Describing Yourself#
Objective: By the end of the chapter, you will be able to: • ask and answer questions about nationalities, cities, age, and marital status • use the possessive word “dyal” to indicate possession • use demonstrative pronouns and adjectives in simple sentences • ask questions about possession Cultural Points Avoid asking about the salary and age (sometimes) of people, especially women. Men should not enquire about the wives or other female relations of someone—this could be seen as expressing an inappropriate interest. People won’t always tell you about their jobs and other personal concerns if not asked. Religion can be a sensitive issue and sometimes people are not willing to express their views. Nationalities, Cities, and Marital Status Vocabulary and Expressions ؟نت َ منين Where are you (masc.) from?mnin nta?Where are you (fem.) from?mnin nti?I am from the U.S.ana mn mirikan..ريكانم من أنا I am American.ana mirikani(ya)..)ريكاني(ةم أنا I am from Morocco.ana mn l-mghrib..بالمغر من أنا I am Moroccan.ana mghribi(ya)..)ي(ةبمغر أنا Are you … ?wesh nta/nti … ?Are you from the U.S.?wesh nta/nti mn mirikan?Where are you from in the U.S.?mnin nta/nti f mirikan?And you?u nta/nti?citymdinaمدينة statewilayaاليةو big (fem.)kbiraكبيرة small (fem.)Sghiraصغيرة Excuse me. (to man / woman)sm7 li / sm7i liI am not …ana mashi …butwelakinengaged (fem.)mkhtTubamarried (masc. / fem.)mzuwj / mzuwjaNo, not yet.lla mazal / lla baqiباقي ّال / مازال ّال Are you a tourist?wesh nta/nti turist?تُريست؟ نت / نت َ واش I work with the Peace Corps.anaa khddaam(a) m3a hayAat s-salam..مالالس ّ أنا َ ةيئَ هَ مع َ )ام(ةخد ؟نت منين ؟ … نت / نت َ واش ريكان؟م من نت / نت َ واش ريكان؟م ف نت / نت َ منين ؟نت / نت َ و لي سمحي / لي سمح … ماشي أنا نلَكوَ مخطوبة جةمزو ّ / جمزو ّ12 • Moroccan Arabic Dialogue مكُ لَيعَ الم َ :مةفاط ُ الس Fatima: s-salaam 3alaykum. Tom: wa 3alaykum s-salam. Fatima: sm7 li, wesh nta fransawi? Fatima: mnin f mirikan? Tom: mn mdint Seattle f wilayat Washington. u nti? Fatima: mn Rabat. ريكان؟م ف منين :مةفاط ؟نت و .واشنطُن اليةو ف سياتل مدينة من :طوم .الرباط من :مةفاط عمرك؟ ف شحال :طوم Tom: sh7al f 3mrk? u nta? Tom: rb3a u tlatin 3am. Fatima: wesh nta mzuwj wlla mazal? Tom: mazal. u nti? llaa, baqiya. Wesh nta Fatima: turist? Tom: lla, ana khddam m3a hayAat s-salam. Fatima: bslama. Tom: n-shufk mn b3d. نساوي؟فر َ واش ،لي سمح :مةفاط َ نت .ريكانيم أنا ،ال :طوم Tom: lla, ana mirikani. Fatima: tnayn u 3shrin 3am. المالس َ مكُ لَيعَ وَ :طوم ؟نت َ و .عام عشرين و ينتنَ :مةفاط .عام تالتين و ربعة :طوم مازال؟ ّوال مزوج نت َ واش :مةفاط ؟نت و .مازال :طوم توريست؟ نت َ واش .باقية ،ال :مةفاط .المالس ّ أنا ،ال :طوم َ ةيئَ هَ مع َ امخد .السالمة ب :مةفاط .بعد من نشوفك :طومPeace Corps / Morocco • 13 The Possessive Word “dyal” In Moroccan Arabic, you have already learned that possession can be expressed by adding the possessive pronouns to the end of a word (see page 8). Another way to express possession is through the word dyal. It is placed after a noun with the definite article “the,” which in Arabic may be either the letter “l” or a doubling of the first consonant of a word (see page 143 for more information on the Arabic definite article). The same possessive pronouns you learned before are attached to the end of dyal. You can also use a name with dyal. Some examples: Using “dyal” Using Possessive Pronoun Book the book ktab كتاب my book l-ktab الكتاب my book ktabi كتابي l-ktab dyali ديالي الكتاب John’s book l-ktab dyal John دجون ديال الكتاب Here is a list of dyal with all of the possessive pronoun endings: my / minedyaliديالي your / yours (sing.)dyalkديالك his / hisdyaluديالو her / hersdyalhaديالها our / oursdyalnaديالنا your / yoursdyalkumمكُ ديال their / theirsdyalhumديالهُم As the list above shows, the forms dyali, dyalk, etc. also mean “mine,” “yours,” etc. This pen is mine.had s-stilo dyali..