Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Arabic term or phrase:
شحال هادي
English translation:
in the past
Added to glossary by
Michael McCain (X)
Oct 3, 2007 00:23
16 yrs ago
Arabic term
شحال هادي
Arabic to English
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Moroccan dialect, questionnaire
فرأيك، واش الإسلام تايلعب دور أكبر أو دور أصغر بالنسبة للمسلمين ففرانسا من اللي كان عليه شحال هادي؟
Does this mean 'in years past' or ''years ago'?
Does this mean 'in years past' or ''years ago'?
Proposed translations
(English)
| 5 | in the past |
younes-01
|
| 4 +2 | منذ زمان= long time ago |
lhcm
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| 5 -2 | Slang word should be omitted for betterunderstanding |
Rasha Omar (X)
|
| 3 | how long has it been |
Khalid W
|
Proposed translations
9 days
Selected
in the past
Hi , this is Moroccan dialect. I am a Moroccan and naturally I understand Moroccan dialect.
that word شحال هادي
simply means in the past or before and not long time ago.
that word شحال هادي
simply means in the past or before and not long time ago.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks for your feedback. "In the past" works better than "a long time ago" in this context since the Muslim population in France arrived relatively recently in French history."
-2
11 hrs
Slang word should be omitted for betterunderstanding
فرأيك، واش الإسلام تايلعب دور أكبر أو دور أصغر بالنسبة للمسلمين ففرانسا من اللي كان عليه شحال هادي؟
ً
I think this Arabic style of writing is not right Because it is a mix of formal and informal Arabic.
All of that made me don't understand
-------
فرأيك must written في رأيك
واتسthis word is not Arabic
من اللي كلن is informal ,it is said من الذي كان
هادي means calm in formal,it can mean is slang " this" or "هذا"
شحال is not in formal Arabic, it is said in some slangs as a greeting words"How are you?"
--------
Finally, All this missing elements in this sentence , makes the native speaker of Arabic can't understand
ً
I think this Arabic style of writing is not right Because it is a mix of formal and informal Arabic.
All of that made me don't understand
-------
فرأيك must written في رأيك
واتسthis word is not Arabic
من اللي كلن is informal ,it is said من الذي كان
هادي means calm in formal,it can mean is slang " this" or "هذا"
شحال is not in formal Arabic, it is said in some slangs as a greeting words"How are you?"
--------
Finally, All this missing elements in this sentence , makes the native speaker of Arabic can't understand
Note from asker:
| I think all serious Arabic translators know the difference between classical Arabic and the many dialects, and they understand that sometimes it is acceptable and even more effective to write in dialect. Take, for example, the political blog by Wael Abbass: http://misrdigital.blogspirit.com/ |
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
paleozon
: The whole sentence is slang, which is a specificity and distinction of every society. Lack of knwoledge of it does not diminish of its importance to justify your suggestion.
1 day 10 hrs
|
| disagree |
Mohsin Alabdali
: Strongly disagree. A translator has no business correcting the material to be translated. Slang is the material of most conversational texts.
2 days 20 hrs
|
16 hrs
how long has it been
In a question, شحال هادي means "How long has it been?", as in شحال هادي وانت فالمغرب؟
Here, it seems to refer generally to the past, so your suggestions would work. I might use:
"In your opinion, does Islam play a larger or smaller role for Muslims in France than it used to?
Here, it seems to refer generally to the past, so your suggestions would work. I might use:
"In your opinion, does Islam play a larger or smaller role for Muslims in France than it used to?
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
paleozon
: In this context it means: long ago... "In your opinion, is Islam playing a greater (role) or lesser role in regards to Muslims in France, compared to long ago?" Note the Present Continous use!
1 day 5 hrs
|
|
What would the entire sentence be? I realize the word I gave up top is different from my sentence, but I want to look at the sentence as a whole
|
+2
3 hrs
lhcm
Specializes in field
منذ زمان= long time ago
your understanding is very close. thanks!
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Note added at 3 hrs (2007-10-03 03:53:34 GMT)
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not specify years or months or days. just " long time".
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Note added at 22 hrs (2007-10-03 23:04:15 GMT)
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sorry! the meaning of this word in the context should be : in the past
not "long time ago".
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Note added at 22 hrs (2007-10-03 23:05:27 GMT)
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means " period of time in the past "
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Note added at 3 hrs (2007-10-03 03:53:34 GMT)
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not specify years or months or days. just " long time".
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Note added at 22 hrs (2007-10-03 23:04:15 GMT)
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sorry! the meaning of this word in the context should be : in the past
not "long time ago".
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Note added at 22 hrs (2007-10-03 23:05:27 GMT)
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means " period of time in the past "
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Mohamed Mehenoun
50 mins
|
|
the answer has been modified to " period of time in the past" ,do you still agree?
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| agree |
Sayed Moustafa talawy
4 hrs
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the answer has been modified to " period of time in the past" ,do you still agree?
|
Discussion