Every immigrant knows that the key to integration is learning the language of their new country. For many, the language they brought with them is just a remnant of their previous life. In Barcelona, a project is turning the tide with the philosophy that no one arrives empty-handed in a …
Read More »“Chant Amazigh” Brings Modern Traditional Sound of Majid Soula to New Listeners
CHARACTERISTICS “Chant Amazigh” Brings Modern Traditional Sound of Majid Soula to New Listeners By Saby Reyes-Kulkarni December 08, 2021 “Every time I set out to write a love song,” explains Majid Soula, speaking through a translator on a Zoom call, “it unfortunately turns into a song about justice. in place.” …
Read More »Bread & Net panel to explore the intersection of digital rights and MENA languages Rising Voices
On November 24, 2021, Global Voices, through its Rising Voices initiative, will host an online conversation at this year’s Bread & Net non-conference, featuring digital activists from the MENA region who strive to maintain their mother tongue alive in a challenging digital landscape. The panel “Exploring the Intersection of Digital …
Read More »Clear Arabs from “Dune” – Inkstick
First of all, let me say that I love “Dune”. I have read Frank Herbert’s books several times over the past 30 years. I first read “Dune” along with “The Prize” by Daniel Yergin, the most comprehensive real-world historical account of the political economy of petroleum. These are books that …
Read More »Translation as a new perspective in Amazigh literary discourse
[This article is part of a dossier on Tankra Tamazight, Amazigh Revival, and Indigeneity in North Africa, edited by Brahim El Guabli. To read other articles in this dossier, read the introduction here.] This article takes as a central question the role of translation throughout the novel in the evolution and reorientation …
Read More »Acclaimed Irish author rejects Hebrew translation of latest book
DUBAI: Mexican-American actress Salma Hayek appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in Los Angeles this weekend wearing a fiery leopard-print suit from Lebanese designer Elie Saab. The actress, of Spanish and Lebanese descent, appeared on the TV show alongside fellow actor Kumail Nanjiani to talk about their latest film, Marvel’s “The …
Read More »Ancient Egyptian statues found in English garden
PARIS: “Somewhere between silence and words” revives memories of a trip to Algeria made by Florian Gaite, philosopher, art critic and curator of the exhibition which runs until November 28, 2021 at the Maison des Arts Malakoff centers in Paris. The exhibit “seeks to convey the voices and silence that …
Read More »Escape accomplished in the realm of Arab cinematic appropriation
Film Review: The long-awaited adaptation of the sci-fi classic Dune has received unanimous praise as a Hollywood blockbuster. Yet beneath the hysteria lurk troubling questions about the lack of Arab representation, given the film’s influences. There are many reasons why Dune is considered the greatest science fiction novel ever written. …
Read More »Red Sea Souk to promote the work of Arab and African filmmakers
DUBAI: It took over 200,000 workers and 240 million combined man-hours to bring the expansive site of Expo 2020 Dubai to life. Now, to thank the workforce, a 38-column colonnade has been set up at the Jubilee Park site, with the names of the workers carved in stone. Reem Al-Hashimi, …
Read More »LIVE EVENT – Security in Context: Legacies and Consequences of the American “War on Terror” (September 16)
This panel will discuss the main legacies and consequences of the global war on terrorism on the occasion of its 20th anniversary. Lisa Hajjar is professor of sociology at the University of California – Santa Barbara. His work primarily focuses on issues related to law and conflict, including military tribunals …
Read More »Morocco targeted for planned attacks due to its security and stability, says King Mohammed VI
Morocco has recently been the target of attacks planned and hatched by certain countries and organizations known for their hostility towards the Kingdom, a country steeped in history, said King Mohammed VI, indicating that these countries have concocted a campaign of their own. whole to distort the image of the …
Read More »Universal Banjo by Hassan Wargui | Daily Bandcamp
FEATURES Universal Banjo by Hassan Wargui By Phil E. Bloomfield July 26, 2021 Video shows a group of friends, young men, their faces lit by phone light and the glow of a campfire off camera. They smile, comfortable with the camera as well as with the instruments they hold in …
Read More »Overcome Arab stereotypes in the game
