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The Tawasol Symbol Set,
Language, Culture and
User Engagement
David Banes
Access and Inclusion Services

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Arabic history, language
and culture

3
Arab History
• Desert dwelling semitic tribes in Syrian desert and
Arabia (Assyrian inscriptions)
• Arab defined as someone who speaks Arabic
• Became largely under Muslim rule after the coming
of Islam
• Umayyad caliphate controlled Arab region and the
capital was Damascus (Syria) for just under 100
years
• Abbasid Caliphate took
over for 700 years.
Capital was Baghdad (Iraq)

4
Arab History
• Golden Age under Abassid caliphate was
influenced by the saying of the Prophet
Muhammad “The ink of the scholar is more holy
than the blood of martyrs.”
• Became the centre of the world
for science, philosophy, education,
astronomy and medicine.
• Ibn Rushd "founding father of
secular thought in Western Europe"

5
Arab History
• Ottoman Caliphate ruled for 400 years
but then overthrown by British
empire after World war I
• Countries of Arab region split and
ruled by British (Egypt, Iraq, Palestine,
Jordan) or French (Lebanon, Syria and
North Africa)
• All fought for independence
• Now 22 countries
encompassing 422 million
people in the Arab region

6
Arabic Language
• Semitic language
• Written from right to left
• Diglossic (written vs oral)
• Dialectical differences
I want to drink water
•‫ماء‬ ‫أشرب‬ ‫أن‬ ‫أريد‬(MSA)
•‫ماي‬ ‫أشرب‬ ‫بدي‬(Levant)
•‫ميا‬ ‫اشرب‬ ‫عوزة‬(Egyptian)
•‫مويا‬ ‫أبي‬(Gulf)

7
Arabic Language
• 28 letter alphabet

8
Arabic Language
• Diacritic system
• At later language learning stage, diacritics
removed and words are read according to
context
Without diacritics
With diacritics

9
Arabic Language
• Letter shapes change depending on position
in the word and context
‫م‬‫ا‬‫م‬ ‫ا‬‫ال‬‫م‬‫ل‬‫س‬ِ‫إ‬ ‫ز‬‫و‬‫م‬

10
Arabic Language
• Sentences tend to be VS-O rather than S-V-O
I like the dog
‫الكلب‬ ‫أحب‬
The dog I like
• Adjectives follow nouns compared to English where
the adjective precedes the noun
I like the big dog
‫الكلب‬ ‫أحب‬‫الكبير‬
big the dog I like

11
Arab culture
Family
Food
Land/
country
Neighbours
Marriage
/ pro-
creation
Religion

12
Family
• Family is the centre of Arab society
• Great respect for parents and elders of the community
• Typically the man is the breadwinner and head of the family
• Mother is responsible for the home
• Tend to be big families especially if from rural areas – 5
children +
• Aunties, uncles, cousins and
grandparents are very close
• Children responsible for care
of parents in older age
• Parents referred to as “abu ____”
(father of) and “umm ____” of their
oldest son.

13
Religion
• Islam, Christianity, Druze and Judaism
• 90% of Arabs are Muslim but only 20% of Muslims
are Arab
• Shouldn’t be confused with culture but is the case a
lot of the time (e.g. wearing hijab/covering face)
• Islam way of life – so day to day tasks can be
influenced by religion e.g. eating with right hand
• Monotheistic religion, prayer
5 times a day, fasting of Ramadan,
charity and pilgrimage

14
Food
• Typically meals eaten together with family
• Meat central part of Arab cuisine
• Levant tend to use a lot of fresh fruit and
vegetables as produce is grown at home or
readily available (olive oil, nuts, garlic,
pomegranate, figs, olives)
• Gulf eat a lot of rice and
meat and renowned for dates
• North Africa have a lot of
Stews and fresh bread

15
Land/country
• Very patriotic region
• Many songs about going back to the home land “He
came back in a shroud saying:
if this olive tree were to remember its planter,
the olive oil would turn to tears”
• Attachment to their land and produce
• Refugees usually say “I just want to return to Syria.”

