We are here as liberators not as occupiers...

Jeremy Palmer over at his blog, Learning and Teaching Arabic, posted a rather neat link to Defense Language Institute's free online Basics of Iraqi Arabic course.

The course is set up in a phrase book style, complete with the Arabic writing, the audio, and the transliteration of the word/phrase in question (in Iraqi dialect where applicable).

When you view this please keep in mind that it was written for use by the US Military; although, there is plenty that can be used in a non-military sense. However, being designed for use by the US Military gives it a slightly Orwellian overtone sometimes.

The most hilarious phrase I found was: “We are here as liberators not as occupiers. And we must cooperate with each other.” The most hilarious section on the site is the Conciliatory Sentences section which provides handy gems such as:

“We are American.”
“We are your friends.
“We are not your enemies.”

Also of interest on the site is a free The Online Learning Sustainment and Enhancement Language Course for Arabic. It’s a bit confusing and is geared towards slightly more advanced students but still well worth a look for those who have had about a year of Arabic study.

The site also contains a Countries in Perspective series that is “under development” and currently has modules for both Syria and Iraq (Iran too). These are very well done for those people interested in learning more about a specific country. These are very detailed profiles that can also be downloaded in PDF format. I personally feel that the country profiles are the jewel of the site and highly recommend them for those curious about the countries behind the Arabic language. I like it so much that I’ve added the specific link for Syria, Iraq and Iran to my Miscellaneous links section.

Basics of Iraqi Arabic

Click on the title to go to the Defense Language Institute's free online basics of Iraqi Arabic course complete with mp3s and more. Actually, this link takes you to a page where you will select the course. The course is, yes, basic but has some vocabulary that may come in useful. It is a bit on the military side, but much of the vocab and phrases are generic enough to be of use.

Jeremy

We don't need no stinking badges!

Well, I’m feeling much better tonight as I finally decided to call CALES about my visa problem and spoke with the school’s Director, Jameel Al-Bazeli. Jameel said that it was not a problem that the Yemeni consulate in Washington DC won’t issue me a student visa or tourist visa.

So now the plan is to fly on out to Yemen and get a one-month tourist visa issued at the airport, after which CALES can get my visa extended for a year. Again, according to Jameel, this is not a problem.

I did consider contacting one of the other schools to possibly get an actual student visa before I got to Yemen, but I've sort of had my mind set on CALES for a while now and I'm willing to believe that Jameel knows what he's talking about.

And that reminds me of an interesting quote from the movie Surviving Desire, by Robert Altman. It goes something like this:

"That's the problem with us Americans, is that we always want a tragedy with a happy ending." :)~

School System Adds Arabic and Chinese

Click on the title of this post to go to an interesting article from connectionnewspapers.com about Arabic for middle and high schoolers. This is one of the keys to freeing the US from its monolingualism: get the kids to start learning foreign languages when they are younger so that when they grow up - the foreign languages aren't quite so foreign and seemingly unlearnable. This is one of the hot topics in education circles these days: How to get foreign language learning included the national standard exams.

Does your area offer any k-12 Arabic programs or classes?

Jeremy

Radio Tunis

I've added a link to the Tunis National Radio to my news link section.

Jeremy's Arabic notebooks. Featuring "Spotlight" and making phone calls

So I have piles of language notebooks. I have digitized a few sections of one. I am considering putting my notes from my Syria program online. They would be seperated into Syrian colloquial and MSA. There may be some sub categories such as grammar, novels, news etc. What else would I do with all the knowledge I gained? I believe that sharing is caring folks. I will have to think about how and where to store all of these. They are currently in low resolution jpgs. I found that taking low res photos goes much faster than scanning or any other option I could think of. Tell me what you think and share ideas.

Above is an example of a vocab page from one of my notebooks. This is Syrian colloquial. The page on the right is from the Syrian TV series "Spotlight". The page on the left is notes from a speaking partner exchange.

Click on the photo to enlarge it. Oh, and I don't always complete my notes in English. Usually, but not always. For example on bottom of the left page there is the English that says simply "I will" - I should have written "I will no longer speak with you". The construction I was practicing was "to do something no more / no longer".

And don't take my word for everything. Learn from others' notes, but you should always verify and practice to make sure you and I are both correct.

Frankly Mr. Shankly

Right then, about all I have left for my trip to Yemen is to get my visa.

I figured I would be getting it soon as the paperwork I sent had been signed for by the Consulate of the Republic of Yemen on January 9th. Then, bright and early this morning the telephone rang and from that point on I felt a little like Arthur Dent when he discovered his house was to be bull-dozed.

I’ve nobody to blame but myself. I made the rookie mistake of being honest. When asked on the application, I told them that I was going to be in Yemen for 12 months and that I was going there to study Arabic. And there begins the bull-dozing of my house.

A consulate employee called at about 6:35am (Pacific) and left a message informing me that there was a problem with my visa and that I should contact them after 10am (Eastern). I checked the answering machine right after he called and returned his call immediately. Of course, immediately happened to be 15 minute to 10am (Eastern) and I was promptly asked to call back in about 30 minutes.

Fair enough, he did say after 10am. When I called back the employee in question explains to me that since I am going to be a student, my school in Yemen would need to make my visa application. Not wanting to delay issuance of my visa, I told him not to worry about a 12 month student visa and asked him to just issue me a 3 month tourist visa.

Unfortunately, Mr. Consulate Employee informs me that he knows that I will be a student and that he can’t just ignore the application and issue me a tourist visa. I was trapped by his unflappable logic and my own willing suspension of disbelief. It was at this moment I expected a pitch for a bribe, but no such luck.

So now I’ve emailed CALES and told them of my situation and asked that they do whatever it is that they have to do to get me a visa. At this point I’m not holding my breath as I came across a recent blog (recent as in this month) where the writer says she had to switch from CALES to the Yemen Language Center because CALES couldn’t get her a visa.

What then, are my choices? Firstly, I suppose I must wait for a reply from CALES. If I get a positive reply, all my worries are over. If I get a negative reply, I will contact either SIAL or YLC and see if they can get the necessary paperwork to the Yemeni consulate in Washington DC. Worst case scenario, I will just get my passport back from the consulate and take my flight to Sana’a and hope to be issued a visa at the airport.

If anybody has bothered to read this far and you are planning on studying in Yemen, just apply for a tourist visa through your embassy and let your school change your residency AFTER you’re in Yemen! I beg of you – don’t end up like me – a statistical reminder of a bureaucracy that doesn't care.