Looking for the Phoenician/Punic phrase for "Happy Birthday."

Been studying enough Arabic that I passed a few classes and online tests rank me at A1. I certainly now can at least understand the gist of some videos of interviews with people from Kuwait and other Arabic speaking parts of the Middle East (though on simplistic topics like asking how your day is). I even been able to get words and a few lines of clips from old Egyptian movies and some Arab scripted files accurately translated in my head to literal English and later checking if what I think is the translation comes pretty close. That said I still have to put mental strain when I convert it in my head (even if I analyze for a few minutes after the person says things in Arabic). Trying to think of whats just been said in English on the spot within milliseconds if not precisely at the same time as I hear Arabic is quite difficult so far (even simplistic sentence like "My brown dog ate chicken for dinner"). So I ask for your help. What are good singers and bands from the Arab world that would be easy for someone who's A Level to easily understand while they're listening to the music in real time? Particularly selections that are great to maintain skill and even possibly improve? I'd prefer actual artists and not simply traditional children's poetry and rhyme and other stuff taught at school since I intend to actually start listening to the music as my Arabic improve. Any genre will work so long as the music is either popular or critically acclaimed in Arabic and by the various peoples in the Middle East of the multiple Arabic countries. So who'd you recommend?

They're considered in the same family so I'd assume knowing Arabic first would help with learning Hebrew later and same vice versa? How about the languages of nearby country that aren't semitic like Turkish and Farsi? Out of curiosity I also ask why does Hebrew feel so different from Arabic as a non-speaker despite being in the same family? After all not only is the writing script so different from Hebrew but the feel of the phonetics and other element of speech feels so different.

Now the last question I ask is why is Arabic considered easily the hardest language for English speakers to learn alongside East Asian languages? Its ranked as Category 4, the hardest difficulty, which only the aforementioned East Asian languages like Japanese are also ranked in according to practically all lists I came across on the internet. What makes it so complicated to study for native English speakers? Sure the writing is so wildly different but Farsi is ranked Category 3 despite using a similar kind of script and same with Urdu. As well as Hebrew (although the script as I said earlier is extremely different from Arabic). So I'm curious why the case that Arabic is Category 4?

Hi everyone I don't know much about this but I tried to translate this thing someone said on instagram notes and I couldn't. I know this is Ugaritic and I tried aligning the message with the alphabet but I thought maybe you guys could help. Thank you

https://preview.redd.it/t7aph2makxdc1.jpg?width=1124&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=17f4611026ce0da36cfa3715a13e69b592a1745d

It's my understanding that some/all of the letters which became the original Semitic abjad (proto-Sinaitic?) were borrowed from Egyptian hieroglyphs where the initial sound of the word (in the target language) became the letter represented.

• Hieroglyph for "house" (originally "pr"?) becomes the Semitic word for house ("beyt") and represents /b/

• Arm hieroglyph becomes "yodh" and represents /j/

Etc.

But why were those glyphs chosen over others starting with the same sound? Why not *baraḳ ("lightning") for /b/? Why not *yawm for /j/?

Is this known at all?

(this clearly isn't my background so thank you for your patience)

According to "encyclopedia of Hieroglyphs" by egyptolist Ahmed Kamal أحمد كمال باشا Ancient Egyptians language and it's Hieroglyphs alphabet is rooted in Semitic/Arabic as follows: D/hand/yad/ يد 𓂧. J/jar/Jarrah/جرة 𓎼. O/chick/sous/صوص 𓅱. Z/belt/Zunnar/زنار 𓊃. H/rope/habl/حبل𓎛. T/collar/tawq/طوق 𓍿. Y/feather/Reesh/ريش 𓇋. K/cup/koub/ كوب/كأس 𓎡. L/lioness/Labwa/لبوة. 𓃭. M/owl/bouMah/ بومة 𓅓. N/river/Nahr/ نهر 𓈖. S/cane/Asa/عصا 𓋴. 3/forearm/sa'3ed/ساعد 𓂝. F/viper/aF'aa/افعى 𓆑. Q/zenith/Qummah/قمة 𓈎. R/eye/ra'a/رأى 𓂋. T/hill/tul/تل 𓏏. Kh/Sieve/nukhl/، منخل نخل 𓐍.

Even their gods are Arabic words: God Horus/Hur/Saker falcon/Hur/حر/الطير الحر/ 𓅃 God Khnum/sheep/ganam/غنم 𓁠 God Ra' /Ra'/راعي/Shepard 𓇳 Double letter Ms/given/Mousa/موصى 𓄟 Egypt MISR 𓋞 𓅉.

The Abjad tablet is a clay tablet inscribed with cuneiform writing that was discovered in the ancient city of Ashur, the first capital of the Assyrian empire1. The tablet contains a list of the 22 letters of the abjad, a type of writing system that uses only consonants and no vowels2. The abjad was used by various languages in the Near East, such as Phoenician, Aramaic, and Hebrew3. The tablet is one of the oldest examples of an abjad alphabet and shows the influence of Mesopotamian writing on other cultures. The tablet is now kept at the British Museum.

