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Whether you are a long-time resident or a tourist on a one-week adventure, exploring and navigating Oman can be a daunting task. At first glance, finding your way around this amazing country would seem to be quite simple. Dubai to Muscat poses little problems. From Muscat, the signs are quite clear directing us to Nizwa and Salalah. If you prefer to hit the desert camps, famous wadis, fishing villages or turtle-nesting sites, the way is more or less straightforward. The challenge begins when you start looking for places that are not on the main highway, and you have to rely on maps and translated street signs.

Anyone who has attempted to venture into the interior of Oman is well aware of the little surprises that await them. Maps indicate roads and villages that must only be visible to the local eye, or new ones suddenly appear where we think there should be nothing at all. Even when the map, the terrain and landmarks generally correspond, many people find themselves pulling over to ask for help. Few things are more frustrating than knowing that you are in the right spot, but realising that it is so obviously the wrong spot. At that moment, when the impatient tourist or the uptight city slicker is at his wits’ end, the fun is often just beginning.

In an effort to make life easier for foreigners, the road signs have all been translated into English. Unfortunately, Arabic and English are very different, so something that in theory should be a simple task is actually quite difficult. The first problem is the use of vowels. Unlike English, the Arabic language uses a series of symbols, not letters, to indicate vowel sounds. These symbols are very rarely written. So even if you have learnt to read Arabic, getting the pronunciation correct is difficult. Translating the hard vowel sounds is actually rather easy, but trying to find a consensus about how to translate soft vowel sounds is much more challenging. The result, as many of us have discovered, is a plethora of interpretations written on maps and road signs that indicate the same place.

For example, a person who is looking for a particular village in Ibra will be faced with at least four different translations of its name from Arabic to English. Unfortunately, none of them will help a tourist looking for an exact phonetic representation. The English translations are: Sefalet, Safalat, Safalt, Sufalat. How would you say it? The problem is that all of the vowel sounds are soft, and the ‘t’ is actually silent in the Arabic pronunciation. Also, the stress goes on the middle vowel. So a closer attempt to translate it so that an English speaker might be understood when asking for directions would be something like “Safaala”, and even this is debatable. As you can see, it isn’t easy.

So sometimes there is a slight difference in the spelling, but we know this now and it is not going to be a problem. Well, not exactly. Sometimes the spelling looks like a small error, yet it is actually correct. I live in Ibra. A friend of mine who recently moved to Muscat decided to rent a car and come to visit. I asked if he knew the way and being the seasoned traveller that he is, I had no reason to doubt his resounding reply: “Of course! I know how to read a map! I will call you when I get close.” About three hours later, I received a call from my friend asking me for directions to my house from the petrol station. As I began to describe the landmarks he should follow, it soon became apparent to both of us that something had gone very wrong. He was in Ibri; more than 300km in the opposite direction.

The pain doesn’t stop there. Throughout the country, many villages have the same name, such as Misfah and Qabil.

Assuming you have studied a bit of Arabic before arriving in Oman and you can reasonably read and guess phonetic representations, you may still find yourself being misunderstood. The reason for this is the different accents that are spoken by the various tribes in Oman. Some of the differences are region specific, but others can be found in the same village. If you happen to be in Ibra, and successfully find your way into ‘Safaala,’ then you may want to wander around its famous market, get some lunch, and impress the locals with your command of the Arabic language. Try asking someone where you can get chicken and a Pepsi. The classical Arabic translation for chicken would be dejaj. If you come across a member of the community who uses this accent, then you are all set. Most likely, you will meet someone who pronounces it degag, or possibly even deyaiy and it may take a few moments for things to get sorted out. As for your Pepsi, you have to say “Bebsi” because the letter ‘p’ does not exist in Arabic.

Travelling throughout Oman is very rewarding and the little language quirks that cause us to get lost or be misunderstood all add to the charm of exploring this fantastic country. The next time you venture out and find yourself frustrated by inadequate translations or your inability to articulate in the local accent, just relax, enjoy the experience and imagine what it would be like if the maps and signs were not translated at all.