Arabic-L:LING:License plates responses

[Dilworth B. Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Wed 10 Jan 2001
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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1) Subject: License plates response
2) Subject: License plates response
3) Subject: License plates response
4) Subject: License plates response

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1)
Date:10 Jan 2001
From: Waheed Samy <wasamy at umich.edu>
Subject: License plates response

Egyptian license plates used to be Arabic (Hindi) with the same number in
French (Arabic).  But recently, the French (Arabic) has been dropped.  Thus
the plates are only in Arabic (Hindi).

Educated Egyptians have no problems with either number system.  But, the
Arabic (Hindi) VS Latin (Arabic) distinction is one of context; (like in
computers).

Waheed

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2)
Date:10 Jan 2001
From:  Mutarjm at aol.com
Subject: License plates response

Greetings.

That phenomenon of license plates printed with both systems of numbers seems
a fairly-common practice in most Arab countries, especially in the Arabian
GCC countries.

HTH.

Regrds from Los Angeles,

Stephen H. Franke

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3)
Date:10 Jan 2001
From: zeinabib <zeinabib at aucegypt.edu>
Subject: License plates response

The cars that have Arabic numbers are ones that have just arrived from abroad
and they are keeping the plates and should have the Hindi ones(as these are
illegal). sometimes, they keep both to show that these cars came from abroad.
That's all.
Zeinab Ibrahim

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4)
Date:10 Jan 2001
From: dwilmsen <dwilmsen at aucegypt.edu>
Subject: License plates response

Some, but not all, automobile license plates in Egypt display two sets of
numerals:  Arabic and their western counterparts.  Some street numbers do so
too.

As far as I have observed, no license plates display western numerals
exclusively, although some street numbers do.

In speech, many Egyptians can and do use western numbers.  What is more,
/ziiru/ has almost completely displaced /sifr/.

You will also see people taking numbers in dictation hearing Arabic and
writing in western figures or vice versa.  (In jotting down mobile telephone
numbers, for instance.  In that context you will also find people dictating
thus:  "ziiru itnaashar..." - using the prefix for the service provider
"Click" - or "ziiru @ashara..." - the "Mobinil" prefix.)

Switching between fonts implies using a computer, in which case, the user is
limited by the software in switching between Arabic and western numerals.  In
one of my computers, the switch to Arabic sometimes occurs when it is not
welcome!

Dr. David Wilmsen
Director, Arabic and Translation Studies
The American University in Cairo

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End of Arabic-L:10 Jan 2001