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Tag: Arabic
November 1, 2024
Election 2024

AOC Tried to Use Arabic on Her Election Flyers. It Turned Out to be Gibberish.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is facing criticism over a campaign mailer featuring a nonsensical Arabic translation of election information, including the last day voters can cast their ballot. The campaign leaflet features Arabic script in which the characters appear in reverse order and are disconnected, deviating from standard Arabic script requirements.

The mistake drew attention after Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, a journalist, criticized the gaffe on X (formerly Twitter). He remarked that the disorganized script was emblematic of Ocasio-Cortez’s disconnect with Arab voters.

The incorrect Arabic also drew comments from Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian studies professor at Reichman University. He equated the flyer mishap with Ocasio-Cortez’s understanding of Middle Eastern affairs, labeling it “gibberish.”

Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign did not appear to have caught the error until Shihab-Eldin and others noted the mistake. The New York Democratic Party lawmaker had posted images of the mailer on social media but quickly deleted them after criticism began to roll in. As part of her campaign, Ocasio-Cortez has been vocal about reducing military aid to Israel, accusing the Jewish state of committing acts of genocide against Palestinians.

The social media post accompanying the campaign material pointed out efforts to mobilize New Yorkers in five languages, advancing support for Vice President Kamala Harris, Governor Tim Walz (D-MN), and Ocasio-Cortez herself. According to the Democrat, her campaign has sent mailers in 800 languages, including English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, French Creole, and Bengali. It is unclear how many suffer from translation and grammatical issues which render them unintelligible.

Image by Matt A.J.

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Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is facing criticism over a campaign mailer featuring a nonsensical Arabic translation of election information, including the last day voters can cast their ballot. The campaign leaflet features Arabic script in which the characters appear in reverse order and are disconnected, deviating from standard Arabic script requirements. show more
September 20, 2024
News

Another European Terror Attack Just Happened and No One Is Talking About It.

Police are seeking witnesses to aid in their investigation of a fatal stabbing on Thursday night in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. The attack resulted in one death and left another person seriously injured. The suspect is a 22-year-old man who was apprehended after being subdued by bystanders and officials.

The deadly assault took place near the Erasmus Bridge, a prominent landmark in the city. A 32-year-old local lost his life, while a 33-year-old from Switzerland sustained severe injuries. The suspect reportedly wielded two large knives during the attack.

Police spokesman Wessel Stolle indicated that some witnesses claim the attacker shouted “Allahu Akbar!” However, he inists that the investigation is ongoing, and no immediate conclusions about the motive have been drawn.

Reniël Renato David Litecia, a sports instructor, described how he intervened by hitting the assailant with two sticks and disarming him. Initially mistaking the commotion for a brawl, Litecia realized the gravity of the situation upon approaching the scene.

“It wasn’t a fight. It was a man with two long knives stabbing another young guy,” he recounted.

Further details from another police spokeswoman, Kristel Arntz, reveal that the assailant first attacked a person in an underground parking lot before targeting a second victim near a bustling terrace by the bridge over the New Maas River.

“We have arrested a suspect, we are going to question him. We will look at all the witness statements, and then we will look at what the possible motive was,” Arntz said. The identities of the suspect and the victims have not been disclosed, adhering to Dutch privacy laws.

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Police are seeking witnesses to aid in their investigation of a fatal stabbing on Thursday night in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. The attack resulted in one death and left another person seriously injured. The suspect is a 22-year-old man who was apprehended after being subdued by bystanders and officials. show more
November 26, 2023
Jake Welch
World

Arabic Becoming ‘Second Language’ in France.

Dialectal Arabic has become the second most widely spoken language in France, surpassing many of the nation’s historic regional languages for the first time in history, according to a recent study.

France, which has the largest Muslim population of any country inside the European Union at around ten percent, is witnessing many of its regional languages, such as Berber, Alsatian, Occitan, and Breton, slowly die out while dialectal Arabic is becoming increasingly common.

Indeed, more people across France speak some form of Arabic than all other regional languages combined. “This would seem to be a first in history, at a crossroads of the decline of regional languages, globalization, and migration,” states  Victoire Lemoigne of the French newspaper Le Figaro.

The country has up to four million Arabic speakers, the majority of whom come from countries on the North African coast, including Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. However, migrants from other Arabic-speaking countries, such as Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria, have contributed to the trend.

It is likely this trend will continue over the coming decades, as the Muslim population of France is expected to increase to around 12.6 million by 2050.

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Dialectal Arabic has become the second most widely spoken language in France, surpassing many of the nation's historic regional languages for the first time in history, according to a recent study. show more