今年冬天打算去埃及玩。想先学一点阿拉伯话,至少能区分是和不是,上午下午,一二三四。我喜欢用的是 Pimsleur 的课程,以前学过一套西班牙语,还学了几句法语意大利语(全搞混了)德语荷兰话越南话。虽然很多学过的都不记得了,但是能够了解一点其它语言的发音和简单语法,就觉得很有收获,好象去了旅行了一次似的,忽然发现世界上还有这样的沟通方法,这样的思维方法,跟我们完全不同的。
不要以为我是语言专家。我其实是那种完全没有语言天分的人,说话老是不清楚,在学校里英语一直是最差的科目,学过的几句外语,见人就说不出口来。不过自己虽然不能说,到时能听懂别人说的,能认懂几个字,也会很高兴的。
所以我就开始学阿拉伯文。这才知道阿拉伯文是统一的拼音文字,可是不同国家却有不同的方言,不能都听懂的。而且有的语言也用阿拉伯字母,但根本不是阿拉伯话。Pimsleur 的语言课程有两种阿拉伯语,埃及阿拉伯语 (Egyptian Arabic) 和东阿拉伯语 (Eastern Arabic)。我不知道具体的分别。另外还有波斯语 (Farsi)。
阿拉伯语真是好难学啊!每个简单的字都有大大小小长长短短的好多音节要记,叽里咕噜的,而且还分性别。
稍微看了一点阿拉伯的文字系统。据说比起西方文字语法,阿拉伯文的语法是非常简单、逻辑、严谨而规则的。只是阿拉伯文的名词和动词的准确度,是西方文字无法比的。那是说阿拉伯文有很多很多的词吗?我以为英文的词汇量是超大的,也是我酷爱英文的一个原因。如果阿拉伯文更精确,更严谨,那么,掌握阿拉伯文或许能带给我更多的惊喜!
想到自己对阿拉伯文化了解的贫乏。去年在西班牙南部旅行时见到阿罕布拉宫(Alhambra, Granada) 的阿拉伯建筑,惊叹他们的书法文字造型,与建筑图形设计融为一体,体现出极高的文艺创造力。而且,这一切又是与他们的宗教哲学所紧紧相连的。这些是西方文字人所无法理解的。当然我们东方人也有书法艺术,能将文字造成图形,可似乎少了对文字的宗教热诚。
阿拉伯话。互相问候时,说“早啊那善良的”,回答,"早啊那光明的”。阿拉伯人不说,我有一辆车,而说予我一辆车;不说,你有一个房子,而说予你一个房子。好玩。就是说,我们所有的都是给予我们的。另外,据说阿拉伯文的动词是非常非常多的,不能掌握动词就不能跟人沟通。这又说明什么呢?
我没有读过什么阿拉伯文的文学作品。我喜欢的诗人纪伯伦是用阿拉伯语创作的。他诗作的境界极高,不知道是否和语言有关。似乎阿拉伯文本身就充满了乾坤。
- Re: 想学一点阿拉伯文posted on 10/12/2005
Alibaba Saddam Jihad Allah Osma bin Ladin Abu Genie Aladdin !!! - Re: 想学一点阿拉伯文posted on 10/13/2005
风子先生了不起!这阿拉伯文是否是第一张照片上的文字呢? - Re: 想学一点阿拉伯文posted on 10/13/2005
有意思。埃及、波斯都不是阿拉伯人。阿拉伯半岛上的地方语言分歧也很大吗?按说那里基本上没有天然屏障(当然沙漠就是天然屏障;不过他们反正住在沙漠里),再加是游牧民族,语言应该倾向于均一。
风子先生了不起!这阿拉伯文是否是第一张照片上的文字呢?