16
Which means…
Effective use of symbols for communication is
based upon familiarity
Without an appreciation of language and
culture, symbols do not easily transfer

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Tawasol Project

18
• There is a growing number of individuals who
can benefit from AAC
• Learning disabilities are the most common
primary disability for Arab speakers
• 34% of those with another disability also have a
learning disability. (Zetterström - 2012)
• Their needs are being met by the use of
externally developed AAC symbols systems
Project Background
Sample image used in AAC settings thanks to ARASAAC Symbols

19
Project Aims
• To develop a freely available Arabic symbol
dictionary suitable for use by individuals who
have a wide range of communication difficulties.
• To develop a set of symbols that are culturally,
linguistically, religiously and environmentally
appropriate for AAC users in Qatar and the Arab
world.

20
• Lack of articles and research
• Setting up forums and workshops
• To involve symbol users, families,
therapists, teachers and experts
• To learn more about the use of
symbols in Qatar and the ME
• Advisory group, ‘critical friends’ and
a voting system
Iterative and Participatory
Approach

21
What was the method used to collect
data?
Step 1: AAC forum + survey
Step 2: Core vocabulary
Step 3: Symbol Voting
Data collection

22
• 20 therapists attended from 9 centers
• Purpose of forum:
- Know the demographic of AAC users in Qatar
- Qualify AAC users concerns/issues with AAC
currently
Step 1: AAC Forum

Survey Findings
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0 to 5 6 to 10 11 to 15 16 to 20 21+
Most populated AAC user age group
Number of ST's
working with this
age group

0
2
4
6
8
10
Most Prominent Diagnoses
Number of ST's
working with
this condition
Survey Findings

Survey Findings
Most Commonly Used Symbol Sets
PCS Boardmaker
Other (google
images/pictures)
SymbolStix
Widgit
Makaton
ARASAAC

0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Pictures Electronic
Sytems
Gestures Real objects Manual
Signs
Other
(BigMac,
Keyboards)
Most Commonly used AAC types
Survey Findings

27
1. Culturally & Linguistically inappropriate
symbols
• Inappropriate symbols send mixed messages
• AAC users can’t relate to foreign symbols
• Arabic linguistic rules occasionally disregarded
Concerns with Symbols in Qatar

28Challenges using culturally
appropriate Symbols

29
2. The need for an English & Arabic Symbol
Dictionary
• Therapists speak English = Therapy in English
• Expats make up 86% of Qatar
• Nannies/drivers speak
English
Concerns with Symbols in Qatar

30
Linguistic Issues for Arabic AAC
• Lack of Arabic core vocabularies
• Diglossic nature of Arabic
• Many dialects across Arab region (MSA,
Egyptian, Lebanese, Moroccan, and Kuwaiti)
• Bilingual situation - communication charts and
devices based on English linguistic rules and
Westernised concepts/imagery
• Arabic morpho-syntactic structure will affect
Symbol to text translation
Sample images used in AAC settings thanks to Picture Communication Symbols (PCS)

I read your red book today
Read I
‫ت‬‫أ‬‫ر‬‫ق‬
book your
‫ك‬ِ‫ب‬‫ا‬‫ت‬ِ‫ك‬
‫ك‬‫اب‬‫ت‬ِ‫ك‬
the red
‫ر‬‫حم‬‫اْل‬
today
‫و‬‫ي‬‫ال‬‫م‬
Symbol to Text: English vs.
Arabic

32
Correct Arabic Symbol Sentence
I read your red book today

33
Same Across Environments?
Why a local core vocabulary was needed?
• Vast differences in linguistic structures
• Requests for symbols not available
• Requests from teachers, therapists and other
researchers in the field
• Evidence
 Non-symbolic as well as symbolic forms of
communication are culturally dependent” (Huer, 2000).
 Need to adapt AAC resources to meet characteristics
of the Arabic written system, and to address the
presence of diglossia and a lack of culturally
appropriate vocabulary (Patel and Dakwar-Khamis, 2005)

34
Background on Core Vocabularies
• 100-200 most common words make up 80% of
the total words used to communicate (Hill, Baker &
Devylder, 2000)
• Gives AAC users independence and allows them
to guide the conversation (Hill, Baker & Devylder, 2000)
• Tendency to select concrete nouns that are easy
to display as symbols (Schlosser & Sigafoos, 2002) vs
functional words to generate language.
Vocabulary
Core
“Common words that can
be used across more than
one setting”
e.g. more, here, look
Fringe
“Words only used in one
setting but are critical in that
setting”
e.g. Camel, Desert, Doha
Reference: AAC: A way of thinking.
Supporting Augmentative & Alternative
Communication Technologies in the
Classroom Second Edition.

