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Hi listeners, I hope you are all really well.
Sorry that I took a while to record the next episode.
Today I'll be speaking again with my friend Adam (also known as Ahmed) from Gaza about the reasons behind him choosing to study international social work.
Very important to this conversation is the fact that Adam is blind and, as a result, has had to face a lot of significant challenges.
However, he is using his lived experience as a disabled man to help others; through studying international social work.
If you want to know more about his story you can check out his GoFundMe page linked at the bottom. Adam is raising money to pay his tuition fees and living expenses as he completes his studies in the Netherlands. The world needs more dedicated and compassionate social workers like Adam so if you are interested please check out his fundraiser.
I suppose it's also important to say that in this episode there is a lot we don't discuss, including details of what Adam's family in Gaza are facing right now. We weren't consciously avoiding the topic, more that there sometimes aren't sufficient words to describe something.
Big thank you to Adam for making the time to speak to me even in these terrible moments and still finding ways to laugh in spite of it all.
You can follow my account on insta for updates @learnlevantinewithlivi
Here is the vocabulary:
ماشي الحال - It is so so
لقب - Nickname
بالتحديد - Specifically
كفيف - Blind
لاللي ما بيعرفوا - For those who do not know
فقدت بصري - I lost my sight
زي ما انتِ شايفة - As you can see
دمار - Destruction
ذوي احتياجات خاصة - People with special needs
اتصاوبوا - They got injured
عناصر منتجة في المجتمع
Productive members of society
تأهيل- Rehabilitation
أسأل مجرب ولا تسأل طبيب
Ask someone who has firsthand experience with a disease rather than a doctor.
تخمين - Guessing
سؤال عشوائي - Random question
برج العقرب - Scorpio (Zodiac sign)
شو بعرفك! - You never know!
عقبات - Obstacles
التنهد - A sigh
امكانية الوصول - Accessibility
مش أحسن شي من ناحية
It's not the best (usually when you are talking about something which is no better than the bare minimum)
القوة العضلية - Physical strength
رسوم الدراسة - Tuition fees
مصاريف - Expenses
أصرف على نفسي - To spend on myself
يساريين - Leftists
مهاجرين - Immigrants
ودودين - Friendly
البنية التحتية - Infrastructure
صدمة ثقافية - Culture shock
حرفيا - Literally
على أرض الواقع - In reality
حضنتها - I embraced her
مزدحم - Crowded
مقارنة ب - In comparison with
مع احترامي الشديد - With all due respect
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-ahmed-studeren-en-zijn-droom-waar-te-maken?utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1&utm_content=undefined&utm_medium=chat&utm_source=whatsapp&utm_term=undefined
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*Vocab below
Hi everyone, I hope you're all really well.
Today I'm going to be talking to Adam about a really important topic; psychology and mental health.
We actually recorded this episode last year (apologies for the delay in publishing) just before Adam made a very long and difficult journey from Gaza to the Netherlands in order to start his studies at Han University.
I'm mentioning this a) because Adam is a remarkable person b) he is currently running a GoFundMe to support his studies in International Social Work.
Adam has been blind all of his adult life, but this has never stopped his determination, especially for helping others with disability. He is studying International Social Work in order to be able to develop a career in this field in order to have a positive impact.
As he is in some financial difficulties at the moment he is fundraising to support his tuition fees and living expenses for the next few years.
If you would like to read more about Adam (whose real name is Ahmed....Adam is a nickname) and check out a personal video from him, then you can check this link here https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-ahmed-studeren-en-zijn-droom-waar-te-maken?utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1&utm_content=undefined&utm_medium=chat&utm_source=whatsapp&utm_term=undefined
Many thanks and enjoy the episode!
Vocabulary:
حواجز - Barriers
بشكل سلس Fluently/ smoothly
فأر التجارب = Guinea pig / lab rat
Logic / Logical - منطق / منطقي
جرحتني - it hurt me / it scarred me
بضلني ساكت- I remain silent / I keep silent
طبيب نفسي - psychiatrist
صدقًا- honestly
نابع عن = Stems from
إحاطة = understanding grasping of something
أنماط = patterns/stereotypes
كتمت مشاعري = I suppressed my feelings
التنمر = Bullying
فخورة = Proud
شكرا على المدح = Thanks for the compliment
ما بيتناقض مع =Does not contradict with
بحنان= Compassionately-tenderly
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Hello and welcome to all the listeners. I disappeared for a while because I was overloaded with work and travel and didn't have enough time to make new episodes for you. And, to be totally honest, I was being a bit lazy....but i've shaken off the laziness and here I am, back to share a new episode with you which is a conversation with my brilliant friend Melissa.
