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| Moroccan Arabic | |
|---|---|
| Darija | |
| العربية المغربية الدارجة | |
| Pronunciation | [ddɛɾiʒə] |
| Native to | Morocco |
| Ethnicity | MoroccanArabs, also used as asecond language by other ethnic groups in Morocco |
| Speakers | L1: 31 million (2020)[1] L2: 9.6 million (2020)[1] Total: 40 million (2020)[1] |
| Dialects | |
| Arabic alphabet | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ary – Moroccan Arabic |
| Glottolog | moro1292 |
 Map of Moroccan Arabic[2] | |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
Moroccan Arabic (Arabic:العربية المغربية الدارجة,romanized: al-ʻArabiyyah al-Maghribiyyah ad-Dārija[3]lit. 'Moroccan vernacular Arabic'), also known asDarija (الدارجة orالداريجة[3]), is thedialectal,vernacular form or forms ofArabic spoken in Morocco.[4][5] It is part of theMaghrebi Arabicdialect continuum and as such is mutually intelligible to some extent withAlgerian Arabic and to a lesser extent withTunisian Arabic. It is spoken by 91.9% of the population ofMorocco, with 80.6% of Moroccans considering it their native language.[6]
WhileModern Standard Arabic is used to varying degrees in formal situations such as religious sermons, books, newspapers, government communications, news broadcasts and political talk shows, Moroccan Arabic is the predominant spoken language of the country and has a strong presence in Moroccan television entertainment, cinema and commercial advertising. Moroccan Arabic has many regional dialects and accents as well, with its mainstream dialect being the one used in metropolitan cities, such asCasablanca,Rabat,Meknes andFez. Therefore, the metropolitan dialects dominate the media and eclipse most of the other regional accents.
Moroccan Arabic was formed by two dialects of Arabic belonging to two genetically different groups:pre-Hilalian andHilalian dialects.[7][8][9]
There is a growing consensus that modern Moroccan Arabic is undergoing a process ofkoineization.[10] Thiskoine emerged in the past fifty years due to urbanization, increased mobility and the influence of radio and television and is based of theBedouin dialects of the Atlantic coast.[11] This new dialect is the one that is socially dominant and is used in popular singing, in theatre and cinema, in radio and TV announcements and most notably in publicity marketing. In the literature, this dialect has been named Average Moroccan Arabic, General Moroccan Arabic and Mainstream Moroccan Arabic but Moroccans only refer to it as Darija.[12]
The growth of Mainstream Moroccan Arabic has affected the speaker count of several local dialects, especiallyHilalian dialects
Pre-Hilalian dialects are a result of earlyArabization phases of theMaghreb, from the 7th to the 12th centuries, concerning the main urban settlements, the harbors, the religious centres (zaouias) as well as the main trade routes. The dialects are generally classified in three types: (old) urban, "village" and "mountain" sedentary and Jewish dialects.[8][13] In Morocco, several pre-Hilalian dialects are spoken:
Thepre-Hilalian dialects are descended fromArabic dialects brought to the region byQurashi families, such as theIdrissids and theUmayyads, as well as dialects brought byArabs andAmazighs fromal-Andalus. Whenal-Andalus fell, many of itsMuslim inhabitants migrated back toNorth Africa, particularly to cities along theMediterranean coast.
Hilalian dialects (Bedouin dialects) were introduced following the migration of Arab nomadic tribes to Morocco in the 11th century, particularly theBanu Hilal, which the Hilalian dialects are named after.[18][13]
The Hilalian dialects spoken in Morocco belong to theMaqil subgroup,[13] a family that includes three main dialectal areas:
TheHilalian dialects are descended fromArabic dialects brought to the region byHilalian tribes, such as theAthbaj andRiyah. Although theHilalians did interact and intermarry with the localAmazigh populations, it occurred to a much lesser extent compared to theQurashi families. Since theHilalians came to the region in large numbers, alongside their women and children, unlike theQurashis, who were typically descended from a singleQurashi male who had migrated to the region alone.
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| Short | Long | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Central | Back | Front | Back | |
| Close | ə | u | iː | uː | |
| Mid | |||||
| Open | aː | ||||
One of the most notable features of Moroccan Arabic is the collapse of short vowels. Initially, short/a/ and/i/ were merged into a phoneme/ə/ (however, some speakers maintain a difference between/a/ and/ə/ when adjacent to pharyngeal/ʕ/ and/ħ/). This phoneme (/ə/) was then deleted entirely in most positions; for the most part, it is maintained only in the position /...CəC#/ or /...CəCC#/ (where C represents any consonant and # indicates a word boundary), i.e. when appearing as the last vowel of a word. When/ə/ is not deleted, it is pronounced as a very short vowel, tending towards[ɑ] in the vicinity ofemphatic consonants,[a] in the vicinity of pharyngeal/ʕ/ and/ħ/ (for speakers who have merged /a/ and/ə/ in this environment), and[ə] elsewhere. Original short/u/ usually merges with/ə/ except in the vicinity of a labial or velar consonant. In positions where/ə/ was deleted, /u/ was also deleted, and is maintained only aslabialization of the adjacent labial or velar consonant; where/ə/ is maintained,/u/ surfaces as[ʊ]. This deletion of short vowels can result in long strings of consonants (a feature shared with Amazigh and certainly derived from it). These clusters are never simplified; instead, consonants occurring between other consonants tend to syllabify, according to a sonorance hierarchy. Similarly, and unlike most other Arabic dialects, doubled consonants are never simplified to a single consonant, even when at the end of a word or preceding another consonant.
Some dialects are more conservative in their treatment of short vowels. For example, some dialects allow/u/ in more positions. Dialects of the Sahara, and eastern dialects near the border of Algeria, preserve a distinction between/a/ and/i/ and allow/a/ to appear at the beginning of a word, e.g./aqsˤarˤ/ "shorter" (standard/qsˤərˤ/),/atˤlaʕ/ "go up!" (standard/tˤlaʕ/ or/tˤləʕ/),/asˤħaːb/ "friends" (standard/sˤħab/).
Long/aː/,/iː/ and/uː/ are maintained as semi-long vowels, which are substituted for both short and long vowels in most borrowings from Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Long/aː/,/iː/ and/uː/ also have many more allophones than in most other dialects; in particular,/aː/,/iː/,/uː/ appear as[ɑ],[e],[o] in the vicinity ofemphatic consonants and[q],[χ],[ʁ],[r], but[æ],[i],[u] elsewhere. (Most other Arabic dialects only have a similar variation for the phoneme/aː/.) In some dialects, such as that ofMarrakech, front-rounded and other allophones also exist. Allophones in vowels usually do not exist inloanwords.
