The Academy's Achievements

 

1) Arabicization of Scientific Terms:

       Work Methodology:

   The Academy formed, in the beginning of its foundation, a committee comprising members from various scientific and language specializations, and entrusted to it the finding of Arabic equivalents for foreign terms in various fields of human knowledge. The committee in its turn entrusted  to a subcommittee comprising  members from the Academy  and other concerned experts the preparation of lists of terms to be discussed and then referred to the Academy's Council for ratification. Ultimately, the Academy was able to publish lists of terms in booklet form and distribute them to the relevant institutions in Jordan. Those terms were also distributed to all Arab language academies, the Arabicization  liaison office in Ribat, the universities, and the ministries of higher education in the Arab world.

 The purpose of so-doing resides in the Academy's firm policy of working toward the unification of scientific terms in the Arab world and the creation of one unified scientific language.

 The Academy has so far issued twenty one thousand terms; it has also issued the following lists of terms:

• Terms of Meteorology , rev, 2^nd edition, 1981.

• Arabicizing Symbols and Terms of the Units of the International System, 2^nd ed., 1981.

• Varnish and Paint Terms , 1989.

• Military Terms ( Maintenance ) 2nd ed., 1994.

• Military Terms ( Armor ), 2nd ed., 1994.

• Military Terms ( Transport and Supplies ), 2^nd ed., 1995.

• Military Terms ( Surveying ), 2^nd ed., 1995.

• Military Terms ( Artillery ), 1^st ed., 1995.

• Military Terms ( Military Engineering ), 2^nd ed., 1995.

• Military Terms ( Telecommunication), 2^nd ed., 1995.

• Military Terms ( Air Force and Military Intelligence), 2^nd ed., 1996.

• Military Terms (Nursing), 1996.

• Radio, Television, and General Electricity Terms, 1996.

• Terms of Economics, Commerce , and Banks ,  2^nd ed., 1996.

• Terms of Carpentry , 1997.-         Terms of Turnery , 1997.

• Terms of Air Conditioning and Sanitations'  Equipment, 1998.

• Terms of Architectural and Civil Engineering,
    1^st ed.,1998.

• Terms of Car Mechanics, 1998.

• Terms of Architectural and Civil Engineering,
   2^nd ed.,2001.

2) In view of the importance the Jordan Academy of Arabic attaches to the Arabicization of higher education , it published Arabic translations of thirteen international references in various scientific specialization. These references were :

1. Calculus with Analytic Geometry, by Earl W. Swokowski, (2 vols).

2. Biology , by Richard Goldspy , (2 vols).

3. Abstract Algebra, by Houghton.

4. General Geology, by Robert J. Foster.

5. General Chemistry, by Frederick R. Lingo.

6. Biochemistry  and Physiology of the Cell, by A.Edwards and K.A. Hassal.

7. Inorganic Chemistry, by James E. Huheey
    (2 vols)

8. Classical And Modern Physics by Kenjneth W.Ford (3 vols)

9. Elementary Deferential Equations with Applications : A Short Course, by William R Derrick and Stanely I. Grossman.

10. Introductory To Embryonic Development, by Steven B. Oppenheimer.

11. Introduction to Classical And Modern Optics,
          by Jourgen R.Meyer-Arendt

12. Analytical Chemistry, by Donald J. Pietrzk &
         Glyde W. Frank

13. Bailey and love's Short Practice of Surgery
     (4vols).

3) Keen on making these translations the result of a team work effort, the Jordan Academy of Arabic formed a team of translators from specialists in the field for each book, and designated a scientific and a language reviewer for each book. It is worth stating here that the following won awards as the best scientific books translated into Arabic:

1. Biology, By Richard Goldsby (2 vols) – translated by Drs. Adnan Alawi; Hameed Al-Haj; Ahmed Al Deecy, Naji Abu-Irmeleh and Sami Adbul-Hafeth. This translation had been granted the award for the best scientific book translated into Arabic by Kuwait Foundation for Scientific Progress at the Scientific Book Exhibition, set up in Kuwait, 1981.
    

2. Biochemistry and Physiology of the Cell, by N.A. Edward and K.A. Hasal- translated by Dr. Ilyas Baydhun and reviewed by Dr. Adnan Alawi. It won the award for basic sciences granted by the Union of Arab Council of Scientific Research for the years 1986-1989.
    

3. Bailey and Love's Short practice of Surgery (4 vols) This is a voluminous reference work consisting of 2000 pages- translated by a team of forty two Jordanian surgeons, assisted and supervised by an editorial board comprising Prof. Ahmad Sheikh Srujiyeh. Prof. Mahmud Abu Khalaf, Prof. Akram Al-Dajani, and Prof. Abdullah Al-Basheer, with Prof. Haytham Al-Khayyat as the scientific reviewer. The translation won the award for the best book translated into Arabic in the field of science for the year 1998, in the twenty third Arab Book Exhibition set up by the Kuwait Foundation for Scientific Progress.

4)    Reviving the Arab-Islamic Heritage:

   The Jordan Academy of Arabic takes upon itself the task of reviving Arab-Islamic heritage in language, sciences literatures, and arts; and, hence, it has embarked on editing and publishing source books in this heritage, and has so far issued the following books in this very important domain:

• Almugni' fil Alfilaha, written by Ahmed Ibn Hajjaj Al-Ishbeely-edited by Salah Jarrar and Jaser Abu Safiyeh, and supervised by Abdul-Aziz Adduri, Amman, 1982.

• Index of Manuscripts of the Library of Haj Nimir Al-Nabulsi in Nablus, prepared by Mahmud Ali Attalah, 1982.

• Index of Manuscripts of Al- Ahmadia Library in 'Akka- prepared by Mahmud Ali Attalah .

