Transliteration and Non-English Text

Transliteration and Non-English Text

The writings published in this journal often include transliterated Arabic words, and, for the most part, the transliterations are left as the author’s own. There are many dialects of Arabic and perhaps an even greater number of customs for transliteration, with no universally accepted standard. Because of this, and inspired by the treatment of Arabic terms in Food for Our Grandmothers: Writings by Arab-American and Arab-Canadian Feminists, edited by Joe Kadi, this journal will seek to reflect the diversity of dialects that ring true for our individual authors rather than imposing one standard.

Non-English words printed in this journal are not italicized. This decision is based mainly on the question of audience. Many writers and readers within our community are familiar with Arabic, and to set Arabic words in italics would be to announce their foreignness or otherness in a way that does not reflect this familiarity. Readers unfamiliar with Arabic or other languages that appear in the journal are also a welcome part of our audience. If the meaning of an unfamiliar word is not immediately apparent from its context, the invested reader can seek to learn it from other sources, or perhaps be comfortable with the discomfort of not knowing.