Content uploaded by Nafla S. Kharusi
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Nafla S. Kharusi
Content may be subject to copyright.
Content uploaded by Nafla S. Kharusi
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Nafla S. Kharusi
Content may be subject to copyright.
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
1
The English Transliteration of Place Names in
Oman
Nafla S. Kharusi, Amel Salman
Department of English, College of Arts and Social Sciences
Sultan Qaboos University
Muscat, Oman
Abstract
An especially challenging aspect of transliteration is adopting an adequate system that can be used by an
average person who may be unable to interpret diacritics or all the character and character combinations
used in traditional and contemporary systems. Also, significant phonological differences between two
languages such as those between Arabic and English, and the absence of a consistently used universal
system, may result in numerous variations in the spelling of a name. This paper, part of a larger study that
the authors are conducting, proposes a simplified system for the English transliteration of place
names written in the Arabic script. The system is meant to be used on tourist maps, at tourist sites, on
signposts, and in marketing and public relations material.
Considering the importance of toponyms in conveying the historical and cultural heritage of a people, the
extended project will examine the linguistic aspects of all such as their morpho-syntactic
and semantic properties and also their lexical-source domains. The research will further illustrate how
cross-cultural influences on place name phonology may serve as narratives of identity and symbolic
resistance to the dominant majority.
Keywords: Arabic; Oman; place name; toponym; transliteration
I. Introduction
A. The Study
In an increasingly globalized world, where economies are interdependent and language
barriers are constantly encountered, there is a need for a reliable medium of communication to
avoid misinterpretations and misunderstandings. Oman, on the eastern coast of the Arabian
Peninsula, is an Arabic-speaking country with a population of approximately 2.3 million people,
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
2
according to the 2003 census, of whom 22% are expatriates, mostly from non-Arabic-speaking
nomy depends on oil and oil-related
industries. In order to diversify its economy and income generation, the country is also actively
developing its tourism sector.
The presence of a large expatriate workforce mostly comprising of non-Arabic speakers, and
an increase in tourist numbers from Europe and Asia, have necessitated a reliable representation
in English of Arabic place names to be used on tourist maps and signposts. The problems
encountered in trying to locate places are often due to the great variation evident in the English
spelling of a particular name. To illustrate, the name /alxadˠ /in Oman is written
on signposts in six different ways within a radius of two kilometers---thus al Khaud, AL-Khawd,
AL Khawd, Al Khoud, Al Khuwd, Al-Khowd. This variation appears even in local newspapers,
magazines and official documents. As a result, the government requested the present writers to
This article, then, is a report on the framework and methodology used to produce a simplified
system for transliterating Omani place names into English for people who do not read or speak
Arabic. The system is especially aimed at those individuals who may not necessarily have a
college education or an understanding of diacritics. The article is also part of an ongoing
research project being conducted by the authors on the linguistic analysis of the toponyms of
Oman.
B. Transliteration Systems
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
3
Transliteration is the representation of a word or phrase written in a script different from the
source language achieved by using the characters or letters of the target language. Ideally, one
would hope for a one-to-one mapping of the graphemes, though this is not possible in Arabic-
English transliteration due to the absence of consonantal equivalences in one of the two
languages. The problem is compounded by the fact that short vowels are not represented by
letters in Arabic but by vocalization diacritics, which are rarely used except in the Quran.
Transliteration is also a challenging task due to the great variation possible in the pronunciation
representations of a name for example /qasm/ as Jasim, Gasim, Qasim and Kasim.
Orthographic variation in Arabic due to frequently-occurring errors also contributes to
variation in the English spelling. An example arises in deciding among the different spellings of
alif , whether it occurs with or without hamza : , , ; also between word-final haa ,
and taa marbuta , , and between dhaa and daad .
Correct Arabic form: /alma:r/ al Imar
Wrong Arabic form: /alama:r/ al Amar
Correct Arabic form: /alansˠ ab/ al Ansab
Wrong Arabic form: /alnsˠ ab/ al Insab
Correct Arabic form: /almntazah/ al Muntazah
Wrong Arabic form: /almntaza/ al Muntaza
Correct Arabic form: /almdˠ i/ al
Himdi
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
4
Wrong Arabic form: /almðˠ i/ al
Himdhi
A lack of uniformity in the English rendering of Arabic names may also be attributed to the
existence of a number of traditional and contemporary transliteration systems, none of which is
universally applied in spite of agreements between countries to adopt a common system
(UNGEGN 2003).
