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Arabic for Egyptian Youth: a Forgotten Privilege

June 13, 2019

Mariam Bahaa, Architecture student at the American University in Cairo, recounts her hate for her native Arabic language, mainly enforced by national curriculums taught in schools. Arabic lessons during Thanaweya amma were four hours of torture, for Bahaa. Her appreciation for the language was fostered after graduating from school, however, it was too late as now she can neither read nor write proper Arabic. She became a linguistically handicapped Egyptian. In the past few years, the foreign languages craze has been increasing among Egyptians. People are becoming more and more encouraged to master languages like English, French, and German; while neglecting and belittling their native Arabic or Egyptian language. English, especially, is becoming more and more integrated in the Egyptian life. People are using it to converse, seeking it for education, and preferring mass media that integrates or uses English as their main language; which undermines the position of the natives’ language. For Egyptians, Arabic proficiency is on an ongoing deterioration. Some people even think it is “cool” as Maggie Talaat, an Integrated Marketing Communication student at the American University in Cairo states, “to brag about how weak our Arabic…


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