Arabic_for_Dummies

156 Part II: Arabic in Action

Beginning a phone conversation

You can begin a phone conversation in a number of ways. The most common, whether you’re the caller or the person answering the phone, is to simply say allo (all-low; hello).

It’s proper etiquette to state your name right after the person who picks up the phone says allo, particularly if you don’t know that person. If you’re the caller, you may say ‘anaa (an-nah; I am) followed by your name. Alternatively, you may say haadhaa (M) / haadhihi (F) (haa-zaah / haa-zee-hee; this is) followed by your name. A familiar phrase you can also use after you say allo is ‘as-salaamu ‘alaykum (ass-sa-laam-ou a-lai-koum; hello) or ‘ahlan wa sahlan

(ahel-lan wah sahel-lan; hi). Flip to Chapter 3 for more on greetings and making small talk.

Talkin’ the Talk

Kamal calls his friend Rita at home.

Kamal:

Rita:

Kamal:

Rita:

Kamal:

Rita:

Kamal:

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Asking to speak to someone

Sometimes, a person other than the one you want to talk to answers the phone. A common phrase to help you ask for the person you called to speak with is hal (insert name here) hunaa? (hal [name] hoo-naah), which means “Is (name) here?”

Alternatively you can also use the personal pronouns huwa (if the person you’re looking for is a man) or hiya (in the case of a woman) instead of using the person’s name.

Talkin’ the Talk

Kamal calls his friend Rita at home. Rita’s mom, Souad, answers the phone, and Kamal asks to speak with Rita.

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Words to Know

Making Plans Over the Phone

The phone is useful not only for staying in touch with friends and family but also for making mawaa’id ‘ijtimaa’iiyya (mah-waah-eed eej-tee-maah-ee-yah; social arrangements) as well as mawaa’id ‘amalliya (mah-waah-eed ahm-ahl- ee-yah; business arrangements). This section covers the specific terminology you need for each of these situations.

Making social plans

If you’re talking with a friend, you’re free to be a bit more informal than if you were calling a business. Some common words to help you make social arrangements with your friends are:

hayyaa binaa! (hah-yaah bee-naah; Let’s go!)

maT’am (ma-tam; restaurant)

siiniimaa (see-nee-mah; movie theater)

matHaf (maht-haf; museum)

waqt faarigh (wah-ket faa-ree-gh; free time)

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Talkin’ the Talk

Selma calls her friend Mark on his haatif selulayr (cellphone) so that they can make dinner plans.

Selma: allo. all-low.

Hello.

Mark: allo. all-low.

Hello.

Selma: ahlan mark. haadhihi selma. ahel-lan mark. haa-zee-hee selma.

Hi Mark. This is Selma.

Mark: ahlan selma! shukran li mukaalamatukii. ahel-lan selma! Shook-ran lee moo-kaa-lah-mah- too-kee.

Hi Selma! Thanks for your call.

Selma: ‘afwan. kayf Haalak? ah-feh-wan kay-ef haa-lak?

You’re welcome. How are you?

Mark: al-Hamdu li-llah. wah ‘anti? al-ham-doo li-llah. wah ahn-tee?

I’m doing well. And you?

Selma: al-Hamdu li-llah. hal ‘induka waqt faarigh ghadan? al-ham-doo lee-lah. hall een-doo-kah wah-ket faa-ree-gh gha-dan?

I’m doing well. Do you have any free time tomorrow?

Kamal: na’am. ‘anaa mawjood ma’a as-saa’a as-saadisa. nah-am. ah-nah maw-juud mah-ah ah-sah-ah ah-sah-dee-sah.

Yes. I’m free around 6:00.

Selma: hal turiidu ‘an tadh-hab ma’ii ‘ilaa al’maT’am ma’a as-saa’a as-saabi’a?

hall too-ree-du ann taz-hab ma-eeh ee-laah al-ma-tam ma-ah ass-saa-ah ass-saa-bee-ah?

Would you like to go with me to the restaurant at 7:00?

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Words to Know

Making business appointments

Arranging personal get-togethers with friends or family is always fun, but at times you have to conduct business over the haatif, whether you’re setting up a maou’id (maw-oo-eed; appointment) with the dentist or arranging a business ‘ijtimaa’ (eej-tee-maah; meeting) with a client. Interacting with businesses in Arabic requires specific terminology.

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Talkin’ the Talk

Susan is calling the Rialto, a company in Casablanca. She reaches the katiba (kah-tee-bah; secretary) and asks to speak with Mr. Ahmed.

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Words to Know

Leaving a Message

Sometimes you just run out of luck and can’t get a hold of the person you’re trying to reach. You’re forced to leave a khabaran (khah-bah-ran; message) either on a voice mailbox or with a person.

Dealing with voice mail

When you leave a voice mail message on someone’s haatif, you want to make sure to include the following:

Your ‘ism (ee-seh-m; name)

The waqt al-mukaalama (wah-ket al-muh-kaah-lah-mah; time of the call)

Your raqm al-haatif (rah-kem al-haa-teef; phone number or callback number)

The ahsan waqt li al-mukaalama (ahe-sahn wah-ket lee al-muh-kaah-lah- mah; best times you’re available to talk)

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Selma tries to reach Karim by phone but gets this recording instead:

‘ahlan, haadhaa kareem. ‘anaa lastu hunaa wa lakin ‘idhaa takallamta ‘ismuka wa raqamuka sa-’ukallimuk fii ‘asra’ waqt

ahel-lan, hah-zah kah-reem. ah-nah las-too hoo-nah wah lah-keen ee-zah tah-kah-lam-tah ees-moo-kah wah rah-kah-moo-kah sah-oo-kah-lee-moo-kah fee ass-rah wah-ket.

Hi, this is Karim. I’m not in right now, but if you leave your name and number, I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Selma’s voice mail message sounds something like this:

‘ahlan wa sahlan karim. haadhihi selma. as-saa’a al-waaHida wa an-niSf yawm al-khamiis. khaabirnii min faDlik ‘inda wuSuulika bi haadha al-khabar ba’ada as-saa’a al-khaamisa. raqmii Sifr waaHid ithnayn thalaatha. shukran!

ahel-lan wah sahel-lan kah-reem. haa-zee-hee selma. ass-saa-ah al-waa-hee- dah wa-ann-nee-sef ya-woom al-kha-mees. khaa-bir-nee meen fahd-lik inn-dah wu-soo-li-kah bee haa-zaah al-khah-bar bah-dah as-saa-ah al-khaa-mee-sah. rak-mee see-fer waa-hid ith-nay-en tha-laah-thah. shook-ran!

Hi Karim. This is Selma. It’s 1:30 in the afternoon on Thursday. Please give me a call back when you get this message anytime after 5:00. My number is 0123. Thanks!

Leaving a message with a person

If you have to leave a khabaran directly with a person, make sure you include your ‘ism and ask the person who picks up the phone to pass along word that you called.

Talkin’ the Talk

Kamal calls his friend Rita at home. Rita isn’t home, and Souad, her mom, answers the phone. Kamal leaves a message for Rita with her mother.

Souad: allo. all-low.

Hello.

Kamal: allo. haadhaa kamal. all-low. haa-zaah kamal.

Hello. This is Kamal.

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Words to Know

Most phones in Arabicspeaking countries use the familiar Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, and so on). Thank goodness you won’t have to struggle to identify the Arabic numbers on the keypad while dialing a number!