Bringing the World Together

Shared celebrations

All around the world, festivals, music and dance bring people together. This module teaches the Arabic words for those shared events. Every word comes with three things: the Arabic script, a transliteration in brackets to help you say it, and the English meaning. Arabic is read right to left. (A native speaker should review the script before launch.)

Eid, party, music, tradition

Start with four words for shared events:

Match each Arabic word to its English meaning

The Arabic word for music

Which Arabic word means "music"?

• موسيقى (musiqa)
• عيد (eid)
• رقص (raqs)
• حفلة (hafla)

Events that connect us

Shared events bring people together across the world: - A festival (عيد, eid) gathers families and communities - Music (موسيقى, musiqa) and dance (رقص, raqs) are enjoyed everywhere - Traditions (تقاليد, taqalid) are shared and passed on Wherever people are from, these events help them feel closer.

About celebrations

Select the TWO Arabic words that are about celebration and music.

• عيد (eid)
• أغنية (ughniya)
• صديق (sadiq)
• عائلة (aila)

Two ways people come together

People gather in small groups and in big public events.

The Arabic word for traditions

Which Arabic word means "traditions"?

• تقاليد (taqalid)
• موسيقى (musiqa)
• عيد (eid)
• رقص (raqs)

Festival words in Arabic

A _____ is a big celebration. People enjoy _____ and _____ together. Old customs are called _____. You celebrate with your _____.

A festival brings people together

Put the stages of a community festival into a sensible order.

• People are invited to the celebration
• Families and friends gather together
• There is music and dancing
• Everyone shares food and traditions
• The whole community feels closer together

Match each Arabic word to its English meaning

Arabic builds the sentence its own way

The festival words become sentences without any word for "is". Arabic simply puts the two parts side by side: - الموسيقى لغة العالم = "music is the language of the world". Three words, no verb. لغة العالم (lughat al-alam) is a pair of nouns meaning "the language of the world", with no word for "of" either. - أحب التقاليد والموسيقى = "I like traditions and music". A verb sentence, opening with أحب (uhibbu - I like) and joining the two things with و (wa - and).

Arabic has no word for "is"

Arabic has no word for "is". Which of these says "music is the language of the world"?

• الموسيقى لغة العالم (al-musiqa lughat al-alam)
• الموسيقى تكون لغة العالم (al-musiqa takun lughat al-alam)
• العالم لغة الموسيقى (al-alam lughat al-musiqa)
• أحب التقاليد والموسيقى (uhibbu al-taqalid wa-al-musiqa)

Which Arabic word?

Read each description and pick the Arabic word it describes.

• The big yearly festival that families celebrate together. Which word?
• The sounds and songs that people dance to. Which word?
• The old customs passed down over many years. Which word?

Your turn: write in Arabic

Write two or three sentences IN ARABIC about a celebration and what you enjoy at it. Write in Arabic script - the transliteration in brackets is a reading aid only.

• Name the celebration: عيد (eid - a festival) or حفلة (hafla - a party)
• Say what you like with أحب… (uhibbu - I like): أحب الموسيقى (uhibbu al-musiqa - I like music; the ال is needed for "music" in general)
• Join two with و (wa - and), which attaches to the next word: موسيقى ورقص (musiqa wa raqs - music and dance)
• Say who you are with: عائلة (aila - family) or صديق (sadiq - a friend)

Arabic script and meaning together

Learn each word as a package - the Arabic script, its transliteration, and the English meaning together - so you recognise it instantly: عيد (eid) festival, موسيقى (musiqa) music, تقاليد (taqalid) traditions. When you write in English about this theme, do not just list words - explain how shared events bring people together, with an example. Recognise the script, explain the idea - top band.