The Face of Morocco’s First Amazigh TV Network Revealed
Posted on | January 9, 2010 | No Comments
It’s a golden star engraved with what looks like synthetized versions of traditional Moroccan jewelry. Inside the star is a the digit eight corresponding to the number this network carries in Morocco’s roster of publicly funded TV channels. Below the star sit two versions of the channel’s name first one in Tifinagh alphabet. Read left to right the letters correspond to: T-A-M-A-Z-I-GH-T. Below is an Arabic rendition of the same name.
Morocco Launches First Amazigh TV Channel
Posted on | January 7, 2010 | No Comments
In a party organised yesterday in hotel Hassaan in Rabat, the Communication Minister and the government’s official spokesperson, Khalid Naciri, announced the launch of the Moroccan Amzigh TV. The launch of Amzigh TV is considered a very important event in the Moroccan audio-visual field. It is the eighth Moroccan TV channel that uses Tarifit, Tamazight, and Tashlhit (Berber languages) in 70% to 80% of its programmes. Moroccans have been waiting for this TV since the Ajdir royal speech in 2001 where King Mohamed promised to take into consideration the Amzigh cause and make it one of the State’s priorities.
Khalid Naciri stated that the Amazigh TV channel will be a remarkable audio-visual space that will consider carefully the cultural diversity and integrity of Moroccans. In his speech, Ahmed Boukous, the Director of the Royal Institution for Amazigh Culture, deemed that the new Moroccan TV is a “historical event” that will lead to a new vision towards the Moroccan identity of which Amazigh language, culture, and civilisation are parts of its development.
On the other hand, the Director of the new Amazigh TV channel, Mohamed Mammad, gave a presentation about the programmes that will be aiming at social, economic, cultural, and sport shows. Also the TV will air talk shows and debates of Amazigh scholars and members of the community. The Amazigh TV channel that required two years of technical and producing preparation will broadcast six hours everyday from Monday to Friday and ten hours during the weekend.
It Looks Like Tamazight in Morocco Will Finally Have its Own TV Network: About F*&*%ing Time
Posted on | January 6, 2010 | No Comments
It’s delayed for a few days but not totally abandoned. The project of a new TV network to cater to the needs of Tamazight-speakers in Morocco seems to be almost on track for launch within days after being delayed from an earlier launch date of december 31st. This is a major step in correcting long decades of marginalization, and sometimes repression of one of Morocco’s oldest indigenous languages. Hundreds of cultural associations and miltants have been pushing for this for a good part of the past century. The channel promises to devote 70% of its broadcasting time to programming in Tamazight. The remaining 30% will be devoted to programs in other languages including Arabic.
For any out there doubting the power of TV or any type of “moving images,” for that matter, in one’s own language, I have a story to tell you. Back in the early 90s, one of the first movies to be released in Tamazight came out. The title was Boutfounast (The Cow Owner). It was a comedy about a band of small time thieves conspiring to steal a cow from the home a very clever man. In all honesty the movie was a pretty crude attempt at the art of cinema and left a lot to be desired. The only thing that made it stand out was the language it was shot in. It was Tamazight. I bought a copy and brought it home. Put it in the VCR and asked my mother to come and watch. She sat down and was totally mesmerized. All of a sudden my mother became competition when it came to using the remote control. Up to that day she probably never even touched it. My father came home and my mother put the movie back on and was in control of the remote. What ensued were a few weeks of very frequent reruns. My brothers and sisters and I started seriously thinking of making something happen to that video tape.
But beyond the anecdote, what became clear to me is that my mother and father like millions of other Moroccans were basically left out because they happened to speak the “wrong” language. The situation gets a lot more sinister when one thinks of access to civic, health, administrative information etc…It was not until the new millenium that a law was passed to allow Tamazight speakers interpreting services when they to court. Before that they were expected to just “try harder” to speak Arabic.
It is encouraging what Morocco is doing but the road to correcting the illegal marginalization of a huge section of the country’s population is still a long one.
The Cool Side of The Pillow
Posted on | December 3, 2009 | No Comments
Michy Mano’s new album The Cool Side of The Pillow combines so many different influnces to create great new sounds. Derboouka beats, Gnawa rhythms, jazz notes all meet in this exciting album. Check out the third track: Bangolasi. It’s a great piece of music.
Tags: ShoZu
Biyouna’s new album is a lovely surprise
Posted on | December 3, 2009 | No Comments
She is perhaps one of the most recognizable faces in Algerian-and Maghrebi- cinema. Her performance in Viva l’Algérie was beautiful. I think this album is her best to date. Her strong yet slightly raspy voice grabs you, sits you down and takes you through the streets of Algiers and its kasbah. This CD is definitely worth a listen… multiple listens actually. And the beauty of it all is that it’s only one click away on iTunes.
Tags: ShoZu
anecdotes from the world of translation -2- ‘At the end of the day, this is an ugly boy.’
Posted on | November 30, 2009 | No Comments
A TEENAGER who paid £90 to have his arm tattoed with Chinese characters got a shock when he learned the message read:
‘At the end of the day, this is an ugly boy.’
