Combining what others have already said - if you look at the two pics, it is indeed possible that they do show the same text, but in the second picture upside down. And if you just combine the letters already identified, "ha" and then "wy", so "hawy" (حاوي), the resulting word does indeed mean, according to my dictionary, "magician". Though more in the Houdini / David Copperfield sense than in the sense of "real" magic (it also lists "snake charmer" and "juggler" as alternative translations), the word saher (ساحر) does seem more suitable for the other kind. Hard to tell if this is what it really says, but it seems as plausible an answer as any: that the person who made the props looked up the Arabic for "magician" and chose the wrong word as he/she couldn't actually read the letters
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Oh you are awesome! Thank you so much for your contribution, and bringing all the bits and pieces into context. That is exactly what I was searching for! I love this group. If you ever need any help with German, I hope I can give back one day
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I'm not fluent in Arabic to the point that I know the difference between those two words - until looking it up the only word I knew for "magician", "magic" or related concepts was "saher" and its cognates. But based on the various translations listed for the respective words in my dictionary, yes, it does seem like "hawi" is more a performer and "saher" someone who can actually do real magic, if you believe in that sort of thing, or in fiction. Still, I think an error from the prop makers is more likely than an intentional contrast between the two words. Though as errors with printed Arabic go, this one is probably the nearest miss I've ever seen, generally they are a lot more spectacular and generate nearly unreadable results (printing from left to right, lacking the links between letters, that sort of thing). Here there's a real Arabic word which actually even has the same translation as the one they were going for!
Yeah, I guess it can be excused. As well as when Oliver is speaking Russian, nobody is able to understand what he says. But he is at least trying, and that should count for something.
Just wanted to show you the outcome! My handwriting probably is unreadable but I am very happy with the result. I made a second one to give to John at the next con. But pssst!
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I'm not fluent in Arabic to the point that I know the difference between those two words - until looking it up the only word I knew for "magician", "magic" or related concepts was "saher" and its cognates. But based on the various translations listed for the respective words in my dictionary, yes, it does seem like "hawi" is more a performer and "saher" someone who can actually do real magic, if you believe in that sort of thing, or in fiction. Still, I think an error from the prop makers is more likely than an intentional contrast between the two words. Though as errors with printed Arabic go, this one is probably the nearest miss I've ever seen, generally they are a lot more spectacular and generate nearly unreadable results (printing from left to right, lacking the links between letters, that sort of thing). Here there's a real Arabic word which actually even has the same translation as the one they were going for!
Reply
Just wanted to show you the outcome! My handwriting probably is unreadable but I am very happy with the result. I made a second one to give to John at the next con. But pssst!
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Reply
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