Khaberni - Jordanians head to work in the morning exchanging a language that only those who have lived among them understand, a language we do not learn from books and does not require controlling the articulation of letters or tongue exercises. Jordanian is acquired only from the streets and cannot be learned in schools or at our homes. Even if one is away for years, as soon as they return to Jordan, it awakens within them anew within a few days.
After a long absence from home, I landed at Queen Alia Airport and rented a car heading to Amman. While driving, I heard a horn behind me, so I stopped on the side of the road to check the car, thinking there was a problem with a tire, but I found nothing unusual and continued on my way. Only a few kilometers later, I heard another horn, stopped again to check, and found no issues. Then, I began to recall that special language known only to Jordanians: the language of the horn! A short horn is a passing greeting, while two consecutive horns are often a sign of internal anger usually directed at the passenger in the adjacent seat as if the driver is saying, "Didn't I tell you so?" A medium long horn is a signal to get ready to move because the red light is about to turn green, while a very short horn is a greeting of thanks, and a long continuous horn is a horn of anger meaning "move along, sir" and repeated horns of the same tone indicate a wedding procession. There are many different horns that suggest there is a street vendor outside, and through that horn, you will know what he is selling without seeing him.
As the sounds continued and as I interacted more with the road and the drivers, that language gradually came back to me, and within a few days, I found myself speaking Jordanian fluently as if I had never been away.