Under the auspices of the League of Arab States, the Third Arab Conference on Geographical
Names (ACGN) was held in May 2007 in Beirut, during which a common system for the
Romanization of Arabic names was approved by the members of the Arab Division of Experts on
Geographical Names (ADEGN) (Khraish, 2008, 2009). The system illustrated in Table I has
come to be known by its moniker the Beirut System.
of Defense. Adopting it, however, has not proved to be universal or consistent. Where it is
applied, an average person often faces the difficulty of interpreting the diacritical marks and some
of the characters and their combinations.
TABLE I
ADEGN TRANSLITERATION ALPHABET
Arabic Character
Example-Oman Place Name
Romanization
(glottal stop)
Al Khaḏ
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
5
Muhayḏ
b
t
th
Al Jissah
j
Al Hamriyyah
h
kh
Al Duwayhah
d
Al h
dh
h
r
ʽ
z
s
Al H
sh
Al S
s
Al Dabʽ
d
Al Quwaytiʽ
t
Al Dhuwayhir
dh
Alʽ Aynayn
Al Ghuwayghiyyah
gh
Al Ghudhayfah
f
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
6
Muqayhifah
q
Mukayrik
k
Al Sal
l
Al Marh
m
Ghad
n
Al Shahb
Al Shujayjiyyah
h
Al Wt
Al Hu
Al Mah
T
Al Sarf
a
Al Tʽ
Al Multaqa´
a´
Al Wutayyah
u
Al Mazʽ
i
Al Lammʽ
Doubling the letter
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
7
II. Method
A. Data
The initial data of almost 5,600 names was provided by the National Survey Authority (NSA)
Defense. The data consisted of Arabic and non-Arabic names with
vocalization diacritics indicating the dialectal pronunciation of the names by the inhabitants of
the particular region in which they occur, together with their English transliteration. The
dialectal pronunciation of an Arabic name may or may not reflect how the form is pronounced in
Modern Standard Arabic. The transliteration system adopted by NSA is based on the Beirut
System (Khraish 2008, 2009) and is used on official defense maps of the country.
These lists were subsequently seMinistry of the Interior which then
disseminated them to the sixty-one wilayas or governorates, located in the various regions of the
country. The governors were asked to verify the names, add any missing ones and indicate the
local pronunciation of the names using vocalization diacritics. With additional information from
the governorates, the final list grew to 6,176 names.
It should be noted that in the southern regions of Oman there are other indigenous languages
spoken besides Arabic. These are Modern South Arabian languages such as Mehri, Jibbali (or
Shehri) and Harsusi: they are not mutually intelligible with Arabic and include sounds absent in
Arabic, such as the lateral-alveolar fricative (Simeone-Senelle, 1997). Thus, verification of a
governorate was important.
B. Procedure
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
8
In reaching a simplified transliteration system, the strategy adopted by the authors was based
on the following principles:
That the reader of the place names
is a non-Arabic speaker
has minimal reading skills in the English language
has no background in the principles of linguistics
Also that
the English form will not necessarily be a perfect equivalent of the Arabic form
the English form should be reasonably readable
the non-Arabic speaker should be able to pronounce the name with relative ease
the Arabic listener should find it reasonably easy to recognize the spoken version
produced by the non-Arabic speaker
For Arabic place names, the decision was taken to base the English form on the Modern
Standard Arabic pronunciation of the name, rather than on the local or regional pronunciation
which may vary considerably from one region to the next, especially with respect to vowels.
This variation can be illustrated by the example of the Omani place name /alfarfa:ra/
which is spelt as Al Farfarah, Al Furfarah and Al Firfarah, depending on who writes the name.
The authors also considered that the Omanis whom tourists or expatriates generally encounter are
literate and thus, very likely, will have been exposed to at least some education in Modern
Standard Arabic and so able to recognize the spoken standard form of the name.
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
9
With respect to the non-Arabic place names, particularly found in the southern
region, the English form is based on the Arabic spelling of the name provided by the NSA, the
pronunciation of which is indicated by vocalization diacritics. The decision to use
forms as a reference point was influenced by the fact that these are the ones officially endorsed
by the government. However, there are some exceptions to be noted later in the paper.
