Egyptian Arabic – A Quick Introduction

Posted on: Friday, August 28th, 2009 5 comments

Egyptian Arabic is spoken by around 76 million people and thus the most widely-spoken Arabic dialect. Given the fact that Egyptian TV and cinema are ubiquitous in the Middle East, it is also the most widely-understood dialect. Taken together, these two considerations add a lot of weight in favor of … Continue reading

BBC Correspondent Learns Arabic In Damascus – And Fails!

Posted on: Sunday, August 23rd, 2009 1 comments

There is an interesting article on the BBC News page detailing the experience of one of their correspondents in learning Arabic in Damascus. While I certainly applaud his efforts, I nevertheless have to remark on some inconsistencies in his article. In the article, the author writes: But however modest our … Continue reading

Arabic Tattoos – The Three Most Embarrassing Errors

Posted on: Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 104 comments

While Arabic tattoos can be aesthetically pleasing if the right calligraphy is used, there are a huge number of cases where neither the person getting the tattoo done nor the tattooist have the slightest idea of Arabic. The result is often disastrous: incorrect or ugly Arabic writing. I’ll show you … Continue reading

Arabic Tattoos – The Latest Celebrity Must-Have

Posted on: Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 322 comments

Arabic tattoos are definitively in fashion in the world of the rich and the famous. And I don’t mean temporary tattoos done with henna. This is perhaps surprising, because there are hardly any tattoos to be seen in the Arab World. In the West, however, tattoos have come a long … Continue reading