BY ASHUTOSH DAS
Manal Al Natour is the director of Arabic Studies Program at West Virginia University.
In addition to teaching, she acts as a binding force for students arriving from the Middle East to help them settle here.
Al Natour grew up in Jordan, the land of peace, hospitality and smiles. Jordan is known as a young state occupying an ancient land. This is the land where Jesus was baptized. Jordan also has Mount Nebo, which is where Moses saw the promised land before he died.
The five UNESCO World Heritage sites in Jordan are As-Salt, which is known as the Place of Tolerance and Urban Hospitality, the Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” (Al-Maghtas), Petra, Quseir Amra, and Um er-Rasas (Kastrom Mefa’a). Jordan is a very tourist-friendly place, where people have the freedom to practice the religion of their choice. Pimarily Islam, Christianity and Judaism are practiced. It is the most politically liberal country in the Arab world.
Al Natour is a linguist and takes a keen interest in understanding and learning different languages. She said that languages play a huge role in understanding cultures around the world. This is clear because there is a lot of overlap between language and culture. For example, through language, one can usually figure out cultural norms for the people who speak it.
Throughout history, languages have been attached to culture. Understanding a culture becomes easier if we know more about the language and dialect spoken in a specific geographic area.
Al Natour said that a common language of the world is body language, or sign language, because there is a lot of similarity in this across the globe.
Her research interests are feminism, women empowerment, gender equality and work of women writers. She has written about the importance of home in our lives and the important role women play in making the home.
Al Natour said researchers are still working to find a definitive answer to the genesis of a language. What most people seem to agree on is that children come with the ability to learn any language. Natural sounds enable learning a language. However, the processes by which children construct grammar of the languages they’re learning is not very clear.
Al Natour said we can connect better by learning each other’s languages. Bringing people together requires a certain degree of understanding each other’s values, and that can only be established through an honest effort.
Al Natour takes pride in being a West Virginian, as she has been living here for the past several years. She said West Virginia has great potential with its hard-working and honest people. She suggested that WVU should attract more students from all over, as communities become stronger with diversity.
She said her favorite places in and around Morgantown are Coopers Rock, the WVU Planetarium & Observatory and the Core Arboretum.
She said that like West Virginians, Jordanians are fond of outdoor activities. Some of the popular activities are swimming in the Dead Sea, mountain walking, watching panoramic views in the coastal city of Aqaba, hiking through the entire country, dining under desert stars and seeing the hot springs of Ma’in.
Jordan is a modern country and has several archeological sites and is known for beautiful stone carvings.
An interesting, fun fact is that Jordan’s capital Amman was once known as Philadelphia after the name of Egyptian Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus.
