J.Nov 14, 2023
Sid 🇵🇸
A user called Aldanimarki designed these, which say "I love chokky milk" in Arabic, kind of as a way to make a point about how westerners see their language as sinister.
Nov 13, 2023 at 5:19pmWeb
Show threadGunChleocNov 13, 2023

@InternetEh I think the script looks quite beautiful.

No idea why people might think it sinister - maybe because they don't understand it.

Show threadTeal AmoreNov 13, 2023
@gunchleoc @InternetEh I mean folks don't assume anything bad when they see chinese or any other languages they don't know. so let's be for real for a second, it's bigotry
Show threadGunChleocNov 13, 2023
@theelectricteal @InternetEh I agree it's bigotry
Show thread(Matthew)=> 🏳️‍🌈🇿🇦🎮💻📖Nov 15, 2023

@gunchleoc @InternetEh Years of war on terror propaganda. For a long while, most Americans were convinced 'Allahu Akbar' meant 'Death to the west'

It means ''God is the greatest". Allah is the Arabic word for God. The same as the Christian one.

War on terror propaganda is deeply powerful, and no one is immune.

Show threadflopflipflapNov 13, 2023

@InternetEh
This reminded me of these billboards by Demner, Merlicek & Bergmann (original title «look twice») that were all around the city of Graz in 2015 within the frame of the art festival «Steirischer Herbst»:

"Auf den ersten Blick scheint vieles unverständlich."
=
"At first glance, many things seem incomprehensible."

Show threadAngela Glansbury 🚽Nov 15, 2023
@flipflapflop @InternetEh
that faux-arabic script looks horrible
Show threadSpace HoboNov 13, 2023

@InternetEh I have a bag made by Tom Bihn a couple decades ago, during a time of intense xenophobia in the US. He put labels in all his bags saying "Fabrique en EU", to play with the fact that the French name for the US is "États-Unis". He also had "Made in the US" written in a variety of other systems (Hanzi, Arabic, etc) depending on who was the target of paranoia at any given time.

Sometimes he put apologies for US foreign policy or aggression on the other sides of these labels.

Show threadSid 🇵🇸Nov 13, 2023
@spacehobo I dunno how far France can look down its nose at anyone on Islamophobia.
Show threadSpace HoboNov 13, 2023

@InternetEh You're quite right, but that was never the point: it was made at a specific time when the Republicans in charge were braying in fury that France wouldn't join them in war on Iraq. They engaged in utterly petty culture-war politics on the issue:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_fries

My best friend growing up married a Frenchman, and they had to move to Paris because people refused to work with him based on all this.

Freedom fries - Wikipedia

Show threadGunChleocNov 15, 2023

@spacehobo @InternetEh Yep, Germany also got some flak at the time for not joining the illegal invasion of Iraq that destabilized the whole region.

We found the whole "Freedom fries" nonsense both utterly ridiculous and somewhat scary.

Show thread Mélani (Melanie) Bjornsdottir (she, ŝi)Nov 15, 2023
@spacehobo @InternetEh Not at least notated "É.-U.A."?
Show threadDean WamplerNov 14, 2023
@InternetEh I think Arabic calligraphy is profoundly beautiful. I have no idea what it says , of course. Your point shows how often people are afraid of things they don’t comprehend with their simple minds
Show threadCera ColeNov 14, 2023
@InternetEh It looks very beautiful to me. Wish I had the ability to read another alphabet besides the Latin one.
Show threadNoctisEqui 🇺🇦🇵🇸🇪🇹🏳️‍🌈Nov 14, 2023

@InternetEh

It really is beautiful writing. I see it more as magical.

Show threadRhizomatic ArcadeNov 15, 2023
@InternetEh i need this as a t-shirt so bad
Show threadAlastair McBain Nov 15, 2023
@InternetEh Another similar one; Wondermark has been selling this t-shirt for ages: https://topatoco.com/collections/wondermark/products/won-arabic 🙂
My Parents Never Taught Me Arabic Shirt

Show threadNot a Spring OnionNov 15, 2023

@InternetEh

Reminded me of a case of "hey, let's put some foreign characters there". In that case, chinese characters advertising "hot housewives":

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/chinese-classical-poem-was-brothel-ad-1058031.html

Chinese 'classical poem' was brothel ad | The Independent

Science journal mistakenly uses flyer for Macau brothel to illustrate report on China

The Independent
Show threadLisPiNov 15, 2023
@wakame @InternetEh For similar reasons I'd be disinclined to repost the OP because it could also be a different joke instead.

I have no way to tell.
Show threadalexingNov 15, 2023
@lispi314 @InternetEh @wakame here, i broke it down for you courtesy of ms paint
Show threadLisPiNov 15, 2023
@alexing @InternetEh @wakame Huh, thanks, makes me wonder about the other diacritics/surrounding glyphs(?).

Do they carry semantic meaning or is it similar to the embellishments one does with cursive Russian Cyrillic?
Show threadalexingNov 15, 2023
@lispi314 @InternetEh @wakame a bunch of them are tashkeel which are diacritics that indicate things such as vowels and consonant length etc. there's one hamza in there which is
like technically part of the alif (the very first letter) but i didn't include that cus it's not usually written in casual handwriting. the rest are mostly decorative
Show threadNoujoumNov 25, 2023
@alexing @lispi314 @InternetEh @wakame can confirm
Show threadFelicia RabbittonNov 15, 2023
@InternetEh All I see is incredible beauty.
Show threadRedPandaLizNov 15, 2023
@InternetEh As someone from the united states of america, particularly in southern west Virginia. It feels like its mystical or magical to me. Almost reminds me of the elvish language from the "lord of the rings". And to me that makes it feel welcoming. But I also am not your average southern west Virginian.
Show threadAndyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyNov 15, 2023
@RedCyberPandaz @InternetEh not by a long shot
Show threadalexingNov 15, 2023
@InternetEh it just says "chocolate milk" not "choccy milk" but yea im pakistani and this is just rly funny lol
Show threadCloverNov 15, 2023
@alexing @InternetEh is it common for pakistanis to speak arabic?
Show threadalexingNov 15, 2023
@Clover @InternetEh no. i don't speak arabic, but i studied it for a couple years as a kid. pakistanis are able to read arabic script because basically all languages in pakistan use it; and there ends up being enough cultural juxtaposition that simple sentences like this one are often easily understood (eg everyone knows what uhibbu means, milk is a pretty common word, chocolate is just chocolate). pakistani languages also contain many many many loanwords from arabic
Show threadneopolitanNov 15, 2023
@InternetEh yeah that's fair looking at this just makes me feel stupid for not being able to read
Show threadMedea Vanamonde🏳️‍⚧️ ♀Nov 15, 2023
@InternetEh I’ve always seen written Arabic as beautiful and surprised the script works similar to chunky and blocky Roman Greek Hebrew etc Alphabets.
It looks like it should be the physical time binding mechanism for a sensual language, which surprises me due to the level of Asceticism everyday (non mystic) Adherents to Islam are .
Show threadThomas LobigNov 25, 2023
@InternetEh Interesting sidenote, I feel similar to "Frakturschrift" - I first think "Nazi" when I see such a font.
Show threadAdamDec 16, 2023
@InternetEh I love this. I love the cheek of it and it's absolutely beautiful.
Show threadCaveDaveDec 17, 2023
@InternetEh how would you write it with Latin characters? Something like inhobb il halib?
Show threadoatmealDec 17, 2023
@InternetEh brilliant... who doesn't love chokky milk :), but I believe except for low information American, most appreciate calligraphy...?