السلام عليكم و بسم
لله الرحمن الرحيم
What is the author's intention for the Arabic Language Resources site?
This site is a free online educational resource intended to provide helpful Arabic language learning resources for students of the Arabic language (al-Fusha, Modern Standard Arabic, and the most common colloquial dialects, especially the main dialects of Egypt and the Levant (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Palestine).
Additionally, since language and culture are closely intertwined, this site also provides information about Arabic history, culture and music.
Information about the author of this site:
This website was created by Yosifah R. Craver, an experienced language instructor with a specialty in adult basic skills instruction and post-secondary language instruction. With a bachelor's degree in English (1995, CSU, Hayward) and a Master's degree in English/TESOL (Teaching English to Speaker's of Other Languages, 1997, CSU, Hayward), Mrs. Craver is also an avid language learner. Mrs. Craver has studied Modern Standard Arabic and al-Fusha (Classical Arabic) with native instructors and tutors, completed college-level Modern Standard Arabic coursework, and studied Arabic in a month-long intensive language immersion program in Cairo, Egypt. Additionally, Mrs. Craver has been studying Classical Arabic music theory (maqamat and iqat) and repetoire as an instrumentalist on qanun (a classical Arabic zither-like instrument) and as a vocalist since 2004 and performs classical Arabic music with her husband, Nathan, in their Classical Arabic ensemble, Al 'Azifoon ("the musicians").
Through Al 'Azifoon's educational out-reach programs and community musical performances in the greater Bay Area, the musicians, including Mrs. Craver, aim to foster a greater appreciation for Arabic language, music and culture, as well as peace. The Al 'Azifoon musical ensemble performs Classical Arabic music for schools, public libraries, charitable events, and cultural events, as well as private functions.
Thus, as a scholar, educator, student, and artist, Mrs. Craver is dedicated to building this website as an Arabic Language Resource for English-speaking students who are interested in learning Arabic as a foreign language while deepening their understanding and appreciation of Arabic culture and music.
What inspired the author to study the Arabic language, music, and culture?
Mrs. Craver relates becoming reacquainted with her al-Andulusian roots as her defining impetus to study the Arabic language, culture, and music:
"السلام عليكم In November 1997, Nathan and I toured some of the major cities in Southern Spain including Madrid, Toledo,Cordoba, Sevilla, and Granada. Although I had long anticipated this trip as a chance to get acquainted with the ancestral roots of my maternal heritage, I was not prepared for how strongly I was emotionally impacted by the Moorish architecture and the former masjids that we visited. After Madrid and Toledo, we visited the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain. The Arabic wall inscriptions woven throughout the intricate in-lays on the walls, columns, and ceilings throughout the palace mesmerized me. Click on this link for a virtual walking tour of the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain presented by Saudi Aramco Magazine online.
Even after we returned home from our vacation in Spain, I still felt haunted and unsettled. I wrote a poem for which I later composed music for those "voices of the East...calling me home." I just had an unshakable desire to learn Arabic, but there weren't quite as many readily available resources for studying the Arabic language in 1997. So, instead I began to study the history of Southern Spain and the roots of flamenco music. I had already known that the Spanish language contains many borrowed words from Arabic, for example the name of the Alhambra Palace is a direct borrowing of the Arabic name "the red palace" لسلام عليكمراء . Time and time again, I encountered Moorish Arabic roots for many distinct Andalusian traditions, for example the classical guitar (which descended from European lute via the Arabic oud or 'ud), flamenco music, marzipan candy, sugar, saffron, and even the lovely orange trees that line the city walkways throughout cities in Southern Spain. As I learned more about the Moorish history of my mother's ancestral roots in Al-Andalus, I also began to explore Moorish roots in my father's Sicilian heritage with ties to fishing villages in Tunisia.
My husband and I have always been musicians who enjoy studying and performing what Americans refer to as "roots music." So, it was just a natural progression for Nathan and I to begin studying Classical Arabic music. First, we attained a basic proficency in Arabic percussion (iqat), and then we began to study Classical Arabic music theory (maqamat) and practice. My husband Nathan (who has played Western stringed instruments since he was 13 years old) began to study the oud (also translitered as the 'ud). I began to study qanun and Arabic vocal techniques and repetoire. Once we began studying Classical Arabic music, we found ourselves fascinated and compelled to focus all of our musical energy on it. My husband and I also studied Classical Arabic music theory and practice for more than three years with the esteemed private instructor Elias Lammam who graduated from the Academy of Classical Arabic Music in Beruit, Lebanon. In 2006, Nathan and I traveled to Cairo, Egypt to attend the annual Classical Arabic Music Festival held at the Cairo Opera House and we also attended a month-long intensive language program at the Kalimat Language School. Classical Arabic Music is extremely complex and beautiful, so we have resolved to continue our studies إن شاء الله as a life-time commitment. We consider ourselves and our band Al 'Azifoon a work-in-progress.
As is the case throughout the Mediterranean region, family is very important in Arabic culture. So, it is very appropriate that a dear Palestinian musical mentor of ours introduced me to his adult niece who teaches Classical Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic to all of the children in their family. Thus, around 2004, I finally began to study Classical Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic with a very talented native language tutor whose whose father was not only a phenomenal 'ud player but also a retired professor of Classical and Modern Standard Arabic. I worked on a weekly basis with this private tutor for over three years, and I still work with her on an occasional basis. Additionally, I have studied a year of college level Arabic at Diablo Valley College as well as semi-private lessons in classroom-settings at ILM Tree and at local masjids. Obviously, if I the time and the money, I would attend more intensive language immersion programs like the one that I attended in Cairo; however, الحمد لله I am very grateful because I have been blessed with exceptional mentors, tutors, and teachers.
I continue to dedicate myself to attaining the linguistic and cultural fluency necessary to appreciate and comprehend the true beauty and complexity of the Arabic language and culture. This Arabic Language Resource website has grown from my years researching the best Arabic language learning options available to me an an English-speaking adult learner. إن شاء الله I wish to faciliate other students' efforts to study the Arabic language, culture, and music.
“We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race.” Kofi Annan, (1938-) Ghanian Diplomat, 7th UN Secretary-General 2001 Nobel Peace Prize Winner 2003 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought The Elders
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