Saturday, May 29, 2010
Omani National Anthem
So without further ado: the Omani national anthem + translation
يا ربنا احفظ لنا جلالة السلطان
O Lord, preserve His Majesty, the Sultan
والشعب بالأوطان
And the people in their homelands
بالعز والإيمان
In strength and faith,
وليدم مؤيدا
May he live long (not sure what “(le)yadamm” means but English, German, and Hebrew Wikipedia translate it as such), supported,
عاهلا ممجدا بالنفوس يفتدى
As a regent, glorified; our lives we lay down for him
ياعمان نحن من عهد النبي
O Oman, we are of the covenant of the prophet
أوفياء من كرام العرب
Reliable from the honor of the Arabs
أبشري قابوس جاء
Send good tidings, Qaboos cometh!
فلتباركه السماء
Let the heavens bless him
واسعدي والتقيه بالدعاء
Rejoice, and greet him with prayer
Comments:
As far as anthems go, not terrible complicated, and pretty nice sounding (IMHO). It is my solemn intention to memorize this before I go to Oman, and to sing it (off-key, of course, as I posses no musical talents what so ever) to the great amusement of my Omani comrades. I would really like to know what the root verb of "leyadam(m?) is, though.
Now for some more running!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Work Out Log 28 May 2010
Now as for today, I ran up to the gym, 2 miles, and then proceeded to run 4 miles on the treadmills. I finished of with abs, that is to say leg raises, roman chairs, 200 crunched and 120 bicycles. I felt really good at the end of it all, and could easily have run the whole 2 miles back home, if not for the rain (and lightning). Not bad, considering I'm fasting (as today is Friday) from meat, milk, and eggs and have not had 1000 calories all day long! Tomorrow I should get a great work out with kickboxing, to be followed up by a vigorous run, in shaa' allah. I also have one Arabic post ready for tonight and several more coming down the pipe. Over and out, for now.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Work Out Log 10 May 2010
Now as to the log, yesterday the work out had to be cancelled due to Mother's Day related issues. Today I ran 4 miles outside and got in a very good work out on triceps and pectorals. I made the run during the heat of the day, around 2 O'clock and was surprised at how much the heat sapped my strength and slowed me down. I was also surprised to find that I had received a somewhat mild sunburn on my shoulders and part of my chest, which kind of puts my plans for getting a tan on hold.
Now as for my weight-routine, I was somewhat disappointed on chest today, as initially I was only able to put 275 twice on the flat bench, and required a good amount of help to get to six reps. In my defense I had completely run out of supplements, had had nothing to eat since breakfast (I started with this exercise at 5:15 in the afternoon), and my spotter was not very good IMHO (no offense to the man, he seemed very nice but not to knowledgeable about weight lifting etc.). On the bright side, I managed to put up 225 on both the incline and decline benches subsequent to the flat bench, did very well on dips, and managed to lift more than 100 pounds on skull crushers. In addition to all of this I also found that I had dropped weight to 207 (despite my sister's delicious carrot cake and all of the extra icing that she made yesterday!). I will continue my progress tomorrow, in shaa' allah, with another good run (for the time being completely indoors....) and also a good biceps and forearms routine.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Work Out Log 8 May 2010
Now, at least when it comes to working out, I did make some progress. I managed to run 6 miles today, not a personal best by far but good progress considering I have been having trouble making it to 4 miles as of late. I rode up to the gym, got in a good, fast paced 3 miles on the treadmill, before I took a short water break (I did not have time to properly hydrate before my run as I usually do, but luckily this proved not to be a problem). I got back on and finished another mile at a more leisurely pace. I then did my standard ab workout of 100 crunches and 60 cycles, before experimenting with some other exercises. After this I got outside, knocked back a bit more water, and ran 2 miles back to my house at a good clip, without stopping once. For the first time in what seemed like forever, it did not seem to be an interminably long distance! After I was done I felt I had at least another two miles in me. Hopefully tomorrow I will have the time to hit my triceps and pecs hard and get in at least 4 miles on the treadmill, though since it is Mother's Day and all my time might be best spent elsewhere in other pursuits......... For now, good night and God bless.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Work Out Log 7 May 2010
Today I had an alright workout out. Drove up to the gym and ran around three miles on the treadmill before I did a good, fast leg routine. As to the run, it was a fairly good run, though I did have to take a pit stop. All in all I managed to finish it up in less than thirty minutes, not counting the stop. I did around 635 or so on the leg press, not my best by far but not bad considering my rather unfortunate recent trend of neglecting my legs. Not a bad work-out, all considered, but tomorrow I will be doing an all cardio workout that I expect to pick up the intensity a bit, not to mention hitting my abs, which were neglected today.
