Say it in Arabic and the reply comes back in Arabic
Yes: English and Arabic at launch quality; French, Spanish and Chinese in beta. Marrow replies in the language of your message, understands everyday Arabic with Levantine and Gulf speech included, Arabic in Latin letters and mixed lines, matches Arabic names to Latin records, and the app can be set to Arabic, laid out right to left.
English and Arabic are the two languages Marrow calls launch quality. French, Spanish and Chinese are in beta. Marrow is in Beta too, so this post says plainly what works.
What launch quality covers
- A voice note in everyday Arabic, Levantine or Gulf, is understood, not only formal Arabic. The person is filed, what you said is kept, and “يوم الأحد” becomes a dated follow up.
- Arabic in Latin letters and lines that move between English and Arabic mid sentence are accepted.
- Arabic names are matched to Latin records, so a question in Arabic finds the person you saved in Latin letters.
- A card printed only in Arabic is stored in Arabic, as printed.
Marrow replies in the language of your message, one language per reply.
Examples you could send yourself
The people are invented, like every name on this site.
| What you send | What Marrow does |
|---|---|
| A voice note: “تعرّفت اليوم على نور غنّام، مديرة فندق بمنتجعات وادي سكينة، بدها عرض لغرف التبريد قبل الموسم. ذكّرني اتّصل فيها يوم الأحد.” | Files Noor Ghannam as hotel manager at Wadi Sakina Resorts, keeps what she wants, sets a follow up for Sunday, and replies in Arabic |
| A typed question: “شو بعرف عن نور غنّام؟” | Answers from your own record, in Arabic |
| A mixed line: “Met Leila Shamoun من أطلس ثريد، ذكّرني ابعتلها الكاتالوغ الأسبوع الجاي” | Files Leila Shamoun and the follow up for next week from one line in two languages |
| Arabic in Latin letters: “shefet Noor el yom, zakkerni ettesel fiya yom el ahad” | Reads it as it reads the Arabic script, and finds the Noor already in your record |
| A photo of a card printed in Arabic: ليلى شمعون، المديرة الإبداعية، أطلس ثريد | Stores the person in Arabic, as printed |
One person, two spellings
Noor Ghannam may be on your phone in Latin letters and on her card as نور غنّام. A family name can have more than one accepted Latin spelling, and asking in the script you think in should still find the right person.
The app in Arabic
The app’s interface is English or Arabic. A new app account starts in English, and you change it in Settings, under “Marrow’s language”. In Arabic the app is laid out right to left once you close Marrow and open it again. The words switch at once.
A new account opened on Telegram is asked for its language at the start.
What the other languages get
French, Spanish and Chinese are offered and in beta. Marrow understands them and replies in them, one language per reply, but they are not held to the standard of English and Arabic, and the app’s interface is not offered in them.
Who this suits, and its limits
It suits a week that runs in two languages, such as a consultant in Dubai who meets a hotel manager from Amman and a creative director from Beirut. One reply is in one language, so a mixed message gets its answer in one of them. Levantine is the dialect Marrow has been checked on most closely, so with another dialect, check the name and the date in the reply. If a name in either script comes back wrong, the reply shows it and a line in the chat corrects it.
Related
Get Marrow on your phone.
Install the app, sign in with your email, and send it the last business card you are still carrying. Marrow is in Beta.