# Do most Syrian/Lebanese people understand Romanised Arabic?



## ujjain

Do most Syrians and Lebanese people understand if you write like this?



> Hello - Hi, Bonjour, Ahla, Ahlen, mar7aba
> My name is Ahmed - ismi Ahmed
> What is your name? - shu 2ismak?
> Nice to meet you - tsharrafna
> What is your age - kém 3omrak?
> My age is - 3omri
> Do you speak Arabic? - bte7ki 3arabi?
> Yes, I speak Arabic - e, be7ki 3arabi.
> Nee, I don't speak Arabic - la2, ma be7ki 3arabi.
> How are you? - kifak? (male)
> How are you? - kifik? (female)
> Good/fine very - mni7 ktir
> It's fine - meshel7al
> I use - esta3mel
> You use - testa3mel
> We use - nesta3mel
> You see me - tshuf-ni
> I see you - shuf-ak
> We see you - nshuf-ak
> I have - 3aind
> want - bedd
> You want to see me - bedd-ak tshuf-ni?
> bedd + i - I want
> bedd + ak - you want


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## Muwahid

If they use the internet, yes. Pretty common, sometimes more so than actually using the Arabic script.


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## كلمات

You'll probably find some who use it, others who find it annoying. I, myself, skip almost anything written in that form especially because everyone uses their own mix of letters to form word structures.


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## Arabus

Most Lebanese, not Syrians (except for _some _young Syrians, especially those who live close to Lebanon e.g. in Damascus, Homs, etc.).

Syrians and Lebanese have opposite cultures. Lebanese are taught to use French and English and avoid Arabic (especially MSA) as much as they can. Syrians are taught the opposite. Also the Lebanese are taught to avoid MSA as much as possible and use the vernacular instead, Syrians are taught the opposite.

At first, this Arabophobic culture was limited to the Maronite and Catholic Christian Lebanese. Next it became a general Lebanese trend. It also has started to spill over to Syria, especially to the young who live near Lebanon. This is sad because Syrians were historically known to be very nationally proud.


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## ujjain

Thanks for your great answers!


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## Kinan

Actually yes we use it in almost all Syria but with little difference of pronunciation. The examples you provided are pronounced by Lebanese people.


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## Arabus

Kinan said:


> Actually yes we use it in almost all Syria



Definitely not true. Where are you from? I disagree with almost _all _your answers on this forum.

Are you from Damascus? You probably are.



Kinan said:


> The examples you provided are  pronounced by Lebanese people.



How do you know? This can be written by a Syrian, especially if we accept your untrue claim that all Syrians write Arabic with a Roman script.


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## Kinan

I live in Tartus and I know so many Lebanese people who speak that way.
For example, a Lebanese would say : meshel7al , while a Syrian would say: mashel7al.


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## Kinan

I didn't say Syrian write in Roman script, I said we talk like that.


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## Arabus

Kinan said:


> I live in Tartus and I know so many Lebanese people who speak that way.
> For example, a Lebanese would say : meshel7al , while a Syrian would say: mashel7al.



Well guess what, people in Aleppo also say meshel7al. This is also true for many locations in Idlib, Homs, and Qunaitra. I believe also in Banians (which is very near to Tartus) people would say that. Not just in Banias but I believe also in other  locations around Tartus.


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## Kinan

They say meshel7al in a small part of Banias, I have lived there for 17 years, but the majority say it with mashel7al.
Anyway, I misunderstood the original question, I thought he was asking if we talk like that, not if we write like that.


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## suma

Arabus said:


> ...  Syrians and Lebanese have opposite cultures. Lebanese are taught to use French and English and *avoid Arabic (especially MSA) as much as they can. Syrians are taught the opposite. Also the Lebanese are taught to avoid MSA as much as possible and use the vernacular instead,* Syrians are taught the opposite.
> 
> At first, this Arabophobic culture was limited to the Maronite and Catholic Christian Lebanese. Next it became a general Lebanese trend. It also has started to spill over to Syria, especially to the young who live near Lebanon. This is sad because Syrians were historically known to be very nationally proud.



This is quite interesting to hear, because in the US, Arabic study on the university level, Lebanese authors are quite heavily represented, who write in MSA.
In fact, despite this avoidance of MSA that you say is promoted, I'd say that Lebanese authors are fairly prominent amongst Arabs overall.


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## Arabus

Lebanese have better command of MSA than any other Arabs, but their culture discourage its use. They know it well, but they don't want to be using it. 

