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The Tawasol Symbol Set, Language, Culture and User Engagement

David Banes

Access and Inclusion Services

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Arabic history, language and culture

3

Arab History

• Desert dwelling semitic tribes in Syrian desert and Arabia (Assyrian inscriptions)

• Arab defined as someone who speaks Arabic• Became largely under Muslim rule after the coming

of Islam • Umayyad caliphate controlled Arab region and the

capital was Damascus (Syria) for just under 100 years

• Abbasid Caliphate took over for 700 years. Capital was Baghdad (Iraq)

4

Arab History

• Golden Age under Abassid caliphate was influenced by the saying of the Prophet Muhammad “The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of martyrs.”

• Became the centre of the world

for science, philosophy, education,

astronomy and medicine.

• Ibn Rushd "founding father of

secular thought in Western Europe"

5

Arab History

• Ottoman Caliphate ruled for 400 years but then overthrown by British empire after World war I

• Countries of Arab region split and ruled by British (Egypt, Iraq, Palestine, Jordan) or French (Lebanon, Syria and North Africa)

• All fought for independence • Now 22 countries

encompassing 422 millionpeople in the Arab region

6

Arabic Language

• Semitic language • Written from right to left• Diglossic (written vs oral)• Dialectical differencesI want to drink water

(MSA)أريد أن أشرب ماء •(Levant)بدي أشرب ماي•(Egyptian)عوزة اشرب ميا•(Gulf)أبي مويا•

7

Arabic Language

• 28 letter alphabet

8

Arabic Language

• Diacritic system

• At later language learning stage, diacritics removed and words are read according to context

Without diacritics

With diacritics

9

Arabic Language

• Letter shapes change depending on position in the word and context

ام ز إس ل م ال ا م مو

10

Arabic Language

• Sentences tend to be VS-O rather than S-V-O

I like the dog

الكلب أحب

The dog I like

• Adjectives follow nouns compared to English where the adjective precedes the noun

I like the big dog

الكبيرأحب الكلب

big the dog I like

11

Arab culture

Family

Food

Land/

country

Neighbours

Marriage/ pro-

creation

Religion

12

Family

• Family is the centre of Arab society• Great respect for parents and elders of the community • Typically the man is the breadwinner and head of the family • Mother is responsible for the home • Tend to be big families especially if from rural areas – 5

children + • Aunties, uncles, cousins and

grandparents are very close• Children responsible for care

of parents in older age • Parents referred to as “abu ____”

(father of) and “umm ____” of their oldest son.

13

Religion

• Islam, Christianity, Druze and Judaism

• 90% of Arabs are Muslim but only 20% of Muslims are Arab

• Shouldn’t be confused with culture but is the case a lot of the time (e.g. wearing hijab/covering face)

• Islam way of life – so day to day tasks can be influenced by religion e.g. eating with right hand

• Monotheistic religion, prayer

5 times a day, fasting of Ramadan,

charity and pilgrimage

14

Food

• Typically meals eaten together with family

• Meat central part of Arab cuisine

• Levant tend to use a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables as produce is grown at home or readily available (olive oil, nuts, garlic, pomegranate, figs, olives)

• Gulf eat a lot of rice and

meat and renowned for dates

• North Africa have a lot of

Stews and fresh bread

15

Land/country

• Very patriotic region

• Many songs about going back to the home land “He came back in a shroud saying:if this olive tree were to remember its planter,the olive oil would turn to tears”

• Attachment to their land and produce

• Refugees usually say “I just want to return to Syria.”

16

Which means…

Effective use of symbols for communication is based upon familiarity

Without an appreciation of language and culture, symbols do not easily transfer

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Tawasol Project

18

• There is a growing number of individuals who can benefit from AAC

• Learning disabilities are the most common primary disability for Arab speakers

• 34% of those with another disability also have a learning disability. (Zetterström - 2012)

• Their needs are being met by the use of externally developed AAC symbols systems

Project Background

Sample image used in AAC settings thanks to ARASAAC Symbols

19

Project Aims

• To develop a freely available Arabic symbol

dictionary suitable for use by individuals who

have a wide range of communication difficulties.

