I 4 ~tII Ut I I &I I 'I <1b 41 l1 lb~ m -mm m=m=-m m m mmmm-m I m I o4e mtue44Ae Sta4 4 SEfaaM*U a4d S ase 7mee e44R4"M SI~4t44f 4=cc '~ ~~e~~e 94if#U4 %Vsel9eft(Cr4c ;4diS~ $fee4t 7' ,Addtauad p44d It da-ll0ted St-Sac*d We '4ad- 5"aItWeW Itee t Sa ztesa aad 1 d ea Vs(die dim d4fa 1979 CENTER FOR NEAR EASTERN & NORTH AFRICAN STUDIES THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 144 LANE HALL ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN 48104 U.S.A. 1 I I I I I I I Copyright ) 1979 by Ernest T. Abdel-Massih Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 76-24957 Copyright is claimed unitl June 1989. Thereafter all portions of this work covered by this copyright will be in the public domain. This work was developed under a grant from the U.S. Office of Education, Department of Health, Education and Welfare. However, the content does not necessarily reflect the po- sition or policy of that agency, and no official endorse- ment of these materials should be inferred. I I I I I I I AM-xirp,6 10 wz4rwwe9 STOL Palo. fwr"#-w Opt 040& (0 Il I FOREWORD The preparation of this volume was facilitated by the University of Michigan Center for Near Eastern and North Afri- can Studies as part of its general program of research and training on the languages and cultures of the area. We are indebtd to the Unit tat-e"' 4f.iceofEducation for grants to the Center that have made this work possible. W. D. Schorger Director iv INTRODUCTION I would like to state at the beginning that this is A PRELIMINARY EDITION. It is hoped that this Preliminary Edition will arouse the interest of our colleagues and students and will solicit their responses to assist us in preparing the Final Edi- tion. We welcome all comments, suggestions and remarks on the content, topics, method, technique, presentation of material, arrangement, and typographical and other errors. A Comprehensive Study of Egyptian Arabic, Volumes I-IV is designed for the Intermediate - Advanced student of Egyptian Arabic to serve as a course in the language, culture, customs and traditions of Egypt. The study presupposes knowledge of Egyptian Arabic on the Elementary level. A Comprehensive Study of Egyptian Arabic consists of four volumes of which the present study is Volume Three. Volume One. Conversations, Cultural Texts and Socio- linguistic Notes, 1978 (Second Edition) aims at acquainting the student with the people of Egypt - how they live, act and react on happy and unhappy occasions, how they relate to each other in their daily lives, how they spend their leisure time, etc. - through conversations and cultural notes. It also presents glimpses of the history of Egypt and its role in the evolution of human civilization. The 50 cultural texts of Volume One also shed some light on the Egyptian personality: humor, folk litera- ture, craftsmanship, etc. Volume Two. Proverbs and Metaphoric Expressions, A Prelimi- nary Edition, 1978, includes 695 Proverbs and 276 metaphoric v expressions. It aims at acquainting the American student with the important roles these expressions play in everyday speech in Egyptian society. Volume Three. The main emphasis of this volume is on grammatical and linguistic terms in a dictionary form with definitions and illustrations of all the grammatical features of Egyptian Arabic conveniently arranged in alphabetical order. Volume Four. Lexicon: Part I: Egyptian Arabic - English (34 Cultural Categories) Part II: English - Egyptian Arabic (34 Cultural Categories) I includes basic high frequency words in such categories as Animals and Insects, Colors, Food and Kitchen Utensils, Greetings and Etiquette, etc. We would like to express our thanks to those who have helped us in the preparation of this Edition. We are indebted to the U.S. Office of Education of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare for the financial support which enabled us to complete this study; to the Center for Near Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Michigan and to its Director, Professor William D. Schorger, for all the help and support ex- tended during the work on the study. Thanks are due to Profes- sor Wallace M. Erwin for giving freely of his time, for his valuable suggestions and his great interest in the study. To I Ms. Amy Van Voorhis who helped in proofreading the entire manu- script we owe a special debt of gratitude. Her devotion, con- scientiousness, constructive remarks and creativity throughout the work on the study are deeply appreciated. vi Thanks are extended also to Ms. Amy Van Voorhis and Ms. Nancy Adams for an excellent job in typing the English and phonetic sections of the study. Their dependability and dedi- cation are deeply appreciated. Ann Arbor Ernest T. Abdel-Massih June 1979 vii I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication Foreword Introduction ".......@ .e os..."" p p.p. PP iii iv v A REFERENCE GRAMMAR OF EGYPT IAN ARAB IC: GRAMMAT ICAL AND LINGUISTIC TERMS (arranged alphabetically) *060.....*0 Index . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . Bibliography............. ..... 331 337 .IX I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I A REFERENCE GRAMMAR OF EGYPTIAN ARABIC : GRAMMATICAL AND LINGUISTIC TERMS I EGYPTIAN ARABIC REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABIC REFERENCE GRAMMAR -A - ACTIVE PARTICIPLES DEFINITENESS If an active participle ( AP "Active Participles : Meaning" of il- Indefinite kaatib 'an author' muxrig 'a producer' denotes a semantic extension ( see Sit is made definite by the addition Definite i lkaat ib i Imuxr ig 'the author 'the producer' If it denotes the,basic designation ( see: Active Participles: Meaning ), an active participle is made definite by placing III I or il- before it ( il- and illi being interchangeable when the participle constitutes the entire modifier, and illi being the favored choice when the participle is the first word of an adjectival phrase ) : Indefinite raagiI naayim 'a sleeping man' raagil mitalla? miraatu 'a man who has divorced his wife Definite irraagil illi naayim or irraagil innaayim 'the sleeping man' irraagil ill i mtalla? miraatu 'the man who has divorced his wife' *** *** *** EGVPTIAN ARABIC REFERENCE GRAMMAR ACTIVE PARTICIPLES : DERIVATION I I I I I I For Measure I of triliteral verbs the active participle is of the measure FaaTiL. For doubled verbs the variant of FaaViL is FaaTiT; for hollow verbs, FaayiL; and for defective verbs, FaaTi. The following are examples : Measure FaaiiL Faa iT FaayiL FaaTi Verb daxal Tirif hatt naam yaa b gawa baka giri 'to 'to 'to ' to 'to 'to 'to 'to enter' find out' put' sleep be absent' roast' cry run' AP daaxi I Laari f fiaat it naayim yaayib gaawi baaki gaari I I I I I I I For all other active verbs ( i.e., verbs which co-occur with a a form designating the agent ) the active participle is derived from the imperfect huwwa form by substituting mi- for the initial yi-. If the huwwa form of the verb ends in /a/, that /a/ is replaced by /1/. Examples : huwwa form yinawwim yifiaddid yifayyin yikaatib yi ?aayi n yitsal I im yit6ayyin yitfaahim 'he puts to sleep' 'he sets ( time )' 'he appoints' 'he corresponds with' 'he inspects' 'he receives' 'he takes advantage of an opportunity' 'he reaches an under- standing with' AP mi naww im mi Faddid miTayyin mikaat ib mi Taayin mitsal I im m i tfayyi n mitfaahim I U I I I I EGVPrlAN ARABI C 5 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN RAqhC 5%00%8EIW-E9GI IWM%1% huwwa form yitTaawin yift imi I yiftaar yifimarr yistaTmi I yitni?il yistala??af yidafirag yitbargil yitma?inn yirabbi yidaawi yitbanna yistayla y istamanna 'he cooperates with' 'he bears' 'he becomes perplexed' 'he becomes red' 'he uses' 'he moves(intransitive)' 'he catches(a ball,etc.)' 'he rolls(something)' 'he becomes confused' 'he becomes reassured' 'he rears' 'he administers medical treatment' 'he adopts' 'he considers(something) expensive' 'he longs for' AP mitTaawin mi 6t imi I miftaar m i 6mi rr mistaTmi I mitni?i I mistala??i f m ida6rig mitbarg il mi tma? inn mirabbi midaawi mitbanni mistayl i m istamanni Under the influence of Standard Arabic, educated Egyptians sometimes substitute mu- ( rather than mi- ) for the initial yi- of imperfect derived verbs. When this takes place, /a/ is also inserted before the F of Measure V and Measure VI of the triliteral as well as Measure II of the quadriliteral ( in Standard Arabic, Measures V and VI have /a/ before F ). Examples : yitsabbib 'to become the cause of' : mutasabbib , yitraagiT 'to retreat' : mutaraagiT , yitzabzib 'to be unstable' : mutazabzib. As may be expected, such "classicisms" occur only when the EA participle corresponds to a Standard Arabic participle. Verbs of Measure IV and those of Measure VII are usually borrowings from Standard Arabic; it is therefore not surprising to find that the active participle of Measure IV is usually muFiiL ( rather than miFTiL ) and that the active participle of Measure VII is usually munFaTiL ( rather than minFi'iL ). Examples : adam 'to I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 6 REFERENCE GRAMMAR execute' : muTdim , arab 'to express' : muTrib , inTaqad 'to I convene ( intransitive )' : muniaqid , insaFiab 'to withdraw ( intran- sitive )' : munasafib. Passive verbs ( q.v. ) do not usually yield the active participle. This is because the active participle is agentive ( it usually means 'doer' or 'is doing' ), and passive verbs belong to a construction whose agent is not specified ( the grammatical subject of the passive construction designates the recipient ). Thus the form itna?a I yields an active participle if it is used with reflexive meaning but not when it is passive. Sentence with Itna?ai Sentence with mitni?iI farlid itna?al min makaanu lamma rgi't, la?eet fariid w?afad fi makaan taani. mitni?il min makaanu w?aa'id I 'Farid moved from his place fi makaan taani. and sat in another place.' 'When I returned I found that I Farid had moved from his place and sat in another place.' I a"raf inn fariid itna?aI Uncommon laakin maT'rafg miin na?alu. 'I know that Farid has been transferred, but I do not I know who transferred him.' •*** *** *** I ACTIVE PARTICIPLES : GENDER OF SINGULAR A singular active participle ( whether it denotes the basic designation or a semantic extension ) can be inflected for gender. I The feminine singular form usually results from adding /-a/ to the corresponding masculine form : I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 7 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Masculine Feminine kaatib 'having written, writer' katba naayim 'sleeping' nayma mitkallim 'having spoken' mitkallima maagi 'walking' magya mistanni 'waiting' mistanniyya Notice that the masculine singular form undergoes certain changes upon the addition of -a ; those changes are as follows : 1. If the masculine singular form is of the shape FaaTi , /y/ is added after /1/. maa .i + -a ---# maaliy + -a --- maiya (after Vowel Elision and Vowel Shortening) 2. The /i/ of the sequence -TiL is elided ( see: Vowels : Elision at Word Boundaries ). kaatib + -a --- katba 3. If the masculine singular form ends in /i/ but is not of the shape FaaTi , /yy/ is added after the /1/: mistanni + -a ----) mistanniyya *** *** *** ACTIVE PARTICIPLES : MEANING A. "Basic" Designation or Meaning EA verbs may be divided into the following types ( see "Verbs : Aspect" ) : 1. Verbs with which bi- does not indicate continuity ( "continuity" being viewed as the feature of an act or an event in progress ). Two major groups belong to this type : (a) Stative verbs ( i.e., verbs which designate a state rather than an act or event ); e.g., biyifham 'he catches on' biyi raf 'he (usually) knows' (b) Verbs which designate change of, or fixation of, location; e.g., EGYPTIAN ARABIC REFERENCE GRAMMAR - %w w fto. lbftwg -A., %- -T-f W-04-off So% biyruuf biyirgaT biyuskun biyib?a 'he 'he 'he 'he goes' returns' (usually) resides' remains' 2. Verbs with which bi- indicates repetitiveness, i.e., repeated biyiktib biyidris biyitkall im continuity ( as well as action ); e.g., 'he is writing' 'he is studying' 'he is speaking' The active participle from verbs of Type 1(a) expresses a current state. Examples : I I I I I U I I I I I I I I I I faahim Taarif 'understands' 'knows' ana faahim illi hiyya bit?uulu 'I understand what she is saying. The active participle from verbs of Type 1(b) means what the verb designates'. Examples : 'is performing raay i saaki n raagi T '(is) going' '(is) residing' '(is) returning' ana raayiR masr. 'I am on my way to EgYPt.' The active participle from verbs of Type 2 means '( in a state of ) having performed what the verb designates'. I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 9 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTiAN ARABiC 9 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Examples : daari s kaat lb mitkal I im fariida darsa 'having studied' 'having written' 'having spoken' 'Farida has studied (literally 'is in a state of having studied').' The above statements point out an interesting observation : when bi- does not express continuity, the active participle does; when bi- expresses continuity, the active participle expresses something else. To obtain the correct English translation, one must make sure that the Arabic participle and the English equivalent occur with comparable temporal and aspectual reference. ilimayya garya. ilmayya ggarya. irraagil naazil. irreagil innaazil In some contexts, certain such contexts often include ana reayifi masr bukra. ana mig mitnaazil T'an 6a??i 6atta law ittarreet asta?iil. I 'The water is running.' 'The running water' 'The man is coming down.' 'The man who is coming down' active participles designate futurity; adverbials referring to the future : 'I am going to Egypt tomorrow.' 'I will not relinquish my rights even if I find it necessary to resign.' B. Semantic Extension Some active participles can be used in either of the following ways : 1. With the basic designation 2. With a meaning which is related to, but which is not precisely the same as, the basic designation; this meaning will be called EG AN ARABIC- 10 REFERENCE GRAMMAR t *he "extension". For example, kaat i b can mean 'having written' but it also can mean 'an author': 1 miin minkum kaatib ilweagib ? 'Who among you has written the homework? issibaati kaatib mawhuur. 'Al-Siba'i is a famous author.' Likewise, Faakim can mean 'is ruling' but it can also mean 'governor, ruler'. Difference in aspect is part of what .distinguishes the basic designation from the extension: while the basic designation includes aspect, the extension does not. Compare, for example, the participles I in each of the following pairs. ( Basic designation = Verbal adjec- tive; Extension = Noun ):I I liyaayit dilwa?ti Tali 'As of this moment, Ali has kaatib Tigriin maqaala. written twenty articles.' 'ali kaatib maTruuf. 'Ali is a well-known author.' irra?iis Raakim iddawla 'The president is ruling the byadd min Riadiid country with an iron hand.' maf I i Raakim a6fisan m i n da. 'There is no better ruler than this one.' I C. Absence of Person Designation Unlike verbs, active participles do not denote person. Thus in isolation the form faahim does not indicate whether reference is to first, second, or third person; the same is true of fahma j and fahmi in. I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 11 REFERENCE GRAMMAR ACTIVE PARTICIPLES NUMBER A. Active participles which denote a semantic extension ( typically nominal ) If it denotes a semantic extension ( see; Active Participles : Meaning ), an active participle may be singular, dual, or plural. The dual is formed by addition of -een to the singular form : Singular Dual kaatib 'an author (m)' katbeen 'two authors (m)' ?aadi 'a judge Cm)' ?adiyeen 'two judges (m)' murabbi 'an educator (m)' murabbiyyeen 'two educators (m)' katba 'an author (f)' katbiteen 'two authors (f) ?adya 'a judge (f)' ?adyiteen 'two judges (f)' murabbiyya 'an educator (f)' murabbiyyiteen 'two educators (f)' Notice that certain masculine singular forms undergo specifiable changes upon the addition of -een ; those changes are as follows : 1. If the masculine singular form is of the shape FaaTi, /y/ is added after /I/. ?aad I + -een ----> ?aad iy + -een ----> ?adyeen 2. The /1/ of the sequence -TiL is elided ( see "Vowels : Elision at Word Boundaries" ) : kaat ib + -een ----> katbeen ( after Vowel Shortening ) 3. If the masculine singular form ends in /1/ but is not of the shape FaaTi , /yy/ is added after the /1/ : murabbi + -een ----> murabbiyyeen Provided it is derived from a verb other than a Measure I triliteral, and provided it denotes a human being, each of the active participles being discussed typically has two plural forms : the sound masculine, and the sound feminine; the former results from adding -iin to the masculine singular, while the latter results from adding -aat to the feminine singular. I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 12 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I Singular Plural murabbi 'an educator (m))' murabbi yyiin murabbiyya 'an educator (f)' murabbiyyaat Notice that the addition of -iin is governed by the same rules which govern the addition of -een. I Provided it is derived from a verb other than a Measure I triliteral, and provided it designates a non-human referent, each of the active participles in question typically has a sound feminine plural form : Singular Plural musakkin 'a tranquilizer' musakkinaat muxaddir 'a narcotic' muxaddiraat muqaat ila 'combat plane' muqaat i laat mufarrik 'a propeller' mufarrikaat If derived from Measure I triliteral verbs, the active participles in question typically have broken plurals; the following measures are among the most common for these plurals : 1. FuSfaaL , from hollow roots when the referents are human. 2. Fufaah , from defective roots when the referents are human. 3. FawaaTiL , when the referents are nonhuman. I Educated Egyptians sometimes use a Standard Arabic sound feminine plural, instead of the broken plural, to designate human referents which are exclusively female. However, the majority of speakers use the broken plurals below: Singular Plural zaa?ir ~ zaayir 'a guest, visitor' zuwwaar naa?ib ~ naayib 'a delegate' nuwwaab taagir 'a merchant' tuggaar ?aadi 'a judge' ?udaah raawi 'a narrator' ruwaah I daaf i 'an incentive' dawaafi taari? 'an emergency' tawaari? daaTi 'a necessity' dawaaTi Fiadsa 'an accident' 6awaadis sa?ya 'a water wheel' sawaa?i I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 13 PFFFVFmrF nPAUUAD B. Active Participles which denote the basic designation (i.e., = adjectival ) If it denotes the basic designation, an active participle may be made singular or plural ( the dual is rarely used ). The plural is typically a sound form which results from adding -i in to the mascu- line singular, and which may modify a masculine or a feminine plural noun. Certain masculine singular forms undergo specifiable changes upon the addition of -i n. The changes in question are the same as those which take place upon adding -i in to a masculine singular participle with a semantic extension. Masculine Singular Feminine Singular waa?if 'standing' wa?fa faahim 'understands' fahma maai 'walking' magya mistanni 'waiting' mistanniyya mitTaadi 'to be enemies (with)' mitadiyya Plural wa?f iin fahmi in ma~yi in mistanniyyi in mitTad iyyi in irraagil illi waa?if irraagleen illi wa?fiin irriggaala Ili wa?fiin issitt illi wa?fa issittiteen illi wa?fiin issittaat illi wa?fiin 'the 'the 'the 'the 'the 'the man who is standing' two men who are standing' men who are standing' lady who is standing' two ladies who are standing' ladies who are standing' Combining number and gender contrasts, we get the following forms : 1. For participles with a semantic extension ( i.e., = nominal ) (a) Masculine singular; e.g., murabbi 'an educator', kaatib 'an author'. (b) Feminine singular; e.g., murabbiyya , katba. (c) Masculine dual; e.g., murabbiyyeen , katbeen. (d) Feminine dual; e.g., murabbiyyiteen , katbiteen. (e) Plural (i) Sound masculine; e.g., murabbiyyi in. (ii) Sound feminine; e.g., murabbiyyaat. I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 14 REFERENCE GRAMMAR (iii) Broken; e.g., kuttaab. 2. For participles with the basic designation ( i.e., = adjectival) (a) Masculine singular; e.g., waa?if 'standing'. (b) Feminine singular; e.g., wa?fa. (c) Plural; e.g., wa?f iin. *** *** *** I ACTIVE PARTICIPLES : SYNTACTIC USAGE 1. When they denote the "basic designation" ( see: Active Participles Meaning ), active participles usually occur in adjectival slots : irraagil ill i waa?if mig biyiTraf Tarabi. 'The man who is standing does not know Arabic.' When used adjectivally, active participles agree with the modified noun in number, gender, and definiteness ( see: Adjectival Use of Participles ) Active participles with the basic designation also occur in nominal slots : ilRadriin yixabbaru Iyaybiin. 'Those who are present should inform those who are not.' Notice however that, when used nominally, an active participle with the basic designation is actually a contraction of an attributive construction; thus iI Radri in and i I yayb i i n in the above sentence are contractions of i I ?aixaas ii F adr ( (n 'the persons who are present' and il?a xaas ilyayblin 'the persons who are absent' respectively. 2. An active participle of a transitive verb, when it denotes the basic designation, may be used with verbal force, i.e., it can have a direct object : (a) inta fakirni ? 'Do you remember me ?' (b) ilIbint i I I i fahma ddars ismaha eeh ? 'What is the name of the girl who understands the lesson ? I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 15 RFFFRFNrF n2AMMAD In sentence (a), the pronominal suffix attached to the active participle is -ni ( the direct object suffix which is attached to verbs, e.g., kalIIimitni 'she talked to me' ) rather than -i ( the possessive suffix which is attached to nouns, e.g., kitaabi 'my book' ). In sentence (b), iddars is a direct object of the participle; were iddars in construct with the participle, the latter would have assumed the form fahmit ( compare maktabit gamfitna 'the library of our university' ). 3. When used as a semantic extension ( see "Active Participles : Meaning" ), active participles usually occur in nominal slots : il6iaakim raagil Tandu zimma. 'The governor is a man of integrity.' wazzafna aamil gidiid. 'We employed a new laborer.' itkallimt maa ttaalib. 'I spoke with the student.' *** *** *** ADJECTIVAL PHRASE INTRODUCED BY bitaaT The word bitaaT ( feminine : bitaaia, plural : bituuT ) usually occurs as the first term of a definite construct phrase which modifies a preceding definite noun, and agrees in gender and number with the noun modified : ilkitaab bitaaT il?ustaaz feen ? 'Where is the professor's book ?' ilanta btaTtak feen ? 'Where is your suitcase ?' dool ilkitabeen bituuii. 'These are my two books.' Occasionally, the bitaa construct is indefinite and modifies a preceding indefinite noun : di 'arabiyya btaafit waziir. 'This is a ( cabinet ) minister's car.' I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 16 REFERENCE GRAMMAR As the above examples show, bitaaT usually indicates a relation- ship of possession or belonging : the referent of the preceding form is possessed by or belongs to the referent of the following form. Another common meaning is 'having to do with, used for, dealing in, etc.' : igirka btaTt il?aflaamI 'the film ( -producing) company' iddukkaan bitaaT issagaayir 'the cigarette shop' i larabiyyaat bitaT't ijjilaati 'the ice cream ( -vending ) cars' ilfingaan bitaa iH?ahwa 'the coffee cup' irraagil bitaaT ilfigl I 'the radish seller' When it designates possession or belonging, the construct with bitaaT often corresponds to a semantically equivalent noun construct, for example, ilanta bitaaTit ilwaziir = 'antit ilwaziir 'the minister's suitcase' Many bitaaT constructions meaning "having to do with, used for, etc.' also have semantically equivalent noun constructs, for example, ilirka bitaafit il?aflaam = irkit il?aflaam 'the film company' I Some bitaaT constructions meaning "used for, dealing in, etc." can drop the modified noun, e.g., bitaa? ilfigI = irraagil bitaa ilfigl 'the radish seller' I Many noun constructs do not designate possession or belonging, and for most of these there are no synonymous bitaa~ constructs. The following noun constructs have no corresponding bitaa~ constructs : adaa? ilfir?a ( where the second noun 'the members of the team' comprises the first ) I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 17 REFERENCE GRAMMAR -GPiA R i%7W P vFFF1wFM F (PAMupMAPf--# madiinit tanta 'the city of Tanta'; kilmit kitaab 'the word kitaab' £arabiyyaat iddlizil 'Diesel ( -driven ) cars' 6ayaat ilmara6fi 'the life of merriment' umm ilwalad 'the boys mother'; diraafi 'my arm' ( where the sequence is a naming construction ) ( where the second noun drives the first ) ( where the second noun is semantically a qualifier of the first ) ( where the possession desig- nated is inalienable ) fingaal ?ahwa ( where the first noun is a 'a cup of coffee' container and the second is the contents ) The following comments deal with the choice between the bitaaT construct and the noun construct : 1. The choice between the bitaaT construct and the equivalent noun construct may be stylistic : if the speaker for some reason prefers to make the "possessed" noun definite, he selects the bitaaT construct; consider, for example, the following sentence : xadt talat kutub : ilkitaab illi kaan ?ala ttarabeeza, wilkitaab illi kaan fi maktabak, wilkitaab bitaai ( instead of wi ktaabi ). 'I took three books : the book which was on the table, the book which was in your office, and my book ( literally : "and the book which belongs to me" ).' Having used a definite noun in referring to the first book and a definite noun in referring to the second, the speaker I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 18 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I chooses ( but is not forced ) to use a definite noun in I referring to the third book; this choice forces him to use the bitaaT construct since a definite noun cannot be used as the first member of a noun construct. 2. When the "possessed" noun is to be modified by an adjective, the noun construct may result in ambiguity; to avoid such ambiguity, the bitaai construct is used. For example, kitaab ittilmiiz iggidlid may mean 'the new student's book' or 'the student's new book'; to avoid the ambiguity, one would usually say ilkitaab iggidiid bitaaT? ittilmiiz 'the student's new book' or ilkitaab bitaaT ittilmiiz iggidiid 'he new student's book:. 3. An attributive construction may constitute a compound word or a stereotyped expression whose noun cannot be separated I from the adjective. To express a relationship of possession between the noun of such a construction and some other noun, speakers commonly use the bitaaT construct rather than the I noun construct. For example, 'your university city ( i.e. the complex where students reside )' is expressed in EA by ilmadiina ggaamiTiyya btaTitkum rather than madinitkum iggaamif yya. The attributive constructions under discussion include expressions of measurement where the modifier is murabbaT 'square' or mukatab 'cube'. Thus ilmitr iImurabbaT bitaaak 'your square meter' is common while mitrak ilmurabbaT is hardly used. 4. Some loan words -- mostly ones which end in a vowel -- seldom take pronominal suffixes ( e.g., kiilu 'kilogram', radyu 'radio', banyu 'bathtub', antinna 'antenna' ); instead, those words are modified by the bitaai construct. 5. "Inalienable possession" ( which applies to kinship and parts of the body ) is expressed by a noun construct but not by the bitaaT construct : I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 19 REFEREWCE GRAMMAR uxt i 'my sister' rigli 'my leg' An exception to this rule is : issitt bitaTti 'my wife' 6. Dual nouns and sound masculine plural ones do not enter into construct with a following pronominal suffix; possession of such nouns is indicated through use of the bitaaT construct : ilIkitabeen bituui 'my two books' ilmuTallimiin bituudi 'my teachers' 7. In certain idiomatic expressions, the occurrence of bitaaT is governed by no general rule; the following sentences contain some of the expressions in question : da raagil bitaaT niswaan. 'He is a skirt-chaser.' ana mi bitaaT kalaam zayy da. 'I don't go for that kind of thing.' dool naas bituu" rabbina. 'These are godly people.' issitt btaTti lubnaniyya. 'My wife is Lebanese.' da Ibeeh bitaai. 'This is my husband.' Idioms such as these must be learned as items. A*I *** **V AVJECTIVAL USE OF PARTICIPLES A participle may fill an adjectival slot. In this case the participle is governed by the rules of agreement stated under "Adjectives : Attributive Construction". If it constitutes the entire modifier, the participle is made EGYPTIAN ARABI C 20 REFEREWCE GRAMMAR definite by placing either i I- or i Ili before it. Although both alternatives arepossible in this context, il- is favored with passive participles while illi is favored with active participles. bint wa?fa 'a girl standing' ilbint illi wa?fa or ( less commonly ) ilbint ilwa?fa 'the girl who is standing' ilbanaat illi naymiin or ( less commonly ) ilbanaat innaymliin 'the sleeping girls' ilkutub ilman~uura hina or ( less commonly ) ilkutub ill manuura hina 'the books published here' When it is the first word of an adjectival construction, an active participle occurs with IL I much more commonly than it does with il- ( this is especially true when the active participle has an object ), while a passive participle occurs more commonly with il- than it does with illi. issitt illi wa?fa hnaak or ( rarely ) U I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I issitt ilwa?fa hnaak 'the lady who is standing over there' irraagil illi raakib gamal or ( rarely ) irraagil irraakib gamal 'the man who is riding a camel ilmaqaala Iman'uura fgaridt il?ahraam or ( less commonly ) ilmaqaala Ili mansuura fgaridt 'the article published in the i ?ahraam newspaper Al-Ahram' Adjectival participles have three forms : the masculine singular, the feminine singular, and the plural; the first modifies a masculine singular noun, the second modifies a feminine singular noun, and the third modifies a dual or a plural noun : irraagil illi waa?if hinaak 'the man who is standing over there' issitt illi wa?fa hnaak 'the lady who is standing over there' irragleen / issitteen illi wa?fiin hinaak 'the two men / ladies who are standing over there' irriggaala / issittaat illi wa?fiin hinaak 'the men / ladies who are standing over there' I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 21 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABIC 21 REFERENCE GRAMMAR irraagi I iImaTruuf 'the well-known man' issitt ilmaTruufa 'the well-known lady' irragleen / issitteen ilmaTruf iin 'the two well-known men / ladies irriggaala / issittaat ilmaTrufiin 'the well-known men / ladies' *** *** *** ADJECTIVE A word which limits, qualifies or describes a noun or a pronoun. Many Egyptian Arabic adjectives have the structure FViVVL, e.g., kiblir 'big' However, the patterns vary, e.g., FaifaaL nassaab 'swindler' It is worth mentioning that /nassaab/ is a noun that serves as a modifier and therefore is classified as an adjective. Noun Adjective raagil nassaab 'a swindler' (a swindling man) *** *** *** ADJECTIVE : AGREEMENT WITH NOUNS An adjective ( modifier ) agrees in gender with the singular noun it modifies, ( nm + adj m ) or ( n f + adj f ), e.g., ittaal iba nnabiiha 'the intelligent student' Singular adjectives must agree in gender with the singular nouns they modify, e.g., EGYPTIAN ARABIC 22 REFER~ENCE GR~AMMAR~ wow W-Gj.%f %I,% walad kiblir 'a big boy' bint kbi ira 'a big girl' With human plural -nouns, adjectives agree in number in gender : awlaad kubaar 'big boys' banaat kubaar 'big girls' However, with non-human plural nouns, either plural feminine singular adjectives may be used : kutub kubaar 'big books' kutub kibiira 'big books' Some speakers of EA use the latter structure even noun is human n1ural, awlaad kutaar 'many boys' awlaad kitiira 'many boys' and but not usually adjectives or when the modified I I I I I I I 1 I I I I I I banaat kutaar banaat kitiira 'many girls' 'many girls' *** *** *** ADJECTIVE : ATTRIBUTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS ( OR NOUN-ADJECTIVE PHRASES ) An adjective follows the noun it modifies. The form of the adjective is determined by the number, gender, definiteness and humanness of the modified noun. The masculine singular form of the adjective follows a masculine singular noun, the feminine singular form follows a feminine singular or a non-human plural noun, and the plural form follows a dual noun ( whether human or non-human ) or a human plural noun. The adjective is definite when the modified noun is definite, and indefinite when the modified noun is indefinite. ?abilt raagil masri. ?abilt sitt masriyya. i'tareet kutub masriyya. 'I met an Egyptian man.' 'I met an Egyptian woman.' 'I bought ( some ) Egyptian books.' I I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 23 REFERENCE GRAMMAR ?abilt ragleen masriyyin. 'I met two Egyptian men.' ?abilt binteen masriyyiin. 'I met two Egyptian girls.' i~areet kitabeen yalyi in. 'I bought two expensive books.' ?abilt riggaala masriyyi in. 'I met ( some ) Egyptian men.' ?abi It sittaat masriyyi in. 'I met ( some ) Egyptian women.' ?abilt irrigaala Imasriyyiin. 'I met the Egyptian men.' ?abilt issittaat ilmasriyyiin 'I met the Egyptian women.' Notice that when a suffix consisting of or beginning with a vowel is added to a form ending in /i/ ( provided that form is not of the shape FaaTi ), /yy/ is inserted between the form and the suffix. As illustrated above, the adjective shows contrast for humanness when the modified noun is plural : if the plural noun designates human referents, the adjective is usually plural; if the plural noun designates non-human referents, the adjective is usually feminine singular. zurt bad ittullaab ilmasriyyiin. 'I visited some Egyptian students (m).' zurt ba'd issittaat ilmasriyyiin. 'I visited some Egyptian ladies.' zurt baid ilmudun ilmasriyya. 'I visited some Egyptian cities.' Tandi kutub kibiira. 'I have large books.' Nisba adjectives denoting color, e.g., ramaadi 'ash-grey' bunni 'brown', samaawi 'sky-blue', and those denoting place of origin ( when modifying non-human nouns ) are usually masculine singular regardless of the form of the modified noun, e.g., Sarabiyya gdiida but Larabi yya almaani 'a new car' 'a German car' siggaada gamilla but siggaada agami 'a pretty carpet' 'a Persian carpet' I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 24 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I fasatlin yaIya but fasatiin ramaadi 'expensive dresses' "grey dresses' I budaaa wIRfia but budaa a baladi 'bad goods' 'local ( locally manufactured ) goods' naas kwayyislin but naas baladi I 'nice people' 'low class people' I Note that the last example is a special case where the rule is extended to a noun with human referent. Certain structures are made up of a noun followed by another noun where the second noun expresses a 'made of' relationship, e.g., saaa dahab 'a gold watch' fustaneen Fariir 'two silk dresses' I riggaala wara? 'feeble men' (. literally: Lpaper men' ) Notes : 1. Although EA usually employs a single sound plural form I of the adjective ( which form ends in -in ), educated Egyptians occasionally use two sound plural forms : a masculine form ending in -i in, and a feminine one ending in -aet, e.g., murabbiyyiin fadIiin 'virtuous educators (in)' murabbiyyaat fadilaat 'virtuous educators (f)' Expressions where sound feminine plural adjectives occur are usually "classicisms". U EGVPTIAN ARABIC 25 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 2. An adjective which modifies a collective noun is masculine singular. The collective form referred to here is that which yields the "unit noun" by acquiring the suffix -a ( e.g., tiffaa6 'apples', from which the unit noun is tiffaa6a 'an apple' ). ( see: Collective Nouns ) tiffaa6 kiblir 'large apples' wara? xafiif 'thin paper' 3. Although it was stated that an adjective modifying a plural noun with non-human reference is usually feminine singular in form, the plural form of the adjective is also often used in this instance, especially if the noun is a broken plural, e.g., talat kutub gidlida or 'three new books' talat kutub gudaad 4. Though more commonly followed by the plural form of the adjective, broken plural nouns which designate human beings but are morphologically feminine singular are sometimes followed by the feminine singular form of the adjective, e.g., riggaala 6afyin '( a group of ) inconse- or quential men' riggaala 6afya *** *** *** ADJECTIVE : COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE The comparative adjective is invariable in form. For the majority of adjectives the comparative form is of the measure aFfaL, e.g., kiblir 'big' .....> akbar 'bigger' gamlil 'pretty' ----- . agmal 'prettier' tawil 'tall' ------> atwal 'taller' I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 26 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Adjectives ending in /-i/ or /-w/ have comparative forms of the measure aFSa, e.g., Taal i 'high' -----> aIa 'higher' Filw 'sweet' --.> aFla 'sweeter' Adjectives with a doubled root have comparative forms on the measure aFaTL, e.g., gidiid 'new' -.> agadd 'newer' I muhimm 'important' - > ahamm 'more important' In expressions indicating comparison, "than" is expressed by min 'from', e.g., ilbint akbar min ilwalad. 'The girl is bigger than the boy.' hiyya akbar minnu. 'She is bigger than him.' In Egyptian Arabic there is no separate morphological form for the superlative. It is expressed by one of the following constructions using the comparative form : Comparative + indefinite form of the noun ( s or p ) dool atwal banaat. 'These are the tallest girls.' da atwal walad. 'This is the tallest boy.' Comparative + numeral + indefinite noun dool atwal talat banaat. 'These are the three tallest girls.' min + comparative + definite plural noun I huwwa min atwal il?awlaad. 'He is one of the tallest boys.' Notice that the comparative adjective is not inflected for gender or I number, whereas the following noun is inflected for both. ** *** *** U ADJECTIVE FUNCTIONING AS PREDICATE An adjective may function as the predicate of a sentence or clause. In this usage, the subject determines the number and gender of the adjective. Tal i tawiil. 'Ali is tall.' nadya tawilla. 'Nadia is tall.' U I EGYPrIAM ARABIC 27 REFERENCE GRAMMAR irragleen tuwaal. 'The two men are tall.' ilbinteen tuweaI. 'The two girls are tall.' irriggaala tweal. 'The men are tall.' issittaat tuwaai. 'The women are tall.' Ittarabizaat tawilla. 'The tables are long.' Notice that adjectives in predicate position are normally indefinite. *** *** *** ADJECTIVE : GENDER In Egyptian Arabic ( EA), nouns (n) are either masculine (mn) or feminine (f) in gender, e.g., walad (m) 'boy' bint (f) 'girl'. Henceforth, gender indicators will not be entered for those nouns where the sex of the referent clearly indicates the grammatical gender. Adjectives (adj) ,show two genders, e.g., nabiih (m) 'intelligent' nab i ha (f) 'intelligent'. Compare the following nouns and adjectives: teali b (mn) tealibes (f) 'student' nablih (mn) nabiiha (f) 'intelligent' Notice that singular (s) feminine nouns and adjectives end in /-a/. Exceptions to this will be indicated by (f). Masculine singular nouns and adjectives will thus be identifiable by the absence of /-a/ or by the insertion of (m). This convention of indicating gender for singular forms will be followed regularly; thus taalib 'student' and taa I lba 'student' have no imposed gender indicators, since it is clear that the first word is masculine and the second is feminine. Indicators, however, will be entered next to items such as ard (f) 'land' and mabna (n) 'building' since their endings do not follow the the rule above. *** *** *** I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 28 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I ADJECTIVE : INFLECTION FOR NUMBER AND GENDER In EA, an adjective has three forms : the masculine singular, the feminine singular, and the plural. The feminine singular form is usually formed by adding the suffix -a to the masculine singular form ( which is considered the base ). I The plural form is "sound" in the case of some adjectives and "broken" in the case of others; the sound plural is formed by adding -i in to the masculine singular form, while the broken plural is formed by "breaking up" the masculine singular through internal change : kuwayyis 'good' (ms) kuwayyisa 'good' (fs) I kuwayyisi in 'good' (sound plural) kibiir 'big'. (ms) kiblira 'big' (fs) kubaar 'big' (broken plural) There is no structural device which infallibly forecasts the plural form for each singular adjective; nevertheless, the student will be reasonably safe in assuming that the following adjectives have sound plural forms : 1. Active and passive participles which have the basic desig- nation ( see "Active Participles : Meaning" and "Passive Participles : Meaning" ) : Singular Plural naayim 'sleeping' naymiin I mitia{I Jim 'educated' mital{I imiin ma'ruuf 'known' matruf in mueaa b 'punished' muiaqb iin 2. Relative ( nisba ) adjectives : Singular Plural masri 'Egyptian' masriyy iin azhari 'Azharite' azhariyyiin I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 29 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 3. Adjectives of the measures FuiayyaL, FaTaaL, and FaLaan : Singular Plural kuwayyis 'good' kuwayyisiin ?usayyar 'short' ?usayyar i in nassaab 'a swindler' nassablin kaslaan 'lazy' kaslaniin Exceptions do occur; for example, the plural of turki 'Turkish' is atraak . Broken plural adjectives have numerous measures; in addition, it is not possible to predict with certainty which broken plural measure a given singular adjective will have. The student is therefore advised to learn the broken plural forms as items. Singular Plural Tabiit 'stupid' 'ubata maskiin 'poor' masakiin For nisba adjectives designating color or place of origin and for attributive constructions indicating type of product or social status, see Adjectives : Attributive Construction . *** *** *** ADJECTIVES JOINED VBY COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS Two adjectives may be joined by a coordinating conjunction : samlira nabliha wlatra. 'Samira is intelligent and clever.' ibnak nabiih laakin kaslaan. 'Your son is intelligent but lazy.' humma twaal walla ?sayyariin ? 'Are they tall or short ?' In Arabic the coordinating conjunction cannot be dropped when more than two adjectives are conjoined ( as it can be in English, e.g., "tall, dark and handsome ). tawlil wasmar wi wasiim 'tall, dark, and handsome' I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 30 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Since they usually refer to the same noun, conjoined adjectives I are usually identical in regard to number, gender, and definiteness. I ADJECTIVE : NUMBER AND DEMONSTRATIVES Singular adjectives must agree in gender with the singular nouns I they modify. With human plural nouns, adjectives agree in number. However, with non-human plural nouns, either plural adjectives or I feminine singular adjectives may be used. The same is true of /da, d,dool/ :this, that, these, those'. da walad kuwayyis. 'This is a good boy.' dool awlaad kuwayyisiin. 'These are good boys.' da ktaab kuwayyis. 'This is a good book.' dool kutub kuwayyisiin. 'These are good books.' I di kutub kwayyisa. 'These are good books.' I ADJECTIVE : RELATIVE ( See : Nisba Adjective ) I ADJECTIVE : RELATIVE CLAUSES A sentence may be embedded (q.v.) in the adjectival slot of another sentence, provided that the two sentences contain an identical noun U ( the "shared noun" ). If the shared noun functions as subject in the sentence to be em- I bedded, that noun is deleted when the two sentences are combined. In I U EGYPTIAN ARABIC 31 REFERENCE GRAMMAR the following examples, the second sentence of each set is the one to be embedded; the third sentence results from the embedding transformation. irraagil saf6bi. 'The man is my friend.' irraagil gamb ilbaab. 'The man is by the door.' = irraagil i llIi gamb ilbaab saFa6bi. 'The man by the door is my friend.' ?abilt raagil. irraagilI rig.iT min masr imbaarif. = ?abilt raagil rigiT min masr imbaar if6. 'I met a man.' 'The man returned from Egypt yesterday.' 'I met a man who returned from Egypt yesterday.' If the shared noun does not function as subject in the sentence to be embedded, that noun is replaced by a pronoun when the two sentences are combined : issitt mudarrisa. 'The lady is a teacher.' fariid itkallim Tan issitt. 'Farid talked about the lady.' issitt illi far lid itkallim 'The lady about whom Farid Lanha mudarrisa. talked is a teacher.' Notice that the relative clause must be preceded by ill i when the modified noun is definite, and that III I does not occur when the modified noun is indefinite. ( See also : Relative Clauses with illi ) *** *** *** ADVERB A word or phrase used to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Examples of Egyptian Arabic adverbs are /hina/ 'here', /hinaak/ 'there', /bisura/ 'immediately, quickly', /bilwee / slowly, softly'. *** *** EGYPrTAN ARABIC 32 REFERENCE GRAMMAR ADVERBS I In EA, there is a relatively small set of words -- called adverbs -- which function as modifiers of verbs, adjectives and other adverbs, but which do not have the inflectional properties of adjectives. For example, while kibiir, an adjective, has both a feminine singular form and a plural form, bukra 'tomorrow', an adverb, Is invariable in form. Adverbs may be divided into two large classes: those which usually precede and those which usually follow the modified expression. In the following papagraphs, the most common adverbs of both types are listed. Several sub-classes are given, and each sub-class is followed by illus- trative sentences. 1. Adverbs which usually follow the modified expression (a) Adverbs of place: barra 'outside', guwwa 'inside', foo? 'up, upstairs', ta6t 'down, downstairs', ?uddaam 'in the front', wara 'in the back', hina 'here', hinaak 'there'. fayzaakir guwwa. 'He will study inside.' 6anit?aabll hinaak. 'We will meet there.' (b) Adverbs of time: innaharda 'today', imbaarif6 'yester- day', bukra 'tomorrow', dilwa?ti 'now', baTdeen 'later on' zamaan 'a long time ago', ?urayyib 'a short time ago, re- cently, soon', dayman 'always', abadan 'never' ( in negative sentences only ), badri 'early', waxri 'late', axiiran 'finally', a6yaanan 'sometimes', sabaa6an 'in the morning', masaa?an 'in the evening'. mi 6aruuR ?abadan. 'I will never go.' i6ayirgaT bukra. 'He will return tomorrow.' (c) Adverbs indicating degree or quantity: ?awi 'very', xaalis 'very' ( in affirmative sentences ); at all ( in ne- gative sentences )', giddan 'very', kitiir 'a lot', kamaan 'more, in addition', ta?riiban 'nearly', liwayya 'a little, somewhat '. I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 33 REFERENCE GRAMMAR zifilI xaalis. 'He became very unhappy.' maTrafuug xaal is. 'I do not know him at all.' ?aawiz talaata kamaan. 'I want three more.' iddinya bard wayya. 'It's a bit cold.' (d) Adverbs of manner : kida 'in this manner', ?awaam 'quickly, fast', sawa 'together', wafd- or Iliwa6Fd- ( plus a pronominal suffix ) 'alone', duyr i 'straight ahead', tawwaa I i 'straight ahead', amdan 'intentionally'. ruRt I1-wadi. 'I went alone.' raaFit liwa6Fdaha. 'She went alone.' laazim tim'i duyri 'You must walk straight ahead.' laazim tim'i tawwaali 2. Adverbs which usually precede the modified expression (a) Adverbs indicating approximation : fiawaal i , Vi ii , yitlaT , all translatable by 'nearly'. i tayal It hina yiigi 'She worked here for about Tagar siniin. ten years.' (b) Intensifiers : lissa 'just', yadoob 'just', umr 'ever ( used in negative and interrogative sentences, in construct with a following noun or pronoun functioning as subject )'. I issa rayha. 'She has just left.' Tumr Tali daras fi 'Has Ali ever studied at the gamfit ilqaahira ? University of Cairo ?' Tumri ma uft masr. 'I have never seen Egypt.' yadoobu gah wana 'He had just come when I daxla. entered.' Prepositional phrases frequently occur in adverbial slots. Those functioning as time adverbials often begin with f i 'in', ba d 'after', or ?ab I 'before'. Those functioning as place adverbials are often introduced by fi 'in', ~ala 'on', barra 'outside', guwwa 'inside', foo? 'on top of', taF6t 'under, below', ?uddaam 'in front of', or wara 'behind'; and those functioning as manner EGYPTIAN ARABIC 34 REFERENCE GRAMMAR adverbials are often introduced by bi- 'with, in'. ?abiltaha baid iigtimaaT. 'I met her after the meeting.' binti guwwa Ibeet. 