Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2022 December 27

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December 27

Proscribed

Saudis#Greetings says

Greetings in Saudi Arabia have been called "formal and proscribed" and lengthy.

This is actually a quote from a USAtoday article: https://traveltips.usatoday.com/saudi-arabia-culture-protocol-16306.html

I understood "proscribed" to mean "forbidden" or "disapproved of". Is there some other meaning, or is the word used incorrectly here? 24.130.152.125 (talk) 01:37, 27 December 2022 (UTC)

In the OED Online and in a number of smaller online dictionaries, there is no meaning of "proscribed" by which that sentence could make sense. I suppose the writer meant "prescribed", but that also does not exactly seem right. --174.89.144.126 (talk) 02:33, 27 December 2022 (UTC)

Prescriptive ? Doug butler (talk) 04:14, 27 December 2022 (UTC)

It seems to be a mistake for "prescribed". See the definition in wiktionary [1] which states, as an adjective: "Of a procedure, specified to a great degree of detail; established as following a strict procedure or set of rules". The "great degree of detail" part is what is meant by the author. Xuxl (talk) 16:02, 27 December 2022 (UTC)

If it's a mistake then how should we change the Wikipedia article? 24.130.152.125 (talk) 05:11, 29 December 2022 (UTC)

Just edit the article and make the correction. The article is not protected, and anybody (including you) can edit. Cullen328 (talk)

It's a direct quote, though. Academically, it's customary to add a [Sic] in such cases. 惑乱 Wakuran (talk) 10:09, 29 December 2022 (UTC)

The cited source is a primary source for the claim that the greetings in Saudi Arabia have been called whatever. But is it a good source for the more relevant claim that they are, for example, lengthy? The Saudi Tourism Authority writes that, to behave like a local, you greet with the words salam alaykum (peace be upon you).^[2] Formal indeed, and if not prescribed than at least very standardized, but not particularly lengthy. The website does not reveal that the traditional response is in kind, wa alaykum salam (note the inversion of the word order). Much lengthier greetings are possible and not uncommon, such as "may peace and the mercy of Allah be upon you" (see the first response here), but these have clear religious overtones and will be used mainly among people who know each other or whose style of dress identifies them as religious. The current statement is IMO dubious and not a valuable encyclopedic snippet of information.  --Lambiam 11:17, 29 December 2022 (UTC)

It says "They are also lengthy, Saudis tend to take their time and converse for a bit when meeting with inquiries about health and family." 24.130.152.125 (talk) 18:02, 30 December 2022 (UTC)

The usual understanding of the meaning of greeting is that it refers to a conventional phrase used to start a conversation or to acknowledge a person's arrival. While it may be impolite in Saudi Arabia not to engage in some additional smalltalk, this is not part of the general concept of "greetings". I think, moreover, that the validity of the claim depends strongly on the circumstances. When two men, complete strangers to each other, are introduced to each other in a business setting, they will exchange polite greetings. I can't believe they'll use the occasion to strike up a conversation involving each other's health and family. This presumes some level of familiarity and informality. The generality expressed in the Travel Tips article is IMO unwarranted, except for the sound advice not to discuss the other's wife or wives.  --Lambiam 11:38, 3 January 2023 (UTC)