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Interviews
47 posts
Straight from the experts. Professional translators, linguists, and authors discuss their methods, their struggles, and their obsession with mastering Arabic.
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“Arabic is dead – and yet it keeps living” | Karina Karatamakova | 9273 Roots #40
Russian UX writer Karina Karatamakova runs the Telegram channel Karatique, documenting her journey through the Arabic language. She shares why Saudi Arabic holds a special place in her heart and how a 16-year study timeline gave her peace.
“Playing dominos gets you quick with Arabic numbers” | Andrew Cunningham | 9273 Roots #39
Banking expert Andrew Cunningham shares how playing dominos with native Egyptians helped him master Arabic numbers. He discusses his love for the Egyptian dialect, the elegant "Sisters of Kana," and weaving the language into his global career.
“View Arabic as an identity you’re adopting” | Sherif Elmetwally | 9273 Roots #38
New Jersey-based Egyptian-American developer Sherif Elmetwally built Parallel Arabic, an AI-powered platform for acquiring dialects. He argues that embracing the language as a lifelong identity eliminates friction in the journey.
Reading the Unreadable: AI & Early Arab-American Stories
Arabic handwriting is notoriously hard to read. Now, a project called Fihris is using custom-trained AI to decipher the complex Ruq'ah script. We interviewed the team at the Khayrallah Center (USA) about how this tech is unlocking the history of early Arab immigrants to the Americas.
“That sense of purpose, however small, is what makes me feel most alive” | Wan Amirul Asyraf | 9273 Roots #37
In this interview, Wan Amirul Asyraf from Malaysia shares how he bridges a career in finance with a deep passion for linguistics. He speaks on his unique journey with Classical Arabic, the influence of his native Malay on his learning, and the timeless advice about creating value that guides his purpose.
“If you’re not studying, you’re dead” | Pierrick Jaouen | 9273 Roots #36
What connects a 1960s Egyptian radio program to modern language learning in Vietnam? For linguist Pierrick Jaouen, it’s all part of the journey. Explore his favorite resources, words, and practical advice for mastering Arabic on your own terms.
“Teaching Arabic is deeply ingrained in my DNA” | Haytham Ibrahim | 9273 Roots #35
His father was a professor of Arabic at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. Haytham Ibrahim is now setting out to revolutionize online Arabic learning. He is the founder of AnyArabic.
Master Classical Arabic Through the Jahiz Institute
Brian Powell, founder of the Jahiz Institute, shares his journey in Arabic studies and talks about his innovative approach to teaching classical Arabic.
Behind the Bot: How Maqsam is Building an AI That Truly Understands Arabic Dialects
Arabic AI chatbots can bridge communication gaps across dialects. In this interview, Rana Qubain from Maqsam explains how their new Arabic voice bot achieves an impressive level of grammar and pronunciation, handles various dialects, and overcomes significant challenges in Arabic NLP development and data scarcity for AI.
“Don’t let anyone tell you Arabic is a difficult language” | Eamonn Gearon | 9273 Roots #34
Historian Eamonn Gearon works to dispel ignorance about the Middle East. He shares his passion for the "purely logical" Arabic language and reveals which historic book, a work of global importance, brought him immense joy to read in its original form.
