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Lebanese-Australians speak their own strain of Strine
March 9, 2009 12:14 am
(@grantbarrett)
Member
Joined: 18 years ago
It's our own strain of strine, habib. "Welcome to Lebanese-Australian English - English with Arabic flavourings. 'Shoo' is 'what's up?', 'yallah' is 'let's go/goodbye' and 'habib', Arabic for 'darling', is almost 'mate'. As one Lebanese man explains, 'habib and mate differ' because 'mate is like a friend, just to make fun with them. But with the term 'habib' when you're talking to him, is like a serious talk.'"