“君子欺之以方”,然。 :-)) - Re: 想学一点阿拉伯文posted on 10/13/2005
No, that's a partial translation of the scripts in Picture 2. ^_*
xw wrote:
风子先生了不起!这阿拉伯文是否是第一张照片上的文字呢? - posted on 10/13/2005
跟老板说我想学一点阿拉伯话,他说埃及人都会说英语,因为埃及曾经是英国的殖民地。好象真有其事啊!!看来白学了。
总之埃及的阿拉伯话和其他地方的不同,我猜就像普通话和广东话那样。波斯语就完全不同,虽也用阿拉伯字母。土耳其语也用过阿拉伯字母,现在用罗马字母。
刚才查了一下,新疆那里的维吾尔语,是土耳其语系,用的却是阿拉伯字母。
The language traditionally used the Arabic script since the 10th century. The Chinese government introduced a Roman script in 1969, but the Persian-Arabic script was reintroduced in 1983, but with extra diacritics to distinguish all vowels of Uyghur. Cyrillic script has been used to write Uyghur in areas previously dominated by Russians, and another Roman script is used in Turkey and on the internet.
- posted on 10/15/2005
今天才发现阿拉伯数字根本不是我们所说的阿拉伯数字。
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这几天在找一些关于埃及的文学作品。忽然发现埃及有一个获诺贝尔文学奖的作家 Naguib Mahfouz (b. 1911),算是在埃及与埃及艳后 Cleopetra 齐名的几大名人之一。再查,知道他的一个小说 Children of Gebelawi 被 Guardian Unlimited 评为 The top 100 books of all time,和荷马的诗史,但丁的神曲,莎士比亚的哈姆雷特齐名(还有鲁迅的狂人日记),真是不可思议。
另外,还有写包法利夫人的福楼拜和 E.M. Forster 也写过一些埃及回忆录。
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开罗:比自己或自己的国家还大的城市
Cairo has been the largest city in Africa and the Middle East ever since the Mongols wasted Imperial Baghdad in 1258. Acknowledged as Umm Dunya or "Mother of the World" by medieval Arabs, and as Great Cairo by 19th century Europeans, it remains, in Jan Morris's words, "one of the half-dozen supercapitals--capitals that are bigger than themselves or their countries... the focus of a whole culture, an ideology or a historial moment".
Cairo out-pollutes LA every day of the week: breathing the atmosphere downtown is reputedly akin to smoking 30 cigarettes a day. :(
- posted on 10/21/2005
今天学习写埃及文。这是一种写法。
阿姗:
玛雅:
Adagio: - Re: 想学一点阿拉伯文posted on 10/21/2005
wow, I look beautiful! even got a snake around my waist.
maya starts with an owl, a sign for witchcraft I guess. :) - Re: 想学一点阿拉伯文posted on 10/21/2005
Write my name please!!!
- posted on 10/21/2005
Susan:
or
Benben:
埃及古文可以横写,竖写,左写,右写。埃及古文比阿拉伯文好学多了。暂时放弃阿拉伯文。 - Re: 想学一点阿拉伯文posted on 10/21/2005
终于知道笨字怎么写了!:) 是一只拖着弯曲尾巴的大胖鸟觊觎一只长靴子:)
只有我的名字里有猫头鹰 :) 我的名字的意思是一只猫头鹰白天想去睡觉了,却被一只笨鸟唧唧喳喳吵醒了,它怒起心头,拿出两把刀左右开功想去宰了那胖鸟,结果胖鸟的兄弟也赶来了:) - Re: 想学一点阿拉伯文posted on 10/22/2005
坏了菜了.我现在一看到笨字就亲切,就有感情,就觉得跟我有关系似的:) - Re: 想学一点阿拉伯文posted on 10/22/2005
阿姗的玄女天书如何传女不传男?我的名字如何写呀:) - Re: 打算去埃及玩posted on 10/27/2005
阿拉伯数字源于印度,该叫印度数字才对。经阿拉伯人传出来,就成了现在的模样,他们自己倒留了原版的。我第一次换埃及镑,张张面值都是0,虽然翻过来看清了英文写的是五十镑,还是满心疑惑地收起来。要是事先学了地道的阿拉伯数字,认得0.,就不至于犯傻地紧张了。
看阿姗要去埃及,忍不住跑出来建议: 要去坐 felucca,要去。 就是在尼罗河上从古漂到今的帆船。从 Aswan 到 Luxor 3天,逆流4天,绝对 quintessential Egyptian experience。想想现今的埃及和古埃及已没有什么关联,唯一血脉想联的就是这条河。 - posted on 10/29/2005
Egypt Notes
I began to write down some notes. Pyramids were not built by slaves. Ancient Egypt had no need for slaves, because the Nile was abundant and provided everyone with enough food. There were excessive people who had nothing much to do some time of the year, so the Egyptian kings gathered them together to build pyramids. The Great Pyramid is great. It is the tallest building in the world until the completion of Eiffel Tower in 1899. Its base is as large as ten football fields. The pyramids are so old that even the ancient Greeks went there for tours. The pyramids are so old that even the later Egyptians, still in ancient times, did archaeology work on them. Thutmoses IV, who ruled 1400-1390 BC (Chinese Shang Dynasty), restored the Sphinx.
