mareena

I don't think we are silly , not now not 200 years ago

Nani

LOL .. sure mareena , we have never been silly , what i mean is that we usually look silly in American movies , aren't we ??? hehe ... when i think of any arabic character in any american movie , he would either be a man wearing a traditional arabic cloths , sitting in a gambling casino and has lots of women around him .. another character is that he will be a terrorest. :P

Now for mutarjim , I don't think بندوق is a good word to describe someone , it is an insult. yeah , sure , i know what does it really mean , but , IT is commonly used as an insult .. do u want this Arabic character to be insulted through out the movie , aren't we insulted enough in life ya mutarjim ????? beside , i don't think any half Arab and half European/American would accept to be called like that , and we have thousands of them around.

Phil , i guess Abdul is quiet common to be used for an Arabic character .. , unlike vietnamies , there is no Arabic name with such meaning , unless you can call him ( Saber = which would mean that he has endurence ..... donno , i will think of a close name and i will write it to you.

moutarjem

Hi Nani
You said that there is no Arabic name that gives the same connotation. But there is andit is the one I gave (بندوق) and it is not an insult. If you describe a bird as such, that does not mean we insult it. Indeed, it mean tht is the progeny of two bird of two different races (bulbul +goldfinch) the give a new kind of more amazing chirp. On the other hand بندوق means "cunning". Is this the insult you meant? It is not anyways. I know completly what you mean the one you refer to is close in meaning to the English word "bastard". Is not it? This is a connotation scarcely used in Arabic to mean the swear word.
Please note that Philip asks for a term that describes thae fact of being born of parents of two different ethnicities. I am wrong Philip? If so please correct me.
Thank you Nani for you understanding

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Nani

Hi moutarjim ,

I did not say that you were wrong , all i said that this word is used as an insult , is not it ?? and yes , sure , it wont be an insult when you use it for a bird or a dog ( it is used for dogs too ) .. thats why i said what i said .. well , if i saw a movie , and the Arabic boy is called بندوق i will be very angry ...
In arabic , the words you gave , خلاسي وهجين و مبندق are given to animals , i never heard them saying that about a person because that would be offensive .
and i don't think that phil want it to sound offensive .. niether do i or you mutarjim .. right ?

salam

moutarjem

Hi Nani
I dont have any thing to add since you already gave your judgement and came to a decision that may be right or wrong. By the way if you walk down the street in Damascus it is highly likely to hear this word of بندوق أو مبندق without its being offensive. Anyways the cultural differences exist even among those who belong to the same community and embrace the same culture. Isn't Nani?

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pmarshall

Hello again all.
Thank you for your thoughtful participation. However I am not familiar with Arabic writing, alphabet or characters. Could you please translate ?????
or any other suggestions into the English alphabet and if possible give pronunciation help. Thanks again
Philip

xpsal

just a quick note actually خلاسي ( khalassi)is used for persons not animals, mulattoes = الخلاسيون(al khalassiyoun), On the other hand هجين is used for animals and sometimes plants, بندوق (bandouq) is someone whose father is not known, بندوق هو مجهول الأب باللغة العربية so you guys decide if it's offensive or not.
Salim