Now I realize I haven't blogged on anything Arabic, CLS, or Oman related but I will rectify this tomorrow, in shaa' allah. For now good night and God bless.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Work Out Log 5 May 2010
So anyways at about 9:00 PM I decided the day was not going to be a total waste so I grabbed the car (after yesterday's debacle I did not feel like running up again and anyway this would not have left me much time as I left around 9:30) and headed up to the gym. Tonight I engaged in the mother of all work-outs (at least as far as I am concerned): chest and triceps. I managed to put up 275 on the bench three times before I needed help (my gracious spotter gave me just a tap on the third rep) and I managed to put up 125 on skull crushers. I finished off with a hundred crunches and 60 bicycles and headed on home. All-in-all not a bad little work out, but the lack of any cardio was a serious oversight. Luckily tomorrow I am doing just cardio so this problem will be easily remedied.......
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Work-Out Log: 4 May 2010
After going to the doctor for a check-up and doing a little Arabic work etc., etc. I decided that I need to get a run in before dinner :).
I then proceeded to run down to the gym, again a distance of about two miles, made it down to the gym, and then hopped onto the treadmill for a mile run, followed by a bit of ab work. I would have run farther, but I decided to cut it short after 1 mile to make it home on time for dinner.
After finishing on abs (around 100 crunchs and 60 cycles), I bolted from the gym and headed home at a good clip. I made it there in under 20 minutes, not a bad time for me, but when I was turning to corner to my home street, I discovered that the wallet and keyring which I had taken with me (for no apparent reason), were longer present on my person. After calling up the gym and visiting there, I concluded that they were not there and proceeded to re-trace my steps over all 2.whatever miles of sidewalk and grass that I had run. Neither of them were anywhere to be found. I can only conclude that that either (a) I dropped them at some indeterminate point on the sidewalk and they were stolen or (b) I dropped them on a particular small, wooden bridge where they must have fallen into deep, murky water, never to be seen again. Sigh. After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I have come to terms with these facts and decided to press on doing everything I have been doing anyway. After all, what would life's triumph's be without it's disappointments and frustrations? So long as I learn from the experience I suppose it was all for the better, and in the end one cannot escape the fact that I came out of it all with another very good cardio work out under my belt :).
Monday, May 3, 2010
Work-Out Log: 3 May 2010
Al Mo3ajam: The Arabic Urban Dictionary
About a year ago a Saudi computer student decided that this was a ridiculous situation, and attempted to do something about it. He created a website called المعجم -- Al Mo3jam or "the lexicon." It is more or less an Arabic version of the website "Urban Dictionary", where Arabs (or anyone who speaks some Arabic) can go to create new definitions for words or phrases particular to their dialect which might cause problems to a speaker of High Arabic attempting to speak or understand that dialect. This site is mostly in Arabic but also features entries in French and English.
