@osamabawab First of all, there are bawabs in Doha? Haha.
Ok, end of jokes. So, I know this might seem to be complicated, but is most certainly not. What makes Arabic complicated in my opinion (I am not a native speaker, obviously) is that many students start learning, not realizing there are overlapping letters that people write the same. They do not distinguish them, so when talking to people they evaluate 5 (kh), 7 (H, as in Ba7rain), and h (huwwa, "he") to be the exact same letter. They cannot understand why native speakers do not understand them, they do not recognize why similar words are not even similar, and it infuriates them. The h distinction is the most obvious; there are many others. I just point this out because it is not so complicated, and recognizing studying Arabic without the script in the first place is bad. Using a really simple way of writing them in English letters is even worse, since the confusion starts after people settle into their habits.
Thanks for putting up the list. Here is the full list I have seen on Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_chat_alphabet
Note to others who are learning: there is some variation, but osamabawab has correctly identified the important ones that the majority will understand. The other variations on WP that contradict are not so important.
Alharaka, thanks a lot for the explanation. Unfortunately, many of these are way over my head right now. Writing in Arabic and making sense of the Arabic letters and how they are pronounced when put together would really be a big challenge for me.
At present, non-Arabic speakers like me are just glad to learn a few words and phrases which we can sometimes combine with English to impress our Arabic-speaking colleagues.
Anyway, please do check my posts as I will continue to run a similar thread on a daily basis. Thanks again.
Yeah, it is problematic. The ' in sarii' is very different from bati'. In sarii', it is the letter ayn, which is akin to a very quick choking noise (sorry for the offense, but this it the only working explanation I can find for novices to understand). In bati', it is a hamza, which is a glottal stop. This is kind of like the 'o' in the stereotyped British pronunciation of bottle. It is called an aspired stop. So, I suggest you start using Arabic leet speak (which is what we in SMS to distinguish). It will help you a little; sometimes add and websites are written in it:
sarii' -> saree3 (ii/ee is fine to me, but I prefer ee; just so long as you know it is a longer version of the vowel)
batee2 (The 2 is the hamza, so now you can differentiate from the ')
I know you are not the first to use this system, but as a non-native speaker, you are hurting yourself by confusing many different sounds with the same letters. Learn the alphabet, it makes life a lot easier. I know how trouble if anyone writes it in non-Arabic script, because it shows both native and non-native speakers have varied understandings of the language, most of them based on opinon, not fact.
the H in "bahrain" should be pronounced like the serpent sound and the letter is حـ
there is H which has to be pronounced like in "he, horn, hat" and the arabic example is "haza = This for male, howa = he, hadeya = gift" in this case the letter is هـ
In Arabic, you really have to enunciate or pronounce the letter "H", such as in the word "Bahrain" which comes out as Baharain. This is something that English speakers will have to get used to when learning Arabic.
hmmm it leads me to suggest that qatarliving should post arabic word and translation every day. A good way to learn arabic words particularly those new in middle east. MOD fo inclusion if possible. ;-)
That would be a good way to associate it with something, LincolnPirate. So from now on, when I see someone wearing a sari, I would immediately remember that it also means "fast" in Arabic.
Rizks, this is about us trying to learn one or two Arabic words per day so that we will eventually have a wider Arabic vocabulary, which we can use in our day-to-day interaction with Arabic speakers.
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alharaka: you are not a native speaker??? then how did you learn all of this things! good for u and thanks for your notes
@osamabawab First of all, there are bawabs in Doha? Haha.
Ok, end of jokes. So, I know this might seem to be complicated, but is most certainly not. What makes Arabic complicated in my opinion (I am not a native speaker, obviously) is that many students start learning, not realizing there are overlapping letters that people write the same. They do not distinguish them, so when talking to people they evaluate 5 (kh), 7 (H, as in Ba7rain), and h (huwwa, "he") to be the exact same letter. They cannot understand why native speakers do not understand them, they do not recognize why similar words are not even similar, and it infuriates them. The h distinction is the most obvious; there are many others. I just point this out because it is not so complicated, and recognizing studying Arabic without the script in the first place is bad. Using a really simple way of writing them in English letters is even worse, since the confusion starts after people settle into their habits.
