الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 108 |  |  |
| | | from | 108 | | |
Abstract
This study intends to investigate language attitudes of Syrian students living in Alexandria/Egypt toward Egyptian colloquial Arabic (ECA) using direct and indirect method of investigation. It also aims to gain an insight into the factors behind such attitudes. In addition, it aims to study the significance of gender and length of residence in influencing participants‟ attitudes toward ECA. The research is mainly based on the mentalist theory of attitude (Fasold, 1984) which argues that attitude is “an intervening variable between a stimulus affecting a person and that person’s response” .The integrated design used in the research included a questionnaire to investigate participants‟ overt attitudes, a matched guise test to examine their covert attitudes, and interview questions to examine the factors behind these attitudes. The research population is based a sample of 50 Syrian male and female graduate and post-graduate students living in Alexandria/Egypt. Broadly speaking, the overall results from both the overt and covert investigations of attitudes are similar. The findings revealed that the participants clearly had a positive attitude to Egyptian colloquial Arabic. In the direct investigation, the participants revealed a more positive attitude toward the use of ECA in media than in social interactions and education. This attitude is positively influenced by social, instrumental, linguistic and cultural factors. In the indirect investigation, on the other hand, ECA of the cultured received a more positive attitude than ECA of the illiterate and ECA of the educated. The findings of this study also suggested that neither gender nor length of resident have any significant impact.