35
Arabic frequency list: Collecting
• Visited 7 centres/organisations across Doha to
collect most commonly used symbols/words
• Collected from classrooms, progress notes, AAC
devices, therapists and parents
• 1500+ words in total

36
Key Findings
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
English vs Arabic POS
adjective adverb conjunction determiner expression
interjection noun preposition pronoun verb
English Arabic

37
Key Findings
Arabic AAC vs Arabic language lists
- Nouns: 54.9% in Arabic AAC to 54.5% in Arabic
language
- Verbs: 19% to 15%
- Pronouns: 1.7% to 2.4%
Arabic vs English
- Twice as many nouns in Arabic (55% to 27%)
- More verbs in English (29% to 16%)
- More pronouns in English (8% to 2%)
- Similar percentage of adjectives across languages
and lists

38
• Between bespoke list and literacy list in Arabic
there are only 2% of words that are similar
• Between bespoke list and literacy list English
translation 18% of words are similar
Key Findings
Literacy
VS.
Bespoke
Arabic
Only 2%
similarities
VS.
Bespoke Literacy
English translation
18%
similarities

39Arabic Core Vocabulary:
Consolidating
• 1500 words vs 500 words initially
• Started with 500 - that was “all that was needed” -
Doha expert
• Participants came back to us needing more complex
words e.g. monotheism!
• Arabic AAC in it’s infancy but participants’ requests
to move into literacy and environment
• Consolidation – religious and prayer symbols, The
Prophet book, and curriculum based symbols

40
Graphic designer to use criteria for future symbols designed
Criteria checked by AAC forum
Criteria for symbol design developed based on comment analysis of AAC forum
Symbol added to online symbol manager for AAC forum review
Symbol uploaded to Google+ for internal team review
Graphic designer to re-create symbol that is culturally, linguistically, religiously and
environmentally appropriate
AAC forum to choose preferred freely available symbol set
Symbol Design Process

41
• ARASAAC vs. Sclera
• ARASAAC preferred because closer in style to
PCS and Arabs tend to like detail
Choosing a Symbol Set as a Basis
Thanks to ARASAAC and Sclera for their symbols

42
Internal Review: Google+

43
Upload to Online Symbol Manager

44
Symbol Voting

45Results: Criteria for Culturally
Appropriate Arabic symbols

46
• Qatari Female: Abaya and Shela
• Qatari Male: Thobe and Ghutra
• General Arabic dress code: Hijab and modest
clothing
• Minimise gender mixing
• Reduce display of physical affection with
opposite sex (holding hands is fine)
Cultural Factors

47
• Darker complexion and hair colour
• Facial hair for adult male characters
• Not too much skin showing
• No stick figures
Physical Features

48
Environmental Factors
 Use local currency
 Reduce greenery
 Use local landmarks, foods, cars
and use local architectural style

49
• Religious sensitivities
• Religious holidays
• Religious figures
• Religious sayings/phrases
Religious Factors

50
• Flip symbols to fit Arabic symbol orientation
(right to left)
• Male and female versions for each symbol
• Including dual form of symbol where
necessary
Linguistic Factors

51
• Initially 45% of ARASAAC symbols voted as
inappropriate for use in Qatar
• Improvement in cultural suitability of symbols
(4.38 out of 5)
Results
3.20
3.40
3.60
3.80
4.00
4.20
4.40
4.60
Batch 1 early 2015 Batch 2 late 2015 Batch 3 early 2016 Batch 4 late 2016
Symbol Voting Averages scored out of 5 for each Criteria
Feelings about symbol Represents word/phrase Colour contrast Cultural sensitivity

52
Implications
• Arabic spoken words are very
different to Arabic written words used
• Concepts tend to be similar (seen in
similarities in translation) but formal
written Arabic more varied in
vocabulary
• Arabic is a deep language with
many different words for differing
contexts
• Concepts, emotions, immediacy
and points of reference can often
be lost in translation

53
Implications
• Core vocabulary for language learning and
literacy not the same for English and Arabic
• Communication boards will look different in
Arabic
• Composition of Arabic words and position in
sentences can change so matching symbol to
text problematic
• Avoid translating from Arabic to English
• Ideally bilingual speaking Speech therapist can
be involved as linguists can take the
functionality out of it

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David Banes
david@davebanesaccess.org
http://tawasolsymbols.org/en/home/