Emphatic spreading (i.e. the extent to which emphatic consonants affect nearby vowels) occurs much less than inEgyptian Arabic. Emphasis spreads fairly rigorously towards the beginning of a word and into prefixes, but much less so towards the end of a word. Emphasis spreads consistently from a consonant to a directly following vowel, and less strongly when separated by an intervening consonant, but generally does not spread rightwards past a full vowel. For example,/bidˤ-at/[bedɑt͡s] "eggs" (/i/ and/a/ both affected),/tˤʃaʃ-at/[tʃɑʃæt͡s] "sparks" (rightmost/a/ not affected),/dˤrˤʒ-at/[drˤʒæt͡s] "stairs" (/a/ usually not affected),/dˤrb-at-u/[drˤbat͡su] "she hit him" (with[a] variable but tending to be in between[ɑ] and[æ]; no effect on/u/),/tˤalib/[tɑlib] "student" (/a/ affected but not/i/). Contrast, for example, Egyptian Arabic, where emphasis tends to spread forward and backward to both ends of a word, even through several syllables.
Emphasis is audible mostly through its effects on neighboring vowels or syllabic consonants, and through the differing pronunciation of/t/[t͡s] and/tˤ/[t]. Actual pharyngealization of "emphatic" consonants is weak and may be absent entirely. In contrast with some dialects, vowels adjacent to emphatic consonants are pure; there is no diphthong-like transition between emphatic consonants and adjacent front vowels.
| Labial | Dental-Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Glottal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | emphatic | plain | emphatic | |||||||
| Nasal | m | mˤ | n | |||||||
| Plosive | voiceless | (p) | t | tˤ | k | q | ʔ | |||
| voiced | b | bˤ | d | dˤ | ɡ | |||||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | (fˤ) | s | sˤ | ʃ | χ | ħ | h | |
| voiced | (v) | z | zˤ | ʒ | ʁ | ʕ | ||||
| Tap | ɾ | ɾˤ | ||||||||
| Trill | r | rˤ | ||||||||
| Approximant | l | lˤ | j | w | ||||||
Phonetic notes:
Through most of its history, Moroccan vernacular Arabic has usually not been written.[22]: 59 Due to thediglossic nature of theArabic language, most literate Muslims in Morocco would write in Standard Arabic, even if they spoke Darija as a first language.[22]: 59 However, since Standard Arabic was typically taught in Islamic religious contexts,Moroccan Jews usually would not learn Standard Arabic and would write instead in Darija, or more specifically a variety known asJudeo-Moroccan Arabic, usingHebrew script.[22]: 59 Arisala on Semitic languages written in Maghrebi Judeo-Arabic byJudah ibn Quraish to the Jews of Fes dates back to the ninth-century.[22]: 59
Al-Kafif az-Zarhuni's epic 14th centuryzajalMala'bat al-Kafif az-Zarhuni, aboutAbu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman al-Marini's campaign onHafsidIfriqiya, is considered the firstliterary work in Darija.[23][24]
Most books and magazines are inModern Standard Arabic;Qur'an books are written and read inClassical Arabic, and there is no universally standard written system for Darija. There is also a loosely standardizedLatin system used for writing Moroccan Arabic in electronic media, such as texting and chat, often based on sound-letter correspondences from French, English or Spanish ('sh' or 'ch' for English 'sh', 'u' or 'ou' for English 'oo', etc.) and using numbers to represent sounds not found in French or English (2-3-7-9 used for ق-ح-ع-ء, respectively.).
In the last few years, there have been some publications in Moroccan Darija, such asHicham Nostik'sNotes of a Moroccan Infidel, as well as basic science books by Moroccan physics professorFarouk El Merrakchi.[25] Newspapers in Moroccan Arabic also exist, such as Souq Al Akhbar, Al Usbuu Ad-Daahik,[26] the regional newspaper Al Amal (formerly published byLatifa Akherbach), andKhbar Bladna (news of our country), which was published by Tangier-based American painter Elena Prentice between 2002 and 2006.[27]
The latter also published books written in Moroccan Arabic, mostly novels and stories, written by authors such asKenza El Ghali andYoussef Amine Alami.[27]
Moroccan Arabic is characterized by a strongBerber, as well asLatin (African Romance),substratum.[28]
Following theArab conquest,Berber languages remained widely spoken. During theirArabisation, some Berber tribes became bilingual for generations before abandoning their language for Arabic; however, they kept a substantial Berber stratum that increases from the east to the west of the Maghreb, making Moroccan Arabic dialects the ones most influenced by Berber. Arabian tribes that inhabited the plains of Morocco also adoptedAmazigh loanwords, though much less compared to thepre-Hilalian dialects spoken bycity-dwellers andAmazighs. For the most part, theHilalian Dialects of the western plains remained mostly unaffected until the beginning of urbanization after theFrench colonization period.
More recently, the influx ofAndalusi people and Spanish-speaking–Moriscos (between the 15th and the 17th centuries) influenced urban dialects with Spanish substrate (and loanwords).
The vocabulary of Moroccan Arabic is mostlySemitic and derived fromClassical Arabic.[29] It also contains someBerber,French andSpanish loanwords.
There are noticeable lexical differences between Moroccan Arabic and most other Arabic languages. Some words are essentially unique to Moroccan Arabic:daba "now". Many others, however, are characteristic of Maghrebi Arabic as a whole including both innovations and unusual retentions of Classical vocabulary that disappeared elsewhere, such ashbeṭ' "go down" from Classicalhabaṭ. Others are shared withAlgerian Arabic such ashḍeṛ "talk", from Classicalhadhar "babble", andtemma "there", from Classicalthamma.
There are a number of Moroccan Arabic dictionaries in existence:
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Some loans might have come throughAndalusi Arabic brought byMoriscos when they were expelled fromSpain following theChristian Reconquest or, alternatively, they date from the time of theSpanish protectorate in Morocco.
