LANGUAGE CURB SQUEEZES SYRIAN BUSINESS

Asia Times Online
Aug 20, 2009
Central Asia

DAMASCUS – Twelve years after opening an electronics shop in Damascus,
Khaled has been forced to change its name.

In place of Roussil, a Kurdish word meaning "sun disc", he was made
to pick an Arabic name. Patrols from the capital’s municipality told
him that they would close his store if he refused to do so. He gave
in and chose an Arabic word.

"This is not a wise decision … we use the names that we feel
comfortable with," said Khaled, who declined to give his last
name. "Why this fanatical attachment to the Arabic language?"

In an effort to consolidate the use of Arabic in Syria, the authorities
decided recently to enforce a years-old ruling that lays