Thanks for putting up the list. Here is the full list I have seen on Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_chat_alphabet
Note to others who are learning: there is some variation, but osamabawab has correctly identified the important ones that the majority will understand. The other variations on WP that contradict are not so important.
alharaka: in this case we should start teaching all as following:
2 => hamza (batee' = bate2 = slow)
3 => ayen (Saree' = Saree3 = Fast)
5 => khaa' (Khaer = 5er = well-being)
6 => Taa' (Tareek = 6areek = road)
7 => haa' (Bahrain = Ba7rain = country name)
9 => sad (soof = 9oof = wool)
but i don't think that it is correct to teach the complicated things from the beginning
Alharaka, thanks a lot for the explanation. Unfortunately, many of these are way over my head right now. Writing in Arabic and making sense of the Arabic letters and how they are pronounced when put together would really be a big challenge for me.
At present, non-Arabic speakers like me are just glad to learn a few words and phrases which we can sometimes combine with English to impress our Arabic-speaking colleagues.
Anyway, please do check my posts as I will continue to run a similar thread on a daily basis. Thanks again.
Yeah, it is problematic. The ' in sarii' is very different from bati'. In sarii', it is the letter ayn, which is akin to a very quick choking noise (sorry for the offense, but this it the only working explanation I can find for novices to understand). In bati', it is a hamza, which is a glottal stop. This is kind of like the 'o' in the stereotyped British pronunciation of bottle. It is called an aspired stop. So, I suggest you start using Arabic leet speak (which is what we in SMS to distinguish). It will help you a little; sometimes add and websites are written in it:
sarii' -> saree3 (ii/ee is fine to me, but I prefer ee; just so long as you know it is a longer version of the vowel)
batee2 (The 2 is the hamza, so now you can differentiate from the ')
I know you are not the first to use this system, but as a non-native speaker, you are hurting yourself by confusing many different sounds with the same letters. Learn the alphabet, it makes life a lot easier. I know how trouble if anyone writes it in non-Arabic script, because it shows both native and non-native speakers have varied understandings of the language, most of them based on opinon, not fact.
Hey Brit... LOL! We should start a new thread on how to get them off quickly... maybe a few 'practical' sessions as well?!!!
;-)
i think they are related...coz if you are wearing sari(indian clothing) it is much quicker to undress. LOL
the H in "bahrain" should be pronounced like the serpent sound and the letter is حـ
there is H which has to be pronounced like in "he, horn, hat" and the arabic example is "haza = This for male, howa = he, hadeya = gift" in this case the letter is هـ
In Arabic, you really have to enunciate or pronounce the letter "H", such as in the word "Bahrain" which comes out as Baharain. This is something that English speakers will have to get used to when learning Arabic.
The problem is pronuncing Arabic..most of the words/sound comes from the throat and our phonetics is totally different...:)
in formal arabic: "Al Landcruiser sarii' jeddan"
in local arabic: "Al Landcruiser wayed sarii'"
Thanks, osamabawab. Britexpat was asking how to say "The landcruiser is very fast." Please translate for everyone's information.
dpatrick here are some occupations:
Mohaseb = Accountant
Mohandes = Engineer
Modeer = Manager
Najjar = Carpenter
Banna = Mason
Harami = Thief
Lobot, I think "harami" means "thief".
harami is _________
Hi guys, if you're interested in learning how to say some insults in Arabic, you should check back to yesterday's related post:
http://www.qatarliving.com/node/1793875
Damn! Has Mrs. expat been talking again :o(
hmmm it leads me to suggest that qatarliving should post arabic word and translation every day. A good way to learn arabic words particularly those new in middle east. MOD fo inclusion if possible. ;-)
Brit is very slow = Brit inta shoea shoea...:)
Mushmis = Kishmish = Dry grapes....:)
Ghaaim = Gham = Sorrow....:(
brit, but doesn't that technique make the girl fly away?
lol brit....
Did you ever play with "spinning tops" when you were younger ?
If so, you will realise that the Sari can be removed very quickly using the same method :o)
Rizks did you learn yesterday's lessons?
ok tell me what is Mushmis and Ghaaim ?
How do you say .. Brit is very slow? lol
LP have you ever tried taking a sari off? :)
dpatrick, I guess it takes a long time to take the sari off. It's a lot of cloth. So you've gotta be fast. There is the ultimate connection.
How do you say - The landcruiser is very fast ?
That would be a good way to associate it with something, LincolnPirate. So from now on, when I see someone wearing a sari, I would immediately remember that it also means "fast" in Arabic.
asra'a
Isn't a 'sari' an Indian cloth?
Rizks, this is about us trying to learn one or two Arabic words per day so that we will eventually have a wider Arabic vocabulary, which we can use in our day-to-day interaction with Arabic speakers.
Shunu haada ?