Arabic

This series seeks to map shifting levels of language dominance in Moroccan history in order to investigate contemporary developments in government policy. The previous post presents a Brief Linguistic History of Morocco. Street sign, includes French and Arabic Colonial Language Policy French Morocco’s first resident-general, Hubert Lyautey, relied on ethnological research to guide Protectorate policy. Georges Hardy, head of the educational service from 1920 to 1926, supervised the research. He sought to adapt Protectorate schools “to the specific characteristics of Morocco’s Muslim population,” based upon a psychological approach (Segalla 172).

Tiles in Bahia Palace, Marrakesh Introduction This series seeks to map shifting levels of language dominance in Moroccan history in order to investigate contemporary developments in government policy. The debate over language policy is closely connected to Moroccan history. Language represents an important site of contestation in most modern states, and especially in post-colonial nations. In Morocco, the nationalist project failed to represent Imazighen (Berbers). As Amazigh (Berber) activists grew more vocal, the Moroccan government has begun developing new national language policies.

This post presents a new translation of an old poem, a qaṣῑda from classical Arabic literature. The poet is Abu Nuwas (who lived c. 757-814), but this is not a typical Abu Nuwas poem. Instead, it provides a nice example of a standard and celebrated praise poem (essential for poets to make a living in this time). Enjoy! PDF copy of this post available here for easy printing or to save for later.

If you teach anything related to the region of Middle East/Southwest Asia and North Africa or you want to learn more yourself, this post is for you! Course Outline by Melanie Magidow and Christine Baker My colleague Christine Baker assisted with the design of the course outline provided here. Intended for an Introduction to the Middle East course, it provides many sources for learning about the region’s cultures, history, languages, religions, and societies.

In this chilly winter season, here’s a list of Arabic shows and movies with something for everyone to enjoy… Justice Secret of the Nile Wadjda Justice | Netflix | UAE | Crime / Courtroom TV Show | about a young woman lawyer (I liked it!) Secret of the Nile | Egypt | Netflix | Mystery, Drama, Romance | a beautiful reinvention of the Spanish telenovela Grand Hotel (one of my favorites!

This post is inspired by the many people I hear from who want to begin learning Arabic. If you’re interested in finding a program, check out my earlier post on Arabic Study Options. It includes a collection of resources. For those who just want to get their feet wet, so to speak, just taking baby steps into the alphabet and Arabic, here are some ideas for you: I have a brief Overview of the Arabic Language here.

Ghada Abdel Aal’s hilarious blog, عايزة أتجوز / I Want to Get Married was turned into a book, which has been translated into several languages. It was also adapted to an Egyptian musalsal / TV show. You can see it here. There are reviews of the book in The National here and on Muslimah Media Watch here. Hind Sabry I heard Ghada Abdel Aal speak in Austin, TX in 2010, and she seemed extremely intelligent, witty, and articulate.

Mikhail Naimy (1889-1998), an Arab-American who served in the U.S. army in WWI, wrote the following poem in 1924 to provide hope and support to fellow immigrants. I include it here today as a reminder to all of us to pause when we are faced with challenges. I understand “close your eyes” here as a call to look inside or to be mindful of the present moment to gain a new perspective.

Photo of Thomas Tew from Wikipedia I write this from Rhode Island, which lays claim to numerous historical pirates such as Thomas Tew. Piracy was part of the historical international economy that was powered by sea transport. Yet it came to color stereotypes of particular nations. Such misperceptions and their effects are long-lived. This post offers a quick look at how piracy became a key element of American perceptions of North Africa.

UPDATE JAN. 2023: The MLE collection of Arabic study opportunities will no longer be updated. Please continue to use it as a reference, but refer to the contact information of the various programs for updated information. Thank you! With summer stretching before us, it’s time to take an updated look at Arabic study options. For some people, whose lives are affected by the academic calendar, summer represents an excellent opportunity for Arabic study (if this is not the case for you, you can still benefit from these ideas, keeping them in mind for after the summer if that works better for you).