Are there any arabic speakers who could help me?

[JackBauerkillspigs]

I am going to Tunisia in a few weeks with DD's and I can speak a bit of french but would love to learn a few phrases in Arabic as well. Just things like, please, thank you, hello, do you speak english etc.

TIA

My dh speaks arabic, but sadly he is in bed at the moment I will ask him when he wakes up!

He has taught me,

thank you - shucran
how are you? - keefek (to women) keefak (to men)
hello - allo

Hopefully there will be some arabic speakers to help you in a minute!

Shukran- thankyou
la- no
thats all I remember...

The generic catch all greeting is
as salaamu-a'alaykum

Answer
wa a'alaykum as-salaam

Hello is
marhaba

how are you
kayf al-haal?
or
Kayfa haaluki? (to female)
kayfa haaluka? (to male)
kayfa haalukum? (to more than one person)

suitable answer - 'fine'
mabsoot w'alhamdulillah (man)
mabsoota w'alhamdulillah (female)

miss out the w'alhamdulillah if unhappy with praising god!

or even shorter answer
zayn

Thankyou is
Shukran

Please is
Min fadlak (to male)
Min fadlik (to femal)
Min fadlikum (to more than one person)

possible answers
'afwan
ahlan

do you speak english is
tatkallum ingleezi ?

Where is...?
Ayn al....

(get lost if required when being pestered is
imshi)

All the above is fairly standard arabic - but subject to correction by native (or just better) speakers!
Local dialect may be rather different.
HTH

oops - the answers afwan and ahlan are polatie replies to shukran (thankyou), not to please!

That will teach me to preview long posts!

polite !

min fadhlik - please (in Egypt) and bitkallim Ingleezi - do you speak English?
(also in Egypt) -

local dialects do vary though, might be worth getting hold of a phrase book.

Oh yes - and I don't speak arabic is best rendered as
maffi araby (no arabic)

x-posted - I think Donk has covered all the main ones.

(I found out the hard way that saying 'I'm very sorry , but I don't speak arabic' in grammatically correct form if appalling accent is not believed)

Wow, thanks! wasn't expecting fast answers!
Shall print off and have a learn.

Donk, I specifically didn't ask for a trasnlation of that as many years ago I learnt to say 'I am very sorry but I do not speak german' in perfect pronunciation to my flatmates granny.
To which she responded in a gush of fast german, which my friend roughly translated as 'Oh but your german is perfect, where did you learn it? How wonderful to meet someone who speaks my language etc'

Donk, sorry to be cheeky, but any chance of a phonetic list?

Erm those are my best attempts at phonetic (transliterated) versions...
vowels are short unless shown doubled.
a as in cat
u as in put
i as in pin

oo as in book (usually written uu, but I thought this was easier to understand)
aa as air bit without the r for haal
aa as the a in arm for Salaam
ii would sound like ee as in been

' I have used to represent the letter 'ayn which is an unvoiced pharyngeal fricative! An unstressed sort of short gargle sound at the back of the throat. Sounds a bit like swallowing an r

oo as in West Yorkshire/lancashire book that is - more like the u in lute for everyone else (oops, showing my origins)

Having never seen arabic written in western alphabet I wouldn't have known if you hadn't said!
thanks for that, I hate going to a country without at least being able to be polite in the native tongue. Plus it makes haggling sooo much easier

Jack - they don't actually write the short vowels in arabic, only the long ones. Your just supposed to know!
(although learner texts - and the Quran show the diacritical marks which tell you what the short vowels are)

Um...ok

Seriously though, thanks for that!

donk, how come you speak Arabic?

Me too, Racingsnake! I keeled over at the unvoiced pharyngeal fricative!