'My daughter is inside the house.' biyaakul bisura. 'He eats-fast (literally "with speed").' matfibbinii bilakI da. 'Do not love me in this manner !' As stated above, some adverbs usually precede while others usually follow the modified expression. This does not mean, however, that every adverb is restricted to one position. Of the ones listed above, the following adverbs are usually restricted to one position, while the rest may occur in either position : abadan , badri , waxri , ?awi , xaalis , giddan , yadoob , £umr , adverbs of maner, adverbs- of probability and doubt, adverbs of I approximation. Placing a given adverb in the non-favored position usually serves the purpose of emphasizing that adverb : I rigiT imbaari. 'He returned yesterday.' imbaariF rig i. 'It was yesterday that he returned.' ADVERBS OF MANNER Notice that some adverbs of manner are of the form : bi + Noun surfa 'swiftness' bisura 'quickly' suhuula 'ease' bisuhuula 'easily' suTuuba 'difficulty' bi suTuuba 'with difficulty' The adverb bilweeE 'slowly' is of this form but there is no corresponding noun from which it is formed. I I EGYPTIAN ARABI C 35 REFERENCE GM"R AFFIX A term used to refer to prefixes ( e.g., /bi-/, /mi-/, /yi-, ti-, a-, ni-/ ), infixes (e.g., gamaT 'to collect' and igtamaT 'to gather together', where the /-t-/ is an infix ), and suffixes ( e.g., /-iin/, /-aat/, /-een/ as in falla6' 'farmer (mn)' ---- faIIa6iin 'farmers (mp) ' and fallaa6a'farmer (f)' --- fallaaat 'farmers (fp) ). *** *** *** AGREEMENT IN CONSTRUCT PHRASES Construct Phrases N1 + N2 = the N1 of N2 (a) definite, if N2 is definite kitaab ilwalad 'the boy's book' kitaab ilwalad ilkiblir 'the book of the big boy' kitaab haani 'Hani's book' or (b) indefinite, if N2 is indefinite kitaab walad 'a boy's book' In either case the construct phrase consists of two nouns N1 + N2 in a sequence meaning N1 of N2. Note that N1 is definite in meaning, but cannot be definite in form; N2 may or may not be definite. In example (a), N1 of N2 + adjective lkiblir is a modifier of N2 il walad and therefore agrees with it in definiteness, gender, and number. ( See also : Adjective : Agreement with Nouns; Adjective : Gender ) *** *** *** ALLOMORPH A positional variant of a morpheme (q.v.) occuring in a specific U EGYPTIAN ARABIC 36 REFERENCE GRAMMAR environment. English has a noun plural morpheme /-z/ that has the phonologically conditioned allomorphs /-s -z ~ - z/ as in 'cats', 'dogs', 'kisses'. In Egyptian Arabic the connector W i 'and' has the allomorphs /w-/ after a vowel and /w i-/ after a consonant, e.g., daxia wxarga 'Going in and coming out (f)' daxal wixarag 'He went in and came out' ALLOPHONE A positional variant of a phoneme (q.v.), occuring in specific environments and not causing semantic differentiation, e.g., English initial [ kh ] in "kay" and [ k ] following /s/ in "ski" are both members of one and the same phoneme /k/. The only difference between them is that the first is aspirated whereas the second is unaspirated ( see : Aspiration ). In Egyptian Arabic /8/ has the allophones [ Ea ] as in English 'fat' and [ a ] as in English 'father' in the environments of non-emphatic (q.v.) and emphatic consonants respect- ively, e.g., /tab/ - [ tab ] 'to repent' and /tab/ = [ tab ] 'to ripen'. *** *** *** I ALVEOLAR The place of articulation at the alveolar ridge, where /t ds z r ./ are produced. .** *** *** I ALVEOLAR RIDGE The convex portion of the mouth just behind the front teeth; the tooth ridge. I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 37 REFERENCE GRAMMAR ALVEOPALATAL A place of articulation consisting of the front part of the palate: ANAPTVCTIC VOWEL ( See : Vowels : Extra ) *** *** *** ANAPT!XIS The addition of an anaptyctic or helping vowel to break up a sequence of three consonants ( CCC ), which is inadmissable in Egyptian Arabic. *** *** *** ANTECEDENT A typical relative clause construction contains three elements : (a) an antecedent (b) the invariable relative pronoun illi (c) a clause Examples : uft ilwilaad illi gaabu Igawabaat. (a) (b) (c) I saw the boys who (they) brought the letters. (a) (b) (c) Note that the relative clause by itself is a complete sentence, i.e. it can stand by itself without the relative pronoun : gaabu Igawabaat EGVFrIAN ARABIC 38 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 'They brought the letters.'. /-u/, the inflection of the verb gaabu , is the formal reference to the antecedent I w ilead 'the boys'. In the sentence : da Igawaab illi gabuuh ImbaariR. 'This is the letter which they brought yesterday.' I - the suffixed pronoun object of the verb gabuuh 'they brought it" refers to the antecedent. In the sentence : da Iwalad illi ktaabu deaaT. 'This is the boy whose (his ) book got lost.' - the suffixed pronoun on kitaab is the reference. In the sentence : feen ilkitaab illi ?ultilak Taleeh ? 'Where is the book which I talked to you about ( it ) ?' - the reference is through the suffixed pronoun object of the prep- osition ialeeh 'about it'. Note that the above examples have definite antecedents. If the antecedent is indefinite, there is no relative pronoun in the construct- ion. raagilI sakan fimasr sanateen 'a man who lived in Egypt for two years' *** *** *** ARABIC The most important Semitic ( q.v. ) language now spoken. It is the official language of Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, the Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen, Democratic Yemen, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Arabic is spoken by 100 million people. It is the religious language of 650 million Muslims. Arabic is both a modern language and an ancient one, going back over 2,000 years. Classical Arabic is the language of the Holy I EGVPrlAN ARABIC 39 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Koran and the vehicle of Arabic literature, It is universally acknow- ledged as the standard form of the language and is used in writing and speeches. Standard Arabic, also called Modern Standard Arabic is uni- form all over the Arab World and is the language of education, the press, radio and TV as well as public lectures. In addition, an Arabic dialect is spoken in each of the Arab countries and varies to some extent from one Arab country to another. Arabists recognize two major dialect groups: "Western" and "Eastern"; the Western includes the Arab countries of North Africa through Libya and Malta, and the Eastern includes Egypt and all the Arab countries of the East. *** *** *** ARTICLE : VARIATION OF DEFINITE ARTICLE ( See : Definite Article : Form; and Definite Article : Meaning ) *** *** *** ARTICULATION a. ."Point of Articulation" : The point of contact ( or closest approach ) of a speech organ to a part of the mouth or throat during the pro- duction of a sound. For example, in making the Egyptian consonant /t/, the apex of the tongue touches the back of the upper teeth; the point of articulation is referred to as dental. ( Note that the English /t/ is slightly different : the apex of the tongue touches the alveolar ridge behind the upper teeth; the English /t/ is thus classed as alveolar ). Points of Articulation ( A particular speech organ is generally associated with each point of articulation. ) 1. Bilabial : lower lip and upper lip / p b m w / 2. Labiodental : lower lip and upper teeth / f v / 3. Dental : apex of tongue and upper teeth / tds z nI / 4. Alveolar : apex of tongue and alveolar ridge / . ds z r r / EGY AN ARABIC 40 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 5. Alveopalatal : blade of tongue and front part of palate / I / 6. Palatal : tongue blade and palate / y / 7. Velar : tongue dorsum and back of palate / k g / I 8. Back-Velar ( also "Post Velar" ) : tongue dorsum and velum / x y / 9. Uvular : tongue dorsum and uvula / q / 10. Pharyngeal : root of tongue and pharynx forming a stricture 11. Glottal produced in the glottis ( opening at upper part of the larynx between the vocal cords ) / ? h / The sound /Y/ glottal stop is produced by complete closure and release of the vocal cords. b. Manner of articulation : The way in which the air passage is blocked or constricted during the production of a sound. For example, the lower and upper lips may form a complete closure, thus stopping the air flow, as in the case of a /b/ which is termed stop.*I Manners of articulation 1. Stop : refers to consonants characterized by a complete I closure of the air passage, thus blocking the air stream momentarily, e.g., closing of both lips in production of /b/: /pbttdd kg q?/ I 2. Fricative : refers to consonants produced by friction caused by the air moving through a narrowed passage in the vocal tract: / fvs s z z x T h/ ( Note : The term "Obstruent" includes Stops and Fricatives. ) 3. Nasal : refers to consonants produced with the uvula lowered, allowing the air to excape through the nose, so that the nasal cavity acts as a resonator: / m n / 4. Lateral : refers to a consonant produced with the tongue touch- ing only the middle of the palate, thus allowing the air flow I to excape around one or both sides of the tongue: / 1 ! / 5. Flap : refers to a consonant produced by a single tap of the tongue in which the tip of the tongue makes a single rapid contact against the alveolar ridge: / rr / ( Note : A Trill is a double Flap: / rr rr / ) I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 41 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 6. Semi-vowel : a vowel-like sound which functions as a con- sonant / w y /. Also often referred to as "Glides". *** *** *** ASPECTUAL-TEMPORAL FORMS ( See :Verb : Aspect ; and Verb : Tense ) *** *** *** ASPIRATION The puff of breath after a consonant, e.g., /t/ in English "top" is aspirated where that of English "stop" is unaspirated. Egyptian Arabic /t/ is also aspirated initially, e.g., /taani/ = [ thmani ] 'again' *** *** *** ASSIMILATION Assimilation is a phonetic process whereby a given sound acquires one or more characteristics of an adjacent sound or becomes identical to it, e.g., /xad/ + /t/ ----)> /xatt/ 'I took'. Another important instance of assimilation in EA is that of the /1/ of the definite article /il-/ when followed by one of the consonant phonemes / tt d d r r s s z z i 1 /. Assimilation of the definite article is optional when followed by either /k/ or /g/. /raagil/ 'man', /iI/ + /raagil/ -----> /irraagiI/ 'the man' In the following sequences : /td, sz, /, C1 assimilates to C2 only with respect to voice. . .. /ustaaz/ 'professor' -----> /asatza/ -----) /asadza/ 'professor'. I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 42 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I /xad/ 'to take' -----> /xadt/ -----> /xatt/ 'I took' /?ooda/ 'room' -----) /?odt 1 ------> /?ott 1/ 'my room' Note in the last example assimilation with respect to emphasis: /t/--> /t/. CIC2 Utterance Medially and Finally Sequences of any two obstruents ( i.e. stops or fricatives ) are usually both voiced or both voiceless. Here C1 assimilates to C2 with respect to voice. /xaragt/ > /xarakt/ 'I went out' /lafazt/ -----> /lafast/ 'I pronounced' /fuzt/ ..> /fust/ 'I succeeded' In sequences of a voiceless obstruent + /r/ or /1/, the latter assimilates to the obstruent with respect to voice; this is true utterance finally only ( 9 = devoiced consonant ), e.g., ?atr train Tat pound ?ifl a lock ?asr palace nag publication The sequence CIC2 initially is very rare; e.g. /kwayyis ~ kuwayyis/ 'good', /braavo/ 'bravo' ASSTMTLATION : /-I-/ OF DEFINITE ARTICLE (a) Assimilation of /-I-/ of the definite article to the following i consonants : / t . d ds s z z n r r / is obligatory, e.g., /ittaal ib/ 'the student', but /ilwalad/ 'the boy'. (b) Assimilation of /-i-/ of the definite article to / k g / is optional in EA. /ilkursi/ ~ /ikkursu/ 'the chair' /i'igidiid/ ~ /iggidiid/ 'the new' The form of the definite article is /I-/ rather than /il-/ when it follows a word ending in a vowel, e.g., I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 43 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIN A1~BIC 43REFEIENCE G by,% /'teaVKba Igidiida/ 'the new student' This form of the definite article is also subject to the assimilation rules stated in (a) and (b) above, e.g., /ittaal iba nnabi iha/ 'the intelligent student' /ilkursi Igidlid/ ~ 'the new chair' /ikkursi ggidiid/ *** *** *** ASSIMILATION OF OBSTRUENTS 1. An'obstruent is either a stop ( e.g., /b/, /t/, /k/ ) or a fricative ( e.g., /f/, /s/, /y/ ). In a cluster of obstruents which is pronounced at normal conversational speed, the two constituent consonants are either both voiced or both voiceless. The formation of the word or the juxtaposition of words may bring together two obstruents, one of which is voiced and the other voiceless; when this takes place, the first obstruent changes to match the second in voicing unless such assimilation would oblit- erate the contrast between lexical items : yidak (root: dFik) -----> /yi6ak/ 'he laughs' agsaad (root: gsd) -----> /aksaad/ 'bodies' naas + zayyak . .> /naz zayyak/ 'people like you' Notice, however, that no such assimilation takes place in ta6diid 'specification; and aTtirif 'I confess'; this is to keep the words in question distinct from ta'diid 'mourning' and a6ftirif 'I practice ( a profession )' respectively. 2. When two different sibilants are brought together, the first is totally assimilated to the second : mi + zayyi -----> /miz zayyI/I 'not like me' 'iaal + sana -----> /as sana/ 'he lived for a year' In EA, the sibilants are /s/, /s/, /z/, /./, /1/ and /1/. 3. When the suffixed -ha and -hum are added to forms ending in I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 44 REFERENCE GRAMMAR /X/, /y/, /6/, or /S/, the resultant consonant cluster undergoes the following changes in the order given : (a) The first consonant becomes voiceless ( if not already voiceless ) to match the second. (b) The second consonant ( i.e., the /h/ ) becomes identical to the first. dawwax + -hum ---- /dawwaxxum/ 'He made them dizzy.' roofi + -ha ---- /rohFa/ 'her spirit' dimaay + -ha ---- /dimaxxa/ 'her head' (after shortening long vowel) yinfaT + -hum ---- /yinfa6fum/ 'He benefits them. The assimilations discussed above are totally predictable; partly for that reason, and pnartly because it is desirable to indicate what the root consonants are, the transcription does not normally show these assimilations. I I I I I I I I AUXILIARY C See : Verb : Auxiliaries ) I I I I I I I I I I EGVFrIAN ARABIC 45 REFEREMCE GRAMMAR EGYa "a -ARA iC fFE1oEAJCF -1RWJAR-%D -B- BACK VOWEL To produce a vowel sound, the tongue is arched High, Mid, or Low in the mouth. The arching of the tongue is either toward the Front of the palate or the Back. Thus, we describe the vowels in terms of these two parameters. We can, for example, say that EA /1/ is a high front vowel, EA /a/ is a low back vowel and EA /u/ is a high back vowel. *** *** *** BILABIAL A place of articulation consisting of the lower and upper lips : / pb mw /. *** *** *** I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I EGYMAN ARASTC_ 47 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPFIA~V ARA8TC 47 REFERENCE GRAMMAR CLAUSE RELATIVE CLAUSE ( See : Relative Clauses with I I I ) *** *** *** CLAUSE : STRUCTURE WITH DEMONSTRATIVES da (ms) 'this, 'that'; di (fs) 'this,that'; and dool (p) 'these, those' may preceed or follow a noun or adjective with conse- quent significant differences in clausal structure : They may stand alone as the subject of a sentence : (a) da walad kiblir 'This is a big boy.' (b) da kbiir 'This is big.' Or they may follow a definite noun to form a phrase meaning "this ....:" ilwalad da kbiir 'This boy is big.' *** *** *** EGYPTIAN ARABIC 48 REFERENCE GRAMMAR COGNATE ACCUSATIVE CONSTRUCTION There are two cognate accusative constructions in EA : 1. The first construction consists of a verb or an adjective followed by a verbal noun from the same root. The verbal noun is pronounced at a slower rate than the preceding words; moreover, the verbal noun is pronounced with a relatively high pitch and is followed by a sustained terminal juncture. In the following examples, the intonation is represented by a line : darabuu darb. 'They beat him so viciously !' akalt ?akI. 'I ate so much !' ilbint di filwa Ialaawa. 'This girl is so pretty ' As can be seen from the examples, this construction signals strong emphasis. 2. The second construction consists of the following elements in the order given : (a) A verb or an adjective, (b) A verbal noun from the same root, and (c) An expression modifying the verbal noun. The intonational peculiarities which characterize the first construction are not applicable here. /nimt noom yawiit/ 'I slept soundly ( literally : "I slept a deep sleep" ). /yaab yeeba tawilla/ 'He was absent for a long time ( liter- ally : "He was absent a long absence" ). /TIbint di gamila 'This girl is beautiful to a dazzling gamaal yigannin/ degree.' As the examples show, this construction specifies the te of whatever is designated by the verb or the adjective. The corresponding English expression is often an adverb of degree or manner. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I EGY AN ARABIC 49 REFERENCE GRAMMAR COLLECTIVE NOU1S A collective is a noun that designates a class or mass of like things without counting the units that make up the mass. Things that can be measured or counted, like fruits and vegetables, have collect- ive nouns as well as unit nouns and their plurals. Other things that can only be measured, like sugar and tea have only collective nouns. Things that can be counted or referred to as a group or "species", like trees, fish, sheep, also have collective nouns, unit nouns and their plurals. A look at tuffaa6 'apples', tuffaaa 'an apple' and tuffaaat 'apples', shows that tuffaafa 'an apple' ( here termed Unit Noun ) is derived from tuffaaf 'apples' ( here termed Collective Noun ) by the suffixation of the feminine suffix /-8/, and that tuffaat 'apples' ( here termed Count Plural , i.e., the plural used after numerals 3-10 ) is derived from the unit noun by suffixation of /-eat/, like any other feminine plural. There are some collective nouns which form their unit noun by suffixing /-aaya/ and their count plural by suffixing /-ayaat/, e.g., manga 'mangos rnmangaaya 'a mango'; mangayaat 'mangos' xass 'lettuce'; xassaaya 'a head of lettuce'; xassayaat 'heads of lettuce' tamaatim 'tomatoes'; tamatmaaya 'a tomato'; tamatmayaat 'tomatoes' &&, *** *** CONVITTONAL SENTENCES There are two types of conditional sentences : the simple, and the hypothetical. A simple conditional sentence lays down a condition and states a result : the condition must be fulfilled before the result can take place, but the crucial fact is that both the condition and the result can occur. EGYMAN ARABIC so REFERENCE GRA"R A hypothetical sentence also lays down a condition and states a dependent result; the distinctive characteristic of this sentence is that the condition does not take place, and for that reason the result is not possible. Of the following pair, the first is a simple conditional sentence while the second is a hypothetical conditional sentence : iza raaf6 Fiaruu6 maTaah. 'If he goes, I will go with him.' law kaan Raytuu6f kunt 'If he were going to go, I would aruu6 maiaah. go with him. Conditional sentences ( simple as well as hypothetical ) encompass a large number of possible structures, and differevnt speakers have different preferences. The rules given below define the most common usages. It is assumed that the condition and the result are derived from corresponding "source" sentences. Thus it is assumed that law raa 6aruuf maaah 'If he goes, I will go with him' has two source sentences : huwwa ayruuf 'He will go', and ana Raruu6 maTaah 'I will go with him'; it is also assumed that law kaan Fayruuh kunt aruu6 maTaah 'If he were going to go, I would go with him' has the same source sentences. Some widespread variations are described after the rules. A. Simple Conditional Sentences Condition Result Derived from the source sentence in the following manner : 1. A conditional conjunction is No change in the source sentence. added in sentence-initial posit- ion. The conjunction is usually iza ' if', but the synonymous conjunction in may also be used. 2. The constituent "Perfect" is obligatorily added before the verb. If the source sentence is equational, "Perfect" is added after the conjunction. The con- stituent "Perfect" is realized I I I I I I I I I I U I I I AN ARABIC 51 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAJ4 ARABIC 5:1~ REFERENCE GRAMMAR as a perfect form of kaan (e.g., kaan, kunt, kaanit, etc.) in an equational condition clause. 3. A future verb and a preceding perfect form of kaan are some- times kept unchanged and some- times replaced by a perfect verb : the replacement takes place if the Fia- of the verb in question indicates simple futurity; no change takes place if the 6a- indicates a future intention. Thus iza + kaan + 6ayruuA yields : (a) iza raa6 'if he goes', or (b) iza kaan Fayruuf 'if he is going to go' B. Hypothetical Sentences Condition Derived from the source sentence in the following manner : 1. The hypothetical conjunction law 'if' is added in sentence- initial position. 2. The constituent "Perfect" is optionally added before the verb. If the source sen- tence is equational, "Perfect" is added after the conjunction. "Perfect" is realized as a perfect form of kaan (e.g., kunt, kaanit, kaan, kaanu, etc.). Result Derived from the source sentence in the following manner : 1. The constituent "Perfect" is obligatorily added before the verb. If the source is equation- al, "Perfect" is added in initial position. "Perfect" is realized as a perfect form of kaan (e.g., kunt, kaanit, kaan, kaanu, etc.). 2. A perfect verb in the source sentence is left unaltered; an imperfect verb with an aspect prefix is replaced by the cor- responding subjunctive form. If the source is equational, the subjunctive form to be used is yikuun (usually occuring after the subject). The pres- I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 52 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I ence of the subjunctive form signals the meaning 'not pos- .......sible, not attainable '. 3. If the source sentence has kaan, the addition of "Perfect" would produce the sequence kaan kaan (e.g., law kaan kaan tilmiiz for 'if it were true I that he used to be a student') This is avoided by : (a) Exercising the option of not adding "Perfect", or (b) Rephrasing; e.g., law kaan sa6iiF innu kaan tilmiiz 'if it were true that he used to be a student'. Note In simple as well as hypothetical conditional sentences, the carrier - of "Perfect" may exchange positions with the subject of the clause; thus (b) in each of the following pairs is a structural paraphrase of (a) : (a) law kaan 'al i raa6f, kaan mi6ammad ?ablu . 'Had Ali gone, Mohamed would have met him.' (b) law Vali kaan raa6, mi 6ammad kaan ?ablIu. (a) Iza kaan Vali hina, isma61i a?ablu. 'If Ali is here, allow me to see him.' (b) iza Vall kaan hina, ismaali a?ablu. The following examples illustrate the application of the rules. In each case, the source sentences are given : the source sentence for the condition is labelled (a), and the source sentence for the result is labelled (b). Each source sentence is accompanied by very brief comments on the required transformations ( no comments are included on the addition of conjunctions ). The conditional sentence which results from combining the output of (a) and (b) is labelled (c). Optional constituents are enclosed in parentheses. EGVPTIAN ARABIC 53 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABIC 53 REFERENCE GRAMMAR A. Simple Conditional Sentences 1. (a) raaR ilbeet. Add kaan before raa6. (b) maru6fti maah leeh ? (c) iza/in kaan raa6 ilbeet, maruFiti maTaah leeh ? 2. (a) bitidris ingillizi figgama d i. Add kaanit before bitidris. (b) ha?abilha fyoom mit ?ayyaam. (c) iza/in kaanit bitidris ingillizi figgamTa di, 6a?ab i I ha fyoom mil?ayyaam. 3. (a) biti?ri ktaab kull yoom. Add kunti before biti?ri. (b) fiatxallasi Ikutub di f?usbuu. (c) iza/in kunti bti?ri ktaab kull yoom, fiatxallasi Ikutub di f?usbuu'T. 4. (a) FatirgaTu ?abl idduhr. Add kuntu before 6at irgaiu. Keep kuntu Fat irgaTu unchanged to indicate future intention; replace it by rigi tu to indicate simple futurity. (b) ittis ilu biyya. (c) iza/in kuntu Fatirgaiu ?abl idduhr, ittisilu biyya. iza/in rigiftu ?abi idduhr ittisilu biyya. 'He went home.' 'Why didn't you go with him ?' 'If he went home, why didn't you go with him ?' 'She is studying English at this university.' 'I will meet her someday.' 'If she is studying English at this university, I will meet her someday.' 'You (fs) are reading a book a day.' 'You (fs) will complete (reading) these books in a week.' 'If you are reading a book a day, you will complete (reading) these books in a week.' 'You (p) are going to return before noon.' 'Get in touch with me.' 'If you are going to return before noon, get in touch with me.' 'If you return before noon, get in touch with me.' EGYPTIAN ARABIC 54 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 5. (a) awlaadak ta baniin. Add kaanu before awlaadak. (b) xalliikum hina. (c) iza/in kaanu awlaadak taTbaniin, xalliikum hina. 'Your children are tired. 'Stay here.' 'If your children are tired, stay here.' B. Hypothetical Sentences 1. (a) raa6 ilmadrasa. Add kaan optionally before raa6. P,) ru+ meTaah. $*W OL m Add kunt before ru6t. (c) law (kaan) raa ilmadrasa kunt ru6t m~aah. 2. (a) biyidris ingil iizi. Add kaan optionally before biyidris. (b) fihim illi ana ?ultu. Add kaan before fihim. (c) law (kaan) biyidris ingil izi kaan fihim ill i ana ?ultu. 3. (a) 6ayruufiu masr. Add kaanu optionally before 6ayruu6u. (b) ?aiulna. Add kaanu before ?alulna. (c) law (kaanu) 6ayruu6Fu masr kaanu ?alulna. 4. (a) karlim biyiktib maqaala kull usbuu?. Add kaan optionally before b.i y i kt i b. 'He went to school.' 'I went with him.' 'If he had gone to school, I would have gone with him.' 'He is studying English.' 'He understood what I said.' 'If he were indeed studying English, he would have under- stood what I said.' 'They will go to Egypt.' 'They told us.' 'If they were going to go to Egypt they would have told us.' 'Karim writes an article every week.' I I I I I I I I I I U I I U I I I I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 55 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABiC 55 REFERENCE GRAMMAR (b) ba?a mahuur. Add kaan before ba?a. (c) law kariim (kaan) biyiktib maqaala kull usbuuT kaan ba?a mahuur. 5. (a) raa6u min yeer izn. Add kaanu optionally before raafu. (b) Taqibtuhum bilidda. Add kunt before fagibtuhum. (c) law (kaanu) raa6iu min yeer izn kunt aqibtuhum bilidda. 6. (a) asfiaabak fihmu lwadS. Add kaanu optionally before f ihmu. (b) biyitkall imu kalaam yeer da Add kaanu before biyitkaI I imL and replace biyitkallimu by its bare counterpart. (c) law as6faabak (kaanu) fihmu lwad? kaanu yitkallimu kalaam yeer da. 7. (a) simu kalaamak. Add kaanu optionally before simTu. (b) fayathum gaFi im. Add kaanit in initial position, and add tikuun after 6fayathum. (c) law (kaanu) simu kalaamak kaanit Fayathum tikuun gai im. 'He became famous.' 'If Karim wrote an article every week, he would have become famous.' 'They went without permission.' 'I punished them severely.' 'If they had gone without permission, I would have punished them severely.' 'Your friends understand the situation.' 'They speak differently.' 'If your friends had understood the situation, they would have spoken differently.' 'They heeded your advice.' 'Their life is hell.' 'If they had heeded your advise, their life would now be hell.' EGYPTIAN ARABIC 56 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 8. (a) Riseen Tayyaan. Add kaan optionally before fiseen. (b) abuuk ittasal bidduktoor. Add kaan before ittasal. (c) law (kaan) Riseen Tayyaan kaan abuuk ittasal bidduktoor. 'Hussein is sick.' 'Your father contacted the doctor.' 'If Hussein were sick, your father would have contacted the doctor.' I I I I I I I English employs a contrast which must be taken into consideration here. Compare the following sentences : (a) If you visit Egypt, you'll chahge many of your opinions about the Egyptian people. (b) If you visited Egypt, you'd change many of your opinions about the Egyptian people. Both sentences are non-hypothetical, and thus both correspond to Arabic sentences of the type we have called "simple conditionals". There is a difference, however, between sentence (a) and sentence (b) : visiting Egypt and the change of opinion which would ensue are con- sidered less probable in sentence (b) than they are in sentence (a). The point to be stressed is that the difference in question is not signalled by the grammatical structure of Arabic conditional sentences; instead, the difference is expressed lexically through the use of 6asal inn, furid inn, or quddir inn ( all translatable by "perchance" ): I I I I I U I I I I I law zurt masr Ratyayyar kitiir min araa?ak ?an i'aTb i Imasri. law Rasal/furid/quddir innak zurt masr Ratyayyar kitiir min araa?ak ?an ilab Imasri. 'If you visit Egypt, you'll change many of your opinions about the Egyptian people.' 'If you visited Egypt, you'd change many of your opinions about the Egyptian people' (literally: "If perchance you visit Egypt, you'll change many of your opinions about the Egyptian people."). I EGYPrIAN ARABIC 57 REFERENCE GRAMMAR The following are some common variations : 1. Many Egyptians restrict the use of law to hypothetical sentences; the same speakers restrict the use of iza and in to simple conditional sentences. Some, however, use the three conjunctions interchangeably in both types of sentences : law/iza/in raaR Raruuf maT'aa. law/iza/in kaan Rayruu6 kunt aruu6f maTaa. 'If he goes I will go with him. 'If he were going to go I would go with him.' 2. In hypothetical sentences, some use law inn instead of law. The word inn here signals emphasis and frequently occurs with extra heavy stress: law ?inni makunti issabab fi mootu, kunt itTazzeet. 'If only I were not the cause of his death, I would have found comfort .' 3. The invariable form yib?a often introduces the result of a simple conditional sentence. The occurrence of yib?a is by no means arbitrary, but neither are the rules governing such occurrence easily discernible; suffice it to say here that in many ( though not all ) instances, yib?a occurs with the meaning 'then it is true, then it is a fact that, then it must be a fact that' : iza kaan da re?yak yib?a madarasti ilmawduuT kuwayyis. iza kaan il?ustaaz kamaan muxta I i f maTaaya firra?y, yib?a ana yaltaan. 'If this is your opinion, then (it must be a fact that) you have not studied the matter sufficiently.' 'If the professor too differs with me in opinion, then (it must be a fact that) I am wrong.' I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 58 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 4. Although the condition usually precedes the result, it is possible to reverse the order; thus in each of the following pairs, (b) is a paraphrase of (a) : m I I ! (a) iza rgift badri Radrablak t i I ifoon. (b) Radrablak t i I ifoon iza rgi't badri. (a) law kaan Tandi fluus kunt i tareet ilbeet da. (b) kunt i'tareet i I beet da law kaan Tandi fiuus. 'If I return early, I will phone you.' 'I will phone you if I return early.' 'If I had (enough) money, I would have bought this house.' 'I would have bought this house if I had (enough) money.' *** *** U I I I I I I I I I I CONJOINING Two sentences may be joined without subordinating one to the other -- i.e., without using one to fill a slot in the other. Such sen- tences are said to be "conjoined". Consider the following pair : 1. fasan raaf ilImaktab larmma Tal i rigiT milmadrasa. 2. 6asan raa6f ilmaktab wi Tali rigiT milmadrasa. 'Hasan went to the Ali returned from 'Hasan went to the Ali returned from office when school.' office and school.' In example 1, the main sentence may be represented as fasan raa6f ilmaktab + T where T stands for the adverbial slot Time. The sentence Tal i rigiT milmadrasa is used as a filler for the slot T. In example 2, the sentences asan raa6 i lmaktab and Tali rig i mi Imadrasa are joined together ( by the conjunction wi ), but neither fills a slot in the other. In example 1, then, the sentence iali rigiT mil Imadrasa is "embedded" in another sentence, while in example 2, fasan raa6 ilmaktab and fali rigiT milmadrasa are "conjoined". I I I I I V-046 A If A -r% A V% dr ^ OM 0% EGYPTI AN AKABIC 59 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Sometimes the conjoined entities are sentence-like structures only on an abstract level. For example, the utterance Rasan wi ?all byidrisu Iluya ITarabiyya 'Hasan and Ali are studying the Arabic language' gives the impression that the conjoined entities are two nouns ( fasan and TalIi ), while this impression is correct on one level, it is incorrect on another level. The utterance in question may be considered the result of conjoining two sentences ( Rasan biyidris iIIuya ITarabiyya and Tali byidris iIluya ITarabiyya ), then deleting the redundant constituents. *** *** *** CONJUNCTIONS A conjunction is a word which connects words, phrases, clauses, or sentences, indicating the relationship of the connected elements. Some conjunctions are used for embedding one sentence in another, while some are used for conjoining sentences; the former are called coordinating conjunctions, and the latter are called subordinating conjunctions. Consider the following examples : (a) farilid hina wfaIi mi 'Farid is here and Ali is not hina. here.' (b) farlid hina £aaan Tal I 'Farid is here because Ali is mi hina. not.' In example (a), the two sentences farilid hina and Tali mi' hina are joined together without using one to fill a slot in the other; the conjunction which joins them ( w i 'and' ) is therefore coordinating. In example (b), the sentence ?ali mi hina fills the adverbial slot in the sentence farlid hina + R ( where R stands for the adverbial slot Reason ); the conjunction which joins the two sentences ( alaan 'because' ) is therefore subordinating. It is often the case that the entities joined by a conjunction are EGYPTIAN ARABIC 60 REFERENCE GRAMMAR sentence-like structures on one level but not on another level. For example, in (c) below the joined entities ( muniira and gamiila ) are nouns; (c), however, is derived from (d) where the joined entities are clauses : (c) muniira wgamiila min iskindir lyya. (d) muniira min iskindiriyya wgamiila min iskindiriyya. 'Munira and Gamila are from Alexandria. ' 'Munira is from Alexandria and Gamila is from Alexandria.' In regard to the positions where they occur, EA conjunctions are divisible into three types : 1. Conjunctions of Type 1 are those which must occur between the joined entities. The majority of such conjunctions are coordi- nating. Example : axuuya duktoor wana mdarris. 'My brother is a doctor, and I am a teacher.' 2. Conjunctions of Type 2 are those which may occur before or between the joined entities ( the first position being more common ). The majority of such conjunctions are subordinating. Example : lamma I?ustaaz daxal, 'When the professor entered, ittalamiiz sa??afu. the students applauded.' ittalamiiz sa??afu lamma 'The students applauded when l?ustaaz daxal. the professor entered.' Notice that when the position of the conjunction changes, the order of the joined entities changes accordingly. 3. Conjunctions of Type 3 are discontinuous forms. The first part of a discontinuous conjunction precedes the two joined entities, and the second part occurs between them. Example : ya tsaal i6 xal i i I ya 'Either make up with Khalil or tsiibu fFaalu. leave him alone.' Listed below are the most common conjunctions of EA. When two or more meanings are given for a conjunction, each meaning is identified by a letter. I I I I I I I I I I I I I U I I EGYPrIAN ARABIC 61 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABIC 61 REFEIZENCE GRAMMAR A. Conjunctions of Type 1 1. wi 'and' : Elements joined by the conjunction wi must be of the same type; for example, two statements may be joined by wi but a statement and a question may not. When imperfect verbs are joined by wi, the aspect prefix is usually ( though not necessarily ) deleted from the second form if the first form has the same prefix. The ?abilt il?ustaaz wi faddidt mSaad maa I Tamii d. imtaFiant 6fseen wi fari ida. ?abilItu w arafttilu lmawduuT . 6a?ablu w(6)arafilu Imawduu?. igtamaTna mbaariF i winnaharda. following are examples : 'I met the professor and made an appointment with the dean.' 'I tested Hussein and Farida.' 'I met with him and explained the matter to him.' 'I will meet with him and (will) explain the matter to him.' 'We met yesterday and today.' ruuf wilraRIlu Imawduu?. 'Go and explain the matter to him.' 2. Wi birraym min zaal ik wi maTa zaa I ik 'yet, nevertheless, in spite of that' : mukayyif ilhawa sayyaalI, 'The air conditioner is on and wi maTa zaa I i k ilFI araara yet the temperature is high.' Talya. madarastis, wi birraym min 'I did not study; nevertheless zaalik nagaft I passed the test.' fill imt iFRaan. biyidris kitiir, wi birraym 'He studies a lot, and in spit min zaalik mi iyinga6. of that he does not pass.' xalliik mu?addab fi 'Be polite in talking with him; kalaamak maTaah, wi maTa yet make it clear to him that zaalik fahhimu nnak you will act on your own Ratitsarraf Rasab ra?yak opinion.' ilxaass. I e I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 62 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 3. aw 'or' : Sentences joined by aw are usually of the same type, but such sentences are rarely questions ( wa I a, rather than aw, usually joins questions ). iftakart innu baaT 'I thought he had sold the car i l arabi yya aw rahan or mortgaged the house.' i beet. atiri tiffaa6 aw Tinab. 'I will buy apples or grapes.' Futt ilkutub filImaktab aw 'Put the books in the office or filfasi. in the classroom.' 4. wala 'nor, rather than; emphatic negative' : This conjunction has two common usages : (a) It may replace the uninterrupted sequence wi mi ; thus the first sentence of each pair below may be replaced by the second member : (i) mi awziin ni?abilhum 'We do not want to meet them, wi mi Tawziin nihuuf and we do not want to see wiguhum. their faces.' (ii) mi Tawziin ni?abilhum 'We do not want to meet them wala ?a.wziin nisuuf nor do we want to see their wiluhum. faces.' (i) ilmoot Wi mi 'Death (is to be chosen) rathe ilTubudiyya. than slavery.' (ii) ilmoot wala ITubudiyya. 'Death (is to be chosen) rathe (preferable) than slavery.' (b) It replaces wi ma-...- when emphasis is to be signalled; in other words, wala may be interpreted as wi + ma-...-9 + Emphasis. Of the following pair, the first sentence does not signal emphatic negation while the second one does : (i) rigiT wi masa?aI 'He returned, paying no fnasiiitna. attention to our advice.' (ii) rig i? wala sa?al fi 'He returned, paying no nasiF6itna. attention whatsoever to our advice.' As used in sentence (ii) above, wala denotes negation and emphasis, which distinguishes this use of wala from the I I I I I I I I I U I I I I Br er I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 63 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGPIN R C.3.f WFQFNU.T.. (1..MA. use of ma- ( in a sentence which contains ma-, emphasis is signalled by an oath particle, by nia I Ia, yareet, etc., but not by ma- itself. See "Negation : ma, ... ). 5. wal Ia 'or' : This conjunction general rule, wa I I a occurs in where. baaT ilarabiyya walla rahan ilbeet ? Ratiltiri tiffaaf walla Tinab ? bitidris walla btitfarrag Ta ttil ifizyoon billeel ? 6. laakin 'but ( contrast )' : gamfit iskindiriyya kbiira, laakin gamlit ilqaahira akbar minha. katab ilmaqaala laakin managarhaas. 6ayruuF iskindiriyya laakin mig RayiRFdar SImu?tamar. im9i waraah laakin matkal I muug. 7. bass 'but ( contrast )' : Thi changeable with laakin. gamit iskindiriyya kbiira, bass gamfit ilqaahira akbar minha. katab ilmaqaala, bass v manasarhaa fayruu6 baydaad, bass mig FayiRfdar iImu?tamar. is the counterpart of awa as a questions and aw occurs else- 'Did he sell the car or mort- gage the house ?' 'Will you buy apples or grapes ?' 'Do you study or do you watch television at night ?' 'The University of Alexandria is large, but the University of Cairo is larger.' 'He wrote the article but he did not publish it.' 'He will go to Alexandria, but he will not attend the conference.' 'Follow him, but do not talk to him.' is conjunction is usually inter- 'The University of Alexandria is large, but the University of Cairo is larger.' 'He wrote the article, but he did not publish it.' 'He will go to Baghdad, but he will not attend the conference.' I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 64 REFERENCE GRAMMAR imli waraah bass 'Follow him, but do not talk matkallimuu~. to him.' 8. innama 'but ( contrast )' : This conjunction is usually inter- changeable with laakin, but it occurs less frequently than laakin in a slot which immediately precedes a verb. gamfit iskindiriyya 'The University of Alexandria is kb i ira, innama gamit large, but the University of ilqaahira akbar minha. Cairo is larger.' katab ilmaqaala innama 'He wrote the article, but he did managarhaag. not publish it.' fayruufi baydaad, innama 'He will go to Baghdad, but he mil Rayidar will not attend the conference. SImu?tamar. imli waraah innama 'Follow him, but do not talk to matkall imuu. him.' 9. a6san ~ la6san - la : (a) 'lest' : The conjunction is translatable by 'lest' when followed by a clause which expresses an unreal or not yet realized state of affairs. The verb in the clause is in the subjunctive form. idris lafisan tis?at fi 'Study lest you should fail the limti6aan. test.' matzafaluu Ila 'Do not offend him lest he should yistaqiilI. resign.' fiawarriihum ilmustana- 'I will show them the documents daat a6san yiftikiru lest they should think that I nni bakdib aleehum. am lying to them.' (b) 'because' : The conjunction is translatable by 'because' when it is followed by a clause which expresses a real state of affairs. If the clause contains a verb, it is in the indicative form. matgii fi yulyu la6Fsan 'Do not come in July because iddunya bitkuun Farr (during that month) the weather ?awi. is very hot.' I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 65 REFERENCE GRAMMAR iFtaris f i kalaamak 'Mind what you say to him maTaah a6san da because he is very sensitive.' Fassaas xaalis. yalla bi i na ba?a laFisan 'Let's go because we're it?axxarna. (already) late.' 10. illi 'for ( indicating cause )' : This conjunction is usually ( though not necessarily ) followed by a verb. ana yabi Ili sadda?tak. 'I am stupid for having believed you.' ana mabsuut illi 'I am glad I will be able to Fia?dar azurhum ?abl visit them before they leave. ma ysafru. 11. iyyaak : This conjunction expresses hope. It is preceded by a verb and followed by a verb or a verbal clause : the first verb is usually imperative or future; the second is a subjunctive form. usbur iyyaak tityayyar 'Be patient; hopefully the i l?afiwaal. circumstances will change.' 6asbur iyyaak il?a6waal 'I will be patient in the hope t ityayyar. that circumstances will chang( istanna iyyaak yiigi. 'Wait, maybe he'll come.' I e. B. Conjunctions of Type 2 As has already been stated, a sentence with a Type 2 conjunction has two structures : one in which the conjunction precedes the joined entities, and another in which the conjunction occurs between the joined entities. Although it occurs less commonly than the other, the second structure will be considered the source string; setting up the first structure as the source string would result in a relatively complicated transformation. The "first" of the joined entities is the one which occurs before the conjunction in the source string; similarly, the "second" of the joined entities is the one which occurs after the conjunction in the source string. 1. lamma ~ amma 'when' : each of the joined entities usually contains a verb. The verb of the second entity is usually EGYPTIAN ARABIC 66 REFERENCE GRAMMAR without an aspect prefix. faruu6 amma ddunya tbattal matar. amma ddunya tbattal matar FaruuA. baydab lamma yiigi ilfasi min yeer ma yiTmil wagbu. lamina yiigi ilfasi min yeer ma yiTmil wagbu baydab. 'I will go when the rain stops.' 'When the rain stops, I will go.' 'I get angry when he comes to class without having done his homework.' 'When he comes to class without having done his homework, I get angry. I I I I I I I 2, 3. itTarraft Taleeh lamma 'I got to know him when I was a kunt taal ib fi gamfit student at the University of ilqaahira. Cairo.' lamina kunt taal ib fi 'When I was a student at the gamit ilqaahira University of Cairo, I got to t arraft Taleeh. know him.' iza, in, law 'if' : See "Conditional Sentences". Ta'aan - ?alagaan (a) 'in order to ( purpose )' : The conjunction is translat- able by 'in order to' when followed by the subjunctive verb form. raa6 issifaara ?agaan 'He went to the embassy in order yi?aabil ilmulf6aq to see the cultural attache.' issaqaaf i. agaan yi?aabil 'In order to see the cultural ilmulF6aq issaqaafi attache, he went to the raa6 issifaara. embassy.' (b) 'because' : The conjunction is translatable by 'because' when not followed by a subjunctive verb form. bit6ibbu Talaan 'She loves him because he biyitmallaqha. flatters her.' I I I I I I I I I I I I EGY ARABIC 67 REFFRENCF 6VAMMA2 EGYP~iAN IZABIC 6%1?FFRI('F (T% AAO4 A alaa~aan biyitmallaqha bit6ibbu. ana mrawwa6 Saaan raasi wagaani. ?asaan raasi wagaani ana mrawwa6. 4. madaam 'since ( cause)' : rawwa6 madaam i uyl xilis. madaam i uyI xilis rawwafi. yiuflu uyla tanya madaam biyikrah iluyla di. madaam biyikrah iguyla di, yiLuflu uyla tanya. yaguuz astiri Tarabiyya madaam asTaar ilbanziin 6atinxifid. madaam asTaar ilbanziin 6atinxifid, yaguuz aftiri arabiyya. 'Because he flatters her she loves him.' 'I am going home because I have a headache.' 'Because I have a headache, I am going home.' 'Go home since the work is done.' 'Since the work is done, go home.' 'Let him find himself another job since he hates this one.' 'Since he hates this job, let him find himself another job.' 'I may buy a car since the price of gas is going to go down.' 'Since the price of gas is going to go down, I may buy a car.' This conjunction agrees in number, gender, and person with a preceding ( but not a following ) noun subject; it also agrees in number, gender, and person with a pronoun subject. The pronoun subject, when expressed, indicates emphasis and follows madaam, which agrees with the pronoun ( unlike madaam + following noun subject ). The forms of the conjunction are listed below, followed by a few illustrative contexts : EGYPTIAN ARABIC 68 REFERENCE GRAMMAR (huwwa) (h iyya) (humma) (inta) (inti) (intu) (ana) (i6na) madaam madaamit madaamu madumt madumt i madumtu madumt madumna madaam taiamziti mabsutiin ana mabsuut. madaam fari ida mabsuuta ana mabsuut. talamziti madaamu mabsutiin ana mabsuut. fariida madaamit mabsuuta ana mabsuut. Tali mabsuut madumti inti mabsuuta. madumti inti mabsuuta ?ali mabsuut. Tali mabsuut madumna fina mabsut i in. madumna fina mabsutlin ?ali mabsuut. Notice that before a noun subject conjunction occurs. 'As long as my students are happy, I am happy.' 'As long as Farida is happy, I am happy.' 'As long as my students are happy, I am happy. 'As long as Farida is happy, I am happy.' 'Ali is happy as long as you (fs) are happy.' 'As long as you (fs) are happy, Ali is happy.' 'Ali is happy as long as we are happy.' 'As long as we are happy, Ali is happy.' only the huwwa form of the I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I EGVPTTAN ARABIC 69 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 5. mahma 'no matter what, regardless of what' : With mahma, an imperfect verb is subjunctive if it occurs in the second of the joined entities. Note that the verb in the clause following mahma can be imperfect or perfect with no change in time meaning. matsadda?uug mahma 'Do not believe him no matter y?ullak. what he tells you.' mahma y?ullak 'No matter what he tells you, matsadda?uug. do not believe him.' 6faxallas ilmaruuT da mahma kallifni I?amr. mahma kallifni I?amr Faxallas ilmagruu da. 'I will complete this project no matter what it costs me to do so.' 'No matter what it costs me to do so, I will complete this project.' C. Conjunctions of Type 3 1. imma...(wi) imma - ya (imma) ... ya (imma) 'either...or' :Each of the joined entities usually contains a verb; neither the verb of the first entity nor imperatiVe form. ilkitaab imma fmaktabi wi imma fmaktabak. ial i imma byidris filmaktaba, wa imma biyguum finnaadi. ya imma maat ya imma mi4 ?aawiz yiktib gawabaat. ya tiigi maktabi ya aruuFi maktabak. ya taakul ya t?uum. 2. la...wala 'neither...nor' : that of the second can be an 'The book is either in my office or in yours.' 'Ali is either studying in the library or swimming at the club.' 