The letters in the Abjad tablet are arranged in the following order: ʾalif, bāʾ, gīml, dāl, hāʾ, wāw, zayin, ḥēt, ṭēt, yōd, kāf, lāmed, mēm, nūn, sāmek, ʿayin, pē, ṣādē, qōf, rēš, šin, tāw4. This order is similar to the Phoenician alphabet, which is also derived from the abjad. Also exact match to Arabic Abjad procession however it makes a poem in Arabic evidence that Arabic predated assyrian who started Ashur 2500 BCE, or that assyrians and phoenicians spoke perfect Arabic! Arabic Abjad as poem : abjd Hwz hty klmn Sa'fas qrst. أبجد هوز..حطي كلمن. صعفض قرست. Notice how English and Greek alphabet are copy pasted from the Arabic procession especially Abjd, Klmn, qrst ( abcd-efghij-klmn-op-qrst-uvwxyz)!!!! But lost the meaning of the Arabic poem/alphabet

𓂧 𓆑 𓈖 𓅱 𓂋 𓂝 𓄟 𓋴 𓏏 𓇓 𓈗 𓄸 𓏠 𓈞 𓍿 𓐍 aa1 𓅓 g17 According to Ahmad Pasha Kamal the Egyptian assistant of Maspero and first director of the Egyptian directorate of Antiquities in Egypt clearly claimed in his many books especially his Encyclopedia of Hieroglyphs of 18 volumes in hand written Arabic that ancient Egyptian language was Arabic. He even claimed that Orientalists purposely read cartouches names of Pharaohs backwards to cover its Arabic soundings. He as follows, showed the words of symbols in Egyptian own language were Arabic words meaning they actually spoke Arabic:

D/hand/yad/ يد 𓂧.

J/jar/Jarrah/جرة 𓎼.

O/chick/sous/صوص 𓅱.

Z/belt/Zunnar/زنار 𓊃.

H/rope/habl/حبل𓎛.

T/collar/tawq/طوق 𓍿.

Y/feather/Reesh/ريش 𓇋.

K/cup/koub/ كوب/كأس 𓎡.

L/lioness/Labwa/لبوة.

M/owl/bouMah/ بومة 𓅓.

N/river/Nahr/ نهر 𓈖.

S/cane/Asa/عصا 𓋴.

3/forearm/sa'3ed/ساعد 𓂝.

F/viper/aF'aa/افعى 𓆑.

Q/zenith/Qummah/قمة 𓈎.

R/eye/ra'a/رأى 𓂋.

T/hill/tul/تل 𓏏.

Kh/Sieve/nukhl/، منخل نخل 𓐍.

God Horus/Hur/Saker falcon/Hur/حر/الطير الحر/ 𓅃 God Khnum/sheep/ganam/غنم 𓁠 God Ra' /Ra'/راعي/Shepard Double letter Ms/given/Mousa/موصى 𓄟

Merneptah inscriptions mention his victory over the Sea people in the battle of Sais on the western Nile delta. The same Israel steals mentions his victory over Palestine and Canaan: "Palestine is made widow to Egypt," Canaan is defeated. Even Merneptah makes no relation between the so-called conventionally made word philistines of sea people and the country of Palestine (Falast). In Moses' bible "Song of the Sea" Exodus 15:14, God also mentions the peoples of Palestine/Falast and the people of Canaan trembling with fear. Just a Few years later, Joshua mentions that the kings of Palestine from Egypt's border to Canaan ( غور الاردن dead Sea depression، ) are Gaza, then Ashdod, then Ashkelon, then Ekron عقرون, then Gathجات, then Avvim عويم; however, he mentions Avvim, just a few miles west of Jericho. (east of Ram Allah/Beireh/ Britain)(khirbet tel Ai خربة تل علي near Dayr Dibwan دير دبوان. This makes Gath/Jat جات and Ekron near Ain Jalut / عين جالوت/ spring of Goliath north of Bisaan/ Beit She'an ( where Jacob dwelt) and Jarar/ /(Ayn Jarar in Umm al-Fahm) where Abraham dwelt, all part of Palestine so philistim was not just near Gaza as Orientalists make their lie. Palestine/ Falast/Falastim/Falastin was the same as current Palestine between the River and the Sea. At the same time, Canaan כנענ is just the lowlands below sea level around the Dead Sea, Jordan River, and Sea of Galilee جليل גליל, as its Arabic Semitic name implies ( كنع، =وطى lay low). Falastin/Falast is derived from the Arabic Semitic word FALAS فلس cognate with Falaha فلح to cut the land, i.e. (the tilled land) named after Falast, فلسط a son of Ya'arub whose tribe immigrated there at the dawn of Time Semitic/Arabic people.

So .. I've been interested in a very long time in the evolution of the Hebrew language ... specifically how its phonology (pronunciation) has evolved over time (specifically which pronunciation is likely to come closest to that extant during the times of the Bible; and also how has the language's pronunciation evolved since the foundation of the State of Israel).

I have a (small) YouTube channel and would really love to interview somebody who has actually studied this and could offer some insights and thoughts.

Does anyone happen to know of any academics who study this very niche topic?

TIA

The last moderator put the Subreddit on "Restricted" and then got suspended. I was able to take control, so everyone should be able to post about Semitic languages to their heart's content again.