• Index of Manuscripts of the Islamic Library in Yafa (Jaffa)- prepared by Mahmud Ali Attalah, 1984.

• Index of Manuscripts of the College for Calling and Fundamentals of Islam – prepared by Ahmad Al-Alami, 1986.

• Index of Manuscripts of Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi in Alkhalil- prepared by Mahmud Ali Attalah.

• Index of Manuscripts preserved in the Library of Jordan Academy of Arabic, prepared by Ali M. Anawseh.

5)    Participation in the authorship of books for the Ministry of Education (on the subject of the Arabic language)

6)    The publication of a periodical journal called "The Journal of the Jordan Academy of Arabic." This is a biannual refereed journal, supervised by an editorial board comprising members of the Academy. The Journal features original articles, and is accredited for academic promotions by universities in the Arab world and abroad. The Academy has seen to it that the research papers published in this prestigious journal are also published on line, starting from issue sixty. As for issues one to fifty nine, the Academy for the time being published only an online table of the contents of each issue.

7)    The Academy publishes the proceedings of each of its cultural seasons in a special issue entitled "The Annual Cultural Season of the Jordan Academy of Arabic." Of the topics covered in the previous cultural seasons, the following are worth highlighting :  

• Arabicization and Syntax Simplification.

• The Arab-Islamic Artistic and Scientific Heritage.

• Arabicization of Human and Applied Sciences.

• Language Errors and Challenges of Arabic in the Mass Media.

• Arabic at Higher Education Institutions in the Arab World and the Ways of Enhancing it.

• Arabicizing Health, Engineering and Technological  Sciences.

• Arabicizing Higher Education in the Arab World.

• Arabic Language and its Role in the Affirmation of the Identity of the Arab Nation, its Unity, and its Renaissance.

• The Methodology of Arab Term-making: Ancient and Modern.

• The Arab-Islamic Identity in Palestine under Jewish Occupation 1948-1994.

• The Computer in the Service of Arabic.

• Experiments in Arabicization in the Arab World: Problems and Solutions.

• Simplification of Arabic Language Acquisition.

• Academic and Practical Evaluation of the Study Plans of the Departments of Arabic at the Arab Universities.

• Arabic Language Teaching at the Stage of General Education in the Arab World.

• The Challenge Facing the Arabic Language in the Twenty First Century.

• Respecting and Protecting Arabic as a National Necessity. 

8) Conferences, Symposia and Lectures:

     In order to stress the importance of the issue of Arabicization of higher education, and draw attention to its national and cultural significance, the Jordan Academy of Arabic has done the following: 

1st: Hosting the fifth Arabicization Conference which was convened 21-25 September, 1985 upon the request of Arab Organization for Education, Culture, and science.

Delegations from Arab countries; namely: Jordan, Qatar, Palestine, Algeria, S. Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Oman, Tunisia, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco and Yemen participated. Other delegations representing the Arab Council for Economic Unity, the Railways Union, Arab Unions for the Olympic Games, participated as well. The conference endorsed many projects for compilation of dictionaries; namely: Dictionary of Education, Dictionary for General and Nuclear Physics, Dictionary of Linguistics, Dictionary of General Chemistry, Dictionary of Sports  (part I), Dictionary of Sociology, Dictionary of Statistical and Demographic Terms, Dictionary of Railway Terms and Dictionary of Arab Cultural Terms.

2^nd : Hosting the Symposium on Scientific Terms, called for by the Union of Arab Language and Scientific Academies, and convened with the participations from Arab countries at the headquarters of the Jordan Academy of Arabic
 ( 27-29 ) January , 1987. Participants in this symposium discussed at length the Jordan Academy of Arabic's projects for Arabic scientific terms.

3^rd: Hosting the symposium on "The Development of the Methodology of the Making of Arabic Terms and Ways of Promulgating the Unified Terms."

4^th: Hosting the symposium of " Issues of the Arabic Language in the Age of Computerization and Globalization " which was held under the patronage of his Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein at the request of the Union of Arab Language and Science Academies (Sep.16, 2002).

9)    Dictionary  of the Everyday Language in Jordan

        The idea for this dictionary originated in the framework of the United Arab Dictionary of Arab Everyday Language. The Union of Arab Language and Scientific Academies' Council in its session dated 30/3/1997 took the following decision: "Every Arab academy is entrusted with the task of laying out a dictionary project of the everyday language in its country, providing a clear definition of every word, verifying its precision and arranging words alphabetically. The project of this proposed dictionary is to be finally submitted to the administration of the Union in Cairo."  It was agreed at a later stage to call it "The Unified Arab Dictionary of Everyday Language."  

The Jordan Academy of Arabic has diligently started work on its own project since July2, 1997; it has laid down a detailed plan, and it was clear, from the beginning that, the project is not by any means concerned with colloquial expressions or local dialects. It was rather concerned with the compilation of a dictionary of everyday words pertaining to material objects, tools and equipments, etc. used by ordinary people in their present practical everyday fields of life. Simultaneously, colloquial words traceable to classical Arabic roots were standardized. The first edition of this dictionary was published by Librairie du Liban Publishers (Beirut: 2006). This dictionary aims to achieve the following objects:

1)     Enriching the Arabic language with new civil words in the various aspects of daily life.

2)     Preserving the Arabic language and using it correctly in actual daily life, and endeavoring to standardize everyday words of classical Arabic origins.

3)     Unifying everyday language designations in the Arab World.

4)     Benefiting researches, scholars, writers, journalists, and sociologists in studying cultural and social phenomena in Arab countries.

5)     Unifying the language of the mass media in the Arab world.

6)     Minimizing linguistic differences and spoken dialectal variations in everyday language among Arab people.

7)     Publishing a unified Arab dictionary of everyday language in the Arab countries.

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