Arabic Language Blog

If the world should be rightfully proud of the American Independence Day celebrated on July 4th, it should be very proud of the Algerian Independence Day celebrated the next day, on July 5th!

Today, July 5th, 2012, marks the 50th anniversary of a historical event of the utmost importance: Not only for one specific country, but in reality for the entire Arab world and beyond.

After 132 years of a particularly savage occupation by France, and after a fierce seven-year-long war to rid itself of the French colonial clutches, Algeria was finally able to regain its independence.

That happened officially 50 years ago, day for day.

The price for freedom was by no means cheap: The independence war claimed nearly 2,000,000 Algerian lives according to domestic estimates, not to mention countless “casualties of war.”

The lessons of the heroic Algerian struggle, actively supported by its many allies in the Arab world, most particularly Egypt, should not be lost on anyone, especially today, when the countries of the Arabic region are experiencing some of the most profound and most significant changes in their history.

To understand things in their right منظـــــــــور (perspective), a little historical recap is absolutely necessary.

Flashback to the 1930s, in the wake of more than 100 years of savage occupation of Algeria, in which concentration camps, cave gas chambers for the masses, and large scale looting of natural resources were all very common practices, the French colonial authorities considered that the time was come to declare to the whole world the resounding triumph of their “mission civilisatrice“!

From then on, the destiny of “l’Algérie Française” (“French Algeria”) was forever sealed and secured in the eyes of the colonialists.

Algeria was to remain forever French, and its people, though treated as second-rate citizens, or “أهـــــــالي” (“indigènes” in French), would none the less be considered as the children of the “French Motherland.” 

However, the reaction of the smashing majority of Algerians was swift and uncompromising.

The general response was best summed up by عبدالحميــــــد بن باديـــــــــس (Abdelhamid Ben Badis), the remarkable polymath who hailed from a prestigious Berber tribe and who nevertheless fully embraced Arabic as هُويــــــــــة حضــــــــاريـــة (a civilisational identity) of Algeria.

To the pre-WWII colonialist propaganda, he steadfastly opposed his now famous slogan: “شَعْـبُ الجـزائرِ مُـسْـلِـمٌ *** وَإلىَ الـعُـروبةِ يَـنتَـسِـبْ” (“The People of Algeria are Muslim and belong to the Arab world”)

شَعْـبُ الجـزائرِ مُـسْـلِـمٌ *** وَإلىَ الـعُـروبةِ يَـنتَـسِـبْ 

The people of Algeria are Muslim and belong to the Arab world

مَنْ قَــالَ حَـادَ عَنْ أصْلِـهِ *** أَوْ قَــالَ مَـاتَ فَقَدْ كَـذبْ 

Whoever said they degenerated or died has lied

أَوْ رَامَ إدمَــاجًــا لَــهُ *** رَامَ الـمُحَـال من الطَّـلَـبْ 

Or aimed to assimilate them, aimed to accomplish the impossible

يَانَشءُ أَنْـتَ رَجَــاؤُنَــا *** وَبِـكَ الصَّبـاحُ قَـدِ اقْـتَربْ 

O new generation, you are our hope, and thanks to you the dawn is nigh

خُـذْ لِلحَـيـاةِ سِلاَحَـهـا *** وَخُـضِ الخْـطُـوبَ وَلاَ تَهبْ

 Be prepared for life’s challenges, and let no polemic intimidate you

وَاْرفعْ مَـنـارَ الْـعَـدْلِ وَالإ *** حْـسـانِ وَاصْـدُمْ مَـن غَصَبْ 

Uphold the values of justice and philanthropy, and confront the usurper

وَاقلَعْ جُـذورَ الخَـــائـنينَ *** فَـمـنْـهُـم كُلُّ الْـعَـطَـبْ

Uproot traitors, for they are the main source of dysfunction

وَأَذِقْ نفُوسَ الظَّــالـمِـينَ *** سُـمًّـا يُـمْـزَج بالـرَّهَـبْ

And let oppressors taste an overawing venom

  !وَاهْـزُزْ نـفـوسَ الجَـامِدينَ *** فَرُبَّـمَـا حَـيّ الْـخَـشَـبْ

Shake the souls of the nonchalants—for even wood can come to life!

  مَنْ كَــان يَبْغـي وَدَّنَــا *** فَعَلَى الْكَــرَامَــةِ وَالـرّحبْ

Those who court our friendship are welcome and highly appreciated

  أوْ كَـــانَ يَبْغـي ذُلَّـنـَا *** فَلَهُ الـمـَهَـانَـةُ والـحَـرَبْ

And those who seek our disgrace, humiliation and perdition are their fair rewards

  هَـذَا نِـظـامُ حَـيَـاتِـنَـا *** بالـنُّـورِ خُــطَّ وَبِاللَّـهَـبْ

This is the creed of our life, carved with light and fire

  حتَّى يَعودَ لـقَــومــنَـا *** من مَجِــدِهم مَــا قَدْ ذَهَبْ

Until our people regain their missing glory

  هَــذا لكُمْ عَـهْــدِي بِـهِ *** حَتَّى أوَسَّــدَ في الـتُّـرَبْ

This is my oath to you, till the day I am laid in the ground

!فَــإذَا هَلَكْتُ فَصَيْـحـتـي *** تَحيـَا الجَـزائـرُ وَ الْـعـرَبْ

So if I died, my scream shall be: “Long live Algeria and Arabs!”

 (☆ An exclusive Transparent Arabic Blog translation  ☆)

* * *

قسـمـــــــــاً – النشيــــــــد الوطنـــــــي الجزائـــــــري

Qassaman (“Oath” in Arabic) – النَّشيـــــــد الوطنـــــــي الجزائـــــــــري (The National Anthem of Algeria)

In Arabic, the word “أيـــــــــادي” means “hands.”

