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Arabic language

Elsie Solomon, Gladys Kattan and Lisette Shashoua at Lisette's home in Montreal.

Arabic has a Jewish dialect, and these women speak it

Culture

The Arab world used to be home to hundreds of thousands of Jews who spoke their own variants of Arabic. Today, Judeo-Arabic survives only in exile. We hear stories of language and exodus from three Judeo-Arabic speakers now living in Montreal. Plus, novelist Louie Cronin on satirizing linguistics.

First and second grade Arabic class in New York

Some people are trying to fix the Arabic language’s image problem in the US

Culture
Ghaith is a Syrian refugee living in Beirut. He can't work there but now he can earn a living as an online Arabic teacher.

This startup helps Syrian refugees earn a living. All they need is a laptop.

Education
Dudu Tassa at his concert last week in Tel Aviv playing songs from his album "Dudu Tassa and the Kuwaitis."

An Israeli rocker sets a modern groove to his Iraqi grandfather’s Arabic music

Arts, Culture & Media
Dudu Tassa at his concert last week in Tel Aviv playing songs from his album "Dudu Tassa and the Kuwaitis."

An Israeli rocker sets a modern groove to his Iraqi grandfather’s Arabic music

Arts, Culture & Media
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To Change or Not to Change Script: Turkish vs Persian

The World in Words

After Ataturk switched Turkish from an Arabic to Latin script, the language made phonetic sense– but did it sever links to Turkish history? In contrast, Iranian leaders have rejected changes in its clunky, Arabic-based script and Persian remains difficult to read. But today's written Persian connects seamlessly with the past.

Iranian Rapper Shahin Najafi Faces Fatwa for ‘Blasphemous’ Song

Global Politics

Rapper Shahin Najafi received a fatwa this past week for his controversial new song, Naqi. An Islamic website posted a $100,000 bounty on his life. But what’s really the controversy?

Bin Laden’s DNA analysis

Conflict & Justice

Anchor Lisa Mullins talks to “Scientific American” editor Christine Gorman about the range of biometric tools used to identify the body of Osama Bin Laden.

The World

Juliano Mer Khamis funeral

I took these photos while reporting on the Juliano Mer Khamis funeral. More on this story in the broadcast Thursday […]

The World

Rachid Taha

Arts, Culture & Media

Algerian singer Rachid Taha says his latest CD was the result of a midlife crisis. He has been influenced by Johnny Cash and says his dream is to duet with Dolly Parton. From PRI’s The World.

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