On Behalf of the Voice - نيابة عن الصوت

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ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE

:‫نيابة عن الصوت‬ ‫هندسة الفم‬

MEERA BADRAN ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART ADS8 2019/20

RESEARCH JOURNAL


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ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


ON BEHALF OF THE TERRITORY

[10]

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE

[26]

ON BEHALF OF LANGUAGE

[32]

ON BEHALF OF SPEECH

[44]

ON BEHALF OF THE BODY

[54]

PROPOSAL: A STORY

[90]

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[04]

THE DIVIDUATIONS

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

APPENDIX

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Michel Foucault describes the 19th Century as the

its architectures by its contemporary standards:

turning point in modern society - where we see a shift

the

from a sovereign society to a disciplinary society.

house arrest - and its softer architectures as big

Here, Foucault explores versions of disciplinary

data,

architectures

recognition softwares.

that

initiate

the

organization

of

barrier

wall,

biometric

the

checkpoint,

identification,

and

prisons

and

voice/speech

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬

vast spaces of enclosure - allowing for the complete control and surveillance of the bodies within. From

Therefore, while surveillance infrastructures heavily

prisons, barracks, schools, hospitals and factories

rely on technologies and data - architecture in the

- their full systematic institutionalization allowed

question of digital control remains inextricably

for the complete control of the individuals who run

linked.

it, visit it and work for it. These modern, extensive and quite intimate forms Within this theory, he goes deeper to describe the

systems, and technologies of surveillance, that are

forms in which these architectures act to control,

completely invasive, cause a complete redefinition of

the

the

the architectural realm of public and private space

scientific tests and analysis, tables of statistics,

and the management of people through these spaces.

demographic calculus and attendance registers that

What becomes private in a world where every utterance

order to concentrate; distribute in space; to order

you make is tracked, translated and monitored?

‘softer

architectures’

of

surveillance:

in time. The following systems researched and analysed are My project identifies this society of control and

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all forms of disciplinary architectures.


They do not function as shelters for individuals,

and recreate told testimonies, collect photographs

but act rather as biopolitical technologies that

and videos, and present them to you here, today.

produce dividuated subjects from those who inhabit them, pass them, or speak by them.

Here, my proposal itself becomes the form of shelter that

architecture

usually

entails

-

through

the

allow

for

individuals

navigate

the

city

through

their tongues - morphing and adapting their speech

This

in order to gain shelter from surroundings.

the

research authority

consciously and

acts

objectivity

to of

not

seek

conventional

cartography. It is politicized, it is passionate, It is important to note, that I am also a body

it is partisan. It involves complete negotiation and

within my own right, that speaks specific dialectal

contestation over who and what is represented and

nuances and phrases, but is completely denied access

how. It gives rise to the debate of the documentation

to specific lands.

& the portrayal of people, places, territory, time

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INTRODUCTION

architecture of the mouth. Where dialectal nuances

and language. In this way, I am also a dividuated body. A body controlled through borders, papers and barriers.

I

This

proposal

is

to

be

unstable,

fragile,

and

rely on architecture and my architectural knowledge

extremely temporary - it is to be ever changing and

in order to be able to understand distanced mapping

open. It acts as a conversation, not a statement.

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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬ ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE 6

Two You. Image Source: Freeman, Ira, Sound and Ultrasonics


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ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


[ T H E T E R R I T O RY ]

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‫ا أل رض‬

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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬ ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL

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EAST JERUSALEM

WEST BANK, PALESTINE


East Jerusalem is a place where the two boundaries

predicting algorithm), facial recognition, and the

of Israel and Palestine blur and collide. It is a

ability to detect if an individual is carrying a

place that the international community do not know,

concealed weapon.

or wish to, classify. While the Armstice Line of 1949 announces East Jerusalem as part of the West Bank, the barrier wall that much more physically, spatially and architecturally holds a border, is built

Under this initiative, East Jerusalem becomes the 10th most surveilled place in the world, with the most high-tech and advanced surveillance mechanisms.

excluding East Jerusalem from West Bank’s territory. majority

Palestinian

population

hold

‘not-

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It’s

true-blue’ Israeli ID’s, where their citizenship is not-true-Israeli. These Palestinians’s are neither Israeli, nor Palestinian, becoming a non-place within themselves that is under full Israeli control.

In this sense, East Jerusalem is seen as a place of great debate, and therefore also deeply controlled.

With the initiative Mabat Jerusalem announced in 2016, East Jerusalem will be equipped with control centres

that

watch

over

10,000

CCTV

cameras,

surveilling over 95% of its streets and alleyways. These

CCTVs

are

armed

with

Athena

(a

behaviour

1949 Armistice Line Built Wall Barrier Jerusalem Extended Municipal Boundaries The Old City of Jerusalem Information Unavailable: Palestinian Territories Checkpoints 11


ANY VISION, FACIAL RECOGNITION

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬

THERMAL MATRIX, USA

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL

EAST JERUSALEM SEPARATION WALL

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WEST BANK, PALESTINE


East Jerusalem is a place where the two boundaries

predicting algorithm), facial recognition, and the

of Israel and Palestine blur and collide. It is a

ability to detect if an individual is carrying a

place that the international community do not know,

concealed weapon.

or wish to, classify. While the Armstice Line of 1949 announces East Jerusalem as part of the West Bank, the barrier wall that much more physically, spatially and architecturally holds a border, is built

Under this initiative, East Jerusalem becomes the 10th most surveilled place in the world, with the most high-tech and advanced surveillance mechanisms.

excluding East Jerusalem from West Bank’s territory. majority

Palestinian

population

hold

‘not-

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It’s

true-blue’4 Israeli ID’s, where their citizenship is not-true-Israeli. These Palestinians’s are neither Israeli, nor Palestinian, becoming a non-place within themselves that is under full Israeli control.

In this sense, East Jerusalem is seen as a place of great debate, and therefore also deeply controlled.

With the initiative Mabat Jerusalem announced in 2016, East Jerusalem will be equipped with control centres

that

watch

over

10,000

CCTV

cameras,

surveilling over 95% of its streets and alleyways.5 These

CCTVs

are

armed

with

Athena

(a

behaviour

1949 Armistice Line Built Wall Barrier Jerusalem Extended Municipal Boundaries The Old City of Jerusalem Information Unavailable: Palestinian Territories Checkpoints 13


01.Chongqing, China - 2,579,890 cameras for 15,35 02.Shenzhen, China – 1,929,600 cameras for 12,12 03.Shanghai, China – 2,985,984 cameras for 26,31 04.Tianjin, China – 1,244,160 cameras for 13,39 05.Ji’nan, China – 540,463 cameras for 7,321,

06.London, England (UK) – 627,707 cameras for 9,1

07.Wuhan, China – 500,000 cameras for 8,266,2

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬

08.Guangzhou, China – 684,000 cameras for 12,96 09.Beijing, China – 800,000 cameras for 20,035

