Lebanon tries to retain Arabic in polyglot culture
[Arab News] Maya Sabti's children were born and raised in Lebanon but they speak only broken Arabic and cringe when presented with an Arabic book to read.
"I try to get them interested, but I don't blame them that they're not," said Sabti, whose children are 8 and 10. "Mobile phones, Facebook, movies -- all that's important to them is in English."
In Lebanon, where everyday conversations have long been sprinkled with French and English, many fear the new generation is losing its connection to the country's official language: Arabic. The issue has raised enough concern for some civil groups to take action.
Posted by: Fred 2010-08-17 |