'He is either dead or unwilling to write letters.' 'Either you come to my office or I go to yours.' 'Either eat or leave.' This conjunction occurs in a sentence whose source strings are negated and joined by wi EGYPTIAN ARABIC 70 REFFFPJC (,7AAIAAV 'and'. The form Ia is added to the first source string : it either (a) replaces the negative particle or (b) co-occurs with the negative particle and precedes an element to be contrasted. The form wala is added to the second source string : it replaces both wi and the negative particle. In each of the following examples, (b) and (c) are derived from (a); notice that, in each case, the derivation involves the deletion of a redundant verb form : (a) mig biyidris filbeet 'He does not study at home, and wi mig biyidris he does not study in the f Imaktaba. library.' (b) la byidris filbeet 'Neither does he study at home wala filmaktaba. nor (does he study) at the library.' (c) mig biyidris la filbeet 'He does not study either at home wala filmaktaba. or in the library.' (a) maguftuug hina wmaguftuu hinaak. (b) la uftu hina wala hnaak. (c) maiuftuu la hina wala hnaak. (a) matrufig ilbeet wi matrufi ilmadrasa. (b) la truuF ilbeet wala Imadrasa. (c) matru6 la ilbeet wala Imadrasa. 'I did not see him here and I did not see him there.' 'Neither did I see him here nor (did I see him) there.' 'I did not see him either here or there. 'Do not go home, and do not go to school.' 'Neither go home nor to school.' 'Do not go either home or to school.' I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Following is a list of the most common conjunctions in Egyptian Arabic with sentences illustrating only a certain number of them. EGYPTIAN ARABIC 71 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABiC 71 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 1. in 2. iza 3. law kaan 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. il la in i la iza i lla law Riatta in Riatta i za fiatta law if ( possible ) in gat badri fiaruufi maTaaha. 'If she comes early, I'll go with her.' if ( possible ) iza gat badri faruufi maTaaha, 'If she comes early, I'll go with her.' if ( contrary to fact ) law kaanit gat badri kunt ruft magaaha. 'If she had come early, I would have gone with her.' except if; unless except if; unless mi Riaruuf illa iza gat badri. 'I will not go unless she comes early.' except if; unless even if even if even if mi Rafiaruufi 6atta law gat badri. 'I would not go even if she came early.' when, until Faruu6 lamma tiigi. 'I'll go when she comes.' ha?Sud hina lamma tirgaT. 'I'll stay here until you come back.' when no matter what; regardless of what mahma ?aalit mig 6asmaT kalamha. 'No matter what she says, I won't listen to her.' before iysil ideek ?abl ma taakul. 'Wash your hands before you eat.' after until u?S'ud hina liyaayit me tiigl. 'Stay here until she comes.' 10. lamma 11. amma 12. mahma 13. ?abl ma 14. baSd ma 15. I yaayit ma EGYPTIAN ARABIC 72 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABIC 72 REFERENCE GRAMI~R 16. i 6add ma 17. wa?t ma 18. saa it ma 19. awwil ma 20. yadoob...wi... 21. min yeer ma 22. 23. 24. biduun ma afsan laFsan until when just as guftu saaTit ma daxal. 'I saw him when he entered,' as soon as awwil ma daxal migiit ana. 'As soon as he entered, I left.' no sooner..,than; as soon as yadoob daxal wana m~iit. 'No sooner had he entered, than I left.' without kaltaha min yeer ma aSraf eeh hiyya. 'I ate it (f) without knowing what it was.' without lest, for fear that lest, for fear that 'aawiz aruu6 akallimu dilwa?t la6san yimli. 'I want to go talk to him now, lest he should leave.' because; that ana far6aan illi uftak. 'I am happy because (that) I saw you (ms).' because; for magaal innaharda I i?annu taSbaan. 'He did not come today because he is tired.' magat li?annaha nisyit. 'She did not come because she forgot.' magat li?ann axuuha nisi yi?ullaha. 'She did not come because her brother forgot to tell her.' without nagaRt min yeer musaditu. 'I succeeded without his help.' without I I I I I I I I I I I I I 25. iIli 26. il?ann 27. min yeer 28 biduun I I EGYPrIAN ARABIC 73 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARA&~C 73 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 29. birraym min 30. lawla 31. lawla in 32. in 33. amma 34. wi mew in spite o f bIl'aym min musai~ditu managafig. 'In spite of his help he did not succeed.' but for lawla musaSditumakuntil nagaFit. 'But for his help 3I would not have succeededv' but for lawla innu saidni makuntig naga~it. 'if it were not (but) for his help, I would not have succeeded.' that; because huwwa far~iaan innu gaafak, 'He is happy because (that) he saw you.' as for;.but ana rufit,, ainma buwwa ?a~ad hina. 11 went, but he stayed here.' and ana darast whuwwa naam. 'I studied and he slept wT = and= while) ana darast wnlmt. 'I studied and slept.' or or 35. 8W 36. wal l 37. 38. 39o 400 inta masri walila suuri ? 'Are you Egyptian or Syrian? Inta FRatiktib walla FRatnaam ? 'Are you going to write or sleep? yS..ya.. either...or ifmtfl8 vi DT either.. .or i III 8 w either.,.or ya imiia ya irrvna either... or ya irmna huwwa ya imrua hiyya Fayr~uuF~u masr f iseef. 'Eithier he or she will go to Egypt. in the simer . ya imina ttuuhi masr ya imma t ruu I lubnaan f isseef . 'She will either go to Egypt or Lebann in the summr.' I I EGYFTIAN ARABIC 74 REF1k(FRCEW~AA - - - LJ JI"U'MvWThp" 41. ya imma...aw 42. la...wala 43. innama 44= ?aan 45. Talaa~aan 46. Iaakin 47. bass 48. madaam 49. taalama either...or neither...nor la Iwalad wala Ibint kaanu hina. 'Neither the boy nor the girl was here.' la kal wala lirib fiaaga mbaarlf. 'He neither ate nor drank anything yesterday.' but as for; whereas ilbint gat innama Iwalad magaag. 'The girl came but the boy didn't.' kaltu innama maTagabniiL. 'I ate it (ms) but I didn't like it.' because; in order to; for magaal Valaan misaafir. 'He did not come because he is away (traveling).' "because; in order to; for gat Talalaan tidris maTaaya.. 'She came in order to study with me.' but but; only huwwa kuwayyis bass taTbaan tuwayya. 'He is all right but he is a little bit (somewhat) tired.' gat bass madarasiti Fiaaga. 'She came but she didn't study anything.' since ( - because ) as long as I I I I I I I I I I I I COUSONANT A class of speech sounds characterized by constriction or closure of the air stream or friction at one or more point (s) in the breath channel; e.g., EA / b d t g I. *** *** .*** 1 I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 75 REFERENCE GRAMMAR CONSONANT : CLEAR /I/ VERSUS DARK / ! / The Egyptian Arabic/W/ is like the "1" in English 'leave' and is called a clear "I1". In some cases the dark /I/ is used and it is the same as the "I" in the English word 'pull'. In EA the contrast between clear /I/ and dark or emphatic (q.v.) /I[/ is phonemic whereas in English they are allophonic variants of the phoneme /I/. The following minimal pair illustrates the phonemic nature of the distinction in EA : walla 'or' : walla 'by God' *** *** *** CONSONANT : DISTRIBUTION (a) In Egyptian Arabic (EA) any single consonant may occur at the beginning of a word, in the middle, or at the end; e.g., tiin 'figs', katab 'he wrote', faat 'he passed'. (b) Doubled consonants may occur medially or finally; e.g., lissa 'not yet', bass 'enough'. (c) A sequence of two different consonants may occur medially or finally; e.g., tiktib 'you (ms) write', malakt 'you (ms) owned'. (d) A sequence of three or more consonants never occurs, either within a word or passing from the end of one word to the begin- ning of the next. This inadmissable sequence is avoided by the helping vowel /1/ ( see Phonology 9 ). /i/ is the vowel of English bit. The helping vowel /i/ is always added between the second and third consonants; e.g. /iddars + sahi/ ----- /iddars i sahl/ 'the lesson is easy'. *** *** I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 76 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I CONSONANT : DOUBLED A doubled consonant has precisely twice the duration of a single consonant in any given utterance. All consonants may occur doubled in Egyptian Arabic. 1 CONSONANT : EMPHATIC = VELARIZED = PHARVNGEALIZED = FLAT I Egyptian Arabic is characterized by having a set of emphatic consonants, which are sometimes referred to also as either "velar- ized", "pharyngealized", or "flat". An emphatic consonant is one which is produced by raising and backing the dorsum of the tongue concurrently with the primary dental or alveolar articulation so that the articulation is velarized and pharyngealized. The consonants / ds z I r /are the emphatic counterparts of the PLAIN / td s z I r /. The occurence of an emphatic consonant will cause a plain consonant in the same syllable ( sometimes in the preceding and/or the following syllable ) to become emphatic. The domain of the spread of emphasis is the syllable, which means that a syllable has all or none of its sounds emphatic. This also means that in Egyptian Arabic all of the consonants occur as both emphatic and plain consonants as explained above. Thus in /.aab/ = [ aab ] 'to ripen' the emphatic /t/ caused plain /b/ to become emphatic [ b ] and the 5 vowel /a/ is colored with emphasis which means you'll hear an [ a ] similar to that of English father. As examples of the spread of the domain of emphasis to more than one syllable, we cite the following / - / denotes syllable boundary : /rabatu/ = [ r-ba-.. ] 'he tied him' I /muRadraat/ = [ mu-F.ad-raat ] 'lectures' The influence of emphatic consonants on vowels is very noticeable to a non-native speaker. This is particularly clear with the back I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 77 REFERENCE GRAMMAR vowel /a/ which, when in the environment of an emphatic consonant is pronounced further back. In the environment of an emphatic consonant, /1/ is centralized and /u/ is lowered. *** *** *** CONSONANT : PLAIN A non-velarized or non-pharyngealized consonant that is the counter- part of an emphatic consonant: / t d s z I r / *** *** *** CONSONANT : PRONUNCIATION Egyptian Arabic has more consonants than does English. Most of the sounds are prQnounced like their English counterparts, while a few are quite unlike anything in English and, therefore, require a great deal of practice on the part of the student. Egyptian Arabic consonants pronounced almost like their English counterparts : Egyptian Arabic As in English b p (occurs in borrowings) t d k g f v (occurs in borrowings) s z v S I (occurs in borrowings) boy pin tea dish cat, king go fine vine see zeal she ) pleasure, measure me I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 78 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Egyptian Arabic As in English n no w well y yet The following sounds also exist in English, but please note: I /1/ : Egyptian /1/ is like the "I" in English 'leave' rather than the "I" of English 'feel'. Egyptian Arabic /1/ then is like the first "1" in the English word 'level' but never like the second unless velarized ( i.e., /I/ ).I To realize what this means, you might like to try to say 'pull', then start the word 'leave' where you finisA- hed 'pull'. Low you may realize that initial "1i" in English is different from medial and final "1 ". Thus Egyptian Arabic wall a 'or' has an " " like that of English 'leave'; Egyptian Arabic wal Ia 'by God' has an "I" like that of English 'pull'. The first "I" in 'level' is referred to as clear "I" and the last "I" is termed dark "I". Egyptian Arabic /1/ is clear and the em- phatic /I/ is dark. The distinction between EA plain /1/ and emphatic /1/ is phonemic, whereas the distinction between clear "I" and dark "I" in English is allophonic ( see : Consonant : Clear /I/ Versus Dark /j/ ). /h/ as in English 'he' : /h/ is not difficult when it begins a syllable or a word, e.g., Egyptian Arabic heat 'give me' or mafhuum 'it is under- stood'. But the student may have difficulty pronouncing /h/ when it is at the end of a syllable or a word, e.g., ?ahwa 'coffee', ?eeh 'what?', or ?abuuh 'his father'. /?/, the glottal stop, is a sound that should not give the English speaker any trouble. It is produced by complete closure and release of the vocal cords; it is sometimes found in English as in New York dialect pronounciation /bo?I/ 'bottle' or as the initial sound of Eng- lish 'ouch', or between the two vowels of 'uh-oh'. In Egyptian Arabic, words or utterances never begin with a vowel, whether short or long. In all cases where a non-native speaker I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 79 REFERENCE GRAMMAR hears what he thinks is an initial vowel, it is always /?/ + vowel; thus : /ana/ = /eeh/ = /?ana/ /?eeh/ 'I' 'what ?' *** *** *** CONSONANT : VOICED / VOICELESS Refers to whether or not the vocal cords vibrate during the pro- duction of a sound. A voiced consonant is one which is accompanied by vibration of the vocal cords, for example, /v/ in the English word 'vine'. A voiceless consonant is one which is produced without any accompanying vibration of the vocal cords, for example, /f/ in the English word 'fine'. The difference between voicing and voicelessness can be felt strongly if one covers one's ears with one's hands, then pronounces English 'fine' and 'vine', paying attention to the /f/ and /v/. *** *** *** CONSTRUCT PHRASE 1. Construct Phrases N1 + N2 = the N1 of N2 A construct phrase is either (a) definite, if N2 is definite /kitaab ilwalad/ 'the boy's book' /kitaab ilwalad ilkiblir/ 'the book of the big boy' /kitaab haani/ 'Hani's book' /kitaab uxti/ 'my sister's book' or (b) indefinite, if N2 is indefinite /kitaab walad/ 'a boy's book' In either case the construct phrase consists of two nouns N1 + N2 in a sequence meaning N1 of N2. Note that N1 is EGVPTIAN ARABIC 80 REFERENCE GRAMMAR definite in meaning, but cannot be definite in form; N2 may be definite or indefinite in meaning and form. Either N1 or N2 of a construct phrase can be modified by an adjective which is always placed after N2 and agrees in gender, number and definiteness with the noun modified. Examples : /kitaab ilbint ilkibiir/ /kitaab ilbint ilkibiira/ /kitaab bint kibiir/ If both terms of a construct bitaaT construction is used, e. 'the girl's big book' 'the big girl's book' 'a girl's big book' phrase are to be modified, a ilkitaab ilkiblir bitaaT ilbint iFl ilwa 'the pretty girl's big book' 2. Construct phrases where N1 is a feminine noun ending in /-a/. In this case, N1 has a special form for the construct state (CS), e.g., I I I I I I I I I I 1 I I I I I /Tarabiyya/ 'car' and /suura/ 'picture' gives : /Tarabiyyit nagwa/ 'Nagwa' s car' gives : /suurit sa6bi/ 'my friend's picture' ( Notice /sa6ibi/ 'my friend' is made definite by possession. ) Compare the forms of /suura/ in the following : /suura kbiira/ 'a big picture' /suurit sa6bi/ 'my friend's picture' where the first example is a noun-adjective phrase and the second is a construct phrase. ( Note : /-a/ --- /-it/ in a construct phrase. ) CONSTRUCT STATE OF NOUNS Note : for /ayyaam/ and /uvhur/ the construct state after numerals 3 - 10 is /tiyyaam/ and /tu hur/ : I I I EG ARABIC al REFERENCE G2AAWA2 EGYPTIAN-AABIC-A--RI FWUFI1A4 /talIat t Iyyaam/ /xamas tughur/ A few other words that belong to alt - alaaf sabaT talaaf satr - utuur t JsaT tustur xums -axmaas talat tixmaas and other fractions, and opt: ?alam - 21Iaam talat ti?Iaam talIat ? i aam (-See also Construct Phrase) 'three days' 'five months' ithis lim2ited class o thousand 7,000 line( in writing) nine lines fifth (fraction) 3/5 .ionally pencil, pen three penci.ls )f nouns are: COUNT PLURAL NOUNS See Collective Nouns *** *** *** I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I EGVPTTAN ARABI C 83 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABiC 83 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 1 DEFINITE ARTICLE : FORM In EA, the definite article is /l-/. The /1/ of the article is obligatorily assimilated to certain consonants, and optionally assimi- lated to certain other consonants : 1. The /1/ is obligatorily assimilated to a following dental con- sonant or a following / /. The dental consonants are /t/, /t/, /d/,/d/, /s/, /s/, /z/, /z/, /r/, /r/, and /n/. Examples, ittaman ittaal ib iddamm i ddudaTa issamaka issabuuna 'the 'the 'the 'the 'the ' the price' student' blood' frog' fish soap' izzlbi lb izzaabit irrifhla i rraagi innaas i 9ams 'the 'the 'the 'the 'the 'the raisins' officer' trip' man' people' sun' 2. The /1/ is optionally assimilated to a following /k/ or /g/, e.g.: ilkaib or ikkalb ilgamal or iggamal 'the dog' 'the camel' 3. The form of the definite article is /I-/ when it ending in a vowel : follows a word ittaal iba Igidi ida 0 0 'the new student (f)' 4. Usually the form of the definite article is /iH-/ when it is pre- fixed to a word beginning with a vowel, e.g.: (?)arnab (?)adab 'rabbit' 'literature' il?arnab i l ?adab 'the rabbit' 'the literature' I I EGYPTITAN ARABIC 84 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I However, with verbal nouns of Form VIII (see t Verbal Nouns ) and colors of the form aFpaL and such words as i tneen 'two' the form of the definite article is /I-/ ~ /II-/, Note the dropping of the /?/ in these examples : (?)Irmtlaan 'exam' Iimt-i aan - ilimti6aan 'the exam' (?)aFimar 'red' la mer ~ ilIlahmar 'the red' (?)itneen 'two' Iitneen i I illitneen 'the two' DEFINITE ARTICLE : MEANING When it is prefixed to a given noun, the definite article indicates that the noun has an unambiguous referent. In regard to its referent, a noun is ambiguous if it is likely to elicit the question "Which one ?, and unambiguous if it would not normally elicit such a question. Compare, for example, the underlined nouns in the following sentences : 1. i tareet kitaab. 'I bought a book.' 2. i tareet ilkitaab. 'I bought the book.' While kitaab in the first sentence is likely to elicit the question 'dWhich book ?" or the question "What book ?", i I k itaab in the second sentence is not likely to do so; thus kitaab is ambiguous while ilkitaab is unambiguous. In general, a noun is unambiguous if it has a specific referent ( i.e., a particular referent set off in some way from similar referents ), or a generic referent. The underlined nouns in the following sentences have generic referents : 1. iI ?aamil yistai?? ugritu. 'A workman is worthy of his compensation. ' itt-ayyaara asra min 'A plane is faster than a train.' i I?atr.. SI kutub ahamn mi n 'Books are more important than iggaraayid. newspapers.' ?l?atibbaa? mig ahamm 'Doctors are not more important m in ilmudarrisiin. than teachers.' EGYMAN ARABIC 85 RE GRA"R 2. iImayya muhimma IilI fayaat. 'Water is essential for lifa" izzeet yeali fmasr. 'Oil is expensive in Egypt.' irraml anweaT. 'There are different types of sand.' 3. iliubb tart asesi 'Love is a basic pre-requisite_ I Iggawaaz. for marriage.' ilfa?r m i geeb. 'Poverty is not shameful.' iITameal afsan mi n 'Employment is better than ilbitaa la. unemployment. ' Some of the underlined nouns in group 1 iply a class while others denote a class : for example, ilTeaamil in the first sentence refers to any member of the class of people identified as workers, while i?at I bbaa? in the fourth sentence denotes a class of people identi- fied as doctors. The underlined nouns of group 2, in contrast with those of group 1, denote mass ( rather than countable ) referents. The underlined nouns of group 3, in contrast with those of the other two groups, denote abstract ( rather than concrete ) referents. Since they are generic, the underlined nouns of all three groups occur with the definite article. Notice that the occurrence of the with English generic nouns is more restricted than the occurrence of I- with Arabic generic nouns : to be preceded by the, an English generic noun must be singular and countable ( compare "Doctors are rich", "Work is a privilege", and "The car is a recent invention" ). Notice too that, in English, singular generic nouns may be preceded by the indefinite article ( e.g., "A plane travels faster than a car" ) while plural generic nouns are preceded by no article at all ( e.g., "Books are important" ); in Arabic, however, all generic nouns usually occur with the definite article. *** *** EGYPTIAN ARABIC .86 REFERENCE GRAMMAR DEFINITE PHRASE DEFINI DEMONS ( See : Phrase Versus Sentence ) ***: *** *** ITENESS C See : Agreement in Construct Phrases; Definite Article : Form; Definite Article : Meaning ) 3TRATIVES The demonstratives da (mns) 'this,;that'; di (fs) 'this, that'; and dool (p) 'these, those' may preceed or follow a noun or adjective with consequent significant differences in €lausal structure : They may stand alone as the subject of a sentence : (a) da walad kiblir. 'This is a big boy.' (b) da kbiir. 'This is big.' Or they may follow a definite noun to form a phrase meaning 'this ...' : ilwalad da kbiir. 'This boy is big. da (m), di (f), dool (p) are for proximity, 'this, these'; dukha (m), dikha (f) and dukhum (p) are for remoteness, 'that, those'. *** *** *** I I I I U I I I I I I I I I DVENTAL A place of articulation at the upper teeth /t d s z n I /. I I I I I *** *** *** pq p EGyrt - i ARABIC 87 REF-- CE GRAMMAR DISCONTINUOUS MORPHEME A broken sequence which together forms a morpheme of a certain function, e.g., /ma.... / is the morpheme of negation in EA. Example : katab makatabg 'he wrote' 'he did not write' *** *** *** VROPPING OF VOWELS ( See : Vowels Contraction ) *** *** DUAL NOUNS The numeral "two" /Itneen/ may be used before plural nouns, e.g., itneen wi laad 'two boys' Itneen baneat 'two girls' and is used before plural adjectives : itneen kubaar 'two big ( ones )'. However, the use of the Dual Form of the Noun is preferable for most nouns. This is achieved by the suffixation of /-een/, the dual ending, to a ms noun or to the CS ( Construct State ) of fs nouns ending in -a #, e.g., wa I adeen safb iteen fa I I afiteen kitabeen binteen (c wa lad) ( saRba) ( fal laa6a) ( kitaab) ( b int) 'two boys' 'two friends (f)' 'two farmers (f)' 'two books' 'two girls' The phrase N (dual) + itneen is a possible occurence, which has the effect of emphasizing the idea of duality. waladeen itneen 'two boys (emphasizing duality)' I I EGPTAN ARABIC 88 REFERENCE GRAMMAR This is often accomplished in English by pronouncing 'two' with heavier- than-usual stress. With certain nouns it is preferable to have the word order itneen + N (p) for the dual expression. Examples :I Itneen sawwa?iin itneen rassamiin itneen fallafiin itneen xaddamlin Itneen Fallain ( See also : Collective Nouns ) 'two 'two 'two 'two 'two drivers' painters (artists) farmers' servants' hairdressers' I I I I w*w *** *** URATT VE FORM I I ( See : Frequentative Form ) *** *** I I I I I I I I I EGYPrTAN ARAWC 89 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPrTAJV ARASTC 89 REFERENCE GR4QV(AR ELISZON ( See Vowels : Contraction ) *** *** *** ELLIPSIS An elliptic sentence or clause is one which is derived by deleting at least one redundant constituent froman the source string. In each of the following examples, the source string contains a redundant expression ( identified by an underscore ) which is dropped by a deletion transformation : yasalIt willi w yawIt rlglayya --->yasalt wiggi wriglayya mustafa akal wi badeen mustafa naabm --->mustafa akal wl ba deen naam 'I washed by face and I washed my feet' 'I washed my face and my feet' 'Mustapha slept' 'Mustapha ate and then Mustapha ate and then slept' Elliptic sentences occur very commonly as short responses : Tal i : dareasti eeh baTd id4uhr ? 'Ali : What did you (fs) study in the afternoon ?' suzaan : iddars i xaamis. 'Susan : Lesson 5' I I EGYPIA ARABIC so REFERENCE GRAMMAR Notice that Susan's response is derived from darast i ddars i lIxaamis 'I studied Lesson 5' by deleting the contextually redundant expressions. Although ellipsis is common in both English and EA, the deleted constituents are not always the same in the two languages. In the ezamples below, certain constituents are deleted from the English sentence (a) to produce the sentence (b); if the same constituents were deleted frm the EA sentence (c), the result would be the ungrammatical sentence (d) : (a) Sami read a book and Susan read an article. (b) Sami read a book and Susan an article. (c) seaami ?ara ktaab wi suzaan ?arit maqaala. Sami read a book and Susan read an article.' (d) *saami ?ara ktaab wi suzaan maqaala. In EA, the major rules governing ellipsis are the following : 1. An expression cannot be deleted unless it is redundant. There are two types of redundancy : (a) Type 1 redundancy is defined as the occurrence in the answer of expressions which are totally predictable from the expressions in the question. (b) Type 2 redundancy is defined as repetition of expressions- in the same sentence or across sentence boundaries which does not constitute Type 1 redundancy. 2. The constituents deleted on account of Type 1 redundancy are usually the same in English and EA. 3 When an expression is repeated, it is usually the second occurrence which is considered redundant and which is therefore deleted. 3. An expression is usually not deleted on account of Type 2 redundancy if such deletion would produce a structural gap in I the resultant sentence, ( i.e., if a given slot in a clause were to be deleted ). As a result of Rule 3, deletion in set (a) below produces grammatical sentences while in set (b) -.t produces ungrammatical sentences : I lff^ Q%7 ARABIC 91 REFERENCE GRA"R a. () ~fiasan akal wi asan neam 'Hasan ate and Hasan slept' ---> fasan akafrwI neaam 'Hasan ate and slept' (2) kaan Taawiz yib[iT 'He wanted to sell the car IITarabiyya wkaan Taawiz and he wanted to mortgage yiihan Ilbeet the house' --> kaan Taawiz yibiiT 'He wanted to sell the car ITa1rabiyya wylthan and mortgage the house' f I beet (3) farlid rigiT wi saami 'Farid returned and Sami rIgiT returned' --> farlid wi saami rigfu 'Farid and Sami returned' b. (1) Tall Itara ktaab wi 'Ali bought a book and Lutfi lutf i Itara ?alam bought a pen' --->*Tall Itara ktaab wi lutfi ?alam (2) ana laggatt ittilmilz 'I encouraged the student and wi lutffi daayi? ittilmiltz Lutfi bothered the student' ---> *ana laggaft Ittilmiiz wi lutfi daayi? (3) huda bitfibb iI?adab 'Huda likes Arabic literature IITarabi wi suheer bit ibb and Soheir likes Arabic iI?adab IITarabi literature' ---> *huda bitfibb |?adab IT aabi wsuheer The output in b(1) is ungra matical because it contains a sturctural gap : the output clearly consists of two clauses; to be a direct object, ?a lam 'pen' must co-occur in the same clause with a verb. In contrast, consider the output of the following transformation : l ai Itara ktaab wi ali 'Ali bought a book and Ali Itara ?alam bought a pen' --->fal I tara ktaab wi ?alam 'Ali bought a book and a pen' The output here is a single clause consisting of three slots : a subject slot filled by VaI , a verbal slot filled by Itara, and a direct object slot filled by the compound phrase kitaab wi ?alam. This out- I I I I EGYPTTAN ARABIC93 REFERENCE GRAMR 2. If redundant, a definite modified noun may be deleted leaving only the modifier in the place of the attributive construction. andi tilmizteen. Ittilmiiza Imasrlyya smaha samiira, wittilmltza I?urduniyya smaha Tayda. 'I have two students (f). The Egyptian student is called Samira, and the Jordanian student is called Aida.' --->Tandi tiImIzteen. iImasriyya smaha sam ira, wiI?urduniyya smaha Tayda. 'I have two students (f). The Egyptian (one) is called Samira, and the Jordanian (one) is called Aida.' I EMEVV NG I Embedding is the process whereby a sentence is used to fill a slot in another sentence. For example, the sentence a ~raf rigiT imbaar iFi 'Ashraf returned yesterday' contains an adverbial slot filled by imbaari6 'yesterday'; the same slot may be filled by a-sentence : ag.af rigiT Ilamma zeenab rigfit. 'Ashraf returned when Zeinab returned.' The sentence zeenab rqT it is said to be embedded in another sentence, Embedded sentences may be adverbial ( as illustrated above ), adjectival ( as in irraaqil illi zeenab itpawwizitu 'the man whom Zeinab married' ), or nominal ( as in simitt innak bitSFbaha 'I heard that you are in love with her' ). If adverbial, the embedded expression is usually introduced by a subordinating conjunction; if adjectival and modifying a definite noun, it is introduced by 1 i; if adjectival and modifying an indefinite * noun, it is introduced by no particle; if nominal, it is introduced by a nominalizer in certain cases and by no particle in others ( see I "Naminalization" ) : rigiT lamnma zeenab rIgTit. 'He returned when Zeinab returned' aSraf -L?ustaaz III 'I know the professor who - - biydarrisak. teaches you.' I lr^ Gw ARABIC 91 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYP~AN ARBIC 9 REFEENCE RAMMA a. ()fiasa n a kaI w i fia sa n naam I'H -> 8afn a ier-w i nasniSIRH (2) kaan 'aaw Iz y ib I I T's Iarabiyya wkaan Taawiz a yirhan Ilbeet t ->kaan Taawiz yibiii figH Iarab iyya wy iihan a tfIbeet (3) fat-lid rigIT' wi saami ' ->fat-lid wi sasmi rigiu I b. (1) Ta I i tara ktaab w i lutfi I tara ?alarn tutfi ?alam (2) ana gagga~t itt 1miiz wI lutfi daayi? ittilmilz I wi lutfi dasyl? (3) huda bitfiibb 11?adab 9 Il~arabi wi suheer blt~uibb i1?adab ili~arabi ilTarabi wsuheer lasan ate and Hasan slpt lasan ate and slept' le wanted to sell the car nd he wanted to mortgage :he house' le wanted to sell the car nd mortgage the house' Parid returned and Sami returned' Parid and Sami returned' Ali bought a book and Lutf i bought a pen' I encouraged the student and Lutfi bothered the student' Ruda likes Arabic literature And Soheir likes Arabic literature' I I I I I The output in b (I) is ungrammatical because it contains a sturctural gap: the output clearly consists of two clauses; to be a direct object, ?alIam. 'pen'I must co-occur in the same clause, with a verb. In contrast, consider the output of the following transformation: Tali 1 tara ktaab wi Tali 'Ali bought a book and Ali 9tara ?alam bought a pen' .->Tal iI taia ktaab wi ?alam 'Ali bought a b oo k and a pen' The output here is a single clause consisting of three slots a subject slot filled by Talit, a verbal slot filled by i.tara, and a direct object slot filled by tecompound phrase k iteab w i ?al1amn. This out'- I I I EGYPTTAN ARABIC 92 REFERENCE GRAMMAR put therefore is grammatical : unlike the output of b(1), it does not contain a structural gap. The output of b(2) comprises two clauses the second of which contains a transitive verb but no object; the lack of an object constitutes I a structural gap. In the output of b(3), suheer must function as subject if the desired meaning is to be denoted. The lack of a predicate after suheer I not only constitutes a gap but also makes suheer the second term of a compound object : huda bitfii bb iI?adab lI Tarabi wsuheer means 'Huda likes ( both ) Arabic Literature and Sohir'. Here are two more examples where the output is ungrammatical on account of gap& : katabt i I kitaab issana I I i faat it wI katabt iImaqaala ssanaadi 'I wrote the book last year, and I wrote the article this year' I ---*katabt iikitaab issana IIi faatit wilmaqaala ssanaadi samiir blyidris filbeet wi farild biyidris filmaktaba 'Samir studies at home, and Farid studies in the library' -->*samilr biyidris filbeet wi fariid filmaktaba ( The output here would be gramatical if the meaning intended were 'Samir studies at home while Farid is in the library' ) To avoid redundancy and structural gaps, EA substitutes a pronoun I for a redundant noun. This fact accounts for the presence of the underlined pronouns in the sentences below ( notice that the English translation does not contain equivalent pronouns ) : ilkanaba 'the sofa' + Vail ?afad Va Ikanaba 'Ali sat on the sofa' ---> I ikanaba III Vail ?afad Valeeha 'the sofa Ali sat- on' irrlggaaia 'the men' + nawaal laafIt Irriggaala 'Nawal saw the men' N --> Irriggaala I I I nawaal Iafithum 'the men Naval saw'- Notes : I 1. The pron1minal subject of a verb is usually deleted; since the verb form indicates number, gender, and person, the pronominal subject is redundant. ana darast iddars ---> darast iddars 'I studied the lesson' FGVPTTAM AIZAHTC 93 REFERENCE GRA"R 2. If redundant, a definite modified noun may be deleted leaving only the modifier in the place of the attributive construction. Tandi tilmizteen. Ittilmiiza Imasrlyya smaha samiira, wittilmliza l?urdunIlyya smaha Tayda. 'I have two students (f). The Egyptian student is called Samira, and the Jordanian student is called Aida.' i --->Tandi tilmlzteen. ilmasrlyya smaha samiira, wil?urduniyya smaha Tayda. 'I have two students (f). The Egyptian (one) is called Samira, and the Jordanian (one) is called Aida.' I- *** *** *** I EMBEVTNG i Embedding is the process whereby a sentence is used to fill a slot in another sentence. For example, the sentence agraf rigiT imbaariA 'Ashraf returned yesterday' contains an adverbial slot filled by imbaarii 'yesterday'; the same slot may be filled by a-sentence : araf rigiT lammna zeenab rigiit. 'Ashraf returned when Zeinab returned.' The sentence zeenab r Iq-,,iIt is said to be embedded in another sentence. Embedded sentences may be adverbial ( as illustrated above ), adjectival ( as in irraaqil liI zeenab itgawwizitu 'the man whom Zeinab married' ), or nominal ( as in simiT innak bitB rbaha 'I heard that you are in love with her' ). If adverbial, the embedded expression is usually introduced by a subordinating conjunction; if adjectival and modifying a definite noun, it is introduced by i Ili if adjectival and modifying an indefinite noun, it is introduced by no particle; if nominal, it is introduced by a nominalizer in certain cases and by no particle in others ( see "Nminalization ) : rig1i lamna zeenab rig it. 'He returned when Zeinab returned' I a~raf _Ll?ustaaz IIII 'I know the professor who biydarrlsak. teaches you.' I I I EGYP NARABIC REFERENCE GRAMMAR I- - - -- a~rsf ustesz blydarrisak. slmi~t Inn Tali rig! V. ins~ieft by! Tmil ee. 'know a professor who teaches you. 'I heard that Ali has returned. 11 do not know what he is doing.' *** *** *** See Consonant Emphatic) EXCLAM4ATIONS AND OATHS / itta~aggub wil~iilfaan/ I I I subfissn asIfIaah ye sals am al laah SITUNSyarlibs gee? yari b amine Vagiibs gee? Vegiib ye salaam Vale kide ys salaam Vale derrink ye Foewl illash ls fsawla wale quwwata illa b ilIIah Vee I mudhil brsavo vaz Jim 0 11ahi wi'oiyeet rabb ina How wonderful, praise be to God I Well I Fancy that 1;My 1; Wow I How sweet I; Bravo I Strange I Strange1 Strange I What a strange thing How strange I How fancy I How beautiful I How silly of you I Shame on you What a loss I What a loss I How helpless man is I Exellent I Excellent I Bravo I Excellent By God I Indeed I Rea lly 1 By God ! ( I swear ... ) I I I I I I I I I . GYPT7 AN ARMIC 95 - REFERENCE GRAAWR EGYPTZM ARABIC 95 - REFERENCE GRAMMAR winnabi winnabi ? ista~'gib Jstay~ab Filif MI lxx - Jxs ixs Taleek By God I By the Prophet I(I swear 000 Honestly ? to be amazed to be amazed to swear How disgusting I Shame on you I (ms) EXIORTATIVE 1PARTICLE The exhorptative particle /ya a/ 'let'Is' is used in constructions before imperfect forms to mean 'let's (do such and such)!$ yal [a nimli yalia biina 'Let's go I'I 'Come on I . Let'Is *** *** *** I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I U I I U EGYPTIAN ARABIC 97 REFERENCE GRAMMAR d EGYPTIAN ARABIC 97 REFERENCE GRAIAMAR FEMININE NOUN IN CONSTRUCT Construct phrases where Nj is a femuinine noun ending in-/-a/. In this case, N1 has a special form for the construct state (CS), e.g., /Tarablyya/ 'car' gives /Tarabiyyit nagwa/ 'Nagwa's car' and /suura/ 'picture' gives /suurit safbi/ 'my friend's picture'. ( Notice saFbi 'my friend' is made definite by possession ). *** *** *** FLAP Refers to a consonant produced by a single ta of the tongue in which the tip of the tongue makes a single rapid contact against the alveolar ridgeI /r C/ are flaps. *** *** *** I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 98 REFERENCE GRAMMAR FORM VS. FUNCTION I The terms "noun", "adjective", "verb", and "adverb" designate certain forms. On the other hand, the terms "nominal", "adjectival", "verbal", and "adverbial" designate functions ( or slots ). Nominal slots are typically filled by nouns, adjectival slots are typically filled by adjectives, verbal slots are typically filled by verbs, and adverbial slots are typically filled by adverbs. It must be stressed, however, that there is no one-to-one correlation between form and function : for example, a nominal slot may be filled by a sentence rather than I a noun ( see : "Nominalization" ). In the first example below, the underlined sentence fills the subject slot; in the second example, the underlined sentence fills the object slot : innu yinga6i mi mu6ftamal. 'That he will succeed is not probable. simiT't inn Tal i rigid. 'I heard that Ali has returned.' I FREQUENTATIVE FORM I Consists of the imperfect (q.v.) form plus the frequentative prefix /bi-/. It expresses a habitual, repeated action, e.g., biyruu6i ilmaktab kull yoom. 'He goes to the office every day.' I or an action which is simultaneous with regard to the time of speech or another definite moment ( progressive aspect ), e.g., biyzaakir dilwa?ti. 'He is studying now.' With verbs of motion, e.g., /mi~i/ 'to go', the Frequentative I never has a progressive meaning, e.g., biyimli min hina Iilmaktab. 'He walks from here to the office.' I The Frequentative is also referred to as the Durative. I I EGVPrIAM Ausrc- 99 R ENCE GRAMMAR FREQ UENTATIVE PARTICLE /b i -/, the frequentative particle, is prefixed to the imperfect (q.v.) to derive the frequentative form (q.v.). This particle has the variant forms /bi-/ after a consonant and /b-/ after a vowel, e.g., Iltbint btlktib samilr biyiktib Inta btlktib 'the girl writes' 'Samir writes' 'You (ms) write' *** *** *** FRICATIVE Refers to consonants produced by friction caused by the air moving through a narrow passage in the vocal tract / f v s s z z x y F T h A FRONT VOWEL A vowel that is produced by arching the tongue to the front of the palate. We can, for example, say that /1/ is a high front vowel. *** *** *** I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I EGVFrIAN ARABIC 101 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGVPT7EA.N ARABIC 101 REFERENCE GRAMMAR GENDER In Egyptian Arabic (EA), nouns (n) are either masculine (mn) or feminine (f) in gender, e.g., walad (n) 'boy' bint (f) 'girl'. Henceforth, gender indicators will not be entered for those nouns where the sex of the referent clearly indicates the granmmatical gender as in the examples above. Adjectives (adj) show two genders, e.g., nabiih (m) 'intelligent', nabliha (f) 'intelligent'. Compare the following nouns and adjectives : taalib (n) taaliba (f) 'student' nabilh (a) nabilha (f) 'intelligent' Notice that the great majority of singular (s) feminine nouns and adjectives end in /-a/. Exceptions to this will be indicated by (f). Masculine singular nouns and adjectives will thus be identifiable by the absence of /-a/ or by the insertion of (m). This convention of indicating gender for singular forms will :be followed regularly. Thus taa I i b 'student' and tjaa|iba 'student' have no gender indicators, since it is clear that the first word is masculine and the second is feminine. Indicators, however, will be entered next to items such as ard (f) 'land' and m bna Cm) 'building' since their endings do not follow the rule above. C See also : Demonstratives; Plural; Nisba Adjectives; Agreement in Construct Phrases ) *** *** *** EGYPTIAN ARABIC 102 REFERENCE GRAMMAR GENDER PRESENTATIONAL PARTICLES ah6 (ms), ahe (fs) 'here is' and ah6m (p) 'here are' are here re- I ferred to as Presentational Particles. The singular particles agree in gender with the singular noun referred to, e.g., aho ttaalib innabiih. 'Here is the intelligent student (m).' ahe ttaaliba nnabiiha. 'Here is the intelligent student (f).' ahom ittulaab innubaha. 'Here are the intelligent students (m).' ahom ittaalibaat innubaha. 'Here are the intelligent students (f).' I GLIDE A Glide is a transitional sound produced when the vocal organs shift from the articulation of one sound ( usually a vowel ) to the articula- tion of another ( vowel ) sound. The glides in EA are /w/ and /y/. Glides are vocoids phonemicized as consonants. I GLOTTAL I A place of articulation in the glottis ( opening at upper part of the windpipe between the vocal cords ) : /?, h/ are glottal consonants. The consonant /?/ glottal stop is produced by complete closure and re- lease of the vocal cords. The consonant /h/ is produced by the flow of air through the open vocal cords. *** *** *** 1 GLOTTAL STOP The consonant /7/ glottal stop is produced by complete closure and release of the vocal cords ( glottis ). It is sometimes found in English as in New York City dialect pronunciation /bo?I/ 'bottle' or as in the initial sound of English 'ouch' before the ou, or between the two vowels of 'uh-oh'. From the phonetic point of view, EA has only I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 103 REFERENCE GRAMMAR one glottal stop. From the distributional point of view there are two word-initial glottal stops : the non-elidible and the elidible. Both are discussed below. 1. The non-elidible glottal stop is never deleted. EA words which contain this glottal stop usually correspond to Modern Standard Arabic words which begin with /q/ : Egyptian Arabic Standard Arabic ?alb 'heart' qaIb ?aam 'to rise' qaam ?atal 'to kill' qatal 0 Also nouns of the patterns ?vCCaaC ( e.g., /?asmaa?/ 'names' ) and ?vCaaC ( e.g., /?imaal/ 'faith' ) do not usually elide the initial glottal stop. 2. The elidible glottal stop is deleted from a word that is pronounced in close association with a preceding word or prefix, especially in fast speech : /kitaab/ + /?ibni/ ---) [kitaab ibni] 'my son's book' Such common forms as the personal pronouns ( /?ana/ 'I', /?inta/ 'you (ms)', etc. ), the marker of first person singular imperfect verbs /?a-/ and the particles /?aywa/ 'yes', /?ah6/ 'here it (m) is', /?ah4'/ 'here it (f) it' are particularly susceptible to such elision. Compare /?ahwa/ ( /? = q/ ) 'coffee' and /?ana/ 'I' in the following examples ( [ ] denotes actual pronunciation ) : /Airibt I ?ahwa/ -- [iribt I ?ahwa] 'I drank coffee' /Airibt ?ana/ --. [iribt ana] 'I drank' Sometimes deletion of the elidible glottal stop results in the elision of a short vowel : /mata/ + /?ibni/ --2 [maoa] + [ibni] -- [ma;a bni] 'with my son' In two instances, the glottal stop almost always elides : in the relative pronoun : /?illi/ -- [illi] --# [lli] 'who, which, that' and the definite article : /?il -/ --9 li I-] --# [l-] 'the' EGYPTIAN ARABIC 104 REFERENCE GRAMMAR For example : /?il6aaga ?illi me Taak/ --- ?ilfaaga IIi m'?aak] 'the thing that you have' /darab ?ilwalad/ -- [darab ilwalad] 'he hit the boy' I /rama ?ilkitaab/ --9 [rama Ikitaab] 'he threw the book' Note that EA words or utterances never begin with a vowel, whether short or long. When an EA word is heard to begin with a vowel this means that the initial glottal stop has been elided. Deletion of the elidible glottal stop does not take place in the following situations : a. If the identity of a word or an expression would be obscured. Thus I /Tawza/ + /?adxul/ = [awza ?adxul] 'I (f) want to enter.' ( no deletion takes place to keep the sentence distinct from [Tawz adxul] 'I (m) want to enter.' ) b. If the word containing the glottal stop in question is emphatic; compare [min awwil yoom] 'since the first day' and [min ?Swwil yoom] ( where ' represents extra heavy stress ) 'since the very first day'. c. If deletion of the glottal stop would result in two adjacent long vowels : I /Iiih/ + /?aaxir/ = [Iiih ?aaxirl 'It has an end.' I GRAPHEME A meaningful unit of the writing system of a language that distinguishes I one lexeme ( q.v. ) or word from another, e.g., English /b/ and /t/ in 'boy' and 'toy'; Egyptian Arabic '. /b/ and e- /t/ in . baab 'door' I and ..A taab 'to repent'. Also referred to as "letter". ° I I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 105 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTiAN ARABIC 105 1~EFE1?ENCE G~AMMA1Z -H- HAAL aal A Faal is a modifier which indicates the state or condition of the noun modified at the time of the main clause. Consider for example the following sentences : 1. salwa naamit qafaana. 'Salwa slept hungry' 2. fariida aafit Tumar miRtaar. 'Farida saw Omar perplexed.' In sentence 1, the word gaTaana 'hungry' indicates Salwa's state as she slept. In sentence 2, the word miFtaar indicates Omar's state when Farida saw him. A Raal may also indicate the external circumstances surrounding the noun modified at the time of the main clause, as opposed to the state or condition of the subject or the object itself. siblit widdinya lissa dalma. 'I woke up while it was still dark.' The Raal may be a single word, a phrase, or a clause consisting of an explicit subject and a predicate; in the last case, the Raal is always introduced by the particle wi which is often translatable by 'while, as, when' : Tali rigiT Faziin. 'Ali returned sad.' Tali rigiT yidak. 'Ali returned laughing.' Tali rigiT wi huwwa haziin. 'Ali returned sad.' I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 106 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Tali rigiT wi miaah fluus kitiir. Tali rigiT winta btistahamma. 'Ali returned with a lot of money.' 'Ali returned while you were taking a bath.' If the 6aal is a verb, progressive action. it is usually a present-tense form denoting *** *** *** HARD PALATE The hard palate is the alveolar ridge. portion of the roof of the mouth behind the HELPING VOWEL ( See : Vowel : Extra ) HIGH VOWEL A vowel that is produced with the tongue arched high in the mouth. The EA high vowels are /I/ and /u/. HOLLOW VERB ( See : Verb : Classification by Root Type ) ** *** *** I I I I I I U I I I EGVPTIAN ARABI C 107 REFERENCE GRAMMAR %-%GqvPIANsARABICS107 RFERENCE GRAMMA -- IMPERATIVE FORMATION Imperative forms are yielded by the corresponding second-person subjunctive forms. The traceability of the imperative form to the subjunctive is not surprising since the latter denotes possibility ( as opposed to fact ) and since a command or a request falls with- in the realm of possibility. A second-person subjunctive form always begins with /t/ ; the imperative results from deleting that /t/ and the vowel which follows it; if this would result in a word-initial consonant cluster, only the /t/ is deleted. Subjunctive Imperative (inta) tiruu6 ruu 'go !' (ms) (inti) tiruu6i ruui 'go !' (fs) (intu) tiruu6u ruu6u 'go !' (p) (inta) tisaawir aawir 'consult !' (ms) (inti) tiawri awri 'consult !' (fs) (intu) t iawru awru 'consult !' (p) (inta) t iTallim ?allim 'teach !' (ms) (inti) tiallimi Tallimi 'teach ' (fs) (intu) titallimu Tallimu 'teach !' (p) EGYPTIAN ARABIC 108 REFERENCE GRAMMAR (inta) (inti) (intu) (inta) (int i) (intu) (inta) (int i) (intu) tuxrug tuxrugi tuxrugu uxrug uxrugi uxrugu itnaazi I itnazli itnazIlu titnaazi I titnazil titnazlu 'go out !' (ms) 'go out !' (fs) 'go out !' (p) 'relinquish !' 'relinquish !' 'relinquish !' 'write !' (ms) 'write !' (fs) 'write !' (p) (ms) (fs) (p) t ikt ib t ikt ib t iktibu iktib ikt ibi ikt i bu Notes : 1. The subjunctive forms for 'you come' are t i (mns), t iigi (fs), and tiigu (p). Rather than the expected *gi and *gu, EA uses taTaala, 'come !' In(ms), ta'aal i 'come !' (fs), and tafaalu 'come !' (p). 2. The subjunctive forms for 'you bring' are tigiib (ms), tigilibi (fs), and tigiibu (p). The corresponding imperative forms are haat, haati, and haatu ( although iib, giijbi, and giibu are used occasionally ) : I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I haat/giib ilkitaab ma aak bukra ya TalIi haat/giibi bintik maTaaki haatu/giibu asdiqa?kum ma aakum 'Bring the book with you tomorrow, Ali.' 'Bring your daughter with you (fs).' 'Bring your friends with you (p).' In addition, the forms heat, haati, and haatu are used with the meaning 'give me'. In this context haat and haati are inter- changeable with iddlini, while haatu is interchangeable with idduuni. I I EGY AN ARABIC 109 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABiC 109 REFERENCE GRAMMAR haat/ iddiini ?alam ya Tali. heati/iddlini Ik.itaab ya farida. haatu/idduuni Ikutub ya wlaad. 'Give me a pencil, Ali.' 'Give me the book, Farida.' 'Give me the books, children.' 3. The imperative forms itfaddai (ms), itfaddali (fs), and itfaddalu (p) denote a polite invitation of any kind. Trans- latable by 'be so kind as ( to do or accept something )', the three forms may be used with or without an object : itfaddal ( said by someone who is eating ) itfaddal ( said upon open- ing the door ) itfaddal ( pointing to a chair ) itfaddal istirayya6 ya Tali.' itfaddali u?Tudi ya suzaan. itfaddalu aay ya asadza. 'Please come and eat with me.' 'Please come in.' 'Please sit down.' 'Please 'Please sit down, sit down, Ali.' Susan.' 