Student Research

Student Research

Here are a few samples of the research projects undertaken by graduate students under the supervision of Dr. Marwan Jarrah:

- Boshra Mahmoud is currently working on her MA thesis, which  undertakes a detailed investigation of verbal templates and the formation of the passive voice in Standard Arabic (SA) and Jordanian Arabic (JA). While much research has focused on SA, there is a notable gap in the literature concerning the intricacies of non-standard dialects such as JA. This study aims to fill this gap by comparing verbal templates and the mechanisms of passivization in these two varieties of Arabic.

- Leen Ababneh's study investigates the extent to which the use of epenthetic vowels /a/ and /i/ is socially and linguistically constrained in Northern Jordanian Arabic (NJA). The study examines the role of certain linguistic factors (e.g., syntactic category, number of syllables, etc.) and social factors (e.g., gender, age, region, education, etc.) that may constrain the use of epenthesis in NJA, specifically in Irbid. The study aims to determine whether the variation of epenthetic vowels is present in Irbid.

- Asma Aburqayiq's study will examine how education influences the use of passive constructions among Jordanian speakers with different educational levels. Using Labov's variationist approach, the study will explore how education, as a social factor, contributes to linguistic variation, particularly in shaping language patterns based on educational levels. It will investigate the use of passive forms among both low-educated and high-educated Jordanian speakers and examine how access to education influences linguistic choices. It is expected that the findings of the study will clearly address the effects of education on the structure of language and its role in reflecting social patterns.​