Kids Songs Around the World with English Translations
or French Translations
or Spanish Translations
Mama Lisa's World Blog
English Nursery Rhymes
Mother Goose in French
Wizard of Oz Audiobook
Poetry for Kids
ML Reviews
Mama Lisa's Hub
This is the Arabic Archive Page
- No categories
Categories
- 1512 (1)
- Arts and Crafts (21)
- Books (56)
- Children's Songs (432)
- Countries & Cultures (912)
- Customs (42)
- Folk Lore (6)
- Folk Songs (76)
- Food & Nutrition (4)
- Games (40)
- Gardens (2)
- History of Nursery Rhymes (8)
- Holiday Calendar (1)
- Holiday Songs (154)
- Holidays Around the World (340)
- Languages (723)
- Learning (37)
- Lullabies (40)
- Mama Lisa (422)
- Movies & TV (23)
- Music (63)
- Nursery Rhymes (161)
- Parenting (72)
- People (18)
- Photos (27)
- Podcasts (29)
- Poetry (96)
- Proverbs (20)
- Questions (309)
- Quotes (7)
- Recipes of the World (74)
- Recommendations (62)
- Recordings of Nursery Rhymes (19)
- Recordings of Songs (101)
- Rhymes by Theme (42)
- Seasonal (29)
- Songs by Theme (69)
- Teaching (41)
- Traditional Songs (2)
- Traveling (35)
- Video (23)
- Words & Phrases (16)
- YouTube (70)
My Tweets
Archive for the 'Arabic' Category
Contents
Posts
Modern Poetry Around the World
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009Cross Cultural Poetics has podcasts featuring modern poets from different countries around the world.
The first podcast features Egyptian poets Mohamed Metwalli and Maged Zaher and Chinese poet Zhang Er. They compare Chinese and Arabic poetry to English poetry.
Zhang Er points out that Chinese poetry has no tense – so it has an eternal feeling to it. It has no plurals, no articles and no pronouns. Whereas English poetry is more static – it’s set in time.
Maged Zaher points out that the spoken Arabic language is different from the written language. He said the written Arabic language is more ornamental and rhetorical and that made his poetry more sentimental. To be free of this he writes his poetry in English.
Mohamed Metwalli said he writes in Arabic because that’s the language he dreams in. He speaks English and studied English literature growing up, so there is an influence of it on his poetry. He writes in a modern Arabic form that’s influenced by English.
You can listen to the 1st podcast here.
Modern Arabic Transliteration
Friday, February 13th, 2009Mourad Bendjennet sent us information about a new way of transliterating Arabic that has come about since the advent of computers. Here we’re talking specifically about transliterating Arabic by writing the language in the Roman alphabet to show how to pronounce it in English…
“With the introduction of computers and text messages among Arabs, they write a lot of transliterations. They noticed that many Arabic letters were written with Latin letter compounds that made reading difficult. So they decided to create a new way of writing.
Example #1 : Instead of writing ‘Kh’ like Spanish ‘j’ or German ‘ch’ in ‘Bach’, we write the number 5. Graphically speaking, it looks like the letter خ. On top of that, Arabic number 5 is pronounced Khamsa. There’s the letter خ in this number.
Example #2 : Instead of writing ‘Ha’ (strong ‘h’) like Mohamed or Halal, we write number 7. Graphically speaking, it looks like the letter ح.
Example #3 : Formerly, the letter ‘K’ would transliterate both ك and ق, while it should transliterate only the letter ك. As to the letter ق, it’s presently replaced by the number 9. Graphically speaking, 9 looks like the letter ق. To pronounce it, the “k” sound must go out from the bottom of the throat, not from the top of it.
Example #4 : Formerly, the letter ‘A’ would transliterate the letter أ while it’s pronounced rather “eh” than “ah”. So number ‘2′ was adopted because graphically speaking, it looks like the symbol on the top of the letter أ, that is to say ء.
Example #5 : Formerly, the letter ‘T’ would transliterate both ت and ط, while it should only transliterate the letter ت. As for the letter ط it’s presently replaced by number 6 because graphically speaking, it looks like the letter ط. The letter ت is pronounced ‘t’ like in ‘tea’ (without the ‘explosion’ of English ‘t’ pronunciation) and the letter ط is pronounced ‘Ta’ (i.e. curving the soft palate upwards).
