About Imad Ajam Expertise I can answer most questions about Arabic cultures, traditions, language and society. I can also provide help with translating from Arabic to English or vice versa.
Experience I am an Arab, but was raised and educated in the U.K. I am fluent in both Arabic and English.
Question I have friends who speak Arabic, but, they are originally Palestinians. What, if any, is the difference? Also, I want to know more about their history, what & where would I find this info. ? For example, thier customs. drink, dance, food, etc.
Thankyou,
.:.Gail.:.
Answer Hi Gail, Thanks for your question.
In answer to the first part of your question, a "Palestinian" is a nationality, where as Arabic is a Language. All Palestinians originally come from the historic land of Palestine which is nowadays mainly made up of Israel, Gaza, the west bank and Jordan, and all Palestinians speak Arabic.
Perhaps you were confused about the difference between an Arab and a Palestinian.
To put the point in perspective, Arabs as a collective term, refers to peoples who speak the Arabic language. Arab countries are those countries where the predominant or official language is Arabic. For example Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Libya, Saudia Arabia, Palestine are all Arab countries. In all those countries, Arabic is the main Language, although local dialects and accents vary greatly between all those countries. You can think about the relation between the terms "Arab" and "Arab country" as roughly equivalent to "Latin America" and "Latin American countries".
