One more bit on Arabic:
In a predicative sentence the subject is necessarily "Marfu'" (=
"مرفوع") which means it either has a "damma" (= "ضمه") or a
"dammatan" (= "ضمهٌ") on the ending letter. Whether the "damma" or the
"dammaton" is used depends on whether the subject is "Ma'rafa" (=
"معرفه", "known") or "Nakara" (= "نکره", "unknown"). When "Salam"
has the definite article "Al" it is considered "Ma'rafa" and therefore
receives the "damma" but when it is used without that article it is
"Nakara" and receives the "dammaton." So, both forms "Al-Salam-u" and
"Salam-on" are correct. However, the greeting in actual use is "Salam-on
alaikom."
--On Sunday, August 24, 2008 10:27 AM +0300 John Waters
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Small correction, it is actually " ال سلام " , or "As-Salaam" (the L
in AL elides with "shams" letters). It would also be inappropriate for
you to receive such a greeting, which is a du'a reserved for muslims
only. Since you are using the name "Eris, is the name of a "deity", it
is safe to assume you are not a muslim. :) It is also "As-salaamu",
there is a "damma" or "u" vowel atop then meem in "salaam".
"marhaban" is a more appropriate greeting in this case.
On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 2:51 AM, Eris Discordia
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Do me a favor. Fire up your beloved upas, use mail, and relay one email
through upas/smtpd to smtp.gmail.com:587 with the words "שָׁלוֹם
עֲלֵיכֶם" (Hebrew, Shalom aleichem) or "سلام علیکم"
(Arabic, Salam-on alaikom) to my address. Let's see if "the mail goes
through."
