Arabish
Encyclopedia
Arabish is a combination of an Arabic pronunciation, and Latin written characters. Its been widely used lately, on many public advertisements by large multinationals, and as an official name for many successful internet projects world wide. In terms of users, many from the Middle Eastern users on the internet can understand and communicate through Arabish, which made large players in the online industry like Google& Microsoft to introduce tools that transform the text written in Arabish to Arabic.
communication
, such as IRC
, bulletin board system
s, and blog
s, are often run on systems or over protocols which do not support codepages or alternate character sets. This system has gained common use and can be seen even in domain name
s.
It is most commonly used by youths in the Arab world
in very informal settings, for example communicating with friends or other youths through the mobile SMS
, Short Message Service & Blackberry Messenger (BBM). The Arabish is never used in formal settings and is rarely, if ever, used for long communications. The length of any single communication in ACA rarely if ever exceeds more than a few sentences.
Even though the Arabic language
is well integrated with modern versions of Microsoft Windows
, Mac OS X
and Linux
, people still use it in Arabic Internet forum
s and instant Messaging programs such as Windows Live Messenger
and Yahoo! Messenger
because they don't always have Arabic keyboards, or because they are more used to the Latin alphabet layout (QWERTY) for typing.
During the last few decades and especially since the 1990's, Western-invented text communication technologies have become increasingly prevalent in the Arab world
; for example, personal computers, the World Wide Web
, email
, bulletin board system
s, IRC
, instant messaging
and mobile phone text messaging. Originally, most of these technologies provided users with only the ISO basic Latin alphabet (ASCII
). (Some still lack the Arabic script.) When communicating via these technologies, therefore, Arabic-speakers used the available Latin characters to compose messages in a transliterated form of Arabic. To handle those Arabic letters that have no phonetic approximate in the Latin alphabet, other characters, including numerals and punctuation and would be appropriated, especially when there were some visual resemblance. For example, the numeral "3" is used to represent the Arabic letter "ع" ("Ayn").
There is no universal name for this type of transliteration, as it is relatively young and is only used in an informal setting. Some people have named it Arabic/English because it was most often used to communicate on online chat
services; the main name is "Aralish" or "Arabish" (a portmanteau
of "Arabic" and "English"). "Arabish" is like "Spanglish" which is a combination of Spanish and English, and is commonly spoken by younger generation, speakers of both languages.
Though Arabish was once a necessity for sending SMS's in Arabic, phone service providers now widely offer Arabic alphabet
support. Despite this, use of Arabish continues, in part due to its popularity, and in part due to its usefulness in transliterating Arabic to English.
Some Pan-Arabists, view Arabish as a detrimental form of Westernization
. Arabish emerged amid a growing trend among Arab
youth, especially in Lebanon
and Jordan
, to incorporate English into Arabic as a form of slang. Arabish is used to replace Arabic script, and this raises concerns regarding the preservation of the quality of the language. See Arabic and Islam.
Significance
OnlineONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
, such as IRC
Internet Relay Chat
Internet Relay Chat is a protocol for real-time Internet text messaging or synchronous conferencing. It is mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels, but also allows one-to-one communication via private message as well as chat and data transfer, including file...
, bulletin board system
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
s, and blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s, are often run on systems or over protocols which do not support codepages or alternate character sets. This system has gained common use and can be seen even in domain name
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
s.
It is most commonly used by youths in the Arab world
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
in very informal settings, for example communicating with friends or other youths through the mobile SMS
SMS
SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
, Short Message Service & Blackberry Messenger (BBM). The Arabish is never used in formal settings and is rarely, if ever, used for long communications. The length of any single communication in ACA rarely if ever exceeds more than a few sentences.
