I've been watching a lot of the Syrian show Bab Al-Hara
باب الحارة lately and I really like the way they talk. They usually draw out the last syllable of a phrase. They'll say the whole sentence really fast and then on the last syllable they slow down. In Jordan I spoke in this accent to a taxi driver he replied to me in the same fashion and then called me
عقيد (colonel) which is what one of the characters in the show is called. He then told me that he had named one of his sons
عقيد because he liked the name so much. It's a really popular show in the Arab world and just finished its 5th season during Ramadan. Here are some phrases that I took from episodes of the show. They are pronounced in the Syrian accent that they use which is a little bit different than the modern day Syrian accent, but I like it better :P.
- رح تأكل اصابيعك وراها (rah takul asaabee'ak waraaha) - You'll eat your fingers along with it.
This phrase is said about really delicious food. It's so good that you'll eat your fingers too in order to make sure you get all of the taste. Literally it's "you'll eat your fingers behind it."
- إصطفل (istafil) - Do what you want
Say that you're arguing with someone who's about to do something stupid. You say this when you're fed up and just don't care anymore about what the person does.
- ما عم بيجيني نوم (ma 'am beejeenee nawm) - I can't sleep
Literally "sleep is not coming to me".
- مكتوب (maktoob) - a letter
In MSA رسالة is letter, but it's more often called a مكتوب (literally "a written") in Syrian.
- علمي علمك ('ilmi 'ilmak) - I know what you know.
Literally "my knowledge is your knowledge".
- ما بيطلع بيدي (ma byatl'a biidi) - I can't do it
Literally, "it can't happen by my hand."
- طوّل بالك (tawwil baalak) - Calm down/wait a second
Literally, "lengthen your mind".
You may also hear
روق يا فاروق because it rhymes.
فاروق is just a guy's name.
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