Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2019 January 16

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January 16

Arabic: " Hello, حلو ". Can this mean anything, not in a romantic context?

Two men work together in one company. One of them, is a native Arabic speaker, and knows that the other man understands very little Arabic, so they talk in English - when they sometimes have to meet due to their work relationship.

They have never been friends, but after some years of mutual acquaintance as co-workers, the native Arabic speaker has recently begun to address the other guy, who is younger by seven years, as " Hello, حلو ". The younger guy, who is not an Arabic speaker, wonders if this phrase should probably be understood in a romantic context, or it may reasonably mean also something neutral, like "Hello man", "Hello fellow", or something like that... 185.27.105.183 (talk) 08:46, 16 January 2019 (UTC)

Is it customary for Arabic-speaking men to call each other "Sweet"? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:09, 16 January 2019 (UTC)

Please notice that my question was not about "sweet", but rather about حلو : Does it always mean "sweet" - which should probably be always understood in a romantic context (when used in addressing an adult), or it may reasonably mean also something neutral, like "man" / "fellow" / "guy" / "youngster" / "lad", rather than "sweet"? 185.46.77.2 (talk) 13:30, 16 January 2019 (UTC)

It sounds like you're asking if the Arabic word حلو has a context in which it would be used in a non-romantic manner between two men. I don't know the answer, but to address Bugs's secondary question, in many languages (English included) there are terms whose nature changes drastically depending on context, both social and linguistic. I can think of words in American English like "ass" which can be benign (the farmer had an old ass that used to kick something fierce) or vulgar (kiss my ass). I think he's asking something along those lines. --Jayron32 17:56, 16 January 2019 (UTC)

Hello by itself is not an Arabic work; it's an import from English but can be used in an informal context. Hellu is an Arabic word meaning sweet, which can have similar connotations as the English "sweetheart". Problem is, the two are written the same in Arabic, which has limited written vowels, and can often be pronounced the same way by a native Arab speaker who doesn't easily distinguish between the o and u sounds. So, it's possible the speaker means one word and the listener hears the other; or he is deliberately using the Arabic word for "sweet"; or he is willingly playing up the ambiguity of the term. It's impossible to know as someone not privy to the conversation. --Xuxl (talk) 20:34, 16 January 2019 (UTC)

Are you a native Arabic speaker? Anyway, as I have pointed out, the conversation is held in English, being the only language understood by both of them, while the first word is no doubt Hello, pronounced / hə'lou /, i.e. with the consonant [h] and the diphthong /ou/, the stress being on the second syllable. The second word is no doubt حلو, pronounced / 'ħɪlʊ /, i.e. with the consonant /ħ/ and the vowel /ʊ/, the stress being on the first syllable. Further, sometimes, the Arabic speaker says "How are you doing, حلو ?", the last word being pronounced / 'ħɪlʊ /, so he probably does not try to play up any ambiguity of the term "Hello". The younger guy just wonders about what the Arabic speaker means by حلو: Can it have also a neutral meaning, e.g. "fellow", or "guy", or "youngster", not in any romantic context? If it can't, then, can it also mean "darling" (which is, in my view, less romantic than "sweet")? 185.46.77.2 (talk) 21:16, 16 January 2019 (UTC)

On the contrary, "darling" is highly romantic. It's what spouses call each other. (Like saying "sweetie" or "sweetheart".) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:58, 16 January 2019 (UTC)

There is no reason to think the use of "حلو" between two men is gay. If you translate any normal dialog between two male Arab friends literally into English, it will sound very gay to Western ears. That's just the Arabic language. Russian does this too, to a smaller extent. Russian men frequently call one another "мой дорогой" (moy dorogoy), literally "my dear," "my darling." It's perfectly normal. My translation of "يا حلو" as used between two male friends would be "handsome," but you could translate it as "sweet" if you prefer it. But it is just a friendly way to address another man, although it is at the same time humorous. He is just becoming more friendly, but not gay. —Stephen (talk) 01:09, 17 January 2019 (UTC)

It makes some sense. In regions where there is a large cultural wall between men and women, men can tend to be more effusive with other men, while being very reserved towards women. America used to be this way, much more so than now, which is why some wishful thinkers have taken expressiveness in 19th century letters between men as a false sign of "gayness". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:39, 17 January 2019 (UTC)

Xuxl -- I would really expect English "hello" to appear in Arabic with the ه consonant, not the ح consonant... AnonMoos (talk) 13:57, 17 January 2019 (UTC)

Given this is ostensibly a non-Arabic speaker reporting on something said orally, any transcription into Arabic letters of what was said is not reliable. I have no idea if there is a standard transcription of the English "Hello" into Arabic. Xuxl (talk) 14:58, 17 January 2019 (UTC)

As I have pointed out, the first word was (certainly) pronounced / hə'lou /, and the second word was (certainly) pronounced / 'ħɪlʊ /. That's why I wrote Hello, حلو. Hope this helps. 185.46.77.2 (talk) 15:18, 17 January 2019 (UTC)

Are any of you native Arabic speakers? 185.46.77.2 (talk) 15:18, 17 January 2019 (UTC)

Would something like Category:Translators ar-en help you find someone to help you? --Jayron32 18:28, 17 January 2019 (UTC)