Languages

Topic: Languages

Voting in the Algerian parliament (photo: Getty Images/AFP/F. Batiche)

Citizenship law reform in Algeria

The tug-of-war over identity

In July of this year the Algerian cabinet passed a controversial law allowing only those with ″exclusive Algerian nationality″ to hold high office. Report by Federica Zoja More

President Bouteflika and Algeria′s future: The sick man of the Mediterranean The Maghreb: Why does the Algerian regime fear Rachad? Conflict between Arabs and Berbers in Algeria: A social minefield

Kahel Kaschmiri rehearses his poems (photo: Stefan Rottkay/The PoetryProject)

Poems by young refugees

A writing project has turned young refugees from Afghanistan into poets. The creative talents read their work at the International Literature Festival in Berlin, where many listeners found themselves fighting back the tears. By Sabine Peschel More

Theatre and the refugees: Getting the ball rolling Arabic literature as a cultural asset: Uncharted waters Refugees in Germany: Working through the trauma

Youssef Rakha, Egyptian author, essayist and journalist (photo: Susanne Schanda)

Interview with the Egyptian author Youssef Rakha

"Taken together, these things would make up home..."

The Egyptian poet, essayist, novelist and journalist Youssef Rakha moves between two worlds. He aims to show his Western readers an eclectic Cairo beyond common cliches. Interview by Susanne Schanda More

Book review: Basma Abdel Aziz′s ″The Queue″: Disturbingly prescient Book review: Tawfiq al-Hakim's "The Revolt of the Young": A revolutionary manual for older generations Interview with Ahmed Maher: "The next revolution will certainly come"

Turkish labourers in Germany; symbolic image of the labour recruitment anniversary (photo: dpa/picture-alliance)

55 years of German-Turkish labour recruitment

Integration is a crossroads

In October it will be fifty-five years since Germany and Turkey signed the labour recruitment agreement. And yet many people of Turkish origin still feel like outsiders in Germany. What does that tell us about the course of integration and what role does past experience play in the current situation? By Melanie Christina MohrMore

How German textbooks present Islam and immigration: "Diversity is part of everyday life"Arabic literature as a cultural asset: Uncharted waters Islam in Germany "Democracy and human rights are just hollow words"

Woman during a Farsi language class in Iran (photo: ayaronline)

Mother-tongue instruction in multi-ethnic Iran

Linguistic diversity as opportunity

Iran is a state of many ethnicities where over a dozen languages are spoken, including, among others, Persian, Baluchi, Luri, Arabic, and Turkish. Unfortunately, the country’s education policy does not take account of this linguistic diversity. By Manutschehr AmirpurMore

Minorities in the Islamic Republic: Fear of separatists Resistance to relocation projects in southern Iran: The intifada versus the mullahs Qantara dossier: "Minorities in the Muslim world"

The Iranian author Fariba Vafi (photo: Maryam Aras)

Interview with the Iranian author Fariba Vafi

"Cliches have no place in writing″

Fariba Vafi is one of Iran′s most popular contemporary women writers. She has already published many short stories and novels to critical acclaim. In interview with Maryam Aras she looks back over her own life and the situation of women in Iran following the Islamic Revolution

Fariba Vafi's novel ''My Bird'': The Iranian dream of emigration Amir Hassan Cheheltan's ''Tehran, Skyless City'': Reflecting the dark side of Iran's capital Book review: "I'm Probably Lost" by Sara Salar: Silent rebellion

Illustration from the "Thousand and One Nights": the virgin Scheherazade tells King Shariyar stories to save her own life (photo: picture-alliance/akg-images)

Goethe′s fascination with the "Thousand and One Nights"

Mephistopheles spoke; Scheherazade beguiled

To date, critical studies of Faust have given little consideration to its Oriental elements, in particular the fables from the "Thousand and One Nights". Goethe′s fascination with the famous storyteller Scheherazade, and his adoption of her narrative techniques and themes, has been underestimated. By Melanie Christina MohrMore

Goethe and the Orient: Why did the poet's mind wander to far-off climes?Translations of Classical Islamic Literatur: From the Emotional Orient to the Distortion of Islam Interview with Claudia Ott: "Love is the Language of the Orient"

Quote from a poem by Turgut Uyar with the hashtag #siirsokakta (source: Ozge Ozkul/bianet)

The #siirsokakta movement in Turkey

The poem is on the street

In the wake of the Gezi protests – and through interaction with social media – a movement arose in Turkey that inspired people to write, spray and scrawl snippets of poetry on all kinds of surfaces in public spaces. It became a vibrant part of literary life in Turkey. By Achim WagnerMore

A literary anthology of the Gezi protests: Gezi lives!Tahrir and Taksim – Part I: A new culture of protest Tahrir and Taksim – Part II: Soundtrack of two revolutions Culture in Turkey before and after Gezi: The end of Cool Istanbul

Arabic bookshop in Istanbul

"We want to be a cultural centre"

The first Arabic bookshop in Istanbul opened its doors in June. It is run by Syrian refugees, together with Turkish publishers. They want the shop to become a meeting place for Arabs and Turks. It already offers much more than just Arabic literature. Ekrem Guzeldere took a look around "Pages"More

The Hakawati bookshop for children and young people in Amman: Huge appetite for exciting stories German Bookshop Lehnert & Landrock: The dangerous job of selling books in Cairo The Sabha Bookshop in Tripoli: Filling the intellectual void Interview with literary translator Hartmut Faehndrich: "What I don't see is an on-going interest in Arabic literature"Amjad Nasser on the role of Arab writers in Arab society: Speaking out in societies without words

People attending a Kurdish langauge class in Diyarbakir, Turkey (photo. DW/N. Sipar)

Kurdish in exile

The right to a mother tongue

An estimated 800,000 Kurds from various countries live in Germany. Keeping up their mother tongue has proved difficult. Ceyda Nurtsch on the efforts to maintain Kurdish language and literature in the German diaspora, and pass them on to future generations More

Kurdish language studies in Turkey: A radical change in quiet stages The Kurdish theatre company Teatra Si: Out of the cellars and onto the stage The Kurds and Turkish–Iranian relations: Caught between two stools Qantara dossier: Kurdistan

The Algerian writer Malek Alloula (photo: Krzysztof Zielinski)

Obituary: the Algerian writer Malek Alloula

A prophet unaccepted in his own country

The renowned Algerian essayist, literary scholar and poet Malek Alloula died in February at the age of 78. His ex-wife, the writer Assia Djebar, had died in exile in Paris only a few weeks previously. By Suleman TaufiqMore

Malek Alloula: A peep inside the harem Obituary: the Algerian author Assia Djebar: Trailblazer for her country, her gender and her continent Literature and collective trauma in Algeria: Moving beyond the examination of history

Hartmut Faehndrich (photo: Ruth Renée Reif)

Interview with literary translator Hartmut Faehndrich

"What I don't see is an on-going interest in Arabic literature"

Hartmut Faehndrich is one of the most renowned translators of Arabic literature in the German-speaking world. He has translated nearly 60 novels into German. In this interview with Ruth Renée Reif, he explains why Arabic literature is undervalued in the German-speaking worldMore

Interview with Saudi Arabian writer Raja Alem: "When I write I am free, like flying in my dreams" German Bookshop Lehnert & Landrock: The Dangerous Job of Selling Books in Cairo Youssef Ziedan's Novel ''Azazeel'': In Case of Doubt, Choose Doubt