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

East Jerusalem, Israel/Palestine - 10,000 cameras for

10.Atlanta, Georgia (US) – 7,800 cameras for 50

1 1 . S i n g a p o r e – 8 6 , 0 0 0 c a m e r a s f o r 5 , 6 3 8 , 6 7 6 12.Abu Dhabi, UAE – 20,000 cameras for 1,452,

13.Chicago,Illinois (US) – 35,000 cameras for 2,6

14.Urumqi, China – 43,394 cameras for 3,500,0

15.Sydney, Australia – 60,000 cameras for 4,859 16.Baghdad, Iraq – 120,000 cameras for 9,760, 17.Dubai, UAE – 35,000 cameras for 2,883,07 18.Moscow, Russia – 146,000 cameras for 12,476

19.Berlin, Germany – 39,765 cameras for 3,556,

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20 Most Surveilled Cities in the World https://www.comparitech. com/vpn-privacy/the-worlds-most-surveilled-cities/

20.New Delhi, India – 179,000 cameras for 18,60


54,067 people = 168.03 cameras per 1,000 people 8,721 people = 159.09 cameras per 1,000 people 7,104 people = 113.46 cameras per 1,000 people 6,402 people = 92.87 cameras per 1,000 people 200 people = 73.82 cameras per 1,000 people

176,530 people = 68.40 cameras per 1,000 people

273 people = 60.49 cameras per 1,000 people 7,862 people = 52.75 cameras per 1,000 people

r 323,700 people = 30.89 cameras per 1000 people

1,178 people = 15.56 cameras per 1,000 people

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,455 people = 39.93 cameras per 1,000 people

6 people = 15.25 cameras per 1,000 people 057 people = 13.77 cameras per 1,000 people

679,044 people = 13.06 cameras per 1,000 people

000 people = 12.40 cameras per 1,000 people

9,432 people = 12.35 cameras per 1,000 people 000 people = 12.30 cameras per 1,000 people 9 people = 12.14 cameras per 1,000 people ,171 people = 11.70 cameras per 1,000 people

,792 people = 11.18 cameras per 1,000 people

00,000 people = 9.62 cameras per 1,000 people 15


CELL-SITE SIMULATORS: Telecommunication Towers in East Jerusalem are lawfully intercepted with cell-cite simulators under Athena, a

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬

predictive policing software set in place in 2015.

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SEPARATION WALL c.2003: Israel calls it a security barrier against terrorism, while Palestinians call it a racial segregation or apartheid wall.


DRONES: Drones and ‘flying CCTV’ is used to track and manage crowds, allowing 5km range capabilities, while also allowing an eye into other territories.

CCTV: CCTV’s are equipped with Facial Recognition Softwares and the ability to detect if an individual is

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carrying a concealed weapon.

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ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


As a society of control, there are a number of

This

infrastructures set in place to control the citizens

fragmentation that disembodies the collective and

of East Jerusalem, as well as those who enter and

the

exit. Its barrier wall is equipped with 22 checkpoints

system

of

individual

control

through

is

an

varying

atomisation

and

infrastructures,

revealing an architecture of dividuation -

that control all movement from and to East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

AS,

Through the very physical aspect of the barrier wall

IT

IS

ONLY

WHEN

PEOPLE

ARE

DIVIDUATED,

of communication towers, and further the utilisation of analysis softwares, Israel’s surveillance tactics can be traced from the territory to the dividual.

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CAN THEY BE COMPLETELY CONTROLLED.

and checkpoint mechanisms, to the digital interception

It is at the checkpoints where the this control is emphasised. These checkpoints are further non-places, that divide but also mediate. Although the barrier wall

divides

these

territories,

the

checkpoints

allow movement in between them. Masses are brought together, only to be funnelled through. Turnstiles divide the masses into individuals. Surveillance softwares break these individuals into dividuals.

*

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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬ ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

IRIS SCAN

ANYVISION.co DMIT FINGERPRINT SCAN

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VOICE PRINT

adjective

di·​ v id·​ u ·​ a l | \ də̇ˈvijəwəl\

The break down of an individual to nothing but their digital parts. [Eg. data, metadata, biometrics and voice identification]

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* Dividual

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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬ ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE 22

Within this dividuation, the following case studies focus specifically on voice identification softwares, used to restrict the movement of individuals and restrain them to certain typologies based on their spoken and written word.

These case studies are examined on behalf of the voice (which speaks on behalf of the body) and on behalf of language (which speaks on behalf of the individual).


[ T H E D I V I D U AT I O N S ]

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‫ا لفو ا صل‬

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ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


L AY E R E D V O I C E A N A LY S I S 6 . 5 0 lie-

say, the software transforms the human voice into

detection software, (marketed as an ‘investigation

a hostile witness that is capable of testifying

focus

against the very subject from which the vocalisations

Layered

Voice

tool’)

Analysis

created

6.50

to

in

an

determine

Israeli

psychological and

come from. It therefore renders the spoken word

frequencies in your voice. It records the height of

negligible, a mere collateral which must be created

the larynx, the glottal pressure and the vibrations

to detect the deception within its medium.

verdicts

through

analysing

the

tensions

to compare every utterance you speak to 129 voice frequencies. Nemesyco, the creators of LVA 6.50, believe that all your brain activity and emotions are fully visible in your voice through the most minute changes that are not heard to the human ear. As it uses your voice, and not your spoken word, LVA

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ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE:

of your voice, using 8000 mathematical algorithms

6.50 boasts its ability to come to its conclusions, regardless of the language that you speak.

The software is still deployed both commercially and militarily by banks and insurance companies to catch fraud, and by border control and intelligence agencies in Russia, Europe and Israel.

As it analyses your voice, regardless of what you

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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬ ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE 26

Costa, A. Vives, M.L. Corey, J. On Language Processing Shaping Decision Making, Association of Psychological Science, Vol. 26(2) 146 –151, 2017


situation such as that seen in East Jerusalem, where

further obscured with the diversity of languages and

the Palestinian citizens use Hebrew or English as

dialects that speech produces.

a way to communicate with border-control soldiers.

In a research study On Language Processing Shaping

In this sense, through speaking in their second or

Decision Making, researchers tested whether speaking

third language, these Palestinians are being placed

in a second language affects your intuitive emotions.

under an already flawed system, where the results of

It was proven that through speaking in your second

LVA 6.50 (whether correct or incorrect), can lead to

language, your emotions are inhibitied, and decision-

the detainment, arrest, house arrest, or refusal to

making

skills

activated,

creating

rational

over

intuitive thought. This is a product of your brains attempt to inhibit your native tongue, activating your pre-frontal cortex: the area of the brain that is

cross into or out of East Jerusalem.

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However, the voice is a complex organism that is

responsible for emotions and expressions, inhibiting them along with your instinctive language.

