The “Al” in Arabic Language

Is your business considering expanding to the Middle East? Arabic is a beautifully sophisticated language. Are your prepared for all of the localization involved?

Here at LinguaLinx, we help clients all over the world translate their websites and documents (from legal to healthcare to educational) into 98% of the world's known languages.

Localization can insure that nothing is lost in translation, helping your marketing campaigns strike the right cultural chord.

This article highlights just two of the innumerable intricacies of the Arabic language.

"al" Means "The"

The prefix “al” means “the” in the Arabic language.

Ever hear names in the news such as Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, al-Badri, Ansar al-Sunna, or al-Zarqawi?

Surely, we are all familiar with al-Qaeda; literally translated, al-Qaeda means “the base” or “the foundation”. In addition, surnames that begin with ‘al’ often refer to the place where someone’s ancestors were born.

Saddam Hussein, for example, used to be called by his family name, ‘al-Tikriti.’ Since ‘al-‘ serves as the definite article, the name ‘Saddam al-Tikriti’ means ‘Saddam, the guy from Tikrit.’

Why Do Names End In The Letter I?

In these cases, the last name generally ends with the letter ‘i,’ which turns the name of a place into a description of a person. Arabic surnames can also combine the definite article with the name of a profession.

Ali Hassan al-Majid, for example, was given the nickname ‘Chemical Ali,’ or ‘Ali al-Kimyai’which can be translated as ‘Ali the Chemist.’ (Indeed, the English word ‘alchemy' comes from the Arabic term for chemistry combined with the ‘al-‘ prefix.)

The Arabic Language is filled with many such nuances. That’s why successful marketing and localization require a thorough understanding of the Arabic culture to make a translation truly successful.

The Power of Localization

If you have a need to translate documents or your website from any language into another language, LinguaLinx can help.

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