Numero 1 - Ecole Sibawaih

c
Le Journal de l’Ecole de Langues Sibawaih
Remerciements
Les HOMMES se bidonnent avec la langue
française!
Chères lectrices, chers lecteurs,
©
Voici Sibmag numéro un, après le numéro
zéro.
Nous espérons que les élèves ainsi que les
enseignants y trouveront de quoi se distraire et
s'instruire.
Nous sommes heureux de pouvoir inclure une
tentative encourageantes de la part d’un de nos
étudiants, ainsi qu’une page en allemand.
Nous renouvelons notre appel pour vos
contributions sous forme d'articles pour que
©
Sibmag reste l'outil de communication dont
notre école a besoin .
©
Ce deuxième Sibmag sort à un moment où une
partie de notre pays vient d'être secouée par un
drame qui nous a tous bouleversés. Nous
exprimons par le biais de ce numéro nos
sincères condoléances aux familles qui ont
perdu des êtres chers et notre soutien aux
sinistrés. Nous tenons par la même occasion à
remercier tous ceux qui ont répondu
rapidement à l'appel de solidarité, et à vous
rappeler que beaucoup de familles continuent
de survivre dans des situations très difficiles et
que toute aide quelle qu'elle soit est encore non
seulement utile, mais surtout nécessaire.
La fête traditionnelle de l'école, organisée cette
année le jeudi 19 juin a été une occasion de
manifester encore une fois notre solidarité : La
totalité de l'argent recueilli a été versée au
fonds de solidarité avec les populations
sinistrées du centre de notre cher pays.
Avant de terminer, nous tenons à exprimer
notre reconnaissance à tous les étudiants et aux
parents d'élèves qui continuent de nous faire
confiance, et faisons la promesse de ne jamais
cesser d'œuvrer pour en être toujours dignes.
Anglais
Juin / Juillet 2003 N°01
Français
La langue française est quand même bizarre.
Pourquoi dit-on UN tabouret et pourquoi UNE chaise? LE tabouret a-til des petits attributs que l'on n'a pas encore vus?
Pourquoi, dès que c'est UNE galère, c'est tout de suite au FÉMININ?
LA pluie, LA neige, LA grêle, LA tempête, tout ça, c'est pour vous les
FEMMES!
Nous, c'est LE soleil, LE beau temps, LE printemps, LE paradis!
Vous, vous n'avez pas de chance: LA vaisselle, LA cuisine, LA bouffe,
LA poussière, LA saleté, LA balayeuse.
Nous, c'est LE café, dans LE fauteuil avec LE journal en écoutant LE
hockey, et ça pourrait être LE bonheur si vous ne veniez pas semer LA
discorde et mettre LA chicane.
Pour retrouver LE calme, je crois que nous devrions laisser LE genre
décider...
Vous pouvez regarder LA télé, mais nous choisissons LE poste. Même
si LA télécommande vous appartient, nous avons LE contrôle.
Dès que c'est sérieux, comme par hasard, c'est tout de suite au
MASCULIN.
On dit UNE rivière, UNE marre d'eau mais on dit UN fleuve, UN océan.
On dit UNE trottinette mais UN avion à réaction! Et quand il y a UN
problème dans UN avion, c'est tout de suite UNE catastrophe. C'est
toujours LA faute d'UNE erreur de pilotage, d'UNE panne d'essence,
d'UNE mauvaise visibilité, bref toujours à cause d'UNE connerie.
Et alors, attention, dès que LA connerie est faite par UN homme, ça ne
s'appelle plus UNE connerie, ça s'appelle UN impondérable.
Enfin, moi, si j'étais vous les FEMMES, je ferais UNE pétition. Et il
faut faire très vite parce que votre situation s'aggrave de jour en jour. Y'a
pas si longtemps, vous aviez LA logique, LA bonne vieille logique
FÉMININE. Ça ne nous a pas plu, nous les HOMMES et nous avons
inventé LE logiciel.
Mais vous avez quand même quelquefois des petits avantages: nous
avons LE mariage, LE divorce; vous avez LA pension, LA maison.
Vous avez LA carte de crédit, nous avons UN trou, LE découvert.