Through

this

analysis

it

can

be

said

that

when

speaking in your second language, LVA 6.50 will detect your inhibition and conclude your deception, even if you had been truthful. The language that you speak therefore affects the results in which this program creates, making it void in a bilingual

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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬ ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE Machssomim [Checkpoint] Documentary by Yoav Shamir. 28

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSTbnzyGyyc [2:30]


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ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


The Mabat initiatives that surveil East Jerusalem

The discriminatory nature and flaws of the software,

are run by Mer Group, tendered for the installation

are found in the arrests and detentions given through

and maintenance of its cameras. It’s through Facial

mistranslations of ordinary innocent words. Through

Recognition and interception of telecommunication

the reports published by 7amleh (The Arab Centre

towers, that a programme like Athena is set into

for the Advancement of Social Media) on the digital

place.

rights of Palestinians, incitement arrests which are questioned for their prejudice are mapped. Here,

Athena is a behaviour prediction software (fig 8), which constantly collects and analyses multilingual data from text, calls, images, social media, and the dark-net (OSCAR). With this information, it deploys algorithms to identify individuals who might seem suspicious, leading to their arrest and interrogation (SAIP). becomes

the example of a construction worker arrested for writing ‘good morning’ on Facebook is analysed.

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ON BEHALF OF LANGUAGE

AT H E N A

If the program identifies suspicion, it irrelevant

whether

this

individual

has

evidently initiated unlawful actions. This programconceived suspicion is used as evidential material against it’s subject, resulting in detainment and arrests. Al-Jazeera states that, since its launch in 2015, 1,000 Palestinians have been arrested, mainly for content they have posted online.

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‘MABAT JERUSALEM’ Set up in 2016, Mabat Jerusalem is a surveillance con-

THIS SOFTWARE HAS BEEN SUBJECTED TO

trol center, running 10,000 CCTV cameras that watch

DUE TO THE BIASED AND DISCRIMINATORY

the streets of East Jerusalem 24/7

CYBER SECURITY

Run by the Mer Group, who are tendered for installation and maintenance of all systems

PRISONS

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬

HOMELAND SECURITY & BORDER CONTROL AVIATION, MARITIME & PUBLIC TRANSPORT INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES

ATHENA

Services across Israel & the world

TELECOM DIVISION

Sections of the industry which contract the Mer Group

APPLICATION.

‘The Algorithm leads suspect someone’

Gilad Erdan, Israel’s Public S Minister

Within this context, yo need to have done anythin just have said something deemed threatening

‘PREDICTIVE POLICING’ SOFTWARE

OSCAR

OSCAR +

SAIP

CATI

Facial recognition ongoing surveillance of individuals

The constant collection of data, information & meta-data

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Multilingual texts, images, videos, websites, social media & the dark net

With th to ‘IDENT ENTITIE posted


GREAT CRITIQUE

The discriminatory nature and flaws of the software,

Y NATURE OF ITS

are found in the arrests and detentions given through mistranslations of ordinary innocent words. Through the reports published by 7amleh (The Arab Centre for the Advancement of Social Media) on the digital

you to ’

rights of Palestinians, incitement arrests which are questioned for their prejudice are mapped. Here,

Security

the example of a construction worker arrested for

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writing ‘good morning’ on Facebook is analysed.

ou don’t ng wrong, g that is g. 1,000 Israeli-Palestinians have been arrested since 2015 using this data-analysis technology

With this information, a software then flags and notifies those who are suspicious.

is information, it deploys algorithms TIFY AND EVALUATE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ES’, identifying individuals who have content that might seem suspicious.

Following is a list of 50 names of those who have been detained and arrested under Athena

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50 INCITEME

[AS OF NOVE

2015: # Name: ‘Umar Shalabi Age: 44 Gender: Male City: al-‘Ayzariyya, Jerusalem, Date of Arrest: May 2015 Circumstances: On 12 May 2015, an Israeli court sentenced ‘Umar Shalabi to nine months for “incitement on social media.” This was the first instance where a Palestinian was charged by an Israeli court based on social media activity, and particularly posts on Facebook. It must be noted, however, that there is no legal framework according to Israeli law or in the military rule implemented in the West Bank and Gaza that addresses the issue of incitement via social media. # Name: Asma’ Hamdan Age: 19 Gender: Female City: Nazareth Date of Arrest: 5 October 2015 Circumstances: Interrogated for five hours, then held for ten days, and eventually transferred to three months of administrative detention. Her interrogation centered around poetry she had posted on her Facebook profile. # Name: Darin Tatur Age: 33 Gender: Female City: al-Rayna Date of Arrest: 10 October 2015 Circumstances: On 2 November 2015, the poet Darin Tatur was charged with a list of charges that include “incitement of violence, and supporting terrorist groups through Facebook.” Evidence included the line from one of Tartur’s poems, where she states ‘Resist, my people resist them’. # Name: Tamara Abu Laban Age: 15 Gender: Female City: Jerusalem Date of Arrest: 5 November 2015 Circumstances: In November, the Israeli military arrested fifteen-year-old Tamara Abu Laban based on a one-word post on her Facebook profile. Abu Laban posted the word “forgive me” and was arrested under the pretense of incitement on Facebook. Tamara was held for a few hours before being released, as her post was personally driven and not political. # Name: Dunya Muslih Age: 19 Gender: Female City: Bethlehem Date of Arrest: 15 November 2015 Circumstances: Dunya Muslih was charged by the Israeli courts charged her with: Posting images of martyrs, posting an image of a protester accompanied with a poem, and posting an image of a martyr accompanied with text. # Name: Tariq Barghuti Age: 40 Gender: Male City: Jerusalem Date of Arrest: 1 December 2015 Circumstances: The lawyer Tariq Barghuti who works as a legal advisor for a number of Palestinian detainees was held based on “incitement on social media,” his bail was set at 5,000 shekels ($1,400) and was denied the use of his Facebook page for three days.

2016: # Name: Mohammad Amarneh Age: 17 Gender: Male City: Jenin, West Bank Date of Arrest: 2 March 2016 Circumstances: He was arrested on the basis of writing a Facebook post that the was considered ‘incitement’ and a threat to state security. He was sentenced to three months of administrative detention,and considered a danger to state security because of the post. # Name: Fadi J. Gender: Male Date of Arrest: 2016 Circumstances: 7 months imprisonment # Name: Fathi Najada Gender: Male Date of Arrest: 2016 Circumstances: 6 months imprisonment # Name: Samah Dweik Age: 25 Gender: Female City: Jerusalem Date of Arrest: 10 April 2016 Circumstances: The journalist was arrested following Facebook posts that the Israeli authorities considered to be ‘incitement’. She was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment. She was released 9 months later on 20th November 2017. # Name: Mohammad Khalil Zaghloul Age: Gender: Male Date of Arrest: 2016 Circumstances: Radio presenter, accused of publishing material that is deemed inflammatory through his radio programme and posted on Facebook. He was detained for 10 days and fined. # Name: Shadi Mohsen Gender: Male Date of Arrest: 2016 Circumstances: 3 months imprisonment # Name: Majd Atwan Age: 22 Gender: Male City: Al-Khader, Bethlehem Date of Arrest: 19 April 2016 Circumstances: Following her publication of pictures of Palestinian youth killed by Israeli forces, Majd Yousef Atwan was arrested. She was detained in a small cell filled with surveillance camera’s. She was released on the 20th of May 2016. 34

# Name: Anas Al-Khateeb Age: Gender: Male City: Jerusalem Date of Arrest: 2016 Circumstances: Was sentenced w rusalem is Arab”, “long live t waiting list” He was placed on of detention and was prevented til the end of the judicial pr

# Name: Sami Al-Saei Gender: Male Date of Arrest: 2016 Circumstances: Accused of publ which were seen as inciting ag army. Sentenced with imprisonm

# Name: Ahmad Hussein Gender: Male Date of Arrest: 2016 Circumstances: 6 months admini

# Name: Sanaa Nayef Abu Sneine Gender: Female Date of Arrest: May 2016 Circumstances: Accused of inci terials on Facebook glorifying She was detained for 6 months.

