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This level of generosity is also thoroughly ingrained in the American culture... at least in the various Christian communities I am part of. I've played these kind of tricks and had them played on me several times, and I've seen dogmatic-yet-friendly arguements about who gets to take the bill =)
...and most of these people are so unfamiliar with the Arab culture that they probably couldn't tell you something basic such as how many times per day a Muslim should pray or where exactly Arabic is and isn't spoken.
So, because this is what our hosts say about the Arabic culture too, I'd be inclined to believe that this level of generosity is not scarce in the Arabic world - even if it does vary a bit. -
I agree..the addition of "khalinii..."(allow me) among other words may be confusing to some users. I also think it's great that you're adding it in- because once you reach an intermediate level, it's somewhat assumed that you can make the distinction between dialect and Fus7a. But just in case, it may be safer in the future to point out(in the end) which phrases are common in dialect and which are strictly fus7a. Other than that, mumtaaz, ya shabaab.
Btw- what was it that you always say at "1:15" - Li-nism3a li-al nos? Let's listen to the text?
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Halast7, tata, duhelms and Afreeqiya;
Shokran for your comments.. let me clarify some facts about dialects in Arabic.
People (including Arabs sometimes) think that if a word is used in dialect, then it is not fus7a.
This is not true,, so many words that we use in dialect are Fus7a, or have a fus7a origin, but because people use it in daily basis, they think this word is only dialect.
For instance,, (7’alleny), we use it everyday as dialect,, but it is pure fus7a,, it comes from (7’alla) which means (to leave or to allow) and the suffix is to indicate (me).
So many other words have this,, people in the street who don’t study the fus7a, they mix things because of lacking of knowledge.
Anyway, I agree about highlighting some of these matters within the lesson itself.
Afreeqiya,, (Li nasma3 alna9) means (lets listen to the text).. so, you are right.. Well done.
Ta7eyyaati
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Very much enjoyed this one :-)
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its fantastic
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salam... i have also heard the word al Hissab i know it can mean the bill or to add up! when can this be used?
allah maak -
Salam alaikum,
I was wondering whether mi7fa6'a refers mainly to a man's wallet (as is usually the case in English) or whether it refers to both a wallet and a purse, so it's for both male and female.
Jazakallahu khairan -
Good point Leila;
me7fa6'a is used as man's wallet (same case as English) and the woman's purse is called jozdaan or jezdaan,, I can say that jezdan is not classical and it does not have an Arabic root therefore I would say it came from other languages (probably Turkish). Also I heard jozdaan used in some Arab countries as man's wallet, but it is more common to be used as woman's purse.
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Yes saj159 ;
7esaab means adding up and it indicates the adding up of the money, therefore, you can say: adfa3 al 7esaab. Remember Fatoorah means (bill) only.
Salaaam -
Hi,
To say "it's my turn now" can you also say دوري هذه مرّة to say "it's my turn this time"? -
Yes you can, but don't forget the (الـ) before (مرة), so the sentence is ( دوري هذه المرة)
Intermediate - Bill's on me
February 19th, 2008 | 1 comment |
In the Arab culture you find that everybody's just far too generous sometimes; always insisting on paying the bill. Some of you may think this sounds great, who wouldn't? At first maybe... but then when you eventually decide it's your turn to do the treating, you end up having to battle hard in order for your dinner mate to allow you this right! The tricks people get up to to try to pay without the other realising and striving to stop them! Hear the dialogue to find out one such trick, believe me this really does happen! Listen in, get a slice of Arabic culture and a piece of the action in this intermediate level podcast.
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I like the idea of incoporating some cultural aspects in your lessons, however, it is only valid for your local region and as you know these vary greatlty across the Arab World, sometimes even within the same country.
So perhpas, it would be good to tell the listeners when you are using dialect and also where it is spoken exactly.
Everything else is brilliant, well done!!!