When the Lebanese Civil War started in 1975, I was 15. I was shipped to boarding school in England and, after that, to UCLA. Rabih Alameddine Read Quote
All living languages are promiscuous. We promiscuous speakers shamelessly shoplift words, plucking bons mots and phrases from any tempting language. We wear these words when we wish to be more formal, more elegant, more mysterious, worldly, precise, vague. Rabih Alameddine Read Quote
English has always had a special fondness for other European languages, a neighborly soft spot – perhaps because Britain has been invaded by speakers of those languages from the onset of its recorded history. Rabih Alameddine Read Quote
Whenever I come across an Arabic word mired in English text, I am momentarily shocked out of the narrative. Rabih Alameddine Read Quote
Language, after all, is organic. You can’t force words into existence. You can’t force new meanings into words. And some words can’t or won’t or shouldn’t be laundered or neutered. Language develops naturally. Rabih Alameddine Read Quote
One of the things I enjoy most during the World Cup is watching a team improve, mature, and gel during the course of the tournament. Rabih Alameddine Read Quote
I was gay before I began to play soccer over 40 years ago. It’s been 28 years since a friend and I organized one of the first gay soccer teams in the world. Rabih Alameddine Read Quote
Homophobia is rampant in soccer, probably more so than in any other sport. I’m not sure why. Rabih Alameddine Read Quote