Mais d'une façon générale, LE type qui a inventé LA langue française
ne vous aimait pas beaucoup, mesdames.
allemand
Espagnol
Du 02 Août au 02 Septembre 2003 / 5 Cours par Semaine - Horaire unique : 10h à 12h
4 Cours par Semaine : Samedi, Dimanche, Mardi et Mercredi
Début des cours le Samedi 13 Septembre 2003
2 Cours par Semaine : Lundi et Jeudi. Début des cours le Lundi 15 Septembre 2003
Horaires aux Choix : 10h à 12h / 14h à 16h / 16h à 18h / 18h à 20h
Le Journal de l’Ecole de Langues Sibawaih
M
uch like America today, the Arab world of the seventh to
the thirteenth centuries was a great cosmopolitan
civilization. It was an enormous unifying enterprise, one
which joined the peoples of Spain and North Africa in the west with
the peoples of the ancient lands of Egypt, Syria and Mesopotamia in
the east.
It was the rapid expansion of Islam that initially brought this empire
together. Alliances were made, trade routes were opened, lands and
peoples were welded into a new force. Islam provided the
dynamism, but it was the Arabic language, which provided the bond
that held it together.
Islam spread to lands more distant than North Africa and the Fertile
Crescent, but it was in this area that a common Arab culture emerged.
To be Arab, then as now, was not to come from a particular race or
lineage. To be Arab, like American, was (and is) a civilization and a
cultural trait rather than a racial mark. To be Arab meant to be from
the Arabic-speaking world a world of common traditions, customs
and values shaped by a single and unifying language.
The Arab civilization brought together Muslims, Christians and
Jews. It unified Arabians, Africans, Berbers, Egyptians, and the
descendants of the Phoenicians, Canaanites, and many other people.
This great “melting pot” was not without tensions, to be sure, but it
was precisely the tension of this mixing and meeting of peoples that
produced the vibrant and dynamic new civilization, the remarkable
advances of which we outline in this ADC Issues.
ARAB CONTRIBUTIONS TO CIVILIZATION
The years between the seventh and thirteenth centuries mark a period
in history when culture and learning flourished in North Africa, Asia,
Southern Europe, and the Middle East. When one sets aside the
vagaries of politics, intrigue, mistrust, and suspicion which have
plagued Man's history, one finds that the Arab world continues to
spin out the thread of earliest recorded civilization. It enhanced and
developed the arts and sciences and preserved the libraries of the
early centuries of the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine cultures. Indeed,
during the Dark Ages of Europe, much learning was preserved for
the world through the Arab libraries in the universities of Morocco
(Fez), Mali (Timbuktu) and Egypt (Al-Azhar). From this period of
Arab influence, new words such as orange, sugar, coffee, sofa, satin,
and algebra filtered into the languages of Europe. New discoveries
were made in the sciences and arts which improved the life and
condition of Man, and thousands of Arab contributions have become
an integral part of human civilization.
These contributions spanned over fields as varied as sciences, arts
and crafts, language, philosophy or music.
Sibmag will publish some of these contributions in this and
forthcoming issues. In this issu, we will concentrate on Arab
contributions to Mathematics, Astronomy and Medicine.
MATHEMATICS
In mathematics, the Arab sifr, or zero, provided new solutions for
complicated mathematical problems. The Arabic numeral an
improvement on the original Hindu concept and the Arab decimal
system facilitated the course of science. The Arabs invented and
developed algebra and made great strides in trigonometry. AlKhwarizmi, credited with the founding of algebra, was inspired by
the need to find a more accurate and comprehensive method of
ensuring precise land divisions so that the Koran could be carefully
obeyed in the laws of inheritance. The writings of Leonardo da Vinci,
Leonardo Fibonacci of Pisa, and Master Jacob of Florence show the
Arab influence on mathematical studies in European universities.
The reformation of the calendar, with a margin of error of only one
day in five thousand years, was also a contribution of Arab intellect.
ASTRONOMY
Like algebra, the astrolabe was improved
with religion in mind. It was used to chart
the precise time of sunrises and sunsets,
and in order to determine the period for
fasting during the month of Ramadan,
Juin / Juillet 2003 N°01-Page 2
Arab astronomers of the Middle Ages compiled astronomical charts
and tables in observatories such as those at Palmyra and Maragha.
Gradually, they were able to determine the length of a degree, to
establish longitude and latitude, and to investigate the relative
speeds of sound and light. Al-Biruni, considered one of the greatest
scientists of all time, discussed the possibility of the earth's rotation
on its own axis a theory proven by Galileo six centuries later. Arab
astronomers such as al-Fezari, al-Farghani, and al-Zarqali added to
the works of Ptolemy and the classic pioneers in the development of
the magnetic compass and the charting of the zodiac. Distinguished
astronomers from all over the world gathered to work at Maragha in
the thirteenth century.
