صَحْن root: ص-ح-ن / noun / plural: صُحون / definition: bowl, dish In case any one of you hadn’t noticed that daylight hours have dwindled to their almost-minimum: it’s winter. (And if you actually hadn’t noticed, I apologise for being the bearer of this heavy news.) That is, of course, unless you’re over on theContinue reading “Winter, Visas, Bowl”
Category Archives: my language journey
Uncontactable and Unread
اِختِفاء root: خ-ف-ي / form VIII verbal noun / definition: disappearance For those who have found me almost uncontactable—of whom I must mention: journal co-editors, my Akkadian teacher, and dear friends whose messages lie in wait in my Whatsapp unreads—I apologise for my unexplained disappearance. You see, there was an unexpected meeting. Then, a chosenContinue reading “Uncontactable and Unread”
A Final Call, a Third Year
نِداء root: ن-د-و / noun / plural: نِداءات / definition: call, public announcement If you saw four dishevelled passengers racing through Istanbul Airport to catch their transfer flight and making it just before their gate closed on Saturday evening… that was me and my family. Gate F1—why did you have to be so far. AContinue reading “A Final Call, a Third Year”
Four Weeks, and Three Arabic Phrases
العَوْم root: ع-و-م / form I verbal noun / definition: floating I returned to London yesterday with my glasses broken, heart full, and mind a mess. Those four weeks in Majorca, in my childhood home and bedroom with the sea-blue curtains I’ve had for the past twenty years, felt like too little time to honourContinue reading “Four Weeks, and Three Arabic Phrases”
From an Airport, into the Blur
مَطار root: ط-ي-ر / noun of place / plural: مَطارات / definition: airport I’m writing this from a quiet(er) corner of Gatwick’s North Terminal after arriving four hours early, burdened with overstuffed cabin bags and guilt from having to throw away an unopened pint of milk before I left home. Even after a sit-down matchaContinue reading “From an Airport, into the Blur”
A De-Forgotten Song, an Antidote, a Last Post
أَخير root: ء-خ-ر / adjective / definition: last Something usually goes wrong in the first few days of me living alone. This time? I almost got locked out of the house, thanks to a jammed lock (remedied with olive oil, what else?)—oh, and I almost poisoned myself. After messaging my sister to make sure sheContinue reading “A De-Forgotten Song, an Antidote, a Last Post”
The Taste of Language
لِسان root: ل-س-ن / noun / plural: أَلسِنة، أَلسُن / definition: tongue, language I’m on day 3 of a five-day run of meetings and meet-ups. TfL continues to fleece me, my average step count continues to rise, and I continue to wonder what kind of rehab my introverted self will need after this. Popping intoContinue reading “The Taste of Language”
Writer’s Grief and Closing a Chapter
كاتِبة root: ك-ت-ب / form I active participle, feminine form / definition: writing, a writer I get emotionally attached to plans. I’ve been gathering quotes, ideas, and notes for months—only to realise there’s not enough word count (or time) to include everything in the chapter I’m writing. So I save bullet points of brain clutterContinue reading “Writer’s Grief and Closing a Chapter”
10:27, Baghdad, Page 63
مَقْهًى root: ق-ه-و /noun / plural: مَقاهٍ / definition: café I can’t help but notice that, beyond my screen, my تبغدد top is drying on the heater upside down. . I’m normally the most unobservant person—my friends can tell you that. But there are some things, especially in times of stress, that I’ll notice toContinue reading “10:27, Baghdad, Page 63”
Cairene Bookshops and Un-Expectations
القاهِرة root: ق-ه-ر / proper noun, feminine form I active participle / definition: Cairo A few days ago, I was taking refuge from a chilly Cairene night in the warmth of a tiny bookshop when I got to chatting with the two men working there. One of them kindly gifted me a book he guessedContinue reading “Cairene Bookshops and Un-Expectations”
Arabic Epiphanies in Akkadian Class: خلق, the Rule of 12, and 19 Verb Forms
