MBC Program: خواطر (Thoughts)

This is the 5th season of MBC's Ramadan TV show خواطر (Thoughts) with host أحمد الشقيري (Ahmad Alshukairy). This season is all about Japan. The shows focuses on how clean and sanitary the Japanese are and also how they are so successful and yet still hold on to their customs and traditions. The following is a 5 minute clip from the program as well as the transcript and translation. The host speaks in Saudi dialect which is really close to MSA. There were a few words that I had to look up such as ماصات and حقته, but the majority of it is pretty clear. This is one of my favorite Arabic shows along with مسلسلات حليمة!




Eating in the schools.

و نتابع الإبداعات في المدارس اليابانية في موضوع مهم و هو موضوع الأكل. الطلبة في اليابان بيأكلو في المدرسة كما عندنا كثير من المدارس العربية الطلبة بيأكلو في المدرسة. ولكن هناك فرق. الأكل في المدارس اليابانية بنظام

And we follow the innovations of the Japanese schools in an important subject, the subject of eating. The students in Japan eat in the school just as in many Arabic schools the students eat in the school. But there's a difference. Eating in the Japanese schools follows a system.

Comments: The word طلبة means "students". Just as طلاب also means "students". طالب is "student". The word أكل can mean "eating" or "food".

The period is over. Thank you.
Thanks very much.

تخلصو كلهم يقولو "اريغاتو" يعني "ثانك يو" للمدرسة. شكراً. و بعدين... جاء وقع ايش يا جماعة؟ ايش قاعين يسوو؟ جاء وقت الغداء

As they finish they all say "arigato", meaning "thank you" to the teacher. Thank you. And after that... what time has come, everyone? What are they doing? Lunch time has come.

Comments: تخلص means "to be finished" with something. بعدين means "after that". ايش means "what". قاعدين literally means "they are sitting", but in Saudi Arabic the word قاعد is used to add an -ing to the verb, just like عم is used in Levantine.

لقينا فجاة الطلاب قاعدين يضبّط الماصات. 4 ماصات جمب بعض 4, 4, 4. صارت طاولات. بعدين جابو طاولات. صفوها صف زي البوفي. و لبس 3 طلبة البلوفرات البيضا إلي هم هذول الطلبة, هم المسؤولين عن تقديم الأكل لباقي الطلاب. إجاهم الأكل من المطبخ, حطو الأكل إترصو. كل طالب طلع مفرش جايبه من البيت. حطه على الطاولة حقته


We found suddenly the students organizing the desks. 4 desks next to each other. 4, 4, 4. They became tables. After that they brought tables and lined them up in a line like a buffet. And 3 students wore white pullovers. These students were the ones responsible for serving the food to the rest of the students. The food came (to them) from the kitchen. They put the food (on the trays) and they line up. Every student brings out a place mat they brought from home. He puts it on his own table.

Comments: He calls the white coats the kids are wearing pulloveraat. It took me a while to figure that out. إترص means "to line up". The very last word حقته means "his own". It is used the same way as مالته in Iraqi, بتاعته in Egyptian, and تبعته in Levantine. They all add possession.

قاعدين يجهزو الصحون و يجهزو الأكل لطلبة الفصل. هذه مسؤولية تناوب عليها الطلبة. اليوم هذه المجموعة هي المسؤولة. اليوم التاني تكون مجموعة أخرى

They are preparing the plates and the food for the students of the class. This is a responsibility that rotates among the students. Today this group is responsible (for it). The next day it is another group.

تغسيل اليد قبل الأكل
Washing the hands before eating.
الطلبة يغرفو لبعض... الأكل. و شوف كيف الأمور منظمة. جلسو و لا واحد اكل. ما في احد اكل إلا أن ينتهي كل الطلبة من صب الأكل

The students scoop out the food for each other. And look how things are organized. They sat down and not one of them ate. No one ate until all the students finished getting food.

Comments: The word صب means "to pour" and I've heard it more commonly with liquids, but I guess it can be used with food too.

بتكون هون تقاليد الأكل في اليابان للطلبة. و بتشرح للفصل مكونات الأكل حق اليوم. و لهم اليوم الأكل في رز و لحمة و خضار. و تقاليد الأكل في اليابان انه الرز على اليسار و الشربة على اليمين. فشوف كلهم نفس النظامة

Here are the eating traditions of students in Japan. And she explains to the class the contents of the food today. And today the food is rice, meat, and vegetables. The eating traditions in Japan is that the rice is on the left and the drink is on the right. Look at how all of them follow the same system.

I don't know why, but I heard him say حق اليوم which I just translated to هذا اليوم. That's pretty much the only thing I'm not sure of in this passage.

تخيلو لو النظام هذا الي شفناه في اليابان موجود في بلد إسلامي. الطفل بداءاً ما يطلع... ياباني يطلع و يقول لهم تقاليدنا الإسلامي. تخيلو كل يوم هذا يحصل. تقاليدنا الإسلامية نقول بسم الله قبل الأكل. و الأولاد كلهم يستمعين لسة ما يأكلو. و انه نأكل بيميننا. تخيلو كل يوم طفل مسؤول عن ذلك. و الأطفال قبل ما يأكلو يطبقو هذا السيستم. كل يوم من اول إبتدائي سينشاء لكم جيل و إحترم يقدر نعمة الأكل

Imagine if this system that we saw in Japan was present in an Islamic country. At the beginning a Japanese child (goes) and recites to the others our Islamic traditions. Imagine this happening every day. "Our Islamic traditions are that we say in the name of God before we eat." And the children all listen, still not eating. "And that we eat on the right." Imagine every day a child responsible for that. And before they eat, the children apply that system. Every day beginning in elementary school. A generation will grown up (for you) that will be respectful and value the blessing of eating.

بتقول لهم أنه اليوم الأكل في بيض و البيض فائدته كذه كذه كذه لأنه يفيد إلك بكذه كذه كذه

She's saying to them that today the food is an egg and that the egg has the benefits etc, etc, etc, and that it benefits you etc, etc, etc.