David Wilmsen is Professor of Arabic in the Department of Arabic and Near Eastern Languages at The American University of Beirut. He has spent 30 years studying Arabic, and 20 years living in Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon. He has previously held posts at The American University in Cairo and Georgetown University, and his work has been published in a number of journals including Zeitschrift für Arabische Linguistik, Journal of Semitic Studies, and Arabica.