We'll be hearing a conversation between Melissa and I where we will discuss her work in the world of theatre, Armenian culture, her experiences growing up as Armenian in Lebanon and how she combines multiple languages and cultures together in her life.
I hope you will find the conversation as interesting and useful as I did.
Below are the vocab that will help you when listening to the podcast (lots today as an apology for not making an episode for so long!)
بعتذر مسبقا - I apologise in advance
مهندسة معمارية - architect
هندسة معمارية - Architecture
تصميم المسرح - Theatre design
شغف - Passion
كبير الشغف في - My passion grew
فراغ في /بداخلي - an emptiness inside me
نوبه - attack/panic
بالوقت الحالي - now / in the present moment
إبادة جماعية - Genocide
انتماء - Belonging
لبنانية قبل بكفاية / انا لبنانية بشكل كافي - I am Lebanese enough
متمسكة - Attached/connected
مواطنة من العالم - Citizen of the world
ملحوظ - Impressive/distinctive
بفتكر/ بفكر - I think
الشتات - The diaspora
يستعيروا - They borrow
نزوح/ نازحة،نازح - Exodus / Displaced
اجدادنا - Grandparents / Our Grandparents منخبر بعض قصص - We tell each other stories
أكتسبت - I gained / I acquired
افسر حالي - I explain myself
مماثل - Similar / Comparable
برهن - Prove (to prove something)
بسلط الضو على شي - To shine a light on something / To highlight something
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Hello and welcome to all the listeners and a Happy Christmas!
I hope you are all well and in good health.
I'm finally ready to make new episodes and this week i'll be talking to my friend Adam from Gaza about our experiences in learning languages.
Adam is also an Arabic teacher and I advise you to have a go studying with him because he really knows and understands the nuances within Arabic and English and he's super patient with his students. I also benefitted a lot from my conversations with him because he has a Gazan accent (which I am not used to) and I like to be flexible with understanding different accents in the region.
He's got some spots available for new students if you'd like to try studying Arabic through conversation with him.
If you'd like more information, send us an email at [email protected]
I'd also like to say a big thank you to Muhammad, who teaches Arabic on italki. He's from Syria, living in Germany and from time to time I take lessons with him - when I feel like brushing up on my Arabic. He helped me out preparing for this episode and getting my brain in gear after neglecting my Arabic for a few weeks. He's such a great teacher and super encouraging to his students, so check him out! Here is the link to his page on italki: https://www.italki.com/teacher/2678645
Here is the new vocab for this week. Enjoy!
أنا عال العال - Couldn’t be better
فضولي - curious
دءوب - diligent, perseverant
بشكل رسمي - formally
بستحي - I am ashamed
بخجل - I am shy
مقالة - Article
ميزة - characteristic or quality, or feature
حاجز ذهني - mental block
أفكار مسبقة سيئة - negative preconceptions
اتجاهلت - I ignored, I neglected
استمرارية - continuation
احنا في الهوى سوى - we are in the wind together - you and be both, we are both in the same shit, used quite humorously.
حاجة / حاجات - a thing, things
بتناسبني - it suits me / it fits me
قدوة - an example or a model
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Hello everyone and welcome to Episode Nine and Happy Christmas!
I've just started an instagram page where I will post podcast episodes and more content including videos, vocab and tips on language learning and differences between accents - check it out here @learnlevantinewithlivi https://www.instagram.com/learnlevantinewithlivi/?hl=en
I hope you are all well even though the world is rather...upside down.
Thanks to all of you who sent suggestions and thoughts about the podcast via email. I’d encourage you to send more as I love hearing your feedback. Please feel free to get in touch at [email protected]
Also, Ramzi still has some spaces available for conversational Arabic classes for intermediate students. His classes are ideally suited to those who can understand around 70% of the conversations in the podcast. For more information please get in touch at the same email address [email protected]
Today we are going to return to the topic of 'home'. We recorded this episode whilst we were back in our 'home' countries. Listen out for the sounds of the Old City of Jerusalem in the background whilst Ramzi is talking.
Here are some of the new words we will be hearing in today's episode:
بمستوى مجازي - On a metaphorical level
البيوت كلها فوق بعضها - The houses are all on top of each other
المهجر - In the diaspora / Abroad
الخروج من رحم امهاتنا - Getting out of our mothers’ womb
نوع من الغربه - A kind of strangeness
حقيبتي وطني ،و وطني حقيبتي - My backpack is my homeland and my homeland is my backpack.
