Word of the Week Wednesday: Arabizi (3rbeezeyah)

This week’s entry is not just a word, but a whole language, called “Arabizi.”

 Arabizi is the merging of Arabic and inglizi (English) in daily conversation. It uses Roman Letters and Arabic numbers* to create words. For example, you would write the name of the language, Arabizi, like this: 3rbeezeyah. The photo above says “you can now speak Arabizi” in the Arabizi script.

Here’s another example of a phrase in North Levantine Arabic:

North Levantine Arabic: كيفصحتك،شوعمتعمل؟
Arabizi transcription: kif sa7tak, chou 3am ta3mil?
Phoenetic Spelling: kīf ṣaḥtak, shū ʻam taʻmil?
English: How is your health, what are you doing?

 The language is popular on the internet and for texting, but some think the language is moving offline.

 To learn more about Arabizi, watch this 6-minute documentary.

 

*Current Arabic speakers do not actually use the Arabic numbers, while the name may suggest the opposite. Arabic uses Eastern Arabic numerals, also known as Indian Numerals.

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3 Responses to "Word of the Week Wednesday: Arabizi (3rbeezeyah)"

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