Dr. Michael Chyet
When: Thursday July 22, 2010--7:30-8:30 PM
Cost: FREE with MESALI ID or proof of prior enrollment.
General Admission: $10. Refreshments provided.
Space is Limited. To R.S.V.P., email ross@dcinternationals.com
Dr. Chyet will outline the major and minor languages of the Middle East, who speaks them, and where. Three major language families are represented: Semitic [Afro-Asiatic], Indo-European, and Turkic. The historical interrelations between these languages and their speakers will also form part of the discussion. To what extent can a Moroccan, at the extreme western edge of the Arab world understand an Iraqi, at the far Eastern edge? What makes these Arabic dialects tick?
Michael L. Chyet is a cataloger of Middle Eastern languages at the Library of Congress. He has a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in Folklore and Middle Eastern Languages. Before coming to the Library of Congress in 2001, Mr. Chyet was the senior editor of the Kurdish Service at the Voice of America. His specialty is Kurdish, and he has published a Kurdish-English dictionary, as well as several articles on the Kurdish language, and on Middle Eastern folklore. Arabic, Hebrew, Kurdish, Turkish and Persian are also languages that he is fluent in, and teaches at MESALI.
Cheb Khaled, King of Rai, Honored at DC Internationals Diplomatic Reception