سور - Wall
معقد - Complicated
اشي بهبل - Something foolish/trivial
الاشياء الملموسة - Tangible things
الحواس - The senses
هوية - Identity
مسلوب - Stolen
تكوين المكان - Spatial configuration
مغتربين - Expatriates
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Hello everyone and welcome to Episode Nine! I hope you are all doing great and are ready for another episode. Thanks to all of you who sent suggestions and thoughts about the podcast via email. I’d encourage you to send more as I love hearing your feedback. Please feel free to get in touch at [email protected]
Also, Ramzi still has some spaces available for conversational Arabic classes for intermediate students. His classes are ideally suited to those who can understand around 70% of the conversations in the podcast. For more information please get in touch at the same email address [email protected]
I've just started an instagram page where I will post podcast episodes and more content including videos, vocab and tips on language learning and differences between accents - check it out here @learnlevantinewithlivi https://www.instagram.com/learnlevantinewithlivi/?hl=en
Here are some of the new words we will be hearing in today's episode:
مهاجر - Migrant
نقلت - I left / I moved
اضطراري - Forced
إمكانية الرجوع - The possibility of returning
متوفر - Available
بحكم - By virtue
ينتزع - To snatch
تبديل - Changing / Replacing
حروب - Wars
الانتماء - Belonging
مستأجر - Rented
معروض - Offered / Shown
جرعة من الحنين - A small dose of nostalgia
بأعزز - I reinforce / strengthen
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Hello everyone and welcome to Episode Eight!
Apologies for my absence, but now i'm back AND I have some news which is that i've set up an email address through which you can pass on your comments and feedback about the podcast as well as make suggestions for topics you would benefit from hearing about.
Please feel free to get in touch at [email protected]
In other good news, i'm happy to tell you that Ramzi has some spaces available for conversational Arabic classes for intermediate students. His classes are ideally suited to those who can understand around 70% of the conversations in the podcast. For more information please get in touch at the same email address [email protected]
I can highly recommend him as a teacher.
Here are some of the new words we will be hearing in today's episode:
عبارات - Sayings
أمثال - Examples
تعبير - Expression
وفرة - Abundance
بتستحضر - You evoke
وقح - Rude
اللغة المحكية - The spoken language
مبالغين - Exaggerators / People who exaggerate
مشابهة - Similar
فاصلة - Comma
بذكرو - They mention
الديك - The cockerel
معطيات - Data
برمي - I throw
تجنب - Avoiding / Avoid
بذيء - Indecent
سلفاً - In advance
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Hello everyone and welcome to Episode Seven!
Apologies that we disappeared for a month. But now we are back with a new episode where Ramzi and I will ask each other questions about travel and transport.
Getting to grips with how you structure questions in Arabic is something I certainly struggle with so there will be an element of translation in this episode (English-Arabic & Arabic-English) to help give some examples in the different question structures the two languages have.
Here are some of the new words we will be hearing in today's episode:
سياح - Tourists
موقع - Website
السائق - The driver
احسنلك - Better for you
موحدد - Specific / specified
بمر - I pass
الدولة - The state
بطلت - I quit / I stopped
الوقت المناسب - The appropriate / right time
اولوية - Priority
المشاة - The pedestrians
من خلال عيون السكان - Through the eyes of the inhabitants -
Hello everyone and welcome to Episode Six.
Today we are going to try a slightly different format where Ramzi and I will ask each other 5 questions.
Getting to grips with how you structure questions in Arabic is something I certainly struggle with so there will be an element of translation in this episode (English-Arabic & Arabic-English) to help give some examples in the different question structures the two languages have.
It's also a chance for us to express our personal opinions about a range of subjects. Feeling like you can truly express yourself in another language is quite a journey and takes time and patience - so I hope this episode helps you.
Here are some of the new words we will be hearing in today's episode:
I switch on - بشغل
Global crisis - أزمة عالمية
From my humble experience (lit) / in my humble opinion - تجربتي المتواضعة
Subject to change - قابلة للتغير
From different angles - من أكثر من زاوية
I comprehend it - أستوعبها
Thirties - الثلاثينات
Twenties - العشرينات
Clarification - توضيح
It lost a lot - خسر كثير
It has no relationship / irrelevant - ما اله / الها علاقة
I suffer - بأعاني
To pass - بيمروء
Catastrophe/Disaster/Calamity - مصيبة
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Hi everyone and welcome to episode five - as always, thanks so much for listening.
