Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2001 10:14:02 -0500 (EST)
Subject: RE: any idea



Saeed, others, 

Although I agree with the previous explanations that "The Sudan" likely
comes from a direct translation of al-Sudan, I would point out that there
are many Arabic place names that commonly have the definite article "al"
before them that lose the definite article in translation: In Arabic, Iraq
is always "al-Iraq" (where Iran is never "al-Iran"), and of course Algeria
is "al-Jaza'ir". In one case the definite article is lost in translation,
in the other it has been assimilated into the English/Western European
lexicon.

As for other uses of "al", it's a bit difficult to explain briefly, but
I'll try: The definite article "al" is most often translated by use of
"the", however "al" also connotes a relationship between words called
"idhafa" (which means, roughly, "addition"). It implies ownership, most
often; maktab al-modir (maktab=office; modir=director) means "the
director's office; or: office of the director. The relationship between
the words is carried throught the definite article on the second. So
sometimes in translating that idiomatically, one would use a possessive
suffix and not "the". 

I hope that's not too unclear...

Best,
Kamran 

On Sat, 22 Dec 2001, saeed urrehman wrote:

> Thanks to all the people who explained "the Sudan".
> 
> Is the Arabic "Al" similar to the english "the" or are there any major
> differences?
> 
> saeed
> 
> 
> 
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