I have been told by a friend that i HAVE to write this as a
blog entry since seemingly my logic isn’t obvious to everyone....
I walked into a shop yesterday and asked, in Arabic, the
price of something. He looked very confused and i laughed and said i know you
expected English and chatted away in English for a bit with him. My friend was a little
confused- “how did you know he spoke English”? My answer, “Well... it’s obvious
isn’t it? He was wearing glasses......”
Ok- there were a few other telltale signs. His clothes, his
manner, the way he was following the conversation not trying to butt into what
we were saying.... but yes... my gut instinct was because of the specs.
I am probably very wrong statistically.... but it seems to
me that the majority of spectacle wearers in Cairo speak English. Talk about
stereotypes eh?! Yes I am guilty of it.
I can only suppose I
think this from my experience’s so far and have never before realised that is what
I have always assumed!
My only reasoning for it goes like this:
Glasses are expensive to buy = therefore the wearer and or
his/her family has money = therefore have given him/her a good education =and
that always includes another language =and that language is usually English.
So, in my logic (which of course is often found to be
faulty) if you are in Cairo, and need to speak English for some reason... ask
the guy in glasses........!
1 comment:
So here's some lighthearted alternative logic that occurs to me. I've studying more Arabic recently and thinking that the Arabic print in my study books is often so teeny and hard to make out that my eyesight just isn't good enough. It's so bad, I was even thinking of getting a magnifying glass or something to take with me to class. Maybe if Arabs who learn English have a similar problem, with all those stupid Latin letters that all look the same as each other (b, p and d anyone?), they might also think of investing in glasses?
xx
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