Professor Enam Al-Wer
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Email
enama@essex.ac.uk -
Telephone
+44 (0) 1206 872240
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Location
4.131, Colchester Campus
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Academic support hours
Wednesday 10am-12pm
Profile
Biography
She graduated from the University of Jordan with a BA in English and German, and went on to obtain a Diploma in German from the Goethe Institute, Munich. She subsequently obtained an MLing in Manchester, writing a dissertation on the syntax of negation in Jordanian Arabic. Her PhD at Essex (supervised by Prof. Peter Trudgill) was on phonological variation in the speech of women. She previously taught English Linguistics at Philadelphia University, Jordan, and has also taught sociolinguistics at Cambridge University and Birkbeck College.
Qualifications
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BA Jordan
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Dip Munich
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MLing Manchester
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PhD Essex.
Research and professional activities
Research interests
Variation and change (with special interest in Modern Arabic Dialects)
Dialect/language contact
Dialectology and dialect geography
Formation of New Dialects
Gender differentiation in language
Language maintenance/shift
Multilingualism and code-switching
Conferences and presentations
Dynamics of linguistic variation and change in Arabic Vernaculars: a sociolinguistic perspective.
Keynote presentation, Critical Approaches to Language, Literature and Translation Studies., 25/11/2021
Dialect contact, focusing and feature complexity: Data from Amman.
13th Annual Meeting of the Illinois Language and Linguistics Society., 26/2/2021
Probing linguistic change in Arabic vernaculars: a sociohistorical perspective
Keynote presentation, Plenary, Annual Symposium on Arabic Linguistics., Toronto, Canada, 5/4/2019
Language change as a product of social change
Invited presentation, Worshop, Workshop, Bayreuth, Germany, 20/6/2018
Formation and normativisation of the Amman dialect
Invited presentation, Seminar, Seminar, Berlin, Germany, 13/6/2018
Normativisation and the hyper-dialect: further developments in the formation of the Amman dialect.
Invited presentation, SOAS Seminar, SOAS Seminar, London, United Kingdom, 20/3/2018
Trajectory of language change and the power of social factors
Keynote presentation, Forum for Arabic Linguisticsw, Forum for Arabic Linguistics, York, United Kingdom, 5/12/2017
The evolution of sectarian linguistic stratification: Jordan as a case study
Language Mobility and Belonging, Linguistic Anthropology Conference, Language Mobility and Belonging, Linguistic Anthropology Conference, Oxford, United Kingdom, 23/3/2017
The Amman dialect
Invited presentation, Seminar, Seminar, Amman, Jordan, 15/12/2016
Commercialisation of linguistic expertise: the asylum process as a case study
Invited presentation, The Sociolinguistics of Globalization Conference, Panel on Engaging the World of Language Work/ers, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 3/6/2015
AIDA Conference
Teaching and supervision
Current teaching responsibilities
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English in the British Isles (LG353)
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English Around the World (LG355)
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Forensic Linguistics (LG364)
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Sociolinguistic Theory (LG532)
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Professional Development for Research Students (LG595)
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History and Variation of English (LG653)
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Dissertation (Research) (LG994)
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Graduate Research Assignment (LG699)
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Careers and Employability Skills for Languages and Linguistics (LA099)
Current supervision
Previous supervision
Degree subject: Sociolinguistics
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 31/1/2022
Degree subject: Sociolinguistics
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 19/10/2020
