who
|
||
migrated to different areas in Egypt such as Cairo and Alexandria to
|
||
look for job opportunities had some language difficulties when learning
|
||
Arabic due to the influence of their mother tongue. For example,
|
||
Rouchdy, a linguistic researcher, noted in her research study in 1991,
|
||
that non-competent Fadija bilingual speakers had a tendency to add the
|
||
suffix -a to borrowed Arabic words such as *aneeda* 'stubborn.'[^36]
|
||
|
||
Nevertheless, do Nubians, considering all the generations that have
|
||
emerged since the early relocations for the Aswan Dam construction in
|
||
1905, still face language proficiency and accuracy issues? Are Nubians
|
||
today merely monolingual speakers of Nubian? Do they still have the
|
||
stereotypical heavy accent of Arabic that is still portrayed in the
|
||
media? The majority of Nubians today are bilingual speakers of Arabic
|
||
and Nubian. Unfortunately, in some cases, they are monolinguals of
|
||
Arabic. The Arabic spoken by Nubians varies depending on their region;
|
||
for example, those living in Aswan or Luxor typically speak the *Seʕidi*
|
||
dialect, while those in Cairo tend to use the Cairene dialect.
|
||
|
||
That brings us to the second hypothesis regarding why the Arabic spoken
|
||
by Nubians is often portrayed as "broken," flawed, unintelligible,
|
||
faulty, incompetent, or defective in movies and soap operas. These
|
||
linguistic errors, along with the heavy accent, are more conspicuous and
|
||
serve to reinforce stigmas and propaganda surrounding these media
|
||
productions. Such errors are not random; they represent recurring
|
||
patterns in the language used by filmmakers and screenwriters.
|
||
Consequently, Nubians are unjustly associated with extensive mockery,
|
||
prejudice, and direct insults that are emphasized by the media. I
|
||
believe that this second hypothesis provides a plausible explanation for
|
||
the portrayal of problematic Arabic, as it is often reinforced by the
|
||
use of blackface and other associations that denote lower socioeconomic
|
||
status and perpetuate negative stereotypes.
|
||
|
||
# Discussion data: Participants and Procedures
|
||
|
||
A discussion was held with native Nobiin speakers to show how they
|
||
perceive the negative indexes attributed to themselves and the Nubian
|
||
language in the Egyptian media. There were twenty-two participants in
|
||
this discussion: eight females and fourteen males with ages ranging from
|
||
twenty to seventy years old. All the participants are educated and hold
|
||
various higher education degrees (bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D.'s).
|
||
Responses were not anonymous, because it was unnecessary and it is
|
||
beneficial to know certain information for the data analysis, especially
|
||
for the social variables. The researcher recruited the participants
|
||
through social networks (family, friends, and community members). All
|
||
participants gave their consent before the discussion was conducted
|
||
|
||
Most participants live in Egypt: eight in Aswan, nine in Cairo, and one
|
||
in Luxor. Three of the participants currently live in Saudi Arabia,
|
||
while one participant lives in the United States. The majority of the
|
||
participants are bilingual (speak both Arabic and Nobiin); seven
|
||
participants are heritage speakers of Nobiin (they understand the
|
||
language, but do not speak it) and native speakers of Arabic. Table 1
|
||
provides details about the participants' background information.
|
||
|
||
INSERT TABLE 1
|
||
|
||
The researcher showed each participant pictures of Egyptian movies, TV
|
||
shows, songs, and documentaries. After presenting the image, the
|
||
researcher asked indirect questions to let the participants talk about
|
||
the pictures leading to their views about the Nubians\' representations,
|
||
their clothes portrayal and authenticity, the characters depicted, their
|
||
roles, and skin color as shown in the Egyptian media (movies, soap
|
||
operas, TV programs, songs, cartoons, and documentary movies).
|
||
Open-ended questions were used to generate rich, meaningful responses
|
||
and insights. The researcher always asked the participants to provide
|
||
illustrations, examples, and/or clarifications. A discussion was held
|
||
with Fadija Nobiin speakers to show how they perceive the negative
|
||
indexes attributed to themselves and the Nubian language in the Egyptian
|
||
media.
|
||
|
||
# Discussion
|
||
|
||
To analyze the discussion data, I coded the discussion data and then
|
||
created a graph for each question to organize and categorize the
|
||
collected data visually. This section presents the study discussion
|
||
results, their frequencies, and some of the participants' statements and
|
||
opinions.
|
||
|
||
INSERT TABLE OR FIGURE 3?
|
||
|
||
*Figure. 3 shows the responses of participants regarding the early
|
||
representation of Nubians in the media.*
|
||
|
||
Graph 3 represents the distribution of the first discussion question. As
|
||
Figure 3 reveals there are twenty-one participants stating that the
|
||
early representations of Nubians in the Egyptian media are
|
||
discriminatory and prejudicial (95%), while one participant indicated
|
||
that they were not intentionally belittling or undermining them (5%).
|
||
Moreover, participant 12, a female participant in her fifties who lives
|
||
in Cairo, added that the media, including movies, at that time was
|
||
informative about Nubians and their lives. From her point of view,
|
||
Nubians in these movies, for example, were portrayed as trustworthy
|
||
people who are famous for their excellent personal hygiene and honesty.