# Name: Faisal Al-Rifai Gender: Male Date of Arrest: 2016 Circumstances: Accused of writ ered inciting against the occu for 34 days and fined.

# Name: Bahaa Taysir Abdel Haq Gender: Female Date of Arrest: 2016 Circumstances: Bahaa Abdel Haq imprisonment for publishing ma inciting against the occupatio

# Name: Kamar Munasra Gender: Female Date of Arrest: 2016 Circumstances: Kamar was accus let and was detained for sever

# Name: Khaled Ma’ali Age: Gender: Male Date of Arrest: 2016 Circumstances: Accused of writ ered as inciting against the o eral days imprisonment.

# Name: Eman Abu Sbeih Age: 17 Gender: Female City: Jerusalem Date of Arrest: 9th October 20 Circumstances: Eman Abu Sbeih, Sbeih, who had carried out an forces. She was arrested for p media praising her father and Emaan was released on the 17th from Jerusalem for two months. and was banned from using the

# Name: Darghim Abu Sukran Gender: Male Date of Arrest: 2016 Circumstances: Accused of writ ered inciting against the occu prisonment for 1 year.

# Name: Sahar Natsheh Gender: Female Date of Arrest: 2016 Circumstances: 10 days detenti til the end of the judicial pr

# Name: Nader Halahila Gender: Male Date of Arrest: 2016 Circumstances: 6 months impris

# Name: Kazim Sbeih Age: Child Gender: Male Date of Arrest: 2016 Circumstances: 3 months impris

# Name: Anas Abu Daabis Gender: Male City: Rahat in the Negev Regio Date of Arrest: 24 November 20 Circumstances: It was alleged content on his personal Facebo The importance of this case co publication was unquestionably tag that explicitly translates ous” to assure the readers tha icising those who were cheerin incorrect translation, misunde reasons resulted in the Israel arrest twice, and accusing him presenting him as a security t sary evidence to prove that th all charges were dropped and w Anas was released on bail,and ternet for several days.

# Name: Musaab Al Tamimi Gender: Male Date of Arrest: 2016 Circumstances: Detained for se # Name: Majid Salaima Gender: Male Date of Arrest: 2016 Circumstances: Administrative


ENT ARRESTS

EMBER 2019]

2017:

with writing slogans such “Jethe Intifada” and “I am on the n house arrest after 40 days d from using the internet unroceedings against him.

# Name: Mohammad Khalaf Gender: Male City: Tamra # Name: Loay Azeri Gender: Male City: Beersheba # Name: Sami al-Hazel Gender: Male City: Negav

lishing information and photos gainst the Israeli occupation ment for 9 months.

# Name: Nour Issa Gender: Female City: East Jerusalem # Name: Ahmed Sa’ida Gender: Female City: East Jerusalem

istrative detention

eh

itement due to publishing mag martyrs and the wounded. .

# Name: Su’ad Zariqat Age: 29 Gender: Female Date of Arrest: May 2017 City: East Jerusalem Circumstances: Arrested for writing a post about her late-husband,stating ‘May God Unite Us in Heaven’,calling him, to what translates as ‘martyr’. However, the word ‘shahid’ in Arabic is not only used as martyr, but for anyone who has passed, whether that is through political, accidental or natural reasons. Due to the translation of Shahid into Martyr, Su’ad Zariqat was subjected with 8 months detention.

ting posts which were considupation on Facebook. Detained

# Name: Ahed Tamimi Gender: Female City: Ramallah

q

# Name: Laith Barakat Gender: Male City: East Jerusalem

q was sentenced to 14 months aterials which were considered on.

# Name: Mohammad Batroukh Gender: Male City: East Jerusalem # Name: Walid Rajabi Gender: Male City: East Jerusalem

sed of writing a inciting leafral days.

# Name: Ibrahim Abu Nea Gender: Male City: East Jerusalem # Name: Ahmed Aweisat Gender: Male City: East Jerusalem

ting posts which were considoccupation. Sentenced to sev-

7

016 , the daughter of Misbah Abu attack against the israeli publishing a video on social expressing her love for him. h of October. She was expelled . She was fined 2,500 NIS bail internet for a month.

ting posts which were considupation. Sentenced with im-

# Name: Unknown Gender: Male Date of Arrest: October 2017 Circumstances: A Palestinian construction worker was arrested after posting ‘good morning’ in Arabic on his Facebook page. Israeli police arrested him after Facebook’s automatic translation translated ‘good morning’ [or in Arabic ‘yusbehkom’] to ‘attack them’ in Hebrew or ‘hurt them’ in English. Reports pointed out that no Arabic-speaking Israeli police man looked at the post before the arrest was made. After realising the mistake, the worker was released. Facebook apologised for the incident, claiming that “mistakes like these might happen from time to time”, in which they called a ‘false positive’. # Name: Abdelsalam al-Masri Gender: Male City: Toubas # Name: Mohammad Al-Barghouti Gender: Male City: Ramallah # Name: Ibrahim Abu Snina Gender: Male City: East Jerusalem

ion and then house arrest unroceedings.

# Name: Ahmed al-Shawesh Gender: Male City: East Jerusalem # Name: Saleh al-Zghari Gender: Male City: East Jerusalem

sonment

2018:

d

# Name: Raja Eghbarieh Gender: Male City: Haifa Date of Arrest: 11 September 2018 Circumstances: Post about three Palestinian citizens from Umm Al-Fahm who shot dead two Israeli policemen in Al-Aqsa Compound in Jerusalem. While Eghbarieh’s posts do not express support for the attack, it seems that the very use of the word martyrs (“shuhada” in Arabic), the analysis of their motives, and expressing grief over their death is regarded as unlawful.

sonment

on 016 that he shared incitement ook account about the fires. omes from the fact that Anas’s y critical; he used the hashs into “mocking and not seriat he was insulting and critng for the fires. However, an erstanding or other unknown li authorities extending the m of incitement to the court, threat. Submitting the neceshe publication was a mockery, were proven to be fabricated. was banned from using the in-

everal hours

# Name: Yousef Al-Jaabri Gender: Male City: East Jerusalem Circumstance: 6 months detention for incitement. # Name: Hiran Jaradat Gender: Male Circumstance: Arrested for 33 Facebook Posts. About Martyr’s and 2 supporting violence against Israel.

Since the start of ‘Predictive Policing’ in 2015, the Algorithm has allowed for the arrest of over 1,000 Palestinians through constant surveillance, hacking, and agreements with social media platforms including Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Please note: The 2019 research statistics are still to be published in early 2020. All information rights belong to 7amleh.org and StudioSocial.me

detention for 6 months 35


time”, which they called a ‘false positive’.

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬

# Name: Unknown Gender: Male Date of Arrest: October 2017 Circumstances: A Palestinian construction worker was arrested after posting ‘good morning’ in Arabic on his Facebook page. Israeli police arrested him after Facebook’s automatic translation translated ‘good morning’ [or in Arabic ‘yusbehkom’] to ‘attack them’ in Hebrew or ‘hurt them’ in English. Reports pointed out that no Arabic-speaking Israeli police man looked at the post before the arrest was made. After realising the mistake, the worker was released. Facebook apologised for the incident, claiming that “mistakes like these might happen from time to

“Unfortunately, our translation systems made an error last week that misinterpreted what this individual posted. Even though our translations are getting better each day, these mistakes might happen from time to time and we’ve taken the steps to address this particular issue. We apologise to him and his family for the mistake and the disruption this caused.”

Facebook post of Construction Worker wrongfully accused of threatening attack due to Facebook’s mistranslation of ‘good morning’. Necip Fazil Ayan, an engineering manager in Facebook’s language technologies group, provided the above statement to Gizmodo, when contacted about the accusation.

36


NEURAL MACHINE M I S T R A N S L AT I O N Faceboook launched it’s Neural Machine Translation

These mistranslations, are seen with other words in

(NMT)

which arrests have taken place including ‘forgive

software

in

2016.

Unlike

previous

models

of translation, NMT uses Artificial Intelligence,

me’

therefore

understood for their sarcasm. This evidences the

allowing

the

machine

to

make

its

own

decisions.

and

‘deceased’,

with

ironic

posts

also

not

complexity of language, especially the large variety of non-standard Arabic dialects that fluctuate and

way

of

saying

‘Good

standardisation,

the

‫يصبحهم‬,

Morning’. machine

Due

did

a non-standard to not

it’s

non-

understand

the word, believing instead that it was a spelling error, therefore altering it. This translated the innocent ‘yusbehom’, violent ‘yuseebhom ’

‫يصبحهم‬,

‫يصبحهم‬,

change in varying social-contexts.

(good morning) to the

(hurt them) in English,

RESEARCH JOURNAL

The worker posted ‘yusbehom’,

which translated to the threatening ‘attack them’ in Hebrew.

This machine failure resulted in the detainment and arrest of the worker for several hours, before a human translator confirmed it. Facebook apologised for the mistranslation, claiming it as a ‘falsepositive’.

37


‫نيابة عن الصوت‬ ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE ‘Yusbehom’ mistranslations due to 38

Facebook’s Neural Machine Translation


39

RESEARCH JOURNAL


ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬

RULE-BASED TRANSLATION SYSTEM

‘Lexical Database’: [Stores all words from the dictionary and all their grammatical forms] Uses a set of linguistic rules to recognise basic linguistic elements through the following steps: ‘SYNTAX’ ‘MORPHOLOGY’ ‘SEMANTICS’

1966

Timeline of Speech-Translation software advancements 40

STATISTICAL MACH

Analyses a database of uments that have alrea HUMA

For example, UN docume documents were of grea proce

By finding matches betw lated text, the program sponding phrases and p for future tr

The accuracy and qual lations depends on the database, and the avail certain la

200


books, articles & docady been translated by ANS.

ents and EU Parliament at importance in this ess.

ween source and transmme can identify correpatterns, and use them ranslations.

lity of these transe size of the initial lability of samples for anguages.

06

NEURAL MACHINE TRANSLATION

DEEP LEARNING. It aims to ‘think’ in the same way as the human brain. It teaches itself, corrects mistakes. Reducing translation errors by 60% compared to the phrase-based system. Google, Facebook and Microsoft switched to this in 2016. This is the translation software used by Facebook, which allowed for the result of the false positive in the case of the Palestinian Construction worker.

RESEARCH JOURNAL

HINE TRANSLATION

2016

41


GULF

MAGHREBI

ARABIC

LEVANT

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬

EYGPTIAN

“DIALECT UNINTELLIGIBILITY”

42


G O O G L E A S S I S TA N T The complexity of the Arabic language causes great

understand that his Palestinian village of Jenin is

difficulty for voice-recognition softwares such as

only 20km from the Syrian border, where his dialect

Google Assistant, where in order to grasp the expanse

is an amalgamation of Palestinian and Syrian.

of dialects, it divides Arabic into 4 ‘languages’

dialects.

In

a

research

paper

investigating

the

ON BEHALF OF DIALECT

unification of dialects, google engineers state that ‘multi-dialectal languages pose great challenges to speech recognition systems’, and Arabic showing the

The fact that this syllable designates citizenship above an identity card that contradicts it forces us to rethink how the configuration of vowels are made legally accountable and borders are being made perceptible,

RESEARCH JOURNAL

made up of what it believes to be the 4 major

largest ‘dialect unintelligibly’.

Google Assistant identifies the dialect (‘language’) of the speaker based on location information extracted from speakers’ IP. Therefore, theoretically if a Palestinian speaker was to live in Egypt, their speech would not be understood by Google Assistant.

The flaws of dialectical translation can further be seen

“ M U LT I - D I A L E C TA L L A N G U A G E S P O S E A G R E AT C H A L L E N G E T O S P E E C H RECOGNITION SOFTWARES”

in Abu Hamdan’s case of Mohammad, a Palestinian who was denied asylum in the UK due to his pronunciation of

the

world

‘tomato’.

The

dialect-test

claimed

that Mohammad was of Syrian descent, yet failed to

43


ARA

WITH

GOOGL

MODERN STA

ISO 6

MODERN STANDA

BEDA

ISO 639-

MAGHREBI

EYGPTIAN

Kiones:

MASRY

ISO 639-3:arz

SA’IDI

ISO 639-3:aec

LIBYAN

ISO 639-3:ayl

ALGERIAN

SUDANESE

ISO 639-3:arq

ISO 639-3:apd

MOROCCAN

ISO 639-3:ary

TUNISIAN

CHADIAN

ISO 639-3:aeb

ISO 639-3:shu

JEBLI

SUDANESE CREOLE

JIJEL

ISO 639-3:pga

BABALIA CREOLE

MALTESE

ISO 639-3:pga

ISO 639-3:mlt

SANAAI

SAHARAN

ISO 639-3:ayn

ISO 639-3:aao

Bedouin: HASSANIYA

ANDALUSIAN

ISO 639-3:mey (Mauritian Arabic)

ISO 639-3:xaa

SOMALI

ENGLISH

‘He Said’

LEBAANON

/‘aal/

Madani:

/‘aal/

EYGPT & LEVANT

/‘aal/

Falahi:

/Kaal/

TUNISIA

/qal/

Odsi:

/Qaal/

MOROCCO & ALGERIA

/kal/

Gazawi:

/Gaal/

YEMEN

/gul/

Bedawi:

/Shaal/

Nabelsi:

/‘aaal/

Khaleeli:

/‘aal/

MODERN STANDARD ARABIC CYPRIOT MARONITE ARABIC Variations of /Q/

/qaal/ /kal/ Q,A,K,G

‫قال‬ ‫قال‬ ‫قال‬ ‫قال‬ ‫قال‬ ‫قال‬ ‫قال‬

Pronunciation differences within Palestinian sub-dialects of the letter ‘Q’

ISO 639: a set of standards by the International Organization for Standardization Alpha-3 code is for the compreh

Diagram based on the dialects + sub-dial 44


Recognised Dialects Unrecognised Dialects

ABIC

LE ASSISTANT

ANDARD ARABIC

639-3:arb

ARD VARIETIES

CYPRIOT MARONITE

AWI

ISO 639-3:acy

-3:avl

GULF

LEVANT

GULF

ISO 639-3:afb

EMARATI

SOUTH LEVANTINE

NORTH LEVANTINE

NO ISO CODE

ISO 639-3:ajp

ISO 639-3:apc

QATARI

NO ISO CODE

BAHRAINI

ISO 639-3:abv

KUWAITI

20km

LEBANESE

NO ISO CODE

NO ISO CODE

Saudi: JORDANIAN

NO ISO CODE

HIJAZI

NO ISO CODE

SYRIAN

ISO 639-3:acw

NAJDI

PALESTINIAN

ISO 639-3:ars

NO ISO CODE

Yemeni: HADRAMI

ISO 639-3:ayh

MADANI (A)

SAN’ANI

ISO 639-3:ayn

FALAHI (K)

TA’IZZI - ADENI

ODSI (Q)

ISO 639-3:acq

GAZAWI

DHOFARI

BEDAWI (SH)

ISO 639-3:adf

NABELSI

OMANI

KHALEELI

ISO 639-3:acx

JUDEO-ARABIC

SHIHHI

ISO 639-3:ssh

MESOPOTAMIAN

Within this example, the written word remains the same. However, many further examples when it comes to nouns and adjectives show

NORTH MESOPOTAMIAN

otherwise.

MESOPOTAMIAN

ISO 639-3:ayp

KHUZESTANI NO ISO CODE

ISO 639-3:acm

BAGHDADI NO ISO CODE

that is concerned with representation of names for languages and language groups. hensive coverage of languages.

lects that Google Assistant recognises. 45


ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬

PA L E S T I N I A N D I A L E C T

46

WAS PRONOUNCED AS

SYRIAN DIALECT


DIALECT/LANGUAGE A N A LY S I S T E S T The complexity of the Arabic language causes great

understand that his Palestinian village of Jenin is

difficulty for voice-recognition softwares such as

only 20km from the Syrian border, where his dialect

Google Assistant, where in order to grasp the expanse

is an amalgamation of Palestinian and Syrian.

of dialects, it divides Arabic into 4 ‘languages’

dialects.

In

a

research

paper

investigating

the

ON BEHALF OF DIALECT

unification of dialects, google engineers state that ‘multi-dialectal languages pose great challenges to speech recognition systems’, and Arabic showing the largest ‘dialect unintelligibly’.

Google Assistant identifies the dialect (‘language’) of the speaker based on location information extracted

The fact that this syllable designates citizenship above an identity card that contradicts it forces us to rethink how the configuration of vowels are made legally accountable and borders are being made perceptible,

RESEARCH JOURNAL

made up of what it believes to be the 4 major

from speakers’ IP. Therefore, theoretically if a Palestinian speaker was to live in Egypt, their speech would not be understood by Google Assistant.

The flaws of dialectical translation can further be seen in Abu Hamdan’s case of Mohammad, a Palestinian who was denied asylum in the UK due to his pronunciation of

the

world

‘tomato’.

The

dialect-test

claimed

that Mohammad was of Syrian descent, yet failed to

47


ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬

What the system failed to acknowledge, was the hybridization of Mohammad’s diale

Countries where Arabic is an Official Language

Varying Arabic Dialects Within Arabic Speaking Cou

48


ect due to the proximity of his Palestinian home town Safad to the Syrian Border.

Safad, Palestine

RESEARCH JOURNAL

Levantine Arabic Dialects

untries

49


ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬

The complexity of the language can be seen in Google Translate’s inabi

‫الشوارع واألزقة أن تكون أماكننا‬, ‫ ساكن القدس الرشقية‬، ‫"بالنسبة لنا‬

where the banks at wager gath

‫ ال يمت حرص غرف املعيشة‬، ‫ اآلن‬.‫ وغرفنا املعيشية‬، ‫االجمتاعية امجلاعية‬

would never the less be neut

ً ‫ بل ميكهنم‬، ‫لدينا حفسب‬ ‫ مل يعد بإماكننا قضاء‬.‫أيضا رؤية ما حتت مالبسنا‬

by the atmosphere of all stre

‫ خصوصيتنا‬.‫بعض الوقت يف شوارع القدس دون الشعور بالاكمريا علينا‬

caroline cameras not wearing

" ‫وحريتنا حمرومة‬

aspects of the colon of the en

to be with some insensitive ca

Original Testimony in the Jerusalemite dialect ‘2odsi’

41 50

Us, waters were streets and

Testimony 01_Mohammand

Computer tran

geolocation se


ility to translate a Palestinian dialect if the speaker was in Egypt.

“For

us,

residents

of

East

Jerusalem,

the

streets

and

hered all the experience. We

alleyways used to be our collective social spaces, our

tral and skinny and gathered

living rooms. Now, not only are our living rooms being

eets in the same month as the

surveilled, but they can even see underneath our clothes.

the bed to bed to bed eight

We can no longer spend time in the streets of Jerusalem

ntire city of the hero we know

ameras to look forward to us.

RESEARCH JOURNAL

the corners were the shops

without feeling the camera’s on us. Our privacy and liberty are systematically deprived from us.”

nslation with

set to ‘Egypt’

Human Translation

42

51


52

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


[THE BODY]

RESEARCH JOURNAL

‫ا لجسد‬

53


54

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


All the research presented above explain how glitches and mistranslations due to the complexity of speech,

THE VOICE is the dividuation of

and

the

can

have

lack

of

great

interrogation,

to

resolution

of

repercussions: house-arrest

speech from and

softwares

detainment, imprisonment.

This incarceration of the voice, therefore leads the body itself to become suspended within space

THE SPACE which acts to distort

RESEARCH JOURNAL

which occupies

INFRASTRUCTURE OF CONTROL

and time -

THE BODY

TIME

- and this is the complete infrastructure of control.

55


‫نيابة عن الصوت‬ ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

Rhino Software glitches, in process of rendering 20 frames into a two hour animation

56


THE CHECKPOINT This suspension in space, leads to the distortion of

This makes evident the speed that softwares are used

time. Where what may take you 10 minutes, can take

to working at, and how the lack of it, [or the

you over 2 hours.

resolution asked for within each frame] causes a glitch and a fail due to lack of resolution.

Immaculate

freeways

through

landscape

a

transport of

Israeli

dilapidated

settlers

Palestinian

work in time. Slower data coverage ensures slower communication capabilities, and power cuts create a constant pause, stop, and instability of life.

Time

itself

stretched

to

is

held

create

hostage, an

entire

and

distance

population

is with

RESEARCH JOURNAL

ON BEHALF OF TIME

backroads. Checkpoints ensure one is to never reach

mobility disabilities.

These are clips from when Rhino was asked to render 20 frames into a 2 hour animation - the length of time spent within a single checkpoint on a daily journey to work. The program struggled to render and re-render the same frame over and over again on such a long duration of time.

57


58

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


59

RESEARCH JOURNAL


60

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


61

RESEARCH JOURNAL


ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬

20 minutes

1 Hour 10 minutes

62


tes

inu

2m

2

tes

nu

i 5m

RESEARCH JOURNAL

1

tes

nu

i 0m

r1

ou

1H

tes

nu

i 0m

The checkpoint is elongated, stretched and morphed to present the length of time spent within each section emphasizing the distortion and slowness of time within.

63


‫نيابة عن الصوت‬ ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

East Jerusalem: ‘The Wall is

https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/201

64


RESEARCH JOURNAL choking us all’ - The Guardian

11/jun/08/east-jerusalem-israel-palestine-english

65


ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬

Qalandia Checkpoint Injuries - 2018

66


However this isn’t just done within the containment

In this way, the limbs themselves become a form of

of a body in space. But it extends the frontiers to

resistance, within which the body itself acts as the

the physical body itself - through the act of maiming.

site of resistance.

Here, instead of shooting to kill, Israeli soldiers are tasked with shooting at limbs. A protest in 2018 at Qalandia Checkpoint shows that 82% of all those

This

is

a

Asphyxiation

process -

that

where

you

Jasbir are

Puar,

slowing

coins

as

down

the

RESEARCH JOURNAL

ON BEHALF OF THE BODY

injured were shot in the lower limbs.

body within its own right. The lower limb is a biopolitical representation that the architecture of the checkpoint embodies.

However, the interest lies in the ways in which the individuals continue. They play football, swim, produce amateur prosthetics, go to school.

The

target here is not just the continuation of basic and bare life itself, but the act of the resistance itself.

ASPHYXIATION

noun

The state or process of being deprived of oxygen [time] which results in unconsciousness or death; [oppression or tyranny]: suffocation.

67


‫نيابة عن الصوت‬ ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

The limb as a form of resistance, in whic

68


RESEARCH JOURNAL

ch the body acts as the site of resistance

69


‫نيابة عن الصوت‬ ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

Language as a form of resistance, in which the mouth acts as the architecture of resistance.

70


I propose language as the form of resistance. In which the mouth acts as the architecture of resistance.

people to

navigate the city with their tongues without being understood.

The language that we speak, and the dialects in which

morphing) is a big part of the culture and identity that is being destroyed. It has a level of resolution that the AI softwares that track it, still do not.

As the current translation softwares understand most words, in a good number of dialects, the argument for their use is still considered viable.

The argument that has always been made to me, is that

RESEARCH JOURNAL

THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE MOUTH

we speak it (it’s delicate nuances, flexibility and

if you expose the nuances of this language - are you not helping the software

actually learn more?

However, here I propose adding to the language without exposing nuances that the software does not yet understand.

I’m proposing a protocol, or a method that would create a new form of cultural practice that allows

71


72

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


73

RESEARCH JOURNAL


‫نيابة عن الصوت‬ ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

Re-organizing the alphabetical order into a phonetical order, from the depth of the throat to the tip of the lips

74


I propose language as the form of resistance. In which

people to navigate the city with their tongues -

the mouth acts as the architecture of resistance.

without being understood.

The language that we speak, and the dialects in which we speak it (it’s delicate nuances, flexibility and morphing) is a big part of the culture and identity that is being destroyed. It has a level of resolution that the AI softwares that track it, still do not.

a words, in a good number of dialects, the argument for

‫ ط‬and a ‫ت‬,

‫ ص‬and a ‫س‬, a ‫ ض‬and a ‫د‬, which act from the same

part of the mouth. While they sound very similar, their use is still considered viable. softwares currently work to treat them as completely separate letters.

The argument that has always been made to me, is that

RESEARCH JOURNAL

Most arabic characters come in pairs, a As the current translation softwares understand most

if you expose the nuances of this language - are you I propose a phonetic shift in the our current arabic not helping the software

actually learn more? language system, where the letters don’t follow a

However, here I propose adding to the language without exposing nuances that the software does not yet understand.

typical,

systematical,

alphabetical

order

-

but

instead act much more naturally, following the order in which each utterance generates from, starting

‫ع‬

from the depth of your throat ‘ ’ to the tip of your I’m proposing a protocol, or a method that would

‫م‬

tongue and your lips ‘ ’.

create a new form of cultural practice that allows

75


Y

W

H

N

M

L

K

Q

F

GH ‘A ‘TH ‘TA

‘DA

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬

Z

NEW

H A

LIPS

76

W

Y

M

B

F

R

N

L

TH ‘TH

TH

DA ‘ T


TA T

SH

S

Z

R

TH DA KH ‘H

G

TH

T

B

A

A

RESEARCH JOURNAL

‘S

DIALECTAL PAIRINGS

Z

S

SH

G

‘DA ‘SA

Q

K

‘GH KH

‘H ‘A

THROAT

77


78

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


I propose language as the form of resistance. In which the mouth acts as the architecture of resistance.

people to

navigate the city with their tongues without being understood.

The language that we speak, and the dialects in which we speak it (it’s delicate nuances, flexibility and

that is being destroyed. It has a level of resolution that the AI softwares that track it, still do not.

As the current translation softwares understand most

RESEARCH JOURNAL

R E T U R N I N G T O T H E T E R R I T O RY

morphing) is a big part of the culture and identity

words, in a good number of dialects, the argument for their use is still considered viable.

The argument that has always been made to me, is that if you expose the nuances of this language - are you not helping the software

actually learn more?

This takes the position of the tongue as an However, here I propose adding to the language -

architecture, and a particular way of shelter

without exposing nuances that the software does not

from translation softwares. Where you train

yet understand.

your own body to speak in relation to the geographic location that you live in, work in,

Im proposing a protocol, or a method that would

shop in, or move through.

create a new form of cultural practice that allows

79


80

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


RESEARCH JOURNAL 1KM TELECOMMUNICATION TOWERS 81


‫نيابة عن الصوت‬ ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

From the deepest part of the city (and the deepe

82


RESEARCH JOURNAL

est part of the throat) out to the outskirts (the tip of the tongue and the lips)

1KM PROPOSAL OF LETTER PAIRINGS 83


84

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


85

RESEARCH JOURNAL


86

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


87

RESEARCH JOURNAL


88

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


[ T H E S T O RY ]

RESEARCH JOURNAL

‫ا لقصة‬

89


90

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


My proposal is a story. A dialogue of a mother and

still images,

daughters journey as they travel through space and and

time, crossing checkpoints, systems, and thresholds of dialectal change.

sounds, This takes form as a moving-image film, portraying act - in conversation alongside the reconstructions of space, and redrawing of elements.

occupy. It attempts to highlight the multiplicity of agents acting within the city, playing on a form of Deep-Mapping - where,

time

As they move through the city, from it’s periphery into its center, the resolution of the buildings, signals, voices and technologies increases. While as they navigate through the thresholds of dialectal

testimonies,

change,

the

programs

ability

to

understand

it

RESEARCH JOURNAL

D E E P M A P P I N G : A S T O RY

the convolution of the space in which these bodies

decreases. dialogues,

written speech, This map acts as a tool of time - representing the computer mis-translations,

length of time it takes for the body to move through space (both physically and digitally).

videos,

91


92

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


navigating through the city with their tongues.

