246 CultureShock! Egypt
Mashallah (Ma sha’ Allah)
Literally, ‘what God wills’. This phrase is used when seeing
a child or complimenting someone’s health.
Ma’alish
Literally, ‘never mind’ or ‘it doesn’t matter’. When
Egyptians translate this phrase into English, they most
often say, ‘No problem!’ Ma’alish is much more than a
casual phrase, it actually represents a total way of looking
at life’s trials and tribulations. The phrase provides a whole
range of responses to disappointments, frustrations and
acceptance of adversity.The Verbal Dimension
In Egypt, conversations frequently involve close contact
and low tones, sometimes almost at the level of a whisper.
Just as frequently, conversations suddenly erupt into loud
shouting matches with everyone talking at once accompanied
by arm waving, table pounding, threatening gestures and
generous punctuating oaths. Boisterous dramatisations more
commonly occur among males of the same age and social
status who know each other well, but can also occur among
total strangers.Getting Into the Swing of Things
Once when I was taking a group of Americans to a market in old
Alexandria, we had an unanticipated police escort. Much to our
surprise, our escort took us through traffi c to the wrong place. When
I began exclaiming loudly to our interpreter that we did not want to
go to this place but another, the bus screeched to a halt, my colleague
departed, a crowd gathered, and there ensued a loud screaming
match replete with vociferous arm waving and pointing. Next thing
my group knew, I was out yelling at our interpreter who then relayed
my complaints in a loud voice to the escort. People sat mesmerised
in their seats, shrinking at the idea that some or all of us were going
to be hauled off to jail for fi ghting in public. Of course, it was simply
normal conversation to the Egyptians involved.The Non-verbal Dimension
Successful communication in Egypt requires not only the
ability to communicate verbally, but also an understanding