|
||
On the other hand, Dr. Mohammad Ali-Bik asserts that media makers
|
||
consistently presented a stereotypical exaggerated image of Nubians
|
||
portrayed as less sophisticated and naïve, even though, in reality, they
|
||
are recognized within the Egyptian society for their honesty and
|
||
straightforwardness.[^37] He further stated that Egyptian media has
|
||
marginalized Nubians in many ways, including associating them with
|
||
exaggerated negative portrayals, and primarily depicting them in
|
||
low-income jobs such as doorkeepers and workers in houses, hotels, and
|
||
restaurants. This association stems from the business goals of media
|
||
producers. By perpetuating harmful stereotypes and sensationalized
|
||
depictions, producers attract a larger audience, which in turn boosts
|
||
viewership ratings and advertising revenue. These portrayals create a
|
||
dramatic narrative that appeals to viewers\' preconceptions and biases,
|
||
making the content more marketable. Consequently, media producers
|
||
benefit financially from the commercial success of their productions,
|
||
reinforcing negative stereotypes and continuing a cycle of profit-driven
|
||
exploitation. Dr. Ali-Bik believes that the government has failed to
|
||
protect these minorities, including Nubians, and has not taken
|
||
sufficient steps to include them in Egyptian media production and media
|
||
channels. This exclusion exacerbates the issue, leaving Nubians
|
||
underrepresented and inaccurately portrayed in mainstream media.
|
||
Moreover, he indicates that he:
|
||
|
||
> blames the Egyptian cinema which has focused since the 60s on only
|
||
> promoting pan- Arabism as the sole national identity of all Egyptians
|
||
> neglecting and erasing the identities of all other minorities such as
|
||
> Nubians, Amazig, and Bedouin Egyptians. It was a mistake to perform
|
||
> this homogeneous anti-diversity policy that disintegrated
|
||
> multiculturalism without considering the rich history of Egypt\'s
|
||
> cultural diversity, e.g., Pharaohs, Romans, Copts, Ottomans, etc.
|
||
|
||
All the participants are aware that portraying Nubians as
|
||
underprivileged and low-paid workers is derived from the fact that these
|
||
were typical professions occupied by those who migrated to Cairo and
|
||
Alexandria in the early 20th century, particularly during the
|
||
significant relocations for High Dam construction between 1902 and 1964.
|
||
These early migrations were largely influenced by limited educational
|
||
opportunities and the positive character traits associated with Nubians.
|
||
However, Nubians continue to be depicted primarily in lower-class jobs,
|
||
overlooking the distinguished and reputable careers they hold today.
|
||
Participants noted that among the discriminatory attitudes reflected in
|
||
the media towards Nubians is the stigma associated with their use of
|
||
unintelligible or incompetent Arabic and their dark skin. The media
|
||
extensively and offensively emphasizes these pejorative images,
|
||
perpetuating negative stereotypes prevalent in Egypt.
|
||
|
||
Figure 4 shows that 55% of the participants believe that there are still
|
||
negative representations of Nubians in the media channels. In
|
||
comparison, 32% think there is a slightly positive attitude in their
|
||
pictures. Additionally, 14% of total responses generally maintain a more
|
||
positive change. Participant 17, a thirty-three-year-old female who
|
||
lives in Cairo, remarked that the situation remains the same with
|
||
"abusive and derogatory references. No one cares about getting to know
|
||
the real Nubians or their culture." Similarly, participant 11, a
|
||
fifty-year-old female expressed her disappointment with the current
|
||
portrayal of Nubians in the media, particularly the use of heavily
|
||
accented Arabic which often contains linguistic errors.
|
||
|
||
*Figure. 4 It exhibits the distribution of the recent representations of
|
||
Nubian in the media.*
|
||
|
||
On the other hand, participant 21, a young male in his twenties,
|
||
observed a slight improvement in the representation of Nubians on social
|
||
media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as some TV shows
|
||
and programs. However, participant 20, a thirty-year-old male
|
||
participant, stated that "you will not be able to find a single Nubian
|
||
show host. They do not look at us as Egyptian." Overall, Nubians are
|
||
still treated and portrayed in a condescending and patronizing way.
|
||
Nevertheless, there is a slightly more constructive depiction of Nubians
|
||
nowadays, it remains limited and bound to specific venues and platforms
|
||
such as social media, documentary movies, and talk shows. That being
|
||
said, the following discussion focuses on participants' views regarding
|
||
the representation of Nubians in movies and soap operas. Discussions of
|
||
media platforms such as social media are outside the scope of this
|
||
paper.
|
||
|
||
*Figure. 5 It presents Nubians views regarding their in movies and soap
|
||
operas.*
|
||
|
||
As shown in Figure 5, there is a total consensus among Nubians that
|
||
there is a high prejudice and bigotry in Egyptian soap operas and
|
||
movies. A sixty-year-old speaker asserts that "not only there is
|
||
bullying and mockery, but also direct insults and slurs on films and
|
||
soap operas." Another female speaker in her thirties mentioned that
|
||
non-Nubian Egyptians are ignorant of Nubians, their culture, and their
|
||
language, adding " I do not understand why characters feel the need to
|
||
use blackface when pretending to be or imitating Nubians. It seems like
|
||
they fail to recognize that Nubians, like many other ethnic groups, have
|
||
a range of skin tones and shades. This crude portrayal oversimplifies
|
||
the diversity within the Nubian community and reinforces harmful
|
||
stereotypes, reducing an entire group of people to a single, inaccurate
|
||
characteristic. Such depictions are not only misleading, but also
|
||
disrespectful as they ignore the complexity of Nubian identity and
|
||
culture. It is disheartening that, rather than portraying Nubians
|
||
accurately, the media resorts to such reductive and disrespectful
|
||
depictions." Many participants also reported several negative indexes
|
||
and attitudes in film and showed productions, including racism,
|
||
belittling, generalization, and bias that stigmatize and defame their
|
||
reputations.
|
||
|
||
Alternatively, Nubian representations in documentary movies are very
|
||
objective, as shown in Figure 6 below. The widespread consensus
|
||
responses indicate that the documentary movies represent authentic
|
||
images and pictures of the Nubian culture, language, lifestyle, values,
|
||
and traditions. Participant 9, a sixty-year-old female speaker
|
||
commented, "these documentaries play a role in preserving the Nubian
|
||
heritage and culture." I believe that documentary movies, unlike
|
||
fictionalized movies, do not target profit, but rather the true people
|
||
and cultures. Several recently produced documentaries about Nubians are
|
||
available on YouTube, covering topics like food, the Nile River
|
||
sacredness, handicrafts, weddings, homescapes, and customs.