Example #6 : Instead of writing ‘Aa’ to transliterate the letter ع an ‘ah’ sound going out from the bottom of the throat, we write number 3 because it graphically looks like it.
Example #7 : The letter هـ (pronounced ‘h’) is replaced by number 8 because graphically speaking, it looks like the letter هـ.
Following those principles, we can show the transliteration of a specific children’s song from Tunisia. First you’ll see it in the Arabic text, then the transliteration, followed by an English translation…
Transliteration
3andi dbeyyib ya ma7le8 ya ma7le8
Gannooshoo 5ashmoo wate8 (x2)
Shoofoo shoofoo 3yoonoo (x2)
Barra9a min koth’r thke8.All the R’s are rolled.”
English Translation
I have a nice soft Teddy Bear
His nose looks very fine
Look, look, his eyes,
Shining with intelligence.Many thanks to Ilyes Bekri for contributing this song and to Monique Palomares for the English translation. Thanks also to Mourad Bendjennet for help with the song and such an interesting commentary about the new way to transliterate the Arabic language.
Come visit our Arabic Children’s Song Page for links to all of our Arabic kids songs.
You can also read this post about Arabic transliteration in French or Spanish.
Mama Lisa
Moroccan Lullabies and Kids Songs
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008Jennie sent me some Moroccan lullabies and songs today with this note…
Dear Mama Lisa!
I came across your website today after doing a Google search looking for children’s songs and lullabies from Morocco… Recently I just moved to Morocco, with my baby, and was interested in learning some songs.
I have picked up a few songs while I was here, and thought that I would share them with you. Unfortunately, I am not able to type in Arabic, so I will do my best transliteration. I hope you are able to use them! They are all sung in Morocco, although they may not all be from true Moroccan origin because of all the different cultural influences present in the country, as I know lots of Egyptian and French songs are popular here. Thank you and enjoy!
This one is a children’s song, the added (a) sound at the very end is if a girl sings since it is a language that uses different forms of words for different genders, without the (a) at the end is for boys.
Arso mo baba
Arso mo mama
bil alwan, bil alwan
Arso mo alami
Foq alqemami
Ana fanan(a)I draw my father
I draw my mother
With all the colors, with all the colors
I draw a flag
Up on the cliff
I am an artist.This song is a lullaby, and as far as I know is repeated over and over until the little one sleeps…
Endi baba wa endi mama
doma miyo
h’tah fil nomI have my father, and I have my mother
Always with me
Even in sleep.This one is a children’s song that makes use of animal sounds, so the mool is like a cow, the ma and ba’s are like sheep and goats, and the mia is like a cat, it is cute and one of my favorites!
Mool dar
Ma-lo
ba-ha
ba-shahal
mia-miaThe owner of the house
What’s with him
The house is for sale
How much is it
Hundreds and hundreds.Keep up the good work!
Sincerely,
Jennie
If anyone can help with the original Arabic text of any of these songs, please email me. We’d also love to learn more about their origins. If you know anything about any of these songs, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks to Jennie for sharing these lovely lullabies!
-Mama Lisa
Can Someone Help with the Lyrics or Melody to the Arabic Lullaby called “Doha Ya Doha”?
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008Rondi wrote to me…
Hello Lisa!
This is Rondi Charleston – I am a singer/songwriter in the NY area.
I have an important recording project coming up in which I need an Arabic Lullaby to incorporate into an original song. I’m searching for the MELODY! Sheet music? or an MP3?
I heard about “Doha Ya Doha” from an article in Mothering Magazine by Cynthia Mosher. However, I can not find the lyrics and melody anywhere! I contacted Cynthia, but she no longer has the book, and can’t remember the song.
Also, by any chance, do you know any songs in Arabic that talk about PEACE?
I would GREATLY APPRECIATE any assistance you can give. I’ve tried the Arabic publishing house but they no longer have it. It is a traditional lullaby, apparently.
PLEASE contact me with any information.
