Naguib Mahfouz - Midaq Alley (Chapter 27) #6 lyrics

5. “…and he heard a harsh voice shouting at him in Upper Egyptian dialect, “Come on out, or I'll shoot!” (Mahfouz 214). Upper Egypt represents the protector of tradition in this case. Upper and Lower Egypt no longer exist as separate entities. However, in the past, Upper and Lower Egypt existed as almost two separate nations. Mahfouz mentions the Upper Egypt accent in the threat in order to demonstrate the conflict between the traditional, recognizing a difference between the two Egypts, and the modern, only having one Egypt. The two links below show the difference between the South Egyptian dialect and North Egyptian dialect, respectively. One particular characteristic of the Upper Egypt accent is the strong E. The men in the video also wear head coverings, which help indicate the traditional nature of the dialect. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0itY9fbjPhg http://youtu.be/1XI3IM1nsXg