Reem Bassiouney investigates the role of language in the process of identity formation by exploring code-choice in public discourse in modern Egypt's diglossic community. In this study, which is structured into six main chapters, she analyses a wide range of data sources including articles, songs, novels, films, and poems. Bassiouney provides the necessary background information on the language varieties used in the diglossic community in the introduction. The use of Standard Arabic (SA) and Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (ECA) play the central role in the data analysis, although additional varieties, such as other Arabic colloquial varieties and English, are mentioned. By applying a new theoretical framework, which is explained in detail in chapter 1 and includes stance and markedness theory, she attempts to further the understanding of the complex ways in which identity formation takes place and is shaped by public discourse. The author argues that identity construction occurs both consciously and unconsciously, triggered by historical and political motivations or habitual behaviour respectively. Thus, she defines identity as a ‘social construct, which is ideological, perceptual, and habitual’ (p. 53).
In chapter 2, she discusses the formation of Egyptian national identity from a historical perspective. By including concepts such as language ideologies, attitudes, and policies, the author attempts to clarify the relationship between Egypt and the Arab world. This background information is necessary for understanding what the linguistic codes available in the diglossic situation of Egypt may index, such as the association of SA with authority and truthfulness or as a sacred language. This is discussed in detail in chapter 3, where the author illustrates how code-choice can have different associations depending on the context and how the concept of orders of indexicality, which is an essential part of the data analysis, helps to comprehend the link between linguistic forms and their associations.
The social aspects of Egyptian identity are discussed in chapter 4, based on the analysis of patriotic songs and newspaper articles. Bassiouney differentiates between two types of social aspects. The first, what she calls ‘backbone variables’, include historicity, locality, and ethnicity, while the second, the ‘outcome variables’, include character traits and habits. Both types have been frequently used in public discourse on identity in Egypt and are discussed further in chapter 5, in which novels constitute the main data source for the analysis. The aim of this chapter is to show how authors use different codes to emphasise the different aspects Egyptian identity encompasses.
Chapter 6 deals with the Egyptian identity debate before, during, as well as after the revolution of January 25, 2011. In this chapter, all of the tools of the new theoretical framework come together to discuss how public discourse has reflected and shaped Egyptian identity during the revolution. The author discusses how access to language resources has been handled in Egypt prior to and after the overthrow of Mubarak. The book ends with a conclusion summarizing the most important findings.
This study provides an interesting insight into the link between identity and language in a barely investigated diglossic context, combining sociolinguistics and discourse analysis.
