!تاكسي
Reading from Khaled Al-Khamissi's "Taxi" (2006) I make up for a whole month's absence with a superlong 20-minute episode... This time I read a chapter of Khaled Al-Khamissi's 2006 bestseller "Taxi" تاكسي - حواديت المشاوير.. a compilation of conversations which the author had with Cairo taxi drivers, reflecting their daily experiences, frustrations, hopes and political views. In the chapter I read out, the driver expresses his disappointment by the meager protests taking place on that day, and his belief that Egyptians have missed their chance of ever starting a revolution. The original text is a mix of فصحى and عامية. The author's narration is in MSA, but his conversation with the drivers is in Egyptian dialect. And so in the table below, you will find the following: on the left is the English translation, taken from the translation of the book by Jonathan Wright which appeared in 2008. On the extreme right is the Egyptian, either my version of the فصحى text or the conversations which were already in عامية. And in the middle, where applicable, are the bits that were originall in فصحى. After the reading I explain some of the idioms and expressions that occur in the text*. I realised as I listened back to the recording that I speak a bit too fast in that final bit. My apologies for that... I just had a lot to get through and didn't want the episode to go on forever! Please let me know if it was indeed too fast, or if you were able to follow. Thanks for listening! :) (*BTW I realised after recording that in English, كوارع are "cow's trotters" :) ) خالد الخميسي: تاكسي (حواديت المشاوير) – 2006 الحدوتة (3) بالمصري بالفصحى English 1 من النتايج الاجتماعية المباشرة لحركة "كفاية" على الشارع المصري إنها رفعت البنديرة في أيام المظاهرات. من ضمن النتائج الاجتماعية المباشرة لحركة "كفاية" على الشارع المصري أنها رفعت البنديرة في أيام المظاهرات. One of the direct social effects of the Kefaya opposition movement on the streets of Cairo is that it pushed up the taxi meters on demonstration days. 2 طبعاً أقصد بكلمة البنديرة الأجرة، لأن البنديرة موجودة كأداة تجميلية بس، بتزيّن العربية وتقطّع بنطلونات الزباين اللي بيقعدوا جنب السوّاق. بالطبع أقصد بكلمة البنديرة الأجرة، فالبنديرة موجودة كأداة تجميلية فقط تزين السيارة وتمزق بنطلونات الزبائن الذين يجلسون بجانب السائق. Of course by meters I mean the taxi fees because the meter is there just as an ornament to embellish the car and to tear the trousers of customers who sit next to the driver. 3 في اليوم ده كنت واقف في شارع نادي الصيد في الدقي رايح وسط البلد وكنت بدوّر على تاكسي.. كل ما اشاور لواحد منهم وأنده "وسط البلد" السواق يشوح بإيده ويـكمّل.. في ذلك اليوم كنت في شارع نادي الصيد بالدقي ذاهباً إلى وسط البلد واقفا أبحث عن تاكسي.. وكلما شاورت إلى أحدهم وهتفت صائحاً "وسط البلد"، يشيح السائق بيده ويـكمل سيره.. On that particular day I was in Shooting Club Street in Dokki and heading downtown, standing looking for a taxi.