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Africa North
Egyptian Govt Urged to Protect Arabic Language
2006-01-04
The National Council of Culture yesterday issued a report demanding the Egyptian official institutions to pay more attention to formally using and studying the Arabic language, especially in the foreign universities and schools in Egypt. The report entitled “Arabic Language between Arabization and Globalization” has stressed the importance of using Arabic in the educational institutions that use a foreign language as the main dominant study language. The NCC also pointed out in its report the necessity of using Arabic language besides other foreign languages in the official and governmental boards in order to protect the native language and the national identity of the Egyptian people.

The problem of the Arabic language being ignored by the fresh university graduates and even some of the intellectual elite in Egypt was also targeted in the new report as a major reason behind losing the unique characteristics of the Egyptian culture. The NCC report comes at a time when the young generation in Egypt tends to adopt foreign or Western living styles in different manners especially in the urban areas, another cultural change that the report urges the Egyptian government to deal with.
Posted by:Fred

#7  It's very difficult to study engineering and the hard sciences in the language of a culture that peaked about the time Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
Posted by: RWV   2006-01-04 22:28  

#6  keeping the Copts down, man!
Posted by: Frank G   2006-01-04 21:36  

#5  My thoughts exactly, #3 NS.

Except the "odd" part. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2006-01-04 17:22  

#4  just gotta love slang
Posted by: Jan   2006-01-04 12:59  

#3  How very....French of them. What an odd coincidence.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2006-01-04 08:47  

#2  Ummm, let's see.
Egyptian Hieroglyphics read from right to left so--"I see the Grass where you sit over the waters the medal (Metal) Hawk flies over the Water to eat you."
Close enough?
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2006-01-04 08:40  

#1  This is more of a Big Deal than it might appear at first. Muslims believe that its Muhammed's words that are holy, not Muhammed himself. I'm sure any Salafist-types would get beind this kind of proposal.

Belief in the holiness of the Arabic language itself helps keep illiteracy high in the Arab countries. Arabic doesn't have the easiest alphabet, and any proposal to simplify it, even for teaching purpouses, is quickly shot down by the question "What about the Koran?"
Posted by: Rory B. Bellows   2006-01-04 01:38  

00:01