Welcome back!

Is it possible to reconstruct a Proto-Semitic flood myth?

Hello! I am trying to find the etymology of the Arabic word GHAYIB (as in Al-Ghayib, the hidden, absent, invisible or unseen). Ideally I would like to trace this word to its earliest (proto-semitic?) form, and then find out what derivations thereof exist in Hebrew, i.e.:

What are the Hebrew cognates of Arabic GHAYB?

Thank you in advance for your help!

This particular body of water is ים כנרות and here ים means λίμνη "lake" and according to Strabo (Geography 2.16.17) it produces the aromatic rush and reed and they are marshes in it, thus the lake could also be called ים סוף "Lake of Reeds" and the River Jordan splits the Sea of Galilee into two as it flows through it. In fact Joshua 4:23 associates ים-סוף with ירדן "Jordan".

Deuteronomy 1:1 בערבה מול סוף

In the desert towards the place where rushes grow.

ἐν ἐρήμῳ πρὸς σχοῖνον

Hi everyone Al Sanam is plural of Sanam is mentioned in qur'an and written in many sabaic inscriptions also it was mentioned historian books and that is some quotes of sources : Quranic verse 71: قَالُوا نَعْبُدُ أَصْنَامًا فَنَظَلُّ لَهَا عَاكِفِينَ They said: "We worship idols, and we remain constantly in attendance on them." Dasi site 2. Sabaic inscription: hqnyw ʾlmqh-(b)ʿ(l)-ʾwm (ṣlm)—n]. dedicated to ʾlmqh, Lord of ʾwm, these two statues. Sanam صنم but in sabaic inscription صلم and that's kind of changings between nun letter and lam letter is finding in many of words and that some example: Like أزلم to أزنم it's the animal that cut its ear like camels ,sheep or cattle. Here may be it derived from same of root صلصال that's mean clay or mud who created adam from it according quranic and toratic verses. So we found word of صليلة that mean big stone in south of Yemen I think there's kind of relation collect words between them. Do you agree me ?

Hello!

I'm having a hard time understanding the meaning of a part of Chapter 5, Verse 6 of the Quran, a book written in Classical Arabic.

Chapter 5, Verse 6 reads as follows:

يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنوا إِذا قُمتُم إِلَى الصَّلاةِ فَاغسِلوا وُجوهَكُم وَأَيدِيَكُم إِلَى المَرافِقِ وَامسَحوا بِرُءوسِكُم وَأَرجُلَكُم إِلَى الكَعبَينِ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُم جُنُبًا فَاطَّهَّروا ۚ وَإِن كُنتُم مَرضىٰ أَو عَلىٰ سَفَرٍ أَو جاءَ أَحَدٌ مِنكُم مِنَ الغائِطِ أَو لامَستُمُ النِّساءَ فَلَم تَجِدوا ماءً فَتَيَمَّموا صَعيدًا طَيِّبًا فَامسَحوا بِوُجوهِكُم وَأَيديكُم مِنهُ ۚ ما يُريدُ اللَّهُ لِيَجعَلَ عَلَيكُم مِن حَرَجٍ وَلٰكِن يُريدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُم وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعمَتَهُ عَلَيكُم لَعَلَّكُم تَشكُرونَ

The part of Chapter 5, Verse 6 which I don't understand is as follows:

وَامسَحوا بِرُءوسِكُم

I am currently aware of two understandings of these words.

The first is: and wipe your heads

This is the way the words are understood by:

-the traditional Muslims, those that follow the Quran as well as the Hadiths

-the Quranists, those that follow the Quran but not the Hadiths

The second is: and comply with your heads

This is the way the words are understood by:

Dr. Kashif Khan

The link to Dr. Kashif Khan's article where he made this claim:

https://quranguideblog.wordpress.com/2018/02/25/ablution-وضو-wudu-part-2-correct-translation-of-quranic-verses-443-56-confirms-that-our-scholars-lied-in-the-translation-of-these-verses/

If the link does not work, the name of the article:

ABLUTION WUDU - PART 2, CORRECT TRANSLATION OF QURANIC VERSES 4:43 & 5:6 CONFIRMS THAT OUR SCHOLARS LIED IN THE TRANSLATION OF THESE VERSES.

Keeping in mind that the Quran is written in Classical Arabic, which of the two translations is correct and how can we reach this conclusion?

I'm not quite sure because on one hand, the translation "and wipe your heads" seems to ignore the preposition بِ which comes before رُءوسِكُم while on the other hand, it's also hard to believe that the mainstream translation "and wipe your heads" could be incorrect.

Thank you so much for your help!

I’m just wondering what’s the most common vowel(s) used in Arabic

What is etymology of name መለስ in tigary language and its meaning? In south Arabian inscriptions was found name of "mns" was one of followers of hymirite king abraha. Is name relation to south Arabian language or tigraian language? that's inscription. Also this transliteration of inscription. Qil mns dho dharnah gzy am marahmw mlk abraha ma'ad. Translation of context : The "Mns" leader dho dharnah invaded with his mister of king "abraha" tribe of ma'ad. inscription