نوال السعداوي

Earlier today, we lost one of Egypt's foremost feminist writers and political activists, Dr Nawal El Saadawi (born 1931). A uniquely courageous woman who inspired so many, women as well as men, to stand up against their oppressors. Her outspokenness landed her in prison under Sadat's regime, and this is where in 1981 she wrote "مذكراتي في سجن النساء" (Memoirs from the women's prison <- link is to the translation by Marilyn Booth). And in today's episode, I read extracts in masri from her (fusha) introduction to this book. As we did last week, I ask some comprehension questions after the reading, so you can listen to the question, pause, try to answer, before listening to mine. Below, you can see the فصحى original followed by my بالمصري version, and below that, a glossary (with words such as زفة، شلة and دوشة), and the comprehension questions. Enjoy! :) Download text here Download glossary and questions here

Om Podcasten

Bilmasri is a podcast and blog (www.bilmasri.com) dedicated to the Egyptian dialect. It is for learners of Arabic (ideally anywhere between lower intermediate to advanced level) who have so far been focusing on Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), who may or may not have some knowledge of another Arabic dialect, and who would like to understand how the Egyptian dialect works. The starting point of most blog posts and podcast episodes is a text in Modern Standard Arabic – a news story, an excerpt from a work of fiction, or another form of text – which has been adapted into Egyptian Arabic. In the first part of each podcast episode, I will slowly read out the Egyptian version of the text. In the second part, I will take you through (in English) one or more aspects of the language just heard: this could be the pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, idioms, etc., with a particular focus on the differences and similarities between Egyptian and MSA. The blog post will contain both Egyptian Arabic and MSA versions of the text, followed by a brief summary of the podcast discussion. The blog’s tags will help you find any language-related topics you’re looking for, and the episodes they’re discussed in.