How To Write An Arabic Slang Transliteration in Social Media If You Don’t Have An Arabic Keyboard?

 Zol yalli elmerya fahemni

Ehi el-7ihaya… far7an? Ta3ban?

(Hey you in the mirror… explain to me what’s goin’ on? Are you happy? Are you tired?)

At first time, when I read this sentence (zol yalli elmerya, etc), I couldn’t understand it eventhough I had learned Arabic language for a moment before. Why I couldn’t? First, it wasn’t an Arabic Fusha, but Colloquial Arabic. Then, I was confused by some characters in transliteration, like “7” and “3”.

However, I’m sure if everyone who had studied formal Arabic language (Arab Fusha) in some years, they would also confuse like me in understanding this transliteration.
I’ll give you one example. Look at this transliteration:

Keif 7luk a5ee. Men ayna je2ta?

Well dudes, can you translate that? Yeah, I know maybe some of you confuse with that. As matter of fact, Arabic transcription of that sentence is:

كيف حالك أخي؟ من أين جئت؟

(How are you, bro? Where are you come from?)

Yeah. Then, let’s we get in main topic: How to know Arabic chat alphabet? Well, in Arab world this is known by Arabizi. What’s that?

Arabizi is an alphabet used to communicate in the Arabic language over the internet social media (like facebook, twitter, etc) or for sending SMS via cellular phone. This term comes from two words “arabi” (Arabic) and “Enjlizi” (English). The arab people whose computer and keyboard aren’t integrated with Arabic programme, can use arabizi in forums or chatting media. In other hand, for some people,using an Arabic keyboard is much complicated than the latin (English)  one. Most Arab internet users find this way easier than typing in Arabic.

Now, you can look at this table below to know the alphabeths. But, you’ve to know before, that there’s no correct single way ‘cause those are informal of the system.

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*) Note:

IPA (The International Phonetic Alphabet) is an alphabetic system of phonetic notation based primarily on the latin alphabet. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association as a standardized representation of the sounds of spoken language.  See more about IPA at it’s official websitewww.langsci.ucl.ac.uk/ipa/

After all, we must know that using Arabizi at a time has a negative effect on the Arabic Fusha (formal) language, ’cause there might be a possibility that moslems will lose their language. How unfortunate if that happens. We -as a moslem-  must protect the Arabic Fusha (formal) language and make it stronger. So, use arabizi if just necessary!

Reference:

• Yaghan, Mohammad Ali. 2008. Arabizi: A Contemporary Style of Arabic Slang. Cambridge – MA USA: Massachusets Institute of Technology Journal: vol. 24, no. 4.
• Ghanem, Renad. Arabizi is Destroying The Arabic Languange.Arab News, Apr 19 2001, accessed via www.arabizi.wordpress.com
• www.enotes.com
• en.wikipedia.org (source of pictures)
• www.langsci.ucl.ac.uk/ipa/
• www.yamli.com
• http://i.ytimg.com/vi/74YrNjjswhM/0.jpg (source of cartoon picture)

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Ginanjar Indrajati Bintoro

(Abu Muhammad Al-’Ashri)

sumber

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