'Please have some tea, professors.' *** *** *** IMPERATIVE : IMPERATIVE FORMS IN THE VERB SEQUENCE A verbal sequence which does not include kaan is made imperative in the following manner : 1. If it is a Class III auxiliary ( see : Verb : Auxiliaries ), the first verb assumes the imperative form; in addition, the second verb assumes the imperative form. If there is another verb in the sequence, that verb is a bare imperfect form EGYPTIAN ARABIC 110 REFERENCE GRAMMAR itTallim tiktib. ibtidi titTallim tiktib. i?bal tibtidi titTallim t ikt ib. i?bal tibtidi truu6 titTallim tiktib. i?bal yibtidi yruu . 'Learn how to write.' 'Start learning how to write.' 'Agree to start learning how to write.' 'Agree to start going to learn how to write.' 'Agree ( to the proposition ) that he should go.' I I I I I I All of the above verbal sequences may be preceded by a second-person perfect form of kaan ( the form in question is usually translatable by 'you'd have done w %ell to ...' ) kunt ruu6 itTallim sanTa. kunti ruu6i tfallimi faransaawi. kuntu ruu6u tTallimu sanTa. kunt itTallim tiktib Tarabi. kunti tfallimi tiktibi Tarabi. kuntu tfallimu tiktibu Tarabi. 'You'd learn 'You' d learn 'You'd learn 'You'd learn 'You'd learn 'You' d learn (ms) have done well to go a trade.' (fs) have done well to go French.' (p) have done well to go a trade.' (ms) have done well to how to write Arabic.' (fs) have done well to how to write Arabic.' (p) have done well to how to write Arabic.' I I I I I I I I I I I I The imperative verb iwTa ( feminine : iw?i, plural iwcu ) may introduce a verbal sequence to denote a warning or an admonition against something; the sequence in question may or may not contain a form of kaan : 1. If it occurs in the verbal sequence, kaan follows iw'a and is a bare imperfect form. A verb which immediately follows kaan is an imperfect form with an aspect prefix; any other verb in the sequence is a bare imperfect form. EGYPTIAN ARABIC ill REFERENCE GR"MAR EGVPTIAN ARA&(C 111 REFERENCE GRAMMAR iw~a tkuun Tayyaan. iw9i tkuuni bitiibbii. iwfu tkuunu Fatibtidu tidrisu turki. 'I hope you (ms) are not sick.' Literally : "Be mindful of the possibility that you (ms) are sick." 'I hope you (fs) are not in love with him.' Literally : "Be mindful of the possibility that you (fs) are in love with him." 'I hope you (p) are not going to start studying Turkish.' Literally : "Be mindful of the possibility that you (p) will start to study Turkish." iw~a ykuun Tayyaan. 'I hope he is not sick.' Liter- ally : "You (ms) take heed lest he should be sick." iwfi ykuun biyFibbik. 'I hope he is not in love with you (fs).' Literally : "Take heed lest he should be in love with you (fs)." iwfu ykuunu Fayibtidu 'I hope they are not going to yidrisu turki. start studying Turkish.' Liter- ally : "You (p) take heed lest they should be going to start studying Turkish." 2. If kaan does not occur in the verbal sequence, all the verbs which follow iwa are bare imperfect ( = subjunctive ) forms : i wTa tg i i bu. iwTi truu i tablii. 0 'Make sure you (mns) do not bring him.' 'Make sure you (fs) do not go to meet him.' EGYPTIAN ARABIC 112 REFERENCE GRAMMAR iwiu tibtidu truuiu tidrisu turki. iwfa yiigi. iwT'i yruu yi?abilha. iwfu yibtidu yruuiu yidrisu turki. 'Make sure you (p) do not start to study Turkish.' 'You (ms) make sure he does not come.' 'You (fs) make sure he does not go to meet her.' 'You (p) make sure that they do not start to study Turkish.' The imperative iwa may co -occur with a negative verb iwTa matirgaT . 'Make sure you return.' Literally : "Guard against not returning." I I I I I I I I I I U I I I I I U I I IMPERATIVE NEGATIVE A negative imperative form consists of the subjunctive second- person form plus the affixes ma-...- : tiktib 'you (ms) write' ma-tiktib-4 'don't write ( addressing a male )' tiktibi ma-t ikt ibi i4 t iktibu ma-ti kt i buu- 'you (fs) write' 'don't write ( addressing a female )' 'you (p) write' 'don't write ( addressing more than one )' The affirmative imperative forms of yf iigi 'to come' are tafaala (ms) tafaali (fs), and taaalu (p); the corresponding negative imperatives EGYPTIAN ARABIC 113 REFERENCE GRAMMAR are matgii (ms, fs) and matguus (p). Neither the negative nor the affirmative imperative form of kaan occurs in a verbal sequence; for this reason, the following comments are restricted to verbal sequences which include no form of kaan. A verbal sequence may consist of only two members. If the first verb of such a sequence is negative imperative the second is an affirmative second-person bare form. If the second verb is negative, the first is an affirmative imperative form : mati?bal truuR. 'Don't agree to go.' i?bal matruF . 'Agree not to go.' A verbal sequence may consist of more than two verbs. If the first verb of such a sequence is a negative imperative, the rest are affirm- ative second-person bare (subjunctive) forms. If a verb other than the first is negative, the first is an affirmative imperative, and the rest are affirmative second person bare (subjunctive) forms : mati?balI truu6 'Do not agree to go to learn.' titTal I im. i?bal matru6F 'Agree not to go to learn.' titTallim. As the English translation shows, negating different constituents of the verbal sequence does not result in synonymous expressions. Most situations call for negating only the first verb : mati?bal tibtidi 'Don't agree to start going.' truuR. A verbal sequence may contain one of the forms iwa ( used in addressing a male ), iw~i ( used in addressing a female ), and iwfu ( used in addressing more than one person ). The three forms in question imply undesirable consequences and are best translated by 'you'd better not ( do something )' iw~a truui maaaha. 'Make sure you (ms) do not go with her.' iwii truu~i ma'aaha. 'Make sure you (fs) do not go with her.' EGYPTIAN ARABIC 114 REFERENCE GRAMMAR iwu truuiu maSaaha. A negative imperative form may same verbal sequence : iwTa matru, t?ablu. iwTi ti?balI matru6i i. iwiu matiawluu t ihrabu. 'Make sure you (p) do not go with her.' follow iw~a, iw i, or iwfu in the 'You'd better not meet him.' 'You'd better not go.' 'You'd better not to escape.' fail to go to agree not to fail to attempt I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I *** ** *** IMPERATIVE : RESPONSES The following five expressions are commonly used in responding to a request; they are interchangeable in most situations, and the idiomatic translation in each case is 'gladly' : 1. aadir. 2. bikull sruur. 3. Tala eeni wraasi. 4. yaali wittalab rixiis. 5. amrak. 0 ( literally : "(It's) Ready" ) (invariable) ( literally : "With every pleasure" ) ( literally : "On my eye and my head !" with the cultural implication that whatever is placed on the eye or the head is an obligation that can- not be taken lightly ) ( literally : "You are dear and the request is inexpensive" ) ( literally : "Your order" ) *** *** *** I I I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 115 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABiC 115 REFERENCE GRAMMAR IMPERATIVE SOCIAL USAGE The following sentences contain imperative verbs : u?af gamb ilIbaab. ruuii masr. istaTiddu lillimti6aan. i?ru Imaqaala kwayyis. 'Stand (ms) next to the door.' 'Go (fs) to Egypt.' 'Get ready (p) for the test.' 'Read (p) the article well.' Although perfectly grammatical, the above sentences have restricted usage; they occur in one of the following situations : 1. When the speaker considers the addressee less than an equal. 2. When the speaker and the addressee are on familiar terms. In formal situations, and when addressing equals or superiors, the speaker usually employs one of the following structures to express a request : 1. A question introduced by the auxiliary ti?dar ( feminine : ti?dari, plural : ti?daru ) 'could you' or the auxiliary tisma6 ( feminine : tisma6il, plural : tisma6u ) 'would you': ti?dar tigiblIi kubbaayit 'Could you (ms) bring me a mayya ? glass of water ?' ti?dari tiufiili huwwa 'Could you (fs) find him for feen ? me ?' tismaRu tiigu baTd 'Would you (p) come in the idduhr ? afternoon ?' 2. A question introduced by the modal mumkin 'could' : mumkin tu?'ud Ta kkursi ttaani ? mumkin titbaTiili ggawaab da ? mumkin tigiibu kutubkum ma'aakum bukra ? 'Could you (ms) sit on the other chair ?' 'Could you (fs) type this letter for me ?' 'Could you (p) bring your books with you tomorrow ?' EGYP71AN ARABIC 116 REFFERENCE GRAMMAR 3. An imperative construction combined with the polite expression min fadlak ( feminine : min fadlik, plural : min fadlukum ) 'please'. Less common than min fad lak, but equivalent to it in meaning, are the following expressions : wi6yaatak ( femi- nine : wi6fyaatIk, plural : wiFyatkum ), winnabi, i Tmil maTruuf ( feminine : iTmili maTruuf, plural : iTmilu maTruuf ), yinuubak sawaab ( feminine : yinuubik sawaab, plural: ylnubkum sawaab, law sama6t ( feminine : law sama6ti, plural law sama6tum ) : ifta6 ilbaab min fadlak ya Tall. ifta6i min fadlik ya fari i da. hat ili fingaal ?ahwa ynuubik sawaab ya fat~iyya. iddiini kkitaab da winnabi ya 6asan. uskutu ya wlaad iTmilu maTruuf. 'Please open the door, Ali.' 'Please open ( the door ), Farida.' 'Please bring me a cup of coffee, Fathia.' 'Please give me this book, Hasan.' 'Please be quiet, children.' I I I I I U U I I I 4. One of the questions described in #1 and #2 above, combined with one of the polite expressions listed in #3 : tl?dar tigibli fingaal ?ahwa min fadlak ? mumkin titbaTiili ggawaab da winnabi ? 'Could you (ms) please bring me a cup of coffee ?' 'Could you (fs) please type this letter for me ?' *** *** *** IMPERATIVE : SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES I. The English expression "make so and so do such and such' is paralleled in EA by a construction which consists of the I I I I I I EGY AN ARABIC 117 "NEFERENCE GRAMMAR following units in the order given : (a) One of the imperative forms xalli ( ms or fs ) and xallu (p) 'make, have (someone do something)'. (b) A noun or a third-person pronominal suffix functioning as subject of the following verb. (c) A bare imperfect (subjunctive) verb. The following are examples : ya Tali, xalli farlid yiruu6. ya samiira, xallii yruuf6. ya asadza, xallu talamzitkum yinaddafu I?ooda. 'Ali, make Farid go.' 'Samira, make him go.' 'Teachers, make your students clean up the room.' The same construction can mean 'let ( i.e., allow ) so and so to do such and such'; here, however, constituent (b) may be a noun, a first- person pronominal suffix, or a third-person pronominal suffix : ya fariid, xalli suzaan t iruu6. ya amaal, xalliini asaSdik. ya wleaad, xalliihum y i I fabu mTaakum. 'Farid, let Susan go ( i.e., allow Susan to go ).' 'Amal, let me help you ( i.e., allow me to help you ).' 'Children, let them play with you ( i.e., allow them to play with you ).' 2. The English construction with let's corresponds to an Arabic construction consisting of yaIa and a following first-person plural verb : ya{la nirga'. yalla nI?ti ssamak. 'Let's return.' 'Let's fry the fish.' 3. The sequence signal ma often occurs in contexts which denote commands or requests. All verbs which follow me in such contexts are bare, imperfect, second-person forms : EGYPTIAN ARABIC 118 REFERENCE GRAMMAR ma t?uum ya Tali. ma t?uumi ya suzaan. ma t?uumu ya wlaad. ma t?uum taakul ya fariid. 'Come on, Ali, get up !' 'Come on, Susan, get up !' 'Come on, children, get up !' 'Come on, Farid, get up and eat !' I I I I I I I I I The form ma is called a sequence signal because it sentence to a preceding portion of the discourse. taakul indicates annoyance at having to repeat the *** *** *** INDEFINLITE PHRASE ( See : Phrase Versus Sentence ) *** *** *** INDEFINITE SUBJECT In EA, the subject of a sentence is usually definite may relate the Thus ma t?uum invitation. I I ilkitaab 'a ttarabeeza. ?ali filmbeet. inti min masr ? 'The book is on the table.' 'Ali is at home.' 'Are you from Egypt ?' There are relatively few types of sentences with an indefinite subject; they consist of two groups : 1. Sentences whose predicate contains or consists of the word f ii f iih 'there is/are ( denoting existence )'; an example is *ilaah fiih which, as will become clear from the discussion below, is the abstract source string for f ih ilaah 'There is a God.' 2. Sentences whose predicate neither contains nor consists of the word fli ~ fiih; an example is kalb Rayy asan min asad mayyit M I I I I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 119 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 'A living dog is more useful ( literally : "better" ) than a dead lion.' Sentences of the first group occur with the predicate preceding the subject; thus the source string *ilaah fiih undergoes an inver- sion transformation which produces fiih ilaah 'There is a God.' The inversion transformation in question is not applicable to sen- tences of the second group. Sentences of the first group may be divided into the following sub-groups : (a) Sentences where f ii ~ fiih is followed by a modifier denoting place or possession. In the examples below, only the abstract source strings are given and the actual sentences will be derived later : * kitaab fiih ?a 'There is a book on the table.' ttarabeeza. * saaa fliih 'andi. 'I have a watch.' * dahr fiih iina. 'We have backing.' (b) Sentences where f ii fiih is not followed by a modifier denoting place or possession. In the examples below, only the abstract source strings are given : * ilaah flih. 'There is a God.' * kitaab Tan masr f i i h. 'There is a book about Egypt.' * sitt btixbiz fiih. 'There is a woman who is baking.' To produce concrete sentences ( i.e., sentences which are actually pronounced by speakers ), the abstract strings of sub-group (a) undergo one of the transformations described below : 1. The constituent fli ~ fiih is transposed to initial position : * kitaab fiih 'a ttarabeeza ---> fiih kitaab Ta ttarabeeza 'There is a book on the table.' * saaia fiih %'andi --- fiih saa'a Landi 'I have a watch.' * dahr fiih liina --- fiih dahr liina 'We have backing.' I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 120 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I 2. The modifier is transposed to initial position and the mini- I mum predicate f ii ~ fiih is deleted : * kitaab flih Ta ttarabeeza --- q a ttarabeeza ktaab 'There is a book on the table.' * saa~a fiih Tandi ---> Tandi saafa 'I have a watch.' * dahr fiih liina ---> Iina dahr I 'We have backing.' To produce concrete sentences, the abstract strings of sub- group (b) undergo a transformation which transposes the predicate fii ~ fiih to initial position : * ilaah fiih ---> fliih ilaah 'There is a God' * kitaab Tan masr flih --- fiih kitaab Tan masr 'There is a book about Egypt' * sitt btixbiz fiih ---) fiih sitt btixbiz I 'There is a woman who is baking. INDEPENDENT PERSONAL PRONOUNS (See : Pronoun : Personal) INDICATIVE MOOD U The indicative verb predicates an actual occurence or fact ( as opposed to a wish, a conjecture, or a possibility ). The actual occurence or fact may be either static, habitual, or progressive, as well as, according to the context, past, present, or future, e.g., I I EGYPrIAN ARABIC_ 121 RE FERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABiC 121 REFERENCE GIZAJV{MAR /kaan biylktib/ /Faykuun biyiktib/ /biyiktib Tarabi kwayyis/ 'he was writing' 'he will be writing' 'he writes Arabic well (script or language)' *** *** *** INTENSIFIER Adverbs, interjections and other phrases that express a greater degree of something. Examples : ?aw i xaaI i s giddan kitiir abadan mutagakkir xaai is mutagakkir ?awi mutagakkir giddan innoom kitlir wiRig ?awi Tumrak 9iribt ilwiski ? abadan abadan xaalis ? Tumri Tumri ma ribt sagaayir. iliamdu Iillaah umri magribtig sagaayir abadan. ilbint di Rilwa ?awi, gamlila giddan. inta akramtini ktiir ?awi, wana mutagakkir giddan. imbaari6i migiit Tagra miil. Tara mii mig kitiir ?awi. la izzaay ! braavo I kuwayyis giddan. very very very a lot ( after verbs or nouns) never, not at all ( independent or Thank you very muchwith negative verb ) Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Sleeping a lot is very bad. Have you ever drunk whiskey ? Never Never ever at all ? Never ( in my whole life ) I have never smoked cigarettes ( Note : EA "drink" cigarettes ) Thank God, I never ever smoked at all. This girl is very pretty, very beautiful. You were very hospitable to me, and I am very obliged to you. Yesterday I walked for ten miles. Ten miles is not very much. Oh, come on ! Bravo, very good EGYPTIAN ARABIC 122 REFERENCE GRAMMAR INTERROGATIVE ( See : Questions : Alternative Questions, Questions : Information Questions, Questions : Tags, Questions : Yes-or-No Questions ) *** *** *** INTERROGATI VES A word or a phrase used to ask questi rogatives in Egyptian Arabic are : eeh ? feen ? (Tala) feen ? mineen ? leeh ? emta ? Talalaan eeh ? miin ? eeh ? bitaaT miin ? limiin ? kaam ? bikaam ? ?add eeh ? izzaay ? hal ? The most common inter- U I I I I I I I U I I I I I I I 'what ?' 'where ?' 'to where ?' 'from where ?' 'why ?' 'when ?' 'what for ?' 'who ?' 'which ?' 'whose ?' 'whose ?' 'how many ? how much ?' 'how much ? ( price )' 'how long ( distance ) ?' 'how ?' 'did, will ?' ( question particle) *** *** I I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 123 REFERENCE GRAMMAR -GY- 0AN . ZA-IC 13 REFERENE-GRAMMA LABI ODENTAL A place of articulation consisting of the lower lip and upper teeth /f v/. LATERAL Refers to a consonant produced with the tongue touching only the middle of the palate, thus allowing the air flow to escape around one or both sides of the tongue : /I !/. *** *** *** LEXEME Also referred to as Lexical Item or Lexical Form or Word or Vocabulary Item or Dictionary Entry or Citation Form. *** *** *** LEXICON A list of ( all or certain ) words in a language. *** *** *** I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 124 RFFFiFNrF r.12AMMA2 PFPop LoAAAA LINKAGE In many cases, word and syllable boundaries do not coincide in EA. Linkage is the formation of a syllable using the last phoneme(s) of one word and the initial phoneme of the following word. If we look at /?ilIgumla gdiida/ 'the sentence is new' in terms of syllable and word boundaries, we get /?il - gum - lag - dii - da/ ( " - " here represents syllable boundary and ^ represents linkage between words ). The most difficult part for a non-native speaker is the end of the first word and the beginning of the second word where linkage occurs : here, /lag/. This is particularly difficult in rapid speech. LONG VOWEL ( See : Vowels ) I I I I I I *** *** *** LOW VOWEL A vowel which is produced with the tongue arched low in the mouth. The EA low vowel is /a/. I I I I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 125 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGVPTIAN ARA&LC 125 REFERENCE GRAMMAR -M MANNER ADVERBS ( See : Adverbs of Manner ) *** *** *** MASDAR A term used by Arab grammarians to refer to the Verbal Noun (q.v.). *** *** *** MEASURES : DEFINITION Compare the following words : Rammis 'to make ( someone ) enthusiastic' kattib 'to make ( someone ) write' sallim 'to greet' sabbib 'to cause' Although they have different roots, the words in question are structur- ally similar since each consists of the following elements in the order given : an initial radical, the vowel /a/, a doubled radical, the vowel /1/, and a final radical. Using F, T, and L as cover symbols I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 126 REFERENCE GRAMMAR for any initial radical, any medial radical, and any final radical respectively, the shared structure may be represented as FaTfiL. Thus FaT'iL is a generalized shape which stands for all words of aI given structure; such generalized shapes are called "measures". Measures are usually associated with particular meanings in contrast with the lexical meanings of roots; for example, the verb measure FaT'iL frequently indicates causation ( kattib 'to make someone write' ); the noun measure FaaiL frequently indicates the doer ( kaatib 'writer' ); and the noun measure maFaL frequently ____ I indicates place ( maktab 'office' ). In addition to their particular meanings, measures also have a lexical designation; for example, the measure FaTiiL frequentlyj designates high-ranking positions while FaTaaL frequently desig- nates lowly occupations: waziir '(cabinet) minister' amiir 'prince' Taqiid 'colonel' naqiib 'chairman of a guild' safir 'ambassador' tabiib 'medical doctor' Lamiid 'dean' Rammaar 'donkey driver' gazzaar 'butcher' ayyaaI 'porter' naggaar 'carpenter' fat Iaa6 'farmer' sabbaak 'smelter' xabbaaz 'baker' I aIallaa? 'barber' sabbaak 'plumber' Many measures have variants which are determined by general phono- logical rules; in other words, a measure is a class of patterns. For example, the following patterns belong to the same measure since they I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 127 REFERENCE GRAMMAR designate the same grammatical meanings ( passivity, etc. ) and since the structural differences which distinguish one from the other are predictable in terms of phonological changes in the root : itFaTaL ( from sound roots ) itFaT ( from doubled roots ) itFaaL ( from hollow roots ) itFaTa ( from defective roots ) The "basic" shape ( i.e., the shape which stands for the class as a whole ) is the one which can yield the other shapes through the simplest and most general rules possible; in the case of triliteral verbs, the basic shapes are those which have sound roots ( q.v. ). It is for this reason that itFaaL stands for the class which includes itFaiaL, itFaT, itFaaL, and itFaTa; it follows that ( unless further specification is necessary ) itxaram, itTadd, itbaaT and itrama are said to be of the measure itFaTaL. MEASURES : INTUITIONAL REALITY OF That the measure -- apart from the root -- is a psychological as well as a structural reality can be ascertained from two facts : the native's ability to coin new words by combining a familiar root with a familiar measure, and the native's ability to understand unfamiliar words which have familiar roots and familiar measures. Knowledge of the root-and-measure system of Arabic makes it possible for students to guess with some degree of accuracy the meaning of unfamiliar words. Such knowledge may also prove useful in memorizing and remembering vocabulary items : the student may find it helpful to group together words with the same root or words with the same measure, and to study the entire list as sets at regular intervals. On the other hand, one should exercise caution in forecasting unfamiliar words by combining familiar EGVPTIAN ARABIC 128 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABiC 128 REFERENCE G1~AMMAR roots with familiar measures : such an attempt may result in non- existent forms because no one root is capable of combining with I every measure, and no measure can combine with every root. *** *** *** II MID VOWEL A vowel which is produced with the tongue arched at a mid-point in the mouth. EA [ I ] is a mid-vowel as in /dill/ --- [ dI! ] 'shade'. I MINIMAL PAIR I ( See : Phoneme ) I MOD ALS A modal ( or modal auxiliary ) is a word that indicates the speaker's mood or psychological attitude toward the reality or truth value of the action or state denoted by the main verb with which it is used. Modals are usually followed by a bare ( subjunctive ) form, but certain modals ( e.g., laazim, gaayiz ) can be followed by a perfect verb. The perfect verb denotes a complete event while the subjunctive does not. lIaazim aktib gawaab 'I must write a letter.' Iaazim mixI 'He must have left.' labudd nimli 'We must leave. 3 yimkin asaafir masr 'I may go to Egypt.' gaayiz yiigi bukra 'He may come tommorow.' I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 129 RENERENCE GRAMMAR Either the modal or the main verb in a sentence can be negated. Note the difference in meaning in the following sentences : yimkin maktib gawaab mayimkin aktib gawaab 'Maybe I won't write a letter.' 'I can't write a letter.' Many modals are either active or passive participles, though some are nouns. The following is a list of the most common EA modals. (a) Active participles : ?aawiz (-a, -iin) 'want to ... naawi (-a, -iin) 'intending to ...' gaayiz 'it is possible that ...' laazim 'it is necessary that ...' ?aaTid (-a, -iin) 'continuing to ...' TammaaI(-a - i in) 'continuing to ...' Note that gaayiz and laazim have the variant forms yiquuz and yilzam respectively. (b) Passive participles : mamnuu masmuui mustaTidd mafruud misammim mumki n (-a, -i in) (-a, -i in) 'it is forbidden to . 'it is permitted to . 'is ready to ...' 'it is supposed that 'is determined to ... may ...' (c) Nouns: nifs- + ?asd- + zamaan- tann- + pro. suf. pro. suf. + pro. suf. pro. suf. 'feel like ...' 'mean to ...' 'must have ...' 'continuing to ... (d) Others : yareet- + pro. suf. (optional) 'wish ... yadoob- + pro. suf. 'must have ... EGYPTIAN ARABIC 130 REFERENCE GRAMMAR labudd rubbama inialla yalla iyyaa- + pro. suf. 'must . 'may 'hope ... 'let's ...' 'better not.. Notes : 1. Of the modals in categories (a) and (b), some are impersonal and therefore invariable in form, and others are personal and, as indicated, must agree in gender and number with the subject of the main verb. I I I I I I I I I I I I flaw\/at;Csaafr bukra S IL in-.ends L.a .jtea.vt AJLL.L( 2. Of the modals in categories (c) and (d), some, as indicated, take a following noun or pornoun suffix which agrees with the subject of the main verb. yareet can optionally take a pronoun suffix. nifsi aakul tiffaa6 'I feel like eating an apple.' *** *** ** MODI FIER A word used to modify, describe, limit or qualify the meaning of a noun, verb or adjective. In Egyptian Arabic this class of modifiers consists of (a) adjectives ( including participles used as adjectives and (b) adverbs. Examples : (a) walad kiblir bint kbiira awlaad kubaar beet maftuuR 'a big boy' 'a big girl' 'big boys' 'an open house' I I I I I I I Notice number/gender agreement. EGVPTIAN ARABIC 131 REFERENCF GRAMMAR . .. .. -. v. - , ,,-, , Note that participles used as adjectives (q.v.) are derived from verbs whereas the majority of adjectives are not. Many adjectives have the form FvTiiL, e.g., kiblir 'big' latiif 'nice' laziiz 'delicious' (b) Adverbs modify adjectives or verbs. giri bsura 'he ran fast' ilbint nabliha ?awi 'the girl is very smart' *** *** *** MORPHEME The minimal meaningful unit of speech in any language; it may be a word or part of a word, e.g., Egyptian Arabic katab 'to write' has one morpheme, katabt 'I wrote' has two and makatabti' 'I did not write' has three. Notice that /ma- ...E/, the negative morpheme, is a Discontinuous Morpheme. Also note that / - / is referred to as a Morpheme Boundary. *** *** *** MORPHOPHONEME A variant of a morpheme (q.v.). E.g., English /-s ~ -z ~ -iz/ as in "cats", "dogs" and "kisses", respectively, are all morphophonemic variants ( or allomorphs, q.v. ) of the noun plural morpheme. Their form is governed by the phonetic environment. In EA, /wi/ and /w-/ are morphophonemic variants of the conjunction "and". /wi/ is con- ditioned by a preceding consonant and /w-/ is conditioned by a pre- ceding vowel. I *** *** *** I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 133 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTiAN A1ZASlC 133 REFERENCE GRAMMAR -N- NASAL Refers to consonants produced with the uvula lowered, allowing the air to escape through the nose, so that the nasal cavity acts as a resonator : /m, n/. *** *** *** NASAL CAVITY One of the cavaties that serve as a resonator in speech. NEGATION : ma-, ma- ...-9, AND miv . mu The forms ma-, ma-...-s and mi ~ mus are used to negate EA expressions; they are considered variants of the same unit since the choice between them is almost completely determined by the environment. 1. The form ma- The contexts where ma- occurs signal emphasis ( emphatic negation, threat, or strong wish ). The emphasis in question is not signalled by ma- alone : there is always some co-occurrent EGYPTIAN ARABIC 134 REFERENCE GRAMMAR constituent which expresses emphasis. Specifically, ma- is used in the following environments : (a) Prefixed to a verb ( perfect or imperfect ) which follows Tumr 'ever' or an oath particle : Tumri ma- uftu sakraan. 'I never saw him drunk.' Tumrukum ma-6atit?addimu. 'You (p) will never advance.' bisarafi ma-ruit. 'I swear ( by my honor ) that I I I I I I I I I wallaahi ma-a6ibbaha. did not go.' 'I swear ( by God ) that I don't love her.' (b) Prefixed to a verb ( perfect or imperfect ) after the form yareet 'I wish, would that, I hope' : yareetu ma-Tirif. yareet illi asal ma-Fasal. yaritni ma-baiibbaha. yareetu ma-yiigi. 'I wish he had not known.' 'I wish what took place had not happened.' 'I wish I were not in love with her.' 'I hope he does not come.' I I I I (c) Prefixed to a subjunctive verb atter the expression ya rabb 'I hope' : ya rabb ma-yiigi. ya rabb ma-tiuufu wihi abadan. 'I hope he will not come.'I 'I hope you will never encounter any evil.' Notice that the imperfect after ya rabb, unlike the imperfect after yareet, may not take an aspect prefix. (d) Prefixed to a perfect verb when the context is a c .dicLtionai sentence expressing a threat : makunv mdiir ilmaktab da law ma-taradtak. 'I am not the director of this office if I don't fire you !' U I I I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 135 REFERENCE GRAMMAR (e) Pretixea to a perfect verb atter one o± the forms ann- and insalla ~ alia which denote annoyance and indifference : Tannak ma-kalt. inallIa/allIa ma- Faww i na. 'I don't give a damn if you don't eat !' 'To hell with saving money ' 2. The form ma- ...-4 The form ma- ...-1 is used in three environments excluding the contexts for ma-. (a) Affixed to all verb forms except those which have the prefix 6a- : ma-katab- ma-byaku I - ma-yiTraf-s yruu6 ma-titkallim- 'he did not write' 'he does not eat' 'He does not know how to go.' 'Don't talk !' (b) Affixed to an inverted predicate consisting of (i) f i i 'there is/are' or (ii) a preposition and a pronominal suffix : ma-fii-4 Fadd hina. ma-Tandukum-s fluus ? ma-Talik- zanb . ma-lik- dahr. 0 0 'There is no one here.' 'Don't you (p) have any money ?' 'You (ms) are not to blame.' 'You (ms) have no one to back you up.' (c) Affixed to a pronoun when the whole sentence -- not the pro- noun alone -- is negated. The pronoun in question is usually one which functions as subject : ma-ntaa-4 fahimni. 'You (ms) don't understand me.' Notice, however, that ma- ...-S is not used to negate the pronoun alone ( i.e., apart from the rest of the sentence ) : Tali : miin illi kasar ilkubbaaya ? 'Ali : Who broke the glass ?' EGYPTIAN ARABIC 136 REFERENCE GRAMMAR suzaan : mi ana II kasartaha. 'Susan : I am not the one who broke it.' Notes 1. The suffix - ( which constitutes the second part of ma- ...-1 ) occurs after all other suffixes : ma-katab-haa-v ma-katab-ha-I-ak- ma-ba'Tatt u-hum-I u-hum- 'he did not write it (f)' 'he did not write it (f) for you' 'I did not send them to them' 2. Provided it is preceded by a consonant, the suffix - ( which constitutes the second part of ma- ...-S ) may be replaced by -si in sentence final position : Tali i margiT or 'Ali did not return.' Tali margiTi. The optional occurrence of -Si in sentence-final position after a consonant may be the result of a tendency to general- ize : in sentence medial position, -C is replaced by -COi when the next word begins with a consonant : I I I I I I I I I I I I I I /makatab / /makatab i ktaab/ 'he did not write' 'he did not write a book' Less frequently, sentence final - is replaced by - i after a long vowel : maiuftahaas. or v masuftahaa i. mara6uug. or marauus i. 'I did not see her.' 'They did not go.' The optional occurrence of -i in sentence-final position after a long vowel may be the result of a tendency to gener- alize. In sentence-medial position, a long vowel rarely occurs in a closed syllable. For that reason most speakers replace -VV by -VE before a word which begins with a I I I I I FGVPTTAN ARABIC 137 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I PTA J VFa%41 A, --3fRFRECE GAMA consonant, and some replace -VV by -VV i in the same position; it is usually the latter group of speakers who use -VV i in sentence-final position. The validity of the above explanation is supported by the fact that a sentence-final - is not replaced by -vi after a short vowel; thus the form makatabti i does not occur as an alternative to sentence-final makatabti . 3. The form miv - mu The form mi ~ mu is used (a) before bi- as an alternative to the use of ma- ...-s, and (b) in all environments other than those for ma- and ma- ...-s, including rhetorical questions and exhortations. mi baluufu yoom iladd or ma-baLufuu- yoom ilhadd. illuya ITarabiyya mis sa 'ba. fahmi mis ustaaz. issabab mi maTruf. tanfiiz awamru mi mumkin. mi Faruu6 masr issanaadi. isaxs illi kunt a?sudu mi inta. iggaraayid mis filmaktab. ilha?? mi Taleek. ilfuluus mis 'Tandi. miv hazzartak ? mi ti?uum takullak Iu?ma ? 'I do not see him on Sunday.' 'The Arabic language is not difficult.' 'Fahmi is not a professor.' 'The reason is not known.' 'Carrying out his orders is not possible.' 'I will not go to Egypt this year.' 'The person to whom I was referring is not you.' 'The newspapers are not in the office.' 'The fault is not yours.' 'The money is not with me. 'Haven't I warned you ?' (rhetorical) 'Won't you get up and eat a bite ?' (exhortation) *** *** *** I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 138 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I NEGATION NEGATING A VERBAL NOUN I Two forms occur as negators of verbal nouns : Tadam and balaa ; of these, the more frequent is Tadam. The forms in question are not interchangeable since they signal different meanings. ___ I 1. Ladam negates the existence of what the verbal noun designates. Translatable by non-, un-, in-, dis-, lack of, etc., the word Tadam is placed before the verbal noun to be negated. ana muta?akkid min Tadam 'I am certain of the non-exist- wuguud ilayaat ence of life on Mars.' f Imarriix. muski l itna hiyya Tadam 'Our problem is disagreement littifaa? Ta Imabaadi? on the basic principles.' il?asasiyya. mis Lagibni Tadam ihtimaamak 'I do not like your lack of bidruusak. interest in your studies.' 2. The form balaa expresses a request to refrain or desist from the action denoted by the following verbal noun; thus balaaI akl means 'Stop eating'. Notice that in this context the verbal noun is usually, though not always, indefinite. ( See Negation : The Form balaa' ) NEGATION : NEGATING A VERBAL SEQUENCE In EA, a verbal sequence may consist of as many as six verbs 1 ( beginning with a form of kaan and ending with the main verb ) : kaan yiibb yibtidi yruui 'He would have liked to start yit allim yitmallaq going to learn how to flatter innaas. people.' Any verb in the sequence may be negated : thus one may say makans yhibb ... 'He would not have liked ...', kaan may ibbi ... 'He would I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 139 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 0F161 Vl I%#§ A . %0 -l- 139 -I.EFEI - EN - GRAMMA- have not liked ...', kaan yiibb mayibtidii ... 'He would have liked not to start ...', etc. As the English translation indicates, negating different verbs in the sequence does not result in synonymous expressions. Most situations call for negation of only the first verb in the sequence. *** *** *** NEGATION : NEGATING CONDITIONAL SENTENCES The constituents of a conditional sentence are negated in accordance with the general rules of negation. The following are examples : iza Tali iza Tali iza Tali iza Lali raa6 Faz~alI. mara6 haz~alI 0raaF6 mi fhaz'ialI mara6 mi hazS~aI 'If Ali goes, I will be upset.' 'If Ali does not go, I will be upset.' 'If Ali goes, I will not be upset.' 'If Ali does not go, I will not be upset.' Some conditional sentences are derived by adding a form of the perfect verb kaan to one or more constituents; negation of that form may be substituted for negation in the source constituent; thus the following pairs are equivalent : iza kaan Tali maraH... iza makans Tali raa6 ... law kaan Tali mi tilmiiz... law makan Tali tilmiiz... law rigu, kaan mara6i... law rigTu, makans raah... 'if Ali has not gone' 'if Ali were not a student' 'If they had returned he would not have gone.' *** *** *** EGYPrIAN ARABIC 140 RIEFERENCE GRAMMAR EGVPMWraaiJ ARAET%4140-REWERENCE GRADMAW NEGATION : NEGATING THE SEQUENCE MOVAL + VERB In a sequence consisting of a modal and a following verb, it is usually possible to negate either the modal or the verb. Thus labudd yuu 'he must go' may yield mii labudd yruu 'it is not necessary for him to go' or labudd mayru69 'it is necessary for him not to go he must not go' ( notice that the two negative expressions are not identical in meaning ). There are, however, some modals which cannot be negated; the main ones are inala 'I hope', iyyeak %had better not ( threat )', and rubbama 'might'" NEGATION : THE FORM balaag 1. If followed by a verbal noun or a subjunctive form, balaag is an instruction to refrain or desist from an action : I I I U I I I U I I I balaag ziTii?. balaa tiruu6 innaharda. ' Stop shouting !' 'Don't go today !' Notice that in this context the verbal noun is usually, though not necessarily, indefinite. 2. When used as an exclamatory sentence, balaa indicates compliance with a refusal : Tali: laazim tigiib ilkutub. fariid: mig gayibha. ?ali: balaag. 'Ali: You must bring the books.' 'Farid: I won't bring them.' 'Ali: Fine, don't !' 3. Elsewhere, balaag is an instruction to exclude what follows : i?ra garidt il?ahraam laakin 'Read the newspaper Al-Ahram, but balaag garidt i1?axbaar, forget about the newspaper Al- Akhbar , mistaktar innu daba6Fa wgirib min dammaha ? balaag irib 'Do you find it too much to believe that he cut her throat and drank U I U EGVPTIAN ARABIC 141 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARA~lC 141 REFERENCE GRAMMAR min dammaha. tistaktar innu daba6Fa ? her blood ? Well, forget about drinking her blood. Do you find it too much to beleive that he cut her throat ? ' *** *** *** NEGATION THE FORM wala ( See : Conjunctions ) *** *** *** NEGATIVE IMPERATIVE ( See : Imperative : Negative ) *** *** *** NEGATIVE PARTICLES ( See : Negation : ma-, ma- ...-, miS ~ mu ) NISBA ADJECTIVES In English, adjectives are often formed by the addition of certain affixes to nouns ( a process which sometimes requires a change in the noun ) : Noun America Rome Spain face Adj ective American Roman Spanish facial EGYPTIAN ARABIC 142 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I In EA, an adjective may be formed by adding the suffix -i to a noun : Noun Adjective masr 'Egypt' masr i 'Egyptian' mawdiT 'place' mawdiTi 'local' Adjectives derived in this manner are called "nisba adjectives" or I "relative adjectives" because they show relationships. The termination -V or -(Vy)V is deleted before suffixing /-i/. Examples : madrasa ++ -i --4 madrasi 'scholastic' baljiika + -i --- baljiiki 'Belgian' turkiya + -i ---> turki 'Turkish' A noun which invariably occurs with the definite article loses that article when the nisba suffix is added : ilyabaan + -i --- yabaani 'Japanese' il?urdun + -i -- urduni 'Jordanian' The definite article may, of course, be added to yabaani or urduni if the modified noun is definite; the fact being stressed is that yabaani and urduni are possible while yabaan and urdun are not. Upon receiving the nisba suffix, a handful of nouns ( mostly defect- ive ) undergo changes which cannot be predicted by the above rules; for example, sana 'year' becomes sanawi 'annual', nabi'prophet' becomes nabawi 'prophetic', and asa 'Asia' becomes aswi'Asian'. The nisba adjectives corresponding to such nouns should be learned as items. The feminine singular form of the nisba adjective is obtained by adding ya to the masculine singular form; the plural form, by adding -yyiin. Masculine Singular Feminine Singular Plural masri 'Egyptian' masriyya masriyyiinI Notice, however, that some nisba adjectives have broken plurals, e.g., atraak 'Turkish (p)', ingiliiz 'British (p)'. In a sequence of adjectives, a nisba adjective must come first : karafatta ingiliizi Famra 'a red English tie' I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 143 REFERENCE GRAMMAR For contexts where nisba adjectives designate color, type of product, or social status, see "Adjective : Attributive Construction". A nisba adjective can be used as a noun, as can other adjectives, e.g.: i Imasri suuriyya 'the Egyptian ( man )' 'a Syrian ( woman )' *** *** *** NOMINALIZATION : DEFINITION Nominalization is the use of a sentence to fill a slot which is typically filled by a noun. For example, the object slot in simi~t ilxabar 'I heard the news' is typically filled by a noun; however, the sentence TalI r igi 'Ali has returned' may be used to fill the same slot : simi t inn Tali rigiP. 'I heard that Ali has returned.' More examples are given below. nominal slot is underlined : ?aal inn fatfii kaslaan. Lirift inn fariida raafiit masr. iftakaru inn iqggamTa syayyara. fikrit innak tiruu6 faransa mi kuwayyisa. In each case, the filler of the 'He said that Fathi is lazy.' 'I learned that Farida went to Egypt.' 'They thought that the university was small.' 'The idea of your going to France is not a good one.' In the last example, the nominalized sentence is the second term of a noun construct, which explains the final -it of fikrit. Certain nominalized expressions must be introduced by a nominalizer ( in the above examples, the nominalizer is inn ), others may or may not be introduced by a nominalizer, and still others are never intro- duced by a nominalizer ( see : "Nominalizers" and "Nominalization Without Nominalizers" ). EGYPTIAN ARABIC 144 REFERENCE GRAMMAR A nominalized expression may occur in various nominal slots; it may, for example, function as subject of the sentence, object of a verb, object of a preposition, or second term of a noun construct : mi sa6ii6 inn almanya Ftallit masr. simiTt innak itra??eet. itTaggibt min innak marutii. issinaaT'a lIyabaniyya t?addimit lidaragit inn il Iyabaan bitsaddar I ITarab iyyaat. 'It is not true that Germany occupied Egypt.' 'I heard that you have been promoted.' 'I was surprised that you did not go.' 'Japanese industry has progressed to the extent that Japan exports cars.' Notice that a nominalized subject is often transposed to the position which follows the predicate. This transposition is the norm when the predicate is short and verbless, it is frequent when the predicate is a verb or a short expression containing a verb, and it is infrequent otherwise. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I inn almanya Ftallit masr mi sa~ii . ----.-> mi saFiiR inn almanya Ftallit masr. inn basma maxal lasit a a a i uyl narfizni. -...> narfizni inn basma maxalIasit i uyl. inn il~urriyya tRaddidit asnaa? ilIRarb ilITalamiyya l?uula sabbib Iilmasriyyiin malaakil kitiira giddan. 'That Germany occupied Egypt is not true.' 'It is not true that Germany occupied Egypt.' 'That Basma did not finish the work upset me.' 'It upset me that Basma did not finish the work.' 'That freedom was restricted during World War I created a large number of problems for the Egyptians.' For the purpose of agreement, a nominalized subject is considered third-person masculine singular : I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 145 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABIC 145 REFERENCE GRAMMAR zaTfalni innak gatamtaha safii inn masr it?addimit. 'It upset me that you insulted her.' 'It is true that Egypt has pro- gressed.' NOMINALIZATION WITHOUT NOMINALIZERS : IMPERATIVES Imperative sentences are embedded:.in nominal slots without the use of a nominalizer after verbs of saying. An imperative verb form in the sentence to be embedded may remain unchanged or it may be replaced by the subjunctive form. The following utterances result from embedding the sentence ruu6 iddukkaan 'Go to the shop' in the nominal slots fol- lowing ?ulItilu 'I said to him; told her', etc. 1. ?ultilu ruuFi iddukkaan. ?ultilha, ruui ddukkaan. ?ultilhum ruuiu ddukkaan. ?ultilak ruuh iddukkaan. ?ultilik ruu6i ddukkaan. ?ultilkum ruu~u ddukkaan. ?aili ruuf iddukkaan. ?alli ruuhi ddukkaan., ?aIliina ruu6u ddukkaan. 2. ?ultilu yruu6 iddukkaan, ?ultilha truu iddukkaan., ?ultilhum yuruufiu ddukkaan. ?ultilak turuu6 iddukkaan. ?ultilik turuu6i ddukkaan. ?ultilkum turuu6u ddukkaan. ?aIIi aruuf iddukkaan. ?allina nruu6 iddukkaan. Stold him', ?ultilha 'I said to her; I 'I said to him, Go to the shop.' 'I said to her, Go to the shop.' 'I said to them, Go to the shop.' 'I said to you (ms), Go to the shop.' 'I said to you (fs), Go to the shop.' 'I said to you (p), Go to the shop.' 'He said to me (m), Go to the shop.' 'He said to me (f), Go to the shop.' 'He said to us, Go to the shop.' 'I told him to go to the shop.' 'I told her to go to the shop.' 'I told them to go to the shop.' 'I told you (ms) to go to the shop.' 'I told you (fs) to go to the shop.' 'I told you (p) to go to the shop.' 'He told me to go to the shop.' 'He told us to go to the shop.' I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 146 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Notice that in group 2 the subjunctive form agrees with its subject in number, gender and person, whereas in group 1 the embedded sentences are direct discourse and do not affect the syntax of the sentence. Negative imperative sentences contain ( or consist of ) negated verb forms such as matrufi 'do not go (ms)', matru6iigI 'do not go (fs)', and matru6uu 'do not go (p)'. Such forms may (1) be embedded in a nominal slot without being changed; they may also (2) be changed to agree with a subject of the third or the first person : I I I 1. ?uItilu matrufi iddukkaan. 'I ?ultilha matru6i i iddukkaan. 'I ?ultilhum matrufuug iddukkaan.'I ?uitilak matru6F iddukkaan. 'I ?ultilik matrui ii iddukkaan. 'I ?uIltilIkum matru6uug iddukkaan.'I ?alli matru69 iddukkaan. 'He ?alli matru6ii iddukkaan. 'He ?allina matru~uug iddukkaan, 'He 2. ?ultilu mayru69 iddukkaan. 'I ?ultilha matru6F iddukkaan. 'I ?ultilhum mayru6uug iddukkaan.'I ?ultilak matru9 iddukkaan. 'I ?ultilik matru6i i iddukkaan. 'I ?ultilkum matru6uug iddukkaan.'I ?aIli maruFg iddukkaan. 'He ?allina manru6i iddukkaan. 'He said to him, Do not go to the shop.' said to her, Do not go to the shop.' said to them, Do not go to the shop.' said to you (ms), Do not go to the shop.' said to you (fs), Do not go to the shop.' said to you (p), Do not go to the shop.' said to me (m), Do not go to the shop.' said to me (f), Do not go to the shop. said to us, Do not go to the shop.' told him not to go to the shop.' told her not to go to the shop.' told them not to go to the shop.' told you (ms) not to go to the shop.' told you (fs) not to go to the shop.' told you (p) not to go to the shop.' told me not to go to the shop. told us not to go to the shop.' I I I I U In both cases, the difference between sentences of Group 1 and those of Group 2 is the difference between direct and indirect quotes. *** *** *** I I I I I NOMINALIZATION WITHOUT NOMINALIZERS : QUESTIONS Questions are usually embedded in nominal slots without the use of a nominalizer. The first sentence below results from embedding the question EGVPTIAN ARABIC 147 REFERENCE GRAMMAR rigiT leeh ? 'Why did he return ?' in the subject slot; the second sen- tence results from embedding the same question in the object slot : rigi leeh mi muhimm. maTraf rigiT leeh. 'Why he returned is not important.' 'I do not know why he returned.' A question which is embedded in a nominal slot usually implies a noun; e.g., in the above sentences rigiK leeh implies issabab 'the reason'. There may be a relationship between this fact and the fact that questions are usually embedded in nominal slots without a nominalizer ( nouns are used as fillers of nominal slots with no need for nominalizers ). The following sentences provide additional examples : mi' Taarif raa6 feen. xammin miin bitiibbu. mas?alit rigiT' imta di mathimmini e ?ulli istareet eeh ? 'I do not know where he went.' 'Guess who loves him.' 'This question of when he returned is of no interest to me.' 'Tell me what ( it is that ) you bought.' Embedding a yes-or-no question in a nominal slot usually involves the addition of the expression walla la? 'or not' at the end of the slot : Taawiz a'raf inta ruFt walla la?. 'I want to know whether you went or not.' Besides, one of the expressions in kaan and iza kaan ( both translatable by 'whether' ) may be added at the beginning of the slot; in this context, kaan agrees with its subject in number, gender, and person : £aawiz araf (iza kaan) Tali raah walla la? Taaawiz afraf (in kaanit) fariida raa~it walla 'I want to know whether Ali went or not.' 