Language and identity in Egyptian nationalism

Although in its most sharply focused formulations Egyptian nationalism is a twentieth century phenomenon, nonetheless its roots go back to the Napoleonic occupation of the country which signalled the beginning of the rise of national consciousness and, through the subsequent efforts of Muḥammad ‘Alī, the start of a vigorous programme of modernizing the institutions of the state. In these two domains language emerged as an important ingredient whose future use as a cornerstone of Egyptian nationalism was equally matched by its role as the medium through which modernization is to be delivered and as the object of modernization itself. It is not unnatural therefore that, in pursuit of these two objectives, the communicative and symbolic functions of language have, whether consciously or unconsciously, always been mixed. To modernize one needs modern forms of expression which, by virtue of their modernity, become symbolic of the very process of modernization which they communicatively envelop. Similarly, the formation of national consciousness exploits language communicatively and symbolically, often allowing these two functions to come together into full focus for motivational and task-oriented effect, especially in those instances of language use where the symbolism becomes the substance of communication in a way which forcefully displays the power of language.