Bishari

/bɪʃˈɑːri/ noun

Definition

Another spelling variant of Bishareen; a member of a nomadic pastoral group in the northeastern Sahara and Red Sea region.

Etymology

From Arabic 'Bisha'ari,' a variant transliteration of the same ethnic group name as Bishareen. The varying spellings reflect different colonial-era European transcriptions of the same Arabic root.

Kelly Says

Bishari and Bishareen show how colonial transliteration created spelling chaos—the same ethnic group got written a dozen different ways depending on whether the British, French, or Italian explorer was documenting them, a linguistic ghost of empire.

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