Note: All sentences are written according to the transcription used in Richard Harrell,A Short Reference Grammar of Moroccan Arabic(Examples with their pronunciation).:[31]
| English | Western Moroccan Arabic | Northern (Jebli, Tanjawi and Tetouani) Moroccan Arabic | Eastern (Oujda) Moroccan Arabic | Western Moroccan Arabic (Transliterated) | Northern (Jebli, Tetouani) Moroccan Arabic (Transliterated) | Eastern (Oujda) Moroccan Arabic (Transliterated) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| How are you? | لا باس؟ | كيف نتينا؟/لا باس؟ بخير؟ | راك شباب؟ /لا باس؟/ راك غايَ؟ | la bas? | la bas? / bi-xayr?/ kif ntina? / amandra? | la bas? / rak ġaya / rak šbab? |
| Can you help me? | يمكن لك تعاونني؟ | تقدر تعاونني؟/ واخا تعاونني؟ | يمكن لك تعاونني؟ | yemken-lek tʿaweni? | teqder dʿaweni? waxa dʿaweni? | yemken-lek tʿaweni? |
| Do you speak English? | واش كَتهدر بالانّڭليزية؟/ واش كتدوي بالانّڭليزية؟ | واش كَتهدر بالانّڭليزية؟/كتهدر الانّڭليزية؟ | واش تهدر الانّڭليزية؟ | waš ka-tehder lengliziya / waš ka-tedwi be-l-lengliziya? | waš ka-tehder be-l-lengliziya? / ka-tehder lengliziya? | waš tehder lengliziya? |
| Excuse me | سمح ليَ | سمح لي | سمح لِيَ | smaḥ-liya | smaḥ-li | smaḥ-liya |
| Good luck | الله يعاون/الله يسهل | allah y'awn / allah ysahel | ||||
| Good morning | صباح الخير/صباح النور | ṣbaḥ l-xir / ṣbaḥ n-nur | ||||
| Good night | تصبح على خير | الله يمسيك بخير | تصبح على خير | teṣbaḥ ʿla xir | lay ymsik be-xer | teṣbaḥ ʿla xir |
| Goodbye | بالسلامة / تهلا | بالسلامة | بالسلامة | be-slama / tḥălla | be-slama | be-slama |
| Happy new year | سنة سعيدة | sana saʿida | ||||
| Hello | السلام عليكم/اهلاً | السلام عليكم/اهلاً | السلام عليكم | s-salam ʿalikum / as-salamu ʿalaykum (Classical) / ʔahlan | as-salamu ʿalaykum (Classical) / ʔahlan | s-salam ʿlikum |
| How are you doing? | لا باس؟ | la bas (ʿlik)? | ||||
| How are you? | كي داير؟/كي دايرة؟ | كيف نتين؟/كيف نتينا؟ | كي راك؟ | ki dayer ?(masculine) / ki dayra ?(feminine) | kif ntin?(Jebli) / kif ntina [ki tina] ?(Northern urban) | ki rak? |
| Is everything okay? | كل شي مزيان؟ | كل شي مزيان؟ /كل شي هو هداك؟؟ | كل شي مليح؟ | kul-ši mezyan ? | kul-ši mezyan ? / kul-ši huwa hadak ? | kul-ši mliḥ? / kul-ši zin? |
| Nice to meet you | متشرفين | metšaṛṛfin[mət.ʃɑrˤrˤ.fen] | ||||
| No thanks | لا شكراً | la šukran | ||||
| Please | الله يخليك/عفاك | الله يعزك / الله يخليك / عفاك | الله يعزك / الله يخليك | ḷḷa yxallik / ʿafak | ḷḷa yxallik / ḷḷa yʿizek / ʿafak | ḷḷa yxallik / ḷḷa yʿizek |
| Take care | تهلا فراسك | تهلا | تهلا فراسك | tḥălla f-ṛaṣek | tḥălla | tḥălla f-ṛaṣek |
| Thank you very much | شكراً بزاف | šukran bezzaf | ||||
| What do you do? | فاش خدام/شنو كتدير؟ | faš xddam? / chno katdir | škatʿăddel? / šenni xaddam?(masculine) / šenni xaddama?(feminine) / š-ka-dexdem? / šini ka-teʿmel/tʿadal f-hyatak? | faš texdem?(masculine) / faš txedmi ?(feminine) | ||
| What's your name? | شنو اسمك؟ / شنو سميتك؟ | ašnu smiytek? / šu smiytek | šenni ʔesmek? /šenno ʔesmek? / kif-aš msemy nta/ntinah? | wašta smiytek? | ||
| Where are you from? | منين نتا؟ | mnin nta?(masculine) / mnin nti?(feminine) | mnayn ntina? | min ntaya?(masculine) / min ntiya?(feminine) | ||
| Where are you going? | فين غادي؟ | fin ġhadi? | fayn machi?(masculine) / fayn mašya?(feminine) | f-rak temchi? / f-rak rayaḥ | ||
| You are welcome | بلا جميل/مرحبا/دّنيا هانية/ماشي مشكل / العفو | bla žmil/merḥba/ddenya hania/maši muškil/l'afo | bla žmil/merḥba/ddunya hania/maši muškil/l'afo | bla žmil/merḥba/ddenya hania/maši muškil/l'afo | ||
| English[32] | Moroccan Arabic | Latin Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| Yes. | .ايه | eyeh. |
| Yes please. | .وخا شكراً | wakha shoukran. |
| No. | .لا | la. |
| Thank you. | .شكراً | shoukran. |
| I'd like a coffee please. | .واحد القهوة عفاك | wahed lqahoua afak. |
| What time is it? | شحال فالساعة؟ | ch-hal fssa-a? |
| Can you repeat that please? | وخا تعاود عافاك؟ | wakha t-awoud afak? |
| Please speak more slowly. | .هضر بشويا عافاك | hder bshwiya afak. |
| I don't understand. | .ما فهمتش | ma fhamtch. |
| Sorry. | .سمح لي | smeh li. |
| Where are the toilets? | فين الطواليط؟ | fin toilettes? |
| How much does this cost? | بشحال هادا؟ | bch-hal hada? |
| Welcome! | !تفضّل | tfdel! |
| Good evening. | .مسا الخير | msa lkheir. |
The regular Moroccan Arabic verb conjugates with a series of prefixes and suffixes. The stem of the conjugated verb may change a bit, depending on the conjugation:
The stem of the Moroccan Arabic verb for "to write" iskteb.
The past tense ofkteb (write) is as follows:
I wrote:kteb-t
You wrote:kteb-ti (some regions tend to differentiate between masculine and feminine, the masculine form iskteb-t, the femininekteb-ti)
He/it wrote:kteb (can also be an order to write; kteb er-rissala: Write the letter)
She/it wrote:ketb-et /ketb-at""
We wrote:kteb-na
You (plural) wrote:kteb-tu /kteb-tiu
They wrote:ketb-u
The stemkteb turns intoketb before a vowel suffix because of the process ofinversion described above.
The present tense ofkteb is as follows:
I am writing:ka-ne-kteb
You are (masculine) writing:ka-te-kteb
You are (feminine) writing:ka-t-ketb-i
He's/it is writing:ka-ye-kteb
She is/it is writing:ka-te-kteb
We are writing:ka-n-ketb-u
You (plural) are writing:ka-t-ketb-u
They are writing:ka-y-ketb-u
The stemkteb turns intoketb before a vowel suffix because of the process ofinversion described above. Between the prefixka-n-, ka-t-, ka-y- and the stemkteb, ane appears but not between the prefix and the transformed stemketb because of the same restriction that produces inversion.
In the north, "you are writing" is alwayska-de-kteb regardless of who is addressed.This is also the case ofde inde-kteb as northerners prefer to usede and southerners preferte. However, there is an exception, which is the northern dialectof Tangier, where they usete instead ofde .
Instead of the prefixka, some speakers prefer the use ofta (ta-ne-kteb "I am writing"). The coexistence of these two prefixes is from historic differences. In general,ka is more used in the north andta in the south, some other prefixes likela,a,qa are less used. In some regions like in the east (Oujda), most speakers use no preverb (ne-kteb,te-kteb,y-kteb, etc.).