|
||
|
||
Notable examples include *aj-ga ʤilli* 'Remember me',[^38] uploaded in
|
||
2011 and *Sono* 'roots' in 2020,[^39] both of them offering viewers a
|
||
more accurate and respectful look at the richness of Nubian culture.
|
||
|
||
*Figure. 6 It exhibits objective Nubian portrayal in documentary
|
||
movies.*
|
||
|
||
Similarly, music videos have an essential and promising role in
|
||
maintaining the Nubian language and cultural heritage.[^40] These music
|
||
videos are also accessible on YouTube and discuss vital issues such as
|
||
migration, relocation, family bonds, solidarity, religion, and other
|
||
inspirational themes. Figure 7 presents question five discussion
|
||
results, and we can see that most participants agree that the Nubians
|
||
are genuinely represented in music videos (80%). The impartiality of
|
||
Nubian representations in music videos amounts to 18% compared to the
|
||
frequency of the ingenuine representations of Nubians in YouTube video
|
||
clips.
|
||
|
||
*Figure. 7 Showing responses of Nubian participant about their portrayal
|
||
in music videos*
|
||
|
||
Participant 22, a young male in his twenties, explained that Nubian
|
||
music videos have "Touched the hearts and souls of millions of
|
||
non-Nubian Egyptians and they know some songs by heart, even if they do
|
||
not understand the Nubian language." Conversely, participant 13, a
|
||
fifty- two-year-old female speaker, believes that most of the videotaped
|
||
songs are not authentic as they are filmed exclusively in the Western
|
||
part of Aswan and have several overgeneralized elements. She also noted
|
||
that "many people dancing in these music videos are not Nubians and
|
||
cannot dance as Nubians." Agreeing with the majority of the
|
||
participants, I believe that Nubian songs, whether they are audio or
|
||
video recorded, are powerful tools for portraying the real Nubian
|
||
culture and preserving both language and tradition. Moreover, they have
|
||
had a positive impact on both Nubian and non-Nubian Egyptians, helping
|
||
to keep the Nubian music and folklore alive.
|
||
|
||
While discussing their portrayal in the videotaped songs, all Nobiin
|
||
participants referred to Mohamed Mounir, a popular and accomplished
|
||
Fadija Nobiin singer and actor. With that mentioned, I was eager to know
|
||
what the participant thinks about his role in promoting and preserving
|
||
the Nubian culture and language. Mounir sings in Arabic and Nobiin
|
||
languages integrating various genres into his music including Egyptian,
|
||
Nubian, blues, jazz, and reggae. He is considered an iconic singer, and
|
||
he is known by his fans in Egypt and Germany as *il-malik* 'the king' in
|
||
reference to a play. He is among the Nubians who had to relocate to
|
||
Cairo following the floods and Aswan Dam construction. Throughout his
|
||
songs, he addresses various philosophical, social, and political issues.
|
||
In total, he performed in twelve movies, four TV shows, and three plays.
|
||
Mounir has about ten Nubian songs out of 350 and has over twenty-four
|
||
albums. Some of Mounir's Nubian songs are translated into Arabic and
|
||
accessible on YouTube and social media. In addition, he was the lead
|
||
actor on a TV show titled *il-muɣani '*the singer,' which aired on
|
||
television and YouTube in 2016. The TV show revolves around Mounir's
|
||
personal and professional life, his Nubian heritage, and raising
|
||
important issues for Nubians in Egypt including Nubian forced
|
||
relocations, the sacredness of the Nile River to Nubians, and various
|
||
Nubian customs and home lifestyles.
|
||
|
||
*Figure. 8 A picture of Mohamed Mounir, a Nubian Egyptian legend singer
|
||
and actor. Source: Google (2022).*
|
||
|
||
In an interview with the Egyptian pop singer, Eyre asked Mounir about
|
||
his Nubian roots and history during his lifetime.[^41] In responding to
|
||
this question, Mounir asserts that he does not
|
||
|
||
> understand why the words \"Nubia\" and \"Nubian\" have become such a
|
||
> problem, why it\'s taken this racial direction "\[...\]" I've always
|
||
> wished that the Nubian culture would be treated as a distinct and
|
||
> special culture within the Egyptian culture. I think it is a good
|
||
> thing to have a culture within a culture. The subcultures won't be
|
||
> conflicting but would contribute and compliment the other. The
|
||
> international community did not understand the magnitude of the
|
||
> tragedy the free soldiers committed against the Nubians. They drove
|
||
> them out of their homes and didn't attempt to preserve their culture.
|
||
|
||
As shown in Figure 9, below, the total of speakers who believe that
|
||
Mohamed Mounir plays a crucial role in supporting the Nubian language,
|
||
culture, and people is 73% or sixteen participants. In comparison, 23%
|
||
(five participants) stated that his role is only partially crucial, with
|
||
limited contributions. Additionally, 5% (one participant) noted that
|
||
Mounir played a minor role. Participant 2 who is a male in his seventies
|
||
noted that "Mounir was able to draw attention to Nubians and their
|
||
language through the few Nubian songs, to some extent." He added that
|
||
Mounir "deforms the traditional Nubian music by mixing up different
|
||
genres and tones, however, he slightly helped in raising awareness of
|
||
our language and culture". On the other hand, participant 10, a male in
|
||
his fifties, elaborated that Mounir "plays a tremendous role in
|
||
increasing awareness about Nubians. Non-Nubian Egyptians know some of
|
||
his songs by heart even without understanding them. He further explained
|
||
that Mounir's music often incorporates traditional Nubian rhythms and
|
||
themes, which resonate with listeners across different backgrounds."
|
||
|
||
*Figure. 9 The graph reflects the participants' views about Mounir's
|
||
role.*
|
||
|
||
The traditional Nubian clothing is white *galabia*, "a white garment"
|
||
for males, and a black *gargaar*, "a black dress, usually colored
|
||
clothing underneath it," for females, as shown in the picture below.
