Doha, February 18 (QNA) - The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) hosted a broad introductory session on the Doha Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language to explore how this major scholarly resource can be leveraged to support curriculum development and foster students’ sense of cultural identity.

Director of the Educational Guidance Administration at MoEHE, Maryam Naaman Al Emadi, said this lexicography is a civilizational project and an incredible addition to human knowledge, as it rereads the history of Arabic lexicons in their time and civilizational contexts.

She further noted that such a project embodies the State of Qatar's commitment, under the judicious leadership, to supporting grand knowledge projects that serve the Arab and Islamic nations.

For his part, Executive Director of the Doha Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language, Dr. Mohammed Al Obaidi, emphasized that this monumental achievement is Qatar's gift to the nation. He stressed that the dictionary sets the Arabic language in its well-deserved status among the international languages.

The project has succeeded in navigating the hindrances encountered in previous attempts since the beginning of the twentieth century by pursuing a strict scientific approach and accurate regulations in terms of authorship, Al Obaidi pointed out.

He underlined the criticality of this resource in the pedagogical field, affirming that it literally protects learners and teachers from losing today’s meanings from heritage texts, broadens new horizons to renovate teaching methodologies, and takes linguistic learners on a joyful exploration journey, positioning itself as a robust foundation for further enhancement of a professional school lexicography.

Al Obaidi touched on the role of the dictionary in enhancing Arabic AI through the availability of tremendous and structured data.

  The session included a primer presented by Dr. Khalid Al Jabr, the dictionary’s linguistic expert, showcasing how to use the online portal and conduct searches by word and root, followed by a discussion with educators on best practices for integrating the dictionary into classroom instruction.

Upon wrapping up the session, Maha Qaqaa Al Ruwaili honored the members of the dictionary in recognition of their efforts to accomplish this pioneering national project that bolsters linguistic identity in the education field. (QNA)