# Syrian Arabic: Shlonek شلون



## sarllou18

Hi everyone!
I have heard very frequently in the syrian dialect heard the word 'shlon' (with the 'o' being lengthened).  It is usually addressed to someone like 'shlonek/ik' etc.  I thought it was meant as a greeting and the like in 3iraqi dialects.  Maybe I am wrong but I have heard it a lot in syrian and would like to know what it means in it.
Thank you!


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## londonmasri

In Iraqi Arabic it means 'how are you?' _shloonak_ to a male, and _shloonik_ to a female. _shloon_ by itself means 'how' and can be used in any part of conversation.

The prononciation is a bit difficult to transliterate but I think is pretty close _shlawn._

I don't know if it is different in Syria.


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## musta3rib

I like this expression very much, it's one of my favourites . As londonmasri said, it means "how are you". And I can confirm that it's the same in Syrian Arabic, though the pronunciation is closer to the lenghtened "o". It's origin lies in the composition of shu+lawn+suff. pronoun. This "shu" came from shay' (thing) and the expression literally means "what is your colour".


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## WadiH

musta3rib said:


> I like this expression very much, it's one of my favourites . As londonmasri said, it means "how are you". And I can confirm that it's the same in Syrian Arabic, though the pronunciation is closer to the lenghtened "o". It's origin lies in the composition of shu+lawn+suff. pronoun. This "shu" came from shay' (thing) and the expression literally means "what is your colour".



It's used in many parts of the Arabian Peninsula such as Najd, Al-Hasa and Kuwait, and it's used in Iraq (though the sound varies by local accent).  So it's probably quite old and comes directly from إيش لونك without passing through شو.


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## shafaq

musta3rib said:


> I like this expression very much, it's one of my favourites . As londonmasri said, it means "how are you". And I can confirm that it's the same in Syrian Arabic, though the pronunciation is closer to the lenghtened "o". It's origin lies in the composition of shu+lawn+suff. pronoun. This "shu" came from shay' (thing) and the expression literally means "what is your colour".


.
.   As Wadi Hanifa mentioned above; it pronounced as eysh+loawn(reads as English "loan")+ak, ek, u, hae according the person asked about but not  as "shu" even in Syria. 
.  Yes ! It is literally "What is .... color." where in reality means "How is ..... mood ?"; because the color of the person asked is so appearing needless to ask . In my opinion, aysh or eysh ( ,أش, ايش  ) is derived from ( أي شيء ) and it was discussed here ( link will be added soon )  in the forum.


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## Soos

Hmm, I wouldn't completely eliminate the "sho" pronunciation, as I went to school with a Syrian who pronounced it thus.


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## musta3rib

shafaq said:


> .
> but not  as "shu" even in Syria.


Yes, I know that "shu" is not pronounced, I was trying only to illustrate it's origin. As for the pronunciation of "lawn", I did not register any trace of "w" in Syria, it was just "shlōnak", starting with "sh", the "ō" sound close to english "all" or "more".
Wadi Hanifa- I agree that "shu" isn't the only possible interstage between shay' and present sound(s). Maybe this expression developed through slightly different interstages according to regional dialects. Your opinion?


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## sarllou18

londonmasri said:


> _shloon_ by itself means 'how' and can be used in any part of conversation.


 
Oh ok so can you give me a context when 'shlown' would be used to mean 'how' because from what i understand 'keif' is used to mean 'how...such and such'?


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## Arrius

*Oh ok so can you give me a context when 'shlown' would be used to mean 'how'* *sarilou*
Only when someone is asking how you are. As explained above it literally means _what is your colour_ (lawn)? The _shu _also being used in the frequent expression _shusmak_? (what is your name?). After all one sometimes says in English that _one doesn't like the colour of things_ i.e. the way things look. The Spanish _tienes buena pinta_ (_you look fine_, also referring to colour) may well date from the time the Moors were here.


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## clevermizo

Arrius said:


> Only when someone is asking how you are.



Not true. From my understanding in the parts of Syria and in Iraq where _shloon_ is used, it is used in most of the senses of the English interrogative "how" - and where other dialects would use كيف _kiif_. 

For example, I just did a random Internet search for شلون and found on a forum:



> فيه أحد سأل نفسه شلون يغسلون الطيارات؟



which assumedly means "Has anyone asked himself *how* planes are washed?"

It may have been generalized from an original sense in which the nature or state of something "what is its color" was queried, but nowadays just simply means "how" (كيف).