|
||
Throughout videotaped songs, and even documentaries, Nubian men are
|
||
usually depicted wearing a *galabia*, while women wear *gargaar* and
|
||
headscarves. Discussion question seven aimed to show how the
|
||
participants feel about the recurring pattern of clothing authenticity
|
||
in the production of songs and documentary movies.
|
||
|
||
*Figure. 10 The picture portrays a woman and man wearing traditional
|
||
Nubian clothing. Source: Twitter (2000).*
|
||
|
||
The survey found that 77% of the participants concluded that the white
|
||
*galabia* and the black *gargaar* are traditional and national Nubian
|
||
clothing, and hence, it is an authentic visual representation that
|
||
reflects reality and ethnic apparel. However, 23% of participants
|
||
considered these garments as only partially authentic and realistic,
|
||
noting that they are typically worn on special occasions, while regular
|
||
daily clothes are also common. Participant 16, a thirty-eight-year- old
|
||
male, stated that "there is nothing wrong with portraying traditional
|
||
Nubian clothing, but it should be more diverse reflecting daily regular
|
||
apparel too." On the contrary, participant 1 who is a seventy-year-old
|
||
male speaker, indicated that he longs to "visit Aswan to wear his white
|
||
*galabia* and turban. It makes me alive and proud." The difference
|
||
between the participants' responses, in this case, is based on whether
|
||
the participants are from urban (Cairo) or non-urban cities (Aswan and
|
||
Luxor), age differences, and whether they are native or heritage
|
||
speakers of Nobiin.
|
||
|
||
Interestingly, the age range of the five participants who believe that
|
||
clothing authenticity in music videos is partially true to life,
|
||
amounting to 23% of clothing authenticity in music videos data, is from
|
||
the twenties to forties and they are all heritage Nubian speakers, born
|
||
and raised in Cairo. The traditional national Nubian clothing is still
|
||
used nowadays and is a unique part of the Nubian culture, so visually
|
||
presenting the traditional apparel in media productions is a remarkable
|
||
and distinctive feature to honor the culture. Figure 11 shows the
|
||
frequency of participants' responses to the authenticity of Nubian
|
||
clothing representations in music videos and documentary movies.
|
||
|
||
*Figure. 11 The graph compares the distribution of the clothing
|
||
authenticity utilized in music songs and documentaries.*
|
||
|
||
Moving from the apparel represented and utilized in videotaped songs and
|
||
documentaries, we are now in a position to present the discussion
|
||
findings on the Nubian clothing used by music bands on YouTube and TV
|
||
shows. Music art-pop bands performing in several areas and platforms
|
||
wear and portray non-traditional Nubian costumes that are characterized
|
||
by unusual patterns or designs and very bright colours, as shown in the
|
||
picture below.
|
||
|
||
*Figure. 12 It represents unconventional Nubian costumes used by art-pop
|
||
bands. Source: Google (2022).*
|
||
|
||
When asked about their opinions, all the participants (100%) entirely
|
||
agree that the costumes used by art-pop musical bands are unauthentic
|
||
and misleading representations of Nubians and their traditional apparel.
|
||
Dr. Mohamed Taha, a Nubian instructor and language editor, shared during
|
||
our discussion a few pictures of the unconventional costumes, adding "I
|
||
do not know why they use these bright overexaggerated colors with weird
|
||
patterns to portray us. He reports that he was pleased and honored to be
|
||
hired as a proofreader and language editor to *ma waraa al- tʕabijʕa*
|
||
'Paranormal' Soap Opera streamed on Netflix in 2020. I was working with
|
||
clothes and the Nubian language authenticity as well as pronunciation
|
||
with the actors and actresses. It was one of the limited occasions in
|
||
which they work with a Nubian linguist to get a real representation of
|
||
Nubians." Similarly, a fifty-year-old female speaker expressed her
|
||
disagreement with these costumes commenting "Not only they use
|
||
unauthentic clothing that stands out negatively, but they depict false
|
||
and fabricated pictures of Nubians." Figure 13 exemplifies the
|
||
discussion results of costumes used by musical bands on shows and
|
||
programs.
|
||
|
||
*Figure. 13 The graph shows the communal agreement of the costume
|
||
unauthenticity.*
|
||
|
||
The last discussion question was dedicated to learning about the
|
||
opinions of the participating speakers in a famous Egyptian cartoon show
|
||
*Bakkar* initially broadcasted on TV in the late 1990s. The shows
|
||
revolved around a young Nubian Egyptian boy named *Bakkar*, his pet goat
|
||
*Rashida*, and his family and friends. The soundtrack for *Bakkar* was
|
||
sung by Mohamed Mounir and there are several Nubian songs during the
|
||
series by other singers. There are ten seasons of the cartoon show and
|
||
the latest release was in 2016. Figure 14 shows a poster of Bakkar and
|
||
some of the main characters in the animated series.
|
||
|
||
*Figure. 14 A picture of Bakkar, his pet goat, and his friends. Source:
|
||
Google (2022)*
|
||
|
||
Figure 15 shows considerable disagreement on Nubian representation in
|
||
the *Bakkar* cartoon: more than half of the participants (55%) consider
|
||
Nubian representation in *Bakkar* as realistic, 32% as realistic to some
|
||
degree, and 18% as unrealistic. In other words, 55% of the participants
|
||
denoted that the cartoon show has positive and realistic representations
|
||
of Nubians. Despite the exaggeration in the costumes and the heavy
|
||
accent of some characters, it is very popular among Egyptian children.
|
||
Some participants (32%) thought the show was relatively realistic with
|
||
odd fictitious adventures, Bakkar's pet goat, and unconventional
|
||
clothing. However, those participants agree that it has a positive
|
||
impact on promoting the Nubian culture and it also has some realistic
|
||
elements such as the music and songs utilized in the animated show.
