Identity and equity through Lebspeak

Jehad Dabab and Bihal Dabab.

How language and identity interact in multicultural Australia is the focus of a new project on ‘Lebspeak’, a kind of English used by young adult Australians of Arabic background.

This variety is a blend of features from Australian English and global American youth culture, as well as some Arabic words and expressions. 

“Each individual has a whole repertoire of possible ways of speaking, dictated by our age, gender, ethnicity, class and aspirations. We pick features to match who we are and the image we want to project in different situations,” says Dr Verna Rieschild, a Lecturer in the Department of Linguistics at Macquarie University. 

Why use Lebspeak?

Rieschild is part of a team analysing the grammar and sounds of Lebspeak and comparing them to other analyses of Australian English. A language use and attitudes survey will help identify the link between language and identity.

“Using language as an identity marker is one reaction minority groups can have to pressures from schools, the media, public institutions like Centrelink, the courts and the police,” Rieschild says.

“Some people want to be known as ‘just Australian’, then there are those who say: ‘I’m Lebanese’ or ‘I’m Muslim’. Others buy into the wider community’s negative stereotyping and will do everything to show they’re not a member of that group. This includes only speaking the language of the dominant group, the language of power. However, someone who is happy to be known as, say, Lebanese Australian, is embracing the best in both cultures.”

Rieschild says Lebspeak can help mark identity as a source of pride. When these young men use terms such as “habib” (from Arabic) or “bro” (from American youth music culture), they’re using a strategy that makes the other person feel like an accepted group member.

“Much language change in English is generated by young people. They’re saying: ‘We’re not children and we’re not adults’. They’re testing all sorts of other identities, and language use is one of those testing grounds,” she says.

The way you speak immediately marks you as a certain type of person.

“We’re interested in understanding why some people speak Arabic, some speak Standard Australian English or Lebspeak, and others speak only Lebspeak – or never speak it.” 

Participate in the project

Arabic is one of the most important living languages, spoken in Australia for the last 170 years. The project team is particularly interested in communities of Arabic background because they have been marginalised and stigmatised due to events such as the Gulf War and 9/11.

“We want more people to help us with speech samples and information about how they feel about English and Arabic and multicultural identity,” says Rieschild. “From the speech samples, we will develop a Web-based resource to help other researchers.”

What is collected in the language use and attitudes survey will help understand the dynamics of language variation across Australian speech communities. It will also provide important background for programs aiming for multicultural acceptance, effective English language programs and Arabic language maintenance.

For further information about the project, and to participate in it, contact Dr Verna Rieschild at vrieschi@ling.mq.edu.au. The Department of Linguistics website is at www.ling.mq.edu.au

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