To form the future tense, the prefixka-/ta- is removed and replaced with the prefixġa-,ġad- orġadi instead (e.g.ġa-ne-kteb "I will write",ġad-ketb-u (north) orġadi t-ketb-u "You (plural) will write") It is worth noting that in northern Morocco, such as Tangier and Tetouan, they use "ha" instead of ""gha/ġa"" most of the time, and also "ʕa" (عا) to a lesser extent. Also "aa" can be used as an abbreviation for "Gha/Ġa" in the general Moroccan dialect in rapid speech especially.
For the subjunctive and infinitive, theka- is removed (bġit ne-kteb "I want to write",bġit te-kteb "I want 'you to write").
The imperative is conjugated with the suffixes of the present tense but without any prefixes or preverbs:
kteb Write! (masculine singular)
ketb-i Write! (feminine singular)
ketb-u Write! (plural)
One characteristic of Moroccan Arabic syntax, which it shares with other North African varieties as well as some southern Levantine dialect areas, is in the two-part negative verbal circumfix/ma-...-ʃi/. (In many regions, including Marrakech, the final/i/ vowel is not pronounced so it becomes/ma-...-ʃ/.)[33]
/ma-/ comes from the Classical Arabic negator /ma/. /-ʃi/ is a development of Classical /ʃajʔ/ "thing". The development of a circumfix is similar to the French circumfixne ... pas in whichne comes from Latinnon "not" andpas comes from Latinpassus "step". (Originally,pas would have been used specifically with motion verbs, as in "I did not walk a step". It was generalised to other verbs.)
The negative circumfix surrounds the entire verbal composite, including direct and indirect object pronouns:
Future and interrogative sentences use the same/ma-...-ʃi/ circumfix (unlike, for example, in Egyptian Arabic). Also, unlike in Egyptian Arabic, there are no phonological changes to the verbal cluster as a result of adding the circumfix. In Egyptian Arabic, adding the circumfix can trigger stress shifting, vowel lengthening and shortening, elision when /ma-/ comes into contact with a vowel, addition or deletion of a short vowel, etc. However, they do not occur in Moroccan Arabic (MA):
Negative pronouns such aswalu "nothing",ḥta ḥaja "nothing" andḥta waḥed "nobody" can be added to the sentence withoutši as a suffix:
Note thatwellah ma-ne-kteb could be a response to a command to writekteb whilewellah ma-ġa-ne-kteb could be an answer to a question likewaš ġa-te-kteb? "Are you going to write?"
In the north, "'you are writing" is alwayska-de-kteb regardless of who is addressed. It is also the case ofde inde-kteb, as northerners prefer to usede (Tangier is an exception) and southerners preferte.
Instead of the prefixka, some speakers prefer the use ofta (ta-ne-kteb "I am writing"). The co-existence of these two prefixes is from historical differences. In generalka is more used in the north andta in the south. In some regions like the east (Oujda), most speakers use no preverb:
Verbs in Moroccan Arabic are based on aconsonantal root composed of three or four consonants. The set of consonants communicates the basic meaning of a verb. Changes to the vowels between the consonants, along with prefixes and/or suffixes, specify grammatical functions such as tense, person and number in addition to changes in the meaning of the verb that embody grammatical concepts such ascausative,intensive,passive orreflexive.
Each particularlexical verb is specified by two stems, one used for the past tense and one used for non-past tenses, along withsubjunctive andimperative moods. To the former stem, suffixes are added to mark the verb for person, number and gender. To the latter stem, a combination of prefixes and suffixes are added. (Very approximately, the prefixes specify the person and the suffixes indicate number and gender.) The third person masculine singular past tense form serves as the "dictionary form" used to identify a verb like theinfinitive in English. (Arabic has no infinitive.) For example, the verb meaning "write" is often specified askteb, which actually means "he wrote". In the paradigms below, a verb will be specified askteb/ykteb (kteb means "he wrote" andykteb means "he writes"), indicating the past stem (kteb-) and the non-past stem (also-kteb-, obtained by removing the prefixy-).
The verb classes in Moroccan Arabic are formed along two axes. The first orderivational axis (described as "form I", "form II", etc.) is used to specify grammatical concepts such ascausative,intensive,passive orreflexive and mostly involves varying the consonants of a stem form. For example, from the root K-T-B "write" are derived form Ikteb/ykteb "write", form IIketteb/yketteb "cause to write", form IIIkateb/ykateb "correspond with (someone)" etc. The second orweakness axis (described as "strong", "weak", "hollow", "doubled" or "assimilated") is determined by the specific consonants making up the root, especially whether a particular consonant is a "w" or " y", and mostly involves varying the nature and location of the vowels of a stem form. For example, so-calledweak verbs have one of those two letters as the last root consonant, which is reflected in the stem as a final vowel instead of a final consonant (ṛma/yṛmi "throw" from Ṛ-M-Y). Meanwhile,hollow verbs are usually caused by one of those two letters as the middle root consonant, and the stems of such verbs have a full vowel (/a/, /i/ or /u/) before the final consonant, often along with only two consonants (žab/yžib "bring" from Ž-Y-B).
It is important to distinguish between strong, weak, etc.stems and strong, weak, etc.roots. For example, X-W-F is a hollowroot, but the corresponding form II stemxuwwef/yxuwwef "frighten" is a strongstem:
In this section, all verb classes and their corresponding stems are listed, excluding the small number of irregular verbs described above. Verb roots are indicated schematically using capital letters to stand for consonants in the root:
Hence, the root F-M-L stands for all three-consonant roots, and F-S-T-L stands for all four-consonant roots. (Traditional Arabic grammar uses F-ʕ-L and F-ʕ-L-L, respectively, but the system used here appears in a number of grammars of spoken Arabic dialects and is probably less confusing for English speakers since the forms are easier to pronounce than those involving /ʕ/.)
The following table lists the prefixes and suffixes to be added to mark tense, person, number, gender and the stem form to which they are added. The forms involving a vowel-initial suffix and corresponding stemPAv orNPv are highlighted in silver. The forms involving a consonant-initial suffix and corresponding stemPAc are highlighted in gold. The forms involving no suffix and corresponding stemPA0 orNP0 are not highlighted.
| Tense/Mood | Past | Non-Past | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | PAc-t | PAc-na | n(e)-NP0 | n(e)-NP0-u/w | |
| 2nd | masculine | PAc-ti | PAc-tiw | t(e)-NP0 | t(e)-NPv-u/w |
| feminine | t(e)-NPv-i/y | ||||
| 3rd | masculine | PA0 | PAv-u/w | y-NP0 | y-NPv-u/w |
| feminine | PAv-et | t(e)-NP0 | |||
The following table lists the verb classes along with the form of the past and non-past stems, active and passive participles, and verbal noun, in addition to an example verb for each class.