|
||
Also, 18% of the participants concluded that *Bakkar* is an unrealistic
|
||
portrayal of Nubians with negative stereotypes and negative indexes such
|
||
as the dark skin color of all the Nubian characters, the heavy
|
||
stereotypical accent of Bakkar's uncle, and used clothes.
|
||
|
||
Participant 4, a sixty-year-old male speaker, conveyed that "*Bakkar"*
|
||
is the first cartoon attempt to shed light on the Nubian culture. While
|
||
the scriptwriter of the animated show is not Nubian and did not go
|
||
in-depth in portraying the culture. He noted that "considering it is the
|
||
first attempt to represent Nubia, I view it, overall, with some
|
||
reservations, as a positive and realistic portrayal of Nubians." In
|
||
contrast, participant 15, a male participant in his forties, remarked
|
||
that "the idea to have a pet goat is ridiculous and far from realistic.
|
||
It does not differ from Nubian representations in movies and soap operas
|
||
embedded with racist and derogatory references. On top of that, the
|
||
stories do not portray Nubian tales, but rather tales of gangs and
|
||
antiquities theft." Participant 19, a forty-year-old female observed
|
||
that *Bakkar* is a "very popular cartoon among Egyptian children and my
|
||
children. It shows the Nubian values and heritage."
|
||
|
||
*Figure. 15 The graph exhibits the participants' views regarding the
|
||
Nubian representations in Bakkar Cartoon.*
|
||
|
||
As shown in the nine discussion questions, the focus group highly agrees
|
||
on numerous discussion points, including the early discriminatory
|
||
representations of Nubians in the media, the prejudiced portrayal of
|
||
Nubians in movies and soap operas, the positive depiction of Nubians in
|
||
documentaries, and the unauthentic costumes used by musical bands. The
|
||
second highest frequency, as indicated in discussion questions 5-7, is
|
||
the genuine presentation of Nubians in music videos, the crucial role
|
||
played by Mounir in spreading awareness of the Nubian language and
|
||
culture through his influential music and artistic vision, and the
|
||
authenticity of apparel portrayed in documentaries and videotaped songs.
|
||
More than half of all participants (55%) agreed on the ongoing negative
|
||
indexes shown in the media and the real portrayal of Nubians shown in
|
||
the *Bakkar* cartoon.
|
||
|
||
# Moving forward: What can be done?
|
||
|
||
The discussion findings confirm the existence of stereotypical and
|
||
stigmatized indexes associated with Nubians, which are frequently
|
||
employed by media makers. These persistent negative and pejorative
|
||
portrayals that are extensively emphasized have influenced some Nubians
|
||
to prioritize speaking Arabic with their children to mitigate the risk
|
||
of mockery, discrimination, and bullying. Despite the stigmatized
|
||
representations, many Nubian speakers have a positive attitude toward
|
||
learning their mother tongue to preserve their language, identities, and
|
||
cultural ideologies.
|
||
|
||
Moreover, Nubians actively and continuously denounce and condemn racist
|
||
references and insults on social media and other platforms, advocating
|
||
for appropriate and truthful representations in the media that honor
|
||
their status as Egyptian citizens. Prominent Nubian singers such as
|
||
Ahmed Mounib, Khedr El-Attar, Hamza El Din, Mohamed Mounir, and others
|
||
play a significant role in preserving the language and culture. Their
|
||
music often features traditional themes and rhythms, and several Nubian
|
||
music videos are translated into Arabic to raise awareness and make the
|
||
language accessible to younger generations whose primary language may be
|
||
Arabic. The influence of these artists extends beyond entertainment; it
|
||
serves as a bridge, connecting diverse audiences to the rich tapestry of
|
||
Nubian life and history. In doing so, they not only challenge
|
||
stereotypes, but also promote greater acceptance and understanding of
|
||
Nubian within Egyptian society.
|
||
|
||
In addition, numerous Facebook and YouTube channels have recently been
|
||
established by and for Nubians, aimed at promoting their culture and
|
||
heritage while reviving their language.
|
||
|
||
Among the YouTube social forums are "Nub Tube" and "I and "Nuba
|
||
Channel."[^42] Through these initiatives, Nubians are creating a
|
||
positive stance, emphasizing their identities, their language and
|
||
cultural values, and their true characteristics and traits. By refusing
|
||
to accept stereotypes and negative indexes, they leverage these
|
||
platforms to spread awareness about themselves and their rich cultural
|
||
heritage through social media, music, documentaries, and online content.
|
||
This proactive approach not only challenges existing prejudices but also
|
||
fosters a greater understanding and appreciation of Nubian identity
|
||
within the broader Egyptian society.
|
||
|
||
Public awareness and counterstereotypes are strongly needed among
|
||
Egyptians, Nubians, and non-Nubians to construct positive stances and
|
||
provide authentic representations of the Nubian language and culture.
|
||
The Egyptian government should consider making the Nubian language an
|
||
official language alongside Arabic to revitalize this endangered
|
||
language and support all Egyptian minority groups, including Nubians.
|
||
Incorporating information about Nubians and their culture in school
|
||
curriculums would further raise awareness and reduce discrimination.
|
||
More importantly, media makers need to recognize the harm caused by
|
||
inaccurately and unjustly portraying Nubians and other indigenous
|
||
minorities through negative and derisive stereotypes.
