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Kuwaiti maritime proverbs are often misinterpreted by non-native speakers due to cultural references and metaphors. This study aimed to analyse these proverbs from a semantic, rather than a folkloristic, perspective. It is the first to examine and conceptualise Kuwaiti maritime proverbs using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) system of componential semantics, as outlined in the works of Wierzbicka and Goddard. Five maritime proverbs were analysed using simple words to express more complex meanings, with explanations built using the five-part semantic template for English and Malay proverbs proposed by Goddard (2009, 2014). A communicative translation strategy was used to translate the proverbs into English. Data for analysis were collected from three specialised dictionaries on Kuwaiti proverbs and six related to Kuwaiti maritime history and culture. The analysis revealed common themes, such as the importance of cooperation, resilience, and the unpredictability of the sea. For example, the Kuwaiti proverb ‘Two captains sank the ship’ underscores the dangers of having multiple leaders in a single endeavour, which can yield counterproductive outcomes due to a lack of coordination and singular vision. NSM helped clarify such cultural nuances, reducing misunderstanding by explicating meanings. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of Kuwaiti maritime proverbs and their cultural significance, offering a valuable tool for cross-cultural communication. The findings also highlight the challenges in pairing proverbs from different languages, posing issues in both dictionaries and second-language learning environments.

This study presents some reflections on polysemy and semantic change in the Arabic language and dialects from a historical semantic perspective. It specifically describes and discusses the methods used in investigating lexical relations such as polysemy and homonymy in Classical Arabic and contemporary Arabic dialects as explored by some key thinkers and recorded in key texts. The linguistic term polysemy is used throughout to refer to the phenomenon whereby a single lexeme (i.e. a polyseme) is linked to multiple distinct but related senses. As CRUSE (2006: 133) puts it, these multiple senses \"must be felt by native speakers to be related in some way\". Research into polysemy has a long history; polysemy is \"a characteristic and [...] most researchable aspect of natural languages\" (WEINREICH 1966: 398). Moreover, recent evidence suggests that \"semantic change cannot be studied without drawing on a theory of polysemy because of the nature of change\".

This study examines the role of social media platforms, such as Instagram and WhatsApp, in shaping English language use among English Language Learners (ELLs) in Kuwait. Ninety-two undergraduate students from the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training participated, providing survey data on social media usage patterns and real language samples, analysed through descriptive statistics and thematic methods. Semistructured interviews with educators and students offered deeper insights into the perceived impact of these platforms on language development. Findings reveal frequent use of new vocabulary, abbreviations, and emojis, reflecting social media's direct influence on informal communication styles and lexical innovation. The study highlights the multifaceted dimensions of this impact from linguistic and social perspectives, portraying social media as a dynamic platform for linguistic socialisation in line with theories that view language as an adaptive system responding to societal changes. However, despite the noticeable benefits of social media in fostering regular English practice, the widespread prevalence of informal linguistic patterns raises significant concerns regarding its potential impact on formal language skills and grammatical accuracy. In light of these findings, the study highlights the gap between informal and academic communication standards, emphasising the importance of integrating social media into directed educational contexts. Such integration aims to achieve an effective balance between informal linguistic innovations and observing formal language norms. Additionally, the study recommends adopting a more conscious pedagogical approach to enable students to maximize the benefits of social media while safeguarding the quality of their academic performance.

Objectives: This study identifies the factors affecting developing English language skills among Kuwaiti college students. The findings enhance the literature on education in Muslim countries, creating a theoretical basis for improving the pedagogical process and educational quality in Kuwait while enhancing the English proficiency levels among Kuwaitis. This creates the potential for effectively integrating the country into the global arena. Method: The students' English proficiency is identified using the Cambridge Assessment English methodology. A survey is administered to identify the factors influencing students' English language proficiency and a pedagogical experiment is conducted. Results: The results revealed motivational, cultural, religious, gender-based, educational process quality, and cognitive dissonance factors. Conclusion: Integrating English with STEM disciplines and using innovative educational technologies are recommended for positively promote English proficiency.

This thesis is a socio-historical study of semantic innovation and change of a contemporary dialect spoken in north-eastern Arabia known as Kuwaiti Arabic. I analyse the structure of polysemy of verbs and their uses by native speakers in Kuwait City. I particularly report on qualitative and ethnographic analyses of four motion verbs: dašš ‘enter’, xalla ‘leave’, miša ‘walk’, and rikað̣ ‘run’, with the aim of establishing whether and to what extent linguistic and social factors condition and constrain the emergence and development of new senses. The overarching research question is: How do we account for the patterns of polysemy of verbs in Kuwaiti Arabic? Local social gatherings generate more evidence of semantic innovation and change with respect to the key verbs than other kinds of contexts. The results of the semantic analysis indicate that meaning is both contextually and collocationally bound and that a verb’s meaning is activated in different contexts. In order to uncover the more local social meanings of this change, I also report that the use of innovative or well-attested senses relates to the community of practice of the speakers. The qualitative and ethnographic analyses demonstrate a number of differences between friendship communities of practice and familial communities of practice. The groups of people in these communities of practice can be distinguished in terms of their habits of speech, which are conditioned by the situation of use. The data for this research project are based primarily on field notes and more than twenty hours of audio recordings made between 2012 and 2013 and taken from the speech of thirty-one Kuwaitis representing two sets of social groups based on a particular set of tribal and sectarian allegiances. The overall findings of this research project lead to the conclusion that the factors responsible for semantic innovation and change are reflected in the social structure of a speech community. In summary, this thesis (i) contributes to the theoretical and empirical treatment of the relationship between polysemy and semantic change; (ii) examines the historical semantic treatment of the key verbs within Kuwait; and (iii) proposes that both the semantics and sociolinguistics disciplines can greatly benefit from using each other’s methodologies.