Today you will hear a conversation between Ramzi and I about the virtual world and what we feel are the positives and negatives of being 'online'.
We've got a whole bunch of new vocabulary today, 19 words in total!
We fall into the trap - منوقع في الفخ
Based on / built upon - مبنية
You (m) distinguish - بتميز بين
Radically / in a radical way - بشكل جذري
Screen / screens - شاشة / شاشات
Duplication - الازدواجية
All the possible ways - كل الطرق الممكنة
Doubt - شك
Influencers - المؤثرين
Loneliness/ alone - وحدة
In isolation - في العزلة
Fraud / scam - احتيال
Approach - مقاربة
Human validity - صلاحيات الإنسان
Addicted - مدمن/ مدمنة
A sign of this / Proof of this - دليل على هيك
Moderation - اعتدال
It was useful to us - فادتنا
Permanent - دائم -
Welcome to Episode Four! Thanks so much for listening.
Today Ramzi and I will be talking about the memory and memories, in general.
Here are 15 of the new words you will be hearing in the podcast.
The Memory - الذاكرة
Memory/Memories - ذكرة/ ذكريات
To swear - اسب
Naughty - مشاغب
Out loud (in a loud voice) - صوت عالي
Flexible - مرن
Emotions - عواطف
Linked / related - مرتبط / مرتبطة
Pandemic - وباء
Ambiences - أجواء
Selective / انتقائية
In return بمقابل
Evoke - استحضار
Your strength - قوتك
Attack - هجوم -
Welcome to Episode Three! Thanks so much for listening.
Today I will be talking to Ramzi about our experiences of and opinions on dreams and dreaming.
Here are 15 of the new words you will be hearing in the podcast.
I grew up - نميت
Recurring dreams - أحلام متكررة
The main role - الدور الرئيسي
I improvise - برتجل
Psychology - علم النفس
Obsession - هوس
Failure - فشل
Metaphorical - مجازي
Literal - حرفي
Behaviour - سلوك
Negative - سلبي
Positive - ايجابي
Just - مجرد
Mental training / mental exercises - تمرين ذهني
It’s not coming to my mind - مش خاطر في بالي
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Welcome to Episode Two!
Today Ramzi and I will be talking about our interest in creating radio shows and the roots this has in our respective childhoods.
Here are 13 of the new words you will be hearing in the podcast:
Curious / curiosity of - فضول
Interested - مهتم / مهتمين
Impression - انطباع
Development - تطوير
Imagination - خيال
Imaginary friends - أصدقا متخيلين
Information - معلومات
You get closer - تقري على
Nap / siesta - قيلولة
Peace agreement - اتفاقية السلام
Bombing - قصف
Abbreviated - مختصر
Radio / broadcast - إذاعة
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Welcome to the first episode!
Today Ramzi and I will be talking about life under the coronavirus lockdown, the best way to learn a new language and the common mistakes that myself and other language learners tend to make when speaking Arabic.
Here are 10 of the new words you will be hearing in the podcast:
Quarantine/Lockdown - حجر
Forced - مطر
Days of the invasion (intifada) - أيام الاجتياح
Curfew - منع التجول
Basic materials/necessities - المواد الاساسية
Value - قيمة
Communication - تواصل
Devices / device - الأجهزة / الجهاز
Repeated - متكرر
They confuse - بيخربتوا -
Welcome to an introduction to Learn Levantine with Livi.
*Below is an English translation of the text you will be hearing in Arabic)
This is a podcast for intermediate students of Levantine Arabic.
In each podcast you will hear a conversation between me and a native speaker. At the beginning of each podcast I will introduce some new vocabulary that you will hear in the conversation.
My Arabic is not perfect at all, so I really hope that I can help you by offering you the chance to learn from my mistakes.
In each episode, the native speaker will correct me and my pronunciation whenever I make a mistake and, whenever I get stuck I will ask them for help too.
I have been really lucky to have had amazing teachers but the biggest thing that helped me improve my speaking was when I stopped caring about making mistakes and just started talking. Fortunately, I have lots of patient friends who are native speakers, so I try to speak with them as much as possible in Arabic and I stopped caring about making mistakes. Instead, I just talk and talk and I see the mistakes as chances to learn.
I hope you enjoy the podcast and don’t forget - try and practice talking as much as you can and don’t be scared to slip up! I do it all the time, and it's always the case that we learn from our mistakes.
