Miscommunication

CAIRO, Egypt - An American cargo ship under contract to the U.S. Navy opened fire on a small Egyptian boat while moving through the Suez Canal, the U.S. military said Tuesday in a statement. Egyptian authorities said at least one man was killed, but the U.S. said it had no reports of casualties. "The boats were hailed and warned by a native Arabic speaker using a bullhorn to warn them to turn away. A warning flare was then fired," said a statement from the U.S. embassy in Cairo. "One small boat continued to approach the ship and received two sets of warning shots 20-30 yards in front of the bow."- BBC News.

First, Americans don't understand that Ay-rabs shoot in the air as a sign of celebration. Second, here is what US intelligence means by "native Arabic speaker":

iPod being used by Army as Arabic translator in Iraq

Vcommunicator Mobile is a hardware/software setup (the iPod straps to your arm and gets a small speaker hooked up to it) that allows soldiers in Iraq to "speak" Arabic by choosing and playing certain phrases through an iPod-like interface. Very interesting, the Arabic text even shows up on the screen as the sound clip is being played, and phonetic translations and simulated graphics of suggested gestures for each phrase are included in the browser.