ديالي الستيلو دهَ That rug is yours.dik z-zrbiya dyalk..ديالك الزربية ديك Exercise: Substitute the underlined words by the corresponding possessive pronoun endings. 1. s-stilu dyal John..دجون ديال الستيلو 2. l-ktab dyal Amber..أمبر ديال الكتاب 3. D-Dar dyal Driss u Zubida. .زوبيدة و دريس ديال الدار14 • Moroccan Arabic Demonstrative Adjectives & Demonstrative Pronouns This, that, these, and those are used often in Arabic, like in English. But, unlike in English, in Arabic we must be aware of whether they act as adjectives or pronouns. Think about how we use these words in English. Sometimes, we use them before a noun. When we use them before a noun, they are called demonstrative adjectives. This car is John’s. I like these towels. I want that book. Those flowers smell lovely. Sometimes, we use them by themselves. In this case, they are called demonstrative pronouns. This is John’s. I like these. I want that. Those smell lovely. It isn’t necessary to know their names, but it is necessary to pay attention to whether they are before a noun or not. Let’s first look at the pronoun forms in Arabic, which you will use often even as a beginner. Demonstrative Pronouns this (masc.)hadaداهَ this (fem.)hadiديهَ these (plur.)haduدوهَ that (masc.)hadakداكهَ that (fem.)hadikديكهَ those (plur.)hadukدوكهَ These forms may be used at the beginning of a sentence, in the middle or at the end of a sentence, or in questions. In Arabic, these pronouns can represent people. This is a chair.hada kursi..رسيكُ داهَ This is a table.hadi Tbla..طبلة ديهَ This is Abdallah.hada Abdallah..عبداهلل داهَ This is Aicha.hadi Aicha..عيشة ديهَ What’s this? (masc. object)shnu / ash hada?دا؟هَ أش / نوش What’s this? (fem. object)shnu / ash hadi?دي؟هَ أش / شنو Who is this? (masc.)shkun hada?دا؟هَ شكون Who is this? (fem.)shkun hadi?دي؟هَ شكون What is that? (masc. object)shnu / ash hadak?Who is that? (fem.)shkun hadik? داك؟هَ أش / شنو ديك؟هَ شكون At first, you may have difficulty knowing whether to use the masculine or feminine form of this or that. Moroccans should understand you even if you make an error with gender, however.Peace Corps / Morocco • 15 Exercise: Write as many correct sentences as you can using the words from the following table. e.g. hada rajl mzyan. (This is a good man.) .مزيان راجل داهَ hadawld (masc. sing.)mzyan (masc. sing.) داهَ hadi ديهَ hadu دوهَ hadak داكهَ hadikولد bnt (fem. sing.) بنت qhwa (fem. sing.) قهوة wlad (masc. plur.) والد rajl (masc. sing.)مزيان mzyanin (masc. plur.) مزيانين mzyana (fem. sing.) مزيانة mzyanat (fem. plur.) مزيانات kbir (masc. sing.) ديكهَ hadukراجل Dar (fem. sing.)كبير kbira (fem. sing.) دوكهَداركبيرة 3yalat (fem. plur.)kbaar (masc./fem. plur.) عياالتكبار mdina (fem. sing.)fr7an (masc. sing.) مدينةفرحان bnat (fem. plur.)fr7anin (masc. plur.) بناتفرحانين blad (masc. sing.)fr7ana (fem. sing.) بالدفرحانة Fr7anat (fem. plur.) فرحانات Transcription Reminder – see page 1 for the full table with all transcription characters. sh: the /sh/ sound as in “she” a: the ‘a’ in “father” or the ‘a’ in “mad” kh: the ‘ch’ in the German “Bach” or the Scottish “loch” See page140. gh: the French “r,” like a light gargle See page 141. T: D: S: pronounced like t, d, and s, but with a lower pitch and a greater tension in the tongue and throat. See page 141. ee: the ‘ee’ in “meet” ?? u: the ‘oo’ in “food” k: the normal /k/ sound q: like the English /k/ but pronounced further back in the throat. See