MEDICINE
In the field of medicine, the
Arabs improved upon the
healing arts of ancient
Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Al-Razi, a medical encyclopedist of the
ninth century, was an authority on
contagion. Among his many volumes of
medical surveys, perhaps the most
famous is the Kitab al-Mansuri. It was used
in Europe until the sixteenth century. AlRazi was the first to diagnose smallpox and
measles, to associate these diseases and others
with human contamination and contagion, to introduce such
remedies as mercurial ointment, and to use animal gut for sutures.
The famous scientist-philosopher known in Europe as Avicenna was
Ibn Sina, an Arab. He was the greatest writer of medicine in the
Middle Ages, and his Canon was required reading throughout
Europe until the seventeenth century. Avicenna did pioneer work in
mental health, and was a forerunner of today's psychotherapists. He
believed that some illnesses were psychosomatic, and he sometimes
led patients back to a recollection of an incident buried in the
subconscious in order to explain the present ailment.
In the fourteenth Century, when the Great Plague ravaged the world,
Ibn Khatib and Ibn Khatima of Granada recognized that it was spread
by contagion. In his book, Kitabu'l Maliki, al-Maglusi showed a
rudimentary conception of the capillary system; an Arab from Syria,
Ibn al-Nafis, discovered the fundamental principles of pulmonary
circulation.
Camphor, cloves, myrrh, syrups, juleps, and rosewater were stocked
in Arab sydaliyah (pharmacies) centuries ago. Herbal medicine was
widely used in the Middle East, and basil, oregano, thyme, fennel,
anise, licorice, coriander, rosemary, nutmeg, and cinnamon found
their way through Arab pharmacies to European tables.
OTHER SCIENCES
Concerning Arab contributions to engineering, one can look to the
water wheel, cisterns, irrigation, water wells at fixed levels, and the
water clock. In 860, the three sons of Musa ibn Shakir published the
Book on Artifices, which described a hundred technical
constructions. One of the earliest philosophers, al-Kindi, wrote on
specific weight, tides, light reflection and optics.
Al-Haytham (known in Europe as Alhazen) wrote a book in the
tenth century on optics, Kitab Al Manazir. He explored optical
illusions, the rainbow, and the camera obscura (which led to the
beginning of photographic instruments). He also made discoveries
in atmospheric refractions (mirages and comets, for example),
studied the eclipse, and laid the foundation for the later
development of the microscope and the telescope. Al-Haytham did
not limit himself to one branch of the sciences, but like many of
the Arab scientists and thinkers, explored and made contributions
to the fields of physics, anatomy and mathematics.
End of Part One
Le Journal de l’Ecole de Langues Sibawaih
Wir kämpfen
gegen das
Es hat sich wie ein
Virus in die deutsche
Sprache geschlichen:
das kleine Wörtchen
„cool“. Befallen sind
vor allem
Jugendliche - und
solche, die sich dafür
halten. Erwachsene
verstehen selten, was
das Wort bedeutet.
Mit der Übersetzung
aus dem Englischen „kalt“ - kommt man
nicht viel weiter.
Mach mit!
“Cool“ hat bereits eine ganze
Reihe von Wörtern verdrängt.
Eine Negativform gibt es
auch: "uncool“. Kannst du
uns bei der Bekämpfung des
"Cool“-Fiebers helfen? Dann
schreib uns, wie man die
Wörter in den einzelnen
Aussagen ersetzen kann!
Als Preise verlosen wir unter
allen richtigen Einsendungen
10 Duden "Wie schreibt man
gutes Deutsch?“
Einsendeschluss ist der
31.12.03. Der Rechtsweg ist
ausgeschlossen.
Redaktion JUMA
Stichwort: Cool-Fieber
Frankfurter Straße 40
51065 Köln
Deutschland
Juin / Juillet 2003 N°01-Page 3
WAS IST COOL ?
Marieke, 17: Der Winter
ist cool, weil man da
Skifahren und
Snowboarden kann.
Thorsten, 16: Cool ist für
mich jemand, der nicht
mit der Mode geht und
seine eigenen Ideen hat.
Anna, 17: Für mich ist
Musik von N´Sync cool,
weil ich die Jungs
wirklich toll finde und
sie einfach super Musik
machen.
Patrick, 18: Cool ist
meine kleine Schwester,
weil sie genau weiß, was
sie will und wie sie es
auch bekommt!
Johannes, 15: Für mich
sind Hosen von Freeman
T. Porter cool, weil sie
einfach total angenehm
zu tragen sind.
