Arabic Lessons
I’m a typical Brit insomuch as I only speak the one language, English; though many may argue that as a Northerner I don’t even speak that! His nibs on the other-hand speaks fluent French as well as English, well he is French Canadian. Of course Arabic is the official language in Dubai, though at times you’d be forgiven for thinking it was English. Dubai is very multicultural; in fact only 20% of the population are Emirati. Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, Sri Lankan, South African and Brits amongst others, make up the majority of the populous, consequently English is the one language most people here can understand. Sad but true. Arabic is not an easy language to learn and if I’m honest I haven’t really tried, there are however some Arabic words and sayings that I do know. As some phrases don’t have a direct English translation it’s very common to hear a conversation in English, peppered with Arabic.
The first and most important phrase is Assalam’alaikoom, its direct translation is peace be with you, but it’s how you greet someone in Arabia. The reply is ‘alaikoom Assalam, and it’s considered quite rude not to reply this way. Al hamdu lillah means thank God and very widely used, as in Islam everything happens according to Allah’s will. It’s not uncommon to hear an Emirati claim al hamdu lillah for the simplest of things; e.g. if you ask how are you? The response is likely to be; I’m good al hamdu lillah. Probably the word used most regularly by expats is Inshaallah. In translation it means God willing; in reality it is a ready made excuse for everything. Let me explain; your fridge dies 2 months after the warranty runs out, it’s taken away for repair (that you must pay for) and when you ask how long it will take, they say “one week inshaallah”. Of course two weeks later it’s not ready and you are still without a fridge; it’s very difficult to argue when the excuse is that God didn’t will it! Maybe the best translation for inshaallah is hopefully.
My favourite Arabic work is Halas; it means done, and has a variety of uses, e.g. when you have enough food on your plate “halas” means no more, if you’ve reached the end of your tether with the fridge repair men “halas” means the end. A truly versatile word often accompanied with actions; you slide your palms against each other twice, almost like washing your hands of something. Another favourite is yallah, it means lets go; at the end of the night if offered another drink you could say, “Halas, yallah”; meaning I’m done, lets go. The obvious words for us Brits are; please: min fadhlik, thank you: shukran, and you're welcome: afwan. Finally the most important phrase especially when using the local taxi service is shway - shway, meaning slower, slower.
A westerner using these words in Dubai is not likely to raise any interest but when in other parts of the region any attempt at Arabic is very much appreciated. When we travelled to Egypt we found that a simple Assalam’alaikoom and shukran to waiters was enough to surround our table with the entire restaurant staff. They were quite honestly delighted that we knew several local phrases. This proved very useful; we never waited for food or for our glasses to be topped up, even though many other dinners did! See a little effort goes a long way. Here endeth the lesson….
The first and most important phrase is Assalam’alaikoom, its direct translation is peace be with you, but it’s how you greet someone in Arabia. The reply is ‘alaikoom Assalam, and it’s considered quite rude not to reply this way. Al hamdu lillah means thank God and very widely used, as in Islam everything happens according to Allah’s will. It’s not uncommon to hear an Emirati claim al hamdu lillah for the simplest of things; e.g. if you ask how are you? The response is likely to be; I’m good al hamdu lillah. Probably the word used most regularly by expats is Inshaallah. In translation it means God willing; in reality it is a ready made excuse for everything. Let me explain; your fridge dies 2 months after the warranty runs out, it’s taken away for repair (that you must pay for) and when you ask how long it will take, they say “one week inshaallah”. Of course two weeks later it’s not ready and you are still without a fridge; it’s very difficult to argue when the excuse is that God didn’t will it! Maybe the best translation for inshaallah is hopefully.
My favourite Arabic work is Halas; it means done, and has a variety of uses, e.g. when you have enough food on your plate “halas” means no more, if you’ve reached the end of your tether with the fridge repair men “halas” means the end. A truly versatile word often accompanied with actions; you slide your palms against each other twice, almost like washing your hands of something. Another favourite is yallah, it means lets go; at the end of the night if offered another drink you could say, “Halas, yallah”; meaning I’m done, lets go. The obvious words for us Brits are; please: min fadhlik, thank you: shukran, and you're welcome: afwan. Finally the most important phrase especially when using the local taxi service is shway - shway, meaning slower, slower.
A westerner using these words in Dubai is not likely to raise any interest but when in other parts of the region any attempt at Arabic is very much appreciated. When we travelled to Egypt we found that a simple Assalam’alaikoom and shukran to waiters was enough to surround our table with the entire restaurant staff. They were quite honestly delighted that we knew several local phrases. This proved very useful; we never waited for food or for our glasses to be topped up, even though many other dinners did! See a little effort goes a long way. Here endeth the lesson….
posted by Bev @ 3:22 pm
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