|
||
|
||
Nubians and non-Nubians who appreciate and admire the Nubian language
|
||
and culture actively challenge negative stereotypes by voicing their
|
||
opinions, condemning such biases, and creating platforms that
|
||
authentically represent their identity and heritage. One example is the
|
||
Art of Nubia website,[^43] which features a variety of sections
|
||
dedicated to the Nubian language, books about the language, proverbs and
|
||
wisdom, courses and lessons, songs, history, Nubian literature, dance,
|
||
and weddings. This impressive initiative was founded and is maintained
|
||
by Elia Moor, a distinguished Swiss researcher. In addition to
|
||
translating Nubian texts and literature from German into English, she
|
||
personally funds and develops the website. With her expertise as a
|
||
computer and web developer, Moor has made the site accessible in
|
||
multiple languages, including Arabic, English, German, French, and
|
||
Italian. Her vision is to create a comprehensive encyclopedia about
|
||
Nubia. Moor explains that "the website's mission is to help preserve a
|
||
culture and language she deeply loves and admires for its rich history,
|
||
ethical values, and simplicity". Through this initiative, she hopes to
|
||
raise awareness of this remarkable culture and combat racism and
|
||
discrimination.
|
||
|
||
Another example is the NAPATA website,[^44] which is currently
|
||
undergoing redesign. Similar to the Art of Nubia, NAPATA provides
|
||
information on Nubian poetry, music, language, history, and heritage. As
|
||
a non-profit organization, NAPATA is dedicated to serving the needs of
|
||
rural Nubian communities and other regions, with a focus on promoting
|
||
Nubian heritage, culture, and language. Another Significant effort to
|
||
counter negative stereotypes is the Nubian Cultural Center for Social
|
||
Development in Aswan, Egypt. This organization works to preserve and
|
||
promote Nubian heritage through educational programs, workshops, and
|
||
cultural events. By offering classes in the Nubian language, organizing
|
||
traditional music and dance performances, and hosting exhibitions on
|
||
Nubian history, the center provides a platform for the Nubian community
|
||
to express their identity and challenge stereotypes. It also fosters
|
||
dialogue between Nubians and non- Nubians, encouraging understanding and
|
||
appreciation of Nubian culture. Through initiatives like these, Nubians
|
||
not only work to preserve their heritage, but also actively counter the
|
||
negative portrayals often propagated by media and mainstream narratives.
|
||
|
||
# Conclusion
|
||
|
||
This paper investigated the frequent stereotypes and negative indexes
|
||
associated with Nubians in the Egyptian media, focusing on the recurring
|
||
linguistic, visual, and narrative tools that perpetuate these harmful
|
||
portrayals. These depictions, which include linguistic markers such as
|
||
broken Arabic, character traits, dress codes, and the exaggerated
|
||
darkening of skin color, are systematically employed to create and
|
||
sustain second-order indexes of inferiority and backwardness. By
|
||
examining the metalinguistic discourse in films and soap operas, I
|
||
highlighted how the media persistently relies on a narrow and reductive
|
||
portrayal of Nubians, reinforcing negative images in the public
|
||
consciousness. The consistent use of these linguistic and visual cues
|
||
reflects the limited and stereotypical repertoire that has
|
||
dominated---and continues to dominate---Nubian representation in
|
||
Egyptian media.
|
||
|
||
Despite this long-standing stigmatization, Nubians continue to resist
|
||
these constructed stereotypes. They challenge these media portrayals
|
||
through various avenues, including social media, music, and cultural
|
||
preservation initiatives, aiming to present more authentic and
|
||
empowering representations of their language, culture, and identity.
|
||
While media power is heavily centralized in Cairo ---allowing it to
|
||
dominate and marginalize other ethnicities, including Nubians---this
|
||
resistance underscores a critical pushback against misrepresentation.
|
||
|
||
The second part of the article reveals how native Nobiins perceive their
|
||
portrayal in the media, revealing both their frustration with the
|
||
negative stereotypes and their pride in positive representations,
|
||
especially in documentaries and music videos. Moving forward, it is
|
||
imperative that these stereotypes be dismantled, and that awareness be
|
||
raised among all Egyptians---both Nubians and non-Nubians---about the
|
||
harmful impact of these depictions. Without such change, new generations
|
||
of Nubians will continue to bear the emotional and social costs of these
|
||
negative portrayals, enduring discrimination and marginalization. For
|
||
Nubian identity and culture to flourish, public discourse must shift
|
||
toward a more respectful and inclusive portrayal, reflecting the rich
|
||
cultural contributions Nubians have made to Egyptian society.
|
||
|
||
# Appendix 1: Discussion questions
|
||
|
||
Thank you for taking the time to participate in this discussion. The
|
||
discussion will take between 15 to 20 minutes. I have a few background
|
||
questions for you before starting our discussion.
|
||
|
||
Name:
|
||
|
||
Education:
|
||
|
||
Age:
|
||
|
||
Place of Residence
|
||
|
||
I have nine questions and I will start the discussion by showing you
|
||
some pictures to help with our discussion and then we can talk about
|
||
them and elaborate on the target questions.
|
||
|
||
1. Have you seen these pictures before? Did you see any of these
|
||
movies? If yes, what do you think about the early Nubian
|
||
representations in the Egyptian media?
|
||
|
||
2. Now, look at these pictures from several soap operas. Have the
|
||
Nubian representation in the Egyptian media recently changed? Can
|
||
you explain your opinion with some examples?
|
||
|
||
3. Could you tell me about the Nubian portrayals in the movies and soap
|
||
operas? How do you feel about these portrayals?
|
||
|
||
4. Does the Nubian portrayal in documentary movies differ from their
|
||
representation in movies and soap operas? Please explain and provide
|
||
some examples.
|
||
|
||
5. Now, let's move to music videos. How are Nubians portrayed in music
|
||
videos? What do you think about this representation in terms of how
|
||
genuine it is?
|
||
|
||
6. Mohamed Monir is one of the famous Nubian singers. Do you think he
|
||
plays a role in promoting the Nubian culture and language? How so?
|
||
If yes, how do you describe this role?
|
||
|
||
7. Now let's talk about Nubian clothing used in most music videos. How
|
||
do you feel about the use of the white *galabia*, and the black
|
||
*gargaar*?
|
||
|
||
8. How do the Nubian costumes used by music bands on TV shows and
|
||
YouTube differ from the clothes used in music videos? Are the
|
||
costumes used by the music bands authentic? Please explain and
|
||
provide some examples.
