Arab Knowledge Report 2009: Towards Productive

The battle overknowledge in oursocieties is a multilayered,all-outstruggle, whichrequires greaterindigenisation ofthe notions ofreason, history,enlightenment andcritical thoughtArabic madetangible advancesthat playedtheir part in thedevelopmentof written,auditory, andvisual media withthe constructionof new formsunknown to ourold linguisticsystemrevolution fiercely and destructivelypermeate all local cultures and economies.Are we dealing with a smoke-screendesigned to conceal the interests thatgovern international relations?It appears that, in contemplating howbest to deal with the information age, wecannot set aside the principle of benefitingfrom the new technologies. This thinkingis likely to construct a defined space in aworld governed by institutions with thecapacity to transcend hopes and dreamsand to use the missteps of the past tobuild the present and produce a future thatis more open to the advances of humanknowledge, both present and future (Djait,1978, in French).To summarize, all discussion of therepercussions of the knowledge societyon Arab culture and identity overlook thefact that the knowledge society essentiallyrequires rational economic managementand relies on a social structure supportedby a contemporary culture, as well as greatcapacities of intercommunication with theoutside world. Can the Arab region enterthe knowledge society on this basis? Can itgrasp that buying the technologies of luxurywith money does not create a knowledgesociety and does not lay the foundationson which an enabling environment capableof creating a knowledge-based economycan be built? The battle over knowledgein our societies is a multi-layered, alloutstruggle, which requires above allgreater indigenisation of the notions ofreason, history, enlightenment and criticalthought.THE ARABIC LANGUAGEAND THE CHALLENGES OFINFORMATION TECHNOLOGYWhat has been said about identity appliesequally to the Arabic language, with whichit is interdependent. Arabic’s continuinginadequacy with regard to the challengesof the knowledge society, particularlyin the area of information technology,results in linguistic isolation that revealsthe powerlessness of linguistic media todevelop appropriate tools for work andproduction.Two positions may be identifiedwith regard to linguistic reform. Thefirst is the “nihilistic” position, whichassumes the death of local languagesand cultures as a result of globalisation.This ignores the importance of linguisticand cultural diversity in a complexworld with contradictory interests andgoals. Indeed, it fails to take in that thesupposed universality is subject to allparties playing a role in its construction.The second issue is the “political andideological debate” over the state of theArabic language. This is a debate thatgenerally fails to address the heart of thesubject, which is the state of educationalinstitutions. It also ignores the state oflanguage teaching and the competenceof teachers and students in the areas ofcommunication, expression, and writing.For this reason, the debate tends towardsthe adoption of political positions basedon emotion and incapable of visualizingthe fate that awaits the Arabic languagein the absence of a defined and publiclyannounced linguistic strategy.The reality of linguistic pluralism inour society includes inherited featureslinked to our history and accumulatedexperience of dealing with the problematicsof the Arabic language. To ignore whatthis has cost us will make it doubly difficultfor us to initiate a programme of resolutereform for the Arabic language that willequip it to join the knowledge society.In creative languages, the rules are nottransformed into hindrances. On thecontrary, these rules are likely to generatenew ones to replace antiquated matricesthrough the renewal of the linguisticstructures that innovation calls for. Thisis something that has not happened inthe history of Arabic to date. Modestmodifications in the practise and writingof Arabic have been made startingfrom the time of the Arab renaissance.Nevertheless, the classical languagehas continued to be generally contentwith values and vocabulary preserved from46 ARAB KNOWLEDGE REPORT 2009