Mohammed Alshahrani

My journey into linguistics began with a fascination for how languages are constructed and the unwritten patterns that people inherently follow before formal rules emerge. After completing my bachelor's degree, I served as a teaching assistant and a lecturer at Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia. This experience deepened my passion for understanding how people use language and interact within its structures. Receiving a scholarship to further my studies allowed me to pursue this interest academically.

During my MA in Cross-Cultural Communication, I realised that language extends far beyond verbal expression. Nonverbal cues, cultural context, and varied interpretations play vital roles, especially among individuals from diverse backgrounds. This insight led me to focus on Arabic, a language marked by the coexistence of two distinct varieties: Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and regional dialects. MSA, not being a native language for any Arabic speaker, contrasts sharply with the spoken dialects people use daily. This realization directed my attention to my hometown’s Najdi dialect.

Currently, as a PhD student, I employ corpus linguistics methodologies to explore consistency and commonality in spoken Najdi. My research aims to uncover patterns within spontaneous speech, contributing to our understanding of language variation and diglossia in Arabic. This work has significant implications for both theoretical linguistics and practical applications, particularly in teaching Arabic as a foreign language.