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bint battuta in bahrain
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The anecdotes and musings of a translator living in Bahrain
Recent Posts Tagged With 'language'
export quality
A few weeks ago I spent an afternoon taking a group of four visiting Indian nuns shopping (oh, it's a long story). In LuLu Hypermarket I was surprised to find two of them looking at saris (and one of ...
in true style
I often refer to the Guardian style guide when writing/editing, and I love its dry sense of humour. Here are some of my favourite entries:alter ego: we have been known to spell it “altar ego” (to ...
a mulher está dançando
I said recently that I wanted to learn Portuguese one day – and that day has come, somewhat sooner than expected. I mentioned to a Brazilian friend that I wanted to learn Portuguese, and was promptl...
the "blog" of "unnecessary" quotation marks
I "love" it!...
what will globalisation do to languages?
A piece on the Freakonomics blog of the New York Times asks some 'wise people' whether globalisation will result in the hegemony of English, an ever-interesting debate. Here are some excerpts from the...
typo eradication advancement league
the land east of the asterisk
'good literature gives me a headache'
an indefatigable politician - and linguist
the pleasure of not having to understand
electronic decluttering
the problem with english!
the problem with arabic?
learn new words - and feed people
the poet who could smell vowels
with rhyme - and reason
stepmother tongues
samarkand – then the tale of the whale
'if you’re british, then how can i understand you?'
It’s oft-repeated that adults are unable, or forget, to view the world with the wonder and interest of children. When I first lived in Bahrain, six years ago, one of my neighbours in the housing com...
arabic v. english
I have often heard people – Arabic-speakers who know English well – make big statements about the nature of each language. ‘English is just a practical language.’ ‘Arabic is so much more bea...
translation as negotiation
I’m having a small crisis of confidence regarding my work as a translator. Last week I had a discussion with a friend, whose opinion I really trust, about the way I translate. This friend expressed ...
being faithful
في الأيام الأخيرة كنت اعمل مع شاعرة على ترجمة عدة من نصوصها، وأنا أحب أن اجلس مع الشاعر أو الشاعرة عندما أترج...
my first post in arabic...
اُمْكُثْ في النَّصّ ولا تخرج إليهم. حسين السماهيجي أمس حضرت أمسية شعرية في نادي باربار الثقافي والر...