MIDDLE EAST ONLINE: Many university students are not able to recite Arabic alphabet as youths consider language not very ‘cool’.
Lebanon, a tiny, vibrant Mediterranean country, prides itself on its polyglot society but for the country's youths native Arabic is not very "cool."
"Hi, kifak? Ca Va?" -- or "Hi, how are you doing? Okay?" -- is a typical multi-linguistic Lebanese greeting so popular it now appears on bumper stickers and teeshirts sold around the world.
English and French often replace the local dialect in conversation, especially among the urban youth, and one organisation has launched a campaign to preserve Arabic in Lebanon.
"Arabic is still very much alive as a language, but young people are moving farther and farther away from it," said Suzanne Talhouk, who heads the organisation "Fael Ummer" (Imperative) which is running the campaign.
"Some of our youngsters are incapable of writing correctly in Arabic, and many university students we interviewed were not even able to recite the alphabet," Talhouk said.
Urban youths are often unable to hold a conversation in one language, causing amusement but also irking those around them with such home-grown expressions as the popular farewell: "Yalla, bye."
"At my school it's more cool to speak French. Arabic is looked down upon," said high school student Nathalie. >>> Rana Moussaoui, Beirut | Sunday, February 28, 2010