خَلَقَ root: خ-ل-ق / form I verb / definition: to create I’ve taken on a few new projects recently which have made for an exciting–albeit very busy—week. My tranquil Monday mood helped me to take everything in my stride… and the giant pizza over a business dinner didn’t hurt mood-wise either. But in between reviewingContinue reading “Arabic Epiphanies in Akkadian Class: خلق, the Rule of 12, and 19 Verb Forms”
Date Syrup, the Ocean, and Nuts
دِبْس root: د-ب-س / noun / definition: syrup, molasses It’s a blissfully slow morning. I roll out of bed and into my rocking chair. I send off a funding application and set up a new website. I make a plan for the day. I still need to send some emails, prepare work for my supervisorContinue reading “Date Syrup, the Ocean, and Nuts”
Winter, Aleppo, and Longing
الشِّتاء root: ش-ت-و / noun / definition: winter To round off my program here in Doha, I presented my research paper last week, focusing on the image of Aleppo in the Arabic novel. It was somewhat of a triumphant end, on a personal level, as I decided—instead of reading notes or preparing a speech—to improviseContinue reading “Winter, Aleppo, and Longing”
Oman and an Ever-Nearing Return
لُبان root: ل-ب-ن / noun / definition: frankincense Land of frankincense, endless arches, and smiling eyes: Oman, where I spent the past week on a solo trip. And upon my return to Doha, I’m caught off guard by only two-and-a-half weeks left of class and forced to gulp down the reality of flying back toContinue reading “Oman and an Ever-Nearing Return”
Nostalgia, the Library, and Extrapolation
اِسْتِقْراء root: ق-ر-ء / form X verbal noun / definition: extrapolation The three-day conference I attended over the weekend and the start of the week meant that my readings and homework took a backseat—or, more accurately, fell out the boot of the metaphorical car I was taking for a joyride. (Can something be more accurateContinue reading “Nostalgia, the Library, and Extrapolation”
A Summer School, Sardinia, and Spent Ink
حِبْر root: ح-ب-ر / noun / definition: ink Never have I veered so close to spontaneity before. It was a Thursday morning and I had just applied for a linguistics summer school—without realising that it was due to start just four days later in Sardinia’s capital, and that the deadline had passed weeks before. Somehow,Continue reading “A Summer School, Sardinia, and Spent Ink”
The Sabaic Language and a Much Awaited Deadline
إعادة التَّأطير root: ع-و-د and ء-ط-ر / phrase / definition: reframing Solitudinous sahoors and attempts at staying up as late as I can handle in my mid-twenties (my failings in which remind me I’m well past my teen years) have been left behind in Ramadan, and my PhD chapter that I abandoned in the secondContinue reading “The Sabaic Language and a Much Awaited Deadline”
Travelling and Teaching as an Anxious Introvert
قَلَق root: ق-ل-ق / noun / definition: anxiety I just returned last night from my second solo trip—this time: a week in Qatar. I’m often surprised, being that I’m a habitually-anxious introvert, that I can force myself out of my comfort zone far enough that I actually find peace in that space beyond. “Why aren’tContinue reading “Travelling and Teaching as an Anxious Introvert”
Andalusi Arabic: to Revive or Not to Revive?
إحْياء root: ح-ي-و / form IV verbal noun / definition: revival Every so often and very suddenly, a linguist (and I’m specifically talking about myself) gets ludicrously preoccupied with researching an extinct language or dialect and dreamily sketches out a grandiose plan to revive it… which, of course, firstly includes learning it. It’s partly delusion—butContinue reading “Andalusi Arabic: to Revive or Not to Revive?”
Night-time Ramblings of an Arabic PhD Student
إنتاجيّة root: ن-ت-ج / noun / definition: productivity Ten thousand words. Of notes. I think it was easier to understand that one A-Level Physics class I had when my teacher was explaining how light moves, yes, in straight lines but, oh no, it actually takes every possible route to reach anything (I still don’t getContinue reading “Night-time Ramblings of an Arabic PhD Student”
The Arabic Pages 