Last updated 7 months ago.
“How a dive trip to Egypt led a 14-year-old to teach himself Arabic” | Georg Binder | 9273 Roots #29
Long before the internet, a dive trip to Egypt inspired 14-year-old Georg Binder to teach himself Arabic in his small Austrian town. He discusses his lifelong passion, his love for Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet, and his “have a go” approach to mastering the Egyptian dialect.
In an era before the internet made the world smaller, a single vacation can be all it takes to change a life.
For Georg Binder, that moment came at age 14. After a diving trip to the Red Sea, he returned to his small country town in Austria with a newfound fascination and a formidable goal: to teach himself Arabic.
This spark of curiosity ignited a lifelong journey of language learning that took him from scouring his town for native speakers to studying in Vienna and working in Cairo.
Georg Binder
ุฌูุฑุฌ ุจููุฏูุฑ
The man who taught himself Arabic as a 14-year-old kid
after a vacation in Egypt.
- Date of birth: April, 20
- Place of birth: Oberwart, Austria
- Place of residence: New South Wales, Australia
Georg started teaching himself Arabic (ุงููุตุญู) when he was 14 years old after a vacation in Egypt. This happened when the Internet had not yet been invented.
Georg grew up in a small town in Burgenland, Austria (ุงููููู ูุณุง), close to the Hungarian border. The teenager started to look for Arabic-speaking residents, and, later, took lessons from a Palestinian woman who lived in the same town in Burgenland. Until today, Georg is passionate about Arabic.
Georg studied International Business Administration (IBWL) and Arabic Studies (Arabistik) as a second degree at the University of Vienna (Austria). He frequently travelled to Egypt and later worked in Cairo for a year and a half (2006/2007). In Cairo he learned the Egyptian dialect through friends.
Since 2013 Georg lives in Australia (ุฃูุณูุชูุฑุงูููุง).
How would you introduce yourself to someone who doesn’t know you?
I grew up in a small country town in Burgenland, Austria. I have always been interested in foreign languages and learning about different cultures from very early on. After returning home from a dive trip to the Red Sea with my brother when I was 14 years old, I decided to try Arabic, and thatโs where it all started for me.
Having moved to Vienna to complete my studies, I moved to Cairo and later moved to Sydney, Australia, where I work in the Technology risk sector.
What was your first Arabic grammar book?
My first Arabic grammar book was “Assimil โ Arabisch ohne Mรผhe” which covered the basics of Arabic grammar. However, I quickly realised that I also had to pick up some conversational phrases and words if I wanted to chat with locals, so I also bought “Kauderwelsch โ รgyptisch-Arabisch Wort fรผr Wort”.
Remark: The literal translation of the German phrase Arabisch ohne Mรผhe is quite funny. It means: Arabic with no effort. To be honest, I have no idea how this is supposed to work. Kauderwelsch is also an interesting German word. It basically means gibberish and is used to denote a confused way of speaking, an incomprehensible mixture of several languages or an incomprehensible foreign language.
What is your favorite Arabic book (novel, etc.)?
An-Nabi (ุงููุจูู) by Khalil Gibran (ุฌุจุฑุงู ุฎููู ุฌุจุฑุงู).
ABOUT THE BOOK: The Prophet is a book of 26 prose poetry fables written in English by the Lebanese-American poet and writer Khalil Gibran. It was published in 1923 and has been translated into over 100 different languages, making it one of the most translated books in history, as well as one of the best-selling books of all time.
Whats’s the story? The prophet, Al Mustafa, has lived in the city of Orphalese for 12 years and is about to board a ship which will carry him home. He is stopped by a group of people, with whom he discusses topics about life: love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, houses, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death.
How much time does a native speaker of English need to master Arabic?
It depends on what you are trying to achieve and how you define “mastering” a language. If you want to be able to communicate and chat to locals while you are travelling, I think you can get there in a year if you stick to a formal learning program and through practice, practice, practice.
Mastering the Arabic language is probably a lifelong journey if you want to get every word and every grammatical aspect right every time you talk.
