Arab idioms
| From: | Fabian <rhialto@...> |
|---|
| Date: | Tuesday, August 24, 1999, 17:22 |
|---|
A few I came across while browsing a book on colloquial Arabic that just
happened to be lying around the house. The book is old - teh price tag is
twelve shillings and six pence!
ya gemel el-bet - O camel of the house [women's cry wailing for teh dead
master of a house]
el-hamdu li-llah - praise be to god [standard rsponse to 'how are you?']
itwakkil - commend yourself (to god) [go away]
Three different possessive particles, plus a fourth using apposition.
a door of wood (composed of)
a house of John's (owning)
a book of John's (carrying)
And one other whioch also means 'carrying'.
Coming soon: the "at the shop" dialog from "Colloquial Arabic", including
"bartering for beginners"!
---
Fabian
If a flying horse ye see, mock ye not if it stays up not.