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salimmahboubi
Joined 35 karma

  1. > [...] there isn't one "Arabic".

    This is a misconception I always see online, sometimes by Arabic Teachers and native speakers. While yes, there are a lot of variants, the choice should be made obvious by the teachers (who I blame). Anyone who wants to learn Arabic, should learn Modern Standard Arabic (or Quranic, they're the same) for these reasons (non-exhaustive): 1- It is the most understood variant, as it is the lingua franca between all Arabic speaking peoples (and beyond). 2- It is similar to most other variants (Basically it's pretty near the vernacular variants of Peninsular Arabic, and not that far from the Levantine, Egyptian, and North African ones) 3- And MOST IMPORTANTLY : Unlike the vernacular variants, it is a written language with codified rules, clear grammar, and a vast lake of vocabulary resources.

    Slightly related rant:

    The most annoying idea I see spread all over is the comparison of Arabic and its variants to Latin and romance languages. Which is as misguided as a bent arrow fired from the hip. Latin is dead while MSA is live and kicking, being used daily by millions if not billions of people. Because of the Quranic staticity, Arabic is a pretty much "Frozen in time" language with little evolution. (A phrase written 1600 years ago might still be understood today, unlike in English or French for example)

  2. "Staatsanwaltschaft Heidelberg" is not the name of a prosecuter, it just means Heidelberg's State Attorney Office, lol
  3. To me, the question is why we keep using PDFs that never get printed?
  4. > (the meaning of Alhambra is “red castle”)

    I'll have to correct that.

    I) Linguistically :

    Al-Hamraa [AR: الحمراء] is just the definite feminine noun for "the red one" the definite male noun being Al-Ahmar [الأحمر]. There's no mention of castle here, but, as usual in Arabic, there might be a case of abbreviation by omission.

    The full noun of the complex is one of these, which are all used: 1. Al-Qalâatu Al-Hamraa [القلعة الحمراء] (translated as: The red castle) 2. Qasr Al-Hamraa [قصر الحمراء] (translated as: The palace of the red one [fem]) 4. Qalâat Bani-l-Ahmar [قلعة بني الأحمر] (translated as: The castle of the sons of Al-Ahmar) 3. Qasr Bani-l-Ahmar [قصر بني الأحمر] (translated as: The palace of the sons of Al-Ahmar)

    The latter two might be the originals, since the complex is named after the other name of the Nasrids, "Bani Al-Ahmar" (sons of the red one [male]). So, both Palace and Castle are used interchangeably, so the name here holds no evidence if it's a castle or a palace, nor should it do, which brings us to ...

    II) Epistemologically :

    The Alhambra complex is a fortification surrounding many quarters, gardens and buildings; some of which were added later. The most important and central parts are the Nasrid royal palaces (yes there's many). One could say that the other parts were initially built and made to serve this central one.

    I would argue that the correct description for Al-Hambra is "citadel", even though the Al-Qasaba garrison within it usually takes that definition.

    Anyway, I believe the meaning lies not in words, but in context. I encourage anyone who's able, to go visit Al-Hambra and similar "Palaces".

  5. While other comments see this as petty. I see it as justified, big tech knows no limit. Independent app developers are making less and less
  6. I have been Rickrolled countless times; I have willingly watched it many times, I'm surprised it isn't the most watched video on YouTube

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