Discover Levantine Arabic through music! In this short course, you will explore three well-known songs from Lebanon, Syria and Jordan: Fairuz’s كيفك إنت , Elissa’s عبالي حبيبي and Issam Al-Najjar’s حضل أحبك. This course is about much more than understanding song lyrics: each song opens the door to new vocabulary, expressions and themes in Levantine Arabic (Shaamy). You will analyse the language used in the songs, explore how words and expressions are used in context, and use them to expand your own vocabulary.

You will also explore the language of love in Arabic: how do Arabic speakers talk about love, affection and relationships? Which words and expressions are commonly used to express feelings, and which ones are difficult to translate directly into other languages? You will look at expressions of love, longing, heartbreak and closeness in different Arabic-speaking cultures and compare them with the way similar emotions are expressed in other languages. Through the songs, you will discover how meaning, culture and emotion come together in Arabic and learn expressions that you can also use in everyday conversations. And of course, you will get creative yourself! Throughout the course, you will play with language and eventually write your own lyrics and songs in Shaamy Arabic.

This course is suitable for students who have completed B1 level and who want to expand their vocabulary, deepen their understanding of Shaamy and explore the language through music, culture and creativity.