Notes:
| Form | Strong | Weak | Hollow | Doubled | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past | Non-Past | Example | Past | Non-Past | Example | Past | Non-Past | Example | Past | Non-Past | Example | |
| I | FMeL;FeMLu | yFMeL,yFeMLu | kteb/ykteb "write",ʃrˤeb/yʃrˤeb "drink" | FMit, FMa | yFMi | rˤma/yrˤmi "throw",ʃra/yʃri "buy" | FeLt, FaL | yFiL | baʕ/ybiʕ "sell",ʒab/yʒib "bring" | FeMMit, FeMM | yFeMM | ʃedd/yʃedd "close",medd/ymedd "hand over" |
| yFMoL,yFeMLu | dxel/ydxol "enter",sken/yskon "reside" | yFMa | nsa/ynsa "forget" | yFuL | ʃaf/yʃuf "see",daz/yduz "pass" | FoMMit, FoMM | yFoMM | koħħ/ykoħħ "cough" | ||||
| yFMu | ħba/yħbu "crawl" | yFaL | xaf/yxaf "sleep",ban/yban "seem" | |||||||||
| FoLt, FaL | yFuL | qal/yqul "say",kan/ykun "be" (the only examples) | ||||||||||
| II | FeMMeL;FeMMLu | yFeMMeL,yFeMMLu | beddel/ybeddel "change" | FeMMit, FeMMa | yFeMMi | werra/ywerri "show" | (same as strong) | |||||
| FuwweL;FuwwLu | yFuwweL,yFuwwLu | xuwwef/yxuwwef "frighten" | Fuwwit, Fuwwa | yFuwwi | luwwa/yluwwi "twist" | |||||||
| FiyyeL;FiyyLu | yFiyyeL,yFiyyLu | biyyen/ybiyyen "indicate" | Fiyyit, Fiyya | yFiyyi | qiyya/yqiyyi "make vomit" | |||||||
| III | FaMeL;FaMLu | yFaMeL,yFaMLu | sˤaferˤ/ysˤaferˤ "travel" | FaMit, FaMa | yFaMi | qadˤa/yqadˤi "finish (trans.)",sawa/ysawi "make level" | (same as strong) | FaMeMt/FaMMit, FaM(e)M,FaMMu | yFaM(e)M,yFaMMu | sˤaf(e)f/ysˤaf(e)f "line up (trans.)" | ||
| Ia(VIIt) | tteFMeL;ttFeMLu | ytteFMeL,yttFeMLu | ttekteb/yttekteb "be written" | tteFMit, tteFMa | ytteFMa | tterˤma/ytterˤma "be thrown",ttensa/yttensa "be forgotten" | ttFaLit/ttFeLt/ttFaLt, ttFaL | yttFaL | ttbaʕ/yttbaʕ "be sold" | ttFeMMit, ttFeMM | yttFeMM | ttʃedd/yttʃedd "be closed" |
| ytteFMoL,yttFeMLu | ddxel/yddxol "be entered" | yttFoMM | ttfekk/yttfokk "get loose" | |||||||||
| IIa(V) | tFeMMeL;tFeMMLu | ytFeMMeL,ytFeMMLu | tbeddel/ytbeddel "change (intrans.)" | tFeMMit, tFeMMa | ytFeMMa | twerra/ytwerra "be shown" | (same as strong) | |||||
| tFuwweL;tFuwwLu | ytFuwweL,ytFuwwLu | txuwwef/ytxuwwef "be frightened" | tFuwwit, tFuwwa | ytFuwwa | tluwwa/ytluwwa "twist (intrans.)" | |||||||
| tFiyyeL;tFiyyLu | ytFiyyeL,ytFiyyLu | tbiyyen/ytbiyyen "be indicated" | tFiyyit, tFiyya | ytFiyya | tqiyya/ytqiyya "be made to vomit" | |||||||
| IIIa(VI) | tFaMeL;tFaMLu | ytFaMeL,ytFaMLu | tʕawen/ytʕawen "cooperate" | tFaMit, tFaMa | ytFaMa | tqadˤa/ytqadˤa "finish (intrans.)",tħama/ytħama "join forces" | (same as strong) | tFaMeMt/tFaMMit, tFaM(e)M,tFaMMu | ytFaM(e)M,ytFaMMu | tsˤaf(e)f/ytsˤaf(e)f "get in line",twad(e)d/ytwad(e)d "give gifts to one another" | ||
| VIII | FtaMeL;FtaMLu | yFtaMeL,yFtaMLu | ħtarˤem/ħtarˤem "respect",xtarˤeʕ/xtarˤeʕ "invent" | FtaMit, FtaMa | yFtaMi | ??? | FtaLit/FteLt/FtaLt, FtaL | yFtaL | xtarˤ/yxtarˤ "choose",ħtaʒ/yħtaʒ "need" | FteMMit, FteMM | yFteMM | htemm/yhtemm "be interested (in)" |
| IX | FMaLit/FMeLt/FMaLt, FMaL | yFMaL | ħmarˤ/yħmarˤ "be red, blush",sman/ysman "be(come) fat" | (same as strong) | ||||||||
| X | steFMeL;steFMLu | ysteFMeL,ysteFMLu | steɣrˤeb/ysteɣrˤeb "be surprised" | steFMit, steFMa | ysteFMi | stedʕa/ystedʕi "invite" | (same as strong) | stFeMMit, stFeMM | ystFeMM | stɣell/ystɣell "exploit" | ||
| ysteFMa | stehza/ystehza "ridicule",stăʕfa/ystăʕfa "resign" | |||||||||||
| Iq | FeSTeL;FeSTLu | yFeSTeL,yFeSTLu | tˤerˤʒem/ytˤerˤʒem "translate",melmel/ymelmel "move (trans.)",hernen/yhernen "speak nasally" | FeSTit, FeSTa | yFeSTi | seqsˤa/yseqsˤi "ask" | (same as strong) | |||||
| FiTeL;FiTLu | yFiTeL,yFiTLu | sˤifetˤ/ysˤifetˤ "send",ritel/yritel "pillage" | FiTit, FiTa | yFiTi | tira/ytiri "shoot" | |||||||
| FuTeL;FuTLu | yFuTeL,yFuTLu | suger/ysuger "insure",suret/ysuret "lock" | FuTit, FuTa | yFuTi | rula/yruli "roll (trans.)" | |||||||
| FiSTeL;FiSTLu | yFiSTeL,yFiSTLu | birˤʒez??? "cause to act bourgeois???",biznes??? "cause to deal in drugs" | F...Tit, F...Ta | yF...Ti | blˤana, yblˤani "scheme, plan",fanta/yfanti "dodge, fake",pidˤala/ypidˤali "pedal" | |||||||
| Iqa(IIq) | tFeSTeL;tFeSTLu | ytFeSTeL,ytFeSTLu | tˤtˤerˤʒem/ytˤtˤerˤʒem "be translated",tmelmel/ytmelmel "move (intrans.)" | tFeSTit, tFeSTa | ytFeSTa | tseqsˤa/ytseqsˤa "be asked" | (same as strong) | |||||
| tFiTeL;tFiTLu | ytFiTeL,ytFiTLu | tsˤifetˤ/ytsˤifetˤ "be sent",tritel/ytritel "be pillaged" | tFiTit, tFiTa | ytFiTa | ttira/yttiri "be shot" | |||||||
| tFuTeL;tFuTLu | ytFuTeL,ytFuTLu | tsuger/ytsuger "be insured",tsuret/ytsuret "be locked" | tFuTit, tFuTa | ytFuTa | trula/ytruli "roll (intrans.)" | |||||||
| tFiSTeL;tFiSTLu | ytFiSTeL,ytFiSTLu | tbirˤʒez "act bourgeois",tbiznes "deal in drugs" | tF...Tit, tF...Ta | ytF...Ta | tblˤana/ytblˤana "be planned",tfanta/ytfanta "be dodged",tpidˤala/ytpidˤala "be pedaled" | |||||||
Example:kteb/ykteb "write"