Six subjects were used to test the proposed system and they ranged in education from those
with only seven years of schooling up to those with a doctorate. Two were from the United
Kingdom and one each from the United States, Finland, India and Pakistan. The purpose for
using the subjects was to determine readability by a non-Arabic speaker and to assess clarity in
his or her production of the name to the extent that a native speaker of the language would be
able to recognize it with ease.
The procedure adopted is as follows:
1. If it is an Arabic name, the standard form is identified using the al Maktaba al Shamela
program, Version 3.28, which consists of over 5,300 Arabic books and 170 dictionaries
and books on language. However, there may be several standard forms----shown below--
--which have the same consonants in the same order but may vary in their short vowels, in
which case step 2 is applied:
: (
) /aldarf/ al Jarf
(
) /aldrf/ al Juruf
(
) /aldraf/ al Jiraf
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
10
2. If there is more than one standard form, as noted above, then the pronunciation of
the word is adopted, as long as it represents one of the standard forms. The pronunciation
is determined by the vocalic diacritics that the NSA included.
: (
) /bad/ Badh
(
) /bd/ Budh
(
) /bd/ Bidh
(
) /bd/ Buduh
(
) /bada/ Badah
Accordivocalic diacritics, the pronunciation adopted is
/bada/.
3. If the NSA form is clearly contradicted by the form, then we revert to the
as long as both represent possible standard forms.
NSA form: /almala/ al Malha
Governorate form: /almlaa/ al Mulaiha
NSA form: /alsalila/ al Salila
Governorate form: /alslasla/ al Sulaisila
4. If neither is
adopted. A standard form of the word is adopted which best represents a meaning for that
region. For example, if one form represents a relevant meaning for a region and another
one is meaningless or is a taboo word, then the authors opt for the former. For example,
is presented as /fifi/ (Fifi) by NSA and the governorate; however, since this form
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
11
does not exist in the standard Arabic language, the form adopted is
/fafi/ (Faifi),
which refers to the topographical features of a place.
5. In cases where there are significant consonantal differences influenced by the local dialect
and there is discrepancy between the NSA and the governorate, then both forms are
retained in order to avoid misunderstandings:
NSA form: /Ɵ qbat laqm/ Thuqbat Ulaiqim
Governorate form: /Ɵ qbat ladm/ Thuqbat Ulaijim
NSA form: /aqqat alra:ka/ Shaqqat al Raka
Governorate form: /addat alra:ka/ Shajjat al Raka
6. In a limited number of cases when only dialect forms occur in both the NSA lists and the
governorate, and if the standard forms would significantly change the form of the name in
terms of its consonants, the dialect form is retained so as to avoid confusion. For
example:
Standard form: /sa:rq harda/ Sariq Harja
Dialectal form: /sa:rd harja/ Sarij Harya
Standard form: /abu duna/ Abu Juna
Dialectal form: /abu juna/ Abu Yuna
7. In the case of non-Arabic names, the transliteration is based on the NSA form. If a
consonant in the NSA form is clearly contradicted by the , then the
form is retained. For example:
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
12
NSA form: /tˠ a:ha:f/ Tahaf
Governorate form: /ka:ha:f/ Kahaf
NSA form: /sˠ afa/ Safagh
Governorate form: /sˠ afaq/ Safaq
III. Results and Analysis
As mentioned above, the intended readers for the simplified system (Table II) proposed in
this paper comprise tourists, business people, and an expatriate workforce which does not
necessarily have a college education. In essence, it is aimed at readers who may be unable to
interpret diacritical marks and some characters and character combinations that are typical of
most transliteration systems.
The main distinguishing features of the proposed system are the absence of:
any diacritics and hyphens
double letters to represent long vowels
assimilation of the definite article with the actual name
It is also distinguished by the use of only three letters to represent all the vowels of standard
Arabic and lower case letters to represent the definite article.
