Learn Levantine Arabic with Livi Olivia Furber
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- Education
A new podcast for intermediate and advanced students of Levantine Arabic which encourages you to speak confidently and not worry about making mistakes. Each episode includes an interview with a native Arabic speaker, exploring a range of topics and introducing new vocabulary. Livi, the presenter, is not a native speaker, so each week, the native speaker will help her out with her pronunciation and correct any errors she makes.
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Season Two, Episode Four: Talking to Adam about disability, being blind and studying international social work.
Hi listeners, I hope you are all really well.
Sorry that I took a while to record the next episode.
Today I'll be speaking again with my friend Adam (also known as Ahmed) from Gaza about the reasons behind him choosing to study international social work.
Very important to this conversation is the fact that Adam is blind and, as a result, has had to face a lot of significant challenges.
However, he is using his lived experience as a disabled man to help others; through studying international social work.
If you want to know more about his story you can check out his GoFundMe page linked at the bottom. Adam is raising money to pay his tuition fees and living expenses as he completes his studies in the Netherlands. The world needs more dedicated and compassionate social workers like Adam so if you are interested please check out his fundraiser.
I suppose it's also important to say that in this episode there is a lot we don't discuss, including details of what Adam's family in Gaza are facing right now. We weren't consciously avoiding the topic, more that there sometimes aren't sufficient words to describe something.
Big thank you to Adam for making the time to speak to me even in these terrible moments and still finding ways to laugh in spite of it all.
You can follow my account on insta for updates @learnlevantinewithlivi
Here is the vocabulary:
ماشي الحال - It is so so
لقب - Nickname
بالتحديد - Specifically
كفيف - Blind
لاللي ما بيعرفوا - For those who do not know
فقدت بصري - I lost my sight
زي ما انتِ شايفة - As you can see
دمار - Destruction
ذوي احتياجات خاصة - People with special needs
اتصاوبوا - They got injured
عناصر منتجة في المجتمع
Productive members of society
تأهيل- Rehabilitation
أسأل مجرب ولا تسأل طبيب
Ask someone who has firsthand experience with a disease rather than a doctor.
تخمين - Guessing
سؤال عشوائي - Random question
برج العقرب - Scorpio (Zodiac sign)
شو بعرفك! - You never know!
عقبات - Obstacles
التنهد - A sigh
امكانية الوصول - Accessibility
مش أحسن شي من ناحية
It's not the best (usually when you are talking about something which is no better than the bare minimum)
القوة العضلية - Physical strength
رسوم الدراسة - Tuition fees
مصاريف - Expenses
أصرف على نفسي - To spend on myself
يساريين - Leftists
مهاجرين - Immigrants
ودودين - Friendly
البنية التحتية - Infrastructure
صدمة ثقافية - Culture shock
حرفيا - Literally
على أرض الواقع - In reality
حضنتها - I embraced her
مزدحم - Crowded
مقارنة ب - In comparison with
مع احترامي الشديد - With all due respect
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-ahmed-studeren-en-zijn-droom-waar-te-maken?utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1&utm_content=undefined&utm_medium=chat&utm_source=whatsapp&utm_term=undefined -
Season Two, Episode Three: A conversation with Adam about psychology and mental health
*Vocab below
Hi everyone, I hope you're all really well.
Today I'm going to be talking to Adam about a really important topic; psychology and mental health.
We actually recorded this episode last year (apologies for the delay in publishing) just before Adam made a very long and difficult journey from Gaza to the Netherlands in order to start his studies at Han University.
I'm mentioning this a) because Adam is a remarkable person b) he is currently running a GoFundMe to support his studies in International Social Work.
Adam has been blind all of his adult life, but this has never stopped his determination, especially for helping others with disability. He is studying International Social Work in order to be able to develop a career in this field in order to have a positive impact.
As he is in some financial difficulties at the moment he is fundraising to support his tuition fees and living expenses for the next few years.
If you would like to read more about Adam (whose real name is Ahmed....Adam is a nickname) and check out a personal video from him, then you can check this link here https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-ahmed-studeren-en-zijn-droom-waar-te-maken?utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1&utm_content=undefined&utm_medium=chat&utm_source=whatsapp&utm_term=undefined
Many thanks and enjoy the episode!
Vocabulary:
حواجز - Barriers
بشكل سلس Fluently/ smoothly
فأر التجارب = Guinea pig / lab rat
Logic / Logical - منطق / منطقي
جرحتني - it hurt me / it scarred me
بضلني ساكت- I remain silent / I keep silent
طبيب نفسي - psychiatrist
صدقًا- honestly
نابع عن = Stems from
إحاطة = understanding grasping of something
أنماط = patterns/stereotypes
كتمت مشاعري = I suppressed my feelings
التنمر = Bullying
فخورة = Proud
شكرا على المدح = Thanks for the compliment
ما بيتناقض مع =Does not contradict with
بحنان= Compassionately-tenderly -
Series Two, Episode Two: Armenian Culture, mixing languages and identities with my friend and theatre designer Melissa.
Hello and welcome to all the listeners. I disappeared for a while because I was overloaded with work and travel and didn't have enough time to make new episodes for you. And, to be totally honest, I was being a bit lazy....but i've shaken off the laziness and here I am, back to share a new episode with you which is a conversation with my brilliant friend Melissa.
We'll be hearing a conversation between Melissa and I where we will discuss her work in the world of theatre, Armenian culture, her experiences growing up as Armenian in Lebanon and how she combines multiple languages and cultures together in her life.
I hope you will find the conversation as interesting and useful as I did.
Below are the vocab that will help you when listening to the podcast (lots today as an apology for not making an episode for so long!)