What does it say to us, that the greatest of all monuments on earth are the oldest? How indestructible they are, the pyramids!
Learning about the history of ancient Egypt makes us feel small. All the confusions and frustrations of modern daily life are just specks dust in the vast history of human civilization. Getting in touch with such history puts us back in perspectives of humanity as a whole, of who we are, of where we come from, of where we are in time, and of what we can achieve. Similar to the study of space and the cosmos, the study of history extends our knowledge of reality into a new dimension—we explore our past.
Two years ago, when I was planning to study Spanish in Guatemala, I became fascinated with Maya civilization. Feverishly I read about Maya history and Maya culture, and even learned to decipher their hieroglyph carved on stones. Unfortunately I did not go to Guatemala (visa problem); I went Belize instead, and visited several Maya ruin. I saw Maya pyramids amidst the dense jungles. I marveled at their immortality of people lost in history for six hundred years.
When I was preparing for a trip to Italy, I became fascinated with the ancient Roman Empire. Again, I read books, listened to lectures, watched documentaries, examined maps, collected picture books, and even studied Shakespeare plays. I even started learning Latin. Then I visited Rome, and I spent my entire two days seeking what remains of the glory of the Roman Empire. After that, every time I was in Europe, I looked for the Roman ruins first. I saw the fora, the aqueducts, the amphitheatres, the baths, the colosseums—how could they build such grand structures like the Colosseum two thousands years ago? I marveled at the immortality of the culture that began the western civilization as we know now.
Now for the first time of my life I am turning my eyes toward Egypt. I had always known that ancient Egypt was one of the four great ancient civilizations, but I did not know that the history went back much further than the Chinese!!! Not many civilizations could give me this sense of awe in its long history. Although the ancient Egyptian civilization was later replaced by others, still, they had achieved true immortality. Those pyramids! They have been there before the any recorded history in China—that is a long time. They have been there all this time when every civilization came into being, grew into prosperity, declined and disappeared into shadows. The pyramids have seen all. Unlike many Roman ruins that were forgotten and buried in under the city, or the Maya pyramids that were lost in the jungle, the Egyptian pyramids stand in the desert for time immortal. I don’t know what other human achievement can be described as more immortal than the pyramids.
I begin to think about immortality. In the perceivable world, what is immortality? Why do we all want to achieve it? Why do the immortals inspire awe in our heart?
I think about the pyramids a lot these days. The pyramids are what come the closest to immortality. They have been there almost as long as recorded human history. They cannot be destroyed. Tombs can be robbed. Dams can collapse. Skyscrapers can fall. Computers can crash. Satellites can run out of fuel. The pyramids do not alter. They are stronger than all other human constructions, more durable than all other human efforts, and they are the earliest. Sometimes I suspect that the pyramids are even more lasting than human spirits. When all lives become extinct, the pyramids will still be there. When all human endeavors are gone, knowledge lost, thoughts buried, the pyramids will still stand there to witness.
If mortality is only a concept that exists with humanity, then I declare the pyramids to be immortal. The pharaohs of the pyramids are immortal. The workers of the pyramids are immortal. Those of us who have heard of the pyramids, thought about them, seen them, climbed on top of them, all become part of the immortality. When the ancient Egyptian built the pyramids, humanity had already achieved immortality.