• To develop a set of symbols that are culturally,

linguistically, religiously and environmentally

appropriate for AAC users in Qatar and the Arab

world.

20

• Lack of articles and research

• Setting up forums and workshops

• To involve symbol users, families,

therapists, teachers and experts

• To learn more about the use of

symbols in Qatar and the ME

• Advisory group, ‘critical friends’ and

a voting system

Iterative and Participatory

Approach

21

What was the method used to collect

data?

Step 1: AAC forum + survey

Step 2: Core vocabulary

Step 3: Symbol Voting

Data collection

22

• 20 therapists attended from 9 centers

• Purpose of forum:

- Know the demographic of AAC users in Qatar

- Qualify AAC users concerns/issues with AAC

currently

Step 1: AAC Forum

Survey Findings

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

0 to 5 6 to 10 11 to 15 16 to 20 21+

Most populated AAC user age group

Number of ST'sworking with thisage group

0

2

4

6

8

10

Most Prominent Diagnoses

Number of ST'sworking withthis condition

Survey Findings

Survey Findings

Most Commonly Used Symbol Sets

PCS Boardmaker

Other (googleimages/pictures)SymbolStix

Widgit

Makaton

ARASAAC

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Pictures ElectronicSytems

Gestures Real objects ManualSigns

Other(BigMac,

Keyboards)

Most Commonly used AAC types

Survey Findings

27

1. Culturally & Linguistically inappropriate

symbols

• Inappropriate symbols send mixed messages

• AAC users can’t relate to foreign symbols

• Arabic linguistic rules occasionally disregarded

Concerns with Symbols in Qatar

28Challenges using culturally

appropriate Symbols

29

2. The need for an English & Arabic Symbol

Dictionary

• Therapists speak English = Therapy in English

• Expats make up 86% of Qatar

• Nannies/drivers speak

English

Concerns with Symbols in Qatar

30

Linguistic Issues for Arabic AAC

• Lack of Arabic core vocabularies

• Diglossic nature of Arabic

• Many dialects across Arab region (MSA, Egyptian, Lebanese, Moroccan, and Kuwaiti)

• Bilingual situation - communication charts and devices based on English linguistic rules and Westernised concepts/imagery

• Arabic morpho-syntactic structure will affect Symbol to text translation

Sample images used in AAC settings thanks to Picture Communication Symbols (PCS)

I read your red book today

Read Iأ ت ق ر

book your كت ابك

كت اب ك

the redر ال حم

todayمال ي و

Symbol to Text: English vs. Arabic

32

Correct Arabic Symbol Sentence

I read your red book today

33

Same Across Environments?

Why a local core vocabulary was needed?

• Vast differences in linguistic structures

• Requests for symbols not available

• Requests from teachers, therapists and other

researchers in the field

• Evidence

Non-symbolic as well as symbolic forms of

communication are culturally dependent” (Huer, 2000).

Need to adapt AAC resources to meet characteristics

of the Arabic written system, and to address the

presence of diglossia and a lack of culturally

appropriate vocabulary (Patel and Dakwar-Khamis, 2005)

34

Background on Core Vocabularies

• 100-200 most common words make up 80% of

the total words used to communicate (Hill, Baker &

Devylder, 2000)

• Gives AAC users independence and allows them

to guide the conversation (Hill, Baker & Devylder, 2000)

• Tendency to select concrete nouns that are easy

to display as symbols (Schlosser & Sigafoos, 2002) vs

functional words to generate language.Vocabulary

Core“Common words that can be used across more than

one setting” e.g. more, here, look

Fringe“Words only used in one

setting but are critical in that setting”

e.g. Camel, Desert, Doha

Reference: AAC: A way of thinking.

Supporting Augmentative & Alternative

Communication Technologies in the

Classroom Second Edition.

