Dr. Elizabeth M. Bergman

Students cheer on the Redhawks during a sporting event at Miami University.

Dr. Elizabeth BergmanAssociate Professor of Arabic

Language Program Coordinator for Arabic
Liaison for Arabic Language Circle

Irvin Hall 150
bergmae3@MiamiOH.edu
513-529-1849

Office Hours

Tuesday: 3:00pm–5:00pm
Thursday: 3:00pm–5:00pm

Education

1992 Ph.D. University of Michigan, Near Eastern Studies
                      Dissertation:  “What the Old Ones Said:  The Syntax of the Moroccan Arabic Proverb," Ernest N. McCarus, Chair.  

1987 M.A. University of Michigan, Near Eastern Studies.

1978 B.Sc. Georgetown University, Arabic Language and Linguistics.

Courses Taught at Miami

  • ARB 201: Intermediate Modern Arabic
  • ARB 202: Intermediate Modern Arabic
  • ARB 230: Arabic Literature in Translation
  • ARB 301: Advanced Arabic
  • ARB 302: Advanced Arabic
  • ARB 311: Media Arabic
  • ARB 401: Advanced Arabic Conversation and Composition

Professional Recognition

Finalist, E. Phillips Knox Teaching Award for 2010.

National credentialing program for interpreters  (2000 - present) 
  • Since 2016, the only lead rater for one variety of colloquial Arabic and one of three raters for that variety. 
  • Consult on composition of new colloquial Arabic certification examination for court interpreters; consult on revisions to current colloquial Arabic examinations.
  • Train consultants to write Arabic screening examinations for court interpreters; consult on issues of policy and performance.
Taalstudio, Netherlands (2004 - present)
  • Research and write language analysis reports on behalf of applicants for political asylum.

Startalk Project Reviewer, National Foreign Language Center, College Park, MD (2007 – present).

  • Review summer Arabic language programs in for high school students and professional development programs for Arabic language teachers.

Arabic Court Interpreter Screening Program, Administrative Office of the Courts, New Jersey (1995 - present).

  • Advise on policy at the state level, write Arabic screening examinations for court interpreters, and assess examinee performance.

Selected Publications

Books

  • Spoken Algerian Arabic.  Publications of the African Language Project. Springfield, VA:  Dunwoody, 2005.
  • Sketch Grammar of Spoken Iraqi Arabic (with Eerik Dickinson). Springfield, VA:  Dunwoody, 2005.
  • Spoken Sudanese Arabic:  Grammar, dialogues, and glossary.  Publications of the African Language Project.  Springfield, VA:  Dunwoody, 2002.

Articles

  • “The More Things Change:  A Learner’s Perspective on Learning Another Arabic Dialect.”  Forthcoming.  Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages Volume 9, 1 (Spring 2011).
  • Robert Joe Lee, Elizabeth M. Bergman, and Aziz Ismail.  “Becoming an Arabic Court Interpreter” (Rev. ed.)  Williamsburg, VA:  National Center for State Courts, 2010.  http://www.ncsc.org/education-and-careers/state-interpreter-certification.aspx
  • “Introducing Arabic:  Meeting the Challenges” in Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages, Volume 6:  2009.
  • “Foreword” to Ernest T. Abdel-Massih, Zaki N. Abdel-Malek, El-Said M. Badawi, with Ernest N. McCarus, Reference Grammar of Egyptian Arabic. Georgetown Classics in Arabic Language/Linguistics. 2009
  • Robert Joe Lee, Elizabeth M. Bergman, and Aziz Ismail.  “Becoming an Arabic Court Interpreter.”  Trenton, NJ:  NJ Office of the Courts, 2008. www.judiciary.state.nj.us/interpreters/becomearabic.pdf
  • “Orality” in Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics. Ed. Kees Versteegh.  Leiden, Boston:  Brill, 2005 - . 
  • “Frozen expression” in Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics.  Vol. 2.  Ed. Kees Versteegh.  Leiden.  Boston:  Brill, 2005 - .
  • “Jargon,” in Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics. Vol. 2.  Ed. Kees Versteegh.  Leiden, Boston:  Brill, 2005 -  . 
  • "Foreword" to Dictionary of Moroccan Arabic:  Arabic - English/English - Arabic.  Eds. Richard S. Harrel and Harvey Sobelman.  Georgetown Classics in Arabic Language and Linguistics.  Washington, DC:  Georgetown UP, 2004.
  • "Foreword" to Dictionary of Syrian Arabic:  English - Arabic.  Eds. Karl Stowasser and Moukhtar Ani.  Georgetown Classics in Arabic Language and Linguistics.  Washington, DC:  Georgetown UP, 2004.

