Language in Cairo

Egypt's official language is Arabic, which is Semitic in origin and, in its classical form, is known as the language of Islam. Colloquial Arabic differs significantly from classical, written Arabic, and the colloquial Arabic spoken in Egypt differs from the colloquial dialects of other Arab countries. It is nonetheless understood across the Arab world because of the popularity of Egyptian films and television programs.

Egyptians are gesture-oriented people. Plenty of large arm and hand movements will explain a lot that words aren't needed for. This non-verbal communication can be especially effective if you do not necessarily understand what someone is trying to tell you. Most Egyptians understand and speak at least a little (if not a lot of) English or French. Both languages are requirements in the school system, and Egyptians are accustomed to having English speakers around.

Arabic is not an easy language to speak. In addition to there being two kinds of h, s, d, and t sounds, there are a few letters that don't exist in English. The first of these is the kha, as in Khan al-Khalili (the famous Cairo bazaar), which sounds much like the German ch in Bach.

Another letter not found in English is the ayn. Difficult to pronounce (and even more difficult to explain in text), it is a lengthened a sound interrupted by a guttural extension that sounds a bit like the ah in Bach with a hint of the ch to terminate the word. It appears in such words as shar'a (Arabic for street). No one will expect you to get this right; just give it your best shot and you're sure to be understood.

We spell the Arabic word for street "shar'a". You may see it rendered elsewhere as shari'a. It has been noted however that this encourages people to pronounce the word shar-ee-ah, which in Arabic means Islamic law, rather than street. Consequently, we have omitted the i.

There seem to be innumerable ways to transliterate Arabic into the Roman alphabet. We have aimed for the closest approximation of correct pronunciations. One example is the name al-Husayn, which is often spelled el-Hussein. Considering that it is pronounced hu-sayn, not hus-ayn, we do not double the s. In that spirit we do not generally double consonants unless correct pronunciation demands it. In the same spirit, ayn is thought to be more akin to the Arabic sound of the word than is ein. This system of transliteration is one that many scholars, among them Albert Hourani, author of "A History of the Arab Peoples," now use.