TABLE II
SIMPLIFIED ARABIC TRANSLITERATION SYSTEM
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
13
Arabic Character
Example Oman Place Name
Transliteration
Muzhirat
a
Athar
al Ansab
a
Muhaidib
b
al Bustan
t
al Thuraimidi
th
al Jissa
j
al Hamriyya
h
al Khaurat
kh
al Duwaiha
d
al Udhaiba
dh
al Marazih
r
al Mazari
z
al Mukhaisirat
s
al Hasha
sh
al Sarima
s
al Dabani
d
al Quwaiti
t
al Dhuwaihir
dh
al Ainain
Dropped except in few
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
14
al Mayaqil
Hail al Bawud
is
used to represent it
al Ghuwaighiyya
gh
al Ghudhaifa
f
Muqaihifa
q
Mukairik
k
al Salil
l
al Marazih
m
Ghadfan
n
al Shahbari
h
al Sudiyyin
u
al Wasit
w
Tiwi
i
al Mahyul
y
al Khadra
al Zamayim
Dropped except in few
to
represent it
al Sarfana
a
al Wutayya
u
Al Mazari
i
The features of the system are as follows:
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
15
1. Phonemic Representation: the English form is based on the phonemic transcription of
the word. This aids in limiting the number of vowels used:
/alraba/ al Rahba
/albir/ al Bir
/aldfra/ al Jufra
/aldaf/ al Jauf
2. Definite Article: The pronounced phonemically as /al/ is written in lower case
letters al, followed by a space not a hyphen, and then followed by a capital letter for the
initial segment of the name. This allows for ease of readability, a focus on the actual
name without a prefix and storage of the names in databases according to the alphabetical
order of the actual name without the prefix.
Also, assimilation of the prefix and the name is not represented in English:
:
al Sawadi (Transliteration without assimilation in the simplified system)
:
al Shahbari (Transliteration without assimilation in the simplified system)
:
al Zamayim (Transliteration without assimilation in the simplified system)
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
16
3. Singular Feminine Suffix: Given the fact that the suffix ta marbuta , is usually not
pronounced, it is not represented in English. When the suffix is pronounced, it is done so
as /t/ when the name is followed by another word, such as in compound names, and
represented by the letter t in transliteration:
/albara/ al Ghubaira
/dra/ al Hujra
llat albrdᴣ / Hillat al Burj
/qasˠ bjjat na/ Qasbiyyat al Hawasina
4. Monophthongs: The system does not distinguish between short and long vowels in
rendering words into English. When tested, subjects did not make a distinction in their
production of a word containing a long vowel, whether the segment is represented by a
single or double letters. Also, they all reported that the single letter was easier to read.
And since it is based on standard Arabic, which has only three short vowel phonemes /a,
, /, the system uses only three letters to represent both the short and long vowels a, i
and u. The letters o and e are not used except in a few exceptions noted in (17):
/alba:da/ al Bada
/almndil/ al Mindil
/srur/ Surur
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
17
5. Diphthongs: There are only two diphthongs in standard Arabic /a/ and /a/ and the
system represents them as ai and au, respectively:
/madˠ a/ al Humaida
/alxara:t/ al Khaurat
6. Digraphs: The sounds , x, / are represented as digraphs: th, dh, sh, kh and gh,
respectively:
/jja/ al Tharmadiyya
/alðja:la:t/ al Dhiyalat
/aldadjja/ al Shujaijiyya
/alxwar/ al Khuwair
/ala:/ Ghala
7. Epenthetic Vowel: If a digraph is followed by an /h/ then an epenthetic vowel is added.
In testing for clarity, the epenthetic vowel has not been found to cause difficulty in
recognizing the name:
/ Adhhalqum (Transliteration without epenthetic vowel)
Adhahalqum (Transliteration with epenthetic vowel)
/Athhiknut (Transliteration without epenthetic vowel)
Athahiknut (Transliteration with epenthetic vowel)
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
18
Also, to avoid ambiguity, two letter sequences that are not digraphs are generally
separated by a vowel:
/tadhu/: Tadhu (Transliteration without epenthetic vowel)
Tadahu (Transliteration with epenthetic vowel)
/da:r asˠ Dar Ashur (Transliteration without epenthetic
vowel)
Dar Asahur (Transliteration with epenthetic vowel)
8. Consonantal Geminates: The Arabic shadda is represented as double letters, except if
the sound is represented by a digraph, then it is not duplicated:
/aldanna:na/ al Dannana
/alrkka/ al Rikka
/alxaa/ al Khasha
9. Emphatic Consonants: The system uses the same letters t, d, and s to represent both
emphatic consonants /tˠ , dˠ , sˠ / and their non-emphatic counterparts /t, d, s/. This
avoids the use of diacritics or sub-macrons which some systems typically use to represent
emphatics. Furthermore, non-Arabic speakers cannot produce the difference between the
two sets of sounds, thus, it is deemed unnecessary to distinguish them in writing:
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
19
/alsrin/ al Sirin
/alsˠ rama/ al Suraima
/alda:sr/ al Dasir
/aldˠ abka/ al Dabka
/altbaba/ al Tubaiba
/altˠ af/ al Taf
The emphatic /ðˠ / is also represented by the digraph dh as the phoneme /ð/.
