Mt. Sinai (Jebel Musa) and the Safsafa basins - Discover Sinai

Bedouin-Arabic phrasebookNote that it is very difficult to transliterate Arabic sounds to English.There are several complex systems used by academic works – ourglossary is only an aid to help you communicate with your guide and ismuch simpler. You will not be perfectly accurate, but this is part of thefun; learning some basics from each other.The pronunciation of words is based on the local Bedouin dialect, whichis slightly different from the Egyptian. There are sounds in Arabic whichfor most Westerners are difficult to pronunciate; the sounds areexplained below. But do not worry too much about mastering themunless you are taking learning Arabic very seriously – a close enoughattempt will most often do.a As the vowel in hut orhat.aa As the vowel in bar orbad.ay As the vowel in name.ai As the vowel in mine.’ The famous ayn – asound formed deep in thethroat. It usually followsan a or aa sound,although is possible withother vowels.b As the first sound in bar.d As the first sound in door.d An emphatic d sound.e As the vowel in pet.ee A long version of thesound e.f As the first sound in fit.g As the first sound in gate.gh A glottal g, formed deepin the throat. Sometimesit even sounds as r,although usually g, as ingas, will do.h As the first sound inhouse.h A h sound, formed deepin the throat – difficult tomaster, but usually a hwill do.kh A strong h, as in theScottish loch.i As the vowel in tin.ii As the vowel in feel.j As the first sound in job.k As the first sound inking.l As the first sound inlook.m As the first sound inmore.n As the first sound inname.o As the vowel in top.oo As the vowel in hole.r A rolled r.s As the first sound in sit.s An emphatic s sound.sh As the first sound inshop.t As the first sound in top.t An emphatic t sound.th As the first sound inthin.u As the vowel in put.uu As the vowel in loop.w As the first sound inwhat.y As the first sound inyellow.z As the first sound inzebra.37