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## sarllou18

oh ok so in general 'keif' and 'shloon' mean the same thing abd they dont differ depending on the sentence?e.g 'how are you?' and 'how did that happen?' could you use either 'keif' or 'shloon' in these very different sentences?


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## clevermizo

sarllou18 said:


> oh ok so in general 'keif' and 'shloon' mean the same thing abd they dont differ depending on the sentence?e.g 'how are you?' and 'how did that happen?' could you use either 'keif' or 'shloon' in these very different sentences?



Yes that's right. The difference is the regions in which _kiif _or _shloon_ are used (or _ezzay_ or anything else for that matter). Not all dialects/regions will use the same word.


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## sarllou18

Thanks so much all of you for your kind help!


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## WadiH

clevermizo said:


> Not true. From my understanding in the parts of Syria and in Iraq where _shloon_ is used, it is used in most of the senses of the English interrogative "how" - and where other dialects would use كيف _kiif_.



Yes, and in Iraq they have almost a full set of interrogatives based on إيش:

شلون = "how"
شوقت (_shw*a*git_) = "when" (from إيش وقت)
شقد (_shg*a*d_) = "how much" (in the Gulf it becomes شكثر)

By the way, the example you gave is not Syrian or Iraqi but Arabian.


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## L.2

Wadi Hanifa said:


> By the way, the example you gave is not Syrian or Iraqi but Arabian.



Aren't Syrian and Iraqi Arabian too? Why you considered najdi is Arabian while others not?
Anyways back to topic
in Saudi shloon and keif are synonymous but most people use keif.
I agree with clevermizo you could use any it's all about a dialect choice.
shloon(how)
shloonak(how are you)
keif(how)
keifak(how are you)
ezay(how)
ezayak(how are you)


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## WadiH

L.2 said:


> Aren't Syrian and Iraqi Arabian too? Why you considered najdi is Arabian while others not?



Because Najd is part of Arabia (also known as the Arabian Peninsula), while Syria and Iraq are not.  Syrian and Iraqi are Arabic, but they are not Arabian.



> Anyways back to topic
> in Saudi shloon and keif are synonymous but most people use keif.



That depends on the region.  Where I'm from, we traditionally used وشلون more frequently than كيف.


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## L.2

Wadi Hanifa said:


> Because Najd is part of Arabia (also known as the Arabian Peninsula), while Syria and Iraq are not.  Syrian and Iraqi are Arabic, but they are not Arabian.



Is kuwaiti for example is considered Arabian? Because it's also a part of Arabian Peninsula or maybe it's something exclusive for najdi!
I do believe the majorty say keif
shloon is found only in najdi and eastern dialect that are influnced by golf dialects
actually there are many najdi persons who also use their own version of keif which is tseif.
tseif al7al? (how is everything)


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## ayed

L.2 said:


> actually there are many najdi persons who also use their own version of keif which is tseif.
> tseif al7al? (how is everything)


 Yes, I still use it so far, L.2


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## WadiH

L.2 said:


> Is kuwaiti for example is considered Arabian?



Yes.



> Because it's also a part of Arabian Peninsula



Indeed it is.



> or maybe it's something exclusive for najdi!



No, if I had meant to say Najdi, I would have just said "Najdi," but there are many other dialect groups in Arabia.



> I do believe the majorty say keif
> shloon is found only in najdi and eastern dialect



As I said, it varies by region.



> that are influnced by golf dialects



It's usually the other way around.



> actually there are many najdi persons who also use their own version of keif which is tseif.
> tseif al7al? (how is everything)



True, and this also depends on the region. When we say تسيف, it's usually a rhetorical question meaning "of course."  For example:

Q: انت من الرياض؟ ("You are from Riyadh?")
A: تسيف! ("Of course!")


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## L.2

that's interesting I think it was أجل كيف but then people omitted أجل
أنت سعودي؟
أجل كيف
like equptian
أنت مصري؟
امال ايه


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## ayed

Wadi Hanifa said:


> Yes.
> 
> 
> 
> Indeed it is.
> 
> 
> 
> No, if I had meant to say Najdi, I would have just said "Najdi," but there are many other dialect groups in Arabia.
> 
> 
> 
> As I said, it varies by region.
> 
> 
> 
> It's usually the other way around.
> 
> 
> 
> True, and this also depends on the region. When we say تسيف, it's usually a rhetorical question meaning "of course." For example:
> 
> Q: انت من الرياض؟ ("You are from Riyadh?")
> A: *إي تسيف*  ("Of course!")


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