Did They Speak Arabic? Some Examples from 20th Century Memoir Literature of Egyptian Jews
Did They Speak Arabic? Some Examples from 20th Century Memoir Literature of Egyptian Jews

Summary/Abstract: Up to the middle of the last century, Jewry constituted of vibrant communities in the multicultural society of Egypt. Well embedded for many years into the cosmopolitan environments of Cairo and Alexandria, they remained in a way a separate world within the surroundings of the Muslim environment. Mutual influences took place in many areas and depended on various factors (such as origin, social status, education, etc.). The Jewish community was diverse and spoke many languages, developing complex forms of linguistic interaction. Arabic, in its dialectal form, served mainly, but not only, as a utility and simple communication vehicle.In memoir literature, the flow of which appeared after the expulsion of Jews from Arab states, naturally, Arabness is always more or less present. Two significant works of this genre, the memories of André Aciman from Alexandria and Lucette Lagnado from Cairo, evoke verbatim some words, phrases, expressions from the Arabic language. These references to the Arabic language are supposed to perform a special function: They are a kind of stylistic measure, adding authenticity and a picturesque quality to the fictionalized narrative, as well as recalling the linguistic reality in which the authors had to live in their childhood and youth.

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