Arab Knowledge Report 2009: Towards Productive

the Middle Ages, as if all that has happenedand is happening in the developmentof knowledge and the world concernedneither ourselves nor our means ofintercommunication with the world andits new products (Sa‘id Yaqtin, backgroundpaper for the Report, in Arabic).In the last century, the Arabic languagemade tangible advances that played theirpart in the development of written,auditory, and visual media with theconstruction of new forms unknown toour old linguistic system. The increasedvolume of books and other printed media,the satellite channels, broadcast stationsand other media have given expressionin Arabic new abilities to grasp subjectsand approximate them with new linguisticmechanisms. Text books, movies, andArabic novels have also played importantroles in expanding linguistic sensibilities,enabling them to translate contemporarypsychological and social emotions, feelings,and trends.In the area of informatics in Arabic, it isnow possible to find software that offers anelectronic library with edited encyclopaediasand books, as well as software teaching theArabic language for different age groups.These positive indications are no excusefor the continuing decline of the Arabiclanguage, which faces several challengesposed by information technology and theknowledge revolution. The question ofwhether the Arabic language can confrontthe challenges of knowledge globalisationis addressed in Chapter 4.Those who see language as a closed,self-sufficient system confuse the rulesfor a specific stage of development of aspecific system in a language with the wayin which that language is used to produceand create knowledge, to create newrules appropriate to its evolving course,its shifting system, and its self-renewingsymbolic reserves. The sentimental and thestatic non-historical views of languageencourage the evaluation of a languageaccording to criteria of perfection. Webelieve it is important to isolate and groupthese two views together, since both play arole in the dessication and mummificationof the language.The sentimental position on the languagecomprises a group of epistemologicalvalues, such as its absolute perfection, and aclosed rule set. These require examination.Both positions ignore the fact that Arabic,like all languages, develops, declines,and is affected by the same incidentaltransformations that have affected culturalmedia and symbols throughout history.The problems of the Arabic languageare due to the neglect that it has experiencedin recent decades, since most Arab statessuffer from a lack of a clear linguistic policyaimed at reforming linguistic performance.Arabic will not regain its position until alinguistic reform policy takes shapethat allows it to exercise its properrole in administration and economics,in commerce and contracting, and in allthe other areas of modern life, and untilwe fashion within it the determinants ofour existence in a changing world (UNDP,2003, in Arabic).If we take language to be the vesselthat preserves and conveys culture andknowledge, we must also believe that theproblems of language cannot be solvedby improvisation or in haste. First andforemost, they require inventive, innovativeconstruction of knowledge-related options.After this we can proceed to institutionbuildingand the development ofprogrammes, leading to the accumulationof experience and expertise in developingthe Arabic language. This is a particularlypressing challenge since we live at a timewhen languages that are not in harmonywith the mechanisms of innovation,production, and development are slatedfor oblivion. Today these mechanismsare a prominent feature on the universallinguistic landscape, since, while fourthousand languages compete in the world,only fourteen enjoy an effective, productivepresence in the universal language network(UNDP, 2003, in Arabic).Challenges to the Arabic languagehave been exacerbated by the informationrevolution and easy access to the highwaysThe problemsof the Arabiclanguage are dueto the neglect thatit has experiencedin recent decades,since most Arabstates suffer froma lack of a clearlinguistic policyThe problemsof languagerequire inventive,innovativeconstructionof knowledgerelatedoptionsTHE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: CONCEPTS AND PROBLEMATICS OF THE KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY47