The cockpit recording of flight 93

[OctOct1]

I just heard a reporter read what was played to the jury. Anyone else??
One question.
Would they be saying Allah is the greatest in english???
It just seems to me it would have been said in there native language?
This was the first thing that hit me weird.

[Orrex]

1. Good question. Presumably, they knew they'd be recorded...

Maybe they thought it would be a bigger "screw you" to America to make their statement in English, thereby removing any likelihood that a translator would revise what they'd said?

But it is curious...

[LA lady]

2. they used both

Here is an article


"hijackers alternated between Arabic and English."

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060410023609990003&ncid=NWS00010000000001

Moussaoui Jurors Hear Flight 93 Tape
By MATTHEW BARAKAT, AP

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (April 12) - In the final minutes of doomed United Air Lines Flight 93, on Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers try to shake off passengers trying to take control of the plane as it flies over Pennsylvania. Amid groans and sounds of a struggle, a voice says, "I am injured." A hijacker asks, "Shall we finish it off?"

[Sammy Pepys]

3. GREAT question....n/t

...

[OctOct1]

4. Just to add

I learned somewhere. Perhaps my college course in World religions,
That one can not truly appreciate the Koran without the language.
Something is lost in the translation.
The essence and spirit is strengthened and enhanced with the language.
So why would there final words not be in Arabic????

The reporter must have been able to translate, because everything she read was english.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. If they were Muslims, they would have spoken Arabic

Hey, my first language is English, but when I say sacred phrases, like "God is Great", it's "Allah ho Akbar". This sounds phoney to me.

[OctOct1]

6. Thanks, You comfirmed my first instincts

Something smells funny.

[spanone]

8. Same thought.

[RaleighNCDUer]

7. Think this is weird?

Wait till the movie comes out.

Feeding frenzy.

[bmcatt]

9. Glad I'm not the only one who thought of this

I hadn't heard anything directly about the tapes until I caught it briefly during the first showing of Countdown tonight (and then finally was able to watch all of it during the rerun). At the time that I was watching it, I was struck by the implication, at least, that the hijackers were speaking English *to each other*.

My wife is a naturalized Russian. She's been in the US for 8 years, during which her English has dramatically improved. However, any time she speaks with another native Russian, she naturally switches into Russian. This is actually a sore spot for me because I have to constantly remind her to speak English so I can understand what's being said.

So... Why on earth would non-native English speakers use English when speaking to each other *ever*? This doesn't feel right to me.