Best Always,
RondiIf anyone can help Rondi, please comment below or email me.
Thanks in advance!
Lisa
Multilingual Kids Books on the Web
Thursday, January 3rd, 2008I’ve been asked twice in the past week for free multilingual books.
Here’s a link I found called Books in Multiple Languages. They have English children’s books with translations in Spanish, French, Polish, Italian, Romanian, German, Chinese, Finnish, Swedish, Maori, Greek, Dutch, Farsi (Persian), Afrikaans, Croatian, Turkish, Russian, Japanese, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Arabic, Hebrew, Pennsylvania Dutch, Sloven, Indonesian, Malaysian, Hungarian, Dari, Hindi and Filipino.
If anyone knows of any other good multilingual book links, feel free to let us know about it in the comments below.
Someone was also looking for children’s books with animal sounds around the world. There’s one called Who Says a Dog Goes Bow Wow? by Hank de Zutter. You can click the link to see it on Amazon.
-Mama Lisa
The Muslim Festival Eid al-Adha – Festival of Sacrifice – is Celebrated Today
Thursday, December 20th, 2007This year Eid al-Adha (a holiday that’s also known as Eid Kbir) is held on the 18th to the 20th around the Muslim world. It’s a festival celebrating Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son for Allah.
Everyone dresses up and goes to the mosque to perform the Eid prayer. Families that can afford it will also sacrifice an animal such as a sheep. Most of the meat of the sacrificed animal should go to the poor. The rest can be used for a feast for family and friends.
Arabic Children’s Songs with Recordings
Friday, April 13th, 2007This week we were fortunate enough to receive recordings of four Arabic songs from Lebanon. I’m posting one of the songs below for you to hear.
Here’s Tic Tic Tic Sleiman’s Mother in Arabic, with an English translation and the transliteration, so you can listen along to hear how to pronounce it.
If you’d like to have the computerized text. You can find it on the Tic Tic Tic Sleiman’s Mother song page.
MP3 of Tic Tic Tic Sleiman’s Mother
Tic Tic Tic Sleiman’s Mother
English TranslationTic Tic Tic Sleiman’s mother
Tic Tic Tic where was your husband?
Tic Tic Tic he was in the fields
Picking plums and pomegranates.Tic Tic Tic y’am sleiman
TransliterationTic Tic Tic y’am sleiman
Tic Tic Tic jawsik wan kan?
Tic Tic Tic kan bil haqle
am yektouf khawkh wou remmanMany thanks to Rima for contributing this song, to Haya for contributing the lyrics in Arabic writing and to Sandy Tanios Jean for singing this song for us! Shukran!
If you’d like to hear more recordings of Arabic kids songs, click the following link to visit our Lebanon Arabic Children’s Song Pages and the Palestinian Children’s Song Pages.
Can You Help with a Lebanese Song about Petting a Cat?
Tuesday, January 9th, 2007Michele wrote me:
Hello,
My Mom’s side of the family is part Lebanese and I grew up hearing a song about petting a cat and then it tries to grab some meat and gets smacked. Something like “beese, beese, yup si na, kinthee lahama wisheena, ibbis”. Sound familiar?
Thanks,
MicheleIf anyone can help with this song, please comment below or email me.
Thanks!
Lisa
Great Link for Language Learning
Monday, December 4th, 2006If you’re trying to learn a new language, I’d recommend checking out LanguageGuide.org.
Users visit different theme related pages (i.e. about insects, the family, the farm). Each page has images related to the theme. You place your cursor over the images and hear their names pronounced and see them spelled out in the language you choose.
Because it’s visually based, these pages can be used by anyone in the world, regardless of your native language.
Here are the languages they have:
English (English)
Italian (Italiano)
Arabic (عربي;)
Spanish (Español)
Portuguese (Português)
Mandarin Chinese (普通话)
French (Français)
Russian (Русский)
Japanese (日本語 Nihongo)
German (Deutsch)
Hebrew (עברית)So if you’re interested in learning any of these languages, or improving your skills, check it out!
-Lisa
________
Help Support
Mama Lisa's World!
$5, $10, $25
or any amount welcome!
