Suzanne Talhouk: Don't kill your language
Suzanne Talhouk: Kdo tvrdí, že když mluvíme arabsky, nejsme "cool"?
Suzanne Talhouk is an advocate for the Arabic language as a tool of power, pride and unity. Full bio
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but I wanted to ask you,
on the tag in Arabic?
All right, no problem.
ordering food.
thinking that he misheard.
"The menu (Arabic), please."
"Don't you know what they call it?"
or "menu" (French)."
said the waiter.
as if he was saying to himself,
Jako by si sám pro sebe říkal:
I wouldn't look at her!"
ani bych se na ni nepodíval!'
of saying "menu" in Arabic?
judge a girl as being backward
odsoudil jednu ženu jako zaostalou
my own language in my own country?
jazykem ve vlastní zemi?
there are many people like me,
je zde mnoho lidí jako jsem já,
where they involuntarily give up
kdy nedobrovolně mávnou rukou nad vším,
that has happened to them in the past,
we have of the war!
co si pamatujeme z války!
I learned in Arabic, just to conform?
I tried to understand him.
with the same cruelty that he judged me.
jakým on soudil mě.
doesn't satisfy today's needs.
an advanced research project,
we use at the airport.
they'd strip us of our clothes.
na nás kus oblečení.
We could all ask this question!
Všichni bychom si mohli položit tuto otázku!
Where are we to do so?
Kde by to bylo možné?
that we ought to think about.
kterou bychom měli zvážit.
of other languages
for creative expression in other languages.
kreativní vyjadřování v jiných jazycích.
he used Arabic.
in the village
chlapcem z vesnice,
smelling a specific smell,
cítil konkrétní vůni,
he had enough baggage.
měl už dostatek nápadů.
you smell the same smell,
cítíte tu samou vůni,
writing in English,
kdo píše v angličtině,
From a village on Mount Lebanon.
Z vesnice na úbočí pohoří Mount Lebanon.
no one can argue with.
that if you want to kill a nation,
that developed societies are aware of.
společnosti vědomy.
all these nations are aware of this.
si toho vědomi.
to protect their language.
they pay a lot of money to develop it.
na jeho rozvoj platí hodně peněz.
hasn't reached us yet,
k nám ještě nepřišlo
with the civilized world.
but decided to strive for development,
které byly kdysi jako my,
as they were climbing the ladder,
from Turkey or elsewhere
z Turecka nebo odjinud
most of the time.
they had to protect their language.
ochránit svůj jazyk.
independence (Arabic),"
v arabštině,
just words coming out of our mouths.
vycházejících z našich úst.
in our lives,
that is linked to our emotions.
"Freedom, sovereignty, independence,"
in their own mind,
in a specific historical period.
or three words or letters put together.
písmena poskládaná dohromady.
that relates to how we think,
and how others see us.
whether this guy understands or not?
independence (English),"
the freedom (English) slogan?"
and stop talking in vain.
remind us of a specific thing.
připomínají konkrétní věc.
who's married to a French man.
která se vdala za Francouze.
v jejich manželství všechno v pořádku.
"Everything is fine,
asking and trying to translate
a snahou mu přeložit
'toqborni' for him."
"toqborni,"
trying to explain it to him.
že se mu slovo snažila vysvětlit.
"How could anyone be this cruel?
'Jak může někdo být tak krutý?
that word to her husband,
slovo svému manželovi,
his way of thinking is different.
Jeho styl myšlení je odlišný.
"He listens to Fairuz with me,
I tried to translate for him
mu ji přeložit,
I listen to Fairuz."
this for him:
and stole you --"
I returned my hands and left you."
dala jsem ruce zpět a opustila tě.'
the Arabic language?
of the civil society,
the Arabic language.
arabského jazyka.
"Why do you bother?
and go have fun."
launched a slogan that says,
vypustila slogan, který zní:
but you reply from the West."
odpovídáte ze západu.'
"No! We do not accept this or that."
that way, we wouldn't be understood.
by nám nikdo neporozuměl.
I hate the Arabic language.
nesnáším arabštinu.
our dreams, aspirations and day-to-day life.
touhy a všední život.
and thinks like we do.
a přemýšlí jako my.
but you reply from the West"
odpovídáte ze západu."
yet creative and persuasive.
kreativního a přesvědčivého.
we launched another campaign
by black and yellow tape
a žlutou páskou.
written on it.
Seriously, don't kill your language.
we'd have to find an identity.
si najít novou identitu.
of being modern and civilized.
být moderní a civilizovaní.
of guys and girls wearing the Arabic letter.
"Ha! You used an English word!"
"No! I adopt the word 'cool.'"
but give me a word that's nicer
najít hezčí slovo,
"I'm going to the world wide web"
We shouldn't kid ourselves.
Neměli bychom si ze sebe dělat srandu.
we all have to be convinced
musíme být všichni přesvědčení,
who is bigger
when it comes to language,
what they want.
or build a rocket and so on,
postavit raketu nebo něco jiného,
is a creative project.
is the path.
or produce a short film.
dostat na globální úroveň.
back to being number one.
there is a solution!
that a solution exists,
to be part of that solution.
tohoto řešení.
even though my time has finished,
or Chinese.
with Latin characters mixed with numbers!
smíšenými s čísly!
That's not a language.
with a virtual language.
s virtuálním jazykem.
from such a place and rise.
místa vrátit a růst.
that we can do.
které můžeme udělat.
each other.
přesvědčovali jeden druhého.
to the necessity of preserving this language.
nezbytnost ochrany tohoto jazyka.
"This is your father, honey (Arabic)."
"This is your dad, honey (English)."
I promise my daughter Noor,
"Thanks (Arabic),"
and hope no one has heard her.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Suzanne Talhouk - Poet and language advocateSuzanne Talhouk is an advocate for the Arabic language as a tool of power, pride and unity.
Why you should listen
Raised in war-torn Lebanon, Suzanne Talhouk has a masters in physics and a passion for poetry; she has released two collections of poems. Dismayed by what she saw as a lack of power during the recent war in the Middle East, Talhouk saw the Arabic language as medium to unite and empower the Arab world. She launched Feil Amer, an organization that aims to preserve the Arabic language, and to reinstate the pride in young Arabs towards their language.
Suzanne Talhouk | Speaker | TED.com