RESEARCH JOURNAL

This is a story, about two dividuated bodies,

[The beginning of each scene portrays a narration, spoken by different voices as testimonies on behalf of the Territory, the Body & the Utterance - as each one is systematically oppressed.]

93


94

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


ABU DIS, WEST BANK

RESEARCH JOURNAL

S C E N E 1 : T H E I N V I S I B L E T E R R I T O RY

95


96

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


RESEARCH JOURNAL This map acts as a tool of time - representing the length of time it takes for the body to move through space (both physically and digitally).

97


98

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬

NARRATOR:

Ghadeer Khalil


It’s a story about bodies, in space and time - and it’s interconnectedness to language and dialogue.

.‫ ما بتبني باملرة بخرائط العلم رقمية‬،‫ قريه من قوري األدس‬،‫منطقة أبو ديس‬ .‫عشان تنديل عىل الطريق لزم تعتمدي عىل وصف السكان‬

The neighborhood of Abu Dis, on the periphery of Jerusalem,

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.‫ هأل صارت مقطوعة بحاجز وساعة ونص‬- ‫كانت زمان بس عرش دأيئ من األدس األدميه‬

is completely invisible in the digital world of navigation and mapping. In order to find your way there, you must rely on word of mouth. What was once only 10 minutes from the Old City, now sits - a checkpoint and 1 hour and a half away.

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ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE -

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬

DIALOGUE

‫م‬ ‫ب‬


‫م وظة؟‬ ‫بو ظة‬

[ICE-CREAM?]

‫موزة‬

‫م عدين‬

‫مس‬

‫حنطول‬

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[BANANA]

‫م الدور‬

‫بس بعدين حنطول بالدور‬

[BUT THEN WE WILL BE LONG IN LINE]

‫ناس معدي نحن طول مندور‬

[WE’VE BEEN AROUND ALL THE TIME]

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Pronunciation of the letter ‘ ’

‫م‬

‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


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QALQILYA CHECKPOINT

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SCENE 2: THE EXPOSED BODY

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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬

NARRATOR: Yara X


‫والبوابة هيه عبارة عن بوابة حديد إلكرتونية‬، ‫متعارف عليها عنا بإسم معاطى‬, ‫إلنها بتشبه االله إيل كانو يستعملوها‬ ‫لتنتيف ريش الجاج‬

The checkpoint consists of electronic metal gates, that we have coined as

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It’s a story about bodies, in space and time - and it’s interconnectedness to language and dialogue.

‘ma’ata’s’

‫معا طى‬ because they remind us of the devices used to pluck feathers off of a chicken.

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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


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DIALOGUE

‫ن‬ ‫ل‬


‫مشغ ن ين‬ ‫إ ن يوم‬

‫بس وحده‬

‫مشغلني بس وحده إليوم‬

[ONLY ONE IS OPEN TODAY]

‫مش إمغنيني بس إن يوم‬

‫يا مستعج ن‬ ‫است ل ى‬ ‫احيك ن ك‬

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[NOT SINGING, BUT ONE DAY]

‫يا مستعجل استنى احكيلك‬

[YOU IN A HURRY, WAIT LET ME TELL YOU]

‫ناس معدي نحن طول مندور‬

[OH WE ARE NOT GOING TO TAKE OUR WORDS]

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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


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‫’ن‬

Pronunciation of the letter ‘

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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


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THE OLD CITY, EAST JERUSALEM

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SCENE 3: THE ESSENTIAL UTTERANCE

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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬

NARRATOR:

Mohammad Badran


It’s a story about bodies, in space and time - and it’s interconnectedness to language and dialogue.

Due to the ain’s position as the innermost letter to emerge from the throat, its origins deep down in the throat are viewed as a sign

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‫ بعتربو أصوله يف أعامق الحلق‬- ‫بسبب موقع حرف العني كأعمق حرف إيل بطلع من الحلق‬ ‫ وأساس الصوت‬- ‫ والصوت األسايس‬- ‫كعالمة عىل أنه الصوت األول‬ ‫ و عن الروح‬- ‫ و عن النفس‬- ‫وهوه دليل عن الجسم‬

that it was the first sound, the essential sound, the foundation of the voice and a representation of body, of self and of soul.

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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬

DIALOGUE

‫ع‬ ‫ح‬


‫ع نطول؟‬ ‫حنطو ل ؟‬

[WILL WE BE LONG?]

‫عن طاعة‬

‫كيف‬ ‫ع والينة‬

‫ع نشوف‬ ‫الوداع‬

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[ABOUT TA’AA]

‫حنشوف كيف األوضاع حوالينا‬

[WE WILL SEE HOW THE SITUATION IS HERE]

‫عنشوفك حوالينا‬

[WE WILL SEE YOU AROUND US]

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‫ع‬

Pronunciation of the letter ‘ ’

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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


Therefore it is in the depth of the city - in it’s

It is crucial that this proposal remains utterly

most controlled - the depth of the mouth is used. It

verbal and unseen. There is power in the disappearance

is within these streets that the language is further

of sound as it moves through space and time, allowing

disseminated, morphed and adapted.

only that who speaks it to be able to disseminate it.

The

citizens

of

Jerusalem

treat

the

streets

as

their living rooms - from open-air markets, cafes,

shop owners play backgammon. The barber shop, the baker, calls to prayer, children playing football.

It

is

within

these

streets

where

the

dialectal

proposal takes on its own life. As seen with street

Finally, it is within this context, that the dividual can be redefined.

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bakeries, to the narrow pedestrian streets where

culture all around the world where language is rapidly adapted - this project seeks that the streets of the city become the database for this new resistance.

This database is to remain open and incomplete.

It is to change with the rapidly changing context of digital surveillance.

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‫نيابة عن الصوت‬


Dividual

adjective

di·​ v id·​ u ·​ a l | \ də̇ˈvijəwəl\

A product of a colonised and surveilled society.

of two

sociopolitical incidents within the limits of a single utterance.

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Who possesses a language that is a mixture

Who navigates between two consciousnesses of space internal and external - separated by oral and urban thresholds.

A body that completely belongs to the city, amalgamating into it as a flawed and undetectable glitch.

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ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE

ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE: THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE MOUTH

MEERA BADRAN ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART ADS8 2019/20

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