Category Archives: Languages

Battle in Brooklyn

Islam in America, Islamophobia, Languages

Battle in Brooklyn | A Principal’s Rise and Fall
Her Dream, Branded as a Threat
By ANDREA ELLIOTT, The New York Times, April 28, 2008

Debbie Almontaser dreamed of starting a public school like no other in New York City. Children of Arab descent would join students of other ethnicities, learning Arabic together. By graduation, they would be fluent in the language and groomed for the country’s elite colleges. They would be ready, in Ms. Almontaser’s words, to become “ambassadors of peace and hope.”

Things have not gone according to plan. Only one-fifth of the 60 students at the Khalil Gibran International Academy are Arab-American. Since the school opened in Brooklyn last fall, children have been suspended for carrying weapons, repeatedly gotten into fights and taunted an Arabic teacher by calling her a “terrorist,” staff members and students said in interviews. Continue reading Battle in Brooklyn →

Khalil Gibran International Academy

Islam in America, Languages

August 23, 2007

Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ) on Debbie Almontaser’s Resignation and the targeting of the Kahlil Gibran International Academy

As parents, students, teachers, New Yorkers, and Jews, we are outraged by the series of events that have culminated in Debbie Almontaser’s resignation as principal of the Kahlil Gibran International Academy. We are particularly disturbed that Mayor Bloomberg, Joel Klein, the Chancellor of the Department of Education, and Randi Weingarten, the President of the United Federation of Teachers, bowed to right-wing pressure and did not strenuously resist and condemn the unjustified attacks on Ms. Almontaser, which fed on and fostered anti-Arab and anti-Muslim prejudice. We call for Debbie Almontaser to be reinstated to her position as principal if that is what she wishes, and for full support for the Kahlil Gibran International Academy. Continue reading Khalil Gibran International Academy →

The professions: from Woodstock to a novel life, in so many words

Anthropology/Sociology, Books You Should Read, Languages, Literature


Professor Robert Leonard, right.

by Patricia Kitchen
Newsday, November 29, 2007

Fans of mystery novelist and forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs may have noticed a new character in her most recent novel, Bones to Ashes. That would be forensic linguist Rob Potter, a Woodstock rock star-turned-linguist and onetime graduate school mentor to Reichs’ main character, Temperance Brennan.

The newcomer is based on one of Reichs’ friends, Robert Leonard, 59, a real-life former rock star-turned-forensic linguistics professor. Leonard, in fact, heads the Forensic Linguistics Project at Hofstra University. Professionals in that field analyze written and spoken language – including grammar, word choice, dialect and structure – in contracts, confessions, ransom notes, spoken threats, undercover recordings, transcripts of interrogations and other correspondence linked to crimes.

Think professor Henry Higgins meets Sherlock Holmes. Continue reading The professions: from Woodstock to a novel life, in so many words →

Required Reading

Languages, Literature

by Brian Whitaker

Visit an Arab bookshop and there’s a fair chance you’ll find more than a few copies of Shifra Dafinshi and the tales of Hari Butor. In case you haven’t guessed, I’m talking here about Arabic translations of The Da Vinci Code and Harry Potter.

While titles such as these find a ready market in the Middle East, just as they do elsewhere, people often lament the poor state of home-grown Arabic publishing and the dearth of worthwhile books translated into Arabic from other languages. Continue reading Required Reading →

The Calligraphic Tattoo

Calligraphy, CyberOrient, Languages

Tattoo artists are often skilled calligraphers, but what do you do if you want a tattoo in Arabic script? If you can’t make it to Patterson, New Jersey or some hippy stranded in Casablanca, there is always the Internet. Google to the rescue:

If you are considering having Arabic writing tattooed, then you need the correct translation for the lettering as well as the outline to give to the tattoo artist. We can provide you with this service. We translate using either Syrian Arabic, Israeli Arabic, or Druze Arabic.

Ordering a translation from us is simple:

1. Go to the translation-page and make payment.

2. Include the word or phrase that you want translated

3. Within a few hours-days, we will email the translated phrase or word back to you. Your translation comes in the form of a picture (jpeg, jpg) which you can print out on your printer and take to your tattoo artist.

For Arabic you have to double your pain: the needle and pulling out your credit card to have an expert spell out “Ummi” or “Qalbi.” Just don’t let them sell you any “khara.”

By the way, when I tried the “contact” click, I found the following message:

This website is for sale.
Please send your purchase offer to:
mail at jandrewsmedia.com

The law of supply and demand strikes again. Ma’a laysh.

Ibn al-Farid’s “Khamriyya” – or “Ode on Wine”

Languages, Literature, Poetry, Sufism


[Illustration: Tile panel with picnic scene (detail), Iran (Safavid), Isfahan, 17th century, fritware with colored glazes, Victoria and Albert Museum, London]

Ibn al-Farid’s “Khamriyya” – or “Ode on Wine”
A critical introduction, translation and analysis.

by George Nicolas El-Hage, P.h.D. Columbia University

Sufism has been defined as both “the apprehension of divine realities and as a universal message of love, brotherhood, and unity of man.” (1) Although R.A. Nicholson writes that Sufism is at once “the religious philosophy and the popular religion of Islam” (2), nevertheless it must not be understood that Sufism is a type of organized or conventional religion. It is not a religion, nor does it claim to create another sect, but it attempts to eliminate hatred and conflicts and to gather people in brotherhood. In his book, Sufism: Message of Brotherhood, Harmony, and Hope, Nasrolla S. Fatemi says that the elements common to Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam can best be appreciated in Sufism. To the Sufi, only the moment of ecstasy can cleanse the soul of all its earthly concerns and elevate it to a joyful reunion with its creator. The soul, anxious to partake in divine love, will become ready to behold the truth and embrace the light and the beauty. Continue reading Ibn al-Farid’s “Khamriyya” – or “Ode on Wine” →

Islamic Discourse Markers in Arabic

Languages

Speakers of every human language use words or phrases pragmatically, as discourse markers. Some of these discourse markers (for example, English “mm-hmm”) can be used by a listener to tell a speaker that he is paying attention to what is being said and understands it. This is what linguists call a “back-channel” marker. It tells the principle speaker that he may go on talking. Other discourse markers can be used by the principle speaker to prompt the listener to speak briefly without taking center stage in the discussion. Such prompts – for example, English “y’know what I’m saying?” – elicit a short backchannel response from the listener (ex. “uh-huh…”) but do not invite him to take a full turn in the conversation. Continue reading Islamic Discourse Markers in Arabic →