| Tense/Mood | Past | Present Subjunctive | Present Indicative | Future | Imperative | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | kteb-t | kteb-na | ne-kteb | n-ketb-u | ka-ne-kteb | ka-n-ketb-u | ɣa-ne-kteb | ɣa-n-ketb-u | |||
| 2nd | masculine | kteb-ti | kteb-tiw | te-kteb | t-ketb-u | ka-te-kteb | ka-t-ketb-u | ɣa-te-kteb | ɣa-t-ketb-u | kteb | ketb-u |
| feminine | t-ketb-i | ka-t-ketb-i | ɣa-t-ketb-i | ketb-i | |||||||
| 3rd | masculine | kteb | ketb-u | y-kteb | y-ketb-u | ka-y-kteb | ka-y-ketb-u | ɣa-y-kteb | ɣa-y-ketb-u | ||
| feminine | ketb-et | te-kteb | ka-te-kteb | ɣa-te-kteb | |||||||
Some comments:
Example:kteb/ykteb "write": non-finite forms
| Number/Gender | Active Participle | Passive Participle | Verbal Noun |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masc. Sg. | kateb | mektub | ketaba |
| Fem. Sg. | katb-a | mektub-a | |
| Pl. | katb-in | mektub-in |
Example: dker/ydker "mention"
| Tense/Mood | Past | Present Subjunctive | Present Indicative | Future | Imperative | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | dker-t | dker-na | n-dker | n-dekr-u | ka-n-dker | ka-n-dekr-u | ɣa-n-dker | ɣa-n-dekr-u | |||
| 2nd | masculine | dker-ti | dker-tiw | d-dker | d-dekr-u | ka-d-dker | ka-d-dekr-u | ɣa-d-dker | ɣa-d-dekr-u | dker | dekr-u |
| feminine | d-dekr-i | ka-d-dekr-i | ɣa-d-dekr-i | dekr-i | |||||||
| 3rd | masculine | dker | dekr-u | y-dker | y-dekr-u | ka-y-dker | ka-y-dekr-u | ɣa-y-dker | ɣa-y-dekr-u | ||
| feminine | dekr-et | d-dker | ka-d-dker | ɣa-d-dker | |||||||
This paradigm differs fromkteb/ykteb in the following ways:
Reduction and assimilation occur as follows:
Examples:
Example:xrˤeʒ/yxrˤoʒ "go out"
| Tense/Mood | Past | Present Subjunctive | Present Indicative | Future | Imperative | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | xrˤeʒ-t | xrˤeʒ-na | ne-xrˤoʒ | n-xerˤʒ-u | ka-ne-xrˤoʒ | ka-n-xerˤʒ-u | ɣa-ne-xrˤoʒ | ɣa-n-xerˤʒ-u | |||
| 2nd | masculine | xrˤeʒ-ti | xrˤeʒ-tiw | te-xrˤoʒ | t-xerˤʒ-u | ka-te-xrˤoʒ | ka-t-xerˤʒ-u | ɣa-te-xrˤoʒ | ɣa-t-xerˤʒ-u | xrˤoʒ | xerˤʒ-u |
| feminine | t-xerˤʒ-i | ka-t-xerˤʒ-i | ɣa-t-xerˤʒ-i | xerˤʒ-i | |||||||
| 3rd | masculine | xrˤeʒ | xerˤʒ-u | y-xrˤoʒ | y-xerˤʒ-u | ka-y-xrˤoʒ | ka-y-xerˤʒ-u | ɣa-y-xrˤoʒ | ɣa-y-xerˤʒ-u | ||
| feminine | xerˤʒ-et | te-xrˤoʒ | ka-te-xrˤoʒ | ɣa-te-xrˤoʒ | |||||||
Example:beddel/ybeddel "change"
| Tense/Mood | Past | Present Subjunctive | Present Indicative | Future | Imperative | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | beddel-t | beddel-na | n-beddel | n-beddl-u | ka-n-beddel | ka-n-beddl-u | ɣa-n-beddel | ɣa-n-beddl-u | |||
| 2nd | masculine | beddel-ti | beddel-tiw | t-beddel | t-beddl-u | ka-t-beddel | ka-t-beddl-u | ɣa-t-beddel | ɣa-t-beddl-u | beddel | beddl-u |
| feminine | t-beddl-i | ka-t-beddl-i | ɣa-t-beddl-i | beddl-i | |||||||
| 3rd | masculine | beddel | beddl-u | y-beddel | y-beddl-u | ka-y-beddel | ka-y-beddl-u | ɣa-y-beddel | ɣa-y-beddl-u | ||
| feminine | beddl-et | t-beddel | ka-t-beddel | ɣa-t-beddel | |||||||
Boldfaced forms indicate the primary differences from the corresponding forms ofkteb, which apply to many classes of verbs in addition to form II strong:
Example:sˤaferˤ/ysˤaferˤ "travel"
| Tense/Mood | Past | Present Subjunctive | Present Indicative | Future | Imperative | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | sˤaferˤ-t | sˤaferˤ-na | n-sˤaferˤ | n-sˤafrˤ-u | ka-n-sˤaferˤ | ka-n-sˤafrˤ-u | ɣa-n-sˤaferˤ | ɣa-n-sˤafrˤ-u | |||
| 2nd | masculine | sˤaferˤ-t | sˤaferˤ-tiw | t-sˤaferˤ | t-sˤafrˤ-u | ka-t-sˤaferˤ | ka-t-sˤafrˤ-u | ɣa-t-sˤaferˤ | ɣa-t-sˤafrˤ-u | sˤaferˤ | sˤafrˤ-u |
| feminine | t-sˤafrˤ-i | ka-t-sˤafrˤ-i | ɣa-t-sˤafrˤ-i | sˤafrˤ-i | |||||||
| 3rd | masculine | sˤaferˤ | sˤafrˤ-u | y-sˤaferˤ | y-sˤafrˤ-u | ka-y-sˤaferˤ | ka-y-sˤafrˤ-u | ɣa-y-sˤaferˤ | ɣa-y-sˤafrˤ-u | ||
| feminine | sˤafrˤ-et | t-sˤaferˤ | ka-t-sˤaferˤ | ɣa-t-sˤaferˤ | |||||||
The primary differences from the corresponding forms ofbeddel (shown in boldface) are:
Example:ttexleʕ/yttexleʕ "get scared"
| Tense/Mood | Past | Present Subjunctive | Present Indicative | Future | Imperative | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | ttexleʕ-t | ttexleʕ-na | n-ttexleʕ | n-ttxelʕ-u | ka-n-ttexleʕ | ka-n-ttxelʕ-u | ɣa-n-ttexleʕ | ɣa-n-ttxelʕ-u | |||
| 2nd | masculine | ttexleʕ-ti | ttexleʕ-tiw | (te-)ttexleʕ | (te-)ttxelʕ-u | ka-(te-)ttexleʕ | ka-(te-)ttxelʕ-u | ɣa-(te-)ttexleʕ | ɣa-(te-)ttxelʕ-u | ttexleʕ | ttxelʕ-u |
| feminine | (te-)ttxelʕ-i | ka-(te-)ttxelʕ-i | ɣa-(te-)ttxelʕ-i | ttxelʕ-i | |||||||
| 3rd | masculine | ttexleʕ | ttxelʕ-u | y-ttexleʕ | y-ttxelʕ-u | ka-y-ttexleʕ | ka-y-ttxelʕ-u | ɣa-y-ttexleʕ | ɣa-y-ttxelʕ-u | ||
| feminine | ttxelʕ-et | (te-)ttexleʕ | ka-(te-)ttexleʕ | ɣa-(te-)ttexleʕ | |||||||
Weak verbs have a W or Y as the last root consonant.
