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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| In multilingual Lebanon, Arabic falls behind |
| 2010-03-01 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] Lebanon, a tiny, vibrant Mediterranean country, prides itself on its polyglot society but for the country's youths native Arabic is not very "cool." "Hi, kifak? Ca Va?" -- or "Hi, how are you doing? Okay?" -- is a typical multi-linguistic Lebanese greeting so popular it now appears on bumper stickers and tee-shirts sold around the world. English and French often replace the local dialect in conversation, especially among the urban youth, and one organization has launched a campaign to preserve Arabic in Lebanon. "Arabic is still very much alive as a language, but young people are moving farther and farther away from it," said Suzanne Talhouk, who heads the organization "Fael Ummer" (Imperative) which is running the campaign. "Some of our youngsters are incapable of writing correctly in Arabic, and many university students we interviewed were not even able to recite the alphabet," Talhouk told AFP. Urban youths are often unable to hold a conversation in one language, causing amusement but also irking those around them with such home-grown expressions as the popular farewell: "Yalla, bye." "At my school it's more cool to speak French. Arabic is looked down upon," said high school student Nathalie. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Any step away from Arabic is a step towards civilization. Bravo to all who forsake that language. |
| Posted by: Ebburt Sinatra4615 2010-03-01 21:54 |