Voices of Resilience

Voices of Resilience

Above, a still from the Aljazeera Facebook video feature on how a young man’s life has changed in the past three months.

Background to this Week’s Texts

This week, we look at two 1.5-minute, lower-intermediate to intermediate level reports featuring Sudanese civilians whose lives have been disrupted by the ongoing conflict in the country. The texts are highly colloquial Sudanese Arabic, interspersed with more standard, journalistic and occasional religious Arabic.

The first, Aljazeera Facebook video tracks the life changes of a young professional, Nur ad-Diin Mansur. The second, Al-Arabiya Sudan Facebook report sounds out the views of four Sudanese discussing the effects of the war on Eid celebrations.

The texts provide a perfect, bitesize dose of fast, colloquial Sudanese Arabic. They are also an inspiring testimony to the resilience of the Sudanese in difficult times.

Possible Approaches

The Aljazeera video we open with has built-in subtitles, so try to view and listen without reading them if you can. Alternatively, watch the video on mute or read the transcript below and narrate the video aloud as quickly and naturally as you can. Then compare your pronunciation and intonation with the original. If you would like specific comprehension questions to focus on, then consider:

What changes have occurred in Nur ad-Diin’s life recently and how does he feel about them? How does he describe his journey from the capital? What does he most wish to see for the future?

The Al-Arabiya report interviews the four Sudanese pictured below as they prepare for Eid. Make notes to summarize their views on how war has affected Eid observance, the war itself and the problems they face.

The speakers appear clockwise, from top right.

Lexical Focus

How would you say the following in colloquial Sudanese;

“the place I miss most”, “house shoes or slippers”, “clothes, especially new clothes”, “rickshaw driver” and “I want her to have a better life than me”?

Can you remember the words for “exodus / flight”, “documentaries” and “series”, “gunfire”, “terrible / terrifying” “hire”, and “get / move about” the city.

You will hear two words for “destruction / ruin”, an expression for “rite / ritual” and an adjective for “lamentable / regrettable”. Can you predict which terms might be used?

Watch Aljazeera Facebook Video Report 1 Here:

النزوح السوداني

Transcript and Explanatory Notes

The director (mudiir) of a Sudanese production company (sharika intaaj) is working in agriculture (az-ziraa`a) and tuktuk / rickshaw driving (siyaaga) after his exodus (nuzuuHihi) from Khartoum

Perhaps the place I miss most …. Note the superlative construction aktaar makaan anaa mushtaag (missing / nostalgic for) and proposition, liihu

…in the house is the living room (ghurfa-l-ma`iisha) that we sit in most of the time (aghlab wagtaan) either (yaa imaa’) when I and my wife watch (naHdur fii) films and series (musalsalaat)

or (yaa imaa’) when Shama is with us – you know, we eat with her or play with her. Nur ad-Diin Mansuur is 32 years old, a photographer (muSawwir) and maker (Saani`) of documentary (wathaa’iqiyya) films. My daughter’s name is Shama and and literally; I always want to see that her days are better than my days; perhaps here I want her to have a better life than mine. She is now 8 months old.

when I was leaving the city; literally the time of exodus (an-nuzuuH) from Khartoum, I was looking / watching (bi`aayin) out of the bus window – looking at the city and the smoke (plural form; dukhaakhiin, of dukhaan) coming out from it; perhaps here the columns of smoke rising from it, while it was burning / on fire (bitHarig) and the streets themselves looked terrible /

terrifying / horrifying (mur`ib). They were empty (faaDiyya) and we could hear the sound (aSwaat, plural Sawt) of gunfire (iTlaag an-naar)

…the whole way (Tool aT-Tariig). The city of Karima is approximately 450 kms (tab`ud; to be distant / away) from (the Sudanese capital

(al`aaSima) and he chose (ikhtaar) to

return (al- `awda) there because it is the home town of his family and his wife’s. I moved / transferred ( literally my reality; kawnii) / from running / administration (idaara) of a company to driving (asuug, from saaga) a tuktuk

There’s nothing wrong with this work / this is decent work, literally, the work is not forbidden (Haraam) and if (literally, the reality is) you can even find a job in these circumstances (aZ-Zuruuf), it’s a blessing (ni`ma) from God (literally, Lord of Worlds. You know, I brought what I had (literally, amlak; possessed) in the way of money with me and invested (istithmarta) it

and I bought myself

a tuktuk or rickshaw to move / get about Karima and to hire (ajra) / earn money from and other times I go with my brother and we work (nas`a; strive, work at) on the family farm as well

Watch Al-Arabiya Video Report 2 Here:

“الحرب جلبت لنا الخراب”.. كاميرا #العربية تستطلع آراء السوادنيين في أول أيام

Transcript

Transcript with Explanatory Notes

1 al-kharaab; havoc, ruin, destruction

2 tastaTla`a; literally, survey / take a poll of; perhaps here sound out

3 Sawt ar-raSaaS; the sound of gunfire

4 sha`iira; rite / ritual

5 as-sunna; Islamic codes of conduct and traditions modelled on the life and acts of the Prophet

6 yasa`; referring to Sudan; and is wide enough for / can hold all / everyone

7 note this frequently used Qur’anic reference to God, Lord of the Worlds

8 muu’sif; regrettable / sad / lamentable

9 musta`diin; ready / getting ready for

10 kisaayiinaa; plural of kiswa; garments, especially when new

11 ni`aal el-bayt; house shoes / slippers;

plural; ni `laat

12 Note this formulaic expression for “May God provide”

13 note this way of saying “shelling / firing / bombing / hitting” us

14 wagafaat; literally, pauses

15 manhajnaa; literally, our method / process but perhaps here our way

16 wa diidanaa; and our religious observance / habit and diligence; to be updated

17 damaar; devastation