/alðja:la:t/ al Dhiyalat
/alðˠ a:hr/ al Dhahir
10. Voiceless Epiglottal Fricative: The haa
or //
1
is represented by the letter h, the
same ashaa or /h/. Non-Arabic speakers cannot produce the difference, thus, the
system does not represent it in writing. Also, it avoids the use of cedillas or sub-macrons
used in other systems and which an average reader may not be able to interpret:
/alhbubjja/ al Hububiyya
/alamrjja/ al Hamriyya
11. Voiced Epiglottal Fricative: The ain or // is treated as follows:
In initial position of the name after the definite article, and in final position, the
ain is omitted and not represented in English:
1
The voiceless and voiced epiglottal fricatives were traditionally considered as pharyngeal and were represented as
and //, respectively (IPA Symbols)
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
20
/ala:fja/ al Afiya
/alaqaba/ al Aqaba
/aldada:/ al Jaja
In medial position of a name, it is omitted, unless this produces a change in the
number of syllables in English. If it is not omitted, then medially, the fricative is
replaced by the letter y if it is preceded or followed by an open vowel and by the
letter w if preceded by a closed vowel. This allows for:
the same number of syllables in English as in Arabic, which aids the
Arabic speaker to recognize the name
/albalqaa/ al Balqaya
/albalaqa/ al Balaqa
/alfarra:a/ al Farraya
/aldada:/ al Jaja
/aldadaa/ al Jajaya
ease in reading by avoiding three vowel sequences
/alba/ al Shuwaiba
/alba:t/ al Shuwaibat
avoidance of ambiguity with a diphthong which is pronounced
differently
/faut atˠ Fawut Atsah
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
21
/alil almasa:i:d/ Ghalil al Masayid
12. The Glottal Stop: The hamza or //is treated as follows:
Intervocally between unrounded vowels, it is represented by a glide or the letter y so as to avoid
ambiguity with the diphthong /, elsewhere it is dropped. The insertion of the letter y also
better approximates the Arabic pronunciation:
/alxaza:n/ al Khazayin
/alzama:m/ al Zamayim
/a:r fa:d/ Fuad Street
dˠ a:/ Haida
/a:r ala:tˠ / al Shati Street
/alansˠ ab/ al Ansab
/a:r alma:r/ al Imar Street
13. The Alif: There are three: the alif al mad or alif mamduda , is phonemically a low
front unrounded vowel /a:/ and is represented in English by the letter a:
/albsta:n/ al Bustan
/maxa:dˠ a/ Makhada
/al laa:dᴣ a:l/ al Lajal
The second is the alif maqsura and phonemically has the sound /a:/. It is also
represented in English as a:
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
22
/almltaqa:/ al Multaqa
/alstˠ a:/ al Wusta
And the third is the alif ghair mamduda which phonemically has the sound /a/. It is
represented in English as a:
/alafra:dˠ / al Afrad
/alabtˠ al Abtah
14. The Ya: There are two: the yaa almad is phonemically a high front unrounded
vowel /i/ and is represented in English by the letter i:
/alxira:n/ al Khiran
Haqmi
The other is the yaa ghair mamduda and phonemically pronounced as the palatal
glide /j/. It is represented in English as y:
/a:r zuljja/ Zuliyya Street
/a:r jti/ Yiti Street
15. The Wauw: There are two: the wauw almad is phonemically a high back rounded
vowel /u/ and is represented in English by the letter u:
/alrdᴣ u/ al Ruju
/ul/ al Mahyul
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
23
The other is the wauw ghair mamduda and phonemically is the velar glide //. It is
represented in English as w:
/ala:di alkabir/ al Wadi al Kabir
/alstˠ a:/ al Wusta
16. Diacritcs: The three diacritics---fatha (
) , kasra (
) and damma (
)----are the
short vowels /a/, // and // and are represented in English by the letters a, i and u,
respectively:
/sal/ Sal
/sˠ nb/ Sinb
/albra/ al Ghubra
17. The system does not use the letters o or e nor uses double letters to represent a vowel
unless the name has been traditionally or historically written with such a letter or with
double letters, such as:
/alsib/ al Seeb
/madinat alsltˠ a:n qa:bus/ Madinat al Sultan Qaboos
/bar/ Boshar
Also, when a name in English may be construed as obscene or taboo, then a slight