I imagine the day I stand under the Great Pyramid. I shall know what immortality feels. - Re: 打算去埃及玩posted on 10/29/2005
浮生 wrote:
看阿姗要去埃及,忍不住跑出来建议: 要去坐 felucca,要去。 就是在尼罗河上从古漂到今的帆船。从 Aswan 到 Luxor 3天,逆流4天,绝对 quintessential Egyptian experience。
就是想问,在尼罗河上坐船,一般是从哪里到哪里的,逆流还是顺流,多少天好?我们有三个礼拜时间(还要去沙漠,去潜水)。坐帆船是在船上住吗?《尼罗河惨案》那种船如何呢?想去看 Abu Simbel,就不能坐船了吧? - Re: 打算去埃及玩posted on 10/29/2005
Your saying about pyramids are immortal is based on the assumption that they were built by huamn beings of our time.
What if they were not? Or is this really your point? - posted on 11/01/2005
阿姗 wrote:
就是想问,在尼罗河上坐船,一般是从哪里到哪里的,逆流还是顺流,多少天好?我们有三个礼拜时间(还要去沙漠,去潜水)。坐帆船是在船上住吗?《尼罗河惨案》那种船如何呢?想去看 Abu Simbel,就不能坐船了吧?
Usually between Aswan and Luxor. It was unsafe between Luxor and Cairo; I don't know how it is now. Felucca takes 2.5 - 3 days (2 nights) downstream from Aswan to Luxor, 4 days upstream. Most people take downstream because it's faster I suppose and upstream is not always offered. Yes you would sleep and eat on the boat with bathroom stops on riverbanks. They provide sleeping bags. The alternative is cruise ship; same route can be done in two days. Both make stops at Kom Ombo and Edfu. Abu Simbel can be reached by bus and flight. When I was there the road was closed, however, so flying was the only option. So please check before you go. - Re: 打算去埃及玩posted on 11/03/2005
古埃及文是不是拼音文字啊? - Re: 打算去埃及玩posted on 11/03/2005
不完全是。首先,每个词用拼音,基本上不用韵母;词尾一般会加一个小图,来澄清容易混肴的概念,例如同音词。
比如“猫”,埃及文发音“喵 (miw)”,写字用埃及 m-i-w,尾加一个小猫图。
猫咪 wrote:
古埃及文是不是拼音文字啊? - Re: 打算去埃及玩posted on 11/04/2005
这猫的M为何与玛姐的M不同啊? - Re: 打算去埃及玩posted on 11/04/2005
猫长胡子,麻鸭不长。 - posted on 11/23/2005
比如“猫”,埃及文发音“喵 (miw)”,写字用埃及 m-i-w,尾加一个小猫图。
猫咪 wrote:
这猫的M为何与玛姐的M不同啊?
我有些明白了。
古埃及字,有的字符是代表一个辅音音节,有的字符代表两个辅音音节,有的字符代表三个。比如猫的字符,其实代表了 mi,写的时候后面的(i) 字可以写出来,或者省略不写,根据空间或美观来做决定。我猜也可以用单音节的 (m)。
这样来说,玛雅也可以写成:ma-a-y-a-(玛雅图)
或:ma-y-a-(玛雅图)
不过我不知道后面的 a 要不要写,因为埃及文好象不大写元音的。
废名 wrote:
阿姗的玄女天书如何传女不传男?我的名字如何写呀:)
废名的名字都废了,如何写呀:) - posted on 12/29/2005
Sitting in the new Library of Alexanderia - Bibliotheca Alexandria. Reading Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet. In love with this city. Want to dive to see the palace of Cleopetra.
Happy New Year from Egypt!
Sitting in the new Library of Alexanderia - Bibliotheca Alexandria. Reading Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet. In love with this city. Want to dive to see the palace of Cleopetra.
Happy New Year from Egypt!
Here are a few pictures from the earlier part of our travel in Egypt.
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