'I want to know whether Farida went or not.' la?. Taawiz a raf (iza kuntu) 'I want to know whether o (p) intu ru6tu walla Ila?. went or not.' EGVPTTAN ARABIC 148 REFERENCE GRAMMAR When an alternative question is embedded in a nominal slot, one of the expressions in kaan and iza kaan may be added at the beginning of the slot; in this context, kaan agrees with its subject in number, gender, and person : maTraf (iza kaan) Taawiz yidris hina walla ffaransa. maTraf (in kaanit) Tawza tidris hina walla ffaransa. 'I do not know whether he wants to study here or in France.' 'I do not know whether she wants to study here or in France.' *** *** *** I I I I I I I I NOMINALIZED SENTENCES POSSIBILITY OF REPLACING CERTAIN CONSTITUENTS 8Y A NOUN A nominalizer plus the predicate of the nominalized expression may usually be replaced by a noun which then enters into construct with the subject. This transformation is restricted to instances where the predicate in question is one of the following : 1. A verb or a form which is derived from a verb. Replacement here is by a verbal noun : ?areet xabar Tan inn ilwaziir itqawwiz. ?areet xabar Tan gawaaz ilwaziir. koonak ma huur aydurrak. uhritak hatdurrak 0 0 0o 'I read an item in the news about the fact that the (cabinet) minister got married. 'I read an item in the news about the marriage of the (cabinet) minister.' 'Your being famous will harm you.' 'Your fame will harm you.' I I I I I I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 149 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARAS1C 149 REFERENCE GRAMMAR ?abiltu baTd ma rigi?. ?abiltu baTd rguuTu. 'I met him after he returned.' 'I met him after his return.' 2. A noun or an adjective which is not derived from a verb but which yields a noun of quality. Replacement here is by the noun of quality : mafiig akk f-inn Tali watani. mafiig akk f-wataniyyi 'al. . suzaan muT'gaba b-koonu raagil. suzaan muTgaba bi- ruguul iyyitu. 'There is no question that Ali is patriotic.' 'There is no question in regard to Ali's patriotism.' 'Susan admires the fact that he is manly.' 'Susan admires his manliness.' *** *** *** NOMINALIZER inn The nominalizer inn introduces an embedded clause in contexts other than those where the nominalizer ma occurs ( see "Nominalizer : ma" ) : simiT't inn ndaal itxatabit. mu6tamal inn afraf rigi. matnazil Idaragit inn-i aTmil Tamal zayy da. itTaggibt min inn-ak zaT altaha. 'I heard that Nidal got engaged.' 'It is possible that Ashraf has returned.' 'I would not stoop to the point of doing such a thing.' 'I was surprised at the fact that you upset her.' EA contains a set of close-knit expressions each consisting of a verb and a closely associated preposition ( or a "phrasal verb" ); e.g., daTa Ii- 'to wish well to ( someone )', nizil fi 'to attack ( someone ) vigorously', dah6a bi- 'to sacrifice ( something )', and katab ala EGYPTIAN ARABIC 150 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 'for God to decree ( something ) on ( someone )'. These expressions are followed by inn. Note the following alternatives : 1. The preposition may be deleted . 2. The sequence Preposition + inn + subject of a subjunctive form may be deleted. In most cases, this transformation does not apply unless -- in the source string -- the verb after inn expresses a possibility further delineated by the verb form which precedes inn. The result of the transformation is a verbal phrase, and is therefore restricted by the rules which govern auxiliaries ( see "Verb : Auxiliaries" ). The following are examples : Tali sammim ala innu yiigi.? 'Ali was determined to come. - / Tali sammim innu yiigi. Tali sammim yiigi. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Tali sammim Tala innina nzuuru. Tali sammim innina nzuuru. Tali sammim nzuuru. 'Ali was determined to have us visit him.' Talli maysuub Tala innu yruu6.I 'Ali is forced to go.' Tali maysuub innu yruuh. Tali maysuub yiruu6. Listed below are some common close-knit expressions which are formed after the pattern Verb + Preposition and which designate subjunctive meanings : itzaahir bi- nasa6 bi- ridi bi- waad bi- sama6 bi- asarr bi- 'to 'to 'to 'to 'to 'to feign ( something )' advise ( someone ) to' be satisfied with' promise ( something to someone )' allow ( something )' insist on' I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 151 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTiAN ARABIC 151 REFERENCE GRAMMAR fakkar fi it?akkid min manaT min xaaf min aryam ala ittafa? ?ala waaf i? Tala wassa ?ala yasab ala 'to 'to 'to 'to 'to 'to 'to 'to 'to reflect on' be certain of' prevent ( someone ) from' be afraid of' compel (someone) to do (something) ' agree on' agree to' bequeath (something) to (someone)' force (someone) to do (something) For the deletion of inn after other verbs, see Verb Auxiliaries . *** *** *** NOMINALIZER : koon The nominalizer koon is used interchangeably with inn in many but not in all contexts : 1. koon is frequently substituted for inn when the nominalized expression is verbless : ahamm Faaga fsalIu nnu zaabit or ahamm haaga fsalu koonu zaabit. 'The most important thing in his favor is the fact that he is an officer.' 2. koon is occasionally substituted for inn when the nominalized expression contains a verb denoting a fact ( rather than a possibility ) : innu biyyiib kitiir mis fi salIu or koonu biyyiib kitiir mi fi saI u. 'The fact that he is often absent is not in his favor.' 3. koon is not substituted for inn when the nominalized expression indicates a possibility rather than a fact : EGYPTIAN ARABIC 152 REFERENCE GRAMMAR yaguuz inn hyaam tirgaT 'Hiyam may return tomorrow.' bukra. but not *yaguuz koon hiyaam tirgaT bukra. NOMINALIZER : ma Like inn, ma introduces an embedded clause, ma occurs after certain prepositions and nouns, and inn occurs elsewhere. Th . following differences must be noted : 1. inn is usually followed by a noun or a pronoun functioning as subject. The same is true of the nominalizer ma; the difference is that ma may be followed immediately by a verb form. I I I U I I I I I I I I U I simiTt inn 'eela tgawwizit. simiTt innaha tgawwizit. rigi't baTd ma Tadnaan rigiT. rigi't ba d ma huwwa rigi'T. rigit bad ma rigiT. 2. A pronoun which follows inn is independent : yaguuz innaha rigfit. rigift baTd ma hiyya rigfit. 'I heard that Aisha got married.' 'I heard that she got married.' 'I returned after Adnan did.' 'I returned after he did.' 'I returned after he did.' is a suffix; one which follows ma 'Perhaps she has returned.' 'I returned after she did.' 3. In most ( though not all ) cases, an imperfect verb form which follows ma is bare ( = subjunctive ) : I I I I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 153 REFERENCE GRAMMAR simiTt innu 6ayiigi 'I heard that he will come tomorrow.' bukra. simiTt innu byiligi kull 'I heard that he comes every day.' yoom. Fawsal ?abl ma yiwsal. 'I will arrive before he does.' bawsal ?abl ma yiwsal. 'I usually arrive before he does.' Generally speaking, the forms which precede the nominalizer ma are prepositions or nouns. Listed below are the most common combinations of a preposition or noun and ma. Notice that, in the majority of instances, each expression corresponds to an English conjunction. 1. bad ma 'after' : A verb which follows this expression may be perfect or imperfect. rigift baid ma rigii. rigi't baTd ma rigiT Tali. rigift baTd ali ma rigiT. 'I returned after he did.' 'I returned after Ali did.' 'I returned after Ali did.' F argaT Farga9 Ra rga T ba id ba d baTd ma yirgaT. ma yirgaT T ali. Tali ma yirgaT. 'I 'I 'I will return after he does.' will return after Ali does.' will return after Ali does.' 2. ?abl ma 'before' : A verb which follows ?abl ma is usually an imperfect form; the temporal designation of that verb is the same as that of the verb which precedes ma. W-.. kallimtu ?abl ma rgaT. basta6amma ?abl ma naam. Rayiktib ilmaqaala ?abl ma yruu6 faransa. 'I talked to him before I returned.' 'I take a bath before I go to bed.' 'He will write the article before he goes to France.' 3. liiadd ma 'until' : sakan fi bitna 16add ma na?al li?aswaan. hayuskun maTaana Iadd ma yun?ul li?aswaan. 'He lived in our house until he moved to Aswan.' 'He will live with us until he moves to Aswan. I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 154 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 4. liyaayit ma 'until' : This expression is interchangeable with li iadd ma. 5. min yeer ma 'without' : xarag min yeer ma yistahamma. 6. Tand ma 'when' : igru and ma tismaT'u ssuffaara. 7. wa?t ma 'when, the moment that' : 6araFlu lmawduuT wa?t ma yirga9. 8. saafit ma 'when, the hour that' : ittisil biyya saaT'it ma tiwsal. 9. nahaar ma 'the day that' : 'He went out without taking a bath.' 'Run when you hear the whistle.' 'I will explain the matter to him when he returns.' 'Get in touch with me when you arrive.' kunt fiskindiriyya nahaar ma tgawwizit. 10. yoom ma 'the day that' : This with nahaar ma. 11. sanit ma 'the year that' : kunt fsurya sanit ma tammit ilwiFda been masr w libya. 'I was in Alexandria the day she got married.' expression is usually interchangeable 'I was in Syria the year that Egypt and Libya united.' I I I I I I I I 12. matra6 ma 'the place that, where, anywhere that, wherever' : I I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 155 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABIC 155 REFERENCE GRAMMAR la?a Imahfaza matra ma sabha. matraF ma truu6 aruu6. wo 0 a 'He found the wallet where he had left it.' 'Wherever you go, I will go.' 13. makaan ma and maa I I ma : Both expressions are interchangeable with matra6f ma. 14. mi?daar ma : 'the degree to which, the extent to which' : indahalt min mi?daar ma hiyya gamiila. 'I was astounded by how beautiful she is ( literally : "by the degree to which she is beautiful" ).' Three more expressions which contain ma, and which are translatable by English conjunctions, are : fliima 'while', bay nama'while', and kull me 'whenever'. Of these, the first two are usually followed by a clause which contains a form of the perfect verb kaan and (a) an imperfect indicative ( with the /bi-/ prefix or third ( kull ma ) is usually followed fiima kunna bnitgaadil, innuur ittafa. issawra ?aamit baynama kaan ra?iis iggumhuriyya barra Ibalad. kull ma yiigi, a?fil ilbaab fi wi u. (b) an equational clause. The by a bare imperfect (subjunctive) verb. 'While we were arguing, the lights went off.' 'The rebellion took place while the president of the republic was out of the country.' 'Whenever he comes, I slam the door in his face.' *** *** NOUN In Egyptian Arabic (EA), nouns (n) are either masculine (m) or feminine (f) in gender. Most feminine nouns end in /-a/, and most masculine nouns do not. For other nouns, the sex of the referent I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 156 REFERENCE GRAMMAR clearly indicates the grammatical gender, e.g., /b i nt / (f) 'girl'. I Henceforth, gender need not be indicated when it is clear from the form of the noun or the sex of the referent. Indication of gender is only needed for such nouns as /mabna/ (m) 'building' or /naar/ (f) 'fire' since gender is not clear from their forms. Most nouns inflect for the dual and all nouns ( except collectives, q.v. ) inflect for plural. ( See also : Collective Nouns; Verbal Nouns; Plural; Dual Nouns; Gender) *** *** *** I NOUN : BASIC I A noun that has no relation to any verb or verb stem (q.v.) from which it could be derived; e.g., /katab/ 'to write' has /kitaab/ 'book' as a derived noun. /mayya/ 'water', on the other hand, is a basic noun since there is no verb from which it is derived in EA. *** *** ***m I NOUNS : HUMAN AND NON-HUMAN A A human noun is one that in its singular form refers to human beings. With human plural nouns, adjectives agree in number : /awlaad kubaar/ 'big boys'; /banaat kubaar/ 'big girls'. However, with non-human plural nouns, either plural adjectives or feminine singular adjectives may be used : /kutub kubaar/ 'big books' /kutub kibilna/ 'big books' I The latter form is sometimes applied even to modify human plural nouns by some speakers of EA, e.g., /awlaad kutaar/ 'many boys' /awlaad kitiira/ 'many boys' m I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 157 REFERENCE GRAMMAR and /banaat kutaar/ 'many girls' /banaat kitiira/ 'many girls' Human Plurals S# 1 : ilbanaat dool tuwaal walla ?usayyariin ? 'Are these girls tall or short ?' S# 2 : ilbanaat dool tuwaal mi' ?usayyariin. 'These girls are tall; not short.' Non-Human Plurals (a)S# 1 : ilkutub di gdiida walla ?adiima ? :'Are these books new or old ?' S# 2 : ilkutub di gdiida :'These books are new.' (b)S# 1 : ilkutub dool gudaad walla ?udaam 'Are these books new or old ?' S# 2 : ilkutub dool gudaad 'These books are new.' Remember that demonstratives and adjectives must agree in number with the Human Plural nouns they modify. Here, "Non-Human Plurals", e.g., book, table, etc., preferably are treated as feminine singular syntactically only. That is to say, they are plurals, but in terms of gender and number they take (fs) demonstra- tives and adjectives. However, it is possible to treat them as plurals syntactically; that is to say, to use plural demonstratives and adject- ives as in the variant examples above (b). Demonstratives and adjectives must agree in gender as well as number with the singular nouns they modify, whether the noun has a human or non-human referent. *** *** *** EGYPTIAN ARABIC 158 REFERENCE GRAMMAR NOUN OF CHARACTER A word ( derived in most cases from characteristic of a person. They are FaTaaL, e.g., kizib 'to tell lies' nisi 'to forget' a verb (q.v.) ) that refers to a formed on the measure (q.v.) kazzaab 'liar' nassaay 'forgetful' *** *** *** NOUN OF INSTRUMENT /muftaai/ 'key' and /muniaar/ 'saw' are nouns of instrument derived from the verbs /fatai/ 'to open' and /naar/ 'to saw' respectively, on the measure muFfaaL. Other nouns of instrument are /madrab/ 'racket' and /mabara/ 'peeler' derived from /darab/ 'to hit' and /bavar/ 'to peel' respectively, on the measure maF~al(-a). *** *** *** NOUN OF PROFESSION OR OCCUPATION A noun derived, usually from a verb, but in some cases from a noun, and which denotes a profession or occupation. Most of these are of the measure FaTfaaL, e.g. : I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I xabaz bana xat t ad lid baab 'to bake' 'to build' 'handwriting' 'iron' 'door' xabbaaz banna xattaat Raddaad bawwaa b 'baker' 'mason 'calligrapher' 'blacksmith' 'doorman, concierge' The following nouns of profession are of the measure muFaTiL(-a) ( an active participle measure ) : EGVPTIAN ARABIC 159 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARA8IC 159 REFERENCE GRAMMAR darris 'to teach' marrad 'to nurse' fatti 'to inspect' mudarris(-a) 'teacher' mumarrid(-a) 'nurse' mufatti(-a) 'inspector' There are other measures for nouns of profession or occupation, but those shown above are among the most common. *** *** *** NOUN OF PLACE /matbax/ 'kitchen' is a noun of place derived from the verb /tabax/ 'to cook' on the measure maFaL (m); /maktab/ 'office' is another noun of place derived from the verb /katab/ 'to write'. /maktaba/ 'library, bookstore' is a noun of place derived from the same verb on the measure maFTaLa (f). NOUN REPLACER ma : DIFFERENCE FROM NOMINALIZERS While the replacer ma implies a noun, nominalizers are semantically empty. This fact becomes clear when the following sentences are compared. 1. da ahsan min inn Tali yirgaT. 'This is preferable to having Al. i 2. fariida agmal mimma (= min ma) ali yzunn. return.' 'Farida is prettier than Ali imagines.' In sentence 1 the object of the preposition is La! I yirgaT, and for that reason inn a I i yirqaT may be replaced by ruguu Ta I i 'Ali's return'. In sentence 2 the object of the preposition is ma, and for that reason ma Tali yzunn cannot be replaced by zann Tali 'Ali's imagination' ( in other words, Farida is not prettier than Ali's imagination; rather, she is prettier than what Ali imagines ). I 1 EGYPTIAN ARABIC 160 REFERENCE GRAMMAR - - %.# lw - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - -- - The replacer ma should not be confused with the nominalizer ma : the former implies a noun while the latter is semantically empty. Compare the following sentences : 3. rigiTt ba'd ma Lali rigiT 4. farlida agmal mimma (= min ma) Tali yzunn. 'I returned after Ali did.' 'Farida is prettier than Ali imagines.' In sentence 3 the object of the preposition is Tal i rigi', and for that reason ma al i rigTi may be replaced by ruguuT al i 'Ali's return.' In sentence 4 the object of the preposition is ma, and for that reason ma 9ali yzunn cannot be replaced by zann Tali 'Ali's imagination'. The replacer ma differs from inn and koon in two major respects 1. The replacer ma may occur directly before a verb ( in addition to the fact that it may occur before a noun or a pronoun functioning as subject ); inn and koon must occur before a noun or a pronoun functioning as a subject.' Tamalu zayy ma ?aalit. TamaIu zayy ma zeenab ?aalit. Tamalu zayy ma hiyya ?aalit. iftakart inn Tali min lubnaan. iftakart innak min lubnaan. 2. The pronoun which follows the re] pronoun which follows inn and ko i mil zayy ma nta Taawiz. zanneet innaha Tayyaana. 'They did as she said.' 'They did as Zeinab said.' 'They did as she said.' 'I thought that Ali was from Lebanon.' 'I thought you were from Lebanon.' placer ma is independent; the on is a suffix. 'Do as you (ms) wish.' 'I thought she was sick.' I I I I U I I I I I I NOUN REPLACER ma FUNCTION The replacer ma is substituted for a definite non-human noun which is modified by a relative clause; this fact becomes clear when one I I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 161 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGVPTTEAN ARA8lC 161 IZEFERENCE GRAMMAR compares sentences such as the following : 1. 6aTmilI aktar min ilhaaga ill i yit ilubha. 2. 6aTmil aktar mimma ( = min ma) yitlub or ... mimma yitlubu. 'I will do more than the thing he requests. 'I will do more than he requires.' The transformation which derives sentences like 2 from sentences like 1 involves : (a) Substitution of ma for the definite modified noun. (b) Deletion of ilIIi. (c) Optional deletion, from the modifier, of the pronoun which functions as direct object of a verb and which refers to the replaced noun. If retained, the pronoun in question must be masculine singular since the form ma is considered masculine singular. More examples are given below; string of sentence (b). (a) da agab ee? uftu. (b) da afgab ma uft(u). (a) iT'mil zayy ilee? illi thibbu. (b) iTmil zayy ma tFibb. (a) da foo? ilmi?daar llii atsawwaru. (b) da foo? ma kunt atsawwar(u). (a) da aktar min ilkimmiyya IIli talabtaha. (b) da aktar mimma (= min ma) talabt(u). in each case, sentence (a) is the source 'This is the strangest thing I have seen.' 'This is the strangest thing I have seen.' 'Do in accordance with the thing that you like.' 'Do as you like.' 'This is more than the amount I envisioned.' 'This is more than I envisioned.' 'This is more than the amount I requested.' 'This is more than I requested.' I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 162 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I In the foregoing examples, ma replaces a singular non-human noun which is modified by a relative clause; as the following sentences show, ma may also replace a plural non-human noun which is modified by a relative clause : da a6san iIagaat iii iTandi. 'This is the best of the things I have. da a6san ma ?andi. 'This is the best thing I have ( lit- erally : "the best of what I have" ). The replacer ma occurs most commonly as the object of a preposition, the object of a verb, or the second term of a construct phrase; its occurrence as the subject of a sentence is restricted to a handful of idiomatic expressions such as binhum ma sana i"addaad ,'There is a great I deal of animosity between them.' *** *** *** I NOUN REPLACER ma MEANING The replacer ma is translatable by 'what, the thing(s) that' : kul ma thibb 'Eat the thing(s) you like.' da ahsan ma Tandi 'This is the best I have ( literally : I "the best of the thing(s) I have" ).' Although it replaces a noun which is definite in form, ma is indef- inite in meaning : the nouns which it replaces ( i ee?'the thing', iI?a~yaa? 'the things', ilhaaga 'the thing', ilIagaat 'the things' ) are semantically indefinite in the sense that each designates a class of unspecified referents. Compare, for example, the nouns of the first column below with the nouns of the second column. iliee? 'the thing' ilkitaab 'the book' ilhaaga 'the thing' il?alam 'the pencil' il?alyaa? 'the things' ilkutub 'the books' ilragaat 'the things' iIIa?laam 'the pencils' All of the nouns in the list have non-human referents. The difference I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 163 REFERENCE GRAMMAR is that while each of the nouns on the right denotes a distinct object which is clearly differentiated from other non-human referents, the corresponding noun on the left denotes any non-human referenti in this sense, the nouns on the left are semantically indefinite. *** *** *** NOUN : SINGULAR COUNT ( See : Numerals Singular Count Nouns ) *** *** ** * NUMERALS : CARDINAL HUNDREDS -- INDWEFINITE CONSTRUCTION The forms for the hundreds are listed below. Notice that, with the exception of 200, each numeral has two forms : one which ends in -a and another which ends in -t; the latter is used before a counted noun, and the former is used elsewhere. miyya miteen tultumiyya rubTumiyya xumsumiyya suttumiyya subTumiyya tumnumiyya tusTumiyya milit miteen tu Itumi it rubTumiit xumsumi it suttumi it subTumi it tumnumiit tusTumi it 100' '200' '300' '400' '500' '600' '700' '800' '900' The counted noun is singular and follows the numeral : milt raagil mil it sitt miit gineeh miteen kitaab '100 '100 '100 '200 men' women' pounds books' ( money )' I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 164 REFERENCE GRAMMAR xumsumiit beet '500 houses' subTumiit faddaan '700 (Egyptian) acres' NUMERALS CARDINAL MILLIONS & BILLIONS -- INDEFINITE CONSTRUCTION The form for 'one million' is milyoon and the form for 'one billion' is bi I yoon, both being singular counted nouns (q.v.). The words milyoon and bilyoon are counted as follows : 1. 'Two million' and 'two billion' are expressed by itneen milyoon, and itneen bi Iyoon, respectively. 2. Millions and billions are expressed by phrases in which the long forms of 3 - 10 precede one of the singular forms milyoon and bilyoon. arbaT talaaf 'four thousand' arbaTa m ilyoon 'four million' arbaTa bilyoon 'four billion' I NUMERALS CARDINAL 'ONE' -- INDEFINITE CONSTRUCTION The cardinal numeral 'one' has two forms : waa id (m) and wa6da (f). I Singularity is usually indicated by the singular form of the noun with- out use of the numeral ( e.g., kitaab 'a book, one book' ); consequently, waa~id and wa6da have restricted occurrence. The following are the most common contexts where waa~id and wa6da are used : i. waa~id may be used to modify a preceding masculine singular noun, and waida may be used to modify a preceding feminine singular noun. Since the noun itself indicates singularity, the effect of the numeral is to emphasize -- rather than merely to denote number. I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 165 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABIC 165 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Tandi ktaab waahid. Tandi anta wafda. 'I have a single book.' 'I have only one suitcase.' 2. The forms waaid and waRda are sometimes used as nouns with the meaning 'someone, somebody, a certain person'. In this usage, the numeral may also occur in apposition with a following singular noun : fiih waafiid mistanniik. ?abilt wa6ida fallaaia. 'There is someone waiting for you.' 'I met a certain peasant woman ( lit- erally : "a woman who is a peasant" ).' 3. The (a) masculine form waahid also occurs in the following contexts : Before singular counted nouns (q.v.) which are used in ordering food, drinks, etc. waaiid aay waaiid la6ma 'one ( cup of ) tea' 'one ( serving of ) meat' (b) In compound numerals before the forms milyoon 'million' and bilyoon 'billion' : .waabid milyoon wi tultumiit alf '1,3000,000' waafid bilyoon xumsumiit milyoon '1,500,600,000' wi suttumiit alf (c) At the end of a compound numeral : miyya wwaa6id miyya wwaa6id kitaab '101' '101 books' (d) In counting and mathematical calculation : waa6id, itneen, talaata,... 'one, two, three, miyya wwaa6id, miyya witneen,... '101, 102, .,. itneen naa?is waahid yisaawi '2 - 1 = 1' waafiid. *** *** *** EGYPTIAN ARABIC 166 REFERENCE GRAMMAR NUMERALS : CARDINAL NUMERAL 'TWO' -- INDEFINITE CONSTRUCTION The cardinal numeral 'two' is itneen. Duality is usually indicated by the dual form of the noun without use of a numeral; consequently, itneen has restricted occurrence. The following are the most common contexts where itneen is used : 1. The form itneen may be used to modify a preceding dual ( mascu- line or feminine ) noun. Since the noun itself indicates duality, the effect of the numeral is to emphasize -- rather than merely to show -- duality : Tandi ktabeen itneen. Tandi antiteen itneen. 'I have just two books.' 'I have just two suitcases.' 2. The form itneen is sometimes used as a noun; in this usage, the numeral may be in apposition with a following plural noun : (a) itareet itneen. (b) ?abiIt itneen fal laRi in. I I I 1 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 'I bought two.' 'I met two peasants ( literally : "two who are peasants" ).' The usage illustrated by sentence (b) is the norm with nouns of occupation whose singular is FaTfaaL. With other nouns, however, this usage is possible, but rare; thus it is possible but un- common to say itneen talamza 'two students'. 3. The form itneen occurs before a singular counted noun ( q.v.) to make that noun dual. hatlina tneen saay. maTaaya tneen gineeh. misaRtu tneen mitr mrabbaT. fi gilna tneen milyoon Taskari. 'Bring us two teas.' 'I have two pounds ( money ).' 'Its area is two square meters.' 'There are two million soldiers in our army.' 4. The form itneen occurs at the end of a compound numeral : miyya witneen miyya witneen kitaab an acceptable variant is : miit kitaab witneen '102' '102 books' '102 books' I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 167 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGWIa AR iC167 %EEa1% &1 1.,FL- .?AM%§ k. 5. The form itneen occurs in counting and in mathematical calculation : waaFid, itneen, talaata, ... miyya witneen, miyya wtalaata, ... xamsa naa?is talaata ysaawi itneen. 'one, two, three, ... '102, 103, ..' '5 - 3 = 2' *** *** *** NUMERALS : CARDINALS 3 - 10 -- INDEFINITE CONSTRUCTION Each of the cardinal numerals 3 - 10 has two forms : a long form which ends in -a, and a short form which ends in a consonant. These forms are listed below ( the long forms are on the left, and the short counterparts are on the right ) : ta laata arbaT'a xamsa sitta sabT'a tamanya tis'Ta Talara talat arba S xamas sitt sabaT taman t i saT~ T'aar '3' '4' '5' '6' '7' '8' '9' '10' The short forms occur before counted nouns other than singular count nouns ( SCN, q.v. ) ; the long forms occur elsewhere : talat kutub talat banaat talaata gneeh Tandi talaata 'three books' 'three girls' 'three Egyptian pounds ( money )' 'I have three' ( Here the numeral is used as a noun. ) The following facts should be noted : 1. The counted noun follows the numeral. I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 168 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 2. 3. Unless it is an SCN, the counted noun is plural. When used as counted nouns, the forms aF~aaL and aFTuL are changed to tiFiaaL and tuFTuL respectively : awlaad masriyyiin talat tiwlaad azruf kiblira xamas tuzruf 'Egyptian boys' 'three boys' 'large envelopes' 'five envelopes' Educated Egyptians sometimes ( though not commonly ) use aFTaaL and aFiuL as counted nouns without making such changes : talat awlaad talat azruf 'three boys' 'three envelopes' *** *** NUMERALS : CARDINALS 11 - 19 -- INDEFINITE CONSTRUCTION The cardinals 11 - 19 are : Fidaaar '11' itnaalar '12' taIattaa ar '13' a P arbataa~ar '14' v xamastaasar '15' sittaalar '16' sabaTtaasar '17' tamantaalar '18' tisai'taa ar '19' The counted noun is singular and follows the numeral I 1 I I I I I I I I I I I v tisaftaasar t isaftaasar sabaTtaalar walad bint gineeh 'nineteen boys' 'nineteen girls' 'seventeen pounds ( money ) *** *** *** EGVPTIAN ARABIC 169 REFERENCE GRAMMAR NUMERALS : CARDINALS 20, 30, 40, .... 90 -- INDEFINITE CONSTRUCTION The tens above 19 are : 9ii in talati in arbiTi in xamsi in sittiin sabT'i in tamani in t isT'i in '20' '30' '40' '50' '60' '70' '80' '90' The counted noun is singular and follows the numeral : isriin kitaab 'twenty books' TiIriin tarabeeza 'twenty tables' Tiiriin gineeh 'twenty pounds ( money )' *** *** *** NUMERALS CARDINAL THOUSANDS -- INDEFINITE CONSTRUCTION The form for 1,000 is alf, and the form for 2,000 is alfeen ( consisting of alf and the dual suffix -een ). The thousands above 2,000 are formed by counting the word alf. In this context, alf has the plural talaaf which follows the short forms of 3 - 10. The singular form alf follows all numerals above 10. arba" talaaf hidaalar alf waa6id wi xamsiin alf miit alf xumsumiit alf suttumiyya wwaa6id alf subTumiyya witneen alf tumnumiyya wtalaata alf '4,000' '11,000' '51,000' '100,000' '500,000' '601,000' '803,000' '815,000' I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 170 REFERENCE GRAMMAR subTumiyya wsittiin alf '760,000' tusT'umiyya tisTa wtis iin '999,000' alf The counted noun is singular and follows the numeral. Thus raagil 'man' or sitt 'woman' can be added after each of the foregoing numerals without changing the numerical expression in any way. *** *** *** I NUMERALS : COMBINATIONS OF 1 - 99 WITH THE CARDINAL HUNDREDS -- INDEFINITE CONSTRUCTION The sequence is as follows : the hundreds occur first, followed by (a) one of the numerals 1- 19, (b) one of the tens above 19, or (c) one of the combinations 21 - 99. The forms used in this context are the following : the form miyya, or miteen, or the forms of 300 - 900 ending in -a and the long forms of 3 - 10. The conjunction wi 'and' occurs only once in each sequence -- before the last word. miyya wwaafid '101' miteen witneen '202' tultumiyya wxamsa '305' rubT'umiyya wsabTa '407' xumsumiyya witnaa ar '512' suttumiyya wsabiin '670' subt'umiyya sabra wtalatiin '737' tustumiyya tis'a wtistiin '999' The counted noun is singular and follows the numeral ( Also note Variants ) : tultumiyya wwaahid kitaab ~ '301 books' tultumiit kitaab wiwaahid I I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 171 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABiC 171 REFERENCE GRAMMAR tultumiyya wwaabid anta rubfumiyya witneen kitaab rubTumiyya witneen anta ~- rubT'umiit anta witneen xumsumiyya wtalaata raagil suttumiyya xamsa wsabfiin saf ia tusTumiyya sabTa wtamaniin satr '301 suitcases' '402 books' '402 suitcases' '503 men' '675 pages' '987 lines' *** *** NUMERALS : COMBINATIONS OF (1) THE CARDINAL MILLIONS WITH NUMERALS BELOW ONE MILLION AND OF (2) THE CARDINAL BILLIONS WITH NUMERALS BELOW ONE BILLION -- INDEFINITE CONSTRUCTION (1) The millions precede the other numerals. The expression waaiid milyoon ( rather than milyoon ) stands for 'one million'. (2) Similarly, the billions precede the other numerals, and the expression for 'one billion' is waaFid bilyoon rather than bi Iyoon. In (1) and in (2), the conjunction wi precedes the last word of the numeral as well as the last word of a combination which counts alf, milyoon, or bilyoon. (waaiid) milyoon wi waaiid (waa~id) milyoon witneen (waaiid) milyoon miyya xamsa w'iriin alf suttumiyya talaata wtisTiin '1,000,001' '1,000,002' '1,125,693' EGYPTIAN ARABIC 172 REFERENCE GRAMMAR . - - , - . - - . . - - - . - P- . . .. . . sub~um iyya talIaata wsitt iin m ilIyoon t us ium iyya t neen wi sab~iin aif miyya tatIaata wtalIat ii n (waaF i d) b ilIyoon w i waaF~id (waaF~id) bilycon witneen tultumiyya talaata wsittiin bilIyoon tus~iumiyya witneen m ilIyoon xumsum iyya rba Ta warbK i in a If m it een xamsa I r '763,972,133' '1,000,000,001' '1,F000,1000,j002' 363 ,902, 544 ,2251 The counted noun is singular and follows the numeral. Thus st 'line' or kilma 'word' may be added to any of the above combinations without changing the numerical expression in any way. NUMERALS COMBINATIONS OF THE CARDINAL THOUSANDS WITH NUMERALS BELOW ONE THOUSAND -- INVEFINITE CONSTRUCTION I I I I I I I I I U I I I I U The thousands precede the other numerals in such conjunction w i 'and' precedes the last word in the the last word in a combination which counts aif. combinations. The numeral, as well as aif wwaa~iid talat talaaf witneen sabaT' talaaf wi sab~a taman taiaaf witnaa~ar hidaa~ar aif wtisa~taa~ar waahid wi xamsiin aif tisia wxamsiin miyya xamsa wtalatiin aif tus~umiyya sab~a wsitti in '1,001' '3,002' '7 ,007' '8,012' '11,019' '51,059' '135,967' I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 173 REFERENCE GRAMMAR The counted noun is singular and follows the numeral. Thus kitaab 'book' or saf6a 'page' can be added to any of the above combinations without changing the numerical sequence in any way. *** *** *** NUMERALS : COMBINATIONS OF UNITS WITH THE CARDINAL TENS ABOVE 19 -- INDEFINITE CONSTRUCTION The forms waa6id, itneen, and the long forms of 3 - 9 combine with the tens above 19. The unit precedes the ten, and the form wi is used as a conjunction. The combination is thus like the archaic English "four and twenty", "seven and sixty", etc. The following are examples : waafiid wi ilriin '21' itneen wi talatiin '32' talaata warbiT'iin '43' arbaTa wxamsiin '54' xamsa wsittiin '65' sitta wsabT'iin '76' sabT'a wtamaniin '87' tamanya wtisT'iin '98' The counted noun is singular and follows the numeral : waaid wi T iriin raagil '21 men' waa6id wi Tigriin bint '21 girls' sabTa wtamaniin kitaab '87 books' sabTa wtamaniin gineeh '87 pounds ( money )' *** *** *** NUMERALS • CONJUNCTION wi 'and' IN NUMERICAL EXPRESSIONS The conjunction wi 'and' precedes (1) the last word of a compound number provided that word is not itself a counted noun, as well as (2) EGYPTIAN ARABIC 174 REFERENCE GRAMMAR the last word of a combination which counts alf, milyoon, or bilyoon. waafid wi Tilriin miyya wwaaFid tultumiyya xamsa wsittiin alfeen xumsumiyya tneen wi Tireen suttumiyya w~ilriin milyoon tultumiyya xamsa wTilriin alf miteen wi Taiara subTumiyya wwaahid bilyoon miyya waaFiid wi sittlin milyoon tusTumiyya wsabfiin alf miyya tisTa wtisTiin '21' '101' '365' '2,522' '620,325,210' '701,161,970,199' NUMERALS COUNT NOUNS WITH CARDINAL NUMERALS -- INDEFINITE CONSTRUCTION 1. The masculine form waaid may precede a singular count noun ( SCN, q.v. ) of Class (a); it may also precede an SCN of Class (d). I U I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I U waahid blira waaiid milyoon wi tultumiyya 'one serving of beer' '1,000,300' Both of the forms waaiid and waida may be used as intensifiers modifying a preceding noun other than an SCN; the noun in question is singular and the numerical modifier agrees with it in gender : kitaab waa6id tayyaara wa6da 'a single book' 'a single plane' 2. The form itneen precedes an SCN to make that noun dual : itneen aay 'two teas' itneen maillim 'two milliemes' itneen buusa mrabbaT'a 'two square inches' itneen milyoon '2,000,000' I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 175 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABiC 175 REFERENCE GRAMMAR The form itneen can also be used as an intensifier modifying a preceding dual noun; since itneen is invariable, there is no gender agreement between the noun and the numeral : waladeen itneen binteen itneen 'only two boys' 'only two girls' 3. With the numerals 3 - 10, the counted nouns are plural unless they are SCN's. In regard to position, the counted noun follows the numeral. There is no gender agreement between the numeral and the counted noun. talat riggaala talat sittaat talaata gneeh 'three men' 'three ladies' 'three pounds ( money )' If the noun to be counted is a plural of the measure aFSaaL, it is usually changed to tiFcaaL; if the noun to be counted is a plural of the measure aFuL, it is usually changed to tuFTuL. Educated speakers sometimes use aFTaaL and aFTuL as counted nouns without these changes. xamas ti?laam or xamas a?Iaam xamas tuzruf or xamas azruf 'five pencils' 'five envelopes' 4. With numerals above 10, the counted noun is singular. In this case the numeral precedes, and shows no gender agreement with, the counted noun. xamastaasar walad xamastaasar bint miyya xamsa wTi'riin walad miyya xamsa w isriin bint 'fifteen boys' 'fifteen girls' '125 boys' '125 girls' *** *WW** *** EGYPTIAN ARABIC 176 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABIC 176 REFERENCE GRAMMAR NUMERALS : DEFINITE CARDINAL CONSTRUCTIONS A construction consisting of a numeral and a counted noun may be made definite in accordance with the rules given below. 1. The construction consisting of waa~id ( feminine wa6da ) and a preceding noun may be made definite by prefixing the definite article to the numeral as well as the noun. The more common practice, however, is to replace ilwaa6id ( feminine : ilIwa6da ) by the adjective ilwaFi id ( feminine : ilwa6i ida ) 'the only'. i Ikitaab ilwaahid i I I i ?andi 'the one book that I have' i anta Iwa6da I I i Tandi 'the one suitcase I have' ilkitaab ilwa iid illi Tandi 'the only book I have' issanta Iwaiida Ili andi 'the only suitcase I have' 2. The construction consisting of itneen and a preceding noun is made definite by prefixing the definite article to the numeral as well as the noun : ilkitabeen illitneen 'the two books' i antiteen i I I itneen 'the two suitcases' 3. Constructions consisting of any other numeral and a following count noun are made definite in one of the following ways : (a) The definite article may be prefixed to the numeral; in a numerical sequence, it is the first word which takes the definite article. Except for the addition of the definite article, the construction remains unchanged. sabaT kutub 'seven books' issabaT kutub 'the seven books' miyya wOiPr7in bint '120 girls' 3 ilmiyya wi'ilriin bint 'the 120 girls' I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 177 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARA5IC 177 IZEFERENCE GRAMMA1~ alf suttumiyya wtalatiin beet il?alf suttumiyya wtalatiin beet waafiid la6ma ilwaa6id la6ma itneen gineeh illitneen gineeh talaata biira ittalaata biira '1630 houses' 'the 1630 houses' 'one ( serving of ) meat' 'the one ( serving of ) meat' 'two pounds ( money )' 'the two pounds' 'three beers' 'the three beers' (b) The definite article may be prefixed to the numeral in the manner specified in 3(a) above, and to the counted noun as well. Here, however, the counted noun must be plural, and it must precede the numeral. The construction described in 3(a) is the usual one, whereas the construction described here emphasizes a totality which is translatable by 'all'. sabaT kutub issabaT kutub ilkutub issabTa miyya w 'isriin bint ilmiyya w~ilriin bint ilbanaat ilmiyya wTiri in alf suttumiyya wtalat- iin beet i lI?alf suttumiyya wtalatiin beet ilbuyuut il?alf suttu- miyya wtalatiin 'seven books' 'the seven books' 'the seven books, all of the seven books' '120 girls' 'the 120 girls' 'the 120 girls, all of the 120 girls' '1630 houses' 'the 1630 houses' 'the 1630 houses, all of the 1630 houses' EGYPTIAN ARABIC 178 REFERENCE GRAMMAR talaata gineeh ittalaata gineeh i Iginehaat ittalaata 'three pounds ( money ) 'the three pounds' 'the three pounds' NUMERALS FRACTIONS 1 as numerator and 2 - 10 as denominators The forms involved here are listed in the following table. To the right of each singular fraction, the plural form is given. I I I I I I Ii I I I 1 I I nuss tilt rub? xums suds sub? tumn tus? Tuir" 'one-half' 'one-third' 'one-fourth' 'one-fifth' 'one-sixth' 'one-seventh' 'one-eighth' 'one-ninth' 'one-tenth' ansaas at laat arbaa? axmaas asdaas asbaaT atmaan atsaa? aTaar 2 as numerator and 3,5,7,9, as denominators The forms involved here are the duals of tilt, xums, subT, and tusT : ti Iteen xumseen subTeen tusTeen 'two-thirds' 'two-fifths' 'two-sevenths' 'two-ninths' 3 - 9 as numerators and 4 - 10 as denominators Each of the simple fractions involved is expressed by a phrase con- sisting of (a) one of the short forms for 3 - 9, and (b) a denominator functioning as a counted noun. Since the noun in question is a plural of the measure aF~aaL, the denominator is of the shape tiFaaL ( see : I I I I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 179 REFERENCE GRAMMAR "Numerals : The Cardinals 3 - 10" ). Notice, however, that tirbaT occurs in the place of the expected tirbaaT. Listed below are the denominators : tirba 'fourths' tixmaas 'fifths' tisdaas 'sixths' tisbaa? 'sevenths' titmaan 'eighths' titsaaT 'ninths' tiTiaar 'tenths' The following are examples of the fractions involved : talat tirbaT 'three-fourths' talat tixmaas 'three-fifths' arbaT tixmaas 'four-fifths' arba tisbaaT 'four-sevenths' xamas tisdaas 'five-sixths' xamas tisbaaT 'five-sevenths' tisaT tiTaar 'nine-tenths' Denominators above 10 Each of the simple fractions in this category is expressed by a phrase consisting of (a) a numerator, (b) the preposition .ala 'over', and (c) a denominator. The numerators and the denominators are identical to the cardinals. waa6iid 'ala sabaT'taasar ' 1/17 ' tisTa Tala tneen wi Tilriin ' 9/22 ' miyya w sabT'a 'ala tultu- miyya xamsa wsittiin '107/365' Fractions in construct with nouns or pronouns As nouns, fractions of the measure FV'L may occur in construct with a following noun or pronoun : I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 180 REFERENCE GRAMMAR nuss saaSa nussukum 'half an hour' 'half of you (p)' Fractions combined with Cardinals Each of the combinations in question consists of (a) a cardinal whole number, (b) the conjunction wi 'and', and (c) a fraction. sitt wrubT itneen wi talatiin wi tilt suttumiyya waa6id wi sitt iin wi talattaaar Tala sabTa wTi riin ' 6 1/4 ' 32 1/3 ' '661 13/27' I I I I I I I I I I The use of li a 'less' to express fractions A phrase consisting of (a) a whole number, (b) iila 'less' and (c) a fraction is a common alternative for expressing a fraction or a whole number plus a fraction. For example, instead of talat tirba? 'three quarters' we may say waaFid illa rub 'one less a quarter'; again, instead of waahid wi talat tirbaT 'one and three-quarters' we may say itneen illa rubT 'two less a quarter'. Theoretically, any fraction may follow illa; in practice, however, only rubT 'a quarter' and tilt occur frequently in this position. This construction is most frequently used in telling time. NUMERALS ORDINALS I - 10 The ordinals 1 - 10 have both masculine and feminine forms. In the following table, the masculine forms are listed on the left, and the feminine forms are listed on the right. I I I I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 181 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTiAN ARABIC 181 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Masculine awwil or awwilaani taani taal it raa b i xaam i s saatit saadis saabiT taamin taasiT ' Taair 'first' 'second' 'third' 'fourth' 'fifth' 'sixth' 'seventh' 'eighth' 'ninth' 'tenth' Feminine uula or awwalani tanya talta rabT'a xamsa satta sadsa sabTa tamna tasTa Taira Notice that : 1. There are two forms for 'first'. As will be explained below, awwal and uula may be used as nouns or adjectives, while awwalaani and awwalaniyya may be used only as adjectives. 2. The ordinals 2 - 10 are derived from the corresponding cardinals, the measure being FaafiL for the masculine form and FaTLa for the feminine form. In general, the ordinals 1 - 10 may be used as nouns or as adjectives; both usages are discussed and illustrated below. The ordinals 1 - 10 as nouns 1. Except for awwalaani, the masculine forms of the ordinals 1 - 10 enter into construct with a following singular indefinite noun. The second term of the construct phrase may be either masculine or feminine; the ordinal number on the other hand, shows no con- trast for gender. daxalt awwil beet. daxalt awwil ooda. kunt xaamis raagil wisil. kaanit xaamis sitt wislit. is 'I entered the first house.' 'I entered the first room.' 'I was the fifth man to arrive.' 'She was the fifth woman to arrive.' EGYPTIAN ARABIC 182 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 2. Except for awwalaani and awwalaniyya, the ordinals 1 - 10 enter into construct with a following definite plural noun. The second term of the construct may be masculine or feminine ( depending on the referent ); the first term too may be masculine or feminine ( depending on the referent ). Tali xaamis ilawlaad ill nagaiu. faarida xamsit ilbanaat illi naga6u. 'Ali ranks fifth among the boys who passed ( the test ).' 'Farida ranks fifth among the girls who passed ( the test ).' 3. Except for awwalaani and awwalaniyya, the ordinals 1 - 10 enter into construct with a following plural pronoun. The ordinal in this usage may be masculine or feminine ( depending on the refer- ent ). I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I huwwa rabiThum. hiyya rabithum. 'He is the fourth among them.' 'She is the fourth among them.' The ordinals 1 - 10 as adjectives The ordinals 1 - 10 ( including the forms awwalaani and awwalaniyya ) may follow singular nouns, the construction being that of a noun and its modifier. The ordinal agrees with the modified noun in gender and definiteness. ilkitaab il?awwal or ilkitaab il?awwalaani issaffia l?uula or issafRa I?awwalaniyya ilyoom ilxaamis issana Ixamsa 'the first book' 'the first page' 'the fifth day' 'the fifth year' Phrases consisting of an indefinite noun and a following adjectival ordinal are usually idiomatic expressions; e.g., sana uula means 'first grade ( of school )' rather than 'a first year'. *** *** *** I I EGV"PTAN ARABIC 183 REFERENCE GRAMMAR FGVPTTAAJ A1~ARTC 183 REFERENCE GRAMMAR NUMERALS : ORDINALS ABOVE 10 The ordinals above 10 are identical to the corresponding cardinals. Like the ordinals 1 - 10, they may be used adjectivally; unlike 1 - 10, however, they are never used as nouns. Although the modified noun may be masculine or feminine, the ordinals above 1- 10 show no contrast for gender. ilyoom ilxamsa wtalatiin issana Ixamsa wtalatiin 'the thirty-fifth day' 'the thirty-fifth year' Note Six forms are used to express the meaning 'last'; those forms and their usages are described below. 1. The form aaxir is used as a noun in construct with a following form. The second member of the construct may be a singular indefinite noun ( masculine or feminine ), a definite plural noun ( masculine or feminine ), or a plural pronoun. In all of these contexts, the form aaxir shows no contrast for gender. aaxir tilmiiz aaxir tilmiiza aaxir il?awlaad aaxir ilbanaat axirhum axirna 'the last student (m)' 'the last student (f)' 'the last of the boys' 'the last of the girls' 'the last ( one ) of them' 'the last (one ) of us' 2. The forms axi i r ( feminine : axiira ) and axraani ( feminine : axraniyya, plural : axraniyyiin ) are used adjectivally. The modified noun may be definite or indefinite. ?areet issatr il?axiir ? eeh ikkilma I?axiira ? haat Iwalad il?axraani. haat ilbint il?axraniyya. 'Have you read the last line ?' 'What is the last word ?' 'Bring the last boy.' 'Bring the last girl.' I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 184 REFERENCE GRAMMAR haat ilIbanaat iI?axraniyy i i n. 'Bring the last girls.' I haat il?awlaad il?axraniyyiin. 'Bring the last boys.' Phrases like su?aal axiir ( where the modified noun is indefinite ) are usually idiomatic; e.g., su?aal axiir is translatable by 'a final question' rather than 'a last question'. NUMERALS SINGULAR COUNT NOUNS (SCN) Singular count nouns are a small set of forms which are invariably singular after a numeral; they may be divided into four classes : (a) Nouns which share no structural identity but which are used in ordering food, drinks, etc.; e.g., ?ahwa 'coffee', vaay 'tea', la6ma 'meat', wiski 'whiskey'. hatlina xamsa wiski. 