Anthropology of Arabic Language Learning in the Academic Tradition of State Islamic Higher Education in South Sulawesi: An Anthropolinguistic Perspective

Abstract

This study aims to identify the anthropology of Arabic language learning in the academic tradition of state Islamic higher education in South Sulawesi from an anthropolinguistic perspective. As a qualitative study, the data were collected through interviews, observations, and literature review. The collected data were processed and analyzed through data reduction, data presentation, and verification/conclusion drawing. The research findings lead to the conclusion that Strengthening the anthropology of Arabic language learning within the scholarly tradition of state Islamic higher education in South Sulawesi shows that language functions not just as a tool for communication and knowledge transmission, but also as a space where knowledge, culture, social life, and Islamic values meet. This strengthening happens through three main aspects: strengthening the language through the study of texts and co-texts, strengthening culture by utilizing cultural context and material elements, and strengthening human life through social, situational, cultural, and ideological contexts. These three aspects are interconnected through the principles of connectedness, value, and sustainability. Thus, learning Arabic becomes more contextual, humanistic, and meaningful, while also reinforcing the state Islamic higher education scholarly tradition, which is open to cultural diversity, critical of reality, and oriented toward the sustainability of knowledge.