Has someone you know acted petty even when they have everything they need? Or have you ever been surprised that everyone around you does not see the obvious logic you see so clearly? Well, Mariam has two perfect proverbs to help you in such situations. In this episode, she tells us the stories behind these proverbs and how and when to use them. But, be careful. Not everyone takes kindly to being indirectly told they are immature or illogical. Proceed cautiously and don’t say we didn’t warn you! 😀
Lebanese Arabic Transcript and English Contextual Translation
1
يمكن وحدة من أصعب الأشيا علينا لما كنا ولاد صغار، ونحب نقعد مع الكبار، ونتسمع على أحاديثن كانت الأمتال. أساساً، شو هو المتل وليش الناس، خاصةً الكبار بالعمر، بيحكو كتير أمتال بأحاديثن؟
Maybe one of the hardest things for us when we were little kids and loved to sit with adults and listen to their conversations, was proverbs. Originally, what is a proverb? And why do people, especially the elderly, say a lot of proverbs in their conversations?
2
هاي الأسئلة كانت تزعجنا نحنا وصغار، لأن غالبا الكبار ما كانو يخبرونا معنى الأمتال وقت نسأل عنن، ويقلولنا “بعدكن صغار” و “شو بدكن بهيدا الحكي”. ومع الإيام، نصير نسمع هالجملة أو العبارة القصيرة، اللي هي المتل، عم تنقال وتتكرر قدامنا بأكتر من موقف بالحياة. ومنصير منعرف شو معناتا وشو كان قاصد الشخص اللي قال هالعبارة، وشوي بعد منصير نحنا نعرف أيمتا وكيف منستخدما.
These questions used to annoy us as kids because mostly, adults would not tell us the meaning of proverbs when we asked about them. They would tell us, “You are still young” and “never mind these sayings”. With days, we start to hear this sentence or short phrase, which is the proverb, being said and repeated in front of us in more than one situation in life. We start to know what its meaning is and what the person who said this phrase meant. Sometime later, we start to know when and how to use it.