'Bring us five whiskies.' (b) Certain nouns ( largely loan words ) which designate weight, measurement, or monetary value; e.g., gqiraam 'gram', k i I u9raam 'kilogram', miili 'mile', kilumitr 'kilometer', santimitr 'centi- meter', qi neeh 'Egyptian pound ( money )', maillim 'millieme ( an Egyptian coin )', tariifa 'five milliemes', saa 'piastre ( ten milliemes )', Ilin 'five piastres', riaal 'twenty piastres'. maysawii talaata malliim 'It is not worth three milliemes.' (c) All nouns designating measurement when followed by murabba 'square' ( feminine : murabbaa ) or mukaffab 'cubic' ( feminine : mukaffaba ) . tisia mitr mrabba 'nine square meters' sitta buusa mkattaba 'six cubic inches' (d) The forms milyoon 'million' and bilyoon 'billion' itneen m i I yoon 'two million' arbaTa bilyoon 'four billion' I I EGYPTIAN-ARABIC 185 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARASIC 185 REFERENCE GRAMMAR -0- OATH ( See : Exclamations and Oaths ) *** *** *** OBSTRUENTS A speech sound which is produced by the obstruction of the breath passage completely or to the point of producing friction : a stop or a fricative (q.v.). *** ** ***W OMISSION OF VOWELS ( See : Vowels : Contraction ) OPTATI VE STRUCTURES Egyptian Arabic has a number of optative structures expressing a wish or a desire, e.g. "May God bless you". These structures all I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 186 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I refer to the present and future whether they have a perfect or imperfect verb form, e.g., allaah yixalliik 'May God keep you' I salla 1laahu alayhi wi 'May God pray for and give sal lam peace to him ( The Prophet ) *WW *** *** I ORAL CAVITY The mouth, which is one of the resonance cavities, is called the oral cavity. *** *** *** I ORGANS OF SPEECH The stream of air expelled by breathing passes out of the lungs and is used for speech. The larynx is a cartilaginous box at the upper I end of the trachea or windpipe. The importance of the larynx in speech is that it contains the vocal cords, or vocal folds, which are essen- tially two horizontal folds of elastic tissue. The triangular space enclosed by two vocal cords is referred to as the glottis. The tongue has four sections : the apex or tip, the blade or front, the dorsum or back, and the root, which forms the front wall of the pharynx. The tongue is one of the most important movable articulators. The u front teeth are important in speech formation. Both the lips are of importance in speech. The roof of the mouth may be divided into four parts : the alveolar ridge, the convex portion of the mouth just behind the front teeth; the hard palate, the portion behind the alveolar ridge; the velum or soft palate, the area behind the hard palate; and finally, the uvula, the small appendage that hangs down from the very edge of the velum. I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 187 REFERENCE GRAMMAR There are three major resonance cavities : the mouth, which is known as the oral cavity; the nose, or nasal cavity, and the throat, or pharynx; their main function in speech is to serve as resonators. *** *** *** I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 189 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGVPTINvARAIC 189REFERNCE GaM WILaR - P- PALATAL A place of articulation consisting of the tongue blade and the palate : /y/. ** *** *WW PARTICLE A word, usually uninflected and invariable, used to indicate syntactical relationships. In Egyptian Arabic, particles are adverbs (q.v.), conjunctions (q.v.), prepositions (q.v.), presentational particles (q.v.), pronouns (q.v.), and the vocative particle (q.v.). One thing to remember is that no Egyptian particle is exactly the equivalent of any given gloss in English. *** *** *** PASSIVE : MEANING The passive construction always denotes one of the following : 1. That the agent is unknown. 2. That the agent is concealed for some reason. 3. That the agent is obvious and therefore need not be mentioned e.g., I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 190 REFERENCE GRAMMAR it akam Talee bil?iTdaam 'He was sentenced to death.' The above constraints show why the EA passive construction does not contain a phrase such as the underlined one in the following English sentence :I The fugitive was shot by a policeman. In some contexts, the passive construction denotes potentiality : baTd innabataat tittaakil 'Some plants are edible and some a I wi ba'd innabataat are not edible.' matittakil. Tali yitdiRik Talee bishuula. 'Ali can be easily decieved.' samya miS gamiila, laakin 'Samia is not pretty, but she tit abb. is likeable.' I Notice that the passive verbs in the above sentences are subjunctive in form. The instrument used to perform the act can usually be expressed in the Arabic passive construction by the preposition /bi-/; thus the sen- tence 'This letter must be written by hand.' can be rendered in Egyptian Arabic as follows : iggawab da laazim yitkitib bilyadd. I PASSIVE : PASSIVIZABLE VERBS The active verbs which may be made passive are those which have a recipient of their action, i.e., those which are transitive or ditran- I sitive ( having two recipients ), and those whose action is passed on to a noun be means of a preposition ( a verb of the second group and the following preposition will be called a "phrasal verb" ). 1. That transitive and ditransitive verbs may be passivized is illustrated by the following examples : I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 191 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Y.TIN.R...C_1 1...EI MM1- .. Tali fihim iddars. 'Ali understood the lesson.' iddars itfaham. 'The lesson was understood.' fariid fahhim Lali ddars. 'Farid explained the lesson to Ali.' iddars itfahhim liali. 'The lesson was explained to Ali.' 2. That phrasal verbs may be passivized is illustrated by the following examples : fari id ?afad Ta kkursi. 'Farid sat on the chair.' ilkursi t?afad Taleeh. 'The chair was sat on.' Lali katab La ssabbuura. 'Ali wrote on the board.' issabbuura tkatab Taleeha. 'The board was written on.' As used here, the term "phrasal verb" does not embrace every sequence which consists of a verb and a following preposition; unless the prepo- sition transmits the action to a following noun, the sequence is not a phrasal verb. Thus the underlined sequence in the example below is not a phrasal verb : Tali rigiL baTd i I I igt imaaT. 'Ali returned after the meeting.' It must be pointed out, however, that the recipient of a phrasal verb is rather loosely defined. In each of the following sentences, the underlined word is a recipient for the reason stated after the sentence : 1. Tal i ?afad Ta kkursi 'Ali sat on the chair' : The chair received the action denoted by the verb. 2. Tali katab bi-l?alam 'Ali wrote with the pencil' : The pencil was used. 3. makan mumkin ilmuyanniyyaat yiyannu li-lxaliifa law kaan i1?islaam yi arram ilyuna 'Singing girls could not have sung for the Caliph if singing had not been permissible in Islam' : The Caliph received the benefit of singing. 4. Lawziin yiwsalu li-l?amar fi xamas safaat. il-?insaan mayiwsalI I i-I?amar bissurLa di 'They want to reach the moon in five hours. EGYPTIAN ARABIC 192 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Man cannot reach the moon in such a short time.' : The moon is the object to be reached, and therefore the object which would receive the action denoted by the verb. 5. innaas mumkin yiskunu f-?aswaan fi'ita laakin mi fisseef 'People can live in Aswan in the winter but not in the summer.' : Aswan is the place to be inhabited, and therefore the place which would receive the action denoted by the verb. It is thus seen that the recipient is often the object of a preposition in a phrase which indicates instrument, beneficiary, destination, or place. The passive counterparts of the foregoing five sentences are as follows : 1. ilkursi t?a'ad Taleeh. 2. il?alam itkatab biih. 3. makan mumkin yityanna lilxallifa law kaan ilI?islaam y i 6arram ilyuna. ~ makan mumkin ilxalliifa yityanna liih law kaan il?islaam yi6arram ilyuna. 4. Tawziin yiwsalu lil?amar fi xamas sa'aat. il?amar mayitwisilluu' bissurfa di. 5. aswaan mumkin titsikin fi ita laakin mis fisseef. ~ aswaan mumkin yitsikin fliha filita laakin mi fisseef. 'The chair was sat on.' 'The pencil was written with.' 'The Caliph could not have been sung for if singing were not permissible in Islam.' 'They want to reach the moon in five hours. The moon cannot be reached in such a short time.' 'Aswan is habitable in the winter, but not in the summer.' I I I I I U I I U I I I I I I I A verb, then, is passivizable when it has a direct object; in addition, it is often passivizable when it has an item occurring as object of a preposition and which is an instrument, beneficiary, destination, or place. *** *** *** I I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 193 REFERENCE GRAMMAR PASSIVE : SYNTAX 1. Given an active construction where the direct object of the verb is the only recipient : The direct object becomes the subject of the passive construction. The passive verb agrees with its subject in number, gender, and person. suiaad katabit ilmaqaala ---> ilmaqaala tkatabit bahdiluuni mbaari6 ---> itbahdilt imbaari6 'Su'ad wrote the article' 'The article was written' 'They treated me contemptously yesterday' 'I was treated contemptously yesterday' 2. Given an active construction where the verb has both a direct object and an indirect object : Either the direct object or the indirect object becomes the subject of the passive construction. If the first option is selected, the preposition li- must be prefixed to the indirect object. Whether the first or the second option is chosen, the passive verb agrees with its subject in number, gender, and person. fahhimt fariid iddars ---> iddars itfahhim lifariid or fariid itfahhim iddars 'I explained the lesson to Farid' 'The lesson was explained to Farid' 'Farid was helped to understand the lesson.' 3. Given an active construction with a phrasal verb : The object of the preposition becomes the subject of the passive construction. The passive verb form shows no agreement with the subject of the passive construction; the preposition takes a pronominal suffix whose antecedent is the subject of the passive construction. ilma6kama 6akamit iala 'The court sentenced your friends' asd i qaa?ak Sasdiqaa?ak itakam Taleehum 'Your friends were sentenced' EGVPTIAN ARABIC 194 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTiAN ARABIC 1.94 REF EREI4CE GRAMMAR ilmaf6kama Fakamit Qalayya ---) itakam alayya 'The court sentenced me' 'I was sentenced' In English, the subject of the active construction may occur in the passive construction as object of the preposition by ( e.g., The hunter shot the tiger ---> The tiger was shot by the hunter ); in EA, the subject of the active construction does not occur in the passive construction. *** ** *** PASSIVE : VERB FORMATION A verb becomes passive when the active form is replaced by the corresponding passive form. The passive verb form takes the prefix it- ( ~ in- ). I I I I I I I I I U I I katab Lirif sal la baarik bahdi I 'to write' 'to know' 'to fix' 'to bless' 'to treat contempt- ously' itkatab itTaraf itsal la6 itbaarik itbahdi I 'to be written' 'to become known' 'to be fixed' 'to be blessed' 'to be treated contempt- ously' It must be emphasized, however, that not all verbs with the prefix it- are passive ( see "Measures : Meaning" ); consider, for example, the following sentences : 1. 2. 3. 4. faruu? nattat Tali. Tali tnattat milfara6. fatai ilbaab. m?? ilbaab fa-tfata6 'Farouk made Ali jump up and down.' 'Ali jumped up and down out of joy.' 'He opened the door.' 'He pushed the door and so it opened.' Comparing sentences 1 and 2 shows that itnattat designates reflexivity rather than passivity; comparing sentences 3 and 4 shows that itfata6 designates yielding rather than passivity. I I I U EGVPTITAN AARIC 195 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I. A.P - /- 6%e-k There are instances where an active form has a recipient but does not correspond to a form with the prefix it-. To compensate for the expected but non-existent colloquial passive, a Standard Arabic passive is used : Active Passive iFtaram 'to respect' u6turim ixtaar 'to choose' uxtiir istaTmil 'to use' ustuTmil In Standard Arabic, the passive form of perfect verbs always has /1/ as the stem vowel; a preceding vowel is /u/ if short and /uu/ if long. The imperfect passive of Standard Arabic always has /u/ as the vowel of the prefix; every other vowel in the stem is /a/ if short and /aa/ if long. In the speech of many Egyptians, it- and in- are inter- changeable ( see : "Verb Measures" ). PASSIVE PARTICIPLES : DEFINITENESS If it denotes a semantic extension ( see : "Passive Participles : Meaning" ), a passive participle is made definite by prefixing i l- to it : mi babibb ilIma ii. 'I do not like stuffed cabbage.' If it denotes the basic designation ( see : "Passive Participles : Meaning" ), a passive participle is made definite by placing il- or illi before it ( il- being the more common 6f the two ) : Indefinite tarabeeza mitsanfara 'a sandpapered table' Definite ittarabeeza Imitsanfara or 'the sandpapered table' ittarabeeza Ili mitsanfara *** *** *** EGYPTIAN ARABIC 196 REFERENCE GRAMMAR PASSIVE PARTICIPLES : DERIVATION The passive participles of Measure I triliteral verbs have the follow- ing forms : 1. maffuul from sound roots; e.g., katab 'to write' : maktuub, Tirif 'to know' : maTruuf. 2. maf uuT from doubled roots, e.g., Ratt 'to put' : ma6tuut, kabb 'to spill' : makbuub, Fabb 'to love' : ma6buub. 3. maf Ti from defective roots; e.g., daTa 'to invite' : madTi, bana 'to build' : mabni, nisi 'to forget' : mansi. The passive participle of verbs other than Measure I triliterals frequently has the same form as the active participle : it is usually derived by substituting mi- for the iL of the imperfect huwwa form, e.g., Imperfect Verb Form Active Participle Passive Participle yidallaT 'he spoils (a child)' midallaT midallaT yihtall 'to occupy (a territory)' mi talI mi6tall yida~rag 'he rolls (something)' mida6rag mida6rag yiallIi 'to sweeten' mi~alli mi~alli A given verb does not yield the passive participle unless that verb co-occurs with a form which designates a recipient. Thus the passive I participle is derived from 1. Transitive verbs : Tali gara6 Fasan. 'Ali wounded Hasan.' I Fasan maqruuF. 'Hasan is wounded.' I 2. Verbs whose action is transmitted to a recipient by means of a preposition : ilma6kama Rakamit Tala 'The court sentenced Ali to death' iali bil?itdaam. ali ma6kuum Taleeh 'Ali is sentenced to death.' bi l?i daam. 3. Passive verbs. ( Note that Passive Verbs have only one parti- I ciple which is passive in meaning. . I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 197 REFERENCF GRAMMAR i I Tee itbaarik. 'The bread was blessed.' iITee mitbaarik. 'The bread is (in a state of having been) blessed.' As has already been mentioned, the passive participle often has the same form as the corresponding active participle. This means that it is sometimes difficult to determine whether a form in isolation is the active or the passive participle. For example, midal IlaT may mean '( of a child ) spoiled' or 'spoiling ( a child )', depending on whether the participle in question is the passive or the active. When the source verb is a passive one, such ambiguity is hardly possihle : passive verbs usually yield passive participles, but on rare occasions they may yield active participles. Two interesting observations should be noted : 1. No passive participles are derived from verbs of the hollow form FaaL; instead, the participles of the corresponding passive verbs are used. Thus there is no passive participle from baa' 'to sell', but the meaning which such a participle would denote is expressed by mitbaaT ( from itbaaT 'to be sold' ). 2. Passive participles are rarely derived from sound, doubled, and defective verbs of the passive measure itFaaL; instead, the passive participles of the corresponding Measure I verbs are used. For example, itkatab 'to be written' seldom yields a passive participle, but the meaning which such a participle would denote is expressed by maktuub ( from katab 'to write' ). The following statement emerges from these two observations and from the fact that passive verbs rarely yield the active participle only a few verbs of the passive measure itFaTaL yield a participle; those are the hollow forms, and it is the passive participle which they usually yield. Influence of Standard Arabic Under the influence of Standard Arabic, educated Egyptians in the majority of cases substitute mu- ( rather than mi- ) for the initial EGYPTIAN ARABIC 198 REFERENCE GRAMMAR yi of the imperfect; this "classicism" is often accompanied by two other imitations of Standard Arabic : 1. Deriving the passive participle takes into consideration the vowel which precedes the last radical of the imperfect verb form : if not already /a/ or /aa/, the vowel in question is replaced by /a/ if short and by /aa/ if long. This produces a contrast which exists in Standard Arabic : /a/ or /aa/ ( in the specified position ) for the majority of passive participles, and /1/ or /ii/ for the corresponding active participles. Examples : I I I I I I I I I I I I Imperfect Verb Form yi?addib 'he disciplines' yistaTmil 'he uses' yisammi 'he names' yistagiib 'he responds' Active Participle mu?addib - mi?addib mustaTmil ~ mistatmil musammi ~ misammi mustagi lb Passive Participle mu?addab mustaTma I musamma mustagaab Due to certain phonological rules, Standard Arabic includes some active participles which -- like their passive counterparts -- have /aa/ before the last radical; the participles worthy of mention in this context are the participles derived from hollow triliterals of Measure VII and Measure VIII. The lack of distinction exists in EA as well. 2. /a/ is inserted before the F of Measure V and Measure VI tri- literals in the process of deriving a participle. I I Imperfect Verb Form yittalIIab 'he requires' yitnaafis 'he competes 'with)' Active Participle Passive Participle mutatallib mutatallab mutanaafis mutanaafas As may be expected, such "classicism" usually occurs when the EA participle is identified with a Standard Arabic participle ( i.e., when the two participles in question are derived from the same root and the same verbal measure ). Since verbs of Measure IV are usually borrowings from Standard Arabic, it is not surprising to find that the passive participles of those verbs are usually of the measure muFiaL ( rather EGVPTIAN ARABIC 199 REFERENCE GRAMMAR than miFTiL ); e.g., arhag 'to overburden' : murhaq. Differentiating the Passive Participles of Derived Verbs from the Active Counterparts Sometimes a passive participle cannot be differentiated from the corresponding active participle by the classicism explained above under Influence of Standard Arabic. For example, yidallaT 'he spoils ( a child )' has /a/ as the stem vowel, and for that reason the replacement described in item 1 under Influence of Standard Arabic cannot be used as a means of differentiating the participles; again, yixtaar 'he chooses' like other hollow triliterals of Measure VIII, yields an active partici- ple and a passive participle both of which have /aa/ before the last radical ( this is true in Standard Arabic as well as in EA ). In this situation, educated speakers often resort to one of the following devices : 1. Deriving the active participle from the active verb form, and the passive participle from the passive verb form, e.g., midaIlaT 'having spoiled ( a child )' but mitdallag 'spoiled'. 2. Using mi- for the active participle and mu- for the passive participle; e.g., mixtaar 'having chosen' but muxtaar 'chosen'. This device is usually employed when the verb is an active form with no corresponding passive form. *** *** *** PASSIVE PARTICIPLES : GENDER OF SINGULAR A singular passive participle shows contrast for gender. The feminine singular form results from adding -a to the corresponding masculine form : Masculine Feminine maktuub 'written' maktuuba mustaZmal 'used' musta mala masguun 'imprisoned' masguuna EGVPTIAN ARABIC 200 REFERENCE GRAMMAR If the masculine form ends in /i/, /-yya/ is added to produce the feminine form : Masculine Feminine mansi 'forgotten' mansiyya mabni 'built' mabniyya Under the influence of Standard Arabic, some masculine singular forms ( derived from verbs other than the Measure I triliterals ) end in /a/ U rather than /i/. The feminine singular of such participles is formed by substituting -aah for the final -a : Masculine Feminine musamma 'named' musammaah I mustasna 'excepted' mustasnaah PASSIVE PARTICIPLES MEANING I 1. "Basic" Meaning EA verbs are divisble into two types ( see "Verbs : Aspect" ) : 1.. Those with which bi- does not indicate continuity ( continuity being viewed as the feature of an action or an event in progress ). Included here are verbs which denote a state e.g., biyifham 'he understands', biyiTraf 'he ( usually ) knows'. Included also are verbs which denote fixation of location; e.g., biyuskun 'he ( usually ) resides'. 2. Those with which bi- indicates continuity ( as well as repeti- tiveness, habituality ); e.g., biyidris 'he is studying', biyiktib 'he is writing'. For verbs of the first type, the passive participle designates a current state ( usually translatable by an English expression which consists of 'is / am / are' and a following past participle ); e.g., I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 201 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Tirif 'to know' : maTruuf 'is known', fihim 'to understand' mafhuum 'is understood'. (a) ilbeet da maskuun. 'This house is inhabited.' (b) inta maTruuf. 'You are well known. For verbs of the second type, the passive participle means 'in a state of having been ' where the blank stands for the meaning of an English past participle; e.g., katab 'to write' : maktuub 'is in a state of having been written', ?ataT 'to cut' : ma?tuuT 'is in a state of having been cut', rabat 'to tie up' : marbuut 'is in a state of having been tied up'. (c) la?eetu marbuut. 'I found him tied up ( literally : "in a state of having been tied up" ).' The difference between the two meanings of passive participles becomes clear when sentence (a) is compared with sentence (c) : in sentence (a), the act of inhabiting is current; in sentence (c), it is not the act of cutting but the result of that act which is current. Thus, the passive participle shares certain semantic elements with the active participle : from Type 1 verbs, both express a current state; from Type 2 verbs, both express a current state brought about by a past act ( see : "Active Participles : Meaning" ). To obtain the correct English translation, one must make sure that the Arabic participle and the English equivalent occur in comparable slots; one must also choose as the English equivalent an expression which is appropriate for the slot : irrisaala maktuuba. 'The message is (now) written.' irrisaala Imaktuuba 'the written message' ilbeet mabni. 'The house has (now) been built.' ilbeet ilmabni 'the house which has been built' 2. Semantic Extension Some passive participles may be used either with the basic designation or with a meaning ( called the "extension" ) which is similar to but not EGYPTIAN ARABIC 202 REFERENCE GRAMMAR identical with the basic designation. For example, masguun can mean 'imprisoned ( "in a state of having been imprisoned" ), but it can also mean 'a prisoner'; likewise, ma6Fi can mean 'stuffed ( in a state of having been stuffed )', but it can also mean 'stuffed cabbage'. simiT't innu masguun. ilmasquun hirib. 'I heard that he is imprisoned.' 'The prisoner escaped.' Difference in regard to aspect ( i.e., verbal force ) is part of what distinguishes the basic designation from the extension : while the basic designation includes aspect, the extension does not. Compare, for example, the participles in the following sentences : ilmawduu T da mafhuum m in zamaan. mafhuum ilkilma di yeer mafhuum ilkilma dukha. 'This subject has been clear ("understood") for a long time.' 'The designation of this word differs from that of the other word.' I I I I I 1 I I I I I I I I I I I I I 3. Absence of Person Designation Unlike verbs, passive participles isolation the form maTruuf does not first, second, or third person; the maTrufiin. 4. In some contexts the EA passive which is often expressed in English are examples : laazim titkallim bisoot masmuu?. ilwad" wibi laakin muftamaI. mawqifak mafhuum. do not designate person. Thus in indicate whether reference is to same is true of maTruufa and participle denotes a potentiality by the suffix -able. The following 'You must speak in an audible voice. 'The situation is bad but tolerable.' 'Your attitude is understandable.' *** *** *** EGVPTIAN ARABIC 203 REFERENCE GRAMMAR PASSIVE PARTICIPLES : NUMBER A. Passive Participles Which Denote a Semantic Extension ( Typically Nominal ) If a passive participle denotes a semantic extension ( see : "Passive Participles : Meaning" ), it may be singular, dual, or plural. The dual is formed by adding -een to the singular form : Singular masguun masguuna muwazzaf muwazzafa v masruub musaddas 'a prisoner (mn) 'a prisoner (f)' 'an employee (mn)' 'an employee (f)' 'a drink' 'a pistol' Dual masguneen masgunteen muwazzafeen muwazzafteen mairubeen musaddaseen Provided it is derived from a verb other than a Measure I tri- literal, and provided it denotes a human being, each of the passive participles being discussed typically has two plural forms : the sound masculine, and the sound feminine; the former results from adding -i in to the masculine singular, while the latter results from adding -aat to the feminine singular. Singular muwazzaf muwazzafa 'an employee (mn)' 'an employee (f)' Plural muwazzafiin muwazzafaat muwazza faat . 0 Provided it is derived from a verb other than a Measure I trilit- eral, and provided that it designates a non-human referent, each of the passive participles in question typically has a sound feminine plural form : Singular mudarrag murakkab 'lecture room ( in a university ) 'a (chemical) compound' Plural mudarragaat murakkabaat EGYPTIAN ARABIC 204 REFERENCE GRAMMAR musal las musaddas 'a triangle' 'a pistol' musallasaat musaddasaat If derived from Measure I triliteral verbs, the passive parti- ciples in question typically have broken plurals; in this context, one of the most common plural measures is maFai iL. Singular maTguun masguun maisuul ma?muur mAegmI u La 'a paste' 'a prisoner' a crop' 'a commissioner' a .IJ.L.ection (e.g., of stamps)' Plural ma~agi in masag ii n maiasi iI ma?ami ir magam i i I I I I I I I I I I I I I B. Passive Participles Which Denote the Basic Designation ( Typically Adjectival ) If it denotes the basic designation, a passive participle may be singular or plural ( the dual is rarely used ). The plural is typically a sound form which results from adding -i in to the mascu- line singular, and which may modify a masculine or a feminine noun. Certain masculine singular forms undergo specifiable changes upon the addition of -iin; those changes are as follows : 1. If the masculine singular form ends in /i/, /-yyiin/ is added to make it plural : Masculine Singular Feminine Singular mad~i 'invited' madTiyya mitrabbi 'brought up well' m i t rabbiyya Plural madTiyyi in mitrabbiyyi in rraagil il li madTi irragleen illi mad'iyyiin irriggaalal li madTiyyiin 'the man who is invited' 'the two men who are invited' 'the men who are invited' I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 205 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARASIC 205 IZEFERENC~ GRAMMAR issitt illi madZiyya issitteen illi madTiyyiin issittaat illi mad'iyyiin 'the woman who is invited' 'the two women who are invited' 'the women who are invited' 2. If the masculine singular form ends in /a/, /-yiin/ is added to make it plural : Masculine Singular musaffa 'filtered' saa?il musaffa saa?ileen musa ffayiin sawaa?i I musa f f aah Feminine Singular musaffaah Plural musaffayl in 'a filtered liquid' 'two filtered liquids' 'filtered liquids' Combining number and gender contrasts, we get the following forms : 1. For participles with a semantic extension ( typically nominal ) (a) Masculine singular; e.g., masguun 'a prisoner', muwazzaf 'an employee'. (b) Feminine singular; e.g., masguuna, muwazzafa. (c) Masculine dual; e.g., masguneen, muwazzafeen. (d) Feminine dual; e.g., masgunteen, muwazzafteen. (e) Plural (i) Sound masculine; e.g., muwazzafiin. (ii) Sound feminine; e.g., muwazzafaat. (iii) Broken; e.g., masaglin. 2. For participles with the basic designation ( typically adjectival ) (a) (b) (c) Masculine singular; e.g., mu?addab 'polite' Feminine singular; e.g., mu?addaba Plural; e.g., mu?addabi in. *** *** *** EGYPTIAN ARABIC 206 REFERENCE GRAMMAR PASSIVE PARTICIPLES : PRECEDED BY kaan Like other nouns and adjectives, passive participles may be preceded by a form of the marker kaan. The meaning of a construction consisting of the marker and a following passive participle is obtained by combining the meanings of the two constituents ( for the various meanings expres- sed through use of the marker, see : "Verbs : The Tense/Aspect Marker kaan" ) : Tali mu?addab. Tali kaan mu?addab. Tali biykuun mu?addab filfasI. aii mii naawi ykuun mu?addab ma'aahum. 'Ali is polite.' 'Ali was polite.' 'Ali is polite in class.' 'All does not intend to be polite with them.' I I I I I I I I I I I I I I *** *** *** PASSIVE PARTICIPLES : SYNTACTIC USAGE 1. When they denote the basic designation ( see : "Passive Participles : Meaning" ), passive participles usually occur in adjectival slots. rameet fingaan maksuur fizzibaala. rameet ilfingaan ilmaksuur fizzibaala. 'I threw a broken cup in the garbage can.' 'I threw the broken cup in the garbage can.' Adjectival passive participles agree with the modified noun in number, gender, and definiteness ( see : "Adjectives : Adjectival Use of Participles" ). Passive participles with the basic designation also occur in nominal slots : i lmu?addab aisan min ?aliil il?adab. 'A polite person is to be pre- ferred over an impolite one.' I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 207 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Notice however that, when used nominally, a passive participle with the basic designation is a contraction of an attributive construction; thus ilmu?addab in the above sentence stands for iJlaxs ilmu?addab a polite person'. A passive participle may be derived from a verb whose action is transmitted to a recipient by means of a preposition ( see : "Passive Participles : Derivation" ). When such is the case, the participle is invariable in form and always co-occurs with the preposition in question; contrasts in number and gender are indicated by pronominal suffixes attached to the preposition. ilma6kama Fakamit Tala ssitt bil?iTdaam. issitt di mahkuum Taleeha bil?iTdaam. sitt ma6kuum Taleeha issitt ilma6kuum Taleeha sitteen ma6kuum Taleehum issitteen i lma6kuum Lal eehum raagil maikuum Taleeh irraagil ilma6kuum Laleeh riggaala maikuum Taleehum irriggaala Ima6kuum Ta I eehum 'The court sentenced the woman to death.' 'This woman is sentenced to death.' 'a sentenced woman' 'the sentenced woman' 'two sentenced women' 'the two sentenced women' 'a sentenced man' 'the sentenced man' 'sentenced men' 'the sentenced men' In the examples below, the participle is inflected although it is followed by a preposition; this is because in the source strings the preposition is not a means of transmitting the action of the verb to a recipient. innaas yiTrafu ssayyid muxtaar fi masr. 'People know Mr. Mukhtar in in Egypt.' EGYPTIAN ARABIC 208 REFERENCE GRAMMAR issayyid muxtaar maTruuf fi masr. 'o 0 irraagil ilmaTruuf fi masr issitt ilmaT'ruufa fmasr irraglieen/issitteen ilmaTrufiin fi masr 'Mr. Mukhtar is well known in Egypt.' 'the man who is well known in Egypt' 'the lady who is well known in Egypt' 'the two men/women who are well known in Egypt' 2. When used with a semantic extension, a passive participle usually occurs in nominal slots : ilma?muur margiTn. ?a b i I na Ima?muur. sa?alt Tan ilma?muur. ma?muur ilmanti?a mig miwaaf i?. Fadritak sadii? ilma?muur ? 'The commissioner has not returned.' 'We met the commissioner.' 'I asked about the commissioner.' 'The district commissioner does not agree.' 'Are you the commissioner's friend ?' I I I 1 U I I I I I I I I *** *** PATTERN WITH ROOTS Root is a term used in Arabic grammar for the consonant core of a word in Egyptian Arabic. It does not occur in isolation, but in any of various word patterns. All derivatives of the root ( k-t-b ), for example, have to do with "writing". The basic meaning of the root is modified by the various patterns with which it occurs. Patterns, then, are vowels ( sometimes accompanied by certain non-root consonants ) added to the root to form a word, e.g., k-t-b -a-a- k-t-b ma--a- k-t-b --aa-i- katab maktab kaat ib 'he wrote' 'office; desk' 'writer' I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 209 REFERENCE GRAMMAR .-%. . -a %%-I.V.%0 .%_ .% O .,I . .. Thus, /k/, /t/ and /b/ of /katab/ are the three radicals that con- stitute the k-t-b root, whose meaning has to do primarily with writing. /-a-a-/ is the vocalic pattern which forms the perfect ( past tense ) form /katab/ 'he wrote'. Consider : /kaatib/ 'writer' /maktab/ 'office, desk' /makt a ba/ 'library; bookshop' The above are some of the derivatives of the root k-t-b, all achieved by different vocalic patterns or consonantal-vocalic patterns; i.e., /-aa-i-/ in /kaatib/ and /ma--a-/ in /maktab/ and /ma--a-a/ in /maktaba/. Since the three radicals that constitute the root k-t-b are all consonants, we will call it a Sound Triconsonantal Root. *** *** *** PHARYNGEAL A place of articulation consisting of the root of the tongue and pharynx forming a stricture / 6, /. *** *** *** PHARYNX The pharynx is the throat, one of the resonance cavities. *** *WW** *WW** EGYPTIAN ARABIC 210 REFERENCE GRAMMAR PHONEME The minimal unit of sound which distinguishes two words otherwise identical in a language; e.g., English "till" and "dill" differ in only one phoneme. Likewise Egyptian Arabic /taab/ 'he repented' and /daab/ 'it melted' differ in one phoneme. Such words are referred to as a Minimal Pair. A phoneme may have positionally conditioned allophones (q.v.). (a)PHRASE VERSUS SENTENCEf) + ad (indef) Indefinite Phrase (a) n (indef) + adj (indef) = Indefinite Phrase /walad kiblir/ 'a big boy' (b) n (def) + adj (def) = Definite Phrase I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I /ilwalad ilkiblir/ 'the big boy' (c) n (def) + adj (indef) = Sentence /ilwalad kiblir/ 'the boy is big' Example (c) above is known as an Equational Sentence. It consists of a definite subject and an indefinite predicate. It can be made inter- rogative by the use of rising intonation. *** *** ** * PLURAL A look at : shows that plurals kitaab - kutub 'book' walad - awlaad 'boy' gumla - gumal 'sentence' ki Ilma - kalimaat 'word' of nouns are unpredictable and must be learned for each EGYPTIAN ARABIC 211 REFERENCE GRAMMAR noun separately. Such plurals are referred to as broken plurals. This term is in contrast with the regular predictable plurals which are termed sound plurals. Examples of the sound plurals are:: /fallaa / 'farmer' (mn) /faliahiin/ 'farmers' (n) (Thus the suffix /- i n/ is the marker of sound masculine plural,) /fa llaaa/ 'farmer' (f) /fallabaat/ 'farmers' (f) (Thus the suffix /-aat/ is the marker of sound feminine plural.) With human plural nouns, adjectives agree in number : /awlaad kubaar/ /banaat kubaar/ 'big boys' 'big girls' However, with non-human plural nouns, either plural adjectives or feminine singular adjectives may be used : /kutub kubaar/ /kutub kiblira/ 'big books' 'big books' The latter form is sometimes applied even to modify human nouns by some speakers of EA, e.g. : /awlaad kutaar/ /awlaad kitiira/ /banaat kutaar/ /banaat kitiira/ 'many many many many boys' boys' girls' girls' and *** *** ** POSSESSION Pronominal Suffixes in Combination with Nouns The paradigm is listed here as : vocalic set -i my -ak your (m) -ik your (f) -u his I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 212 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I consonantal set -ha her -na our -kum your (p) -hum their Notice : a) With nouns like /kitaab/ 'book' changes resulting from suffixation are expected before the consonantal set, e.g. :I /kitaabi/ 'my book' but /kitabkum/ 'your (p) book' (EA does not permit the sequence VVCC in a word.) b) Also, nouns ending in -iC# will show changes before the vocalic set, e.g. : /waagib/ 'homework' but /wagbi/ 'my homework' I (elision of /1/ of -iC# ; see : Vowels : Elision) c) Feminine and plural nouns ending in -a# will always be in their con- struct state before pronominal endings, e.g. : /gazma/ 'shoe' /gazmiti/ 'my shoe' /gazmitha/ 'her shoe' /Tand/ 'to have'; 'with'; 'in one's possession'; 'at one's place'; French chez Egyptian Arabic does not have a verb that corresponds to English 'to have' as in 'I have a book.' EA expresses this by the particle /iand/ which means 'at', 'to have', 'in one's possession', 'with' or chez. /Tand/ can be followed by a noun or a pronominal suffix. Notice the forms of the pronominal suffixes with /?and/, particularly with the second set which has an extra vowel : sand i I have ( or 'with me' or 'at my place') and ak you (m) have 9and ik you (f) have Cand u he has 9and aha she has Tand i na we have Tand ukum you (p) have 'and uhum they have I EGY AN ARABIC 213 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Notice that the pronominal suffixes here are the same as those suffixed to nouns, except for an extra vowel in the consonantal suffixes /-ha/, /-na/, /-kum/, I-hum/ ---> /-ahal, /-ina/, /-ukum/ and /-uhum/. ( See also : Adjectival Phrase Introduced by bitaaT ; Construct Phrases; Vowels : Extra) *** *** *** PREFIX A formative ( a single phoneme or syllable ) placed before a word to modify its meaning or derive a new word, e.g. : katab 'to write' inkatab 'to be written' *** *** *** PREFIX OF FUTURITY The imperfect verb forms may be preceded by /Ra-/ - /ha-/, the prefix of futurity. Thus, /-yiktib/ can be preceded by /Ra-/ : fayiktib 'he will write, he is going to write' *** *** *** PREPOSITION A word used with a noun or a pronoun or adverb to show the relation of the noun or pronoun or adverb to some other word in the sentence. Some Egyptian Arabic prepositions and prepositional phrases are listed here : fi - f in TaIa Ta on ( /?ala/ has the short form /Ta/ before the definite article, e.g., /Ta Imaktab/ 'on the desk' ) I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 214 REFERENCE GRAMMAR taRt under I foo? on; above ma a with guwwa inside; inside of ?uddaam in front of wara behind Tand chez; to have I barra outside (of) ?abl before baTd after gamb ganb beside; near from I ( /min/ has the short form /mi/ before the definite article, e.g., /milwalad/ 'from the boy'; /missitt/ 'from the lady') PRESENTATIONAL PARTICLE I /ah6/ (ms) and /ahe/ (fs) 'here is' are here referred to as presenta- tional particles. They agree in gender with the singular noun referred to, e.g. : ah6 ttaalib innabiih Here is the intelligent student (m). ah6 ttaaliba nnabiiha Here is the intelligent student (f). /ahem/ 'there are' is the plural form of /ah6/ and /ah6/. 3 Also note the invariable presentational particle /aadi/ 'here is/are'. ah6 (ms) here is ah6 (fs) here is ahem (p) here are ah6 Iwa lad Here is the boy. I ahe Ibint Here is the girl. ahem ilwilaad Here are the boys. ahem ilbanaat Here are the girls. I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 215 REFERENCE GRAMMAR See also Adjectival Phrase Introduced by bitaaT; Possession PRON4OMINAL SUFFIXES WITH CERTAIN PARTICLES This section will list paradigms of pronominal suffixes in connection with the following particles :/Ii/ 'to, for', /bi/ 'with, by', Ifi! 'in', /?ala/'on', /wayya/ 'with, in possession of' and /min/'from'. 1 s tiyya fiyya biyya Talayya 2 ms Ili ik"& lak flik biik Taleek 2 fs I iiki I ilk? fliki b il1k? 1 aleeki 3 ims Iih Iuh fiih biih iTaleeh 3 fs liiha laha fiiha biiha Tialeeha 1 p Ililna Ilina fi*1ina biina STaleena 2 p lilkum i ikum flikum biikum Taleekum 3 p Ilhum - lhum fiihum biihurn Laleehum s ras fs ms fs p p p /wayya/ wayyaaya wayyaak wayyaaki we yyaa h wayyaaha wayyaana wayyaa kum wa yyaa hum 1mi ! minni ml innak m in ni k m innu minnaha r- minha minni na minnukum r- minkum minnuhum - minhum *** *** *** I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 216 REFERENCE GRAMMAR PRONOUN A word used to replace a proper name or a noun, or to refer to the per- I son, object, idea, etc., designated by a noun. The following are sets of the pronouns and pronominal suffixes of Egyptian Arabic : a) Independent Subject Pronouns : ana I i6rna we inta you (ms) intu you (p) inti you (fs) huwwa he humma they hiyya she b) Pronominal Suffixes associated with nouns, particles, and prepositions I ending in consonants : kitaabi my book I kitaabak your (ms) book kitaabik your (fs) book kitaabu his book kitabha her book kitabna our book kitabkum your (p) book I kitabhum their book c) Direct Object pronominal endings suffixed to transitive verbs : darabni he hit me darabak he hit you (ms) darabik he hit you (fs) darabu he hit him darabha he hit her darabna he hit us darabkum he hit you (p) darabhum he hit them I I FGVPTTAN ARASIC 217 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Loo WI ITIA-M A~rbA %V fi217I REFERENCE-- GRAMMAR - - d) Pronominal Suffixes added to verbs ending in /-a#/ : warraani warreak warraaki warraa h warraaha warraana warraakum warraahum Suffixes added to /fi/ 'in', /Tala/ he showed me he showed you (ms) he showed you (fs) he showed him he showed her he showed us he showed you (p) he showed them certain particles : /Ii/ 'to,for', 'on', /wayya/ 'with, in possession e) Pronominal 'with,by', /bi/ of' : I iyya liik A lak I iiki l iki liih - luh Sliiha - laha l iina - lina liikum s" likum liihum - lihum to to td to to to to to me you (ms) you (fs) him her us you (p) them Ta layya 'a leek Ta Ileeki Tal eeh 'al eeha T'a I eena a I eekum Taleehum on on on on on on on on me you (ms) you (fs) him her us you (p) them *** *** *** PRONOUN : PERSONAL The independent personal pronouns are listed here for reference : ana i nta inti huwwa hiyya singular I you (m) you (f) he plural iRna we intu you humma they I she *** *** *** EGYPTIAN ARABIC 218 REFERENCE GRAMMAR PRONOUN : RELATIVE ( See : Relative Clauses with illi ) PRONOUN OF SEPARATION Sentences where the predicate is a definite phrase are relatively few. Most definite phrases functioning as predicate must be preceded by a pronoun whose antecedent is the subject. The pronoun in question is called "the pronoun of separation" because it separates the predicate from the subject. When the predicate is a construct phrase, the occur- rence of the pronoun of separation is optional. I I I I I I I I issayyid ahmad huwwa l?ustaaz iggidid . muna hiyya lbint ill tT'awwarit . dool humma ttalamiiz illi kasaru ssibbaak . al1i huwwa ttawiil . ustaazak huwwa ana . t ilmizti hiyya suzaan . ilkitaab illi ?ultilak Tannu huwwa da . suha (hiyya) tilmizti . i lmuta aI I imiin (humma) quwwit ilbalad . 'Mr. Ahmad is the new professor.' 'Muna is the girl who was injured.' 'These are the students who broke the window.' 'Ali is the tall one.' 'Your teacher is me.' 'My student is Suzanne.' 'The book I told you about is this (one).' 'Suha is my studient.' 'The educated people are the strength of the nation.' I I I I I I I I U I I *** *** *** EGYPrIAN ARABI C 219 REFEUNCE GRAMMAR PRONOUN : SUFFIXES WITH AUXILIARIES Pronominal suffixes may be added to /Iaazim/ 'it is necessary', /yimkin + 1-/ 'it is possible', /yadoob/ 'to have just done something' and /yareet/ 'to wish'. lazmu yidris . lazmak Raaaga ? lazmak tidris . da mig lazimni . yimkinlak tiruu6 dilwa?ti . yadoobu wisl . yaretni marufti 'He needs to study.' 'Do you need something?' 'You must study.' 'I don't need this.' 'You may go now.' 'He has just arrived.' 'I wish I hadn't gone.' *** *** *** PRONOUN : SUFFIXES WITH VERBS /?ulI / 'tell me' is the verb /?aaI/ (Q) 'to say' in the imperative /?uul/ plus the preposition /-I-/'to' plus the pronominal suffix /-il 'me'. The pronominal suffixes associated with particles and nouns were discussed in the entry entitled 'Pronoun'. This section. lists the pronominal suffixes added as objects of verbs. object pronoun 1st person s 2nd person ms 2nd person fs 3rd person ms 3rd person fs 1st person p 2nd person p 3rd person p + /darab/ darab darab darab darab darab darab darab darab darab 'to hit' ; + ni ak ik U u ha na kum hum ow /Rabb/ 'to like, love' Rabb i ni Rabb ak Rabb ik Rabb u Rabb a ha Rabb 1 na Fabb u kum FRabb u hum Notice : a) The forms are all the same, irrespective of whether they are added I I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 220 REFERENCE GRAMMAR to verbs, particles, prepositions or nouns, except for the first person singular which is always /-ni/ after verbs. b) Of more importance, please note that in /abb/ above, the helping vowel. which is almost always /Li-/ changes to /-a-/ before /-ha/ and to /-u-/ before /-kum/ and /-hum/. It may help you to remember this if you note that the helping vowel in these instances is the same as the vowel of the suffixes in /-aha/, /-ukum/, /-uhum/. c) Another thing worth mentioning here is that the singular forms of the pronominal suffixes will show certain differences in form according to whether the verb, particle or noun to which they are added ends in a consonant or vowel. Study the following paradigms : 1st 2nd 2nd 3rd 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd person person person person person person person person s ms fs ms fs p p p After -C -i. / -ni (after verbs) -ak -ik -u (- -hu) -ha -na -kum -hum After -V -ya -k -ki -h (- -ha -na -kum -hum I I I I I -hu) Examples : kitaab wara?a darab fabb ax wara 'book' 'a piece of paper' 'he hit' 'he liked' 'brother' 'behind' kitaabi wara?ti darabni Rabb i n i axuuya waraaya 'my book' 'my paper' (CS of f used) 'he hit me' 'he liked me' 'my brother' 'behind me' I I I I I I Examples of the occurrence of the variant form /-hu/ in the 3rd person ms : katabu katabulIha - katabhulIha makatabu I haag 'he wrote it (m' 'he wrote it (m) to her 'he did not write it (m) to her' *** *** *** I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 221 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPIANARABC 21 RFRmFI,~ V(~AMMAllP l -Q- QAAF ( See : Glottal Stop ) *** *** *** QUADRILITERAL ( = QUADRIRADICAL) VERB A verb (q.v.) having four radicals (q.v.) or constituent elements, e.g., /targim/ 'to translate', /zalzil/ 'to shake' ( reduplicative verb, q.v. ). *** *** *** QUESTIONS : ALTERNATIVE QUESTIONS An alternative question presents two or more choices which presumably include the answer. iggaww fmasr Farr walIa bard ? 'Is the weather in Egypt hot or cold? In EA, alternative questions are characterized by the presence of /wal la/ 'or' ( notice that the word for 'or' in EA statements is usually /aw/ ). While the English word 'or' occurs only once in a given alter- native question, the EA word /walla/ occurs between each pair of choices : I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 222 REFERENCE GRAMMAR tiltayal maTaaya walla maiaaha walla maa Rseen ? I 'Would you like to work with me, with her or with Hussein ? EA has two intonation patterns for alternative questions : one that ends with a rising pitch, and another that ends with a falling pitch. Of these, the former is considered the more courteous. tiRibb nu?ud filmuntazah walIa nirga" ilFbeet ? 'Would you like us to stay in the park or to go home? ' tiRibb nu?iud filmunjtazah walla nirgaT iljbeet ? 'Would you like us to stay in the park or to go home?' QUESTIONS : INFORMATION QU.ESTIONS An information question solicits new information as an answer ( in contrast with yes-or-no questions which solicit "Yes" or "No", and in contrast with alternative questions which presumably contain the answer ). The set of question words used here excludes walla 'or' and hal. The intonation patterns associated with information questions are represented below. The first is considered more courteous than the second : ?areet LIkitaab da leeh ? 'Why did you read this book?' ?areet ilkitaab da leeh ? 'Why did you read this book?' Notice that the second intonation pattern is used frequently with English information questions. The first pattern is used in English to convey reassurance or protest : iwon't hurt you That' s not what I meant. With respect to grammatical structure, a statement is changed to an information question by substituting the appropriate question word for U I I I I I U I I I I U I U I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 223 REFERENCE GRAMMAR a given constituent. We shall call the expression to be replaced "the questioned constituent". In the following example, the questioned constituent is the adverbial baVd idduhr 'in the afternoon'. FayirgaT bafd idduhr --4 'He will return in the afternoon.' fayirgaT imta ? 'When will he return?' The question word usually occupies the slot previously occupied by the questioned constituent. In many cases, however, the question word may be transposed to sentence-initial position : FayirgaT imta ? --9 imta FayirgaT ? 'When will he return?' Transposition is rather rare in the following situations : 1. When the questioned constituent is related by strong cohesion to an adjacent constituent, e.g., when the questioned constituent is the second term of a construct phrase or the object of a preposition. If it does occur in this situation, transposition must involve two constituents: the question word, and the closely related constituent. In the follow- ing examples, the questioned constituents are underlined, and relatively rare constructions are identified by an asterisk : mafimuud saaFib ilwaziir --> 'Mahmoud is the minister's friend.' ma6imuud saa6fib miin ? -- 'Whose friend is Mahmoud?' *saafib miin ma6muud ? 