35

Arabic frequency list: Collecting

• Visited 7 centres/organisations across Doha to

collect most commonly used symbols/words

• Collected from classrooms, progress notes, AAC

devices, therapists and parents

• 1500+ words in total

36

Key Findings

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

English vs Arabic POS

adjective adverb conjunction determiner expression

interjection noun preposition pronoun verb

English Arabic

37

Key Findings

Arabic AAC vs Arabic language lists

- Nouns: 54.9% in Arabic AAC to 54.5% in Arabic

language

- Verbs: 19% to 15%

- Pronouns: 1.7% to 2.4%

Arabic vs English

- Twice as many nouns in Arabic (55% to 27%)

- More verbs in English (29% to 16%)

- More pronouns in English (8% to 2%)

- Similar percentage of adjectives across languages

and lists

38

• Between bespoke list and literacy list in Arabic

there are only 2% of words that are similar

• Between bespoke list and literacy list English

translation 18% of words are similar

Key Findings

Literacy

VS.

Bespoke

Arabic

Only 2% similarities

VS.

Bespoke Literacy

English translation

18% similarities

39Arabic Core Vocabulary:

Consolidating

• 1500 words vs 500 words initially

• Started with 500 - that was “all that was needed” -

Doha expert

• Participants came back to us needing more complex

words e.g. monotheism!

• Arabic AAC in it’s infancy but participants’ requests

to move into literacy and environment

• Consolidation – religious and prayer symbols, The

Prophet book, and curriculum based symbols

40

Graphic designer to use criteria for future symbols designed

Criteria checked by AAC forum

Criteria for symbol design developed based on comment analysis of AAC forum

Symbol added to online symbol manager for AAC forum review

Symbol uploaded to Google+ for internal team review

Graphic designer to re-create symbol that is culturally, linguistically, religiously and environmentally appropriate

AAC forum to choose preferred freely available symbol set

Symbol Design Process

41

• ARASAAC vs. Sclera

• ARASAAC preferred because closer in style to PCS and Arabs tend to like detail

Choosing a Symbol Set as a Basis

Thanks to ARASAAC and Sclera for their symbols

42

Internal Review: Google+

43

Upload to Online Symbol Manager

44

Symbol Voting

45Results: Criteria for Culturally

Appropriate Arabic symbols

46

• Qatari Female: Abaya and Shela

• Qatari Male: Thobe and Ghutra

• General Arabic dress code: Hijab and modest clothing

• Minimise gender mixing

• Reduce display of physical affection with opposite sex (holding hands is fine)

Cultural Factors

47

• Darker complexion and hair colour

• Facial hair for adult male characters

• Not too much skin showing

• No stick figures

Physical Features

48

Environmental Factors

Use local currency

Reduce greenery

Use local landmarks, foods, cars

and use local architectural style

49

• Religious sensitivities

• Religious holidays

• Religious figures

• Religious sayings/phrases

Religious Factors

50

• Flip symbols to fit Arabic symbol orientation (right to left)

• Male and female versions for each symbol

• Including dual form of symbol where necessary

Linguistic Factors

51

• Initially 45% of ARASAAC symbols voted as

inappropriate for use in Qatar

• Improvement in cultural suitability of symbols

(4.38 out of 5)

Results

3.20

3.40

3.60

3.80

4.00

4.20

4.40

4.60

Batch 1 early 2015 Batch 2 late 2015 Batch 3 early 2016 Batch 4 late 2016

Symbol Voting Averages scored out of 5 for each Criteria

Feelings about symbol Represents word/phrase Colour contrast Cultural sensitivity

52

Implications

• Arabic spoken words are very different to Arabic written words used

• Concepts tend to be similar (seen in similarities in translation) but formal written Arabic more varied in vocabulary

• Arabic is a deep language with

many different words for differing

contexts

• Concepts, emotions, immediacy

and points of reference can often

be lost in translation

53

Implications

• Core vocabulary for language learning and literacy not the same for English and Arabic

• Communication boards will look different in Arabic

• Composition of Arabic words and position in sentences can change so matching symbol to text problematic

• Avoid translating from Arabic to English

• Ideally bilingual speaking Speech therapist can be involved as linguists can take the functionality out of it

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Network, Learn, Share

David Banes

david@davebanesaccess.org

http://tawasolsymbols.org/en/home/