Abu Dhabi - February Arablish

A Woeful Situation and Heavy Blood

Arabic can be fun and funny when translated literally into other languages. A Western friend asked me to explain the phrase “haltak hallah” (something told him by an Arab man). I told him that “hallah” (that’s with a strong ‘h’) translates to “situation”. So the phrase translates to “Your situation is a situation.” (Huh???) Well, it is more of an assertion, a reiteration. “Your situation IS definitely a situation”. Not easy to explain but makes total sense if you’re an Arab. My friend also asked me about a colleague at work who, whenever exasperated, would cry out loud: “roh ballat al bahr.” The literal meaning of this is ‘go pave the sea’ i.e. go do the impossible. If said casually this could be close to “go catch a fish” but if uttered in anger, could be more like: ‘get the hell out of here.”

Dileep from Sharjah sent us an email asking “My boss always tells me ‘damak thakeel’ – should I be upset?” Literally, Dileep, it means “your blood is heavy” and normally this phrase describes someone who is dull, slow or just unpleasant. But how he says conveys real meaning. If said casually, it could just be a humorous comment. Indeed, in some Arabic cultures “damak thakeel” is sometimes said to a baby as a teasing endearment, kind of like “you little rascal, you.”

If you are a language enthusiast check out www.yamli.com. It is an interesting website, still in beta phase, that was developed by Habib Hadad, a Lebanese entrepreneur who cofounded INLET (International Network of Lebanese Entrepreneurs and Technologists). Yamli.com offers a smart Arabic keyboard that allows you to spell out an Arabic word the way you would pronounce it. Yamli converts whatever you write using English letters to the corresponding Arabic word, in real-time. Hard to explain, but definitely something there. Check it out.

We want to hear from you. Send your comments to arablish@abudhabitempo.com