اِستِسلام root: س-ل-م / form X verbal noun / definition: surrender I was torn this week between: writing about Arabic-Akkadian case endings; adding to the Uncommon Arabic Words for… series; and dedicating my time to a step-by-step literature translation. As you can see from the title, I settled on the third option. It only seemedContinue reading “Step-by-Step Arabic Literature Translation #13”
Tag Archives: poetry
Arabic Observations: the True Meanings of Poetry
اِرتِباط root: ر-ب-ط / form VIII verbal noun / plural: اِرتِباطات / definition: connection, link During one of your sessions journeying through an Arabic dictionary, you might have stumbled upon the entry for شِعْر, and maybe you also noticed how it has two primary meanings: knowledge and poetry. (You’ll find quite a nice phrase underContinue reading “Arabic Observations: the True Meanings of Poetry”
Step-by-Step Arabic Literature Translation #6
شاعِر root: ش-ع-ر / noun / plural: شُعَراء / definition: poet For today’s addition to the literature translation series, I’ve chosen some lines from a poem that really had an impact on me the first time I read it. And that’s because the poet’s words are not confined to a poem. Instead, they unsettlingly foreshadowContinue reading “Step-by-Step Arabic Literature Translation #6”
Learning Arabic Through Poetry
شِعْر root: ش-ع-ر / noun / plural: أَشْعار / definition: poetry In the course of my language learning journey, I’ve found that going through Arabic texts and looking up each unfamiliar word is a really great way to pick up vocabulary. And what helps is if you encounter those pieces of vocabulary in interesting contexts.