OMAN
Language
Language
Language
The official language in Oman is Arabic, a Semitic language. Another Semitic language, Aramaic, was the common language in the Middle and Near East before the beginning of our era. With the expansion of Islam, the Arabic language also became widespread throughout the Arabian peninsula. The Arabic language in Oman is most closely related to the classical Arabic language, the language of the Koran.
The Arabic script consists of 28 letters that are usually written together. Arabic words are written from right to left; numbers are written from left to right!
In South Oman, Jebeli or Shehri, which is related to Arabic, is still spoken. The Shihuh tribe on the Musandam peninsula speak a mixture of Arabic and Persian. Omanis in the east of Oman are originally from Zanzibar (Africa) and still speak Swahili.
The second official language is English. Signposts and street names are often in Arabic and English. Because of the many guest workers, Urdu and Farsi are also widely spoken.
Some pronunciation rules of Arabic:
- -all letters are pronounced
- -a "means that a letter is spoken very briefly
- -de r is a rolling r
- -de y is pronounced sj
- -de sh is pronounced sj
- -the gh is pronounced as a brew-r or French r
- -the kh is pronounced like a hard g
- -de ou is pronounced oe
There is no fixed spelling for Arabic words. The names are written as they are pronounced. So Aqaba can be spelled just as well as Aqaba.
The Arabic script is written from right to left and consists of 28 consonants. Vowels are not written, which results in different Latin spellings for one and the same word. Arabic numerals are written from left to right.
Words and questions:
| English | Arabic |
| One | wahed, female: wahda |
| Two | etnen |
| Three | talata |
| Ten | ‘ashra |
| Hundred | meyya |
| Thousand | ‘alf |
| Sunday | yom el had |
| Woednesday | yom el ’arba’ |
| Yes | ‘aywa |
| No | la’ |
| Summer | sef |
| Winter | sheta |
| Where is the hotel? | fen el fondok? |
| What time is it? | essa’a kam? |
| What is your name? | ‘esm-ak ‘ak? (man) |
| What is your name? | ‘esm-ek ‘eh? (woman) |
| Do you have change? | ‘andokom fakka? |
Sources
Callan, L. / Oman & United Arab Emirates
Lonely Planet
Foster, L.M. / Oman
Children’s Press
Medani Elsayed, M. / Reishandboek Oman en de Verenigde Arabische Emiraten
Elmar
Van Deuren, G. / Oman, Verenigde Arabische Emiraten
Gottmer/Becht
CIA - World Factbook
BBC - Country Profiles
Copyright: Team The World of Info