a simple presentation about what titles people use in Arab countries

1. ADDRESSING PEOPLE &
TITLES
HOW DO PEOPLE ADDRESS EACH OTHER IN
DIFFERENT CULTURES?

2. CONTENT
• FORMALITY
• FORMAL NAMES AND
NICKNAMES
• ARABIC TITLES
• NOTICEABLE CONFLICTS

3. FORMALITY
Addressing a person in a formal way in Arabic can be achieved by
using the proper title (which we will present later in this
presentation) to the person, also by the word ‫حضرتك‬ (your presence)
which indicate formality and is used very often.
However there are different levels of formal conversations. In
situations like official meetings (in governmental meeting for
instance) where eloquent Arabic is used, it is likely to use the plural
form of addressing the other person, especially if they are of a
higher rank or post, in other situations plural form of addressing is
unlikely to be used among Arabs.

4. FORMAL NAMES AND NICKNAMES
Unlike Russian culture, where real names are considered
too official to call a person with, and nicknames or pet
names are almost everywhere except in formal
documents. Names in Arabic however, are on the contrary,
where nicknames are considered too informal and used
only amongst close friends and family members. it is
unlikely, for instance, to hear a teacher calls his student
by his nickname. Needless to say that nickname system in
Arabic culture is in no way as important and regular as in
Russian culture.

5. USTADH / SITT
Addressing people with profession or formal addressing in Arabic is
used by special titles.
Title like ‫استاذ‬ (Ustadh) for male and ‫ست‬ (sitt) for female are respectful
and honorable titles in almost any formal situation. They literally
mean (a person who is master in doing something).
So a teacher, professor or an employer in any office or post, can be
called by this title.
In case we know the name of the person it is normal to add his/her
first name after this title.

6. ḤAJJI, ḤAJJIYA
For addressing elder people in Arabic they use the title (hajji /
hajjia) for male and female respectively. This title is
traditionally given to a person who has already made a
pilgrimage to Mecca. However, overtime it has become a
normal title for all elder people, probably because we assume
that all elder people have already made the pilgrimage to
Mecca.
We should keep in mind, however, that his title is only for
people we meet in the streets and not for people with
profession (i.e teachers, professors etc.)

7. ‘AKHY, ‘UKHTI
For the young people (roughly between 15-40) it is best
to call each other by these titles ‫أخي‬ (brother) and ‫أختي‬
(sister). Especially between the males and the females, as
these titles are the most neutral and has no indication of
courtship.
Among close friends, however, there are several titles, like
‫صديقي‬ (my friend), ‫عيوني‬ (my eye), ‫قلبي‬ (my heart) and so on.

8. KUNYA
The Kunya is an honorific name. It is not part of a person’s formal
name and would seldom be found in print. The kunya is used as an
informal form of address and respect. It indicates that the man or
woman is the father or mother of a particular person.
Example: Umm Kulthum means “mother of Kulthum”, and Abu
Kulthum means “father of Kulthum”.
Use of a kunya implies a familiar but respectful setting. Use of the
kunya normally signifies some closeness between the speaker and
the person so addressed, but is politer than use of the first name.

9. NOTICEABLE CONFLICTS
Several things I have noticed that are conflicting between Russian and Arabic
culture. For example calling a Russian young man with (брат, братищка)
might give him an a negative feeling that the addresser is somehow belongs
to a criminal group or he is trying to rope him (as commented by one Russian
man). On the other hand, calling an elder person in an Arabic country by ‫يا‬‫رجل‬
which is a literal translation for Мужчина which is in no way likely to be heard
in Arabic countries, would sound very provocative, the same thing for
addressing, young women, boys, and elder women.
Also one thing we noticed, is that it could be difficult for an Arab who is used
to call people with professions like teachers, professors and any other
officials by titles, to suddenly start calling them by their first and second
name, because in Arabic culture this might be seen as offensive.

10. Thanks you for your attention