|
||
|
||
9. Have you heard of the cartoon Bakkar? What do you think about it?
|
||
How are Nubians represented in the cartoon? Do you believe that
|
||
their representations are realistic?
|
||
|
||
# Appendix 2: IPA transcription of Arabic[^45]
|
||
|
||
INSERT TABLE
|
||
|
||
# Bibliography
|
||
|
||
Abou-Ras, Sanaa. *The Attitude of Egyptian Nubian University Students
|
||
towards Arabic and Nubian Languages*. PhD Thesis, The American
|
||
University in Cairo, Egypt, 2012.
|
||
|
||
Bassiouney, Reem*. "*Constructing the Stereotype: Indexes and
|
||
Performance of a Stigmatized local dialect in Egypt." *Multilingua* 37,
|
||
3 (2018): pp. 225--54.
|
||
|
||
Eckert, Penelope. "Variation and the Indexical Field." *Journal of
|
||
Sociolinguistics* 12, 4 (2008): pp. 453--76.
|
||
|
||
Fairclough, Norman. "Language and Globalization." *Semiotica* 173
|
||
(2009): pp. 317--42.
|
||
|
||
Hughes, Jessica M.F., and Karen Tracy. "Indexicality." *The International
|
||
Encyclopedia of Language and Social Interaction* 173 (2015): pp. 317--42.
|
||
|
||
Johnstone, Barbara, Andrus, Jennifer, and Andrew E. Danielson.
|
||
"Mobility, Indexicality, and the Enregisterment of 'Pittsburghese'."
|
||
*Journal of Linguistic Anthropology* 34, 2 (2006): pp. 77--104.
|
||
|
||
Ochs, Elinor. "Indexing Gender." In *Rethinking Context: Language as an
|
||
Interactive Phenomenon*, edited by Alessandro Durnati and Charles
|
||
Goodwin, pp. 335-58. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
|
||
|
||
O'Keeffe, Anne. "Media and Discourse Analysis". In *The Routledge
|
||
Handbook of Discourse Analysis*, edited by James Paul Gee and Michael
|
||
Hanford, pp. 441-54. New York: Routledge, 2013.
|
||
|
||
Rouchdy, Aleya. *Nubians and the Nubian Language in Contemporary Egypt:
|
||
A Case of Cultural and Linguistic Contact*. Leiden: Brill, 1991.
|
||
|
||
Sánchez Macarro, Antonia. *Window on the World: Media Discourse in
|
||
English*. Valencia: University of Valencia Press, 2002.
|
||
|
||
Silverstein, Michael. "Indexical Order and the Dialectics of
|
||
Sociolinguistic Life." *Language* *and Communication* 23, 3/4 (2003):
|
||
pp. 193--229.
|
||
|
||
Taha, Asmaa. "From Nub to Dahab: The Lexical Shift of Fadija Nobiin to
|
||
Arabic in Egypt." *Dotawo* 6, 1 (2019): pp. 113--48
|
||
|
||
[^1]: The Fadija primarily live in the southern villages of Aswan, as
|
||
well as in other parts of Egypt and speak Nobiin. In contrast, the
|
||
Kenuz mainly reside in the northern villages, but also live in other
|
||
areas in Egypt and speak Mattoki.
|
||
|
||
[^2]: Indexicality theory explores the semiotic connections between
|
||
linguistic forms and their social meanings, emphasizing how language
|
||
both reflects and shapes social identities and ideologies. The
|
||
theory highlights the importance of context, ideology, and cultural
|
||
beliefs in shaping the relationship between language and social
|
||
identity.
|
||
|
||
[^3]: Bassiouney, Constructing the Stereotype: Indexes and Performance
|
||
of a Stigmatized Local Dialect in Egypt. I would like to express my
|
||
sincere gratitude to Dr. Reem Bassiouney for her advice and guidance
|
||
during brainstorming.
|
||
|
||
[^4]: In this paper, International Phonetic Alphabets (IPA)
|
||
transcription of Egyptian Colloquial Arabic is used. Please check
|
||
appendix 2 for details.
|
||
|
||
[^5]: Bassiouney, Constructing the Stereotype: Indexes and Performance
|
||
of a Stigmatized local dialect in Egypt, p. 7.
|
||
|
||
[^6]: Abou-Ras, The attitude of Egyptian Nubian University students
|
||
towards Arabic and Nubian languages.
|
||
|
||
[^7]: The NEC has an active Facebook group which can be accessed at the
|
||
following link:
|
||
[[https://www.facebook.com/share/ufuiPKpvFA4Chu9p/?mibextid=qi2Omg]{.underline}](https://www.facebook.com/share/ufuiPKpvFA4Chu9p/?mibextid=qi2Omg)
|
||
|
||
[^8]: The NLS website can be accessed at:
|
||
[[https://nlsnubia.com/]{.underline}](https://nlsnubia.com/)
|
||
|
||
[^9]: Sánchez Macarro, Windows to the World: Media Discourse in English,
|
||
p. 13.
|
||
|
||
[^10]: O'Keeffe, Media and Discourse Analysis, p. 441.
|
||
|
||
[^11]: Bassiouney, Constructing the Stereotype: Indexes and Performance
|
||
of a Stigmatized local dialect in Egypt, p.3.
|
||
|
||
[^12]: Taha, From Nub to Dahab: The Lexical Shift of Fadija Nobiin to
|
||
Arabic in Egypt, p. 118.
|
||
|
||
[^13]: Fairclough, Language and Globalization, p. 40.
|
||
|
||
[^14]: Fairclough, Language and Globalization, p. 2.
|
||
|
||
[^15]: Ochs, Indexing Gender.
|
||
|
||
[^16]: Ibid.
|
||
|
||
[^17]: Hughes and Tracy, Indexicality, p. 1.