The section of Omani Arabic currently hosts 9 entries, though in fact I intend to personally expand this section significantly. For now let me translate the nine articles currently found under the Omani Arabic section:
http://ar.mo3jam.com/dialect/Omani
سَبلَه
sablah
سَبله كلمة عمانية محلية وتعني " المظلة الكبيرة " والتي غالبا ما تكون مصنوعة من سعف النخيل أو الأسبلتو. وقد يرجع أصل الكلمة إلى " السَبل" وهو إنزال جفن العين لتغطية العين. وقديماً، كان لكل ولاية عمانية مجلس عام يُسمى بال " السبلة العمانية " وهو المجلس
اللذي تتناقش فيه قضايا المجتمع المحلي وتغطى جميع الإشكاليات بين الأفراد
خلا نروح نجلس تحت السبلة
الشمس حامية، قوموا نروح تحت السبلة
وابوي مطر، ركضوا تحت السبلة
Translation: "Sablah" is a local Omani word and means "a big gazebo" and which, predominantly, is what is produced from the fronds of the palm tree or the Aspoloto (?). The origin of this word goes back to "Al sabl" and this is the lowering of the eyelid to the covering of the eye. And in olden times, every Omani province had aa general Majlis (council) which was called "The Omani Sabla." And this was the Majlis which discussed/debated local social conflicts and covered all of the problems between individuals.
Examples:
Let's go and sit under the Sablah.
The sun is hot, get up and let's go under the Sablah
Because of the rain (I am translating "Abuuwi" as "because of" because this makes sense here, but as far as I know this is the Palestinian way of saying "my father"), they ran under the Sablah.
خاشوقه
khashojah (probably khashoqah in Oamn--CJ)
خاشوقه أو خاشوجه كلمة ذات أصل تركي بمعني شوكة.
و الشوكة هي اداة تستخدم لتناول الطعام.
تستخدم الكلمة بالعراق و المناطق الساحلية بدول مجلس التعاون.
يا ولد جيب الخاشوقه
ابا خاشقه اكلبها الماكرونه
Translation:
Khashuqa or khashuga is a word whose orgins are Turkish, and which means "fork." (And) the "fork" is a utensil which you use to eat food (lol?).
The word is used in Iraq and the coastal regions in the area of the common sitting room (Majlis).
Examples:
Hey boy, bring the khashuqa(fork!)
aba khashuqa aklabha al makaruni--Not really sure what to make of this one.
مقمشة
moqamshah
المقمشة هى الكلمة المرادة ل " ملعقة " في سلطنة عمان. ونطقة المقمشة نفسه يختلف من منطقة إلى آخرى في السلطنة. ففي الشمال تنطق " مقمشة " و في الساحل الجنوبي تنطق " قفشة
".
عطيني المقمشة
قربي مقمشة
كِل المهلبية بمقمشة
Translation
The moqamshah is the commonly expressed word for "spoon" in the Sultanate of Oman. And the pronounciation of "moqamshah" itself differs from one region to another in the Sultanate. In the North, it is pronounced "moqamshah" and the the southern coast it is said as "qafsha."
Examples
Give me the moqamshah (spoon).
Bring me (closer) the mogamshah (spoon).
All of the pudding is in the moqamshah (spoon).
كشمه
kashma
كلمة ذات أصل هندي و تعني نظاره.
و الكلمة لا تزال تستخدم من قبل الافراد الذين ولدو قبل ١٩٧١ ميلاديه
وين كشمتي . ما اقدر اقرا الكتاب
Translation: An English translation is given with this article.
Kashma is a word of Indian origins that means glasses. This word is mainly used by people who were born before 1970.
Example
I can not read the book, were is my kashma
القاشع
Qasha3
القاشع هو سمك السردين المجفف. وتستخدم الكلمة بكثرة في المناطق الساحلية من السلطنة نظرا لكثرة إستخدام سمك السردين.
الغداء اليوم قاشع
ريحة القاشع واصلة أخر البلاد
Translation:
The "qaasha3" is dried sardine fish. And the word is used alot in the coastal areas of the Sultanate, given the frequent use of sardine fish (there).
Examples:
Lunch today is "qaasha3" (dried sardines).
The smell of qaasha3 (dried sardine) reaches the end of the country.
طس
ts (Tass--CJ)
بمعنى " اذهب " غير انها تستخدم عند الضجر !
طس باللي مايحفظك
Translation:
"Tass" means "Go!" (and) is not used except in anger!
Example:
Go (away) from that which does not preserve (benefit) you.
hehehe if you click on this one you get a message in Arabic telling you that it's not appropriate for young children and in order to preserve a "family friendly" atmosphere at al mo3ajam you will have to be registered to see it. You've been warned!
