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All Strangers Are Kin
All Strangers Are Kin: Adventures in Arabic and the Arab World | Zora O'Neill
8 posts | 4 read | 14 to read
The shaddais the key difference between a pigeon (hamam) and a bathroom (hammam). Be careful, our professor advised, in the first moment of outright humor in class, that you dont ask a waiter, Excuse me, where is the pigeon? or, conversely, order a roasted toilet. If youve ever studied a foreign language, you know what happens when you first truly and clearly communicate with another person. As Zora ONeill recalls, you feel like a magician. If that foreign language is Arabic, you just might feel like a wizard. They say that Arabic takes seven years to learn and a lifetime to master. ONeill had put in her time. Steeped in grammar tomes and outdated textbooks, she faced an increasing certainty that she was not only failing to master Arabic, but also driving herself crazy. She took a decade-long hiatus, but couldnt shake her fascination with the language or the cultures it had opened up to her. So she decided to jump back inthis time with a new approach. Join ONeill for a grand tour through the Middle East. You will laugh with her in Egypt, delight in the stories she passes on from the United Arab Emirates, and find yourself transformed by her experiences in Lebanon and Morocco. Shes packed her dictionaries, her unsinkable sense of humor, and her talent for making fast friends of strangers. From quiet, bougainvillea-lined streets to the lively buzz of crowded medinas, from families homes to local hotspots, she brings a part of the world that is thousands of miles away right to your door. A natural storyteller with an eye for the deeply absurd and the deeply human, ONeill explores the indelible links between culture and communication. A powerful testament to the dynamism of language, All Strangers Are Kin reminds us that learning another tongue leaves you rich with so much more than words.
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review
Smrloomis
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Mehso-so

Hmm. This was much more of a language learning memoir than a travel one, and for that reason (surprisingly) it dragged. I have read other memoirs about language learning that I enjoyed much more; in particular it bugged me that she traveled all over, even though she knew the diversity of Arabic dialects. It would have been more interesting if she had stayed in one place and focused on that dialect. So a pick for some and a so-so for me. #LitsyAtoZ

BestOfFates It's so great to hear a take on this one - I studied Arabic for many years so have been interested but wondered how that was going to work, it truly is hard to parse lots of main dialects so didn't know if it was going to be like, well, didn't learn anything or like, turns out I'm a linguistic genius! 8y
Caterina Sounds intriguing, but I'm more interested in these other language learning memoirs you've read and liked better! I've never read one, but I'm super interesting in learning languages! What would you recommend? 8y
rockpools I hadn't realised that language-learning memoirs were a thing, but I'm currently having issues with a book that falls between that and a travel memoir. Like @caterina I'd love to hear your recommendations for good ones. 8y
See All 20 Comments
Lindy Please tag me as well if you will be sharing language learning memoir recommendations. Thanks! 8y
Smrloomis @Caterina @RachelO @Lindy ok so of course only one comes to mind right now by Rich. It may have helped that I don't know any Hindi. I also thought a Peter Hessler book and a Bruce Feiler book might have some language learning, but I can't remember now. I'll tag those below and maybe someone who has read them more recently could say. (edited) 8y
Smrloomis @BestOfFates yeah, I hate to rain on her parade since I don't think there are a lot of books from former Arabic students. And she definitely gets some of the experience very right. But she basically just learned a little bit in each place and it ended up kind of gimmicky. Did you study formal only or a dialect too? Just curious! 8y
BestOfFates @Smrloomis I've only studied modern standard (fusha), so for pretty much every place I'm understood but struggle to understand! I've studied in Tunisia & Morocco, so more familiar with those dialects, & then through media okay with Egyptian! 8y
rockpools Thank you! Will definitely check some of these out. 8y
Smrloomis @BestOfFates interesting! I learned only fusha at first (there was no choice at that time) and never really felt I could communicate until I learned some dialect. They do really seem like totally different languages at times! 8y
Smrloomis @RachelO my pleasure! If you read any of them, I'd be interested in hearing what you think! 8y
BestOfFates @Smrloomis That's so interesting we had such different experiences! I found the most difficulty with varieties of pronunciation (but only with ppl correcting mine, so not bad enough they didn't understand what I was going for) or with words I didn't consider would be that different in dialect. Who were you talking with? 8y
rockpools @Smrloomis That sounds good too. You're breaking my tbr 😉! I'll try and remember to tag you when I get to them. 8y
Smrloomis @BestOfFates I went to Jordan first with no dialect at all. I definitely think it's better to learn both from the beginning. Like you said, people understood me but I had no idea what they were saying. And I could tell from people's reactions that it was really weird to talk to them that way. Not a good combo! Besides, learning one dialect makes learning another easier. 8y
Smrloomis @RachelO 👍🏽 hope you end up liking some of them. I still haven't read the French or Dreaming in Chinese ones. I wish Peter Hessler would write one about learning Arabic. That would be great I'm sure. 8y
BestOfFates @Smrloomis Envious! Jordan was always my dream country to live in but I never made it there! I think I found North Africa different bc of how French (& in Morocco more Spanish & Amazigh) is worked in and because so many people from the Middle East even struggle to understand the dialect there that people are pretty accepting of fusha. Tho maybe I just believed that because of how awful I am outside of msa! 8y
Smrloomis @BestOfFates I always planned to go to Tunisia and Morocco, and still haven't made it. Maybe some day soon!😬 7y
83 likes20 comments
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mkinney10
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I was late to the Listy party (Android user here), but this was a great book-end (pun intended) to 2016! I read more this year than ever before and I'm looking forward to more great reads in 2017!

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mkinney10
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Fattet hummus, I mused--not just a pleasure to eat, but a pleasure to say...And you got the breathy, aspirated h in the hummus, and the heavy, dramatic s that left your mouth in a thoughtful, serious pout--a substantial word for a substantial bean, the noble garbanzo.

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JodiLynnS
Pickpick

Loved Loved Loved this book!

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Smrloomis

I'm about four pages into this and I have already laughed out loud a few times. If you've studied Arabic as an adult, you should READ THIS. Ok, even if you haven't, you should still read this. 😄

Megabooks I'll never forget my college Arabic instructor saying about a white full professor in the dept, "Mariam is white. When she goes to Yemen, they think she's from Yemen. When she goes to Jordan, they think she's from Jordan. Why can you not master this!?" I lasted 3 semesters. ? 8y
Smrloomis @Ebooksandcooks thanks for that anecdote! I love it 😝 8y
Soubhiville I took a few months of private lessons before life got in the way, but would love to give Arabic another shot! 8y
Smrloomis @Soubhiville yes, do! Just learn some dialect right away so you can talk to people and sound like a normal person! 8y
31 likes5 stack adds4 comments
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Smrloomis
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Looking forward to starting this soon!

22 likes1 stack add
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shawnmooney
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I woke up from a lovely looooong afternoon nap to hear the tail-end of an interview with the author. She has a lovely voice, told an sweet story about befriending a woman in the Middle East for the first time, in Arabic, which was what had motivated her to study Arabic all along.

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KiskyLuella
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Zora is an absolute delight to host. Her energy lit up the room, not to mention the Moroccan food she brought ❤️❤️