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GLOSSARY OF TERMS ...

Oral history: the form in which history used to be communicated from one generation to another was through oration especially in the absence of writing tools and, at times, the absence of literary people.

Clan: the extended family of a number of families with common or closely-related characteristics such as ancestry, trade or craft, religious denomination, geographical proximity; social status, etc.  The Arabic word for it is “Hara”, also meaning neighborhood.

Tarajmeh: noun in the plural form referring to one of the many clans of Bethlehem.  The English translation of the name of this clan is “interpreters” or “translators”.  The female member of this clan is called “turjmanieh”; the male member is called “turjmani.”

Hara (singular form): a quarter or neighborhood (and even a clan, depending on the usage), here used as a non-specific noun with an implied indefinite article.  The definite form of it is “harat” (short vowel in the second syllabus pronounced as “rut”), but it needs to be followed by a definite noun attached with the Arabic definite article “al”.  In such a case the first word is considered as a possessive for the second word.  Hence:

Hara: a neighborhood or a clan (indefinite); Harat altarajmeh: the quarter or neighborhood or the clan of the tarajmeh (definite).

Also, the plural form of the word hara is haraat (long vowel in the second syllabus pronounced as in bazaar)

Hosh (singular form): the living quarter within a neighborhood usually inhabited by the nucleus families of the same family.  The combination of the many hoshes is considered a hara, or a neighborhood.  There are quite a few remaining living quarters (hoshes) in Bethlehem still carrying the same name they had some two centuries ago.  Hence, Hosh Dabdoub, Hosh Mickel, Hosh al Sirian, etc.   The plural of hosh is hwash.