سنبول
sanbool
هذه الكلمة تعني فتحتة الشرج, او القضيب
اغسل سنبولك بعد التبول
Translation:
This word means the opening of the anus, or of the penis.
Example:
Clean your "sanbuul" after urinating.
I LOLed! haha
Translation of an Arabic Wikipedia Article: Omani Arabic
After actually translating the article, I was somewhat disappointed with the amount of actual information to be gained from it. Never the less, it proved a good exercise in my Arabic reading ability and I did learn a bit about the geographical distribution of the dialects in Oman.
So without further ado, here is the article in Arabic and my rather literal translation.
اللهجة العمانية
خارجة عن اللهجة الخليجية واللهجات العربية الأخرى وكلماتها متغيرة كليا ومعانيها مختلفة وهي لهجة عريقة توارثها الاجيال حتى وقتنا الحاضر، كما أن اللهجة العمانية تختلف من منطقة إلى أخرى وأحيانا من ولاية إلى أخرى.. فاللهجة بالمنطقة الشرقية تختلف عن الباطنة
وتختلف عن مسندم ووتختلف عن الداخلية وتختلف عن لهجة اهل ظفار.
تعتبر لهجة اهل مسقط - المسقطية - هي اللهجة المفهومة عند الكل ،لأن أغلب البرامج
والمسلاسلات التلفزيونية تعرض بهذه اللهجة...كما أنه اهل مسندم لكونهم بقرب من الفرس فإنهم قد تأثروا بهم فهناك بعض الكلمات الفارسية يستخدمونها في حديثهم باللغه العربية لذلك تكون غير مفهومة لمن لا يفهم الفارسية..ولهجة أهل ظفار قريبة من لهجات اليمن.. كما أن لهجة الشرقية ومحافظة البريمي تكون مفهومة عند اهل الإمارات...
واللهجات العمانية، غنية بكثير من التنوع في الظواهر الصوتية، ولكون اللهجات العامية بشكل عام، ما هي إلا تطور عن اللغة العربية الفصيحة، فكثيرا ما نجد للظواهر الصوتية في اللهجات العامية أصولا عربية فصيحة، مثال ذلك، قلب ضمير المخاطبة إلى شين، مثال:قلت لش، أي قلت لك، حيث تذكر المصادر أن هذه الظاهرة كانت موجودة عند بعض القبائل العربية.
ومن الظواهر الصوتية الشائعة أيضا تسهيل الهمزة، والتسهيل قد يكون بحذف الهمزة أو بقلبها إلى صوت آخر، مثلا كلمة :رأيت، تنطق في اللهجة العمانية، ريت، حيث تقلب الهمزة
إلى صوت ممال بين الألف والياء.
من الظواهر الصوتية أيضا، ما يسمى بالجيم القاهرية، وتشيع هذه الظاهر في ولايات المنطقة الداخلية من عمان، كولاية نزوى وبهلا وإزكي وغيرها.
وهناك أيضا قلب الجيم ياء، وهذه الظاهرة تشيع عادة في كلام البدو، وتوجد أحيانا هذه الظاهرة عند غير البدو، وقد لاحظت هذه الصفة عند بعض أهالي ولاية إبرا.
ومن الظواهر الصوتية أيضا قلب القاف إلى الجيم القاهرية، وهذه الظاهرة أيضا تشيع في كلام البدو عادة.
ومن الظواهر الصوتية قلب القاف إلى كاف، وتوجد هذه الظاهر في ولاية بهلا.
هذا وتوجد بعض الدراسات التي تناولت مجال اللهجات العمانية، على سبيل المثال، رسالة ماجستير في لهجة ولاية الحمراء، كما توجد دراسة حول لهجة ولاية صحار، وتوجد دراسة حول لهجة قريات، وتحتلف الدراسات المذكورة من حيث الجوانب التي تناولتها بالتحديد من اللهجة.وهذه الدراسات يمكن التوصل إليها من خلال مكتبة جامعة السلطان قابوس.
