Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:

In article , tommyknocker wrote:

Transliteration of other alphabets into the Roman (English) alphabet is
always tricky.

Yes. :-)

I know that there's a vowel in Arabic that can be either
"i" or "e" depending on the translation. Popular usage is determined by
whichever one catches on.

It's as bad in Hebrew. There are also two distinct dialects used here,
though one is more common on the street than the other,

Hebrew and Arabic are linguistically quite similar. Also, is this a
situation where there's a "formal" and a "colloquial" language similar
to the differences between written and spoken English?

I've seen several spellings of "Jaffa" including "Yafo" and your
"Yaffa".

The proper spelling in English is Jaffa and the name is "Jaffa Street"
on the street signs. In Hebrew it is called Yaffo and I stand corrected.

In ancient times, the port city on the coast was called Yaffo (from
yaffa, pretty). The road to there was called (in English if had it existed)
the Jaffa Road, or in Hebrew Derech Yaffo. The British renamed it Jaffa
Street.

If you ever come looking for it, the IBA house is in what used to be
the Shaare Tzedik hospital. It's at the corner of Jaffa Road and
Shaare Tzedik street. Shaare Tzedik hospital is several miles away.
Asking for directions to Shaare Tzedik (street) will get you the
hospital.

It's also across the street from the privately owned "Jerusalem Central
Studios" where all the news agencies shoot that wonderful rooftop view
of Jersualem when they have live reporters on TV.

Actually, I'm in America. I did have a Jewish great grandfather,
however, and I greatly favor him in looks although I was not raised
Jewish nor do I practice Judaism. I'm constantly being mistaken for a
Jew by other Jews. I would like to visit Israel someday and see all the
holy sites of all the religions, that is if the Arabs don't destroy it
first.


As for "Jerusalem", that's the common English term. I believe
that the Jews have always called it "Yerushalayim". (BTW, -im is a
plural ending in Hebrew-could it mean "place of the Jews"?)

No, actually it means "city of peace". Yeru is from iriah (city) shalayim
from peace (plural?). The consonant at the begining (yeud) is written
as both y and i in English.

I was told that it derives from "place [or city] of Shalem", the god of
the Jebusites who were defeated by King David. That said, "shalayim"
might be an early version of "shalom" (peace). In Spanish, the word for
"God" is "Dios", with the s on the end it would normally be plural but
it's one of those linguistic exceptions. I suppose "shalayim" is in a
similar vein.