Paula, 17: Ich finde
Jungs cool, weil sie nicht
immer so zickig sind wie
Mädchen.
Maria, 13: Ich finde
Mädchen mit Make-up
cool, weil sie dann schon
so erwachsen wirken.
Simon, 17: Für mich ist
cool, wenn man nicht
dauernd sagt, dass
etwas cool ist, denn was
ist schon cool?
Ariane, 15: Schule ist
eigentlich ganz cool,
weil man dort jeden Tag
seine Freunde trifft.
Petra, 18: Für mich ist
Autofahren wirklich
cool. Es macht einfach
Spaß!
Sabrina, 16: Mir gefallen
Kaninchen so gut, weil
sie so süß sind: Ich finde
sie wirklich cool!
Lena, 14: Tanzen ist das
coolste auf der ganzen
Welt, weil man dabei
einfach alles vergessen
kann.
Christoph, 19: Ich finde
meinen Job cool. Ich
arbeite bei einer
Computerfirma.
Florian, 16: Für mich ist
alles cool, was Spaß
macht!
Nora, 13: Cool sind alle
meine Freunde, weil sie
mich immer zum Lachen
bringen!
Theresa, 17: Gedichte,
Geschichten und alles,
was man lesen kann, ist
cool.
Stefan, 16: Ich finde
Sonnenbrillen mit
bunten Gläsern wirklich
cool. Damit sieht man
wirklich richtig schräg
aus.
Stefanie, 15: Meine
Eltern sind cool, weil sie
mir fast alles erlauben!
Sabine, 16: Ich finde es
cool, wenn man spontan
ist.
Julia, 19: Cool ist jeder,
der sich nicht wichtiger
nimmt, als er ist.
Patrizia, 17: Ich finde es
cool, dass ich bald 18
werde. Dann bin ich
endlich volljährig!
Thomas, 13: Ich finde es
cool, wenn man abends
lange weggehen darf.
Tanja, 18: Ich finde das
Wochenende cool, weil
man da keine Schule hat
und ausschlafen kann.
Markus, 19: Für mich
sind richtig gute
Freundschaften cool,
denn gute Freunde sind
selten.
Sabrina, 18: Cool ist,
wenn man nicht immer
danach beurteilt wird,
wie man aussieht oder
Hans findet eine Flasche am Strand, hebt sie auf, macht sie auf. Plötzlich springt ein Geist raus, und sagt ihm, daß er 3 Wünsche frei hat.
Ok denkt der Hans, ich möchte gerne nach Hawaii aber ich hab ja Flugangst. Also: Ich wünsche mir eine Autobahn nach Hawaii. Darauf
der Geist: Tut mir leid, viel zu aufwendig. Ok denkt sich der Hans, dann sag mir doch, was in einer Frau vorgeht. Daruf der Geist:
Wieviele Spuren soll denn Deine Autobahn haben?
Le Journal de l’Ecole de Langues Sibawaih
Very often students ask, “How do we
pronounce this word?” They hardly ever
ask “How do you pronounce this
sentence?” Their assumption is that if
they can pronounce the word correctly,
their pronunciation, and therefore their
oral English, is good. They may or may
not be aware of it, but they have solved
no more than two of the 'speaking'
problems, namely sound and word stress.
In actual fact, and in a nutshell,
pronunciation involves taking control of
five aspects of language, or S S R I J.
SOUND
These are the individual sound
differences. For example, is the 'g' of
'margarine' pronounced like the 'g' of 'get'
or like the 'g' of 'age'?
Algerians have very few problems with
the individual sounds, except with initial
'r' as in 'red' or in a cluster with 'd' or 't' as in
'dry' or 'try', and one or two vowel sounds.
But sounds are never a major problem, if
we take into consideration the regional
variations, and the fact that words are
never said in isolation but within a context.
Juin / Juillet 2003 N°01-Page 4
up, or down.
It usually falls on
the stressed
syllable of the last
lexical word. But it could in theory fall on
any word whatsoever for emphasis or
contrast.
For example: 'Mary arrived early' is
pronounced with a normal sentence stress
as 'MAry aRRIVED EARly.'
But it could also be pronounced: 'MAry
aRRIVED EARly.' , implying it was
MAry and not HENry or BETH; or it could
be pronounced
'MAry a RRIVED
EARly.' for contrast or emphasis: she
arrived, not LEFT for example.
Sentence stress is a key constituent of
intonation.