وتحت هناك فقرة صغيرة مبينة ان ليس عندها اي علاقة مع بقية المقالة فوقها
لاتختلف اللهجة العمانية عن أخواتها لهجات شبه الجزيرة العربية..فكل تركيبة أو أسلوب فيها له نظير في اللهجات الأخرى العربية.... وهناك مجموعة من اللهجات ربما تكون المجموعةالعمانية إذ يفهم العمانيو بعضهم البعض رغم اختلاف لهجاتهم.
وتقترب بعضها إلى الفصحى وهي لهجات غنية بالقاموس اللغوي. وهناك من ألف فيها أمثال الشيخ سعيد الحارثي ومحمود بن حميد
الجامعي....
And the translation (again, very literal):
The Omani Dialect
The Omani dialect differs from the (Arabian) Gulf dialect (of Arabic) and the other Arabic dialects and its words change entirely and their meanings differ. (And) It is a dialect, deep-rooted of heritage for generations until our present time. Just as the Omani dialect differs from one region to another and sometimes from one province to another…the dialect in the eastern region (name of a province in Oman) differs from the interior, and the dialect of Masandam differs from the Dakhalyi (dialect), which differs from the dialect of the people of Dofar.
The dialect of the people of Muscat—Muscati—is the understood dialect to all, because the most predominate of TV serial programs are presented in the dialect….for the people of Musandam, due to their geographical proximity to Persia, may be influenced (by Persia), for there are Persian words which they use in their speech in the Arabic language. Thus (their Arabic) is not understandable to someone who does not understand Persian. And the dialect of the people of Dofar is close to the dialect of Yemen, just as the dialect of the East (a province) and the province of Barimy is understood by the people of the (United Arab) Emirates.
The Omani dialects are very rich in the diversity of their phonological phenomena, and in general, the Omani dialects are nothing except an evolution of the eloquent Arabic language (id est al fuS7a—High Arabic). Frequently what we find in the Omani dialects for phonological phenomena are rooted in High Arabic, for example, the transformation of the attached pronoun to “shin”, for example “qult lish” i.e. “qultu laki” (I said to you(feminine), where it is remembered that the source (sources) (of this change) are that this phenomenon was found amongst some of the Arabic (Bedouin) tribes.
And also from among the common phonological phenomena are the easing (lightening?) of the “hamza” (the letter representing the glottal stop in Arabic, as the dash in the English “uh-oh”, which may be found in any and all positions in Classical Arabic words) and this easing may exist in the elision of the Hamza or its change to another sound, for example a word: “ra2aytu” (“I saw”, the 2=hamza), which is said in the Omani dialect (and one should add, almost all Arabic dialects—CJ) “rayt”, where the Hamza changes to a middling sound between the Alif (long “a” sound) and the “Yaa2” (long “I” sound, as in Spanish).
And from the phonological phenomena also, is what is called the “Cairene ‘Jiim’” (the letter “Jiim” is usually pronounced as a sound somewhat similar to the English “j” in most Arabic dialects, but in the dialect of Cairo this is famously pronounced as the letter “g” in the word “graft”--CJ), and this phenomenon often occurs in the provinces of the area of the Daachliy in Oman, such as the state of Nizwa, and Bahala, and Izki, and others besides these. And there is also the change of the “Jeem” (to) “Yaa2”, and this phenomenon usually appears in the speech of the Bedouin, and this phenomenon is sometimes found amongst non-Bedouin people, and sometimes this characteristic is observed of some of the peoples of the state of Ibra.
And also from among the phonological phenomena is the change of the “Qaaf” (a letter representing a deep, uvular plosive “k” not found in any Western languages--CJ) to the “Cairene Jiim”, and this phenomenon also often appears in the speech of the Bedouin. And (also) from among the phonological phenomena is the change of the “Qaaf” to the “Kaaf” (=K), and this phenomenon is found in the state of Bahala.
