This photo showed up on my Facebook news feed this afternoon. Pictured is an image of a kebab shop storefront with 2 signs posted--the top one in French with one in hybrid Arabic/French just below. It appears that the image beneath that is a standard "do not enter" sign.
The French sign reads, "Unmarried couples are not permitted in the restaurant." Needless to say, it contains spelling/grammar mistakes. The hybrid Arabic sign reads similarly, "Entry is prohibited to an unmarried couple." There is also a grammar/spelling mistake in the Arabic sign. It should read "[غير المتزوجين]" instead of "[الغير متزوجين]". But then again, bigots aren't renowned for their language skills, I guess.
This sign is alleged to originate in Algeria. The individual who posted the image that my friend shared, and which consequently landed on my feed, commented, "[كاين كباب حلال و كاين نيك الحلال راك فاهم !]". His comment is Algerian Arabic, and that may be the explanation for the supposition that the image is Algerian. The comment means, "There are halal (religiously/morally acceptable) kebab shops and there are halal sex shops, ya dig?" Incidentally, my friend Bilal, the sharer of this image, tells me that نيك is considered crass or offensive--two of my favorite adjectives. Fun!
The inclusion of a sign in French means we can reasonably assume this image comes from Algeria, Morocco, or Tunisia. I am going to see if I can find out more about this image. Thanks for the share, Bilal!