Even though the Arabic language
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
is well integrated with modern versions of Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
and Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, people still use it in Arabic Internet forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
s and instant Messaging programs such as Windows Live Messenger
Windows Live Messenger
Windows Live Messenger is an instant messaging client created by Microsoft that is currently designed to work with Windows XP , Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Mobile, Windows CE, Xbox 360, Blackberry OS, iOS, Java ME, S60 on Symbian OS 9.x and Zune HD...
and Yahoo! Messenger
Yahoo! Messenger
Yahoo! Messenger is an advertisement-supported instant messaging client and associated protocol provided by Yahoo!...
because they don't always have Arabic keyboards, or because they are more used to the Latin alphabet layout (QWERTY) for typing.
History
It started 1995-1996 on the IRC, from #Kuwait on EFnet. After facing a problem in delivering the right pronunciations for some of the Arabic letters in English, while communication in IRC at 90's was somehow impossible.During the last few decades and especially since the 1990's, Western-invented text communication technologies have become increasingly prevalent in the Arab world
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
; for example, personal computers, the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
, bulletin board system
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
s, IRC
Internet Relay Chat
Internet Relay Chat is a protocol for real-time Internet text messaging or synchronous conferencing. It is mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels, but also allows one-to-one communication via private message as well as chat and data transfer, including file...
, instant messaging
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
and mobile phone text messaging. Originally, most of these technologies provided users with only the ISO basic Latin alphabet (ASCII
ASCII
The American Standard Code for Information Interchange is a character-encoding scheme based on the ordering of the English alphabet. ASCII codes represent text in computers, communications equipment, and other devices that use text...
). (Some still lack the Arabic script.) When communicating via these technologies, therefore, Arabic-speakers used the available Latin characters to compose messages in a transliterated form of Arabic. To handle those Arabic letters that have no phonetic approximate in the Latin alphabet, other characters, including numerals and punctuation and would be appropriated, especially when there were some visual resemblance. For example, the numeral "3" is used to represent the Arabic letter "ع" ("Ayn").
There is no universal name for this type of transliteration, as it is relatively young and is only used in an informal setting. Some people have named it Arabic/English because it was most often used to communicate on online chat
Online chat
Online chat may refer to any kind of communication over the Internet, that offers an instantaneous transmission of text-based messages from sender to receiver, hence the delay for visual access to the sent message shall not hamper the flow of communications in any of the directions...
services; the main name is "Aralish" or "Arabish" (a portmanteau
Portmanteau word
A portmanteau or portmanteau word is a blend of two words or morphemes into one new word. A portmanteau word typically combines both sounds and meanings, as in smog, coined by blending smoke and fog. More generally, it may refer to any term or phrase that combines two or more meanings...
of "Arabic" and "English"). "Arabish" is like "Spanglish" which is a combination of Spanish and English, and is commonly spoken by younger generation, speakers of both languages.
Though Arabish was once a necessity for sending SMS's in Arabic, phone service providers now widely offer Arabic alphabet
Arabic alphabet
The Arabic alphabet or Arabic abjad is the Arabic script as it is codified for writing the Arabic language. It is written from right to left, in a cursive style, and includes 28 letters. Because letters usually stand for consonants, it is classified as an abjad.-Consonants:The Arabic alphabet has...
support. Despite this, use of Arabish continues, in part due to its popularity, and in part due to its usefulness in transliterating Arabic to English.
Some Pan-Arabists, view Arabish as a detrimental form of Westernization
Westernization
Westernization or Westernisation , also occidentalization or occidentalisation , is a process whereby societies come under or adopt Western culture in such matters as industry, technology, law, politics, economics, lifestyle, diet, language, alphabet,...
. Arabish emerged amid a growing trend among Arab
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
youth, especially in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, to incorporate English into Arabic as a form of slang. Arabish is used to replace Arabic script, and this raises concerns regarding the preservation of the quality of the language. See Arabic and Islam.
