레바논 교수어의 다중언어 현상과 정체성 간의 관계

The relationship between the multilingualism and identity issue in Lebanon: Focusing on Arabic, French, and English

This study examines the continuous accumulation of multilingual phenomenon in Lebanese society due to historical events, focusing on the medium of instruction in foreign schools. From a historical point of view, religious-oriented groups with different identity orientations adopted other languages according to their interest such as French or English besides Arabic. Lebanon s Christian Maronites used French as a means of expressing their non-Arab identity. On the other hand, Muslims accepted Arabic as the language of their Arab identity. It leads to the formation of the bilingual or trilingual phenomenon in Lebanon. In addition to that, with globalization, English is used as a medium of instruction regardless of religious fractions. In 21st century Lebanon, the dichotomy of linguistic identity has become much weaker than before. However, the seeds of division are still deep.