My goal has always been to “have a go” at speaking Arabic, knowing I would make mistakes. I would talk to friends and locals in Cairo, and I spoke formal Arabic at university during conversational classes with our Iraqi born teacher. She was very strict with grammar and pronunciation.
But as long as I could get the message across and people understood what I was trying to say, I was happy ๐
What is your favorite Arabic word?
It is ุงุฒูุฏููุงุฌููุฉ which in German can mean Doppelgleisigkeit and in English twofoldness, metaphorically also double standard.
Remark: The root ุฒ-ู-ุฌ is tricky in certain forms. For example, if you use the pattern ุงูุชุนู of a VIII-verb, some weird things happen. Instead of the standard ุงุฒุชูุฌ, the letter ุช becomes softer and turns into a ุฏ. The same happens in ุงุฒูุฏููุงุฌููุฉ which, by the way, is also used to express bilingualism/diglossia (ุงุฒูุฏููุงุฌููุฉ ููุบููููุฉ).
Which Arabic word do you like least?
The word ุถูููุฏูุน, which means frog.
Which Arabic dialect do you like best?
I prefer the Egyptian dialect the most, followed by the Lebanese dialect.
What is your favorite Arabic colloquial word or expression?
ุงูู ุนููู
It can mean teacher or just mate.
What is your favorite Arabic quote or proverb?
ุฅุฐุง ูุงู ุญุจูุจู ุนุณู ู ุงุชูุญุณูุด ููู
It is an Egyptian Arabic proverb: If your friend is as sweet as honey, do not lick up all of him. (Meaning: Donโt take advantage of your friends.)
What is the best thing that was ever said about the Arabic language?
The best thing that was ever said about the Arabic language was that the grammar rules are just like any other.
What is the best piece of advice you were ever given?
Just try it.
Which three people would you like to invite for dinner?
David Attenborough, Valerie Taylor and Michelle Visage.
- David Attenborough (born: 1926) is a British wildlife filmmaker and writer. He is best known for his award-winning documentaries, which he produced for the BBC.
- Valerie Taylor (born: 1935) is an Australian ocean conservationist, photographer and shark expert.
- Michelle Visage (born: 1968) is an American singer, actress, media personality. Originally gaining recognition as a member of the band Seduction, she earned five singles with the group that charted on the Billboard Hot 100.
What was the last great meal you had?
Thai takeaway.
What is your favorite city?
I donโt have one in particular.
Which book would you give to a dear friend?
An-Nabi (ุงููุจูู) by Khalil Gibran (ุฌุจุฑุงู ุฎููู ุฌุจุฑุงู).
What is your all-time favorite movie?
The Hunger Games.
What music do you listen to?
I listen to anything from “Austropop” (i.e., music by Austria singers and songwriters) to Arabic pop and Mozart.
When were you happiest?
I’ve always been happy!
What is your greatest fear?
My greatest fear is running out of time.
What is your life motto?
Try everything at least once.
Georg Binder, thank you for your time.
CALL FOR SUGGESTIONS: Who should we interview soon?
Do you know an interesting person who has a special relationship with the Arabic language? Then tell us why we should interview this person!
People who were also interviewed:
- “Arabic is dead โ and yet it keeps living” | Karina Karatamakova | 9273 Roots #40
- “Playing dominos gets you quick with Arabic numbers” | Andrew Cunningham | 9273 Roots #39
- “View Arabic as an identity you’re adopting” | Sherif Elmetwally | 9273 Roots #38
- “That sense of purpose, however small, is what makes me feel most alive” | Wan Amirul Asyraf | 9273 Roots #37
- “If you’re not studying, you’re dead” | Pierrick Jaouen | 9273 Roots #36
Wanna cite this article?
Driรner, G. (2022, May 17). “How a dive trip to Egypt led a 14-year-old to teach himself Arabic” | Georg Binder | 9273 Roots #29. Arabic for Nerds. https://arabic-for-nerds.com/interviews/9273-roots/interview-georg-binder/
Published: May 17, 2022
Please check the citation before use, especially if your style guide has local requirements.
Publication ISSN: 3055-1730
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