page 140.16 • Moroccan Arabic Demonstrative Adjectives this/these (masc. / fem. / plur.)hadدهَ that (masc.)dakداك that (fem.)dikديك those (plur.)dukدوك As you can see, the this/these form (had) is the same for masculine, feminine, and plural. For all the demonstrative adjectives, you must use the definite article in front of the nouns that follow them. This means using an “l” in front of “moon letters” or doubling the first letter of “sun letters” (see page 143). this manhad r-rajlالراجل دهَ this womanhad l-mraرا الم دهَ these menhad r-rjalالرجال دهَ these womenhad l-3yalatالعياالت دهَ This city is big.had l-mdina kbira..كبيرة المدينة دهَ That house is big.dik D-Dar kbira..كبيرة الدار ديك Talking about a General Situation INTERMEDIATE TOPIC Sometimes in English, we use the words this and that to talk about general situations, not about specific things. Some of the students are always late for class. I don’t like that. In Arabic, different expressions are used for these meanings. this (general situation)had sh-shiالشي دهَ that (general situation)dak sh-shiالشي داك After some experience hearing native speakers, you should be able to know when to use the normal demonstrative pronouns and when to use these expressions. Some examples: What is this? (this thing, this object)ash hada?What is this? (situation, affair)ash had sh-shi?الشي؟ دهَ أش I want that. (that thing, that object)bghit hadak..داكهَ بغيت That’s what I want. (a situation or outcome)dak sh-shi l-li bghit. دا؟هَ أش .بغيت اللي الشي داكPeace Corps / Morocco • 17 Using a Demonstrative Pronoun to Express Duration INTERMEDIATE TOPIC With a present tense verb form, an active participle expressing current activity, or an equational sentence, the demonstrative pronoun hadi is used to express duration, like the English present perfect tense or present perfect progressive tense. It is used with a time expression and u (and) followed by the rest of the sentence: hadi + time expression + u + rest of sentence I’ve been waiting for you for two hours. (Literally: This is two hours and I am waiting for you.)hadi sa3tayn u ana kan-tsnak. He’s been asleep for a long time. (Literally: This is a long time and he is sleeping.)hadi mudda u huwa na3s. He’s been in Morocco for three years. (Literally: This is three years and he is in Morocco.)hadi tlt snin u huwa f l-maghrib. .كنتسناك أنا و ساعتَين ديهَ .ناعس وَ هُ و دةمُ ديهَ .بالمغر ف وَ هُ و سنين تلت ديهَ Asking about Possession The possessive word dyal ()ديال may be used with mn ()من to mean “whose.” Whose book is this?dyal mn had l-ktab?الكتاب؟ دهَ من ديال This is Amber’s book.had l-ktab dyal Amber.Is this Hicham’s book?wesh had l-ktab dyal Hicham?.أمبر ديال الكتاب دهَ No, it’s not his.lla,mashi dyalu..ديالو ماشي ،ال Whose house is this?dyal mn had D-Dar?الدار؟ دهَ من ديال This house is Malika’s.had D-Dar dyal Malika.Is this house Malika’s?wesh had D-Dar dyal Malika?.ليكةمَ ديال الدار دهَ Yes, it’s hers.iyeh, dyalha. هشام؟ ديال الكتاب دهَ واش ليكة؟مَ ديال الدار دهَ واش .ديالها ،إيه wesh had D-Dar dyal Malika? iyeh, dyalha.18 • Moroccan Arabic Exercise: Ask a question about possession for each picture. Then, give the correct answer. The first one is done for you. Hassan سكليت؟الب دهَ من ديال Q: dyal mn had l-bisklit? A: had l-bisklit dyal Hassan. .حسن ديال سكليتالب دهَ ? Q: _______________________? A: ___________________Said. Said _______________؟ .____________سعيد ? Ahmed _______________؟ Q: _______________________? A: __________________Ahmed. .____________أحمد ? Aziz Q: _______________________? A: ___________________Aziz. ? _______________؟ .____________عزيزPeace Corps / Morocco • 19