Hence the idea behind the new initiative of Ayaadi: Offering a “helping hand” to all Arabic speakers and learners by launching an e-library portal featuring applications for smartphones and tablet devices!

According to Trade Arabia, the corporate social responsibility initiative known as Ayaadi, part of UAE’s communications leader Etisalet, ”offers e-applications that are aimed at developing the student’s intellectual skills by providing them mobile access to vital learning resources such as books, newspapers, and research and academic papers.”

This initiative comes as yet another great news to Arabic fans worldwide, only a few days after Google announced the implementation of Arabic Open Source features in its brand new Android 4.1, known as “Jelly Beans.”

Ayaadi’s e-library designed for التعليـــــــــــم الإلكترونـــــــــــي (e-learning) has been launched in partnership with عنكبــــــــــــوت Ankabut (“عنكبــــــــــــوت” means “Spider” in Arabic), the UAE’s national network for research and education.

All political considerations aside, and although there is still more work ahead needed, Arabic enthusiasts must praise the tremendous efforts achieved by الحكومــــــة الإمـــــاراتيـــــــة (the Emirati government) in promoting Arabic language.

UAE’s Minister of Education said recently that Ayaadi’s efforts to “support the development and cultural goals of the UAE and this e-library application is another step in the right direction.”

“Continuing the development and progress that the UAE is witnessing requires the contribution of various institutions in both private and public sectors. In this regard, Ayaadi is doing a stellar job in creating learning access points that are most convenient to youth besides encouraging ثقـــــــافة المُطالعــــــــــة (reading culture) within the community.”

As part of the e-library initiative, Ayaadi has also introduced مُســـــــــــــابقة قراءة (a reading competition) to encourage the students to invest their free time in reading during their عُطلـــــــــة صيفيــــــــــة (summer holidays.)

The Emirati Minister added: “The initiative to encourage reading supports the series of efforts adopted by the Ministry in strengthening the Arabic language and literature among our youth. The Arabic language and literature is an area of high interest among our wise leadership, as it shapes our identity, and reflects حضـــــــــارتنا ومُستقبلنـــــــــا (our civilization and future.)”

The government aims to support the positive trends that enhance the Arabic language.

“The e-learning application has been developed bearing in mind the directives of the UAE’s national leadership, which has encouraged the use of Arabic language in education programs and delivered through telecommunication and تقنيــــــــــــة المعلومــــــــــات (information technology) platforms, both regionally and internationally.”

This Summer, and during the whole month of July, Dubai organizes several activities like الخط العربي (Arabic calligraphy) art exhibitions, distribution of brochures and display posters and art work in the Membership and Documentation Services Department as well as acquainting residents with everyday Arabic words and their meanings.”

Accodring to GulfNews, “Dubai Chamber is also organising quiz contests and special Arabic courses for the staff comprising ثلاثـــــــــين جنسيـــــــــة مختلفـــــــة (thirty different nationalities.) A special seminar will highlight the richness of the Arabic language and its significance in the UAE society. The staff will also have a unified signature promoting the Arabic month initiative.”

On e-Arabic and Arabic language and culture promotion, also check:

• A Cool New Smartphone for Arabic Fans
• Promoting Arabic and هِجـــــــــري (Hijri) Calendar
• The UK Teaches Arabic Culture To Boost Exports
• Yalla! Let’s Boost Arabic e-Content!
• New Global “Center of Excellence” for Arabic Language
• Top 100+ Must-Know Arabic Words for Facebook  

A special زفـــــاف (wedding ceremony) took place in the US last week.

At Marie G. Davis Military and Global Leadership Academy in Charlotte, North Carolina, an 8th grader student wore white and carried a bouquet of purple flowers. Her “groom”, wore a black vest and sneakers.

However, this was no actual ceremony, but rather a reenactment of a traditional Arabic wedding, which concluded the school’s four-day summer Arabic camp!

According to the “Charlotte Observer”, “Marie G. Davis, a magnet school for grades K-12, has offered Arabic classes for three years, making it the first public school in North Carolina to do so. This was the school’s first summer camp and about 45 elementary and middle school students participated. The camp was intended to give students a weeklong immersion into Arabic culture and language.”

The students said they found the week “fun and interesting”, adding that they all hoped to speak fluent Arabic very soon.

أُردنــــــــي (A Jordanian) who moved to the U.S. 30 years ago, the Arabic teacher at the school said they chose to end the program with a wedding ceremony to “break stereotypes surrounding Middle Eastern weddings – that not all cultures require arranged marriages.”

“We wanted to show that marriage is about the women’s freedom to choose,” he said. “We wanted to clarify that you aren’t forcing them.”

“The kids here are really smart, very inquisitive, very curious”, he said.

A rising 6th grader who played a flower girl in the wedding, said she has learned a lot this week – “from information about Cairo, Egypt to new Arabic words.”

Her favorite word? برتقــــــــال (orange), she said.

She said she hopes to continue learning Arabic to become a translator.

All elementary school students are required to take Arabic once a week, with the idea in mind that by the time they graduate they will be fluent.

“Everything about it seems unique,” Castillo added.

The program was funded by a $600,000 federal Foreign Language Assistance Program grant. The grant expires June 30 but will not be renewed because المنحــــــة (the grant) was eliminated.

But Assistant Principal Ann Laszweski said the loss of the grant won’t jeopardize the program, and the school is already looking for new grants. Next year, the school will expand the program to offer North Carolina’s first Middle Eastern history curriculum.

Ashley Williams, a teacher at Marie G. Davis and mother of بنتيـــــن (two daughters) who take Arabic, said she supports the program. “Its a unique opportunity,” she said. “My daughter) wouldn’t have learned this anywhere else.”