RHYTHM
This is the most difficult feature of the
English language, and it is the one least
dealt with in our educational system.
Rhythm represents the beat of the
language, the drums of the orchestra.
Every stressed syllable of lexical words
represents a rhythm unit.
A rhythm unit always contains ONE
stressed syllable, and one stressed syllable
only, plus or minus unstressed syllables,
the number of which can vary
STRESS
'Word' Stress
This is when a specific syllable in a given
word is pronounced louder, longer and
stronger than the other syllables of that
word. For example, the syllable 'MA' in
'aMAzing' is longer, louder and stronger
than the other two unstressed syllables,
which are by definition shorter, softer and
weaker than the stressed one.
Both features of 'strength” and 'length'
exist in the Arabic language; and loudness
should be no problem either.
The word stress stays on the same syllable
in a given word. It usually falls on the root
of the word, rather than the affixes.
Word stress is a key constituent of rhythm.
'Sentence' Stress
This is when the stressed syllable of the
most important word in the sentence goes
The most important feature of rhythm is
the isochrony of the rhythm units, a
scholarly word to say that ALL rhythm
units take the same time to pronounce,
irrespective of the number of their
syllables. (See table below)
In other words, it takes as much time to
say 'JOHN' in example 1 below, as to
say 'MAry' in 2, because they have the
same number of stressed syllables.
It takes the same time to say sentences
4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 below because they have
the same number of stressed syllables
(three), and that is what counts, and not
the number of syllables which goes
from five syllables to eight syllables.
What counts, what is important, what
you should pay attention to is the
number of rhythm units, that is to say,
ISOCHRONY
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
JOHN
MAry
MAry
MAry
MAry
the CHILdren
the CHILdren
the CHILdren
LEFT
LEFT
aRRIVED
aRRIVED
are EATing
are EATing
EARly
EARly
EARly
BIScuits
the BIScuits
Word
Stresses
1
1
2
3
3
3
3
3
the number of stressed syllables.
The corollary is that the unstressed
syllables must be said very quickly and
very softly. This is when you get the
impression that the native speakers are
'swallowing' their words.
INTONATION
Intonation is something you are very
familiar with. This is how you know if
someone has finished speaking or not,
whether he is asking a question, or
stating a fact, whether he is sad or
joyful, excited or bored, blasé or
surprised, miserable or happy, or
whatever.
The same features appear in almost all
languages, with some minor variations.
Intonation falls on the stressed syllable
of the 'sentence' stress. And as such, it
can move from any stressed syllable
to any other stressed syllable.
It can take many forms, depending on
the meaning you wish to give your
utterance. My voice can go up, or down,
or down then up, or up then down, and
these contours give my sentence a
different meaning.
The sentence 'JOHN is here' could be
said in several ways to imply a
statement, a question, mockery, a
pleasant surprise, an unpleasant news
item, a threat, etc.
JUNCTURE
This fifth and final element is
concerned with things you are already
familiar with, such as the ED of past
participles or past tenses of regular
verbs which can be pronounced 'd' or 't'
or 'id'; and some other features such as
the liaisons, assimilations, or links
between words, such as for example the
SS of 'bleSS you' which can be
pronounced as 'bleSH you'.
It is the cherry on the cake.
To sum it up, pronunciation involves S
S R I J, the R part of it being the most
urgent to take control of.
KESB.
Syllables
1
2
3
5
6
7
7
8
Le Journal de l’Ecole de Langues Sibawaih
Juin / Juillet 2003 N°01-Page 5
Idiom Quiz - ANIMALS
Choose an idiom at the bottom to replace the expression in the brackets below:
1.
Please stop that (mischief) and do some serious work.
(a) dark horse (b) monkey business (c) piggy bank (d) road hog
2.
The little boy kept asking many questions until his mother finally said (that asking too many questions
will get him into trouble).
(a) the cat had got his tongue (b) straight from the horse`s mouth (c) curiosity killed the cat (d) make a
mountain out of a molehill
3.
Please (be patient and wait) while I make a phone call.
(a) hit the bull`s eye (b) let sleeping dogs lie (c) turn tail (d) hold your horses
4.
Their computer software patent is a (good source of money) for their
company.
(a) cash cow (b) top dog (c) horse of a different color (d) dark horse
5.
The little boys thought their friend was (easily frightened) because he wouldn`t play with the dog.
(a) a piggy bank (b) a kangaroo court (c) a holy cow (d) a scaredy-cat
6.
The supervisor has a reputation for (watching and controling) the workers.
