Word for the Travel Wise (01/22/07)

I'm never certain which words will come in handy for each and every traveler and on occasion I select words I know will not be to the traveler's benefit, but then again even those can turn into something useful. It really depends on the purpose of travel and weird awkward situations presented to the explorer while dining or attending a local sports event. In summary what I want I really want to say about the word for today is it may or may not come handy. If while in Qatar it does help you, then please thank me later and if it doesn't share with me some words you did learn.

Today's word is an Arabic word used in Qatar:

istan'na - wait

My Language Exchange is an excellent site in making friends across the globe while zoning in on the areas that give you the most trouble in your language of choice. While most services are free, contacting other members does cost a very small fee. Other learning tools for free standard Arabic online include this Learn Arabic site which has some remarkable lessons. The audio sounds a bit off for me, but they've got both the Naskh script (easy to read when learning the alphabet) and the Latin spelling of the letter. Babel Arabic is another good source. Planet Edu has an online listing of Arabic schools all over the Middle East, Africa and the U.S. Lastly, for purchase and a quick pocket guide there's the Lonely Planet Egyptian Arabic Phrasebook, which should be the closest to that spoken in Qatar verses Moroccan Arabic.

Past Arabic words: wafin, akhdar, taeadol, shwiya, la bas, filoos, khwaga, hegab, aktar, yom

Filed under: Learning, Qatar, Foreign Language