ARABIC-L: LING: Spanish Fish Names in Arabic

[Dilworth B. Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Thu 29 Apr 1999
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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1) Subject: Spanish Fish Names in Arabic

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1)
Date: 29 Apr 1999
From: DWILMSEN at aucegypt.edu
Subject: Spanish Fish Names in Arabic

I have a list of common names of fish in Spanish which I have been asked to
translate into Arabic for the Hilton Hotel in Cario.  Apparently they want
to make an order of some cases of fish (hundreds of them) and want to know
what they are buying (or what they might want to buy).

I have found some of the names on on-line dicitonaries (of course not the
Arabicnames) and will eventually proceed to look for their Arabic
equivalents.

I have also asked the translators on Lantra-L and have, as ususal, been
answered quickly.  (That is a wonderful resource.  We have used it repeatedly
to solve problems in translation.  Of course there are no Arabic translators
on that list, or at least not many.  But at least we can find someone who
knows something and then nitSarraf ba'a.)

The trouble is that I now have many names for these fish.

I am going to try to find matches in al-mawrid, and then will assume that those
are the ones known in the Arab world.  And then check them against Hinds and
Badawi.  We'll see what turns up.

I make this request by means of sharing an intersting problem with you all,
maybe in the hopes of opening up a discussion about Arabic translation in
general on this list.  And also to see if I can save a little time.

Those pesky fish are as follows:

verrugato
sable
gallina
pargo
burro
besugo
roncador
corvina
pompano
sargo

bi alf hana wa shifa

David Wilmsen
Arabic and Translation Studies
American University in Cairo

Oh and by the way.  Notice that some of the names are common Spanish names
but clearly with specialized meanings.

I am nearly native in Spanish, and a fisherman to boot.  But I don't know any
fish names in Spanish.  Actually the Arabic ones confuse me too.  I know them
and I know what I like to eat (nearly all of them), but I cant tell you which
ones are which without having recourse to good old Badawi and Hinds!

eat up y'all

david

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End of Arabic-L: 29 Apr 1999