A note from the Rumaneh Team
In the spirit of love, and the month of February, we wanted to introduce our dedicated blog space ‘The Rumaneh Jam’ through a love letter to our children alongside downloadable printables to learn Arabic.
We hope this letter is a good reminder for you, just like us at Rumaneh, of why we put so much effort into instilling the love of language and culture in our future Arab generation.
To continue to support you and build a community, we will be offering monthly blog posts and printables inspired by our love of the Arabic language and our culture!
A love letter to our Arab children in the diaspora
We write you this letter in hopes that one day you can see why we made a conscious effort for you to learn and love the Arabic language. And possibly forgive your father and me for taking up your precious play time on Saturday mornings to be in class, learning a foreign language. It was all well intended. We hope you understand it's more than just a foreign language. It's our love language.
Learning Arabic meant learning our culture and making an intimate connection with your Arab Mama, Baba, extended family, and heritage. We wanted you to laugh at jokes your Sido (Grandfather) made. To watch your Teta (Grandmother) prepare a delicious traditional meal in her kitchen, and to learn a wise Arab proverb from sit-sitak (Great-Grandmother). Our hope was to immerse you in our Arab world and to hear it as we do.
Translating a rich language like ours is like diluting a perfectly seasoned stew, dissolving away its flavors. Some Arabic expressions and sayings simply cannot be translated into English. It’s hard to imagine you expressing the sweetness of gratitude without using the words yaateek al afyeh يعطيك العافية to us after a long day of work. How else would you have complimented your sibling after a fresh haircut without saying Naeeman نعيماً. Or know how adored you are by your Aunties when they say to’borni تقبرني. We wanted you to soak up that Arab stew, every last bit of it. Taking in all of the delicious flavors that it has to offer.
Most of all, we hoped to give you confidence. Confidence in who you are and where you come from. To be a part of us is to be Arab. It's not about the borders. It’s about the people, the love, the language, and the culture.
Be proud of who you are!
Love,
Mama & Baba
A little bit about Rumaneh
Rumaneh’s mission is to highlight, celebrate, and preserve the Arabic language and heritage through beautiful, modern designs for kids. Which is why we created the Rumaneh Arabic Alphabet Book. Not only is it visually pleasing, but it also offers an audiovisual form of Arabic alphabet pronunciations so that parents, family members, friends, and caregivers who do not speak Arabic can still engage in the child’s learning process. Making it a more inclusive book starting from Alif Baa Taa!
We can't wait to bring you more each month. Stay in touch by subscribing to our mailing list below!
Keep Jammin,
The Rumaneh Team
Help your kids celebrate with our Arabic printable Valentine's Day Worksheets!