Classification and related languages
The Arabish should be classified under Arabic language, as it follows all Arabic grammar and punctuation. But it hundred percent uses the English letters and Numbers in writing the words and sentences.Converted Characters
| Arabic | Arabish | English | DIN 31635 DIN 31635 DIN 31635 is a Deutsches Institut für Normung standard for the transliteration of the Arabic alphabet adopted in 1982. It is based on the rules of the Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft as modified by the International Orientalist Congress 1936 in Rome... |
|---|---|---|---|
| ع | 3 | A | ʿ |
| ح | 7 | H | ḥ |
| ط | 6 | T | ṭ |
| ص | 9 | S | ṣ |
| ء | 2 | A | ʾ |
| خ | 5 | KH | ḫ |
| ق | 8 | Q | q |
Full words examples
| English | Arabic | Arabish |
|---|---|---|
| English | الإنكليزية | Engliziya |
| Yes | نعم | Na3am |
| No | لا | La |
| Hello | مرحباً | Mar7aban |
| Welcome | أهلاً | ahlan |
| Goodbye | مع السلامة | ma3a alsalamah |
| Please | أرجوك | Arjook |
| Thank you | شكرًا | Shukran |
| You're welcome | عفوًا | 3afwan |
| I'm sorry | آسف | Asif |
| What's your name? | ما اسمك؟ | Ma esmok |
| How much? | كم؟ | kam? |
| I don't understand. | لا أفهم | la afham |
| I don't speak Arabic. | لا أتكلم بالعربية | La atkalam bi el 3arabiya |
| I don't know. | لا أعرف | La a3rif |
| I am hungry. | أنا جائع | ana ja2e3 |
| Orange | برتقالي | borto8ali |
| Black | أسود | aswad |
| One | واحد | wa7id |
| Two | اثنان | ethnan |
| Three | ثلاثة | thalatha |
| Four | أربعة | arba3ah |
| Five | خمسة | 5amsah |
See also
- Arabic alphabetArabic alphabetThe Arabic alphabet or Arabic abjad is the Arabic script as it is codified for writing the Arabic language. It is written from right to left, in a cursive style, and includes 28 letters. Because letters usually stand for consonants, it is classified as an abjad.-Consonants:The Arabic alphabet has...
- Arabic influence on Spanish
- Arabic literatureArabic literatureArabic literature is the writing produced, both prose and poetry, by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is adab which is derived from a meaning of etiquette, and implies politeness, culture and enrichment....
- ArabistArabistThis is an article about the western scholars known as Arabists, not the political movement Pan-Arabism.An Arabist is someone normally from outside the Arab World who specialises in the study of the Arabic language and Arab culture, and often Arabic literature.-Origins:Arabists began in medieval...
- Arabic chat alphabetArabic Chat AlphabetThe Arabic chat alphabet, Arabizi, Arabish or Araby, , is an alphabet used to communicate in the Arabic language over the Internet or for sending messages via cellular phones when the actual Arabic alphabet is unavailable for technical reasons...
- ArablishArablishArablish, a portmanteau combining the words "Arabic" and "English", is a slang term for an interlanguage and refers to the phenomenon of code-switching between the two languages...
- Dictionary of Modern Written ArabicDictionary of Modern Written ArabicThe Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic is an Arabic-English dictionary compiled by Hans Wehr and edited by J Milton Cowan.First published in 1961 by Otto Harrassowitz in Wiesbaden, Germany, it was an enlarged and revised English version of Wehr's German Arabisches Wörterbuch für die Schriftsprache...
External links
- Arabic chat alphabetArabic Chat AlphabetThe Arabic chat alphabet, Arabizi, Arabish or Araby, , is an alphabet used to communicate in the Arabic language over the Internet or for sending messages via cellular phones when the actual Arabic alphabet is unavailable for technical reasons...
- Arabic keyboard to type Arabic characters online.
- Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon, an 8-volume, 3000-page dictionary available for download in PDF format.
- Learn Classical Arabic Online
- Microsoft Maren: allowing you to type Arabic in Roman characters and have it converted on the fly to Arabic script
- The New Arabic keyboard Layout for fast and easy typing.
- Arab is my language article