Fablingo / Fablingo Englizi | انكليزي / Level pre-A1
Episode 02 · The Sounds of English
Duration: 4:21
Coming soon on YouTube
After this lesson you can:
Hear the English sounds Arabic lacks — P vs B, V vs F, the two TH, the short i, the mumbled schwa — and notice that English spelling does not match pronunciation.
In this episode
Ziad steps off the coach clutching a paper he cannot read aloud, frozen under a glowing Cafe sign. Dziku finds him and, asking nothing but that he LISTEN, tunes his ear to the sounds Arabic never taught him.
2ahla w sahla fikon marra tenyé b Elm Row. bil marra l madyé, tarakna Ziad wasel jdid, 7amel chanteto w kam kelmé 2inglizi bas.
l yom, Ziad wa2ef te7et daw café b noss l chere3. 7amel war2a b 2ido, w 3am yjarreb ye2ra l 3enwen, bas l kelmet ma 3am tetla3 ma3o.
byetla3 men l café chab 2esmo Dziko. Dziko bya3ref chou ya3né tkoun wasel jdid. bi2arreb men Ziad w bihezzello b raso.
You look lost, mate. Here, let me see.
Dziko byes7ab 2alam men jaybto l ya2echcher 3al war2a. bi2oul l Ziad l kelmé.
Pen.
Ben.
Ziad 2ala Ben. haydé mechklé ktir mnwejeha. bil 2inglizi, fi fare2 kbir bayn pen w Ben. 7aref l P ma fi bil 3arabi. sakker chfefak w fajjer chwayyet hawa.
pen / Ben — P is not B — l P ma fi bil 3arabe: sakkir shaftak w fajjir shwayyet hawa · PEN / BEN — PEE iz naht BEE
2oulouha ma3é, tall3ou l hawa. pen. marra tenyé. pen.
pen / Ben — P is not B — l P ma fi bil 3arabe: sakkir shaftak w fajjir shwayyet hawa · PEN / BEN — PEE iz naht BEE
No, mate. Not Ben. Pen. Feel the air.
pen / Ben — P is not B — l P ma fi bil 3arabe: sakkir shaftak w fajjir shwayyet hawa · PEN / BEN — PEE iz naht BEE
Pen.
pen / Ben — P is not B — l P ma fi bil 3arabe: sakkir shaftak w fajjir shwayyet hawa · PEN / BEN — PEE iz naht BEE
Very good!
Ferry good.
kaman hon, Dziko 2al very, w Ziad 2al ferry. l V kaman badda chwayyet tamrin. 2asnenak l fo2aniyé 3ala cheftak l ta7taniyé. hezzou chfeyefkon. very.
very / ferry — V is not F — l V: snenak l fo2aniyye 3a shaftak l ta7taniyye · VEH-ree / FEH-ree — VEE iz naht EF
jarbouha ma3é. very. 3ala mahel, very.
very / ferry — V is not F — l V: snenak l fo2aniyye 3a shaftak l ta7taniyye · VEH-ree / FEH-ree — VEE iz naht EF
Very... very good.
very / ferry — V is not F — l V: snenak l fo2aniyye 3a shaftak l ta7taniyye · VEH-ree / FEH-ree — VEE iz naht EF
moumtez. khallina nraje3 yalli t3allamneh la halla2. pen, tall3ou hawa. very, 2asnenak 3ala cheftak. pen. very.
Dziko byettalla3 bil war2a w bi2oul l Ziad.
I think this is the street you need.
sme3tou l 2aswat hon? think w this. bil logha l 2ingliziyé fi sawtayn lal TH. lsenak bayn 2asnenak. sawt jdid, marra ne3em metel think, w marra 2awé metel this.
think / this — the two TH — lsenak bein snenak: sawt jdid, marra na3em marra ktir · THINK / THIS — thuh TOO TEE-AYCH
2oulouha ma3é, khallé lsenak ybayyen chway. think. w halla2 l sawt l 2awé, this.
think / this — the two TH — lsenak bein snenak: sawt jdid, marra na3em marra ktir · THINK / THIS — thuh TOO TEE-AYCH
I think... this.
think / this — the two TH — lsenak bein snenak: sawt jdid, marra na3em marra ktir · THINK / THIS — thuh TOO TEE-AYCH
Dziko byes2al Ziad kif wesel la hon.
By sheep.
By sheep? You rode a sheep?
Ziad ken 2asdo bekhra, bas 2al kharouf. bil 2inglizi, l i b kelmet ship hiyé i 2asiré w sari3a, mech ee tawilé metel sheep. l fare2 l zghir bighayyir l ma3na kello.
ship / sheep — short i vs long ee — i 2asira w sari3a, mesh ee tawile · SHIP / SHEEP — SHORT ih ver-sus LONG EE
jarbouha ma3é b ser3a. ship. w halla2 tawwlouha chway. sheep. marra tenyé l sari3a. ship.
ship / sheep — short i vs long ee — i 2asira w sari3a, mesh ee tawile · SHIP / SHEEP — SHORT ih ver-sus LONG EE
No, no. By ship.
ship / sheep — short i vs long ee — i 2asira w sari3a, mesh ee tawile · SHIP / SHEEP — SHORT ih ver-sus LONG EE
Okay, the address is a bit far.
sme3tou kif Dziko 2al the w a? ma 2al THE address, w ma 2al A bit. hayda l sawt mnsammih l chwa. sawt mahmous khafif, metel uh, mech mfakhkham 2abadan.
the, a — the mumbled schwa — sawt mahmoos khafif, "uh", mesh mfakhkham · THUH, UH — thuh MUM-buld SHWAH
2oulouha b kasal, bala majhoud. the. a. marra tenyé. the address. a bit.
the, a — the mumbled schwa — sawt mahmoos khafif, "uh", mesh mfakhkham · THUH, UH — thuh MUM-buld SHWAH
The address... is a bit far.
the, a — the mumbled schwa — sawt mahmoos khafif, "uh", mesh mfakhkham · THUH, UH — thuh MUM-buld SHWAH
bravo! l yom rakkazna 3al 2aswat yalli bta3mel fare2 kbir. khallina nraje3on lal marra l 2akhiré. pen, very, think, this, ship, the, a. sme3touhon sa7?
Good luck, mate. Just straight down.
Ziad zabbat l 2aswat, bas hal ra7 yle2é l bayt yalli raye7 3alayh bil layl? mnchouf bil 7al2a l jeyé. tzakarou, fi darsayn kel 2esbou3, l taleta w l jem3a. bchoufkon 2ariban!
Vocabulary
| Phrase | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| pen / Ben — P is not B | l P ma fi bil 3arabe: sakkir shaftak w fajjir shwayyet hawa | |
| very / ferry — V is not F | l V: snenak l fo2aniyye 3a shaftak l ta7taniyye | |
| think / this — the two TH | lsenak bein snenak: sawt jdid, marra na3em marra ktir | |
| ship / sheep — short i vs long ee | i 2asira w sari3a, mesh ee tawile | |
| the, a — the mumbled schwa | sawt mahmoos khafif, "uh", mesh mfakhkham |
Grammar in this lesson
Sound system + first spelling-vs-pronunciation orientation; recognition only, modelled by the host, never drilled.