Interdialectal accommodation in Arabic: a linguistic ethnography of public service interpreting in Brussels.

Arabic is characterised by a rich linguistic diversity and is widely regarded as a diglossic or even a pluriglossic language. This poses a number of challenges for public service interpreters working with this language, who have to navigate multiple geographical, stylistic, and sometimes mixed varieties, in a wide range of contexts. This project aims to describe and examine the strategies used by Arabic interpreters and their interlocutors to communicate across standard and colloquial varieties of this language. Drawing on a participatory methodology, it aims to co-create knowledge from within and outside the academic sphere in order to provide resources and training for interpreters and other stakeholders such as service providers, public administrations and other professionals who interact with Arabic speakers.