Arabic – A Semitic language spoken by over 300 million people worldwide, primarily in the Middle East and North Africa.
- It is the fifth most spoken language in the world and the official language of 26 countries.
- It is a beautiful and complex language with a rich history and literature.
- The Arabic alphabet is written from right to left and has 28 letters.
The three University of North Georgia (UNG) students participated in the 4th annual U.S. Arabic Debating Championship. This event was created to promote cultural awareness and encourage discussions with the Arabic language, which took place from October. 13 to 15.
The group includes Grey Nebel, who is seeking a degree in English and French and Mason McKibbon and Grace Lewis, who are working towards degrees in modern languages, with a focus on the Arabic literary and language beat team from the University of Houston and the University of Mary Washington combined team.
It was reported that the UNG trio also argued against the native Arabic users from the University of Arizona, the University of Maryland, and the University of Notre Dame, engaging in debates on current controversial issues like using global languages, space tourism and artificial intelligence.
“At UNG, we emphasize cultural competence in classes, and this opportunity allows them to experience culture firsthand,” said Dr.Juman Al Bukhari, an employee on staff with a part-time position as a professional member of the team and its advisor to the faculty.
“I recognized how they socialized not only with native speakers but also with other American students learning Arabic in Ivy League universities who share similar experiences. I could see that their participation motivated my students to learn more Arabic vocabulary, common terms and sentence structure.”
It was held at The University of Utah in Salt Lake City. More than 200 teams and more than 200 students from all over the county were involved.
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“Participating in this championship not only helps us deepen our understanding of the Arabic language, but the tournament is completely immersive, so we walked away having learned many new words and structures,” Nebel, a third-time competitor, said.
