Languages

MEI Garden Reception with Ali bin Tamin, CEO of Kalima

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:39:01 -0400

MEI is honored to host Ali bin Tamin, CEO of Kalima, a non-profit initiative founded by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for a morning reception in the MEI Garden.

Kalima, which means “word” in Arabic, funds the translation, publication, and distribution of high-quality works of classic and contemporary writing from other languages into Arabic. The initiative brings together authors, translators, publishers and distributors.

Studying Arabic Is Not Politics

Shukri Abed — Thu, 3 May 2007 12:00:00 -0400

It has been more than 70 years since President Elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt uttered the sentiment that we have “nothing to fear but fear itself” and yet his admonition still bears repeating.

Recently criticism has been directed at a secondary school that will soon open in New York City. The Khalil Gibran International Academy, set to open in September, has a mandate to “prepare students of diverse backgrounds for success in an increasingly global and interdependent society,” and to equip graduating students “with the skills they need to become empowered independent thinkers who are able to work with cultures beyond their own.” Inclusive in this mission is a curriculum of intensive Arabic language studies.

Some critics somehow see the study of Arabic as akin to political radicalization. Sadly, the refrain is all too familiar. We’d hoped it had been put behind us as our nation strove to overcome the forces of xenophobia and intolerance that threatened to pull us apart after 9/11. When was the last time anyone unleashed such criticism at schools which teach intensive French, Spanish, Mandarin or Hebrew?

It is not unheard of for certain curricula to bear the brunt of criticism by overzealous traditionalists, but it is still extremely disappointing to see unfounded exaggerations about Arabic studies carelessly hurled about in an apparent attempt to generate fear and cause concern. If such rhetoric dissuades even just a few students from studying Arabic then it will be unfortunate. If it succeeds in creating new, or perpetuating existing stereotypes and phobias then it will be a shame.

As technology and travel shrink the distances between us, it is illogical to cut ourselves off from our global neighbors and shut our minds and hearts to learning about and from them.

Such failures will not go unnoticed. The Iraq Study Report reported that the US Embassy in Baghdad, with a staff of 1,000 had just 33 Arabic Speakers with only six of them able to converse fluently. The Report went on to argue that US interests in Iraq suffered because of the lack of Arabic proficiency at all levels of engagement.

The need for Arabic speakers in America should be readily apparent, and the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC, where our language courses attract more than 1,000 students each year, is fortunate to have serious and dedicated students of all ages. Many of our students attend evening classes only after putting in a full-day’s work at their day jobs in business, government, NGOs, or as full-time students. While we offer courses in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian and Turkish, the language in greatest demand is Arabic.

For them learning a language opens a door into another society. Through proficiency in a shared language, enhanced understanding and appreciation of that society and its peoples can be achieved.

While there has been an increase in the number of students studying Arabic in recent years, the numbers are still anemic when compared to the sheer volume of students studying other languages. These numbers need to rise and it is my hope that students and critics embrace with open arms this language while checking their political baggage at the door.

As a native speaker of both Arabic and Hebrew, I have studied the Koran, the Torah and the Talmud, as well as the Bible. I respect all three religions as well as the great thinkers of the civilizations that spawned these sacred works.

It is my hope that my students and anyone willing to expand their knowledge of the world around them will share my reverence for these cultures as they acquire the language skills to engage in person-to-person interactions with those who speak the languages we teach.

MEI Garden Reception with Ali bin Tamin, CEO of Kalima

Ali bin Tamin — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:41:08 -0400

The reception will also include a special poetry reading from Sonia Sanchez, one of the authors whose work Kalima has translated into Arabic.

A report from the UN Development Programme dramatically highlights the reality that very few foreign works have found their way into Arabic reporting that Spain translates in one year the number of books that have been translated into Arabic in the past 1,000 years, and for every one million Arabs only one book is translated into Arabic each year. This is a gap that Kalima aims to close.

Representatives of Kalima are in Washington, DC as part of Kalima’s sponsorship of the National Book Festival The annual event, sponsored by the Library of Congress, will take place on the National Mall on September 27.

As part of the National Book Festival activities, Kalima is inviting Americans to nominate literature by US authors for translation with the goal of building understanding between the United States and Arab speakers. (For additional information on Kalima, visit: www.kalima.ae/eng.php More information about the National Book Festival, to be held Saturday, September 27, is available at www.loc.gov/bookfest).

Kurdish Language Kick-Off and Dictionary Book Signing

Dr. Michael Chyet — Tue, 23 Sep 2003 16:00:00 -0400

MEI and the Washington Kurdish Institute are pleased to welcome author Dr. Michael Chyet at the MEI Library to inaugurate Kurdish classes at WKI in association with MEI's Language Department. Once a language at risk of extinction, Kurdish is quickly gaining importance within Middle Eastern studies -- due in no small part to the efforts of Dr. Chyet, who has tirelessly chronicled the entire language in a Kurdish dictionary recently published by Yale University Press. Dr. Chyet, a researcher at the Library of Congress and senior editor at the Voice of America, will speak about his work and the intricacies of the Kurdish language. Copies of the dictionary will be available for purchase and signing. Light refreshments will be served; space is limited, so come early.

Dr. George Harris

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:31:43 -0400

Beginners Arabic 101-USIP (ARAB 101)

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:11:57 -0400

Beginners Persian AEI only (PERS 101)

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:34:06 -0400

Rumi and Classical Persian Poetry (PERS 241)

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:34:49 -0400

Arabic Immersion Retreat (ARAB 004)

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:54:19 -0400

Private Arabic Tutoring - Iraqi Arabic (ARAB 002)

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:15:40 -0400