Example:nsa/ynsa "forget"
| Tense/Mood | Past | Present Subjunctive | Present Indicative | Future | Imperative | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | nsi-t | nsi-na | ne-nsa | ne-nsa-w | ka-ne-nsa | ka-ne-nsa-w | ɣa-ne-nsa | ɣa-ne-nsa-w | |||
| 2nd | masculine | nsi-ti | nsi-tiw | te-nsa | te-nsa-w | ka-te-nsa | ka-te-nsa-w | ɣa-te-nsa | ɣa-te-nsa-w | nsa | nsa-w |
| feminine | te-nsa-y | ka-te-nsa-y | ɣa-te-nsa-y | nsa-y | |||||||
| 3rd | masculine | nsa | nsa-w | y-nsa | y-nsa-w | ka-y-nsa | ka-y-nsa-w | ɣa-y-nsa | ɣa-y-nsa-w | ||
| feminine | nsa-t | te-nsa | ka-te-nsa | ɣa-te-nsa | |||||||
The primary differences from the corresponding forms ofkteb (shown in ) are:
Example:rˤma/yrˤmi "throw"
| Tense/Mood | Past | Present Subjunctive | Present Indicative | Future | Imperative | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | rˤmi-t | rˤmi-na | ne-rˤmi | ne-rˤmi-w | ka-ne-rˤmi | ka-ne-rˤmi-w | ɣa-ne-rˤmi | ɣa-ne-rˤmi-w | |||
| 2nd | masculine | rˤmi-ti | rˤmi-tiw | te-rˤmi | te-rˤmi-w | ka-te-rˤmi | ka-te-rˤmi-w | ɣa-te-rˤmi | ɣa-te-rˤmi-w | rˤmi | rˤmi-w |
| feminine | |||||||||||
| 3rd | masculine | rˤma | rˤma-w | y-rˤmi | y-rˤmi-w | ka-y-rˤmi | ka-y-rˤmi-w | ɣa-y-rˤmi | ɣa-y-rˤmi-w | ||
| feminine | rˤma-t | te-rˤmi | ka-te-rˤmi | ɣa-te-rˤmi | |||||||
This verb type is quite similar to the weak verb typensa/ynsa. The primary differences are:
Verbs other than form I behave as follows in the non-past:
Examples:
Hollow verbs have a W or Y as the middle root consonant. Note that for some forms (e.g. form II and form III), hollow verbs are conjugated as strong verbs (e.g. form IIʕeyyen/yʕeyyen "appoint" from ʕ-Y-N, form IIIʒaweb/yʒaweb "answer" from ʒ-W-B).
Example:baʕ/ybiʕ "sell"
| Tense/Mood | Past | Present Subjunctive | Present Indicative | Future | Imperative | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | beʕ-t | beʕ-na | n-biʕ | n-biʕ-u | ka-n-biʕ | ka-n-biʕ-u | ɣa-n-biʕ | ɣa-n-biʕ-u | |||
| 2nd | masculine | beʕ-ti | beʕ-tiw | t-biʕ | t-biʕ-u | ka-t-biʕ | ka-t-biʕ-u | ɣa-t-biʕ | ɣa-t-biʕ-u | biʕ | biʕ-u |
| feminine | t-biʕ-i | ka-t-biʕ-i | ɣa-t-biʕ-i | biʕ-i | |||||||
| 3rd | masculine | baʕ | baʕ-u | y-biʕ | y-biʕ-u | ka-y-biʕ | ka-y-biʕ-u | ɣa-y-biʕ | ɣa-y-biʕ-u | ||
| feminine | baʕ-et | t-biʕ | ka-t-biʕ | ɣa-t-biʕ | |||||||
This verb works much likebeddel/ybeddel "teach". Like all verbs whose stem begins with a single consonant, the prefixes differ in the following way from those of regular and weak form I verbs:
In addition, the past tense has two stems:beʕ- before consonant-initial suffixes (first and second person) andbaʕ- elsewhere (third person).
Example:ʃaf/yʃuf "see"
| Tense/Mood | Past | Present Subjunctive | Present Indicative | Future | Imperative | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | ʃef-t | ʃef-na | n-ʃuf | n-ʃuf-u | ka-n-ʃuf | ka-n-ʃuf-u | ɣa-n-ʃuf | ɣa-n-ʃuf-u | |||
| 2nd | masculine | ʃef-ti | ʃef-tiw | t-ʃuf | t-ʃuf-u | ka-t-ʃuf | ka-t-ʃuf-u | ɣa-t-ʃuf | ɣa-t-ʃuf-u | ʃuf | ʃuf-u |
| feminine | t-ʃuf-i | ka-t-ʃuf-i | ɣa-t-ʃuf-i | ʃuf-i | |||||||
| 3rd | masculine | ʃaf | ʃaf-u | y-ʃuf | y-ʃuf-u | ka-y-ʃuf | ka-y-ʃuf-u | ɣa-y-ʃuf | ɣa-y-ʃuf-u | ||
| feminine | ʃaf-et | t-ʃuf | ka-t-ʃuf | ɣa-t-ʃuf | |||||||
This verb class is identical to verbs such asbaʕ/ybiʕ except in having stem vowel /u/ in place of /i/.