There has been a major shift in recent years in the way video games portray Arabs, but developers are still struggling to find their place and not lean on problematic stereotypes. Why is this important: Arab cultures have been coded into harmful stereotypes in games for decades. During a recent …
Read More »A visit by the Prime Minister, a court ruling and the possibility of another Gaddafi for Libya – Middle East Monitor
Last month Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh visited Bani Walid, southwest of Tripoli. He visited the mountainous city, visited some government institutions and met with local officials and civil society leaders. The visit was the first of its kind by a Prime Minister and marked a new government approach to Bani Walid, …
Read More »Abstract and Arabic: “Take Shape” at the McMullen Museum
Between 1950 and 1980, the Arab world survived the world’s precarious geopolitical balance as the lines that distinguished East from West were redrawn. Imbued with the legacies of an unparalleled global mix, inheriting overlapping traditions and conflicting identities, Arab artists from India to Morocco, from Kuwait to Paris have been …
Read More »Algerian military regime pushes conspiracy theories to limit to dismiss Hirak
After the failure of the conspiracy theories brandishing the foreign threat card, the Algerian military junta is now targeting the independence movement of Kabylia, known as MAK, which it accuses of having instigated attacks against the demonstrations of Hirak. The elderly military commanders issued a statement accusing the secular independence …
Read More »All mixed up around an awesome breakfast
Few things can bring me back to lazy weekend mornings in Tripoli better than a bowl of piping hot shakshuka. When I lived in the Libyan capital in 2014, the hearty dish of tomatoes and eggs was a staple for breakfast with friends. The recipe – or at least the …
Read More »Lowell native receives Watson scholarship to embark on year of study in marginalized languages - Lowell Sun
Jack Rider-McGovern in Kiev, Ukraine, on a trip during his semester in Russia in his freshman year. The native of Lowell, a senior at Connecticut College, received a Thomas J. Watson scholarship to embark on a year-long project to study marginalized languages around the world. (Courtesy photo / Connecticut College) …
Read More »Who’s who in North Africa, by Arezki Metref (Le Monde diplomatique
A pilgrim at the El-Jammaa Oufella (‘upper mosque’) in the Djurdjura mountains, eastern Kabylia, July 2015 Farouk Batiche AFP Getty There is often the confusion over Algerians, Arabs, Berbers and Kabyles. An Algerian is an Algerian national, independent since 1962, regardless of the ethnolinguistic group to which he belongs. A …
Read More »From Morocco to Martha’s Vineyard
Are you feeling a little anxious? Haven’t you traveled abroad a lot recently? A visit to Morocco is close at hand on Silver Sahara’s website, silversahara.com, or during a visit to Island Music in Vineyard Haven. These two Martha’s Vineyard companies have teamed up to bring an assortment of alluring …
Read More »Canary Islands see local film production expand
They first conquered Hollywood movie shooting, now they aim to increase local production, adding a new local edge to one of the most popular filming locations in Europe. Ten years ago, the Spanish Canary Islands began to become a leading filming destination for major international films, offering varied landscapes and …
Read More »” Government of National Unity ” Unveils New Emblem and Confirms Official Name |
Through Sami Zaptia. The designated government of national unity launched its emblem and confirmed its name in English (Photo: GNU). London, February 26, 2021: During a live press conference yesterday by the Prime Minister-designate of the Government of National Unity (GNU) Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba, the emblem and official name of …
Read More »The Republic of Kabylia wants an embassy in Laayoune or Rabat
The head of the Republic of Kabylia, Ferhat Mhenni, reiterated his call to the Moroccan authorities to open an embassy in Rabat or Laâyoune and praised Morocco’s actions in the Sahara. In an interview with Moroccan magazine L’Observateur, Mhenni denounced what he called ruthless Algerian colonialism in the troubled region …
Read More »Review of “Violence and Political Theory”
Elizabeth Frazer and Kimberly Hutchings. Violence and political theory. Cambridge: Politics, 2020. ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-3671-9 How do political theorists justify violence? And what are the shortcomings of these justifications? These questions have been the main driver in the research careers of the two authors of the book. In fifteen years, Elizabeth …