'Whose friend is Mahmoud?' ilkitaab maya samiira --4 'The book is with Samira.' ilkitaab mafa miin ? --4 'With whom is the book?' *maTa miin ilkitaab ? 'With whom is the book?' 2. When the questioned constituent is the direct or the indirect object of a verb. Thus aafu rraagil 'They saw the man' yields laafu miin ? 'Whom did they see?' but rarely *miin saafu ?. Likewise, fahhimit iali ddars 'She helped Ali to understand the lesson' commonly yields fahhimit miin iddars ? 'Whom did she help to understand the lesson?' but rarely *miin fahhimit iddars ?. Notice that miin irraagil illi Mafuu ? 'Who is the man that they saw?' involves no transposition. It is derived from a sentence whose subject is the questioned constituent : EGYPTIAN ARABIC 224 RZEFER~ENCE GRAMMAR? huwwa rraagil illi i afuuh -- miin irreagil illi afuuh ? 'He is the man that they saw.' 'Who is the man that they saw? Listed below are the most common of the question words which occur in information questions. The list includes glosses and relevent comments and examples. 1. eeh 'what?' : Replaces a non-human noun. katabit kitaab --4 'She wrote a book.' katabit eeh ? 'What did she write?' ?ara maqgeala -- ?ara eeh ? 'He read an article.' 'What did he read?' fiih kitabeen a ttarabeeza --- f:i i h eeh Va ttarabeeza ? 0 a 0 itaru Ikutub --- iTtaru eeh ? 2. miin 'who?' : Replaces a human noun Tali filbeet -- miin filbeet ? ?ablit samiira --4 ?ablit miin ? ziTil min ilwaladeen --4 zi'il min miin ? di kutub ilbinteen --4 di kutub miin ? dool awlaadi -- dool miin ? idduktoor wabbax i Imumarridaat -- idduktoor wabbax miin ? 'There are two books on the table. 'What is there on the table?' 'They bought the books.' 'What did they buy?' L. 'Ali is at home.' 'Who is at home?' 'She met Samira.' 'Whom did she meet?' 'He was angry with the two boys.' 'Whom was he angry with?' 'These are the two girls' books.' 'Whose books are these?' 'These are my sons.' 'Who are these (people)?' 'The doctor scolded the nurses.' 'Whom did the doctor scold?' I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I -I I I 3. anhu, anhi and anhum 'which?' : These three forms replace definite adjectival constituents. The first is selected when the modified noun is masculine singular, the second when the modified noun is feminine singular ( or non-human plural ) and the third when the I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 225 REFEREN~CE GRAMMAR di.0 A& %.0 8%%Wo %0vUMVvJWGr-%I% modified noun is either dual or plural. Fayi?ra Ikitaab iggidlid --4 Rfayi?ra Ikitaab anhu ? Riay?aabi I irraagil il?amrikaani --- fay?aabil irraagil anhu ? ilmaqaala tna'arit figgariida ssuTudiyya ---> ilmaqaala tna'arit figgarlida anhi ? raah iddukkaan maia Ibint illi wiggaha mdawwar ---> raaf iddukkaan ma~a Ibint anhi ? il?ustaaz ?aayiz ilkutub il?adiima --- > il?ustaaz Vaayiz ilkutub anhi ? Rayaaxud ilkitabeen dool ---) Rfayaaxud ilkitabeen anhum ? Rfay?aabiI ilmuwazzafteen iggudad --- Fay?aabil ilmuwazzafteen anhum ? itarrafit ?ala rragleen iIlira?iyyiin --- itarrafit Tala rragleen anhum ? Rayitkal Iim maTa Imuwazzaf iin illi fmaktabak --- Rayitkallim maTa Imuwazzaflin anhum ? biyitkallim Tan ilbanaat illi fsaffu ---> biyitkallim ?an ilbanaat anhum ? 'He will read the new book.' 'Which book will he read?' 'He will meet with the American man.' 'Which man will he meet with?' 'The article was published in the Saudi newspaper.' 'Which newspaper was the article published in?' 'He went to the shop with the round-faced girl. 'Which girl did he go to the store with?' 'The professor wants the old books.' 'Which books does the professor want?' 'He will take these two books.' 'Which two books will he take?' 'He will meet with the two new employees.' 'Which two employees will he meet with?' 'She got acquainted with the two Iraqi men.' 'Which two men did she get acquainted with?' 'He will talk to the employees (m) who are in your office.' 'Which employees will he talk to?' 'He is talking about the girls who are in his class.' 'Which girls is he talking about?' A construction consisting of a noun and one of the postnominal question words anhu, anhi and anhum may be replaced by a construction in which the question word is pre-nominal. Thus the following constructions are equi- valent: EGYPTIAN ARABIC 226 PFFFPFr nSuaV - - ".5 '.LIL* FF~ IOI i ~lJ2vAAAvlfc (a) ilmadrasa ahhi ? (b) anhi madrasa ? 'Which school?' 'Which school?' It must be stressed, however, that the two constructions under discussion differ in two important respects: (a) While the modified noun in construction (a) is definite, the modified noun in construction (b) is indefinite. ilbint anhi ? anhi bint ? 'which girl?' 'which girl?' (b) While the question word in construction (a) shows contrast for both number and gender, the question word in construction (b) shows contrast for neither. The prenominal slot of construction (b) is usually occupied by anhi; anhu is interchangeable with anhi, and anhum does not usually occur. anhi/anhu walad ? anhi/anhu bint ? anhi/anhu riggaala ? anhi/anhu sittaat ? 'which boy?' 'which girl?' 'which men?' 'which women?' I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 4. imta 'When?': Replaces andadverbial of time. faysaafir bukra --9 'He will leave tomorrow.' Raysaafir imta ? 'When will he leave?' 6ayirgaT lamma yitxarra9 'He will return when he gradu- miggamia --4 ates from the university.' f6ayirgaT imta ? 'When will he return?' 5. feen 'Where?': Replaces an adverbial of place. kaanit sakna hina ---> 'She used to live here.' kaanit sakna feen ? 'Where did she used to live?' it?ablIu fiHaar i --9 'They met in the street.' it?ablu feen ? 'Where did they meet?' la?athum makaan ma sabithum --# 'She found them where she had left them.' la?athum feen ? 'Where did she find them?' EGYPTIAN ARABIC 227 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 6. mineen 'from where?': Replaces a prepositional phrase consisting of min 'from' and a following expression of place. amaal min masr --i 'Amal is from Egypt.' amaal mineen ? 'Where is Amal from?' i tara Ikutub di middukkaan illi saFibu aami ---> i tara Ikutub di mineen ? 'He bought these books from the shop whose owner is a Syrian.' 'From where did he buy these books?' 7. izzaay 'how?': Replaces an adverbial of manner. biyimi bisura -- 'He walks fast.' biyimsi zzaay ? 'How does he walk?' 8. lee ~ leeh 'Why?': Replaces an adverbial of purpose or cause. raaFiit faransa 'aaan t idris ittibb ---> raafit faransa lee ? biyikrahha £a-aan bitikrahu --- biyikrahha lee ? 'She went to France in order to study medicine.' 'Why did she go to France?' 'He hates her because she hates him.' 'Why does he hate her?' 9. imiTna: Replaces an adverbial of cause or purpose to indicate that, in the source sentence, the modified constituent is contrasted with or opposed to another constituent: Tal i biyzurna Tasaan biy6ibbina, 'Ali visits us because he likes laakin amaal mi bitzurna --9 us, but Amal does not visit us.' imiTna Tali biyzurna ? 'How come Ali visits us?' In the source sentence of the above example, the expressions which are opposed to each other are (a) the modified constituent al i biyzurna 'Ali visits us', and (b) the constituent amaal mis bitzurna 'Amal does not visit us.' Notice that the second of these is deleted by the transformation which derives the question from the statement, but the context indicates what has been deleted. 10. kaam 'how many': Replaces a numeral and is followed by a singular indefinite noun. Landu talat kutub --- Tandu kaam kitaab ? 'He has three books.' 'How many books does he have?' EGYPTIAN ARABIC 228 PFFF2FMrF (WAUUAD In addition to the above, two interrogative expressions occur frequently in EA: maal, and maal wi maal. An attempt to postulate underlying con- stituents would complicate the presentation unnecessarily. We shall there- fore be content with delineating their meanings and commenting on their co-occurrence relationships. Notice that in all contexts maal is fol- lowed by a noun or a pronoun. 11. maal ( = ma + I- ) has three common meanings: (a) It means 'why?' when followed by a subject and a predicate. maalu saakit kida ? 'Why is he so quiet?' maal samiira bitzaSa? ? 'Why is Samira yelling?' (b) It denotes inquiry about relation or interest if preceded by the subject of the sentence and followed by a pronominal suffix which refers to the subject. ( ma + f- + pronominal suffix ) inta maalak ? 'What's your business?' Tal i maalu biik ? 'What has Ali got to do with you?' (c) It is translatable by 'what's the matter with . . . ?' in most of the remaining contexts. maalak ? 'What's the matter with you?' maal fariida ? 'What's the matter with Farida?' 12. maal wi maal usually inquires about relation or interest. Each occurrence of maal in the expression is followed by a noun or a pronominal suffix. maal Tali wmaalak ? 'What has Ali got to do with you?' maalu wmaal far Jiida ? 'What has he got to do with Farida?' malha wmaali ? 'What has she got to do with me?' QuESTIONS: TAGS English has a set of sentences, called "tag questions", each of which comprises a statement and a following interrogative "tag". In the fol- lowing examples, tags are underlined : I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 229 REFERENCE GRAMMAR He's a pilot, isn't he? He'll go, won't he? You can't go, can you?' EA employs tags of which the most common are listed and illustrated below: 1. mi kida ? 'Isn't that so?' inta taal lb. mi kida ? 'You're a student, aren't you?' (literally: 'You're a student, isn't that so?) 2. walla eeh ? 'or what (is the fact)?' inta taalib. walla eeh ? 'You're a student, aren't you?' (literally: 'You're a student, or what are you?') 3. walla la? ? 'Or isn't it so?' inta taal lb. wal la la? ? 'You're a student, aren't you?' (literally: 'You're a student, or isn't it so?') 4. walIla ana yaltaan ? 'Or am I mistaken?' inta taalib. walla ana yaltaan ? 'You're a student, or are you?' (literally: 'You're a student, or am I mistaken?') Notice that each of the last three tags begins with the word wall a 'or'. Note the following: 1. While English tags are preceded by a sustained pitch (represented in the script by a comma ), EA tags are usually preceded by a falling pitch ( represented in the script by a period ). 2. English tags may end in a rising or a falling pitch ( the difference in pitch being parallel to a difference in meaning ). EA tags, on the other hand, usually end in a rising pitch. 3. Both the subject and the verb of a given English tag are determined by the preceding statement: He can go, can't he? You have a book, haven't you EGYPTIAN ARABIC 230 REFERENCE GRAMMAR On the other hand, the EA tags listed above are largely interchangeable : inta taal ib. mi kida ? / walla eeh ? / walla la? ? / walla ana yaltaan ? 'You're a student, aren't you?' 4. In regard to negation, an English tag may be similar to or different from the preceding statement ( with a distinct meaning in each ease ) : You're going to fire me, aren't you? You're going to fire me, are you? No such relationship exists between an Arabic tag and the preceding statement. *** *** *** QUESTIOS : YES-OR-NO QUESTIONS A yes-or-no question is one which solicits "Yes" or "No" as an answer. The following is an example : I I I I I I I I I I I I I i IFiaala ligtimaTiyya t6Fassinit ? 'Has the social situation improved?' Two important facts must be noted: 1. The structure of a yes-or-no question is usually.identical to that of the corresponding statement. Of the following pair, the first sen- tence is a statement and the second is a question : iggamTa di ma'huura iggama di mahuura ? 'This university is famous.' 'Is this university famous?' Under the influence of Standard Arabic, educated Egyptians--when speaking in semi-formal situations--may place the particle hal at the beginning of a yes-or-no question. Thus a professor lecturing in EA may ask the following question rhetorically : hal min ilmaT?uul inn umma I liiha I?adab irrafiiT da tikuun bidaa?iyya ? 'Is it reasonable to assume that a nation with such exquisite literature is primitive?' I I I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 231 REFERENCE GRAMMAR The word hal has no lexical equivalent in English. It means 'What fol- lows is a yes-or-no question.' 2. An English yes-or-no question may end in a rising or a falling pitch. In the following examples, a line is used to represent the pitch pattern : Are you from France? Are you from jFrc? An Arabic yes-or-no question, on the other hand, always ends in a rising pitch. This is hardly surprising since EA yes-or-no questions are usually identical to the corresponding statements in grammatical structure. The following forms are common responses to EA yes-or-no questions : aywa. aa. na ?am. ay naTam. tabTan. aki id. qat Tan. biduun 'akk or bila akk. ?ummaIl. ia?. abadan. musta6iil.I 'Yes.' 'Yes.' (very casual) 'Yes.' (formal) 'Yes.' (very formal) 'Of course!' 'Certainly!' 'Definitely!' 'Without a doubt!' 'Of course! What did you think?' 'No.' 'Not at all!' 'Impossible!' *** *** I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I EGYPrTAN ARABIC 233 2 2AFkE COA AA.V AA0 EG PI- IAIC2 3P ~ir(2~ ll ,- - * UU II, Ja'JMMvuerl R- RADICALS : TYPES A "radical" is a root consonant; e.g., the root ktb consists of the radicals /k/, /t/ and /b/. There are two types of radicals : sound and weak. A sound radical is one which always has a consonantal realization. In contrast, a weak radical is one which does not always have a consonantal realization. Two consonants constitute weak radicals : /w/ and /y/. Thus the last radical of the root diw is realized as /w/ in daTwa 'invitation', but as zero in data 'to invite'. Again, the middle radical of the root yyb is realized as /y/ in yyaab 'absence', but as vowel length in yaab 'to be absent'. Consonants other than /w/ and /y/ constitute sound radicals. REDUPLICATIVE VERB A quadriliteral verb (q.v.) in which the last two radicals ( consonants ) are a repetition of the first two, e.g., zalzil 'to shake'. RELATIVE ADJECTIVE ( See : Nisba Adjectives ) *** *** *** EGYPTIAN ARABIC 234 RE~FERENCE (GTAMA2 RELATIVE CLAUSES WITH illi A typical relative clause construction contains three elements : a) an antecedent b) the invariable relative pronoun / II I / c) a clause Examples : (a) 4uft ilwilead (a) I saw the boys (b) illi (b) who (c) gaabu Igawabaat. (c) (they) brought the letters. I I I I I I I I I I I I I Note that the relative clause by ief is a camplete sentence, i.e., it can stand by itself without the relative pronoun : gaabu Igawabaat 'they brought the letters'. /u/, the inflection of the verb gaabu , is the formal reference to the antecedent ilwilaad 'the boys'. In the sentence : da Igaweab illi gabuuh imbaar if. 'This is the letter which they brought yesterday.' the object of the verb gabuuh 'they brought it' refers to the antece- dent. In the sentence : da lwalad illIi ktaabu daaT" 'This is the boy whose (his) book got lost.' the suffixed pronoun on kitaab is the reference. In the sentence : I feen ilkitaab illi ?ult ilak T'a I eeh ? 'Where is the book which I talked to you about (it) ? I I the reference is through the preposition and its object Taleeh 'about it'. Note that the above examples have definite antecedents. If the antecedent is indefinite, there is no relative pronoun in the construction. Compare : suft ilwilaad illi gaabu Igawaoaat 'I saw the boys who brought the letters. I I I EGYVPTIAN ARABIC 235 REFERENCE GRAMMAR and : uft wlaad gaabu gawabaat. 'I saw (some) boys who had brought (some) letters.' Note the relative constructions in the following examples : a) irraagil da IIi byi rab aay almaani. 'This man who is drinking tea is German.' b) ilwalad da Ili ?aaid ganb ilbint ismu saami. 'This boy who is sitting next to the girl is named Sami (his name is Sami).' c) issitt i I I i min faransa safrit imbaarifi. 'The lady who is from France left (traveled) yesterday.' d) ilwalad illi hnaak da safibi. 'That boy (who is) over there is my friend.' e) illi faat meat. (Proverb) 'That which is done is done.' ( Lit. s 'That which has passed has died.' ) f) feen ilIIi ?ultilak £aleeh ? 'Where is that which I talked to you about (it)?' g) ilwalad illi smu saami safbi. 'The boy whose name is Sami is my friend.' h) irraagil illi uftu imbaari6 saafir innaharda. 'The man whom you saw yesterday left (traveled) today. i) ilwalad huwwa ili naam. 'It's the boy who slept.' ( See also : Adjective : Relative Clauses ) RELATIVE PRONOUN : illi ( See :Adjective: Relative Clauses; Relative Clauses with illi )I *** *** *** I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 236 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I RESONANCE CAVITIES I There are three major resonance cavities : the mouth, which is known as the oral cavity; the nose or nasal cavity; and the throat or pharynx. Their main function in speech is to serve as resonators. ROOT A term used for the core of a word in Arabic and in other Afro-Asiatic languages. Most Egyptian Arabic words consist of a triconsonantal ( c.f. also triradical or triliteral (q.v.) ) root. Biradical ( also biliteral ) roots are less frequent and consist of two consonants. Roots with I four consonants ( quadriliteral or quadriradical ) occur in Egyptian Arabic, but rarely. A root occurs with patterns (q.v.). A pattern can be vocalic and/or consonantal. The root normally has a certain meaning attached to it. The basic meaning of the root is modified by the pattern. Compare the following words : katab 'to write' kitaab 'book' maktaba 'library' kaat ib 'writer' I The words in question share a set of consonants ( /k/, /t/ and /b/ ) which invariably occur in the same order. Furthermore, those words share a M semantic element : all of them have to do with writing ( katab designates the act of writing ; kitaab a volume made up of written or printed pages; maktaba a place where written or printed volumes are kept; and ka~stb one who writes ). It is reasonable to assume that the shared meaning belongs 5 to the shared form. In other words, it is reasonable to assume that ktb is a discrete, minimum meaningful entity. Entities like ktb are called "roots", and the constituent consonants of a root are called "radicals". Listed below are some more roots : I EGY"IAN ARABIC_ 237 REFERENCE GRAMMAR drs ( occurring in daras 'to study' dars 'lesson', madrasa 'school, dirasi 'scholastic', etc. ) Trf ( occurring in Tirif 'to know', maTrifa 'knowledge', etc. ) xdm ( occurring in madam 'to serve', xaddaam 'servant', xidma 'ser- vice', etc. ) zTi ( occurring in ziTil 'to get angry', zaTI 'anger', zaTlaan 'angry', etc. ) skn ( occurring in sakan 'to dwell' maskin 'abode', Iskaan 'housing' sukkaan 'resident, etc. ) As illustrated above, some EA roots consist of three radicals, others consist of four, and still others consist of five. The first group is the largest, and the third is the smallest. *** *** *** I I I I I I I I. I I I I I I I I I I I EGYMAN ARABIC 239 'REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABIC 239 REFERENCE GRAMPMR ows 4 SCRIPT (1) Key to Literary Arabic graphic sypqbls Arabic symbols Literary Arabic Egytian Lite I? T- ?aa aa - a I an (finally) in un 45 aa b p (in foreign t words) t or S 9 C ~ (in foreign words) C x d and correspondingEgyptian erary Arabic Lo J6 Egyptian t z or d f v in foreign words 2 or q k Ior m n h W U, UU, 00 Y U r ii, ee ay,. ee a or h -t or -it or -a 45- J or EGYPTIAN ARABIC 240 IFF1FOFWGAMARA - - - - - 'jr.j'jvu'irr Literary Arabic ) Egyptian r r z Literary Arabic (shadda) S(sukuun) Egyptian doubling qf conso- nant absence of anant vowel after a consonant S (2) Numerals Examples of numerals and numerical uses : (a) 1 (b) oa 54 2 16 3/4 3r 3 4 4 0 5 1 6 Y 7 9 9 10 10 ri tA 39 48 Vo 75 (c) YA /. 78% (d) i yo 1975 1/5 112 1/3 42T 42 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I IY 1976 rt 234 YoV 753 i1 It 1914 SEMITIC A family of languages constituting a branch of the Afro-Asiatic language stock. It includes Akkadian, Arabic, Ethiopic, Aramaic, Hebrew and Ugari- tic, which share certain common characteristics, e.g., a root (q.v.) and pattern (q.v.) structure, a set of derived verb forms, a set of back con- sonants / q, x, y, 6, /, a set of emphatic consonants (q.v.) / t, d, s, /, a tense formed by prefixation and another by suffixation, grammatical gender, feminine formative /-t/, two-way plural noun formation : sound plural (q.v.) and broken plural (q.v.). The adjective "Semitic" was brought into use by A. L. Schlozer in 1781 on the basis of Genesis X and XI. Before Schl'6zer, the Semitic languages were referred to as "Oriental languages". EGYPTIAN ARABIC 241 V= INAW ENCE GRA"R SEMI-VOWEL A vowel-like sound which functions as a consonant : / w, y /. Also called "glide". *** *** *** SENTECE: EQUATIONAL ( See : Phrase Versus Sentence ) *** *** *** SENTENCE STRUCTURE The structure of EA sentences is presented below in outline form. It must be emphasized that only the major patterns are dealt with, and that the treatment is not exhaustive. A sentence consists of a nucleus and optional adjuncts. I. A nucleus consists of an optional pre-verb, a subject and a predicate. Pre-verbs are usually modals. In the following sentences, pre-verbs are underlined : labudd Tali yirgaT ?abl 'Ali must return before sunset.' Imayrib yimkin al I biyfiibb samliira 'Maybe Ali loves Samira.' It is usually possible for the pre-verb and the subject to exchange places.: TalI labudd yirgaT ?abli 'Ali must return before sunset.' Imayrib Tali yimkin biyfiibb samiira 'Maybe Ali loves Samira.' II. The subject may be a "miniman subject" or an "expanded subject". The predicate may be a "minimun predicate or an "expanded predicate". A. A minimum subject is a noun or a noun replacer. The most common noun replacers are : 1. Personal pronouns, e.g., huwwa, 'he'; hiyya 'she'; inta 'you (is)'; inti 'you (fs)', etc. EGYPTIAN ARABIC 242 RFFFRF-NrF (WAMMAP 1?FL1 C4PAAAAVIIV% 2. 3. In fulaan 'so and so (ms)' and fulaana 'so and so (fs)'. The indefinite forms waa6id 'someone (m)' and wa6da 'someone (f)'. the following sentences, minimum subjects are underlined zeenab mumarrida., ilmudlir Vandu gtimaaV ba d saa Va. ana min masr., ba?aalik usbuuT ?arfaani bikkalaam .itfaarliy da : fulaan raa6f, wi flaana rigfit. wifna maina ? fiih waaFid biyis?al Vannak. 'Zeinab is a nurse.' 'The director has a meeting in an hour.' 'I am from Egypt.' 'For a week you have been making me sick with this nonsense : so and so went, so and so re- turned! What business is that of ours?' 'There's someone asking for you.' B. An expanded subject usually consists of a noun phrase. A noun phrase may be any of the following structures : Determiner + Noun Noun + Adjectival Determiner + Noun + Adjectival Determiners include quantifiers such as aktar, aylab, muTzam ( all translatable by 'most' ), gamiiT, kul I ( both translatable by 'all' and bafd 'some'. An adjectival expression may be a demonstrative, an adjective, a prepositional phrase or a clause. A noun construct may be considered a sub-class of Noun + Adjectival since the second member of a noun construct qualifies the first ( notice that kitaab ?ali 'Ali's book' is equivalent to ilkitaab ilIli I-Vali 'the book which belongs to Ali' ). In the following examples, expanded subjects are underlined : I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I aktar talamziti min masr. ilkitaab da byibFias ilwad? issiyaasi fissudaan . ilarabiyya zzar?a btaVti. ittarabeeza I I i fmaktabi. ?adiima. 'Most of my students are from Egypt.' 'This book discusses the political situation in the Sudan.' 'The blue car is mine.' 'The table in my office is old.' EGYPTIAN ARABIC 243 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIN ARAIC 24-aEFEEWCE-RAMMA Tarabiyyiti tsaaT xamas t i nfaar. iI?ustaaz illi biydarrisni ttariix masri. 'My car is big enough for five people.' 'The professor who teaches me history is Egyptian.' C. A minimum predicate may be a noun, an adjective, a verb, an ad- verb or a prepositional phrase. The verb may co-occur with at least one closely associated element.. A closely associated ele- ment may be a direct object, an indirect object or a preposition which forms with the verb a close-knit expression. In other words, a minimum predicate may be any of the structures generated by the folllowing notation ( constituents which occur within paren- theses are optional; those which occur within braces are mutually exclusive ) : Preposition + Object Verb (Direct Object) ( Indirect Object In the following examples, minimum predicates are underlined : Tali tilmiiz. farlida gamilla . Rasan biyistafRamma . TalIi daras iddars . salma bitmuut fil?ays kriim . axuuya tamminha Tala bintaha . il?ustaaz fahhim farlid iddars . ilfaraf bukra . illigtimaaT baTd ilyada . 'Ali is a student.' 'Farida is pretty.' 'Hasan is taking a bath.' 'Ali studied the lesson.' 'Salma loves ice cream.' 'My brother reassured her in regard to her daughter.' 'The professor explained the lesson to Farid.' 'The wedding is tomorrow.' 'The meeting is (going to be held) after lunch.' D. Expanded predicates correspond to minimum predicates : 1. Corresponding to the minimum predicate which consists of a noun is an expanded predicate which consists of a noun phrase. In the following sentence, the predicate is a noun phrase : ittadxiin aada mudirra . 'Smoking is a harmful habit.' 1 EGYPTIAN ARABIC 244 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 2. Corresponding to the minimum predicate which consists of an adjective is an expanded predicate which consists of an ad- jective and an expression of degree. Degree is usually ex- 1 pressed by : (a) An adverb, e.g., ?awi, giddan, xaalis, all translatable by 'very'. (b) A stressed verbal noun whose root is the same as that of the adjective and which is followed by a rising terminal pitch. (c) A phrase consisting of the preposition 1i- 'to', the noun daraga 'degree, extent', and a modifier. In the following examples, the predicate contains an ex- pression of degree : iggamTa di kbi ira ?awi. 'This university is very large. * ilmudarrisa gamiila g mal. 'The teacher (f) is so pretty.' ilmudarrisa gamilla Idaraga 'The teacher (f) is incredibly tgannin. beautiful.' 3. Corresponding to the minimum predicate which consists of an adjective is an expanded predicate which consists of a com- parative construction. The comparative construction may be modified by an expression of degree such as biktiir 'by far'. In the following examples, the predicate is a comparative construction : axuuya a?wa minni . 'My brother is stronger than I.' axuuya a?wa minni biktiir. 'My brother is much stronger than I. samya altar t ilmiiza. 'Samya is the smartest student.' 4. Corresponding to the minimum predicate which consists of a verb ( with or without closely-related elements ) is an ex- panded predicate which consists of a verbal sequence. In the I following example, the predicate is a verbal sequence.: uxti tiibb tiigi tidris 'My sister would like to come inglitizi. to study English.' I EGYPrIAN ARABIC 245 REFERENCE GRAMMAR WGYPTIAN.ARABIC.245 IN 10.%"Ce .gA 5. Corresponding to the minimum predicate which consists of a verb ( with or without closely-related elements ) is an ex- panded predicate consisting of a verb or a verbal sequence and a following adverbial. The adverbials here are : Type, Degree, Benefactive, Instrument, Source, Destination and Man- ner ( less frequent adverbials, such as Accompaniment, occur ). In the following examples, the predicate contains an adverbial : Tali t?allim ?alam faz i i. il?ustaaz ziTil giddan. 6ilmi 9tara ktaab lisaami. irraagil ?atal miraatu bisikkiina . ilxubara I?amrikaan rigLu min masr. iggamTa baTatit ustazeen IilTiraa?. ittalamza rigTu bsurTa. 'Ali suffered horrible pain.' 'The professor became very angry.' 'Hilmi bought a book for Sami.' 'The man killed his wife with a knife.' 'The American experts returned from Egypt.' 'The university sent two pro- fessors to Iraq.' 'The students returned fast.' The adverbials in question may co-occur. It would be unusual, however, to find more than three in any one sentence. Co- occurring adverbials are usually in the following order if they have the same structure : Type, Degree, Benefactive, Instrument, Source, Destination, Manner. il i rka na?alit iITizaal liTali billoori min ilqaahira I?aswaan. 'The company transported the furniture for Ali by truck from Cairo to Aswan.' When two adjacent adverbials have the same structure, their positions may be reversed to indicate relative emphasis ( the adverbial to be emphasized is placed ahead of the other ). In addition, the positions may be reversed for the same purpose when one adverbial is a word and the other is a phrase. sailma Itarit kitaab liiali milmaktaba , salma 9tarit kitaab milmaktaba I iTali. 'Salma bought a book for Ali from the bookshop.' 'Salma bought a book from the bookshop for Ali.' EGYPTIAN ARABIC 246 REFERENCE GRAMMAR lIl?ustaaz rigIT min masr Tayyean . il?ustaaz rigiT Tayyaan min masr 'The professor returned from Egypt in poor health.' 'The professor returned, in poor health, from Egypt.' An adverbial consisting of a clause usually follows one which consists of a word or a phrase. l l?ustaaz rigiT min masr wFaltu ssIFRiyya mutadahwira . 'The professor returned from Egypt in poor health.' The adverbials in question differ from adjuncts in that the latter may introduce the sentence. (a) A type adverbial is typically a noun phrase consisting of a) a verbal noun whose root is the same as that of the modified verb, and b) an adjectival expression. In the following examples, the type adverbial is underlined : Tall naam noom Lamil? . 'Ali slept soundly (liter- ally, Ali slept a sound sleep.)' all eaae £iiit rafahiyya , 'Ali lived a life of luxury. Adverbials other than those of type are typically pre- positional phrases. (b) A degree adverbial is often a prepositional phrase intro- duced by Iidaga 'to an extent', or Iidaragit Inn 'to the extent that' : I I I I I I I I I 1 U U I I I I I i lmasriyyiin yixtilfu Tan I l?amrlikaan I idaraga kibira . issinaaTa Ilyabaniyya It6assinit lIidaragit inn amrlika btistawrid I larablyyaat m ilyabaan 'Egyptians differ from Ameri- cans to a great extent.' 'Japanese industry has pro- gressed to the extent that America imports cars from S Japan.' A degree adverbial may consist of the prepositional phrase i FaddIn ma- ila Faddin ma 'to a certain extent' or the I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 247 REFERENCE GRAMMAR prepositional phrase Ilidaragatin ma iHIa daragatin ma 'to a certain extent'. iss1naaTa t?addimit fi 'Industry has progressed in masr Iidaragatin me / Egypt to a certain extent.' Ila daragatin ma / liFaddin ma / ila 6addin ma . Certain adverbs may be used to express degree. The most comon of these are ?awl, giddan, xaalis and kiti ir ( all translatable by 'very, very much, a great deal' ), ta?rilban 'nearly', and 9lwayya 'a little, somewhat' : il?ustaaz ziil ?awi . 'The professor was very angry.' masr It?addimit ?awi . 'Egypt has progressed a great deal.' (c) A benefactive adverbial is usually a prepositional phrase introduced by the preposition li- 'for'. If the object of the preposition is a pronoun, the prepositional phrase may be suffixed to the verb. suzaan i tarit hidiyya 'Suzanne bought a gift for Ali' li ali . suzaan 1itarlt hidiyya 'Suzanne bought a gift for him.' llih.~ suzaan itaritlu hdiyya . When the preposition I i- is not suffixed, its vowel is lengthened before a pronominal object : liih 'for him', Iiiha 'for her', I ihum 'for them', Ilik 'for you (ms)' liiki 'for you (fs), likum 'for you (p)', liina 'for us'. The form Iiyya 'for me' is an exception. When suffixed to a verb, the preposition li- assumes the form -I-. Sometimes a sequence of more than two con- sonants results from adding to the verb a prepositional phrase consisting of -I- and a pronominal ending. In I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 248 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I such cases, a vowel is inserted between the second and I the third consonants. That vowel is /u/ before -hum or -kum, /a/ before -ha, and /i/ otherwise. i9tara + -1- + -na = 19taraIna 'he bought for us' i~tarit + -I- + -hum = litaritluhum 'she bought for them' i9tarit + -I- + -kum = 1taritilukum 'she bought for you (p)' itarit + -I- + -ha = i taritlaha 'she bought for her' itarit + -I- + -na = itaritIIna 'she bought for us' Tadd + -I- + -i = Taddill 'he counted for me' Sadd + -1- + -hum = Taddilhum 'he counted for them' Tadd + -I- + -kum = Taddi Ikum 'he counted for you (p)' add + -!- + -ha = ddIha 'he count.ed for her' Tadd + -I- + -na = TaddiIna 'he counted for us' A prepositional phrase with I i- may be an indirect ob- ject of the preceding verb or a benefactive adverbial. In sentence (i) below, the underlined phrase is an in- direct object; in sentence (ii), a benefactive adverbial (i) Tallimt iddars Ifariid . 'I taught the lesson to Farid.' (ii) i9tareet hidiyya Ifariid . 'I bought a gift for Farid.' Notice, however, that the first sentence may occur with- out li- ( in which case fari id occurs before iddars ). Such a possibility does not exist for the second sentence. Notice also that fari i d can become the subject if sentence (i) is made passive, but not if sentence (ii) is made pas- sive. 'aIIimt fariid iddars . 'I taught the lesson to but not Farid.' *iltareet fari id hidiyya fariid it'allim iddars . 'The lesson was taught to but not Farid.' *farilId itara hdiyya (d) An adverbial of instrument is usually a prepositional I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 249 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABIC 249 REFERENCE GRAMMAR phrase introduced by the preposition bi- 'by, with'. Less frequently, the phrase is introduced by b i wast It 'by means of' or Tan taril? 'through, by way of'. Irraagil da ?atal miraatu 'This man killed his wifE blsikkiina. with a knife,' i irka btun?uI ilIbatrool 'The company transports biwastit issufun . by means of ships.' i I6ukuuma Fazzarit i'i~ab 'The government warned tI ?an taril? ll?izaa~a. people through (use oi e oil he f) the radio.' (e) An adverbial of source is usually a prepositional phrase introduced by min 'from'. uxti tart IIIhidiyya 'My sister bought the gift milmafallI da . from this shop.' (f) An adverbial of destination is usually a prepositional phrase introduced by I i- 'to' : ibni byimgi milbeet I llmadrasa kull yoom . 'My son walks from home to school every day.' If the adverbial of destination slot is immediately after one of certain verbs, the preposition is usually (though not necessarily ) deleted. The verbs in question include ra6 'to go', a 'to come', rigi? 'to return', tilHT 'to ascend, to go up', saafir 'to travel' : Tal raa6 (I ) i Ilmadrasa . 'Ali went to school.' Tali raa6 ma.Ta saami 'Ali went with Sami to school.' (1) ilmadrasa . (g) A manner adverbial is often a prepositional phrase intro- duced by the preposition bi- 'with' : fariida btizTal bisura . 'Farida gets upset easily (literally: 'with speed')' A manner adverbial may also be a word or a clause : EGYPTIAN ARABIC 250 REFERENCE GRAMMAR ilmanduub ilT mi I I igt imaai, yadbaan. matzaTTa? kida . ilmanduub xarag milligtimaa? wi huwwa blyslbb wylTan. 'The delegate left the meet- ing angry.' 'Don't shout this way.' 'The delegate left the meet- ing swearing and cursing.' 6. The predicate may be a clause consisting of a subject and a predicate i a) Tal i abuuh naggaar. b) masr iqtissdha taddim. c) layla axuuha rigi9 min aswaan bittayyaara. 'Ali's father is a carpenter (lit- erally: 'Ali his father is a carpenter.'),' 'Egypt's economy has progressed (literally: 'Egypt its economy has progressed.').' 'Leila's brother returned from Aswan by plane (literally: 'Leila her brother returned from Aswan by plane.').' I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Sentences such as the above are derived from structurally simpler sentences. Thus sentence (a) is derived from abu alIi naggaar 'Ali's father is a carpenter.'. Likewise, sentence (b) is derived from igtisaad masr it?addim 'Egypt's economy has progressed.' Notice that the derivation is ac- complished by (a) transposing a noun from sentence-medial position, and (b) supplying a pronoun to occupy the position previously occupied by the transposed noun. Notice too that the supplied pronoun refers to the transposed noun and agrees with it. III. An adjunct is a constituent which can occur before or after the nucleus and which modifies the entire nucleus. In the following examples, the adjunct is underlined. The nucleus is the rest of the sentence : innaas magyullin hina . 'People are busy here.' I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 251 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABIC 251 REFERENCE GRAMMAR hina nnaas malyulin n. 6a.rgaT' masr lammna tintihi ssana ddirasiyya lamma tintlhi ssana ddirasiyya fargaT masr • 'Here people are busy.' 'I will return to Egypt when the school year ends.' 'When the school year ends, I will return to Egypt.' IV. Adjuncts include expressions of place, time, condition, purpose and reason. In regard to structure, an adjunct may be a word, a phrase, or a clause. In the following sentences, the adjuncts are underlined : hlnaak ilfuluus ahamm min ilmabaadl? . bukra anzuur ilImathaf . iza ImagruuT da fagal Fanixsar fuluus kitlir . Flhukuuma banit ilmasaaniT litafslin IlwadT Ilqtisaadi baruuf masr kull seef Taaan TlIti hinaak . 'Over there, money is more im- portant than principle.' 'Tomorrow we will visit the museum.' 'If this project fails, we will lose a lot of money.' 'The government built factories to improve the economic situation.' 'I go to Egypt every summer because my family is there.' When two or more adjuncts co-occur, they are usually in the following order if they have the same structure ( i.e., if all are words, phrases, or clauses ) : Place, Time, Condition, Purpose, Reason. il.aala Iiqtlsaadiyya wiF6a flubnaan filwa?t iIFRaali bsabab iliarb il?ahliyya . 'The economic situation is bad in Lebanon at the present time because of the civil war.' When two adjacent adjuncts have the same structure, their positions may be reversed to indicate relative emphasis ( the adjunct to be emphasized is placed ahead of the other ) : ilFiaala liqtisaadiyya wifia flubnaan fllwa?t ilFaali . ilFaala liqtisaadiyya wiR~a fllwa?t IlRaali flubnaan . 'The economic situation is bad in Lebanon at the present time.' 'The economic situation is bad at the present time in Lebanon.' If different in structure, co-occurrent adjuncts are arranged in ac- cordance with the following rule a word precedes a phrase, and a phrase precedes a clause. EGYPTIAN ARABIC 252 REFERENCE GRAMMAR -ftr am - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - -- - - farakit ilmuruur ,atkuun wi6Sa bukra bsabab ilmuzahra. harakit lImuruur Fatkuun wihka bsabab I I muzahra lamma nlrga T ml madrasa. 'The traffic will be bad tomorrow because of the strike.' The traffic will be bad, because of the strike, when we return from school.' V. Discussed under the appropriate headings are the transformations which change sentences from statements to questions or commands, from active to passive, from affirmative to negative, and from complete to ellip- tic. Also discussed in detail under the appropriate headings are the processes of embedding and conjoining. *** *** *** SEPARATION : PRONOUN OF ( See : Pronoun of Separation ) I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I *** *** *** SEQUENCE OF VERBS In the sentence kunt ba6aawilI azaakir arabi 'I was trying to study Arabic', there is a sequence of three verbs. This is not unusual for Egyptian Arabic. Examples : ti6ibb tTirab ?ahwa m'aaya ? tifibb truu6f niuuf haani ? ayruu6 yldxul yinaam. ruu6 naam yalla nruuf nilrab ?ahwa. ya[la ruu6 naam . 'Would you likedto drink coffee with me?' 'Would you like to go and see Hani?' 'He will go enter in order to sleep.' 'Go and sleep!' 'Let's go and drink coffee.' 'Go and sleep.' *** *** *** EGYPTIAN ARABIC 253 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABIC 253 REFERENCE GRAMMAR SHORTENING OF VOWELS ( See : Vowels : Contraction; Vowels : Shortening of Long Vowels ) *** *** *** SHORT VOWELS (See • Vowels ) *** *** *** SLOT The position that a word ( or phrase ) occupies in a frame or pattern; the significant position or positions which a word ( or phrase ) occupies with respect to other elements in a sequence. English EA Adjective a big walad Noun boy kibiir 'a big boy' Note in the above examples the Adjective and Noun slots. In the English the adjective slot precedes the noun slot whereas in EA the noun slot precedes the adjective slot. *** *** *** STEM A stem is a root (q.v.) in combination with a pattern (q.v.), to which inflections (q.v.) are added, *** *** *** I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 254 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I STOP Refers to consonants characterized by a complete closure of the air passage, thus blocking the air stream momentarily, e.g., closing of both lips in production of /b/. EA stops are /p, b, t, ., d, d, k, g, q, ?/. *** *** *** I STRESS I Each EA word has one primary ( i.e., relatively more prominent ) stress. The domain of primary stress is almost totally predictable in terms of syllable structure. Primary stress is most frequently on the penult ( i.e., pre-final syl- lable ), e.g., ylktfbu 'they write', madrasa 'school'. However, in cer- tain cases, primary stress occurs on the ultima ( i.e., the final syllable ), and in other cases it occurs on the antepenult ( i.e., the third syllable from the end ). The ultima is stressed if (a) it contains a long vowel or if (b) it ends in two consonants, e.g., katabuu 'they wrote it', katabt 'I wrote'. The antepenult is stressed if the last three syllables have the structure CVCVCV(C), e.g., Abaka 'a net', ktabit 'she wrote', inkasarrt 'it broke' muxtalifa 'different (fs)'. Contrary to the above rules, primary stress is on the penult if the structure CVCVCV(C) constitutes a feminine singular perfect-tense verb whose final V(C) is a pronoun suffix, e.g., ramrtu 'she threw it away'. Again, primary stress is usually on the penult if the structure CVCVCV(C) constitutes a broken plural form with identical high vowels in the first two syllables, e.g., sibfta 'baskets', numura 'tigers'. Note : The long vowel of the word-final syllable CVV(C) is shortened when its pronunciation in close association with a following word would I result in VVCC. In this context, shortening does not alter the place- ment of primary stress : banaa 'he built it' bana mbaarif 'he built it yesterday' I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 25 5, REFERENCE GRAMMAR E PA A I25EOJF MMA. RW %@ I marn Id marfd xaalis 'sick' 'very sick' *** *** *** SUFFIX A formative end of a word ( a single phoneme, syllable or syllables ) added at the to modify its meaning or derive a new word, e.g. : wa lad katab 'boy' 'to write' waladeen katabna 'two boys; 'we wrote' (See also : Pronoun : Suffixes with Auxiliariesy Pronoun : Suffixes with Particles; Pronoun : Personal; Possession ) *** *** *** SUFFIX : /-a/ -- CHANGE IN FORM TO /-it/ A feminine noun ending in /-a/ has a special form for the construct state : the /-a/ drops and /-it/ is added. madiina 'city' madiinit tanta 'the city of Tanta' *** *** *** SYLLABLES a) In EA syllables have the following structures s CV, CVC, CVV, CVVC#, CVCC# (C = consonant; V = vowel; -# = final ) b) Syllables do not begin with vowels/ they always begin with CC ?V, CV ). c) The sequence /VVCC/ does not occur within a single word; thus long vowels are only followed by a single consonant in a word. d) Syllables with the structures /CVVC#/ or /CVCC#/ occur only stressed. e) Thus, we might sunmarize as follows : - Every syllable begins with /C/. I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 256 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I - Every syllable has /V/ or /VV/. - Syllables may be open or closed ( an open syllable is a syllable that ends in a vowel; a closed syllable is a syllable that ends in a consonant ) , - No closed syllable has the structure /VVCC/, but rather /CVVC#/ or /CVCCiV. * ** *** ***I I I I I I I I I I I I I I EGYPT'lAN ARABIC 257 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN A1ZAI~IC 257 kEFE~ENCE GJAMMAR TAP Refers to the articulatory process by which the tip of the tongue makes a single rapid contact against the alveolar ridge producing a consonant : /r, r/. *** *** *** TENSENESS A tense ( also fortis ) consonant in general is produced with more force that its lax C also lenis ) counterpart. Tense here refers to two inden- tical consonants with no intervening vowel pronounced with stronger arti- culation and greater tension on the muscles of the articulator and, usually, aspiration. Lax refers to a single consonant pronounced with lesser muscle tension and weaker, laxer articulation. A tense consonant ( also known as gemminate ) has precisely twice the duration of a single (lax) consonant, e.g. , katab 'to write' kattib 'to cause to write' M* *** *** EGYPTIAN ARABIC 258 PFFF2FMrF (WAMID --- - I L L. /JjV gI \ TRILITERAL ROOTS : TYPES A triliteral root is one which consists of three radicals. There are two types of such roots : sound and weak. A sound root is one which consists entirely of sound radicals ( e.g., drs,, ktb, Trf, dxl ). A weak root is one which does not consist entirely of sound radicals ( See : Radicals Types ), Weak roots fall into three subtypes the assimilated, the hollow and the defective : 1. An assimilated root is one whose first radical is weak, e.g., ws{. In verbs of Measure VIII, the initial weak radical is totally assimilated to the following /t/ Thus fws combines with iFtaL to produce ittesal rather than the expected *iwtasal. This assimilation gives the root its name. 2. A hollow root is one whose medial radical is weak, e.g., nwm, yb. 3. A defective root is one whose final radical is weak, e.g., d.w, rmy. *** *** *** I I I I I I II I I I I I I I I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 259 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYTIN AABC 29 %Ef1%.FMVOF C04 INVKIt#% ....... Ull V V IIIP .... II'WlW 'ql IP UNIT NOUNS ( See : Collective Nouns ) UVULAR The uvula is the small appendage that hangs down from the very edge of the velum. Uvular refers to a place of articulation consisting of the tongue dorsum and the uvula : /q/. *** *** *** I I I I I I I I I I I I I I U I I I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 261 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN AIZAB1C 261 REFE1ZE~JCE G1~AMMAP VELAR A place of articulation consisting of the tongue dorsum and the back of the palate : /k, g/. *** *** *** VELUM The area behind the hard palate, also called the soft palate. *** *** *** VERB AGREEMENT WITH THE SUBJECT Verbs agree with the subject in number, gender.'and person, Perfect forms are marked for such agreement by suffixes only; some imperfect forms are marked by prefixes only, while others are marked by both prefixes and suffixes, The set of affixes marking agreement with various subjects is the same for verbs of all types; however, the addition of those affixes requires certain changes in some stems. (a) The following forms result from adding the agreement affixes to the sound stems katab 'to write' ( perfect form ) and iktib ( imperfect form ) The affixes are set off by hyphens. EGYPTIAN ARABIC 262 REFERZENCE GRAMM~ARU Pe .rfect Imperfect (huwwa) katab yi =kt Ib (hiyya) katab-it ti-ktibI (huinma) katab-u yimktib--u (I nt a) katabmt t I-kt Ib (Intl) kat a b-t I ti-ktib-i (i ntu I kat a b-t u ti-ktib-u (ana) katab-t a-ktIbI Ci~ina) katab-na nJI -kt Ib Most of the imperfect forms listed above contain /I1/ in the prefix. if the second syllable of the imperfect form contains /u/ or /uu/, the /1/ is inte rchan ge able with /u/, e.g., y-ixru yuxrug ' to exit',y I yu yyruu6 'to go'. (b) Lest a cluster of three consonants result, /ee/ is inserted between the last radical of a doubled perfect stem and a suffix which begins with or consists of a consonant, The following forms result from adding the agreement aff ixes to Ti'add 'to count' perfect form) and y Id (imper- fect form ) ('iadd is a doubled stem. Perfect Imperfect3 _h u wwa) T'add yi-Tidd (jana)1 Taddee-t am i dd3 (i fina) Tiaddee-na nim'ildd EGYPTIAN ARABIC 263 REFERENCE GRAMMAR The long vowel /ee/ is also inserted between the last radical of a Measure IX perfect stem and a suffix which begins with er consists of a consonant. The following forms result from adding the agreement affixes to Iswadd 'to turn black' (perfect form ) and yiswadd ( imperfect form ). Perfect Imperfect (huwwal iswadd yi-swadd (hlyya). iswadd-it ti-swadd (hummal iswadd-u yi-swadd-u (inta) iswaddee-t ti-swadd (Int!L iswaddee-tI ti-swadd-i (Intul iswaddee-tu ti-swadd-u (ana). iswaddee-t a-swadd (.iRna). iswaddee-na ni-swadd Cc) Upon the addition of a suffix which begins with or consists of a consonant, the long vowel of FaaL is replaced by a short vowel ( in EA, a long vowel does not normally occur before two consonants ). The short vowel in question is /u/ if the imperfect stem has /uu/I otherwise the short vowel is /1/, The following forms result from adding the agreement affixes to raaR 'to go' ( perfect form ) and yiruu6 ( imperfect form ). Perfect Imperfect huwwa rear yi-ruufi hIyya raa 6- it ti-ruu6 humma rea6-u yi-ruu i-u inta ruFR-t ti-ruui intl rui-ti - ti-ruu-i intu ru R-tu ti-ru ui-u EGYPTTAV ARABIC 264 REFERENCE GRAMMARI Perfect Imperfect (ana)- ruF6-t amruuF' (IFna) ruF6v-na nimruu6i The following foms result from adding the agreement af fixes togab 'to bring'( perfect form) and ylgiiib( imperfect form ) Perfect rI-c ,( uwwa I gaab yimgiib (hliyya)- gaab- it ti-glib (hurnma) gaab-u y i-gii b.,u (Int a). g i b-t ti-glib (Inti)I gib-ti tl-glib4- ( i ntu). glb-tu t I-giib-wu (ana) glIb-t a-glibU 0 6~na). gib-na ni-glib The following forms result from adding the aggreenent aff ixes to naam 'to sleep'( perfect form ) and yinaam( imperfect form ) Perfect Impefect (huwwa) naam yi-naam (ana) nim-t amnaam (Jfina) n im- na n i-naam EGYPTIAN ARABIC 265 REFERENCE GRAMMAR The vowel replacement rule given above is restricted to Measure I of hollow verbs; elsewhere, a long vowel is replaced by its short counter- part before two consonants. The following forms result from adding the agreement suffixes to azaal 'to remove' and istagaab 'to respond' : (huwwa) azaal istagaab (hiyya) azaal-it istagaab-it (humma) azaal-u istagaab-u (inta) azal-t istagab-t (inti) azal-ti istagab-ti (intu) azal-tu istagab-tu (ana) azal-t istagab-t (iRna) azal-na istagab-na (d) Upon the addition of a suffix beginning with or consisting of a vowel, the final vowel of a defective stem is deleted; upon the addition of a suffix beginning with or consisting of a consonant, the final vowel of a defective stem is replaced by /ee/. The following forms result from adding the agreement affixes to bana 'to build' ( perfect form ) and yibni ( imperfect form ). Perfect Imperfect (huwwa) bana yi-bni (hiyya) ban-it ti-bni (humma) ban-u yi-bn-u (inta) banee-t ti-bni (inti) banee-ti ti-bn-i (intu) banee-tu ti-bn-u (ana) banee-t a-bni (iRna) banee-na ni-bni EGVPTIAN ARABIC 266 REFERENCE GRAMMAR The following forms 'to forget' ( perfect result from adding the agreement affixes to nisi form ) and yinsa ( imperfect form ). (huwwa) (hiyya) (humma) (inta) (inti) (intu) (ana) (ifna) If the final vowel by /y/ ( rather than consists of a vowel. consonant, the /1/ in replaced by /ee/ ) : (huwwa) (hiyya) (humma) (inta) (int i) (intu) (ana) (i0na) Perfect nisi nis-it nis-u n isee-t nisee-ti nisee-tu nisee-t n i see-na Imperfect yi-nsa ti-nsa y i-ns-u ti-nsa t i-ns-i ti-ns-u a-nsa ni-nsa U I I I I I I I I I I I I of the perfect defective is /i/, it may be replaced being deleted ) before a suffix which begins with or Before a suffix which begins with or consists of a L question may be lengthened ( rather than being nisi nisy-it nisy-u nisi i-t nisi -ti nisii-tu nisii-t nisii-na The addition of agreement affixes new principles. to quadriliteral verbs involves no I I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC A 7 REFERENCF GRMMAR EGYP iANIAIIAiCP IF 816-1T %p C' wI (1?vM1 VtMAPF The following forms result from adding the agreement affixes 'to roll' ( perfect form ) and yidaiRE2g( imperfect form ). to dafirag (huwwa) (h i yya) (h umma) (i nta) (i nt 1 ) (i nt u) (a na) (i fina) Perfect da~mrag da~irag-it da fra g-u da Frag-t da~rag-ti da~mrag-t u da~mrag-t da Fmrag-na Imperfect yi-da~mrag t i-da~rag yi -dafirag-u t i-da~mrag t i-da~mrag-i t i-da~miag-u a-da Fmag n i-da~mrag The following forms result from adding the agreement affixes to itma?ann 'to be reassured' ( perfect form ) and yitma?inn ( imperfect form ). (huwwa) (h i yya) (humma) ( inta) (inti) 0I nt u) (ana) ( i fia) Perfect itma?ann tma?ann- it itma?ann-u tm0 ne- itma?annee-t i tma?a nnee-t u tma?annee-tu i tma?annee-na Imnperfect yi-tma?inn tita0 n yi-tma?innu ti-tma?inn tl-tma? inn-i t i -tma? i mn-u a-tma? inm ni-tma?inn The following forms result from adding th1e agreement affixes to it bahd i 'to be treated contemptuously'( perfect form) and y it bahd ii imperfect form ). EGYPTIAN ARABIC 268 REFERENCE GRAMMAR (huwwa) (h iyya) (humma) (inta) (inti) (intu) (ana) (ifna) Perfect itbahdi I itbahdi I-it itbahdi I-u itbahdi I-t itbahdil-ti itbahdil-tu itbahdi Il-t itbahdi Il-na Imperfect yi-tbahdi I ti-tbahdi l ti-tbahdi l ti-tbahdi I ti-tbahdil-i ti-tbahdi l-u a-tbahdi l ni-tbahdi I VERB : ASPECT The prefixes 6a- - -ha and bi- are added to imperfect verb forms to indicate aspect. The prefix Ra- designates the future : I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I RayirgaT bukra. 