Browse Tag
Ancient Greek
8 posts
Ancient Greek (اليونانية القديمة) is the language of classical Greece, used from around the 9th century BCE to the 6th century CE, known for its rich literary and philosophical heritage.
“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.
How to Retain Multiple Languages: Tips from a Polyglot Who Mastered Arabic
Polyglot Reginald Hefner shares strategies for maintaining many languages. He offers practical tips on routines, methods for skill retention, and overcoming challenges to prevent language decay.
“The relatives are scorpions” | Nikolaos van Dam | 9273 Roots #21
He was the Dutch ambassador to Iraq, Egypt, and Turkey, and is a world-renowned authority on Syria. Dr. Nikolaos van Dam shares insights from a lifetime in diplomacy, his love for Palestinian Arabic, and his favorite, cynical proverb about family.
“Even dust accumulated becomes a mountain” | Reginald Hefner | 9273 Roots #13
He's a polyglot who worked as a Chinese and Japanese interpreter for the US government and attended Middlebury's Arabic school nine times. Reginald "Reggie" Hefner discusses his lifelong addiction to languages and his fascination with Arabic's rarest verb forms.
“I would describe myself as an Arabist in the making” | Badrul Aini Sha’ari | 9273 Roots #2
Badrul Aini Sha'ari, an Arabist and Arabic news officer in Kuala Lumpur, discusses his dedication to the language in Southeast Asia, from translation to journalism.
Ism al-Fi’l (اسم الفعل): Understanding Arabic’s Unique “Nouns with Verbal Force”
The Islamic phrase حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلاةِ (Come to prayer!) features a special type of Arabic word: a noun with verbal force (اسم الفعل). This article explains these unique indeclinable words, which carry verb-like meaning and governing power, and how to use common imperative forms like صَهْ (hush!) or آمِينَ (Amen!).
Foreign Words in Arabic: Farsi, Greek, & Turkish (Part 3)
This is Part 3 of a series on the etymology of foreign words in Arabic, focusing on traces left by Farsi, Greek, and Ottoman Turkish. Discover the origins of common Arabic words like بَقْشِيش (baksheesh), باشا (Pasha), أَفَنْدِي (effendi), دُلاب (cabinet), and تَرابِيزة (table), revealing their fascinating linguistic journeys into the Arabic lexicon.
Foreign Words in Arabic: Farsi, Greek, & Turkish (Part 2)
This is Part 2 of a series on the etymology of foreign words in Arabic, focusing on traces left by Farsi, Greek, and Ottoman Turkish. Discover the origins of common Arabic words like لِيمان (prison), أُوضة (room), دُنْدُورمة (ice cream), جَزْمَة (shoes), and دُغْرِي (straight), revealing their fascinating linguistic journeys into the Arabic lexicon.