variation of spelling is applied:
/a:t/ Shaat
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
24
/faq/ Faqq
18. If the system produces two identical forms within the same governorate, then one form is
slightly modified in English to distinguish it from the other. They are only a few of these
cases:
/alqal/ al Qali
/alqala/ al Qala
/alqali/ al Qalayi
/aldada:/ al Jaja
/aldadaa/ al Jajaya
/alfar/ al Fara
/alfara/ al Farya
19. Another exception to the phonemic representation in transliteration is when a common
name has a frequently occurring spelling, for example Abdullah and Ahmed
20. Bin and bint:
respectively. They are not capitalized and represented as bin and bint
/tˠ ai mabruk bn said/ Tawi Mabruk bin Sayid
/rq a:mr bn ali adri/ Riq Amir bin Ali al Hajri
IV. Conclusion
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
25
With tourism becoming an increasingly significant source of income in Oman, and an overall
economy that is highly dependent on a large work-force that is non-Arabic-speaking, it is
important that the English rendering of Oman place names is consistent, reliable, clear and
readable. Place names function as information markers and how they appear on signposts, at
tourist sites, on tourist maps, in the media and in various marketing and public relations
documents, will play an important role in the development of the tourism sector---hence the
economy--- and in fostering a positive image of the country overseas. Furthermore, with the
World Wide Web being the largest international repository of knowledge, and with information
sharing over the Internet rapidly growing, it is essential to have a consistent English
representation of place names so as to encourage tourists and those seeking business
opportunities during visits to the country.
Finally, place names may convey the historical and cultural heritage of a community, as well
as offer insights into -political and socio-cultural contexts in
which they live. This study is part of a larger project which the authors are presently conducting
in which they will present a linguistic analysis of all the place names of Oman. Morpho-syntactic
and semantic properties of the place names will be described and lexical source domains
identified. Place names representing geomorphic features have been found to be the most
prevalent in the data; hence their taxonomic relations will be investigated and described. In
addition to the linguistic analysis, the intricate interplay between language, the physical
environment, settlement patterns and subsistence activities will be examined. The research will
further illustrate how cross-cultural influences on the pronunciation of names in certain ethno-
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
26
linguistic communities within Oman may serve as narratives of identity and symbolic resistance
to the dominant majority.
Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
Vol. 1(3) September 2011, pp. 1-27
Available online @ www.academians.org ISSN1925931X
27
References
Khraish, M. (2008). Fourth Arab conference on geographical names in Beirut, 4
th
ACGN:
Lebanon report concerning the activities related to geographical names. Retrieved 8 April, 2011,
from http://www.adegn.org/PDF/4acgn%20en/Lectures/Lebanon_report%5B6-1060%5D.pdf.
Khraish, M. (2009). Working paper: The Arabic division of experts on geographical names
(ADEGN). Retrieved 10 April 2011, from
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/25th-gegn-docs/wp%20papers/crp1-
arab%20division.pdf
IPA Symbols. Journal of Arabic Linguistics Tradition: International electronic journal.
Retrieved 17 April, 2011, from http://www.jalt.net/jIpa.aspx
Simeone-Senelle, MC. (1997). The Modern South Arabian languages. In R. Hetzron (Ed.). The
Semitic languages (pp. 379-423). London: Routledge
UNGEGN (2003). Report on the current status of United Nations Rominization systems for
geographical names: Compiled by the UNGEGN Working Group on Romanization Systems.
Version 2.2, January. Retrieved 14 April, 2011 from http://www.eki.ee/wgrs/rom1_ar.htm
