Hans Wehr Dictionary

It is 2023 and I still open the Hans Wehr dictionary almost every day. Growing up, there was always a copy of this Arabic-English dictionary on the family bookshelf but I had never picked it up until I enrolled on an Arabic degree at the School of Oriental and African Studies.

Quite convenient, I remember thinking as I slid it off the shelf and ticked it off the Arabic department’s suggested reading list. It was a pristine maroon hardcover and I dropped it into my suitcase along with all the other bits and bobs I was ready to take to London with me.

Seven years later, I am sitting in my home office with the same book on my DIY bookcase. I notice that its pages are somewhat tattered, its spine peeling way. To be honest, I am usually quite careful not to ruin books. Then again, the wear and tear on this dictionary was unavoidable. It has travelled all over the place; up and down the Piccadilly Line, into lost property, back into my rucksack and across the Mediterranean Sea to Palestine and Jordan.

I have opened and closed the book thousands of times and yet I still feel like I’ve only just scratched the surface.

The Arabic Language is often described as an ocean and even if this metaphor is a bit of a cliché, the sentiment it conveys is nothing but true. In fact, the word for dictionary in Arabic قاموس also means ocean. Studying Arabic is like diving for pearls. One must persevere for years with consistency and determination. Some days we finish up empty-handed and other days we return with unfathomable riches.