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شحال هادي

English translation: in the past

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Arabic term or phrase: شحال هادي
English translation:in the past
Entered by: Michael McCain (X)

00:23 Oct 3, 2007
Arabic to English translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / Moroccan dialect, questionnaire
Arabic term or phrase: شحال هادي
فرأيك، واش الإسلام تايلعب دور أكبر أو دور أصغر بالنسبة للمسلمين ففرانسا من اللي كان عليه شحال هادي؟

Does this mean 'in years past' or ''years ago'?
Michael McCain (X)
France
Local time: 07:55
in the past
Explanation:
Hi , this is Moroccan dialect. I am a Moroccan and naturally I understand Moroccan dialect.
that word شحال هادي
simply means in the past or before and not long time ago.
Selected response from:

younes-01
Local time: 06:55
Grading comment
Thanks for your feedback. "In the past" works better than "a long time ago" in this context since the Muslim population in France arrived relatively recently in French history.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2منذ زمان= long time ago
lhcm
5in the past
younes-01
5 -2Slang word should be omitted for betterunderstanding
Rasha Omar (X)
3how long has it been
Khalid W


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


11 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): -2
Slang word should be omitted for betterunderstanding


Explanation:
فرأيك، واش الإسلام تايلعب دور أكبر أو دور أصغر بالنسبة للمسلمين ففرانسا من اللي كان عليه شحال هادي؟

ً

I think this Arabic style of writing is not right Because it is a mix of formal and informal Arabic.

All of that made me don't understand

-------
فرأيك must written في رأيك

واتسthis word is not Arabic

من اللي كلن is informal ,it is said من الذي كان

هادي means calm in formal,it can mean is slang " this" or "هذا"

شحال is not in formal Arabic, it is said in some slangs as a greeting words"How are you?"

--------
Finally, All this missing elements in this sentence , makes the native speaker of Arabic can't understand

Rasha Omar (X)
Local time: 08:55
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic
Notes to answerer
Asker: I think all serious Arabic translators know the difference between classical Arabic and the many dialects, and they understand that sometimes it is acceptable and even more effective to write in dialect. Take, for example, the political blog by Wael Abbass: http://misrdigital.blogspirit.com/


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  paleozon: The whole sentence is slang, which is a specificity and distinction of every society. Lack of knwoledge of it does not diminish of its importance to justify your suggestion.
1 day 10 hrs
disagree  Mohsin Alabdali: Strongly disagree. A translator has no business correcting the material to be translated. Slang is the material of most conversational texts.
2 days 20 hrs
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16 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
how long has it been


Explanation:
In a question, شحال هادي means "How long has it been?", as in شحال هادي وانت فالمغرب؟
Here, it seems to refer generally to the past, so your suggestions would work. I might use:

"In your opinion, does Islam play a larger or smaller role for Muslims in France than it used to?


Khalid W
Local time: 01:55
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  paleozon: In this context it means: long ago... "In your opinion, is Islam playing a greater (role) or lesser role in regards to Muslims in France, compared to long ago?" Note the Present Continous use!
1 day 5 hrs
  -> What would the entire sentence be? I realize the word I gave up top is different from my sentence, but I want to look at the sentence as a whole
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
منذ زمان= long time ago


Explanation:
your understanding is very close. thanks!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2007-10-03 03:53:34 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

not specify years or months or days. just " long time".

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 hrs (2007-10-03 23:04:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

sorry! the meaning of this word in the context should be : in the past
not "long time ago".

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 hrs (2007-10-03 23:05:27 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

means " period of time in the past "

lhcm
Local time: 13:55
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Mohamed Mehenoun
50 mins
  -> the answer has been modified to " period of time in the past" ,do you still agree?
agree  Sayed Moustafa talawy
4 hrs
  -> the answer has been modified to " period of time in the past" ,do you still agree?
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9 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
in the past


Explanation:
Hi , this is Moroccan dialect. I am a Moroccan and naturally I understand Moroccan dialect.
that word شحال هادي
simply means in the past or before and not long time ago.

younes-01
Local time: 06:55
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic
PRO pts in category: 12
Grading comment
Thanks for your feedback. "In the past" works better than "a long time ago" in this context since the Muslim population in France arrived relatively recently in French history.
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