CultureTalk Arab Levant Video Transcripts: http://langmedia.fivecolleges.

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Etiquette for Making Introductions

Levantine Arabic transcript:

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English translation:

Woman: To introduce two people to each other -- usually if I know both persons, usually.
Perhaps they know each other; perhaps they don’t know each other. When they first
come, I’m supposed to say, “This is Mr. so and so.” I mention his name as a sign of
respect, or sometimes his title. Usually for us people use titles like Abu Samer,1 Abu
Fadi, Abu Waseem, Abu so and so, especially if the person is a senior; he’s addressed
with his son’s name, Abu so and so, um, so and so if they are seniors. If they are of a
certain age,2 it’s fine if we call them by their first name -- Mohammad, Ali, Hussein,
Mohammad, Riyadh, whatever his name is; and the same thing goes for women.

I introduce Mr. so and so, for instance. If he’s a physician, I may say, “This is Doctor so
and so.” Then I leave a space for both persons….

Woman behind camera: Do you introduce…?

Woman: I introduce him to the second person and leave them to get to know each other
more. He might say where he works or such, and usually this is up to the person himself.
What I do is present names, and I might mention the family’s name.

1
Abu in Arabic means “father of,” It’s used instead of a person’s first name as a sign of respect, especially
if a person is a senior. Abu Samer means “Samer’s father.’
2
She means someone who is 30 years old or younger for instance, with or without children.
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