Fairy Tale 1 : Beauty and the Beast – الجميله والوحش
Fairy Tale 2 : The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids – الأرنب و الثعلب
Fairy Tale 1 : Beauty and the Beast – الجميله والوحش
Beauty and the Beast (French: La Belle et la Bête) is a traditional fairy tale. (Wikipedia)
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Recently, students of Edinburgh University were asked to vote for and support the Right to Education Campaign at Birzeit University in the Palestinian Territories.
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The following is a collection of miscellaneous Realia items (with English translation) which reflect the topic of Human Rights in the Arab world.
These realia items were carefully selected to include a wide range of the most commonly used law and human rights vocabulary.
In the events and demonstrations banners/posters realia, they are particularly used in the context of increasing awareness about the situation of Human Rights concerns in the Arab world.
The realia types available in this post are:
Links to relevant vocabulary learning resources are listed at the end of this post.
V-tivity
Translate the text/meaning of the following realia items:
Just recently, a political campaign took over most of the Lebanese billboards with the message (I love Life) and other messages in three languages : Arabic, English and French.
BBC Arabic (Learning English) has a dedicated bilingual radio programme aimed at teaching English to native Arab speakers.
As an Arabic learner yourself, you may benefit hugely from listening to this interactive programme where the host (an Arabic speaker) interviews a guest (an English speaker) in English about a particular news item. The interview is then interpreted in Arabic immediately by the host.
Read the following article before listening to the podcast:
Today Louay and Cath talk about housewives. According to a new survey in the UK, housewives would be paid more than the average worker, if they received the going rate for their household chores.
The average annual salary in the UK is £23,700.
An average mum apparently works for nearly nine hours a day, every day, which would mean that housewives could earn almost £30,000 a year.
4,000 housewives were involved in the survey and most of them agreed that successfully running the family home was a full-time job.
The way they worked this out was by comparing the various chores with actual jobs. So for child care they would look at what a nanny would earn; cleaning and tidying would be compared to what a cleaner would get. Other jobs in the calculation included being an accountant and a taxi driver.
Do you think housewives should be paid?
Listen to the programme :
http://download-v5.streamload.com/JJbVVFva~DhcF~E9lC~SnSn~Sked42hTukX2/earabic/FileManager/BBC%20Xtra/BBC%20Xtra_Housewives.mp3?action=saveKey Vocabulary:
Further reading
Housewife ‘would be paid £30,000’ – BBC News
Source of Realia:
BBC Arabic – Learn English – تعليم الإنجليزية
The following is a selection of caricature that address the topic of the Economic situation of the Arab World. It’s a good revision for your Economic vocabulary.
These caricatures are either insulting or complimentary, can serve a political purpose or be drawn solely for entertainment.
What message is being communicated with these caricatures?
Discuss and share your thoughts for every caricature in the comments section
Caricature 1:
Caricature 2:
More caricatures
Eid mubarak ( عيد مبارك) is a traditional Muslim greeting reserved for use on the festivals of Eid ul-Adha and Eid ul-Fitr.
The phrase translates into English as “blessed festival“, and can be paraphrased as “may you enjoy a blessed festival”.
Muslims wish each other Eid Mubarak after performing the Eid prayer.
This celebration continues till the end of the day. It is notable that saying these exact words is a cultural tradition influenced by deep roots of religion in it; however, it is not part of any religious obligations.
Eid refers to the occasion itself, and Mubarak is roughly ‘may it become good for you’, but the phrase is used in the same context that “Merry Christmas” would be.
Throughout the Muslim world there are numerous other ways of greeting for Eid ul-Adha and Eid ul-Fitr.
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“This (butcher) is trying to kill me!”
Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى ‘Īd ul-’Aḍḥā) is a religious festival celebrated by Muslims and Druze worldwide as a commemoration of Ibrahim’s (Abraham’s) willingness to sacrifice his son, as commanded by Allah. (Muslim tradition names Ishmael as the son who was to be sacrificed, whereas the Judeo-Christian tradition names Isaac.)
It is one of two Eid festivals celebrated by Muslims, whose basis comes from the Quran.[1] (Muslims in Iran celebrate a third, non-denominational Eid.)