(a) living high off the hog on (b) riding herd on (c) horsing around with (d) going ape with
7.
When the police arrived the two men looked frightened and suddenly (ran away).
(a) hit the bull`s eye (b) let the cat out of the bag (c) turned tail (d) hit the bull`s eye
8. I heard about the plans for the new magazine article (directly from the person
responsible).
(a) off his high horse (b) straight from the horse`s mouth (c) in the doghouse (d) in a pig`s eye
9. The car engine stopping while driving on the freeway was the (thing that finally made
me decide to do something) so I sold the car.
(a) straw that broke the camel`s back (b) horse of a different color (c) top dog (d) wolf in sheep`s clothing
10.
He really (misjudged his chance of success) when he found an unreliable partner for his business.
(a) led a dog`s life (b) bet on the wrong horse (c) cast pearl`s before swine (d) made a mountain out of a
molehole
11.
He is the (most important person) in his company.
(a) holy cow (b) piggy-back (c) alley cat (d) top dog
12.
I hadn`t seen my cousin for a long time; so when we finally met we talked (for a long time).
(a) in the dog house (b) straight from the horse`s mouth (c) until the cows came home (d) off his high horse
13.
You should (not worry about those problems from before). It is
too late now to do anything about them.
(a) lock the barn door after the horse is gone (b) let sleeping dogs lie
(c) buy a pig in a poke (d) bark up the wrong tree
14.
Don`t be afraid of your new neighbor. Her (words are worse than
her actions).
(a) horse is of a different color (b) tail is
between her legs (c) cat has got her tongue (d)
bark is worse than her bite
15.
My grandfather moved to the country to get away from the (busyness and
confusion) in the city.
(a) monkey business (b) horse trading (c) rat race (d) horse
sense
(See keys page 8.)
Le Journal de l’Ecole de Langues Sibawaih
Soyez propres :
- Dans votre corps.
- Dans vos vêtements.
- N'oubliez pas que la propreté donne
vigueur et santé.
- La maladie vient au galop, mais elle
s'en va au pas.
Soyez honnêtes :
- L'homme honnête n'a qu'une parole.
- L'homme honnête respecte le bien
d'autrui.
- Considérez vous toujours comme si
vous étiez vus par dix yeux et montrés
par dix doigts.
Soyez propres en toutes choses :
- Dans vos paroles.
- Dans vos pensées.
- Dans vos actes.
Soyez consciencieux :
- Aimez votre métier, il n'y a pas de
sots métiers, il n'y a que des sottes
gens.
- Faites bien ce que vous faites, le
travail bien fait rend joyeux.
Soyez polis :
- La politesse est une monnaie qui
enrichit celui qui la dépense.
- Les paroles douces ouvrent les
portes de fer.
Soyez francs :
- Il faut dire la vérité, toute la vérité et
rien que la vérité.
- Le mensonge peut courir pendant un
an, la vérité le rattrape en un jour.
Soyez économes :
- Travaillez en toutes saisons.
- Dépensez selon la raison.
- Vous ferez une bonne maison.
Soyez persévérants :
- Petit à petit l'oiseau fait son nid.
- Les petits ruisseaux fond les grandes
rivières.
- Avec du temps et de la patience, une
souris coupe un câble et des petits
coups répétés abattent un grand chêne.
We live with people and among people, and as such, we are
expected to be sociable creatures.First in the home. This microsociety, small as it may be, unveils much about human relations:
giving and taking, caring and sharing, providing a suitable
environment for a healthy upbringing and a huge laboratory for
experiments where people's hearts and minds are shaped. Let's
now leave home and deal with the real world and society at large. A context with
different places and races and relationships, and of course, with its very own
laboratory where new experiences are gained.
So how can these two different worlds deal and interact with each other?
My grandfather's answer to this very complex issue seemed to be too simple and
naïve. Even on second thoughts, I was still lost. I just could not make out what he
meant. How could such a sophisticated problem require such a plain answer?
He simply answered, “Just smile like an angel, and you'll see, sonny.”
At that time neither my young age, nor my common sense could bear on his
wisdom.Now I am a grown up, I've come to think that maturity and experience
have paved the way for all of us to face difficulties, and cope with the ups and
downs of life. Hence, when dealing with human 'creatures', I mean in the context
of society with its tiny environments and places of socialisation, we feel the need
to adapt. But adaptation is worth nothing sometimes as compared with my
grandfather's magic formula 'Smile like an angel'.