Read More »What to expect from the Algerian constitutional referendum
People walk past campaign billboards ahead of the upcoming constitutional referendum on a street in Algiers, Algeria, October 22, 2020. (RYAD KRAMDI / AFP via Getty Images) The small revisions proposed in Algeria’s November 1 constitutional referendum are unlikely to motivate enough Algerians to vote against the changes. But while …
Read More »Not All Vikings Were Scandinavian, Ancient DNA Study Shows | Archeology, Genetics
In the popular imagination, the Vikings were fearsome blond-haired warriors from Scandinavia who used rowboats to conduct raids across Europe in a brief but bloody reign of terror. But the reality is far more complex, according to an analysis of the genomes of 442 ancient humans from archaeological sites in …
Read More »Algeria launches the Amazigh Culture Prize |
ORAN, Algeria – The High Commission for Tamazight (HCA) in Algeria has launched the President’s Prize for Amazigh Literature and Language, with the aim of supporting Amazigh culture after years of marginalization. The secretary general of the HCA, El Hachemi Assad, announced on Saturday in Oran that the competition would …
Read More »Meeting with a nomadic Berber family in Morocco
02:29 Around 7 p.m., as we arrived at our lodge in the heart of the Moroccan countryside, I heaved a huge sigh of relief. We had flown and drove a trip totaling nearly 20 long hours from Nairobi to our destination, where I was to spend eight days with the …
Read More »The Berbers of Morocco: a culture called into question
North Africa is one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse regions on the continent. Centuries of invasions, colonization and foreign domination have shaped the identity of the region and its cultural heritage. The colonizers had different cultural origins and ethnic identities. Roman, Byzantine, Arab and European cultural origins and …
Read More »Racism darkens Moroccan soccer match after Amazigh fans insulted
Racism swept through Moroccan football stadiums this week after supporters of Hassania Agadir team were the subject of racist slogans and cheers during their match against Raja Casablanca, prompting them to file a complaint with the International Football Federation in order to intervene and put an end to such hostile …
Read More »In Algeria, online repression targets Amazigh protesters active in the Hirak movement Global Voices
Protesters wave the Algerian flag and an Amazigh flag in Tizi Ouzou, Algeria. Photo by Kader Houali, used with permission. On a Friday morning in late summer 2019, a lone woman marched through central Algiers, walked past a row of police officers and called out loud for the deposition of …
Read More »Algerian scientist sees healing potential in olives and dates
“I think the awards I received came at the right time,” she said. “The scientist often feels periods of emptiness and a kind of failure, but such honors come to cheer him up to strive and produce more.” Among his accomplishments, Benbouza played a key role in creating a laboratory …
Read More »Morocco: More than a million tourists in Agadir in 2019
The Moroccan Atlantic coastal city of Agadir welcomed more than 1.1 million tourists last year, including Moroccan nationals, up 6.4 pc compared to the previous year, according to the latest figures published by the local tourist office. The number of Moroccan travelers having spent their holidays in hotels, residences and …
Read More »Women reign supreme in the Moroccan carpet market under the Atlas Mountains
In a carpet market in the plains below the Middle Atlas Mountains, women are shearers, weavers, mediators, saleswomen and distributors. There is no place for men in their business model – and they like it. The market is in Khemisset, a bilingual town of Berbers and Arabs. It has long …
Read More »Berber language heard but not seen in the oasis of Siwa
In the far northwest of Egypt, just 59 kilometers east of the Libyan border and some 350 miles (560 kilometers) from the Nile Valley, the Siwa Oasis is one of the regions the most remote in the country. An agricultural land famous for its dates and olives, the oasis has …
Read More »Morocco adopts law confirming Berber as official language
Moroccan lawmakers unanimously approved a bill that confirms the official status of the Berber language, eight years after its preliminary recognition in a new constitution. The new law is designed to cement the use of Berber – alongside Arabic – by government administration, local authorities, public services, schools and in …
