arabic language..

Youness   Thu Nov 17, 2005 2:12 pm GMT
hello I m from morocco and I entered to this perfect site many times
I loved this site because it gives me a lote of informations and a lots of methods to how to learne english So affectively . thanks for tom and his friends. please my our friends I what realy know yours views and yours points importent of arabic language ? beacause all talk about the latins languages and you forgoten arabic
pleaze I want the answers
Good time with antimoon
Gjones2   Thu Nov 17, 2005 5:42 pm GMT
I can't read Arabic, and believe it would be difficult to learn for an English speaker. With Germanic and Romance languages, besides some grammatical similarities, the vocabulary is often related. This is rarely the case with Arabic. I once read part of a grammar a good many years ago, but don't really remember anything.

In the discussion here called "Dialogues With & Without Translations" I commented about being interested in sites that offer literal translations of classical works in Greek or Chinese. I'd also be interested in hearing about any sites that present Arabic works that way. I don't expect that I'll ever study the language enough to master it, but I might be willing to study enough to learn to decipher some passages and get a feeling for how the original is written.
Gjones2   Fri Nov 18, 2005 4:54 am GMT
Guest, I found something at that site about Arabic script, which seems rather complex, having different forms of the letters depending on their position in the word. That's one thing that has put me off about the language and discouraged me from trying to learn it. http://www.omniglot.com/writing/arabic.htm
Guest   Fri Nov 18, 2005 6:33 am GMT
I believe it's a "chuh chuh" language.
Gjones2   Sat Nov 19, 2005 8:26 pm GMT
I googled "chuh chuh language" and didn't find a single occurrence anywhere on the net.
*CarloS*   Sat Nov 19, 2005 9:53 pm GMT
I think Arabic is very useful in places like Africa and Asia... Although once I read there was no such thing as "Arabic" and that what we called "Arabic" was really "Egyptian Arabic" (considered standard) and that "Arabic" was made up of many dialects, some not mutually intelligible.

But well, my language has a lot of Arab influence. And, although the Christians from Spain expelled the Muslims (Moors) long time ago, there was this "cultural blend" in the Iberian Peninsula which we can see in Spanish art and architecture.

Also, Cordoba was once a caliphate, just like Baghdad. :)

The Hispanic Culture owes a lot to Arabs, like:
-The words that start with "ar" and "al"
-Important influence in art, architecture, etc...
-Cultural enrichment...
-And our well-known word "ojalá" which comes from "Oj-Alá". (Ojalá = Quiera Dios).
Gjones2   Mon Nov 21, 2005 3:12 pm GMT
>Well how would you write that "ch" sound?

Beyond using transliterations supplied by others I've had no experience in writing Arabic. If by "chuh chuh" language, you mean that Arabic sounds guttural, then you may be referring to the sound represented in X-SAMPA notation as [X\].
Gjones2   Mon Nov 21, 2005 4:02 pm GMT
>And our well-known word "ojalá" which comes from "Oj-Alá". (Ojalá = Quiera Dios). [*CarloS*]

The God part is clearly in there, but there's some dispute about the relationship between the modern Spanish meaning and the original Arabic. In Spanish 'ojalá' usually has about the same meaning as the English expression 'God willing' ('would to God', 'God grant', 'may'). It refers to something that may happen, and that the speaker often wishes to happen. The dictionary of the Real Academia (Royal Academy) gives this definition:

ojalá.
(Del ár. hisp. law šá lláh, si Dios quiere).
1. interj. Denota vivo deseo de que suceda algo.

Some etymologists believe that the original Arabic meant 'si Dios quisiera', an expression that makes the event seem less likely than either 'si Dios quiere' (present indicative) or 'si Dios quiera' (present subjunctive). Here's an etymology page in Chile that discusses this view, though I can't vouch for what's said about the Arabic. http://etimologias.dechile.net/?ojala.-

[Note the odd address. '-' is part of it.]
Gjones2   Mon Nov 21, 2005 4:38 pm GMT
This same site says that the Moors contributed 4,000 Arabic words to the Spanish language during the 700 years that they occupied Spain. Here's a page about 'algebra', which of course also occurs in English. http://etimologias.dechile.net/?a.lgebra

It lists some of the better known words of Arabic origin. English speakers will recognize some of them (e.g., algorithm, alchemy, almanac, alcohol, admiral, sugar [azúcar], café, soda). Note that this list includes 'tabaco' too. Usually the English word 'tobacco' is derived from the American Indians (like the product itself). It may be, though, that the Spaniards applied a familiar word of Arabic origin to an American plant that they thought had similar effects, and this led to the English word. http://etimologias.dechile.net/?tabaco

"* muchas palabras que empiezan por "AL" : albóndiga, alcantarilla, alcázar, aldea, alfil, alfombra, algarabía, algodón, alhaja, almacén, almanaque, Almudena, alquería y alubia.
* varias palabras con la letra 'H' al medio: almohada y zanahoria.
* el sistema numeral ( 0,1,2,3,4,5,...) y palabras como: álgebra, y algoritmo.
* términos relacionados con substancias y la química: alquimia, aceite, alcohol, azúcar, café, soda, y tabaco.
* palabras que se refieren a la organización política: alcalde, alcaide, alférez y almirante
* varios topónimos: Andalucía, Ceuta, Gibraltar, Guadalajara, Guadalquivir y Madrid.
* y estas otras palabras: ajedrez, asesino, azafata, ensaimada, jaqueca y serendipitoso."
Jenny   Sun Dec 04, 2005 7:03 am GMT
I hav a very important question, i need to know how to pronounce this name in Arabic, Najib Mahfouz. Would anyone here be able to phonemically write out the sounds? Please contact me back at my email, aprilfools404@hotmail.com. Thank you for your time.
greg   Sun Dec 04, 2005 10:33 am GMT
Salut Youness et bonjour au Maroc !

Voici un lien où tu trouveras des infos sur les mots arabes passés dans les langues européennes : http://www.langcafe.net/viewtopic.php?t=469 .
Hussam   Mon Dec 05, 2005 4:24 pm GMT
To pronounce Najib Mahfouz is this way:

Mahfouz |mä?fo?z| Mahfouz, Naguib(1911– ),
Egyptian novelist and short-story writer. Notable works: Miramar (1967) and Wedding Song (1981). Nobel Prize for Literature (1988).

All Best
Hussamksa@gmail.com

Middle East.
Saudi Arabia
Youness   Sun Dec 25, 2005 3:20 pm GMT
thank you greg
Larissa   Sun Dec 25, 2005 9:02 pm GMT
I only know one word in arabic, and that word is "saha" thanks in English!:)
Youness   Sat Feb 04, 2006 5:47 pm GMT
hello again
I really want to thanks all larissa fom the known of 1 word (saha). but I advice you if you want to discuse more and more clearly with an arabic man you must learn other words, for ex: Salam=Hello and Chokranne=thanks and Ohibok= I love you.
there is more lovely words but I think I must creat a Site like that for Arabic language. Thank