Like Eid el-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha begins with a shortprayer followed by a sermon (khuṭba).
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Eid ul-Fitr ( عيد الفطر ), often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Eid is an Arabic word meaning “festivity”, while Fiṭr means “to break the fast” (and can also mean “nature”, from the word “fitrah”) and so symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period.
Eid ul-Fitr starts the day after Ramadan ends, and is verified by the sighting of the new moon. Muslims give money to the poor and wear their best clothes.
Eid ul-Fitr lasts three days and is called “The Lesser Eid” ( العيد الصغير al-‘īdu ṣ-ṣaghīr) compared with the Eid ul-Adha that lasts four days and is called “The Greater Eid” ( العيد الكبير al-‘īdu l-kabīr).
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Calligraphic signs of Eid Greetings
Best greetings and wishes for the blessed (happy) Eid
More greetings signs
Adhan (Azaan) (آذان ) is the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin (المؤذن).
The root of the word is ( أذن – adhana) i.e. “to permit”, and another derivative of this word is أذن (uḏun), meaning “ear.”
Adhan is called out by the muezzin from a minaret of a mosque five times a day summoning Muslims for fard (mandatory) salah (prayers).
There is a second call known as إقامة iqama that summons Muslims to line up for the beginning of the prayers.
Text of the Adhan
| Arabic |
| أَذَان |
| Transliteration |
| aḏān, azaan, adhaan |
| Translation |
| call to prayer |
| Recital | Arabic | Transliteration | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4x |
الله اكبر |
Allah u Akbar | God is The Greatest* |
| 2x |
اشهد ان لا اله الا الله |
Ash-hadu allā ilāha illallāh | I bear witness that there is no lord except God |
| 2x |
اشهد ان محمدا رسول الله |
Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasūlullāh | I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God |
| 2x |
حي على الصلاة |
Hayya ‘alas-salāt | Make haste towards prayer |
| 2x |
حي على الفلاح |
Hayya ‘alal-falāh | Make haste towards welfare [success] |
| 2x |
الله اكبر |
Allah u akbar | God is greatest |
| 1x |
لا اله الا الله |
Lā ilāha illallāh | There is no lord except God |
Video clip of the Adhan
Watch this video clip of the Adhan from Makkah (this is one of the most-known Adhan among Muslims in the Muslim world)
Adhan from Tureky
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This video clip shows the transliteration and meaning of the Adhan
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Amzing facts about the Adhan
This video illustrates the continuity of the Adhan around the earth
Poster of the Adhan & Iqama transcript
The Adhan at the Dawn prayer is slightly different from the other Adhan.
What line is added to the Adhan at dawn time? (Look at the red arrow above)
What happens when the Adhan is announced?
Screenshot of an electronic Adhan software
The software allows you to hear automatic Athan at the right time five times a day. The most popular religious software according to download.com
Many Muslims (Arabs and non-Arabs) who live outside the Muslim world rely on electronic tools to remind them of the exact prayer times.
As a language learning exercise, compare the following screenshots:
Notice the prayer times, different types of Adhan, volume controls etc…
What new words did you learn?
Source of screenshot: IslamicFinder.org
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Where is the Adhan called out from?
Minarets (manara (lighthouse) منارة, but more usually مئذنة) are distinctive architectural features of Islamic mosques. Minarets are generally tall spires with onion-shaped crowns, usually either free standing or much taller than any surrounding support structure.
As well as providing a visual cue demarcating a Muslim community center and territory, the call to prayer is traditionally given from the top of the minaret.
In some of the oldest mosques, such as the Great Mosque of Damascus, minarets originally served as watchtowers illuminated by torches (hence the derivation of the word from the Arabic nur, meaning “light”).
In more recent times, the main function of the minaret was to provide a vantage point from which the muezzin can call out the adhan, calling the faithful to prayer.
In most modern Mosques, the adhan is called not in the minaret, but in the musallah, or prayer hall, via a microphone and speaker system.
In a practical sense, these are also used for natural air conditioning.
As the sun heats the dome, air is drawn in through open windows and up and out of the shaft, thereby causing a natural ventilation.