(“This”—I just cannot figure out what the purpose of this word is) And there are some studies which have been presented (in) the domain of the Omani dialects, for instance, a masters thesis on the dialect of the province of Hamra, just as there is a study about the dialect of the state of Sahar, and there is also to be found a study on the dialect of Kireat, and the before mentioned studies differ (I believe there is a typo in this word—should read “ta5tallif” not “ta7tallif”--CJ) in regards to the sides (views) which they present about the demarcation of the dialect. And these studies may be obtained through the office of Sultan Qaboos University.
And underneath is this little paragraph which appears to have a nebulous relation, at best, to the rest of the article………
The Omani dialect does not differ from her sisters the (other) dialects of the Arabian Peninsula, for every expression or phrase in it is observed in the other (Arabic) dialects. And there is a group of dialects which may be the Omani group since the Omanis understand one another despite the differences of their dialects. And they are (all) close to High Arabic and they are dialects rich in the linguistic dictionary. And there are thousands of examples of it of the Shaykh Sa’iid Al-Harathi and Mahmoud bin Hamiid Al Jama’i.
Comments:
This article frustrated me at several points. The usage of "fa" to connect seemingly unrelated ideas seemed to defy translation to some extent, and my awkward usage of "for" (perhaps because of the alliteration with "fa"? I honestly don't know....) is evidence of this. Also the I found the information presented to be somewhat frustrating. It offered some general comments on the phonology of Omani Arabic, but absolutely nothing I hadn't heard before, except for the interesting bits about the geographical distribution of the different pronunciations. All in all not what I was expecting but I am glad that I did it. Also getting those studies from the Sultan Qaboos uni is now officially on my to do list.....
Sunday, May 2, 2010
First Post
Introductions. Always an awkward start, but even the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step......
My name is CJ Canton, and I am a college student studying Arabic (inter alia) at Florida State University. I am a junior there, now on the cusp of my fourth acemic year (Fall 2010-Spring 2011). This April I was blessed to find out that I had been selected to recieve the Critical Language Scholarship for Arabic, a US State Department funded program which pays for US college students to travel to foreign countries where languages considered crucial to US economic, culture, political, and securty interests are spoken in order to learn them and gain a mastery of them, which should (theoretically) prove useful to the United States of America at some undetermined time in the future. Anyway, I was (apparently) selected for the advanced level of instruction, and will be sent to Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman, for a period of slightly more than two months (June 12-August 13) in order to undertake an intense course of Arabic studies, apparently equivalent to one year of formal university-level instruction.
Seeing as I have been truly blessed with this wonderful opportunity, I have taken it upon myself to prepare as much as possible for this spectacular adventure which awaits me. The spring semester at college ended for me two days ago, and I now have 39 (really 38 now but as the time is now only around twelve o'clock PM 3 May, I am choosing to write this entry and perhaps the following entry as if the date were 2 May 2010) days to prepare myself. This will entail trying to learn and practice as much written "High Arabic" as I can whilst at the same time learn as much as possible about the dialect of Oman, particularly Muscat. It will also entail cobbling together the camera, clothes, and other provisions which will be necessary for the duration of my stay in Oman. For personal reasons I find that my self-confidence is highly linked to the state of my physical fitness, and so I will also be using this blog as an exercise blog (thus the title "The Run up to Muscat"). After I have arrived in Muscat I will stop posting on this blog and open up a new, "The Run Through Muscat."
There is much to do, but at the same time I find it hard to express my excitement for this opportunity in words. I have never been outside of the US in my life, and for those of you who do not know Oman is an unbelievably amazing land, a place of exquisite beauty and even mystery, as its people are known for keeping out of the headlines and even other Arabs seem somewhat in the dark about it. Although definitely part of the Arab world, Oman and particularly Muscat have always been an integral part of the naval commerce of the Indian Ocean, and being so far to the East (farther east than any other Arabic countries except for Bahrain and parts of Iraq) Muscat is something of a bridge between Arabic and Indian cultures. Although I was somewhat disappointed when I initially found out that I had been placed in Muscat (the CLS offers programs in five other countries, though the applicant had no choice in where they are assigned), now as I learn more and more about the country I would not go anywhere else if I could!
I can only ask for the help of the Almighty and whatever prayers or positive feedback my readers might offer on my behalf. Thanks for reading this first post and may God bless you.