|
||
|
||
[^18]: Johnstone et al., Mobility, Indexicality, and the Enregisterment
|
||
of 'Pittsburghese'.
|
||
|
||
[^19]: PAGE NUMBERS
|
||
|
||
[^20]: Silverstein, Indexical order and the Dialectics of
|
||
Sociolinguistic Life, p. 194.
|
||
|
||
[^21]: Eckert, Variation and the Indexical field.
|
||
|
||
[^22]: See
|
||
[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0EE24Pc02E]{.underline}](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0EE24Pc02E)
|
||
(accessed May 2021).
|
||
|
||
[^23]: See
|
||
[<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYfif7sAnpw&list=PL4ZQAyKFoBc-GzgfgRN8M9HJe152WYJ9D&index=5>.]{.underline}
|
||
|
||
[^24]: See
|
||
[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLW3gDcVzak]{.underline}](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLW3gDcVzak)
|
||
(accessed in May 2021).
|
||
|
||
[^25]: See
|
||
[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7L8zMTxsYc]{.underline}](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7L8zMTxsYc)
|
||
(accessed in June 2020).
|
||
|
||
[^26]: See
|
||
[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G-5gKXOkNQ]{.underline}](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G-5gKXOkNQ)
|
||
(accessed May 2021).
|
||
|
||
[^27]: See [<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctImkHHP9x4>]{.underline}
|
||
(accessed August 2021).
|
||
|
||
[^28]: See
|
||
[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_A90OVqQtSM]{.underline}](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A90OVqQtSM)
|
||
(accessed September 2021).
|
||
|
||
[^29]: Glossing abbreviations used in this paper: 1- first person; 2-
|
||
second person; 3- third person; IMP- imperative; PR- proper noun;
|
||
DEM- demonstrative; PRS- present; PST- past; FUT- future marker; SG-
|
||
singular; PL- plural; PREP- preposition; NEG- negation; WH.Q- WH
|
||
question; Q- question particle; QUANT- quantifier ; PCP- participle;
|
||
PM- possessive marker; M- masculine; F- feminine; VOC- vocative.
|
||
|
||
[^30]: He was a non-Nubian Egyptian actor born in 1887. He was one the
|
||
earliest actor to stigmatize and grossly exaggerate Nubians in
|
||
movies and plays. His style of portraying Nubians, that includes
|
||
ridiculing their Arabic fluency and accuracy, is still used in
|
||
Egypt. See
|
||
[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAPYImuAK_g]{.underline}](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAPYImuAK_g)
|
||
(accessed June 2021).
|
||
|
||
[^31]: Arabic is a grammatically gendered language in which verbs,
|
||
nouns, and adjective always assign either a male or female case
|
||
based on the person addressed. For example, nouns and adjectives or
|
||
nouns have to agree in gender.
|
||
|
||
[^32]: See
|
||
[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_18m7gWKQM]{.underline}](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_18m7gWKQM)
|
||
(accessed July 2021).
|
||
|
||
[^33]: See
|
||
[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLW3gDcVzak]{.underline}](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLW3gDcVzak)
|
||
(accessed May 2021).
|
||
|
||
[^34]: See
|
||
[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmgjwTZ6aRMfor]{.underline}](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmgjwTZ6aRMfor)
|
||
4a;
|
||
[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryWp_nqybmI]{.underline}](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryWp_nqybmI)
|
||
for 4b, and
|
||
[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF8dncakq7k]{.underline}](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF8dncakq7k)
|
||
for 4c (accessed August 2021).
|
||
|
||
[^35]: See
|
||
[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixZ9YtVLU3Q]{.underline}](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixZ9YtVLU3Q)
|
||
(accessed September 2021).
|
||
|
||
[^36]: Rouchdy, *Nubians and the Nubian Language in Contemporary Egypt*,
|
||
p.27.
|
||
|
||
[^37]: I would like to thank my dear uncle Dr. Mohammad Ali-Bik, a
|
||
professor of Mineralogy and Geochemistry at the Department of
|
||
Geological Sciences in the Egyptian National Research Center, for
|
||
all his insights and feedback. I am also very grateful to all my
|
||
family members and friends who helped me with the survey study.
|
||
|
||
[^38]: See
|
||
[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X5bm0m-2SA]{.underline}](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X5bm0m-2SA)
|
||
(accessed in September 2024).
|
||
|
||
[^39]: See
|
||
[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU0clu5ft-E]{.underline}](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU0clu5ft-E)
|
||
(accessed in September 2021).
|
||
|
||
[^40]: In this study, music video refers to video recorded or filmed
|
||
performances usually accompanied by dancing, visual images, and
|
||
musical instruments intended to promote and showcase artists and
|
||
cultures and marketing for their albums.
|
||
|
||
[^41]: Afropop Worldwide interviewed Mohamed Mounir in July 2011 and
|
||
published in April 2012. Banning Eyre and Sean Barlow wrote and
|
||
conducted the radio broadcasted interview with Mounir discussing the
|
||
Egyptian revolution.
|
||
|
||
[^42]: See
|
||
[[https://www.youtube.com/@NubaTubeChannel]{.underline}](https://www.youtube.com/%40NubaTubeChannel)
|
||
(accessed September 2021) and
|
||
[[www.youtube.com/@[ع]{dir="rtl"}7[ط]{dir="rtl"}-[ﻗﻧﺎةاﻟﻧوﺑﺔ]{dir="rtl"}]{.underline}](http://www.youtube.com/%40%D9%82%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A9%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D8%B77%D8%B9)
|
||
(accessed September 2021) respectively.
|
||
|
||
[^43]: [[https://artofnubia.com/index.html]{.underline}](https://artofnubia.com/index.html)
|
||
|
||
[^44]: [[https://www.napata.org/language.html]{.underline}](https://www.napata.org/language.html)
|
||
|
||
[^45]: Appendix 2 provides a description of the Arabic IPA Arabic sounds
|
||
used in this paper.
|