Minarets have been described as the “gate from heaven and earth”, and as the Arabic language letter alif (which is a straight vertical line).
The world’s tallest minaret (at 210 meters) is located at the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco.
The world’s tallest brick minaret is Qutub Minar located in Delhi, India.
There are two 230 meter tall minarets under construction in Tehran, Iran.
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Find out more
These pictures were taken in Ifrane city (nicknamed Little Switzerland) which is a town and ski resort in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco.
I have been to this city as a Scout boy when I was around 13 and I loved it – the white snow – though shocking to find in a Mediterranean country was a lot of fun for me and my friends!
If you happen to visit Ifrane, what you’ll notice about the city is that the streets are very clean, nearly free of crime, and probably the best city in northern Africa . It is only half an hour drive away from the famous city of Fez.
It was founded by the French in 1929 and is probably one of the cleanest cities in Morocco.
Ifrane is located in the heart of a region of Morocco known for its beautiful forests, lakes, mountains, and waterfalls.
Al Akhawayn University, an English speaking private university, which follows an American-curriculum, opened its doors for study in 1995. This helped re-launch Ifrane as a desirable destination for domestic tourism. Consequently, Ifrane continues to develop as both a summer and winter resort.
More images
Diaries available:
Find out more :
What messages do these posters convey to the public?
Key Vocabulary:
help; assist; aid ساعد; عاون; يساعِد
innocent; guiltless; clean-handed بريء
to dream; dreaming حلم
force; strength قوة
injustice ظلم
Who Wants To Win A Million? (2 Million Special)
Hosted by George Kurdahi
The Arabic language version of the international phenomena “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” has taken Arabic viewers by storm, with ratings dwarfing even the most beloved comedy shows and soap operas. The show continues its ratings streak by offering two million dollars.
Video clip 1
The clip is for one question written as an MCQ (Multiple Choice Question) –
Can you translate the question with the possible answers?
Video clip 2
أول رابح للمليونين 2,000,000 في برنامج من سيربح المليون
The first winner of a 2 millions in ” Who wants to be a Millionaire?”
Find out more
برنامج مـن سيـــربح المليــون؟ – Wikipedia
You can play the game online at لعبة من سيربح المليون بالفلاش
To make sense of this (Exhibition Poster) realia , read the following invitation:
Camille Chamoun Day in AUB (American University of Beiru)
The Back To Roots club , in collaboration with the NLP students organisation is organizing an exhibition to commemorate the great Camille Chamoun, one of the most distinguised Christian, Lebanese and Arab leaders, founder of the National Liberal party,among the founders of the Lebanese Front and most of all one of the rare presidents who worked for Lebanon’s sake .
A conference entitled ” President Chamoun through his contemporates” will be presented by Dory Chamoun , head of the NLP party and son of President Chamoun … Mahmoud Ammar , Khalil Khalil and Ghassan Tueni will also be present to talk about their experience with Camille Chamoun .
More than 20 political and social figures will be attending this event. Exhibition will continue from Wednesday the 10th till 12th of December 2003 from 9am to 5pm
West Beirut (Beyrout Al Gharbiyya — بيروت الغربية) is a 1998 Lebanese drama film written and directed by Ziad Doueiri.
Plot: In April, 1975, civil war breaks out; Beirut is partitioned along a Muslim-Christian line and is divided into East and West Beirut. Tarek is in high school, making Super 8 movies with his friend, Omar. At first the war is a lark: school has closed, the violence is fascinating, getting from West to East is a game. His mother wants to leave; his father refuses. Tarek spends time with May, a Christian, orphaned and living in his building. By accident, Tarek goes to an infamous brothel in the war-torn Olive Quarter, meeting its legendary madam, Oum Walid. He then takes Omar and May there using her bra as a white flag for safe passage. Family tensions rise. As he comes of age, the war moves inexorably from adventure to tragedy.
The movie is presented in 12 parts with English subtitiles.
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West Beirut – Part 1
Shocking videos captured in real life from MBC Action
I usually watch this programme on Virgin Channel and they are truly shocking videos.
Hint: Pause the video to read the Arabic subtitles
Source of Realia
YouTube.com
Source of image : viewimages.com.
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