Presentations

  • “The unmarked feminine in Ibn al-Ḥājib’s al-Qaṣīda al-muwaššaḥa fi al-mu’annaṯṯāt al-samāciyya”  North Atlantic Conference on Afro-Asiatic Linguistics.  Leiden, The Netherlands, 10 June 2017.
  • “Jordanian linguistic identity in short animations.”  12th International Conference of AIDA (International Association for Arabic Dialectology).  Marseille, France.  01 June 2017.
  • “Animating nationalism:  The use of Arabic dialects in Jordanian short animations.”  Linguistics Lecture Series:  What the “L”?:   Language Research at Miami.  Miami University of Ohio.  03 October 2016
  • "Animating Linguistic Nationalism in Jordan," Modern Language Association 128th Annual Convention.  Seattle.  05 January 2012.
  • “Animating Arabic Dialects:  The Jordanian Example.”  25th Arabic Linguistics Symposium.  University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.  05 March 2011.
  • “Learning a Second (or Third) Variety of Spoken Arabic.”  The Challenges of Teaching Arabic in the 21st Century Conference.  Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Doha, Qatar.  09 February 2011. 
  • “Reversing Privilege:  Teaching Arabic Dialects in the Classroom.”  126th Modern Language Association Annual Convention.  Los Angeles, CA.  08 January 2011.
  •  “Mixed Registers and Mixed Varieties of Contemporary Spoken Arabic.”  International Association for the Study of Middle Arabic (AIMA) Third Symposium, “Middle Arabic and Mixed Arabic: an intentional choice of register?  Researches on medieval, modern and contemporary sources.”  Università degli Studi di Firenze, Florence.  12 October 2010.
  • “Aristotle in Arabic, Greek, and Latin.” “Digital Humanities, Greek-Arabic-Latin.”  Sponsored by the Perseus Project, Tufts University and the Islamic Manuscripts Project, University of Michigan.  14 July 2010.
  • “The Averroes Project:  Greek, Arabic, Latin” (co-presenters Karla Mallette and Valerie Wilhite,) in “BABEL Working Group.”  International Conference on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.  15 May 2010.
  • “New Domains, New Models of Language Use.” Georgetown University Round Table (GURT) 2010:  Arabic Language and Linguistics, Washington, DC.  13 March 2010.
  • “New Americans Series: Bridging the Gap with Arabic Speakers” (co-presenters Mohamed Ali and Linda Mansour).  Supreme Court of Ohio Judicial College, Worthington, OH.  30 October 2009.
  • “Introduction to Arabic Dialects” (in Arabic), Arabic Language Lecture Series, Princeton University, 23 April 2008. 
  • “Attaining High Levels of Proficiency in US-based Language Programs: Quantitative and Qualitative” (with Margaret Malone, Center for Applied Linguistics), Coalition of Distinguished Language Centers Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, 01 December 2007.
  •  “Meeting the Challenges of Teaching Arabic in a SILP Program,” National Association of Self Instructional Language Programs 33rd Annual Conference, Crystal City, VA, 02 – 03 November 2007. 
  •  “Spoken Arabic and the Language Analyst,” Workshop on Language Analysis, Joint Summer Meeting 2007 of the Society of Pidgin and Creole Linguistics and the Associação de Crioulos de Base Lexical Portugesa e Espanhola, Amsterdam, June 2006.   
  • “Full-time Intensive Arabic:  a Role for a Fifth Year,” (with Karin C. Ryding, Georgetown University).  American Association of Teachers of Arabic Annual Meeting, Boston, November 2006. 
  • “Georgetown University’s Arabic Language Flagship,” Fourth Annual Symposium on Teaching and Learning Languages to Native-Like Levels of Proficiency, Coalition of Distinguished Language Centers, Washington, DC, October 2006.
  •  “Arabic Flagship:  Issues in Curriculum Design,” with (Karin C. Ryding, Georgetown University).  Third Annual Symposium on Teaching and Learning Languages to Native-Like Levels of Proficiency, Coalition of Distinguished Language Centers Washington, DC, October 2005.
  • “Variation in Colloquial Algerian Arabic as a Challenge to Diglossia,” Annual Meeting of the National Council of Organizations of Less Commonly Taught Languages, Arlington, VA, April 2001.

Memberships in Professional Organizations

  • American Association of Teachers of Arabic
  • Arabic Linguistics Society
  • International Association for Arabic Dialectology (AIDA)
  • Middle East Studies Association
  • Modern Language Association

Languages

  • Arabic: Classical Arabic (Superior reading); Modern Standard Arabic (Superior speaking, reading, listening, writing); Jordanian, Egyptian and Moroccan Arabic (Superior); Algerian, Iraqi, and Sudanese (Advanced).
  • French (Advanced speaking, reading, listening, writing)
  • Modern Turkish (Intermediate speaking, reading, listening, writing)
  • German (Intermediate reading)         
  • Spanish (Intermediate speaking, reading, listening, writing)
  • Italian (Intermediate reading)