Suzanne Talhouk: Don't kill your language
Suzanne Talhouk: Kim demiş Arapça sizi "uncool" yapar diye ?
Suzanne Talhouk is an advocate for the Arabic language as a tool of power, pride and unity. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
but I wanted to ask you,
on the tag in Arabic?
All right, no problem.
Pekala, sorun değil.
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,
I wouldn't look at her!"
of saying "menu" in Arabic?
judge a girl as being backward
my own language in my own country?
there are many people like me,
where they involuntarily give up
that has happened to them in the past,
we have of the war!
bizde savaş vardı olabilir.
I learned in Arabic, just to conform?
I tried to understand him.
with the same cruelty that he judged me.
doesn't satisfy today's needs.
an advanced research project,
we use at the airport.
they'd strip us of our clothes.
We could all ask this question!
Tüm bu soruları sorabiliyoruz!
Where are we to do so?
Bunu yapmakta neredeyiz?
that we ought to think about.
of other languages
for creative expression in other languages.
he used Arabic.
in the village
smelling a specific smell,
he had enough baggage.
you smell the same smell,
writing in English,
From a village on Mount Lebanon.
Lübnan Dağı'ndaki bir köyden.
no one can argue with.
that if you want to kill a nation,
that developed societies are aware of.
all these nations are aware of this.
to protect their language.
they pay a lot of money to develop it.
dillerini geliştirmek için daha çok para ödüyorlar.
hasn't reached us yet,
with the civilized world.
but decided to strive for development,
as they were climbing the ladder,
from Turkey or elsewhere
most of the time.
they had to protect their language.
independence (Arabic),"
just words coming out of our mouths.
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.
that relates to how we think,
and how others see us.
ve yine diğerlerinin bizi nasıl gördüğü ile alakalıdır.
whether this guy understands or not?
independence (English),"
the freedom (English) slogan?"
and stop talking in vain.
remind us of a specific thing.
who's married to a French man.
"Everything is fine,
asking and trying to translate
'toqborni' for him."
"toqborni,"
trying to explain it to him.
"How could anyone be this cruel?
"Birisi nasıl bu kadar kaba olabilir?
that word to her husband,
his way of thinking is different.
"He listens to Fairuz with me,
"Benimle birlikte Fairuz"u dinler,
I tried to translate for him
ona çevirmeye çalıştım
I listen to Fairuz."
this for him:
and stole you --"
I returned my hands and left you."
Ellerimi geri aldım ve bıraktım seni."
the Arabic language?
of the civil society,
the Arabic language.
"Why do you bother?
"Niye canını sıkıyorsun?" demesine rağmen.
and go have fun."
launched a slogan that says,
but you reply from the West."
Sen bana batıdan cevap veriyorsun."
"No! We do not accept this or that."
that way, we wouldn't be understood.
bu yolla anlaşılamayacağız.
I hate the Arabic language.
Arapçadan nefret ediyorum.
our dreams, aspirations and day-to-day life.
and thinks like we do.
but you reply from the West"
ama sen batıdan cevap veriyorsun."
yet creative and persuasive.
we launched another campaign
by black and yellow tape
written on it.
yazıyor.
Seriously, don't kill your language.
Cidden, dilinizi öldürmeyin.
we'd have to find an identity.
yeni bir kimlik bulmak zorunda kalırdık.
of being modern and civilized.
of guys and girls wearing the Arabic letter.
"Ha! You used an English word!"
"Aha İngilizce bir kelime kullandın."
"No! I adopt the word 'cool.'"
"Hayır! Ben kelimeyi uyarladım "cool"
but give me a word that's nicer
ama bana gerçeklerle daha hoş
"I'm going to the world wide web"
"Dünya geniş ağına gireceğim"
We shouldn't kid ourselves.
Kendimizi kandırmamalıyız.
we all have to be convinced
Şuna inanmalıyız;
who is bigger
when it comes to language,
söz konusu dil olduğunda
what they want.
or build a rocket and so on,
veya bir roket yapamasakta,
is a creative project.
is the path.
or produce a short film.
veya kısa bir film çekelim.
back to being number one.
taşıyabilir.
there is a solution!
Bir çözüm var.
that a solution exists,
bir çözüm var,
to be part of that solution.
bizim görevimiz.
even though my time has finished,
benim konuşmam bittiğinde bile,
or Chinese.
veya Çince'de.
with Latin characters mixed with numbers!
That's not a language.
Bir dil değil.
with a virtual language.
sanal bir dil ile girdiniz.
from such a place and rise.
yükselmek kolay değil.
that we can do.
each other.
to the necessity of preserving this language.
"This is your father, honey (Arabic)."
"Bu senin baban, tatlı."
"This is your dad, honey (English)."
"This is your dad, honey"
I promise my daughter Noor,
Söz veriyorum kızım Noor,
"Thanks (Arabic),"
"Teşekkürler"
and hope no one has heard her.
ve kimsenin onu duymadığını umut etmeyeceğim.
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