Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Restoration Department, Faculty of Archaeology, Aswan University
2
Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation (MYF), Aswan Heart Centre (AHC), Egypt
Abstract
Incompetent English hinders meaningful communication between people in general and archaeologists in particular, which is harmful. It, in addition, obstructs the dissemination of knowledge, constrains scientific research, and deepens cultural divide thereby unsettling and limiting understanding, which is troublesome since disputes frequently arise from such circumstances. On the side of archaeologists, cooperation with foreign missions is required to enhance performance in terms of restoration and conservation techniques. In order to do that, communication, documentation and cultural understanding are essential in this process. Thus, the principal aim of the study was to explore the role of learning and using general and specialized English (English for Archaeology) in enhancing the performance of archaeologists. In this pursuit, the study employed a mixed method approach, quantitative and qualitative, in an attempt to confirm the results of the study. The triangulation consisted of an observation, based on which, a 40-item questionnaire was constructed, and a semi-structured interview was formulated and conducted. Following the combination and the comparison of the obtained data from the three instruments, the results revealed that 1) English plays an imperative role in improving and supporting the performance of Egyptian archaeologists, 2) in an archaeological setting, English is used for communication, documentation, presentation and publication of findings, museums displaying techniques and to improve attitude and tolerance along with motivating archaeologists to enhance their knowledge, 3) aged, experienced and archaeologists who participated in scientific research are the most to be aware of the essential role of English in terms of their perceptions.
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