Read More »Gökcan Demirkazik on the occasion of the opening of the “Full Moon Phase” of the Contour Biennale 9
YOU HAVE TO BE THE FULL MOON cloud my judgment. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had a mini heart attack every time the French information screens on the Brussels-Antwerp intercity line read: “This train is heading for Antwerp. To my knowledge, I got on the right platform in the direction of …
Read More »Morocco weighs heavily on French science education |
CASABLANCA – The question of teaching scientific subjects in foreign languages is dividing politicians and intellectuals in Morocco where the public education sector is in crisis despite the reforms. A bill which would regulate the education sector and which was adopted by the Council of Ministers in mid-2018 was blocked …
Read More »Moroccan artists perform heritage music in the capital
Moroccan music stars captivate crowds at a concert on the Abu Dhabi Corniche. WAM Yesterday evening, a number of Moroccan music stars gave a concert on the Abu Dhabi Corniche, in the presence of Mohammed Sajid, Moroccan Minister of Tourism, Air Transport, Handicrafts and Social Economy and thousands of fans …
Read More »Moroccan Berber language Tamazight could join Google translate – General news
RABAT – A petition on the Avaaz online campaign community website has put the Tamazight Berber language in the spotlight, and the language, which is already recognized by the iPhone, can now be included in Google translate. The association “La Rando”, which launched the petition, estimates that Tamazight is spoken …
Read More »Morocco makes French the language of economic success
RABAT (Reuters) – The Moroccan economy is lost in translation. Students wearing mortar hats wait to receive their diplomas following a graduation ceremony for students at the University of Rabat, Morocco on February 2, 2019. Photo taken on February 2, 2019. REUTERS / Youssef Boudlal With so many students dropping …
Read More »Arabic’s old cousins survive in Oman, but for how long?
Shahri was an unwritten language until researchers began to document it, starting at the end of the 19th century. There is oral storytelling, but no written or printed literature. It was never taught in schools and economic necessity forced Shahri speakers to leave the Dhofar highlands for opportunities in the …
Read More »OWU Connections | Ohio Wesleyan University
OWU connections Ohio Wesleyan awards seven grants to support students’ academic, research and internship experiences By Cole Hatcher DELAWARE, OHIO – From completing community mapping work in Costa Rica to comparing life expectancies in Italy and the United States, students at Ohio Wesleyan University receive nearly $ 49,000 in new …
Read More »Fears of a “language war” in Algeria over the status of Tamazight | Lamine Ghanmi
TUNIS – Berber students from the mountainous Kabylia region of Algeria have left school to protest the government’s neglect of their mother tongue, Tamazight. The protests began on October 22 at a high school in Beni-Zmenzer, 15 km south of Tizi Ouzou, the main town of Kabylia, and spread to …
Read More »Write Algeria
KAMEL DAOUD IS the author of The Meursault survey, first published in France in 2014 and here in the United States a year later, earning it acclaimed international reviews including the Prix Goncourt and rave reviews and reviews in The New Yorker and The New York Times. The novel, a …
Read More »cultural awakening of the Tebu: “We may not be Arabs, but we are Libyans” | Arts and culture
Living in the inhospitable area crisscrossed by the borders of Libya, Chad, Niger and Sudan, the Tébou – a non-Arab indigenous peoples – experience an unprecedented cultural awakening, thanks to their very first alphabet and to a cultural center. “It is something that does not compare to anything else,” said …
Read More »The fascinating story behind the Moroccan Amazigh headgear Madonna wore at the VMAs
When Madonna appeared in her tribute to Aretha Franklin at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards, she was dressed in an outfit worn by the Berber or Amazigh community in Morocco. So many people weren’t impressed with the outfit, with some even calling it a “wizard” outfit. They don’t know …
Read More »The Berber language: officially recognized, unofficially marginalized?
Ten years after Tamazight – the language of the Amazigh, the country’s Berber population – began to be taught in schools here, and four years after it was constitutionally recognized as an official language, it is still unclear how it will be integrated into education. The recognition of Tamazight has …
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