Suzanne Talhouk: Don't kill your language
Suzanne Talhouk: Kto powiedział, że arabski nie jest fajny?
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,
z imieniem, więc zapytam:
on the tag in Arabic?
na plakietce po arabsku?
All right, no problem.
ordering food.
thinking that he misheard.
myśląc, że się przesłyszał.
"The menu (Arabic), please."
"Don't you know what they call it?"
jak to się nazywa?".
or "menu" (French)."
To jest MEnu" (Po angielsku)
said the waiter.
- zawołał innego kelnera.
as if he was saying to himself,
jakby mówił do siebie:
I wouldn't look at her!"
to bym na nią nie spojrzał!".
of saying "menu" in Arabic?
judge a girl as being backward
ocenił mnie dwoma słowami:
my own language in my own country?
języku we własnym kraju.
there are many people like me,
where they involuntarily give up
nieumyślnie wyzbywają się
that has happened to them in the past,
we have of the war!
jakie mamy z czasów wojny.
I learned in Arabic, just to conform?
po arabsku, tylko by się dopasować?
I tried to understand him.
with the same cruelty that he judged me.
jak on osądził mnie.
doesn't satisfy today's needs.
an advanced research project,
we use at the airport.
używany na lotniskach.
they'd strip us of our clothes.
natychmiast by nas przeszukała.
We could all ask this question!
Where are we to do so?
A ja pytam: gdzie?
that we ought to think about.
i tu należałoby się zastanowić.
of other languages
zrozumieć język obcy,
for creative expression in other languages.
sprawności w innych językach.
he used Arabic.
wyobrażenia i filozofie
in the village
smelling a specific smell,
he had enough baggage.
miał wystarczająco doświadczeń.
you smell the same smell,
czujesz te same zapachy,
writing in English,
piszącego po angielsku,
From a village on Mount Lebanon.
no one can argue with.
nikt nie może podważyć.
that if you want to kill a nation,
"Jeśli chcesz wyeliminować naród,
jest zduszenie jego języka".
that developed societies are aware of.
są bardzo świadome.
all these nations are aware of this.
oni wszyscy są tego świadomi.
to protect their language.
ochrony języka narodowego.
they pay a lot of money to develop it.
i płacą za to dużo pieniędzy.
krajem rozwiniętym,
hasn't reached us yet,
jeszcze do nas nie dotarły,
with the civilized world.
cywilizowany świat.
but decided to strive for development,
ale zdecydowane na rozwój,
as they were climbing the ladder,
podczas wspinaczki gospodarczej,
from Turkey or elsewhere
nie jest opisany po turecku,
most of the time.
jak większość z nas.
they had to protect their language.
musieli chronić swój język.
independence (Arabic),"
Niepodległość", (Po arabsku)
just words coming out of our mouths.
słowa płynące z ust.
in our lives,
that is linked to our emotions.
"Freedom, sovereignty, independence,"
Suwerenność, Niepodległość",
in their own mind,
tego szczególnego dnia w historii.
in a specific historical period.
or three words or letters put together.
dwa czy trzy słowa zebrane razem.
that relates to how we think,
związana z tym, jak myślimy,
and how others see us.
whether this guy understands or not?
independence (English),"
Niepodległość", (Po angielsku)
the freedom (English) slogan?"
and stop talking in vain.
remind us of a specific thing.
jakie przywołują te wyrażenia.
who's married to a French man.
"Everything is fine,
asking and trying to translate
próbowałam wytłumaczyć mu
'toqborni' for him."
"toqborni,"
trying to explain it to him.
"How could anyone be this cruel?
"Jak można być tak okrutnym?
that word to her husband,
nie używać przy mężu,
his way of thinking is different.
"He listens to Fairuz with me,
I tried to translate for him
I listen to Fairuz."
this for him:
and stole you --"
i cię skradłam..."
I returned my hands and left you."
zabrałam ręce i odeszłam".
the Arabic language?
of the civil society,
the Arabic language.
ochrony arabskiego.
"Why do you bother?
and go have fun."
launched a slogan that says,
but you reply from the West."
ty odpowiadasz z Zachodu".
"No! We do not accept this or that."
tego czy owego!".
that way, we wouldn't be understood.
bo by nas nie zrozumiano.
I hate the Arabic language.
"Nienawidzę arabskiego...",
our dreams, aspirations and day-to-day life.
aspiracje i codzienne życie.
and thinks like we do.
but you reply from the West"
a ty odpowiadasz z Zachodu"
yet creative and persuasive.
we launched another campaign
by black and yellow tape
written on it.
Seriously, don't kill your language.
we'd have to find an identity.
poszukać jakiejś tożsamości.
of being modern and civilized.
na bycie nowoczesnym i cywilizowanym.
of guys and girls wearing the Arabic letter.
i dziewcząt ubranych w arabskie litery.
"Ha! You used an English word!"
"Ha! Użyłaś angielskiego słowa!"...
"No! I adopt the word 'cool.'"
but give me a word that's nicer
ale dajcie mi słowo,
odzwierciedla sytuację.
"I'm going to the world wide web"
"Używam Ogólnoświatowej Sieci"...
We shouldn't kid ourselves.
we all have to be convinced
wszyscy musimy być przekonani,
who is bigger
when it comes to language,
bardziej kompetentny językowo
what they want.
byśmy czuli i myśleli, jak oni chcą.
i nie zbudujemy rakiet,
or build a rocket and so on,
is a creative project.
jest twórczym projektem.
is the path.
w języku ojczystym.
or produce a short film.
znów globalnie zaistnieć.
back to being number one.
językiem numer jeden.
there is a solution!
that a solution exists,
to be part of that solution.
tego rozwiązania.
even though my time has finished,
or Chinese.
francusku, chińsku,
with Latin characters mixed with numbers!
z łacińską mieszanką liter i cyfr!
That's not a language.
with a virtual language.
z wirtualnym językiem.
from such a place and rise.
that we can do.
each other.
żeby przekonywać się nawzajem.
to the necessity of preserving this language.
ochrony naszego języka.
"This is your father, honey (Arabic)."
"To jest twój tatuś, słonko". (Po arabsku)
"This is your dad, honey (English)."
(Po angielsku)
I promise my daughter Noor,
obiecałam swojej córce Noor,
"Thanks (Arabic),"
(Po arabsku), nie powiem jej:
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