Hairdresser Lee Becks thought he had Mandarin for ‘Love, honour and obey’ etched into his skin.
The 18-year-old found out that he had been tricked when he saw the effect it had on a woman serving at a Chinese take-away.
‘At first, she said something about me making people laugh and talked about a crown,’ he said.
‘But then I realised she was really saying clown, not crown. The young woman blushed and was very reluctant to translate for me. Then she admitted what it really said.’
A ‘totally mortified’ Mr Becks went back to the tattoo parlour in Southend, the next day – only to find it had closed.
He added: ‘I suspect the tattooist knew he was closing and just wanted to get his own back for some reason. I always wanted a tattoo and the design looked great. Now I am stuck with it but have to keep it covered up.’
When he dared show off his arm at a nightclub, a group of Chinese girls came up – and burst out laughing. Even his friends have been finding it hard to keep straight faces.
His employer, Gary Doyle, said: ‘He’s a bit sensitive about the tattoos – they look very trendy if you don’t know what they really mean. I don’t think Lee stands much of a chance with any attractive young Chinese lady he may meet.’
Mr Becks plans to spend £600 to have the tattoo removed by laser.
As published in Metro. find source text here
anecdotes from the world of translation-1-
Posted on | November 20, 2009 | No Comments
While doing some reading for a paper on translation, especially cases when translators put themselves at risk by tackling texts that are either too vulgar or too scared to translate, I came across an interesting story of one of Arabic’s most celebrated translators. Hunayn Ibn Ishaq (full name:أبو زيد حنين بن إسحاق العبادي ’Abū Zayd Ḥunayn ibn ’Isḥāq al-‘) came from a Nestorian Christian family in Al-Hira, in the 9th century. His translation talents took him to Bagdad where he quickly became the undisputed head of translation activities at Bayt-Al-Hikma which was the world’s largest center of learning at the times and for a few centuries to follow. Ibn Ishaq was a star of translation and he apparently acted like one too. An anecdote cited by Mona Baker in Routledge’s Encyclopedia of Translation studies:
[...] Ibn Ishaq who was paid by al-Ma’mun (Abbasid Caliph 813-833)in gold, matching the weight of the books he translated. Being somewhat greedy, he wrote in large letters, on thick, heavy paper, with wide spaces between the lines (al-Difaa 1984/85: 11; al-Khury 1988:40). His greed had the unexpected side benefit of ensuring that manuscripts remained intact and readable for many centuries. (p.320)
ALAOUI, MOROCCO HAS TURNED THE PAGE, AUDIENCE SAYS NO
Posted on | November 18, 2009 | No Comments
ROME, NOVEMBER 18 – In the last 5 years the way of making film in Morocco has changed significantly: from the technology to the issues touched on, from the language used to nude scenes. It is a true revolution for the censorship army and the public not so inclined to ”put up with” not just the images, but also the strong criticism of power and society. In this way, Sanaa Alaoui, a young Moroccan actress who has worked in a number of films, shorts and TV series in Morocco, Spain, France and Mexico, told ANSAmed of the evolution of the seventh art in her country of origin. ”Today’s filmmakers”, she said, ”have modernised the way of making a film. In addition to the quality, which is clearly superior, the stories that our films tell have also changed: talking about drugs, prostitution, corruption politics and sex ten years ago was simply unimaginable. There are censors, but the directors are daring to challenge them”. In a scene from Oud el Ward (La beaute’ eparpillee, 2007) by Lahcen Zinoun – a film that was presented at the XV edition of the Medfilm Festival in Rome. And for which she won the best actress award at the Tangiers Festival – Sanaa bared her chest. ”In that moment”, ‘the actress explained, ”the actresses clothes are torn off, she is humiliated and practically denuded’. It is a scene that was subject to debate in Morocco and for which the beautiful Sanaa was held as an example by the press. ”I was just doing my job”, the artist replied, who wanted to stress that she would never do a gratuitous nude scene, because she ”detests vulgarity”. If Moroccan film has taken steps forward, not all of the public has been willing to accept this evolution. A film like Casanegra (2008) by Noureddin Lakhgaari, shocked the eyes and ears of the more ”chaste” population of the kingdom. ”In Morocco”, Sanaa explained, ”there are two types of spectators: Those ready to accept crude language, even if vulgar, and who want to see things change in their country, and those who don’t admit that the kingdom is spoken badly of, and don’t accept the bitterness of the tales”. The result is that Moroccan society and the public is split in two. ”It is thanks to the work of these directors that Morocco will evolve”, Alaoui concluded. (ANSAmed).
(by Cristiana Missori) ANSAmed
Having some yellow Thai Curry …
Posted on | November 18, 2009 | No Comments
Having some yellow Thai Curry and a dose of Kimichi to give my spirits a boost… ahaaaaa much better… at Abb… http://loopt.us/mqYudA.t
Chips n’ Salsa but no Margarit…
Posted on | November 16, 2009 | No Comments
Chips n’ Salsa but no Margarita… It’s nice n’ sunny though