The Arabic is the official language of Jordan and the 5th most spoken language in the world.
This semitic language has its own alphabet characters and it has its own way of writing and reading - from the right to the left.
Arabic alphabet:
| غ | ظ | ض | ذ | خ | ث | ت | ش | ر | ق | ص | ف | ع | س | ن | م | ل | ك | ي | ط | ح | ز | و | ه | د | ج | ب | أ |
| gh | ẓ | ḍ | dh | kh | th | t | sh | r | q | ṣ | f | ʿ | s | n | m | l | k | y | ṭ | ḥ | z | w | h | d | j | b | ʾ |
| 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 09 | 08 | 07 | 06 | 05 | 04 | 03 | 02 | 01 |
It is the official language of around 19 countries:
Jordan, Palestine, Algeria, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, Oman, Yemen, Sudan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.
But, it is also spoken in other countries, as:
Somalia, Chad, Comoros, Israel, Djibouti, South Sudan and Eritrea.
Each country has its own dialects and accents.
The Jordanian people speak the Modern Urban Arabic, but they write the Modern Standard Arabic, that was adapted from the Classical Arabic - the language of the Quran.
The Bedouins (people that live in Jordan's desert) have their own dialect.
The Modern Standard Arabic is the official Arabic language and is exactly the same spoken and written, in all the countries of the Arab world. That makes it easier for arabs of different nationalities to communicate.
And it's the language used in official documents.
Jordan, Palestine, Algeria, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, Oman, Yemen, Sudan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.
But, it is also spoken in other countries, as:
Somalia, Chad, Comoros, Israel, Djibouti, South Sudan and Eritrea.
Each country has its own dialects and accents.
- Hassaniya Arabic: Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria
- Egyptian Arabic: Egypt, Sudan
- Maghrebi: Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania,Tunisia
- Levantine Arabic: Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria
- Mesopotamian: Iraq, Syria
- Gulf Arabic: Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE
- Hejazi and Najdi Arabic: Saudi Arabia
- Sudanese Arabic: Sudan, Egypt
- Yemeni Arabic: Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia
Even, the main dialects have regional sub-dialects.
The Bedouins (people that live in Jordan's desert) have their own dialect.
The Modern Standard Arabic is the official Arabic language and is exactly the same spoken and written, in all the countries of the Arab world. That makes it easier for arabs of different nationalities to communicate.
And it's the language used in official documents.
The words that I hear more, in Jordan, are:
Marhaba - Hello
Habib - My love
Keef Haalik - How are you?
Afwan - Excuse me
Habib - My love
Keef Haalik - How are you?
Afwan - Excuse me
Khalass - Enough
Mashi - Ok
Assalamu alaikum - religious greeting, means peace be upon you
Shukran - Thank you
Yeslamu - Thank you
Yalla - Let's go! Hurry up!
Inshallah - if God is willing
Taieb - ok
Laa - No
Aah - yes
The Arabic language sounds quite aggressive, but, when translated, it's like poetry.
The greeting for Good morning is:
Sabaah el-kheir - that literally means: I wish you a morning of goodness.
Sabaah el-kheir - that literally means: I wish you a morning of goodness.
The response is: Sabaah al-noor - the meaning is your greeting brings light to my morning.
When you say the food was very good, very tasty! The cook will normally answer:
"Satheen" that means: I wish my food will bring health to you.
English is the non- official second language of Jordan, as the majority of the Jordanian people speak English and almost everything, in Jordan, is in arabic and also in english language, for example: the traffic signs.
Jordan was under British influence and protectorate for 25 years (1921- 1946), and it's also the second language in school.
"Satheen" that means: I wish my food will bring health to you.
English is the non- official second language of Jordan, as the majority of the Jordanian people speak English and almost everything, in Jordan, is in arabic and also in english language, for example: the traffic signs.
Jordan was under British influence and protectorate for 25 years (1921- 1946), and it's also the second language in school.
Pictures sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_alphabet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_alphabet
https://pixabay.com