Doubled verbs have the same consonant as middle and last root consonant, e.g.ɣabb/yiħebb "love" from Ħ-B-B.
Example:ħebb/yħebb "love"
| Tense/Mood | Past | Present Subjunctive | Present Indicative | Future | Imperative | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | ħebbi-t | ħebbi-na | n-ħebb | n-ħebb-u | ka-n-ħebb | ka-n-ħebb-u | ɣa-n-ħebb | ɣa-n-ħebb-u | |||
| 2nd | masculine | ħebbi-ti | ħebbi-tiw | t-ħebb | t-ħebb-u | ka-t-ħebb | ka-t-ħebb-u | ɣa-t-ħebb | ɣa-t-ħebb-u | ħebb | ħebb-u |
| feminine | t-ħebb-i | ka-t-ħebb-i | ɣa-t-ħebb-i | ħebb-i | |||||||
| 3rd | masculine | ħebb | ħebb-u | y-ħebb | y-ħebb-u | ka-y-ħebb | ka-y-ħebb-u | ɣa-y-ħebb | ɣa-y-ħebb-u | ||
| feminine | ħebb-et | t-ħebb | ka-t-ħebb | ɣa-t-ħebb | |||||||
This verb works much likebaʕ/ybiʕ "sell". Like that class, it has two stems in the past, which areħebbi- before consonant-initial suffixes (first and second person) andħebb- elsewhere (third person). Note that /i-/ was borrowed from the weak verbs; the Classical Arabic equivalent form would be *ħabáb-, e.g. *ħabáb-t.
Some verbs have /o/ in the stem:koħħ/ykoħħ "cough".
As for the other forms:
"Doubly weak" verbs have more than one "weakness", typically a W or Y as both the second and third consonants. In Moroccan Arabic such verbs generally behave as normal weak verbs (e.g.ħya/yħya "live" from Ħ-Y-Y,quwwa/yquwwi "strengthen" from Q-W-Y,dawa/ydawi "treat, cure" from D-W-Y). This is not always the case in standard Arabic (cf.walā/yalī "follow" from W-L-Y).
The irregular verbs are as follows:
| Tense/Mood | Past | Present Subjunctive | Present Indicative | Future | Imperative | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | kli-t | kli-na | na-kol | na-kl-u | ka-na-kol | ka-na-kl-u | ɣa-na-kol | ɣa-na-kl-u | |||
| 2nd | masculine | kli-ti | kli-tiw | ta-kol | ta-kl-u | ka-ta-kol | ka-ta-kl-u | ɣa-ta-kol | ɣa-ta-kl-u | kul | kul-u |
| feminine | ta-kl-i | ka-ta-kl-i | ɣa-ta-kl-i | kul-i | |||||||
| 3rd | masculine | kla | kla-w | ya-kol | ya-kl-u | ka-ya-kol | ka-ya-kl-u | ɣa-ya-kol | ɣa-ya-kl-u | ||
| feminine | kla-t | ta-kol | ka-ta-kol | ɣa-ta-kol | |||||||
In general, Moroccan Arabic is one of the least conservative of all Arabic languages. Now, Moroccan Arabic continues to integrate new French words, even English ones due to its influence as the modernlingua franca, mainlytechnological and modern words. However, in recent years, constant exposure toModern Standard Arabic on television and in print media and a certain desire among many Moroccans for a revitalization of anArab identity has inspired many Moroccans to integrate words from Modern Standard Arabic, replacing theirFrench,Spanish or otherwise non-Arabic counterparts, or even speaking in Modern Standard Arabic[dubious –discuss] while keeping the Moroccanaccent to sound less formal.[34]
Though rarely written, Moroccan Arabic is currently undergoing an unexpected and pragmatic revival. It is now the preferred language in Moroccan chat rooms or for sendingSMS, usingArabic Chat Alphabet composed of Latin letters supplemented with the numbers2,3,5,7 and9 for coding specific Arabic sounds, as is the case with other Arabic speakers.
The language continues to evolve quickly as can be noted by consulting the Colin dictionary. Many words and idiomatic expressions recorded between 1921 and 1977 are now obsolete.
Some Moroccan Arabic speakers, in the parts of the countryformerly ruled by France, practicecode-switching withFrench. In parts of northern Morocco, such as inTetouan andTangier, it is common for code-switching to occur between Moroccan Arabic,Modern Standard Arabic, andSpanish, asSpain hadpreviously controlled part of the region and continues to possess the territories ofCeuta andMelilla in North Africa bordering only Morocco. On the other hand, someArab nationalist Moroccans generally attempt to avoid French and Spanish in their speech; consequently, their speech tends to resemble oldAndalusian Arabic.
Although mostMoroccan literature has traditionally been written in the classical Standard Arabic, the first record of a work of literature composed in Moroccan Arabic wasAl-Kafif az-Zarhuni'sal-Mala'ba, written in theMarinid period.[35]
There exists some poetry written in Moroccan Arabic like theMalhun. In the troubled and autocratic Morocco of the 1970s,Years of Lead, theNass El Ghiwane band wrote lyrics in Moroccan Arabic that were very appealing to the youth even in otherMaghreb countries.
Another interesting movement is the development of an originalrap music scene, which explores new and innovative usages of the language.
Zajal, or improvised poetry, is mostly written in Moroccan Darija, and there have been at least dozens of Moroccan Darija poetry collections and anthologies published by Moroccan poets, such asAhmed Lemsyeh[36] andDriss Amghar Mesnaoui. The later additionally wrote a novel trilogy in Moroccan Darija, a unique creation in this language, with the titlesتاعروروت "Ta'arurut",عكاز الريح (the Wind's Crutch), andسعد البلدة (The Town's Luck).[37]
The first known scientific productions written in Moroccan Arabic were released on the Web in early 2010 by Moroccan teacher and physicist Farouk Taki El Merrakchi, three average-sized books dealing with physics and mathematics.[38]
There have been at least threenewspapers in Moroccan Arabic; their aim was to bring information to people with a low level ofeducation, or those simply interested in promoting the use of Moroccan Darija. From September 2006 to October 2010,Telquel Magazine had a Moroccan Arabic editionNichane. From 2002 to 2006 there was also a free weekly newspaper that was entirely written in "standard" Moroccan Arabic:Khbar Bladna ('News of Our Country'). InSalé, the regional newspaper Al Amal, directed byLatifa Akherbach, started in 2005.[39]
The Moroccan online newspaperGoud or "ݣود" has much of its content written in Moroccan Arabic rather than Modern Standard Arabic. Its name "Goud" and its slogan "dima nishan" (ديما نيشان) are Moroccan Arabic expressions that mean almost the same thing "straightforward".[40]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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