I asked him again. Upon that, he gave me a short comment, “A real smile is that
one where your eyes smile on and on, and keep smiling, long after your mouth
and lips have stopped.”
It is crystal clear. There is nothing to read between the lines. A real smile cannot
be true and genuine and authentic unless we mean it.
Hakim B.
Juin / Juillet 2003 N°01-Page 6
Soyez modestes :
- Les vaniteux sont comme des tiges
de blé qui se dressent dans les champs
parce qu'elles sont vides.
Soyez bons et généreux :
- L'égoïste à un tonneau à la place du
ventre et une pierre à la place du cœur,
ce n'est pas un homme, c'est un
monstre.
- Aidez ceux qui souffrent.
- Celui qui a un cœur charitable à
toujours quelque chose à donner.
Sachez pardonner :
- Il faut souvent plus de courage pour
pardonner que pour se venger.
- Si la haine répond à la haine,
comment la haine finira-t-elle ?
Faites toujours de votre mieux !
BENSMAIN Rédha
Etudiant Français Niveau 5
At the movies
A boy and his girl friend were at
the movies. “Can you see all
right?" the boy asked. “Yes,” the
girl replied. He then inquired,
“Can you hear all right?” Yes
came the reply. “And is your seat
comfortable?” the boy wondered.
”Very comfortable,” the girl
answered.
“In that case,” said the boy,
“would you mind changing places
with me?”
----ooooOOOOOooo---The rebel
A big guy walked into the
crowded bar and yelled: “Is there a
fellow by the name of Murphy
here?”
A little fellow stood up and said:
“I'm Murphy.”
The big guy grabbed him and beat
him up. He cracked five of his
ribs, broke his nose, and gave him
two black eyes. He flung him
down on the floor and stomped
out.
After he had gone, the little fellow
propped himself up, saying softly:
“ I sure made a fool of that guy. I'm
not Murphy! HA!HA!HA!
----ooooOOOOOooo----
Le Journal de l’Ecole de Langues Sibawaih
Mohammed Dib, novelist and
poet: born Tlemcen, Algeria 31 July
1920;
died La Celle-Saint-Cloud, France, 2
May 2003.
Although he was born in Algeria, the
great writer Mohammed Dib was
thought of not as Algerian, but as one of the finest
contemporary French novelists and poets. His last
novel, Simorgh, was published a few weeks before his
death, and in it he writes, "I didn't know I was an
Algerian; I didn't know what it takes to be an Algerian;
and I wasn't the only one. In my generation no one
knew more than I did about that."
What is a Simorgh? It is the Arab name of a
mythological bird inhabited by the souls of the gods. It
is also an image for the writer himself. Dib's whole
work contains elements of the ancient past, of
mythological mysteries. It is not the work of an exile.
He brought up his children in France, and he traveled
widely, establishing enduring friendships with
Americans and Finns, for whom he wrote some of his
best prose and poetry: the "verse novel" L.A. Trip
(1999), the poem collection L'Enfant Jazz ("Jazz Boy",
1998) and the great late Finnish trilogy of novels Les
Terrasses d'Orso ("The Terraces of Orsol" 1985), Le
Sommeil d'Eve ("Eve's Sleep" 1989) and Les Neiges de
Marbre ("The Snows of Marble" 1990).
The poet Louis Aragon, introducing Dib's first
collection of poems, Ombre Gardienne ("Guardian
Shadow", 1961), wrote, "This man from a country that
has nothing in common with the trees at my window,
the rivers along my quays, the stones of our cathedrals,
speaks with the words of Villon and of Péguy." Dib
produced about 40 books, writing to the very end. The
Académie Française rewarded him with Le Grand Prix
de la Francophonie; and among his many other
distinctions are the Prix Mallarmé for L'Enfant Jazz and
Le Grand Prix du Roman de la Ville de Paris for the
whole of his fictional (although largely
autobiographical) work.
Dib's childhood was spent in Tlemcen, Algeria, where
he went to school, and learnt to read in French before he
learnt to read Arabic. His father died when Dib was 10,
and life for him and his mother became a struggle for
survival. He lived in Tlemcen and the town of Oujda
just across the border in Morocco where he worked and
studied until the war of independence. He soon began to
write poems and to paint. He was a teacher in Oujda, a
wartime French-English interpreter (1943-44), a
designer in Tlemcen (1945-47) and a journalist on the
daily newspaper Alger Républicain in 1951.
