Haki bil-Libnani provides students of Arabic with an opportunity to acquire substantial and systematic proficiency in Lebanese dialect and culture, and is designed to work either on its own or alongside the bestselling Arabic-language textbook Al-Kitaab Part One, Third Edition. This fully online textbook and interactive website features two video story components, designed to foster proficiency as students work through each lesson while practicing vocabulary, cultural expressions, and short dialogues. The first story recreates the stories of Maha and Khaled Abul'ila from Al-Kitaab, recast in a Lebanese context starring Yara and Jamil Haddad, who speak the Lebanese dialect and reference Lebanese institutions, places, and customs. A second storyline consists of an original series of short dialogue scenes involving three main characters: Jamal, Raghida, and John Douglas. Jamal and Raghida serve as cultural liaisons who help the Lebanese-American John navigate daily life in Lebanon -- buying groceries, taking cabs, and doing Arabic homework -- while John's linguistic and cultural struggles will resonate with many students.

The integration of speaking, listening, grammar, and cultural competency skills in Haki bil-Libnani: Lebanese Arabic Online Textbook and Companion Website to Al-Kitaab Part One, Third Edition, will facilitate the teaching and learning of Lebanese Arabic, while introducing students to Lebanon's vibrant and charming culture. All Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) drills and exercises from the Al-Kitaab Part One, Third Edition, website are included here, so that students using Haki bil-Libnani alongside the Al-Kitaab Part One, Third Edition, textbook will only need to purchase access to the Haki bil-Libnani companion website. Haki bil-Libnani will also be useful to individual learners with some proficiency in Arabic, who desire to learn Lebanese.

Companion Website Minimum System Requirements:
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, or Mac OS X
CPU: 233MHz
RAM: 128MB
Screen resolution: 1024 x 768 or higher
Browser: PC: Internet Explorer 7.x or higher, or Firefox version 3.x or higher, or Google Chrome. Mac: Firefox version 3.x or higher, or Safari 3.x or higher, or Google Chrome.
Network Connection: A high-speed connection with throughput of 256 Kbps or more is recommended to use audio and video components.
Equipment: You will need speakers or a headset to listen to audio and video components, and a microphone is necessary for recording activities. For best performance, we recommend you use a USB microphone for partner recording activities.
Plug-ins: You must have the latest version of Adobe Flash Player

Marveling over the tomb treasures of Ramses II and Tutankhamen that have toured U.S. and European museums in recent years, visitors inevitably wonder what the mysterious hieroglyphs that cover their surfaces mean. Indeed, everyone who is fascinated by ancient Egypt sooner or later wishes for a Rosetta stone to unlock the secrets of hieroglyphic writing.

Hieroglyphs without Mystery provides the needed key. Written for ordinary people with no special language skills, the book quickly demonstrates that hieroglyphic writing can be read, once a few simple principles are understood. Zauzich explains the basic rules of the writing system and the grammar and then applies them to thirteen actual inscriptions taken from objects in European and Egyptian museums. By following his explanations and learning the most commonly used glyphs, readers can begin to decode hieroglyphs themselves and increase their enjoyment of both museum objects and ancient Egyptian sites.

Even for the armchair traveler, learning about hieroglyphs opens a sealed door into ancient Egyptian culture. In examining these inscriptions, readers will gain a better understanding of Egyptian art, politics, and religion, as well as language.

This book was originally published in Germany in 1980 as Hieroglyphen ohne Geheimnis.

A philologically robust approach to the history of ancient Hebrew

In this book the authors work toward constructing an approach to the history of ancient Hebrew that overcomes the chasm of academic specialization. The authors illustrate how cross-textual variable analysis and variation analysis advance research on Biblical Hebrew and correct theories based on extra-linguistic assumptions, intuitions, and ideologies by focusing on variation of forms/uses in the Masoretic text and variation between the Masoretic text and other textual traditions.

Features:

• A unique approach that examines the nature of the sources and the description of their language together
• Extensive bibliography for further research
• Tables of linguistic variables and parallels

Sayyidi wa Habibi (My Master and My Love) is a novel by acclaimed Lebanese author Hoda Barakat, abridged in the original Arabic in this volume for learners of Arabic at the advanced low proficiency level. Designed as a supplementary text that adds variety and fun to a regular course on Arabic, it is complete with exercises that guide learners through the story and help them improve their Arabic skills, introducing learners of the language to the world of contemporary Arabic literature and improving their knowledge of Arabic culture.

Set against the backdrop of the Lebanese Civil War, this intriguing novel relates the struggles of Wadie, a young man who leaves school and becomes corrupted by crime, and his wife, Samia, who flees with him to Cyprus. Universal questions of existence are masterfully portrayed through eloquent prose that keeps readers engaged until the last line. Laila Familiar provides introductory materials, a short biography of the author, and exercises that develop linguistic and cultural competencies. Audio files of Barakat reading five passages from the work, along with a recorded interview, are available free on the press website in order to help students improve their listening skills.

This authorized version of the abridged text of Sayyidi wa Habibi will be warmly embraced by college and university students of Arabic as well as by independent learners.