Degree subject: Linguistics
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 9/3/2020
Degree subject: Linguistics
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 19/12/2019
Degree subject: Sociolinguistics
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 5/7/2019
Degree subject: Linguistics
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 7/5/2019
Degree subject: Analysing Language Use
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 26/6/2018
Degree subject: Sociolinguistics
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 18/4/2018
Degree subject: Linguistics
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 13/12/2017
Degree subject: Sociolinguistics
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 10/11/2017
Degree subject: Sociolinguistics
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 3/4/2017
Degree subject: Linguistics
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 20/9/2016
Degree subject: Sociolinguistics
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 20/10/2015
Degree type: Master of Research
Awarded date: 1/10/2014
Degree subject: Sociolinguistics
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 27/8/2014
Degree subject: Linguistics
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 3/7/2014
Degree subject: Sociolinguistics
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 11/4/2014
Degree subject: Linguistics
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 2/7/2009
Publications
Journal articles (6)
Al-wer, E., Herin, B., Younes, I. and Al-Hawamdeh, A., (2023). The dialect of the Druze of Jordan. Zeitschrift für Arabische Linguistik. 77 (2), 72-85
Al-wer, E., Horesh, U., AlAmmar, D., Alaodini, H., Al-Essa, A., Al-Hawamdeh, A., Al-Qahtani, K. and Hussain, A., (2022). Probing linguistic change in Arabic vernaculars: a sociohistorical perspective. Language in Society. 51 (1), 29-50
Herin, B., Younes, I., Al-wer, E. and Al-Sirour, Y., (2021). The classification of Bedouin Arabic: insights from Northern Jordan. Languages. 7 (1), 1-1
Al-wer, E., Horesh, U., Herin, B. and Fanis, M., (2015). How Arabic Regional Features Become Sectarian Features Jordan as a Case Study. Zeitschrift fuer Arabische Linguistik. 62, 68-87
Al-Wer, E. and Herin, B., (2011). The lifecycle of Qaf in Jordan. Langage et société. n° 138 (4), 59-76
Al‐Wer, E., (1997). Arabic between reality and ideology. International Journal of Applied Linguistics. 7 (2), 251-265
Books (5)
Al-wer, E. and Herin, B., A Grammar of a central Jordanian dialect. Open Book Publishers
Al-wer, E., Horesh, U., Herin, B. and de Jong, R., (2022). Arabic Sociolinguistics. Cambridge University Press. 9781316863060
Al-wer, E. and Horesh, U., (2019). The Routledge Handbook of Arabic Sociolinguistics. Routledge. 9781315722450
Al-Wer, E. and De Jong, R., (2008). Arabic Dialectology. Brill. 9789004172128
(2007). Arabic in the City. Routledge. 9780203933367
Book chapters (22)
Al-wer, E., New-dialect formation: the Amman dialect. In: Arabic and contact-induced change. Editors: Lucas, C. and Manfredi, S., . Language Science Press
Al-wer, E. and Al-Hawamdeh, A., Focusing and feature complexity in Amman Arabic. In: Dialect contact: from speaker to community-based perspectives. Editors: Nycs, J. and Fernandez-Mallat, V., . Georgetown University Press
Horesh, U., Al-wer, E., Albohnayya, M. and AlAmmar, D., Dialect contact and change in the Arabic feminine ending morpheme. Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics.. In: Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics XXXIIII. Editors: Ali, A-K. and Hachimi, A., . Benjamins
Horesh, U., Al-wer, E., Albohnayya, M. and AlAmmar, D., (2022). Dialect contact and change in the Arabic feminine ending morpheme. Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics.. In: Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics XXXIII: Papers selected from the Annual Symposium on Arabic Linguistics, Toronto, Canada, 2019. Editors: Ali, A-K. and Hachimi, A., . John Benjamins. 27- 50. 9789027256935
Al-wer, E., Horesh, U., AlAmmar, D. and Al-Bohnayya, M., (2022). Dialect contact and change in the Arabic feminine ending morpheme. In: Studies in Arabic Linguistics. Editors: Abdel-Khalig, A. and Hachimi, A., . John Benjamins Publishing Company. 27- 50. 9789027212726