Juin / Juillet 2003 N°01-Page 7
publication of his first autobiographical novel, La
Grande Maison ("The Big House"), the first of a trilogy
continuing with L'Incendie ("The Fire", 1954) and Le
Métier à Tisser ("The Loom", 1957). This first of his
trilogies is marked by generous nationalist-humanist
populism, the style deeply influenced by literary realism
(Zola, Céline).
In 1955 he was a signatory of the manifesto Fraternité
algérienne, which led him to be expelled in 1959 from
Algeria by the colonial authorities. In that same year he
published his first book of children's tales, Baba
Fekrane and a novel about his childhood and youth,
L'Eté Africain ("African Summer").
His exile in France became permanent in 1964 and
marked a turning point in his writing. But Algeria
always remained a presence in his novels and poems,
though in a veiled and more muted way, as in Qui se
Souvient de la Mer ("Who Remembers the Sea", 1962),
Cours sur la Rive Sauvage ("Along the Banks of the
Wild River" 1964), La Danse du Roi ("Dance of the
King" 1968), Dieu en Barbarie ("God in Barbary",
1970) and many others that proved popular with French
readers, especially those who had once lived in colonial
Algeria. He was also a master of the short story and
published several selections including Le Talisman
(1966) and Au Café (1984), some of which, along with
selections from his poems I translated for publication in
the London-based magazine of contemporary Arab
literature Banipal.
After a long silence, caused by deteriorating health, in
1987 Dib published the joyous outburst of poems in a
book with the punning title of O vive (Eaux vives or
"Spring tides"), nourished by the double themes of
woman and water, and with a languorous eroticism that
seems to force the verses into longer and longer lines - a
new form of verse composition for Dib, who had
usually written in brief, unrhymed lines.
He also wrote beautiful essays, published in two
volumes, Tlemcen ou les Lieux d'Ecriture ("Tlemcen or
Writing Places", 1994), a very moving return to his
birthplace as a writer, and L'Arbre à Dires ("The Tree of
Sayings", 1998), an inspiring work on the spiritual and
moral duties and rewards of writing. In all that
Mohammed Dib wrote, there is the same continuous
sense of the poet's moral duty towards humanity and
towards language itself. In commenting on L.A. Trip, he
writes: "It's obvious that verse has to control a language
suffering at once from chronic diarrhoea and slumping
under the adipose tissues imposed upon it by the
Nouveau Roman." And about poetry he wrote, quoting
an ancient Arab proverb, "If your song is not more
beautiful than silence, remain silent."
James Kirkup
He made his first visit to France in 1952 for the
Le Journal de l’Ecole de Langues Sibawaih
Juin / Juillet 2003 N°01-Page 8
Keys: Match expression and situation
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
p
a
m
e
i
j
n
f
b
h
c
k
l
g
o
d
Keys: Is it 'DO' or is it 'MAKE'?
1
2
3
made
9
make
10
do
make
makes
do
4
11
5
6
7
8
13
make
14
makes
15
make
16
making
do
make do
12
make
make
made / makes make
Keys: Contrary Proverbs
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
c
d
b
k
h
g
m
o
n
l
a
j
f
e
p
i
Keys: Idiom Quiz - ANIMALS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
b
c
d
a
d
b
c
b
a
b
d
c
b
d
c
From Dar El Gharb Publishing House
A handbook for first year English majors has just been
published by Dar El Gharb. The title is Freshman
English - Reading Comprehension Handbook. The
author is K.E.S BEREKSI.
Freshman English - Reading Comprehension Handbook aims at
developing first year English majors' insight into English as a
linguistic system as well as introducing them to the sociolinguistic
dimension of language. The authentic material provided is divided
into four sections:
* Intensive Reading texts designed for detailed comprehension and
preparing the students for the sort of written exam they would
expect at the end of the term;
* Extensive Reading texts intended for global comprehension to
pave the way for reading longer passages;
* A Self-Study Section with self-evaluation grids provided to help
students confirm their findings;
* Reading for Enjoyment and Meditation passages aimed at
whetting the students' appetite for further spontaneous reading.
K.E.S.BEREKSI was educated and holds degrees from universities in
Algeria, the U.K. and the USA. His professional career spans over four
decades as a teacher, teacher-trainer, textbook writer, Inspector General of
English, Dean of the College of Arts of Oran University, Longman Fellow
at University College in London (UK), as well as Chairman of various
national projects. He has published numerous articles in the fields of EFL,
ESL, and EYL, together with over twenty books for students and teachers
of English as a foreign language. Now retired from the public sector, he is
Director of Studies at Sibawaih Language School.