This is because the Lebanese education system is very efficient. It is much better than most other Arab education systems (especially the Syrian one). Most Lebanese learn MSA very well when they are young, but they just do not like using it. It is somewhat like the Israelis who study Arabic at schools not because they like it, but because it is necessary.


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## إسكندراني

I wouldn't compare the Lebanese to their southern neighbours من قريّب ولا من بعيد - that's the first thing.
Secondly, no Arab country's citizens are encouraged to speak in فصحى, even when they interview the people of مكّة their dialect shows through clearly.
Thirdly, if the OP question is about pronunciation, even I as an Egyptian have no problem understanding what's written. The problem for many people would be the Latin alphabet; only the 'internet youth' would be able to deal with it - and not even all of them for that matter.


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## Arabus

You are being too sensitive. Those particular Lebanese I am talking about used to be allies of the Israelis, and many of them still do not feel particular hostility towards them. You just do not know the history.

Anyway, I said _to use_ MSA, not _to speak_ it. No body is encouraged to speak MSA. This is not a new discovery.


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## chizinist

I heard a news report about a study that found most Arabs type in English rather than Arabic, though I haven't read the study.


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## WadiH

Dialects are definitely frowned-upon in Saudi Arabia in any public setting, especially among the educated.  You're expected to either speak MSA or MSA mixed with a very watered-down dialect (usually Urban Hejazi).  It's not based on Arab nationalism but on Islamic ideology.  I always have a hard time convincing people here that this or that word or expression is actually Classical in origin because they've so internalized the idea that everything they say is "wrong."  Of course, only people with a modicum of college education are able to speak MSA.

As an aside, I notice a lot of people from other countries (like اسكندراني) have this notion that Mecca is supposed to represent the purest Arabic speech. Actually, Mecca is a very cosmopolitan city and mostly working class (which is why you won't hear a lot of MSA there) and its dialect is arguably the least conservative in the Peninsula.


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## إسكندراني

Arabus said:


> You are being too sensitive. Those particular Lebanese I am talking about used to be allies of the Israelis, and many of them still do not feel particular hostility towards them. You just do not know the history.


I do know the history. Of course, Lebanon - like Tunisia for example - is a Mediterranean country, and part of the francophone. It cannot be compared to the Gulf - but that doesn't reduce from the fact that it is a crucial Arab country (محورية), and a chief contributor to MSA.


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## suma

That's what I find so intriguing, if it is as Arabus describes, that the country with the least affinity towards MSA (Lebanon) has ironically produced the highest level of speakers/writers who are proficient in MSA.


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## Arabus

إسكندراني said:


> I do know the history. Of course, Lebanon - like Tunisia for example - is a Mediterranean country, and part of the francophone. It cannot be compared to the Gulf - but that doesn't reduce from the fact that it is a crucial Arab country (محورية), and a chief contributor to MSA.



This is your own opinion. Lebanese are definitely great contributors to modern Arab culture, but to say that Lebanon is a "crucial" country, this shows again that you know nothing in history or politics. Lebanon was never crucial. It has actually always been a burden, a playground for other regional and international powers. It is not a real country. The French carved it out in 1861 to use it as a faithful (religious) ally against the Ottomans, but it never stabilized and never became a real country, not to say a crucial country. This is not my personal opinion but this is it what the Lebanese themselves say.


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## Arabus

suma said:


> That's what I find so intriguing, if it is as Arabus describes, that the country with the least affinity towards MSA (Lebanon) has ironically produced the highest level of speakers/writers who are proficient in MSA.



Well you know what, before the 20th century I believe that German-speakers produced most of the academic books on Arabic and Arabic culture. To produce books in a particular language does not mean that you like it. Many of those brilliant Lebanese MSA-writers will feel uncomfortable if you call them Arab. The Christians in Lebanon never wanted Lebanon to be called an Arab country until this was forced on them by Syria in 1980's. Many Christians preferred an alliance with Israel instead of being part of the Arab World. This was the reason of the bloody wars of the 1980's in Lebanon. Thousands of Syrians and Muslim Lebanese died in that war so that this country become an Arab country.


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## clevermizo

Moderator's Note:


This topic addresses the question about whether or not a Syrian or Lebanese speaker would understand romanized Arabic as described in the original question. This discussion is not about the general political or cultural standing of different countries.

Regards,

clevermizo


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