Well, the people in Israel do. This is probably going to be the most difficult thing to grasp and be consistently mindful of for most of us Singers on our trip. In everyday life, our feet are just our feet! We cross our legs, stand on the sides of our feet, etc. without a second thought. But in Middle-Eastern cultures, things are a bit different. Granted, Israel is a very Westernized nation - the most westernized in the Middle East, and most places will be a bit more lax on certain cultural norms. But there are places where you must be careful what you do with your feet, especially in Arab areas.
The basic rule is: Never show the bottom of your feet or shoes. Ever. This is considered one of the most disrespectful things you can do in Arab culture. It symbolizes to them that you feel they are below you, like the dirt you walk on. Thus you must be very mindful of what you do with your feet.
1) Don't cross your legs. Try to remain seated with both feet firmly planted on the ground.
2) If you are asked to remove your shoes, place them on their sides with the soles facing towards each other.
3) When bending down to pick something up, make sure your feet are still flat on the ground.
4) Don't let your feet pivot about from the side to the bottom. I do this all the time and must learn to get rid of this habit.
Of course, these rules are mostly going to apply in homes in which you stay. Again, Israel is very Westernized, and many people are not quite as uptight about such things, so I am not trying to scare anyone, but instead make you mindful of these customs so as not to cause an international incident.
Could anyone figure out how to pronounce the last two Arabic words?? My guess is very few of you. So let's learn some pronunciation!
Arabic is read from right to left, as is Hebrew and other Aramaic languages. Arabic's symbols can represent any number of sounds, which makes the language difficult to read if you don't understand it. Addtionally, a single sound has multiple symbols based on where it appears in a word.
- Marhaben!, meaning "Hello!"Let's dissect the symbols.
مـ is the beginning of the word. This indicates the consonant "m." You'll notice there is a slash over the top of the word. What this means is you will say a bright "a" sound after you say the "m". So, you have, "ma-" so far.
ـر You will notice that this symbol is connected to the "m." This is the "r" sound. Also notice that there is no vowel connected to the "r". This makes the "r" separate from the next consonant and also indicates there is no vowel. Sometimes you will see a small "o" over the character if there is no vowel. The "r" will be flipped or rolled - no American r's, So, we now have "mar-".
حـ Now we have the "h" sound. Notice again the slash above the "h," indicating another bright "a" vowel. We now have "marha-"
ـبـ The next symbol indicates a "b" consonant. This character is very common, and also can indicate "t". It is all based on where the dot or dots are in the character. If you see one dot below, as you do here, the character is "b." If you see two dots above the character, it is "t."
ـﺎ is the final character and has different contextual IPA equivalents. In this case, it is a final sound between a schwa and an open "e" sound, as indicated by the double slash. The slash above the character can mean "e" or "a" depending on the word. Additionally, the double slash will put an "n" sound at the end of the word.
Thus, "Marhaben!"
Each character is different depending on where it is placed in the word. For example, a "b" sound at the beginning of a word looks like this: بـ while a "b" sound at the end will look like this: ـب
I hope you've enjoyed your daily culture/Arabic lesson.
Hebrew lesson of the day!
Hello - Shalom!
Goodbye - er... Shalom!
