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I am writing an article on British army personnel in the period from the
Khartoum campaign to the Revolt in the Desert with particular reference to
their ability (or otherwise) to speak Arabic. I am focusing rather on TE Lawrence
as this is the 70th anniversary of his death and there is a big exhibition
coming up in October at the Imperial War Museum.
I have a hypothesis in particular that the previous experience of regular
officers as surveyors and of hostilities-only officers as archaeologists
contributed significantly to the success of campaigns in that theatre of war.
Is this an area that has been covered before? I would be especially
grateful if anyone could point me towards articles or books that may cover
this topic.
Senior members of the Society might also be able to cast some light on the level
of language training in the military during colonial times.
The article is for 'The Linguist' (the journal of the Institute of
Linguists) and all references will, of course, be scrupulously acknowledged!
Tim Connell
________________________
Professor T J Connell
Director of Language Studies
City University
Northampton Square
London EC1V 0HB
tel + 44 (0)20 7040 8265
fax + 44(0)20 7040 8575
www.city.ac.uk/languages