NationStates Jolt Archive

I'm starting to get a little confused because of all the different spellings of certain Arabic translations (i.e. Muslim, Moslem, etc.). Wouldn't it be much easier if we could agree on one spelling? O.o

And yes, this is another of my little grammar nazi OCD moments.....*shakes head*

While both are phoentically correct, the proper form is Muslim. If I'm not mistaken, I believe Moslim is the slightly racist form of Muslim, with a meaning which I forget. But, I know that both are used; Muslim is just the version that is preferred (at least I think based on what my Muslim friends have said).

I never seen the term Moslem used before... c.c

An even stranger spelling is Mahometan. I know, it isn't actually the same word, but it is a third way of refering to worshipers of Allah. However, "Mahometan" is probably the most prejudice way to refer to Muslims. They particularly dislike this name because it refers to them as followers of Mahomed instead of servants of Allah (which is what the other two names mean). They would rather have their name refer to the God they worship than the prophet to whom God first revealed himself.

I never seen the term Moslem used before... c.c

Moslem is one of those old, slightly offensive type words.

See also: Beijing/peking, Mumbai/Bombay and probably some others

Muslim is the accepted spelling/pronunciation.

See also: Beijing/peking, Mumbai/Bombay and probably some others
"[P]robably some others"? There are huge amounts. The first two that come to mind are Falluja/Fallujah, Kabbala/Kabbalah/Quabala/Cabala/etc... There are huge amounts of differing Romanisations and Anglicisations.

"[P]robably some others"? There are huge amounts. The first two that come to mind are Falluja/Fallujah, Kabbala/Kabbalah/Quabala/Cabala/etc... There are huge amounts of differing Romanisations and Anglicisations.


That's what confuses me. I wish we could pick one or two and stick with those...It seems like we've been flooded with even more since this "war on terrorism" started.

I'd be willing to just refer to them as terrorists, but I don't think it'll catch on in this forum. :D

That's what confuses me. I wish we could pick one or two and stick with those...It seems like we've been flooded with even more since this "war on terrorism" started.
maybe because english and arabic aren't really all that ...closely related ;)

maybe because english and arabic aren't really all that ...closely related ;)

*smirk* Well, I know that much. I just wish the news anchors would at least stick to the same pronunciation/spelling for, oh, I don't know, a few seconds,lol

It's irritating when an anchorwoman is sitting there, blabbering on about some breaking news, and can't even pronounce a name the same way three or four times in about two minutes.

The biggest problem with spelling is those blasted americans. Life will be a lot easier for everyone when they learn to spell properly, rather than abusing the english language like they do now. :mad:

What about names? Aristotle/Aristoteles Plato/Platon
or towns. Köln/Cologne Firenze/Florence etc

What about names? Aristotle/Aristoteles Plato/Platon
or towns. Köln/Cologne Firenze/Florence etc
That's not quite the same, though. The problem is the English pronounciation/spelling of Arabic (or in general very non-English languages), which is by no means standardized. The ones you mentioned are just the same word in different languages. If you really want to go there, let's stick with the (sometimes hilarious) spelling of Arabic words in languages other than English. :)

While both are phoentically correct, the proper form is Muslim. If I'm not mistaken, I believe Moslim is the slightly racist form of Muslim, with a meaning which I forget. But, I know that both are used; Muslim is just the version that is preferred (at least I think based on what my Muslim friends have said).
in dutch they are called 'moslim' :p

I find it really annoying that there are different english spellings, you know: british, american....

and its all the same words, but just confuses the issue

You people should try working as a translator for a while, you learn to accept such piddling details. My personal favorite is from a friend of mine who heard a US base commander in Bosnia tell an large and unruly mob, angry that a child couldn't be sent to the US for medical treatment, "I'm very rich, and we don't have any money for it right now."

Seems that "Rich" and "Sorry" can be confused in one of the local dialects.

They were pissed. It was funny. It happens all the time.

I find it really annoying that there are different english spellings, you know: british, american....

and its all the same words, but just confuses the issue
.. see Microsoft's 'US English' under Languages that Shouldn't Exist :D

You people should try working as a translator for a while, you learn to accept such piddling details. My personal favorite is from a friend of mine who heard a US base commander in Bosnia tell an large and unruly mob, angry that a child couldn't be sent to the US for medical treatment, "I'm very rich, and we don't have any money for it right now."

Seems that "Rich" and "Sorry" can be confused in one of the local dialects.

They were pissed. It was funny. It happens all the time.

This story is going to become my personal favorite now. Even better than "If passenger of foot heave in sight, tootle the horn. Trumpet him melodiously at first, but if he still obstruct your passage, than tootle him with vigor." :D

In German, the term "Moslem" appears to be far more common than "Muslim", though both are usually understood. There's no derisive connotation attached to either of them as far as I'm aware.

Yeah, all instruction manuals are funny as hell too. Seems that my father's old workplace, a Japanese copier manufacturer, specifically asked three of its best bilungual engineers to make a "readable" manual. They gave them just 3 days though. The result was such jems as, "lift not back, from knees or lion will throw yours out."

To this day I remember my dad telling me he threw his lion out while moving a copier. It took me 3 minutes to figure out they meant "loin"; thus indicating the place that most hernias can be detected.

My personal favorite was from a public restroom, "To stop drip, turn cock to the right."