Learning Arabic was a goal of Munyan’s since she moved to the Middle East but it was an unexpected stint in acting that kicked off her love affair with the language.

intimacy in conversations. Using the dialect of the person with whom you are speaking eases the flow of conversation and builds trust. That is precisely why 29-yearold American Shannon Munyan has garnered a massive fan following on YouTube — her Hijazi Arabic, or Western Saudi Arabian Arabic, is almost flawless. Entirely self-taught, she surprises her Arab acquaintances, many of whom do not expect an American to speak with such a spot-on accent. Known regionally as “Al- A’ameeya Al- Amrekeeya ma’a Shannon,” the Internet sensation teaches native Arabic speakers some English, with a particular focus on idioms and slang. As is perhaps expected for a rising YouTube celebrity, it is marriage proposals galore for Munyan. “I get a fair number of ‘how much is your dowry’ and ‘ where does your father live so I can ask for your hand in marriage’ type of questions,” Munyan told Arab News.

The rising star grew up in Virginia, in the US, and did her bachelor’s degree in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She has been based in Dubai since 2010 and works for Saudi media company MBC.

Learning Arabic was a goal of Munyan’s since she moved to the Middle East but it was an unexpected stint in acting that kicked off her love affair with the language.

At MBC, she sought to score a role in a Ramadan comedy show called “WiFi” which tackles issues in Gulf society. The director told her she would need to speak Khaleeji or Hijazi Arabic in order to fit in with the rest of the cast. Munyan soon mastered the language and embellished her spoken Arabic with a littering of Hijazi words and phrases.

“At the time, I had no idea what Hijazi was, but I quickly found out and started searching for an