Page:A short guide to Syria (1943).djvu/30

 Go quickly— ROOk 'a-WAAM Who are you? — MEEN int (to a man) MEEN IN-ti (to a woman) MEEN IN-tu (to more than one) What do you want? — SHOO BID-dali, (to » n'* 11 ) 5HOO BID-dik. (to a woman) .YVSH BID-fo<m (to more than one) Bring some drinking water — ZH££B M*4/ lisk-SHURB (to a man) ZHEE-bi MAI Ihh-SHVRB (to a woman) ZHEE-bu MM Ush-SHURB (to more than one) Bring Gome food — ZHEEB l-shi HI- A- fcil (to a man) ZHEE-bi l-shi lit-A-k.il (to a woman) Y.I I Eh I: ti l-shi til- A -kit (to more than one) How far is the camp? — ad- J.1YSH BYlB-'iit il-KAMB How far is the water? — ad* DAYSH bi-TlB-'id il-MAI Whose house is this? — li-MHtN kal-BAYT Weights O'-'o — 2.827 lbs. KEE-LO—i kilogram (2.2046 lbs. avd.) luhn (pronounced like Eng ton)- — 1 ton (metric), or .6 lbs. rati — South Palestine, 6.36 lbs.; North Palestine, 5.653 lbs. O-'EE-a — South Palestine, 0.53 lbs.; North Palestine, 0.471 lbs. 'nn-TAHR — South Palestine, .022 lbs.; North Palestine, .259 lbs. Note: The metric system is in official use in Syria, but the old Arab weights still are used. Roth in Palestine and in Syria these weights vary considerably from place to place and will have to be learned by experience. Measures DRA.r or PEEK— 26.67 inches (cloth measure) ; 29.84 in. (building and land measure). DU-nttm- — 1099.5056 square yards (land measure), or 600 sq. DRAA'S. kee-to-Ml-tir — t kilometer ( % at a mile or 3280.S feet). MEEL — mile. MEE-lir— meter (39.37 inches). Distances (t is often futile to try to find out exact distances from the Bedouins, because they have little idea of accurate expression. They will often reply that a place is "two cigarettes away," or about 20 minutes (the time it takes to smoke one cigarette, about to minutes). Or they may reply that a place is so many hours away, by which they mean hours traveling by horse, donkey, or camel. More sophisticated Arabs express distance in meters or kilometers, or perhaps mdes. Money Palestine md — one mil (Palestine), about half a cent; 1,000 mils make pound. ta'-REE-la— -5 mils (Palestine), also called mis 'irsh, half a piaster (2 cents). 'iWA— piaster (10 mils J (4 cents; . •ir.SHAYN—2 piasters (8 cents). SHIL-lm — shilling (5 piasters) (20 cents). LEE-ra, WA-ra-'a- — p u u n d (S4.02),