A Roving Eye

Head to Toe in Egyptian Arabic Expressions

Mona Ateek
Mona Kamel Hassan
Trevor Naylor
Marian Sarofim
Photographs byDoriana MacMullen

No matter where we come from, we all have our unique local expressions and proverbs that raise confused eyebrows when translated literally. These phra

English edition
96 pp.
90 b/w illus.
15X17cm
ISBN 9789774166792
For sale worldwide

11.99

No matter where we come from, we all have our unique local expressions and proverbs that raise confused eyebrows when translated literally. These phrases usually carry humor and wisdom at their core, but are only fully understood in their native language. A Roving Eye explores some of these phrases and sayings from one of the world’s most expressive tongues, Egyptian Arabic, the most widely spoken form of Arabic. Including some one hundred popular phrases and proverbs, all linked to parts of the body and features of the face, A Roving Eye uses striking black-and-white photography to bring these expressions to life. The result is a book that will delight both learners and native speakers of Arabic, as well as lovers of Egypt who have little knowledge of the language. Each phrase or saying features a photograph, the original expression in Arabic, its transliteration, and its equivalents in English (both literal and proverbial). The whole book makes a perfect gift or a fun read for family and friends.

Mona Ateek

Mona Ateek has an MA in teaching English as a foreign language and has been teaching in the English Language Institute of the American University in Cairo (AUC) since 1987. Mona Kamel Hassan is a senior Arabic language instructor in the Department of Arabic Language Instruction (ALI) at the AUC, and head of Arabic language courses there. Trevor Naylor is the author of Living Normally: Where Life Comes Before Style. He lives normally in Cairo. Marian Sarofim has been teaching English at the AUC since 1972, and is the recipient of the AUC’s 2012 Teaching Excellence Award. Doriana MacMullen is a Bulgarian photographer who lives and works in Cairo. Her love of the Egypt and its people is reflected here in what has been her most exciting photography challenge yet.

Mona Kamel Hassan

Mona Kamel  Hassan is currently a senior Arabic language instructor in the Department of Arabic Language Instruction (ALI) at the AUC, where she has taught Arabic as a Foreign Language (AFL) since 1994. She has been teaching AFL since 1990. She is co-author of Roving Eye: Head to Toe in Egyptian Arabic Expressions (AUC Press, 2014).

Trevor Naylor

Trevor  Naylor is the author of Egypt Inside Out (AUC Press, 2020) and Cairo Inside Out (AUC Press, 2016, hardbound; AUC Press, 2020, paperback) and co-author of A Roving Eye: Head to Toe in Egyptian Arabic Expressions (AUC Press, 2014). He has been a visitor to, and resident of, Egypt since 1986.
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