بعتذر مسبقا - I apologise in advance
مهندسة معمارية - architect
هندسة معمارية - Architecture
تصميم المسرح - Theatre design
شغف - Passion
كبير الشغف في - My passion grew
فراغ في /بداخلي - an emptiness inside me
نوبه - attack/panic
بالوقت الحالي - now / in the present moment
إبادة جماعية - Genocide
انتماء - Belonging
لبنانية قبل بكفاية / انا لبنانية بشكل كافي - I am Lebanese enough
متمسكة - Attached/connected
مواطنة من العالم - Citizen of the world
ملحوظ - Impressive/distinctive
بفتكر/ بفكر - I think
الشتات - The diaspora
يستعيروا - They borrow
نزوح/ نازحة،نازح - Exodus / Displaced
اجدادنا - Grandparents / Our Grandparents منخبر بعض قصص - We tell each other stories
أكتسبت - I gained / I acquired
افسر حالي - I explain myself
مماثل - Similar / Comparable
برهن - Prove (to prove something)
بسلط الضو على شي - To shine a light on something / To highlight something -
Series Two, Episode One: Introducing Adam from Gaza and our journeys learning languages.
Hello and welcome to all the listeners and a Happy Christmas!
I hope you are all well and in good health.
I'm finally ready to make new episodes and this week i'll be talking to my friend Adam from Gaza about our experiences in learning languages.
Adam is also an Arabic teacher and I advise you to have a go studying with him because he really knows and understands the nuances within Arabic and English and he's super patient with his students. I also benefitted a lot from my conversations with him because he has a Gazan accent (which I am not used to) and I like to be flexible with understanding different accents in the region.
He's got some spots available for new students if you'd like to try studying Arabic through conversation with him.
If you'd like more information, send us an email at learnlevantine@gmail.com
I'd also like to say a big thank you to Muhammad, who teaches Arabic on italki. He's from Syria, living in Germany and from time to time I take lessons with him - when I feel like brushing up on my Arabic. He helped me out preparing for this episode and getting my brain in gear after neglecting my Arabic for a few weeks. He's such a great teacher and super encouraging to his students, so check him out! Here is the link to his page on italki: https://www.italki.com/teacher/2678645
Here is the new vocab for this week. Enjoy!
أنا عال العال - Couldn’t be better
فضولي - curious
دءوب - diligent, perseverant
بشكل رسمي - formally
بستحي - I am ashamed
بخجل - I am shy
مقالة - Article
ميزة - characteristic or quality, or feature
حاجز ذهني - mental block
أفكار مسبقة سيئة - negative preconceptions
اتجاهلت - I ignored, I neglected
استمرارية - continuation
احنا في الهوى سوى - we are in the wind together - you and be both, we are both in the same shit, used quite humorously.
حاجة / حاجات - a thing, things
بتناسبني - it suits me / it fits me
قدوة - an example or a model -
Episode Ten: The Concept or Idea of Home (Part Two)
Hello everyone and welcome to Episode Nine and Happy Christmas!
I've just started an instagram page where I will post podcast episodes and more content including videos, vocab and tips on language learning and differences between accents - check it out here @learnlevantinewithlivi https://www.instagram.com/learnlevantinewithlivi/?hl=en
I hope you are all well even though the world is rather...upside down.
Thanks to all of you who sent suggestions and thoughts about the podcast via email. I’d encourage you to send more as I love hearing your feedback. Please feel free to get in touch at learnlevantine@gmail.com
Also, Ramzi still has some spaces available for conversational Arabic classes for intermediate students. His classes are ideally suited to those who can understand around 70% of the conversations in the podcast. For more information please get in touch at the same email address learnlevantine@gmail.com
Today we are going to return to the topic of 'home'. We recorded this episode whilst we were back in our 'home' countries. Listen out for the sounds of the Old City of Jerusalem in the background whilst Ramzi is talking.
Here are some of the new words we will be hearing in today's episode:
بمستوى مجازي - On a metaphorical level
البيوت كلها فوق بعضها - The houses are all on top of each other
المهجر - In the diaspora / Abroad
الخروج من رحم امهاتنا - Getting out of our mothers’ womb
نوع من الغربه - A kind of strangeness
حقيبتي وطني ،و وطني حقيبتي - My backpack is my homeland and my homeland is my backpack.
سور - Wall
معقد - Complicated
اشي بهبل - Something foolish/trivial
الاشياء الملموسة - Tangible things
الحواس - The senses
هوية - Identity
مسلوب - Stolen
تكوين المكان - Spatial configuration
مغتربين - Expatriates -
Episode Nine: The Concept or Idea of 'Home'.
Hello everyone and welcome to Episode Nine! I hope you are all doing great and are ready for another episode. Thanks to all of you who sent suggestions and thoughts about the podcast via email. I’d encourage you to send more as I love hearing your feedback. Please feel free to get in touch at learnlevantine@gmail.com
Also, Ramzi still has some spaces available for conversational Arabic classes for intermediate students. His classes are ideally suited to those who can understand around 70% of the conversations in the podcast. For more information please get in touch at the same email address learnlevantine@gmail.com
I've just started an instagram page where I will post podcast episodes and more content including videos, vocab and tips on language learning and differences between accents - check it out here @learnlevantinewithlivi https://www.instagram.com/learnlevantinewithlivi/?hl=en
Here are some of the new words we will be hearing in today's episode:
مهاجر - Migrant
نقلت - I left / I moved
اضطراري - Forced
إمكانية الرجوع - The possibility of returning
متوفر - Available
بحكم - By virtue
ينتزع - To snatch
تبديل - Changing / Replacing
حروب - Wars
الانتماء - Belonging
مستأجر - Rented
معروض - Offered / Shown
جرعة من الحنين - A small dose of nostalgia
بأعزز - I reinforce / strengthen