To Uncle Sam and His Friends

Let me state this directly: I do NOT care about your ideology. I do not care about your definitions of right and wrong (if there is such a thing as ‘wrong’ in your dictionary of behavior). I do not care about your hierarchies of first and third. I do not care about your life style, your way of thinking, your fashion, your beliefs, your liberty, etc. And if there is one thing I’m sure of, it is that I never want to be like you!

So stop acting as if you are my superior, because simply you are NOT! And you will never be. Stop telling me what to do and what not to do. Stop imposing your culture on me, and stop mocking me when I refuse it and act according to my own beliefs and traditions. Stop stereotyping me; I am no terrorist, and you know it!

And I am not your inferior, I am not even your equal! I was once your superior and I will once again be. Even in my moments of weakness I am still better than you, for I have the one thing you do not have: I have faith, I BELIVE. So I do not need your thinkers or philosophers to tell me what to do, how to behave, what to ware and eat, or how to think, because I have my own reference: My ISLAM…

Being Bilingual in an Arab Nation

Being in the third year (the year before last) in college, I started worrying about my career after I finish and all these stuff. So, I started asking some of my graduate friends about the most required skills I should have and write in my CV. To my surprise, they all agreed upon two things: second language and computer skills.

As for the computer, I sure agree about that, we are in the age of technology after all, everyday appears a new gadget! But what surprised me is the second language thing.

I live in Egypt, which is -supposedly- an Arab country. My mother tongue is Arabic, my culture is that of an Arab nation, why then should I have a second language in order to find a proper job?!

When I thought about it, I found that it's not only about finding a proper job; it's become a style of life! I have lots of friends who speak English most of the time, thinking that by doing this, they will appear more educated or something. I also know some people who can't express themselves in Arabic, even though they were born in Egypt and raised here. And the strange thing is that they don't feel ashamed of themselves or even think that there is anything wrong with them.

Could globalization be an answer for this strange phenomenon? Then why don't people in America and England speak Arabic? Or does this globalization process works only one way?! Or maybe it's the effect of the English colonization, but I think that people use a second language nowadays more than they used to do during the colonization times.

Well, I think it's just a natural result for the European and American ideological invasion which the Arabs follow blindly.

I know some people may think that it's highly ironic to write about such a topic using another language other than the language I'm trying to restore in our Arab society; but the truth is, I, myself, am a victim of the education system in my country. I was in a language school and when I finished it I joined a department in college in which everything I study is in English. Yet, that doesn't mean that I use words like "Hey dude!" and "cool" in my everyday life conversations; and I also don't my ignore my own language favoring the English one; on the contrary, I do enjoy reading Arabic books and articles and try to develop my written Arabic.

!كلمني عربي

"!?Hey! eah al 25bar"

جملة عادية جداً بنشوفها كتير سواء كان في message أو لما بنكلم حد online

بس عمرك شوفت حد كاتب " هاللو، هاو آر يوو؟"!!

حتي لو شفت حد كاتب كده أكيد حتستغرب

ليه بقي العادي اننا نكتب عربي بحروف انجليزي بس مش عادي نعمل العكس؟؟

في حد ممكن يقول عشان دي اسمها فرانكو آرب لكن مفيش حاجة اسمها فرانكو إنجليش!

تاريخ الفرنكو آرب

أيه هو أصل الفرنكو؟

تاريخ الفرانكو يبدأ من أيام سقوط الأندلس (أسبانيا حاليا) في أيدي الفرنجة وأيام محاكم التفتيش الأوروبية، في الوقت ده كانت الأندلس بلد إسلامي وبعد ما احتلها الأسبان أول شيء عملوه أخذوا المصاحف وقفلوا المساجد ومنعوا الصلاة، وبعدين عملوا ما هو أخطر من كده، سابوا الناس تتكلم عربي عادي بس أجبروهم يكتبوا اللغة العربية بحروف لاتيني وده إللى احنا بنسميه "بالفرانكو اراب" دلوقتي، وللأسف فضلوا يضيقوا عليهم لحد ما طلع منهم جيل ما يعرفش هم مسلمين ولا لأ.

وظهر في القرن العشرين بعض المثقفين اللي قالوا إن الحرف اللاتيني اصلح من الحرف العربي شكلا وموضوعا وقالوا انه من الأفضل إننا نبدل الحرف اللاتيني بدلا من الحرف العربي في كتابتنا.

ومن أبرزهم الشاعر اللبناني سعيد عقل، هذا الشاعر كتب ديوان اسمه "يارا" بالفرانكو في بيروت وكتب في مقدمه الكتاب الحروف التي سيستخدمها وضاف من عنده بعض الحروف عشان يغطي قصور الحرف اللاتيني، والنتيجة ان أبجديته صار فيها أكثر من ثلاثين حرف، وبالطبع فشل الديوان ولم يلاق نجاح.

فين المشكلة؟

حتي قدوم مصطفي كمال اتاتورك سنة 1920م كانت اللغة التركية بتتكتب بالحروف العربي وبدلها اتاتورك بالحروف اللاتينية ليعلن انفصاله رسميا عن الشرق و العالم العربي واتجاهه للغرب، يعني اللغة التركية دلوقتي اصبحت "فرانكو تركي"!

زمان تركيا كانت بتتكلم و تكتب عربي

و بعدين بقت تكتب انجليزي و تتكلم عربي

و دلوقتي لا بيتكلموا عربي و لا بيكتبوا عربي...

تصوروا لو ده حصل في كل الدول العربية بعد مرور السنين ستختفي الحروف العربية ويحل محلها حروف لاتينية.

كل واحد منا عليه دور في المحافظة على لغته عشان ميبقاش في تركيا ولا أسبانيا جديدة.