Talat Okby would be talking with his grandchildren, and words in his native Arabic would pop out of his mouth.
The little ones would be stumped, and Grandpa would be just a wee bit sad, because his language -- his heritage -- wasn’t being passed along to future generations of his family.
Not so anymore. With his grandchildren in mind, he created a program to help them learn common Arabic words by both hearing and seeing them.
The grandchildren loved it. So did their friends. So did complete strangers.
Okby, a native of Egypt, presented it to his students at SUNY Cortland, where he teaches modern standard Arabic -- and they gave it a collective stamp of approval, too.
Part of its charm is that it’s a self-contained slice of the culture. Middle Eastern music weaves through the flashcard-like sequencing of pictures and words, written in English and Arabic and transliterated into component sounds. Each word is pronounced by one of three native speakers.
Soon Okby, wife Enayat and daughter Najla McHale realized the program, which was ultimately two years in the making and became a family project, had much greater application.
Now called Lingualevant and under the wing of the local Middle East Cultural Foundation, the program teaches the Egyptian dialect of Arabic by way of a DVD, CD and MP3 format.
“When he showed it to me, I was so excited,” says Dr. Walid Hammoud, president of the foundation.
The broadest goal of the program is enhancing cultural understanding, so it aims to be highly practical. The classical version of Arabic isn’t as widely used as the Egyptian dialect, and the choice of vocabulary in the program reflect words that are used in daily discourse. In six modules, it introduces words pertaining to the categories of food and drink, objects and places, animals and birds, the Arabic alphabet and basic numbers.
It’s almost like a children’s educational program, points out Shirley Simon, chair of the social and event committee of the Middle East Cultural Foundation. The colorful graphics and upbeat music catch the attention of both eyes and ears.
Even Okby’s 4-year-old granddaughter now has a 15-word Arabic vocabulary.
Okby points out that troops stationed in the Middle East could make good use of the program. Even knowing a word or two shows a cultural sensitivity that can go a long way.
Travelers would benefit endlessly from knowing the language of the Middle Eastern countries they’ve chosen to visit.
Spouses of native Middle Easterners can learn painlessly a bit of their beloveds’ language, too.
The company’s Web site, www.lingualevant.com, offers all formats of the program, which run from regular prices of $39.95 down to $10.
This is only the beginning, Okby says. The next phase of the program will center on phrases, rather than just words.
“The only way to achieve peace in the world is through communication,” Hammoud says.
Maybe the Lingualevant program can help in its own small way toward that goal.
