Arabic-L:LING:Egyptian and Yemeni slurs

[Dilworth B. Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Wed 30 Jan 2002
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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1) Subject: Egyptian slurs revised
2) Subject: Yemeni slurs

-------------------------Messages--------------------------------------
1)
Date:  30 Jan 2002
From: Humphrey Davies <hdavies at aucegypt.edu>
Subject: Egyptian slurs revised

In my last posting I wrongly stated (following Hinds-Badawi) that the
singular of nawar  (a gypsy group) was nuuri; in fact it is niwari,
and nuuri occurs only in the proverb I quoted, where that form is
used for the rhyme.

I also got the plural of minuufi wrong: it should be manayfa; and
what's more their reputation is for faithlessness rather than
stinginess; it's the people of Damietta (damayTa) who are stingy.

Finally an addition to the vocabulary of ethnic disparagement used
against Christians: the term arba'a riisha ("four feathers," in
reference to the cross, which Copts often have tattooed on their
wrists), as in da arba'a riisha "he's a Christian." The use of the
numeral with -a and singular noun in this context is interesting.

Humphrey Davies
c/o School of Humanities (223)
American University in Cairo
Cairo, Egypt

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2)
Date:  30 Jan 2002
From: Davidson MacLaren <davidson_maclaren at hotmail.com>
Subject: Yemeni slurs

One of the common "ethic slurs" I oft-overheard while living in
San:aa', Yemen was "khobani," that is to say someone from Khoban, a
region located in the Ibb governate, roughly situated east of the
cities of Ibb and Yarim, southwest of the city of Rada', and north of
the town Qa'taba, a former border post between North and South Yemen.
The town of Hammam Damt, famous for its volcanic hot springs, is in
Khoban.  Used pejoratively, khobani is similar in meaning to
hillbilly, country-bumpkin, and, perhaps, redneck.  To the extent
that I am aware, the pejorative usage is limited to the territory
that formerly comprised North Yemen.

Davidson MacLaren

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End of Arabic-L:  30 Jan 2002
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