Al-wer, E. and Fanis, M., (2019). The commercialisation of linguistic expertise in the asylum vetting process. In: Language at work. Editors: Thurlow, C., . Routledge. 179- 192. 9781138485266
Al-wer, E. and Fanis, M., (2019). The Commercialisation of Linguistic Expertise in the Asylum Vetting Process. In: The Business of Words Wordsmiths, Linguists, and Other Language Workers. Editors: Thurlow, C., . Routledge. 9781138485266
Al-wer, E. and Horesh, U., (2019). Arabic sociolinguistics: principles and epistemology. In: The Routledge Handbook of Arabic Sociolinguistics. Editors: Al-wer, E. and Horesh, U., . Routledge. 1- 11. 9781315722450
Al-wer, E., (2019). New-dialect formation: the Amman dialect. In: Arabic and contact-induced change. Editors: Lucas, C. and Manfredi, S., . Language Science Press. 551- 566
Al-Wer, E. and de Jong, R., (2017). Dialects of Arabic. In: The Handbook of Dialectology. Editors: Boberg, C., Nerbonne, J. and Watt, D., . Wiley-Blackwell. 523- 534. 978-1-118-82755-0
Al-Wer, E. and Al-Qahtani, K., (2016). Lateral fricative ḍād in Tihāmat Qaḥtān. In: Studies in Arabic Linguistics. John Benjamins Publishing Company. 151- 169. 9789027200310
Al-Wer, E., (2014). Language and Gender in the Middle East and North Africa. In: The Handbook of Language, Gender, and Sexuality. Editors: Ehrlich, S., Meyerhoff, M. and Holmes, J., . Wiley. 396- 411. 9780470656426
Al-wer, E., (2014). Yod-dropping in b-imperfect verb forms ?in Amman. In: Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics XXVI: Papers from the annual symposium on Arabic Linguistics. New York, 2012. Editors: Khamis-Dakwar, R. and Froud, K., . John Benjamins. 29- 44. 9789027200303
Al-Wer, E., (2013). Sociolinguistics. In: The Oxford Handbook of Arabic Linguistics. Editors: Owens, J., . Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-976413-6
Al-Wer, E., (2007). The formation of the dialect of Amman: from chaos to order. In: Arabic in the City: Issues in Dialect Contact and Language Variation. Editors: Miller, C., Al-Wer, E., Caube, D. and Watson, JCE., . Routledge. 55- 76. 978-0415773119
Al-Wer, E., (2006). The Arabic-Speaking Middle East/Der arabischsprachige Mittlere Osten. In: Sociolinguistics: An International Handbook of the Science of Language and Society/Soziolinguistik: Ein internationales Handbuch zur Wissenschaft von Sprache und Gesellschaft. Walter de Gruyter, Inc.. 1917- 1924. 9783110184181
Al-Wer, E., (2003). New dialect formation. In: IMPACT: Studies in Language and Society. John Benjamins Publishing Company. 59- 67. 9789027218544
Al-Wer, E., (2003). Variability Reproduced: A variationist view of the [Daad]/[Dhaa] opposition in modern Arabic dialects. In: Approaches to Arabic Dialects: A Collection of Articles presented to Manfred Woidich on the Occasion of his Sixtieth Birthday. Editors: de Jong, R., Haak, M. and Versteegh, K., . Brill. 21- 32. 9789004132061
Al-Wer, E., (2002). Jordanian and Palestinian dialects in contact: vowel raising in Amman. In: Language Change. DE GRUYTER MOUTON. 63- 80. 9783110172027
Al-Wer, E., (2002). Education as a Speaker Variable. In: Language Contact and Language Conflict in Arabic. Variations on a sociolinguistic theme. Editors: Rouchdy, A., . Routledge Curzon. 41- 53. 9780700713790
Al-Wer, E., (2000). Perspectives on two Arabic emphatic sounds: A merger or an artificial split?. Essex Research Reports in Linguistics
Al-Wer, E., (1997). Why do different variables behave differently? Data from Arabic. Essex Research Reports in Linguistics
Conferences (2)
Al-wer, E. and Fanis, M., The commercialisation of linguistic expertise in the asylum vetting process
Al-wer, E. and Al-Hawamdeh, A., Focusing and feature complexity in Amman Arabic
Reports and Papers (2)
Al-Wer, E., (2000). Education as a speaker variable in Arabic variationist studies
Al-Wer, E. and Spencer, A., (1997). Language and identity: the Chechens and the Circassians in Jordan
Media (1)
Al-Wer, EEA., Jordanian dialects. Video
Grants and funding
2016
Religious Affiliation, Language Variation and National Identity in the Middle East
British Academy
The emerging dialect of Amman: a study in New-Dialect Formation
Leverhulme Trust
Further sociolinguistic explorations in Palestinian Arabic: Language and identity, religion, and urbanisation
British Academy
Contact
Academic support hours:
Wednesday 10am-12pm
