Contents:
Most instructors are native speakers and spend much of the time giving "assimilation" lessons about local customs. During the Gulf War, American forces did receive a sort of cultural competency exam, when the Army passed out a page booklet on Arab gestures and body language. Adapt to local customs, speak with your eyes, give praying Muslims plenty of room. And then there's that thing about reading from right to left. Some more tips, from "Do's and Taboos": Don't be upset if Arabs stand very close, even touch you, when conversing.
And don't ever admire an Arab's possessions; they're very generous and may feel required to give you the object of your admiration. Perhaps the most crucial gaffe to avoid is to sit back and put your feet up. Indeed, showing the sole of your shoe or foot - the dirtiest part of the body - to an Arab is considered the worst of all insults. For soldiers in the field, such mistakes can be, if not outright dangerous, a serious stumbling block for negotiations and interrogations.
So far, the lessons are being learned well, says Amel Selwanes, a language-instruction book writer from Cairo who teaches at Ft. Why are the once-ugly Americans proving so adept at learning the local lingo?
Selwanes says with a smile. What's more, Americans, despite their reputation for cultural indifference, have some basic traits they can bank on as they practice their Pashto with the local populace: After all, some scholars say that up to 90 percent of communication is nonverbal. For the soldiers here, most of whom joined the Army just after high school, the tongue-twisters often prove more difficult to master than the etiquette. They still have trouble asking where the bathroom is.
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A Christian Science Perspective. Bragg, they get cultural tips and watch 'Mary Poppins' in Arabic.
Could you pass a US citizenship test? It is a dialect of Persian widely spoken in Afghanistan.
Color your way while learning all the foreign words you could muster with this pictorial vocabulary books. From members of the family to household items, this book series covers a broad range of vocabulary needed by anyone interested in learning a foreign language. Great for your child to develop language skills, as a gift for someone who does, or yourself, this series is both creative and educational as well as a must for people who are very visual, which is very many of us.
If you are looking for a language guide that holds your hand, works through exercises, or any of that.. This is basically a Cliff Notes version of language.
It has tables of common subjects colors, numbers, days of the week, etc.. Dari Persian Phase 1, Units build on material taught in prior units. Each lesson provides 30 minutes of spoken language practice, with an introductory conversation, and new vocabulary and structures. Detailed instructions enable you to understand and participate in the conversation. Each lesson contains practice for vocabulary introduced in previous lessons.
The emphasis is on pronunciation and comprehension, and on learning to speak Dari Persian. This reader and workbook contains a review of Dari Afghan Farsi grammar and various selections with context-specific glossaries. Readings and dialogues are authentic and natural, and notations and cultural footnotes have also been added.
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Readings and vocabulary reflect different subjects including social interaction, politics, literary pieces, and jokes. All exercises have been keyed at the end of the book. An audio CD with recordings of all selections is available separately.
Contains English phrases, terms and individual word listings with their equivalents in Dari red font and Pashto blue font. Intended for operations, security, training, basic conversation and everyday use.