This Jordanian Life: November 2013

Correct Arabic is obviously the goal, but since most of us here are not at an adequate level, we get by on a hilarious blending of Arabiy and Ingleeziy that is affectionately known as "Arabeeziy." Even for the earliest beginner, there are some Arabic words that are just BETTER than any English translation (and vice versa, of course), and they are usually the first set of words to become second nature. I imagine that they will also be the stickiest words, the ones we continue to use even after we come back to the States. Disclaimer: most of these words are "3amiyya" or slang, and are not technically "correct".

1) Ah -- "ah" does not mean "I understand," it actually means "yes." This was one of the first words I picked up on, probably because it's monosyllabic!

2) "clicking your teeth" -- I know this isn't a word, but it's ubiquitous. When someone clicks their teeth, they are saying "no." It's not rude, and they're not "tsk"ing you, they're just saying no. So don't get mad at me if I ever do this to you.

3) The Allah expressions -- like the use of "God" in English, they are often not religious
   a. Yallah! -- Let's go! Or sometimes, Go ahead!
   b. Mashallah! -- Literally, "God protect", but people use it as "OMG!"
   c. Al hamdulillah -- "By the grace of God" or "thanks be to god." People sometimes use it just as     an affirmative answer to a question (Do you have children? Al hamdulillah.), or as a response to "how are you?", which is amazing because it evades the question entirely. Whether you're amazing or terrible, it's all thanks to God. People also say it whenever something good happens.
   d. Bismillah -- "in the name of God." This phrase starts all prayers, but people also use it kind of like OMG or maybe even like "oh God, really?" It usually signals some level of exasperation, like bismillah I really cannot believe what you're doing right now.
   e. Inshallah -- "If God wills." ALWAYS used to talk about anything (positive or desirable) in the future, no matter how certain it seems. It is a constant reminder of the unpredictability of life and the inadequacy of human planning. My classmate said to me 5 MINUTES before class "I'll see you in class, inshallah." Literally.

4) Ya Salaam!! -- "Ya" is a particle used to address someone directly, kind of like "hey" but not informal, and "salaam" of course means "peace." People use it as a positive exclamation, sometimes like "OMG" but more often like "awww yeah!" The last syllable is almost always drawn out -- ya salaaaaaaam!

5) y3ani -- Literally "it means", but is used as THE filler word ("like" or "you know"). It can be put anywhere and everywhere in a sentence, and unlike English, it is often the last word in a sentence. "I don't know, y3ani. Maybe tomorrow, inshallah."

6) khalas -- Either "finished" or "enough," but again, not rude on its own (only made rude by intonation). People also verb-ify it: khalastu as in "I'm finished" or khalasna as in "we're finished". A server coming to clear your plates will ask you "khalas?" Or, if someone's talking too much and you want to shut them up: "KHALAS Y3ANI!"

7) Tfadl/ tfadli -- I'm really not sure how to translate this one. It means (kinda) "at your pleasure/ preference", but is used to sort of invite or welcome someone to do something. It is very polite. If you're in a store or restaurant, it means "how can I help you?" Someone would also say it while opening a door for you or offering you something -- inviting you to accept the favor, the cookie, the turn in a game, the seat at the table, whatever it may be. It's like "you're welcome to this." I really wish we had an English equivalent.

8) Adding Arabic prefixes and suffixes to English words -- especially "al" to make something definite (replacing "the") or adding "ee" to the end of a word to make it possessive (my). e.g. I went to al-concert but when I got there I couldn't find ticketsee!

There are so many more but they should probably come in installments. I hope you found this list mumtastic (mumtaz + fantastic)!

Sorry for the hiatus -- our internet is so terrible we can barely check email, and blogger apparently requires a lot of bandwidth or whatever. Anyway, I think 3 weekends ago we took a little day trip to one of Jordan's historic Northern towns, Ajloun. I think we intended to do more exploring, but the 12th c. castle was so amazing we ended up spending the whole afternoon there. Unlike in the US or Europe, there were no rules, no monitoring, no roped off sections or "no entry" signs; everything was open for walking around, leaning over, sitting on or even climbing on. It was spectacularly beautiful (we both commented how ironic it was that often the most beautiful ancient ruins were those originally built for the purpose of war), and the view from the top was insane. We were told we were looking all the way across Palestine to Lebanon. To top it off, it had drizzled while were inside the castle, and when we got to the roof there was a huge rainbow in perfect view. What does it mean!?!?