'He will return tomorrow.' With certain verbs ( mainly stative verbs and verbs which indicate change or fixation of location ), bi- indicates habitual or repetitive occurenCe : biyifham bisTuuba. biyruuf masr fisseef. biyuskun maTaana lamma yizuur masr. 'He comprehends with difficulty.' 'He goes to Egypt in the summer.' 'He stays with us when he visits Egypt.' With all other verbs, bi- may designate either continuity or repetitive- ness ( "continuity" being viewed as the feature of an action or an event in progress ) : uxti btidris dilwa?ti. uxti btidris billeel. 'My sister is studying now.' 'My sister studies at night.' I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 7- Aq V..I.r-FFRFNr-F- PRAMMAP EGYPTIAN AIA-iC 1?FFPF~JOF (l. iAi J-4lUAA Stative verbs should not be confused with verbs that indicate change of state. The latter designate a perceptible process leading from one state to another, while the former designate a state without focussing on a process. The following examples may help in differentiating stative verbs from verbs which indicate change of state : 1. Stative : biyyiib 'he is (usually) absent', biyiidar 'he is (usually) present', biyiTraf 'he (usually) knows'. 2. Change of state : biyit6aggar 'it (mn) is getting/gets petrified', biyitgammid 'it (m) is solidifying/solidifies', biyi61aww 'he is getting/ gets to be good-looking', biyduub 'it (m) is dissolving/dissolves' biyinsihir 'it (m) is melting/usually melts'. With verbs that indicate change of state, bi- denotes either continuity or repetitiveness. In most cases, the absence of an aspect prefix on an imperfect verb form indicates possibility as opposed to fact ( see : Verbs : Subjunc- tive ) : laazim yiigi. 'He must come.' tiigi maaana ? 'Would you like to come with us?' There are, however, a few contexts where absence of the aspect prefix does not indicate possibility; for example, the underlined verb in the following sentence has no aspect prefix due to a process of deletion which is moti- vated by redundancy : 6an6aarib wi Ranintisir. --> 'We will fight and we will win.' fan6aarib wi nintisir. VEB AUI **I VERB : AUXILIARIES A "verbal sequence" consists of two or more verbs occurring in immediate succession. According to this definition, the first of the following ex- pressions is a verbal sequence, but the second is not ( since the two verbs are separated by a pronoiinal suffix ) : I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 270 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I (1) Rayxaaf yitkalllm. 'He will be afraid to talk.' (2) guftu bylktib. 'I saw him writing.' In a verbal sequence the last verb is called the main verb, and the rest are called auxiliaries, A verbal sequence may include as many as six verbs :I kean yilbb ylbtidi yruu6 'He would have liked to start ylt al I lm yl?ra, going to learn how to read.' As may be expected, verbal sequences as long as the one above rarely occur; it is still true, however, that such sequences are possible. Verbal sequences in EA are characterized by two syntactic features. [JI The main verb may be replaced by any other verb. On the other hand, each of the auxiliaries is replaceable by a limited number of verbs. (2) The auxiliaries occur in a fixed order; thus while the first se- I quence below is grammatical, the second is not ,I yitmanna yruu6 yildris 'He would love to go to study.' *ylruuF yitmanna yidris The following chart includes some auxiliaries which are common in Egypt- I ian Arabic, The auxiliaries are listed as classes, and the classes are arranged according to relative position. The verb kaan is excluded from the chart since it requires special considerations, I I 1 I I I I I I II III IVManVr tuj yltfaoaI 'prefers' ylnwl 'intends' y~ida 'is willing' yltmanna 'wishes' yI?bal 'agrees' ylfdlbb 'likes, wants' ylxaaf 'fears' ylywa 'likes' yt?iud 'means, intends' ylbtIdI 'begins' yifdaI 'keeps on' yinsa 'forgets' yttgarra? 'daree' ytF'eawllI 'tries' yliraf 'knows' yilgI 'comes' yinzII 'goes down' yItIa ' 'goes up' yIrawwaF6 'goes home' ylr~uui 'goes' yI?uum 'gets up' yudxul 'enters' ylxrug 'goes out' ylt 'alIIIm 'learns yit%'awwld 'gets ac- customed' ylktlb 'to write' etc,, m m - m-m - mm-mm-m- m- m I m I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 272 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Any one or combination of the above auxiliary classes may be deleted I from the verbal sequence : ylfaddal ylbtidi yItTallim 'He would prefer to start learn- ylktib. ing how to write,' ylfaddal yltTalliIm yiktib. 'He would prefer to learn how to I write,' FaylTalIIm ylktib. 'He will learn how to write.' Each member of a given class may co-occur ( in a verbal sequence ) with some member of every other class. However, it would be incorrect to assume that members can be selected at random from various classes and strung together into a verbal sequence ( semantic, rather than formal l, restrictions preclude this possibility ). Three classes of auxiliaries are worthy of special notice those are Class I, Class II, and Class III i 1. Class I auxiliaries have two distinctive characteristics (a) The subject of a Class I auxiliary may differ from the subject of the main verb. In contrast, the subject of a Class II, Class III or Class IV auxiliary is always the same as the subject of the main verb. yl6ibb yibtidl yidris. 'He would like to start studying.' a1ibb ylbtidl yidris. 'I would like him to start studying.' (b) Class I auxiliaries usually express wish, desire, fear, intention, preference, etc. (c) When they occur without an aspect prefix, Class I auxiliaries usually imply some provision or conditionp thus this usage corresponds I to the English conditional "would". blyeibb yzurna. 'He likes visiting us.' 1 yih1bb yzurna. 'He would like to visit us (if possible, if given a choice, etc.).' 2. Class II auxiliaries usually indicate progress ( or lack of progress ) in the direction of an action. 3. Class III auxiliaries have three distinctive characteristics I (a) A Class III auxiliary, if it begins a verb sequence, and a fol- I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 273 RFFRNCE GAMMUAD lowing verb may both be perfect, imperfect or imperative, Additionally, the Class III verb may be perfect and followed by an imperfect verb. A third verb in the sequence is always imperfect. raa6 daras. blyruuF6 yidris. ruuR Idris., raa6 yldris., raa6 yitTallim yi?ra, blyruu6 yltT'allIim yl?ra., ruu6 itTallim ti?ra. raaR yitTalim yl?ra. 'He 'He 'Go 'He 'He 'He 'Go He went and studied.' goes to study.' and study.' went to study.' went and learned how to read, goes to learn how to read.' and learn how to read.' went to learn how to read.' The situation is different in a verbal sequence whose first constituent is not a Class III auxiliary in such a sequence, only the first verb may be perfect or imperative l every other verb in the sequence must be imperfect. xaaf yfruuS yi?abilha, blyxaaf yiruu6 yl?abilha. xaaf tiruu6 ti?abilha. 'He was afraid to go to meet her.' 'He is (usually) afraid to go to meet her.' 'Be afraid to go to meet her,' (b) A Class III auxiliary which introduces a verbal sequence may be followed by a conjunction. 1iI ?i Ista amma.or till? wista6amma. tIaT ista amma or itlaT' wistaSamma. tIlT" ylstaFamma or til" T agaan ylsta6amma. 6ayiIlaT yistaaamma or 6ayltlaT ?aaan ylstabamma. 'He went up and took a bath.' 'Go up and take a bath.' 'He went up to take a bath.' 'He will go up to take a bath.' Notice that the optional conjunction is usually £agaan 'in order to' when the second verb is imperfectl otherwise, the optional conjunction is usually wil 'and'. I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 274 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I (c) Auxiliaries of Class III are mostly forms which designate motion. I Some of these auxiliaries, expecially yi?uum, may co-occur with other auxiliaries of the same class., y1Flbb y?uum yuxrug yillimmn 'He would like to get up and go il hawa, out to get some fresh air.' Aspect prefixes can be attached only to the first form of a verbal sequence. Absence of those prefixes designates the subjunctive, Rayxaaf yiruu6 yl?aabil 'Will he be afraid to go to meet Itmudlir ? the director ?' ylxaaf yiruu6i yl?aabll ilmudiir.? 'Do you suppose he would be afraid to go to meet the director?' The form kaan 'was' ( imperfect , yiluun ) may, under certain condi- tions, precede any of the verbal sequences described above to mark tense, aspect, or the subjunctive ( see Verbs t The Marker kaan ) v biyruuf yl?abilha, 'He goes to see her.' kaan blyruuF yi?abllha. 'He used to go to see her.' yikuun biyruuf yi?abilha ? 'Could it be that he goes to see her.' Notes :I 1. Verbal sequences are derived C through an optional transformation ) from source strings where the verb forms do not follow each other in im- mediate succession. The following statements hold true in those strings : (a) Class I, Class II and Class IV auxiliaries are usually followed by an expression consisting of a nominalizer and a following subject : 3 yifaddal Innu yibtldl . . . ylRaawil innu yi igi . , , yitballim innu yiktib . . Lb} Class III auxiliaries are usually followed by a conjunction : yiigi ?a aan yitTalllim . . . rea6 w-iTallim . . . In the underlying string, as in the derived one, only an initial imperfect I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 275 REIETERENCE GRAMMAR form has the option of occurring with an aspect prefix. 2. In a given verbal sequence, the first verb may be replaced by the active participlel this fact accounts for the following sentences £aUl ?aasid yiruu6 yigtayal, 'Ali intends to go to work.' ali i mig Tarlf ylbsit 'Ali does not know how to please I Imud Iir. the director.' Tali raayiF6 yizurhum. 'Ali is on his way to visit them.' .all mitawwld yls6a badri. 'Ali is accustomed to waking up early.' ** *** *** VERB : BARE FORM A "bare form" is an imperfect verb occurring with no aspect prefix, e.g., yidris ( in contrast with biyidris and 6ayidris ). The bare form usually indicates subjunctive meaning and results from deleting a redundant aspect prefix. In the following sentence,' nintlsi r is bare as a result of deleting the redundant prefix 6a- the absence of 6a- here does not denote subjunctive meaning , 6an6earib wi nintisir. 'We will fight and win.' VERB : CITATION FORM Verb stems in EA take affixes which indicate agreement with the subject, Consequently, the verb form differs with different subjects : (huwwa. )daras (hiyya )darasit C inta )da rast etc. ( huwwa )b-yidris 'he studied' 'she studied' 'you (ms) studied' 'he is studying' I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 276 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I (hiyya) b-tidris 'she is studying' (inta) b-tidris 'you (ms) are studying' etc. For the sake of convenience, the perfect huwwa ( third person ms ) form is used as the "citation" form of the verb ( i.e., the dictionary form. Thus daras may be translated as 'to study' although a literal translation would be 'he studied.' Notice that the perfect huwwa form is a natural choice in two senses : it is shorter than the other perfect forms, and it yields those forms through the addition of certain suffixes. I VERB : CLASSIFICATION BY ROOT TYPE Verbs are divisible into two large groups : the triliteral and the quadriliteral, the former being those with three radicals ( e.g., katab 'to write', daras 'to study', simiT 'to hear' ) and the latter being those with four radicals ( e.g., da6raq 'to roll (something)' targim 'to translate', dardi9 'to chat' ).I Triliteral verbs are either sound or weak. A sound verb is one which has a sound root ( e.g., talab 'to request', daxal 'to enter', akar 'to thank' ) and a weak verb is one which has a weak root (q.v.). Weak verbs fall into three types : the assimilated, the hollow, and the defective. The three types are defined as follows : (1) Assimilated verbs are those whose initial radical is weak, e.g., wisil 'to arrive' (root wsl). (2) Hollow verbs are those whose middle radical is weak, e.g., naam 'to sleep' (root nwm), yaab 'to be absent' (root yyb). (3) Defective verbs are those whose final radical is weak, e.g., daia 'to invite (root dew), rama 'to throw' (root rmy), nisi 'to forget' (root nsy). For convenience of reference, these classes are tabulated below : I I EGVPrIAN ARABIC 277 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYP -- --AN- ARABIC - -277 %TPE9FF1%7EMCE GRAVl~ WmM-aIZb I I. Triliteral A. Sound B. Weak 1. Assimilated 2. Hollow 3. Defective 4. Doubled II. Quadriliteral *** *** *** VERB kaan The verbal form kaan (imperfect : yikuun) functions as carrier of a tense, an aspect, or a mood distinction which would otherwise have no carrier : 1. Equational sequences such as Tali ta~baan 'Ali is tired' designate contemporaneity. To such sentences may be added the constituent "Perfect" ( to express past time ), bi- ( to express recurrence ), or Ra- ( to ex- press futurity ) : (a) Tali + Perfect + taTbaan (b) TalI + bi- + taTbaan (c) Tali + fa- + taTbaan Since "Perfect", bi- and 6a- must be carried by a verbal form, yikuun is added to the above sentences : (a) Tali + Perfect + yikuun + ta~baan (b) Tali + bi- + yikuun + taTbaan (c) Tali + 6a- + yikuun + taTbaan In sentence (a) the sequence Perfect + yikuun produces kaan; in sentence (b), the sequence bi- + yikuun produces biykuun; and in sentence (c), the sequence 6a- + yikuun produces 6aykuun. The three sentences there- for assume the following forms : iali kaan tabaan. 'Ali was tired.' Lali biykuun taibaan filmasa. 'Ali is usually tired in the evening.' f'ali Faykuun tafbaan. 'Ali will be tired.' EGYPTIAN ARABIC 278 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 2. The sentence a I i daras 'Ali studied' designates a completed event, and the sentence Tali byidris 'Ali is studying' designates an event in progress. Futurity may be superimposed on both sentences by the addi- tion of /6a-/. (a) Tali + Ra- + daras lamma niwsa I (b) Tali + RFa- + biyidris lamma niwsaIl. 'Ali will have studied shen we arrive.' 'Ali will be studying when we arrive.' In sentence (a), the verb daras must retain its perfect form because the desired meaning includes completion. Thus 6a- cannot combine with the following verb to produce fayidris. In sentence (b), the verb must re- tain bi- because progression is part of the desired meaning. Thus, here again, 6a- cannot combine with the following verb to produce 6ayidris. To provide a carrier for Ra- in both sentences, yikuun is added.: Tal i 6aykuun daras lammina niwsal. 'Ali will have studied when we arrive. Tali 6aykuun biyidris lamma 'Ali will be studying when we niwsal. arrive.' 3. The sentence yiliit wi raaF6 ilmustaffa ? 'Did he mistakenly go to the hospital?' asks about a completed event ( hence the use of perfect verbs ). A subjunctive meaning can be superimposed on the sentence ( for example, the sentence may be changed to mean 'COuld it be that he mistakenly went to the hospital?' ); this would require the addition of an imperfect form without an aspect prefix. The required form is yi kuun : I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I yikuun yilit wi raa6F ilmustaifa ? 'Could it be that he mistakenly went to the hospital?' The same process accounts for the occurrence of yikuun in the following sentences : yikuun biyfibbaha ? yikuun fayruu6 maSaaha ? 'Could it be that he loves her?' 'Could it be that he will go with her?' I EGYPTIAN ARABrC 279 ZUERENCE GRAMMAR EGVPT1AN ARABIC 279 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Like all other verbal forms, kaan and in number, gender and person : (huwwa) (h i yya) (ana) etc. (huwwa) (hiyya) (ana) etc. (huwwa) (h i yya) (inta) kaan biyidris. kaanit bitidris. kunt badris. fiaykuun biyidris. Fatkuun bitidris. 6akuun badris. kaan Fayirda n?ablu. kaanit 6atirda n?abilha. kunt 6atirda n?ablak. yikuun agree with the subject 'He was studying.' 'She was studying.' 'I was studying.' 'He will be studying.' 'She will be studying.' 'I will be studying.' 'He was going to let us see him.' 'She was going to let us see her.' 'You (ms) were going to let us see you.' *** *** *** VERB MEASURES : MEANINGS OF DERIVED VERBAL MEASURES The contrasts in form between derived and primary verbs are paralleled by fairly consistent contrasts in meaning. Before specifying the meanings in question, we must emphasize two facts : 1. The meanings ascribed to a given derived measure hold true in a large number of cases where a source verb exists. They hold true less frequently when a source verb does not exist. For example, reciprocity is usually expressed by Measure III of triliteral verbs; yet of the two Measure III verbs kaatib 'to correspond with' and saafir 'to travel', only the first has associative meaning. Significantly, kaat i b has a source verb ( katab 'to write' ) while saafir does not. 2. There is no root which combines with every verbal measure. For this reason, the student may end up with a non-existent word if he yields to the temptation of combining a root he knows with a certain measure to express a certain meaning. The meanings listed below are given to help students guess and learn the designation of a new verb, rather than to I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 280 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I facilitate the forecasting of unattested verbs. I The meanings most commonly expressed by the derived measures of triliteral verbs are the following :I 1. Measure II is most often used to express the following two desig- nations :I (a) Causation, i.e., causing an action ( usually the one specified by the corresponding Measure I verb ). Examples xaaf 'to be afraid': xawwi f 'to frighten', dafaT 'to pay: daffaT 'to make (someone) pay', yayyar 'to change (something)'. Closely related to this meaning is the designation of helping (or enabling) someone to perform an action, e.g., aa I 'to carry': ayyil 'to help (someone) carry', rikib 'to ride': rakkib 'to give (someone) a ride'. (b) Acquisition of a state or a characteristic. Examples : sawwis 'to decay (bones)', affin 'to rot', warram 'to swell', dawwid 'to become ____ I wormy', nattin 'to stink'. Measure II verbs with this designation do not usually have corresponding source verbs; in most cases, however, such verbs have corresponding nouns; e.g., suus 'decay (of bones)',I ufuuna 'rottenness', waram 'swelling', duud 'worms', nataana 'stench', etc. Other meanings expressed by Measure II are : (c) Intensification of some action (usually that specified by the source verb ) Examples : kasar 'to break': kassar 'to smash', ?atal 'to kill': ?attil 'to slaughter'. (d) Estimation, i.e., deeming or regarding. Examples : kidib 'to lie': kaddib 'to accuse of lying'. Because causation is their most frequent meaning, Measure II verbs are typically transitive when the source verbs are intransitive and ditransi- tive when the source verbs are transitive. 'ali xarag. 'Ali went out.' ahmad xarrag al i. 'Ahmad let Ali out.' farild akal irruzz. 'Farid ate the rice.' ?akkalt fariid irruzz. 'I fed Farid the rice.' 2. The most frequent meaning associated with Measure III is associative. Measure III technically means 'to engage someone in a reciprocal activity.' I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 281 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABiC 281 REFEIZEtJCE GIZAMMA1Z Examples : katab 'to write': kaat ib 'to correspond with', I i ib 'to play: Iaaib 'to play with', naa?ig 'to discuss with', aawir 'to confer with'. Measure III verbs which express reciprocity are usually transitive : katibtuhum. 'I corresponded with them.' In some cases where the Measure III verb has associative meaning, the source verb can express the same meaning through co-occurrence with a pre- position : Tali laaTib ibni. 'Ali played with my son.' Tali liTib maia bni. 'Ali played with my son.' 3. Measure IV often expresses causation. Examples : zahar 'to ap- pear': azhar 'to show', saar 'to rebel': asaar 'to agitate', awgad 'to bring about'. Measure IV verbs which express causation are typically transitive : asaar igaTb. 'He agitated the people.' In expressing causation, Measure II is used more commonly than Measure IV ( and seems to be supplanting it in EA ). Use of Measure IV to ex- press causation is indicative of education and acquaintance with Standard Arabic. 4. Measure V has three common usages : (a) It may add reflexivity to the meaning of the source verb ( i.e., the Measure II verb ). For example, the Measure II verb Tall im means 'to teach', and the Measure V verb itallim means 'to learn ( i.e., to obtain learning on one's own or with the help of another )'. Measure V verbs which indicate reflexivity usually have animate subjects. (b) It may indicate the acquisition of a state or a characteristic. Examples : itfaggar 'to become petrified', itkabbar 'to be pompous'. Here corresponding source verbs rarely exist, but corresponding nouns and adjectives often do ( e.g., Raar 'a stone', kibir 'big' ) (c) It may indicate the passive of the source verb. Examples : saxxan 'to heat (something)': itsaxxan 'to be heated', gamma 'to gather to- gether': itgamma 'to be gathered together'. A Measure V verb is usually intransitive unless the source verb is di- EGYPTIAN ARABIC 282 REFERENCE GRAMMAR transitive ( in which case the Measure V verb takes one object ) : salIma tkabbarit. ilkutub di tgammaT it fi xamsiin sana. iallimt wdaad ?arabi. widaad itTallimit Tarabi. 'Salma became pompous.' 'These books were collected over a period of fifty years.' 'I taught Widad Arabic.' 'Widad learned Arabic.' I I I I I I I I I It might be mentioned in passing that the prefix it- is consistently associated with intransitivity and passivity. Thus (,in addition to a Measure V ) the Measures itFaaTiL, itFaTaL and itFaVLiL express passi- vity as well as intransitivity. This fact will be reiterated below. 5. Measure VI is commonly associated with three meanings : (a) Reciprocity. Examples : kaatib 'to correspond with (someone)': itkaatib 'to correspond with each other', baafis 'to confer with (some- one)': itbaais 'to confer together'. A Measure VI verb which expresses reciprocity is usually derived from a Measure III verb which also ex- presses reciprocity; when such is the case, the two verbs differ in re- gard to the constructions where they occur : (i) The Measure III verb is usually transitive, while the Measure VI verb is usually intransitive; this is because the object of the former usually becomes part of a compound phrase which functions as subject of the latter : I fariid raasil ali. fariid wiali traslu. 'Farid corresponded with Ali.' 'Farid and Ali corresponded with each other.' (ii) The Measure III verb is not restricted in regard to taking a singular subject. In contrast, the Measure VI verb usually has a dual or a plural subject : fariid kaatib ali. ittalamza tkatbu. 'Farid corresponded with Ali.' 'The students corresponded with each other.' I I I I I I I As seen from the above examples, the Measure VI verb is often translatable by an expression including 'with each other' or 'together'. EGYPTIAN ARABIC 283 REFERENCE GRAMMAR (iii) When it has a singular subject, the Measure VI verb is usually followed by a preposition : farlid itkaatib maTa ?ali. 'Farid corresponded with Ali.' In addition to the syntactic differences specified above, Measures III and VI differ semantically. While Measure III indicates that the subject of the verb initiates the action, Measure VI indicates equal participation by the parties involved. (b) Feigning. Examples : itmaawit 'to feign death', itnaawim 'to pre- tend to be asleep'. (c) The passive of Measure III. The following is an example : saTidna fariid. 'We helped Farid.' fariid itsaa id. 'Farid was helped.' As illustrated by the above examples, Measure VI verbs are typically in- transitive. 6. Measure VII is commonly used in two contexts : to express "yielding" and reflexivity. The two usages are explained below. (a) Yielding is a common meaning expressed by Measure VII. Arabic verbs which express yielding are sometimes translatable by intransitive English verbs ( e.g., ilbaab infata6f 'the door opened', ilfingaan inkasar 'the cup broke' ). Other times they are translatable by the English passive con- struction, which tends to obscure a distinction in EA. Compare the fol- lowing sentences : ilbaab infata6F fag?ah. 'The door opened suddenly.' maSraf miin fataf ilbaab. 'I do not know who opened the door; illi airafu inn ilbaab what I do know is that the door itfata6 (~ infata6) was opened.' In both sentences it is true that someone or something opened the door, and that the agent is unknown; the difference is that the first sentence highlights what the recipient (the door) did: it yielded to the action of an agent. Thus the difference between the construction with ifnFaiaL - itFataL and the passive construction may be represented as follows : EGYPTIAN ARABIC 284 REFERENCE GRAMMAR i nFa TaL construction Agent is unknown. Action of the recipient is high- lighted. Passive construction Agent is unknown. Existence of an agent is high- lighted. The measure i nFaTaL is indicative of education and acquaintance with Standard Arabic. Many Egyptians ( especially those not so influenced by Standard Arabic ) usually use itFaTaL ( rather than inFaTaL ) to express yielding; even educated Egyptians, when speaking informally, often use itFaTaL to express yielding. As has already been mentioned, the measure itFaTaL often expresses passivity; therefore the context may be the only means of deciding whether a given verb of the Measure itFaTaL indicates passivity or yielding, (b) Reflexivity is a meaning expressed by a few Measure VII verbs. Examples : saraf 'to dismiss': insaraf 'to dismiss oneself = to depart' sahab 'to withdraw (someone)': insa6ab 'to withdraw oneself.' Measure VII verbs which express reflexivity typically have animate subjects and are not usually replaceable by verbs of the measure itFafaL. Measure VII is typically intransitive as can be seen from the following examples : I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ilfingaan inkasar. ilbeet inhadam. ilmandubiin insarafu. 'The cup broke.' 'The house fell down.' 'The delegates left.' 7. Measure VIII expresses a variety of meanings each of which is desig- nated by a handful of verbs. The relatively frequent meanings are reflexi- vity and reciprocity. (a) Reflexive Measure VIII verbs are typically intransitive and have animate subjects. Examples : gama 'to bring together': igtamaT 'to come together', na?al 'to move or transfer (soemone)': inta?al '(for some- one)' to move'. i I?ustaaz gamaT ittalamza. ittalamza gtamaTu. ilmudlir na?al ilmuwazzaf limadlina bTlida. 'The professor gathered the students.' 'The students gathered.' 'The director moved the employee to a distant city.' I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 285 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARASIC 285 REFERENCE GRAMMAR ilmuwazzaf inta?al limadiina bil ida. 'The employee moved to a distant city.' (b) Reciprocal verbs of Measure VIII usually have two or more agents. If it has only agent a Measure VIII verb takes a preposition : sam i i ra ?asamit iIgibna. samlira wfariid i?tasamu I g i bna. ilbanaat i?tasamu Igibna. samiira ?tasamit ilgibna maTa fari id. 'Samira divided the cheese.' 'Samira and Farid divided the cheese between them.' 'The girls divided the cheese among them. 'Samira divided the cheese with Farid.' 8. Measure IX usually indicates color; it means 'to become or to turn a certain color.' Examples : iTFrarr 'to become red', ixdarr 'to become green', isfarr 'to become yellow', Ibyadd 'to become white', iswadd 'to become black', Izra?? 'to become blue'. Verbs of this type are intransi- tive : ittiffaaR ifrnar. 'The apples turned red.' 9. Measure X has several meanings of which the most frequent are the following : (a) Estimation. Examples : ista61a 'to consider (something) sweet or pleasant', istamsax 'to consider (something) distasteful', istazraf 'to consider (someone) nice', istaTbat 'to consider (someone) stupid.' (b) Seeking to bring about an event ( usually that which is designated by the source verb ). Examples : afar 'to forgive': istayfar 'to seek forgiveness', fihim 'to understand': istafhim 'to inquire'. istayfar rabbu. istafhimna Tan miaad IigtimaaT. 'He asked forgiveness of his Lord.' 'We inquired about the time of the meeting.' (c) Causative - middle ( cause something to happen for one's own benefit ). Examples : istaxdim 'to use (something)! to employ (some- one)', istaTmil 'to use (something)'. This meaning is closely related to the one described in (b) above. For example, istaxdim is derived from I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 286 REFERENCE GRAMMAR xadam; the source verb means 'to serve', and the derived verb means 'to I seek service from (something)'. 10. The Measure itFaTaL frequently designates the following : (a) Yielding. Verbs in this category are typically intransitive : ilbaab itfata6f. 'The door opened. ilbeet ithadam. 'The house fell down.' As has already been pointed out, a given root may combine either with inFaTaL or with itFaTaL to express yielding; thus inkasar 'to break' is equivalent in meaning to itkasar. The difference between inFaTaL and itFaTaL, when both express yielding, is as follows : (i)The former measure indicates that the speaker is educated and ac- I quainted with Standard Arabic. (ii) The former measure includes certain verbs to which no correspond- ing verbs of the latter measure exist, e.g., i na?ad '(for a meeting) to convene'. Most of the verbs in question are borrowings from Standard Arabic. (b) The passive of Measure I. Examples : talamziti fihmu ddars. 'My students understood the lesson.' iddars itfaham. 'The lesson was understood.' Passive verbs of the measure itFaTaL are typically intransitive : ilRukuuma saganit ilgawasiis. 'The government put the spies in jail.' ilgawasiis itsaganu. 'The spies were put in jail.' 11. Some verbs of the Measure istaFafaL indicate intensification, e.g., istamanna 'to yearn for (something)' :I fariida btistamanna kilma minnu. 'Farida yearns for a word from him.' The itFaaL and i staFaSaL forms do not exist in Standard Arabic. 12. Of the quadriliterals only Measure II verbs are consistently asso- ciated with particular meanings. Measure II expresses the meanings which I are usually designated by the prefix it-. (a) It may express reflexivity : fariid da6rag iI6agar. 'Farid rolled the stone.' fariid idda6rag Ta IRagii. 'Farid rolled on the grass.' I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 287 RE FERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABiC 287 REFERENCE GRAMMAR (b) It may express yielding : za??eet iliagar faddafrag. 'I pushed the stone and it rolled.' (c) It may express the passive of the source verb : targimt ilmaqaala mbaariR. ilmaqaala ttargimit imbaari6. 'I translated the article yesterday. 'The article was translated yester- day.' *** *** *** VERB MEASURES : PRIMARY AND DERIVED Some measures of EA verbs are derived from other measures. For example, Measure VI ( itFaaiL ) is formed by adding the prefix it- to Measure III ( FaaTiL ). In the following table, the derived measures are listed on the right; for each derived measure, the source is given on the left : Source Derived Triliteral: II II, III, IV, VII, VIII, X, itFaTaL V VI istaFaT'TaL III X - II Quadriliteral: II, IV For convenience of reference, triliterals of Measures II - X are called "derived triliterals". For the same reason, quadriliterals of Measure II and Measure IV are called "derived quadriliterals". *** *** *** I EGYPTIAN ARABI C 288 REFERENCE GRAMMAR VERB : QUADRILITERALS CLASSIFIED BY STEM MEASURE I Listed below are the measures of quadriliteral verbs; the perfect form precedes the imperfect, with a colon separating the two forms. Notice that EA does not have the form iFTanLaL which exists in Standard Arabic as Measure III. (1) Measure I of the quadriliteral is FaTLiL : yiFaTLiL, or FaTLaL : yiFaSLaL. The difference in the stem vowel is usually predictable in terms of the adjacent consonants : in general, /a/ occurs next to gut- terals and emphatics, while /1/ occurs next to other consonants. Some I examples are : mari 'to swing (someone)': yima rga6I far?aT 'to pop, to burst': yifar?a? dafrag 'to roll (something)': yida6rag gargar 'to drag': yigargar ba~tar 'to scatter': yiba6tar galgil 'to reverberate': yigalgil bahdil 'to treat contemptuously': yibahdil Tarbid 'to be boisterous': yiarbid (2) Measure II of quadriliteral verbs is itFaTLiL : yitFaTLiL or itFafLaL : yitFaTLaL. The difference between the stem vowels is deter- mined by the environment : /a,' occurs next to gutturals and emphatics, while /1/ occurs elsewhere. They are intransitive or passive. Examples : I itmarga6 'to swing (intransitive)': yitmarga6 Ttdairag 'to roll (intransitive)': yitda6rag itgargar 'to be dragged': yitgaIrgar itba6Ftar 'to be scattered': yitba6tar itbalbil 'to be confused': yitbalbil (3) Measure IV of the quadriliteral is iFfaLaLL : yiF'aLiLL. Some f examples are : itma?ann 'to be reassured': yitma?inn igaTarr 'to shudder': yiTgaTirr I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 289 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTiAN ARABIC 289 REFERENCE GRAMMAR VERB : SUBJUNCTIVE The subjunctive denotes a possibility ( as opposed to a fact ). for example, the underlined verbs in the following sentences : Compare, biyruu6 masr kull seef. Taawiz yiruu6 masr kull seef. 'He goes to Egypt every summer.' 'He wants to go to Egypt every summer.' The underlined verb in the first sentence indicates a fact : the subject--as a matter of fact--does go to Egypt every summer. On the other hand, the underlined verb in the second sentence indicates a possibility which may or may not materialize. Specifically, a subjunctive construction denotes possibility, proba- bility, wish, hope, desire, intent, fear, expectation, preference, choice, acceptance, attempt, command, exhortation, permission, duty, obligation, necessity, ability, etc. All of these fall within the range of possibi- lity ( as opposed to fact ), and will therefore be called subjunctival submeanings. The general concept of possibility ( as opposed to fact ) is marked by the absence of the aspect prefix; the particular subjunctival submeaning ( obligation, necessity, wish, desire, etc. ) is usually specified lexi- cally by a form which precedes the "bare" imperfect ( e.g., a modal or a participle ) : labudd yidris. laazim yidris. naawi yidris. 'He must study.' 'He must study.' 'He intends to study.' A form which specifies the subjunctival submeaning may be deleted when the context makes its presence redundant : (a) tigiji Ibeet ? 'Can you come to my house?' (b) aagi mta ? (= ti6ibb aagi 'When would you like me to come?' mta ?) Subjunctive meaning cannot be expressed by lexical specification alone; absence of the aspect prefix is necessary. Thus both of the following sentences contain the form labudd 'must', but only the first expresses I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 290 REFERENCE GRAMMAR subjunctive meaning : Iabudd yruu6. 'He must go.' labudd biyruu6. 'It must be a fact that he goes.' Clearly, yiruu6. in the first sentence expresses a possible event--one that may or may not occur. On the other hand, biyruu6 in the second sen- tence expresses a fact rather than a possibility : the sentence means 'It is my conclusion that he goes'. This is equivalent to saying that I the first sentence has a verb which expresses possibility and a modal which specifies the type of possibility, while the second sentence has a verb which expresses a fact and an adverb which says something about that fact. The same difference distinguishes the following two sentences : yimkin yiruu6u. 'They might go.' yimkin biyruuRu. 'Perhaps they go.' The second sentence may be paraphrased by 'The fact that they go is not certain.' Sometimes the distinction signalled by the subjunctive is very subtle; compare, for example, the following sentences :I yimkin yiruu6. 'He might go.' yimkin Rayruu6f. 'It is possible that he will go.' The two sentences are very similar in meaning; nevertheless, the absence of an aspect prefix from the first sentence and the presence of such a prefix in the second results in a subtle distinction : while the first sentence straightforwardly asserts a possibility, the second states a fact and ( by means of an adverb ) assigns a degree of probability to I that fact. The degree of probability may be shifted to the other end of the scaleby changing the adverb : qat'an Fayruu6. 'He most certainly will go.' Note : I It was stated above that the subjunctival submeaning is usually expressed lexically by a form which precedes the bare imperfect. There are, however, a few verbs whose imperfect occurs without an aspect prefix to express both possibility ( as opposed to fact ) and the subjunctival submeaning. I EGYPT'IAN ARABIC 291 REFERENCE GRAMMAR The verbs in question are those which we have called Class I auxiliaries ( see Verbs : Auxiliaries ), and the subjunctival submeaning expressed is usually some kind of provision or condition. Iami y6ibb yruu6. faxri yirda yruu6. The majority of Class I auxiliaries like the following : mamduuh Fay6ibb yruu6. mamduuh biy~ibb yruu6. mamduuh Fiaabib yiruu6. mamduuh yiRibb yruu. 'Lam'i would like to go (if he can, if given a choice, etc.).' 'Faxri would agree to go (if asked to do so, etc.).' can be used to produce contrasts 'Mamduh will want to go.' 'Mamduh usually wants to go.' 'Mamduh is desirous of going.' 'Mamduh would like to go.' *** *** *** VERB : TENSE EA verbs show two tenses : the perfect and the imperfect. The perfect most frequently designates the following : 1. An event which was completed prior to the moment of speaking : min yumeen guftaha hina. 'Two days ago I saw her here.' 2. An event which took place at some past time but whose results linger on : fihimt. masr it?addimit xaalis. 'I have understood.' 'Egypt has progressed a great deal. 3. An event which is considered completed immediately upon the act of speaking or by the very act. Verbs which designate this meaning are often translatable by an expression including herewith or hereby. a-- uskut. b- sikitt. ' Shut up!' 'Fine, I'm shutting up!' I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 292 REFERENCE GRAMMAR a-- biThaalIi. 'Sell it to me.' I b-- biTtahaalak. 'I hereby sell it to you.' The imperfect form usually occurs with one of the aspect prefixes bi- I of Ra- e- ha-. For the meanings of bi- and Ra-, ( see : Verb : Aspect ). Absence of an aspect prefix usually designates subjunctive meaning ( see: Verb : The Subjunctive ). Perfect verbs are characterized by the fact that they take suffixes but not prefixes. In contrast, imperfect verbs are characterized by the fact that some forms have prefixes only while others have prefixes as well as suffixes. In the following examples, the stem is underlined : Perfect -mperfect I (hiyya) katabit tiktib (i 6na) katabna niktib (inti) katabti tiktibi (intu) katabtu tiktibu I etc. etc. VERB : TRILITERALS CLASSIFIED BV STEM MEASURE The table below shows the measures of triliteral verbs. For each mea- sure, the perfect and imperfect forms are given, with examples in paren- theses. Notice that : 1. The Roman numeral assigned to a given measure is the one which designates the corresponding measure in Modern Standard Arabic. The last two measures are left unnumbered since they do not exist in Modern Standard Arabic. 2. The measures of assimilated verbs are identical to those of sound verbs. For this reason, assimilated verbs do not occur in the table as a distinct category ( but see Note 3 below the table ). 3. The word or in the table indicates unpredictability. The sign indicates free variation. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I U I I I I EGVVIARARABIC 294 REFEMCE GRAMMAR ~EFE~ENc~F GRAMAL&R Sound Doubled Perfect I rfect Perfect imperfect a i F8~aL or P1IIL YIFTL (see Note Fai' '(Thdd 'to 1F1 (yIidd)or (katab 'to write' u cout', marr 'to 11PUTT' vmu iif'to knw') 6 for examples) pass') I I I I, U I I I I I I IIFaTaL (fiassar, 'to fortify') aTi'VL (darrns 'to teach') yiFa I L (y iassa n) y IraTT IL (y Idrr i s) FaTaT(karmr 'to repeat') FaTiiT(sabbib 'to cause') (yi karrar) (X i sabb I b) 4. 4. ___ Iii paaiItL (kaatib with') (y ikaat Ib) zv aF'iaL (a~dam,'to yiFl'IL (y1l) aa' a'dd'o i1 (iid execute') prepare (some- v itF8aTaL (itFhassan y~traTaL itraaMT (Itkarrar yit~aTa 'to be fortified')' (Yjtfassan) 'to be repeated') (yltkarrar) 'to suffer') (ylt~azzlb) 'to be dispersed') (yitbaddid) VI itraaiL (ltkaatib L~tFaaTIL 'to correspond (yltkaatlb) with each other') VIIA in~a~aL (insafiab 'to withdraw') * yinr'iliL inFaT (inga?? 'to yinFa'T (yinia??) split')I 4. J-- VIII ipta~aL (iltarak) 'to participate' Yfrt rTiL (y ilt iri k) iytaTT (Iftadd 'tol yi FtaV T (yiFltadd) become angzy') 1 I I 1 I 4.4- IX F aLL (iFrnrr 'to turn red') yiF~aLI. (yiFearr) q 4 x istaF~aL (Ista'ibat yistapi~aL jistaraTT O(stai'add yistarlVST 'to act stupid')-- (yista Ia) to get ready') (yistildd) iStaF 'iL (sta 'mll yistaFTILr 'to use')"*l- (yistail1) VIIB itFa~aL (itna?aI yftFli L 'to be transxferred' (yltnl?II1) ' to become ins a)I " I istaPaV~aL (i sta Ia'?21fI'to catch (e.g., a ball)'1) I - I -.7 1 4 -t U YIvt8F8 a I i staFaTaT (tjtaammem 'to bathe') JyistaFaTaT (XSahm m I I EGYMAN ARABIC 29S =f%&- FE12EAICE GRAMMAR EGYP~iA ARABIC295 QF V~vAW % IwAIAUpw sallow Dfective perfect ImZperfect Perfect Imperfect FaL(ri 'to go', naam 'to sleep',0 sk * to bring') y I uuL(vru) y I aaL (iam ymFILCygb Faj'a (ram 'to ±3- plore', da Ta 'to invite',bans 'to build, saTa I'to at- tempt') or rI 'I (nis I'to for- gae', gjI to rms' or~uWi uI'17) yiF 'a (vinsa) or yIP'TI (=rgi) raTTaL (Tawwar 'to yi Fa'L Cy1Tswjar, FaTa (rabba 'to yIra TVt (yTrsbbl) injure', b. d ibayyad) rear, bring up') 'to paint' FaTVIL (kawwln 'to yi~aTTI'L (yikawwin, form'IF yy Ito Yf~aXXIN) Faa T L (fiaew i . 'to yViasIlL Cy16aawil,, FeaTa (neads 'to f~sai ( yinaadi) try',go In to y ~a) - call to') arm L(azaasI'to yIFIIL (iil) aFTa (yra 'to en- iP I ylr rmove')tice') 'to evolve', (ylttswmar, 'to wish') It~ayar 'to be vitfiayyar) pummied'I) 'to became accias- (yt~awwld, 'to be appointed') ________ itraaTIL (it'iaawln yitlaaiL (yit aawln ItraaTa (itfaada yitraa (yitfaada) 'to co-operate', vt~aYit 'to avoid') Ithaayil 'to plead') iflpaaL (nsaab 'to yln~aaL (Xinsaab) in~s 'a (inomfa I to yInFITT (yrnmi~i.) flow') -vanish') irtaaL (i~taag 'to be in need') yllPtaaL (YfAt Irts 'a (Intaha 'to end'P) yIirti~l (yintihi) iF'iaLL (Tswadd, 'to YiF~'aLL (yiswadd, iF ~aLL (T~daww 'to yiF ~aLL (Yi~laww) turn black', i byadd vi bvadd) becom good-lok 'to turn white') ing') - ista~saL (isa.2aab yistarliL istaF'~a (1-staX-la yistaFr'i yistaF~a 'to respond) (yistaaIib) 'to consider some- (xistayll yistayla) thing expensive') itreaL (ItbaaT' 'to be sold') yitpaaL (YitbasV) itysi's (t~ama 'to became bl Ind') yitpi 'i (Yit TlmI) -.4 i staraiThaL (istarays tio rest'I) y~staraTaL (y i starayyah) i starF T8a (I st 2yenma 'to blindfold one- self'11, istarag~a 'to implore', istaxabba 'to hide', yi staraTa (yi stayaunma, ,yistaragga, yistaxabba) I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 296 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I The following notes are applicable to the above table :I 1. Hollow verbs of Measure II are the same in shape as the sound counterparts; so are hollow verbs of Measure III, Measure V, Measure VI, Measure IX, and the last measure. Hollow verbs of other measures are not the same in shape as the sound counterparts. 2. As the mutaawiT ("yielding" form) of FataL ( see : Verb Measures : Meaning ), inFaTaL is interchangeable with itFaTaL. The following quali- fications restrict this statement : (a) i nFaTaL is more common than itFaTaL in the speech of educated Egyptians. Thus an educated Egyptian is likely to say ilbaab infata6 'the door opened' rather than ilbaab itfata ( although both forms are possible ). I (b) For some verbs, the form inFaTaL exists without the alternative possibility of itFaTaL ( most of those verbs are borrowings from Modern Standard Arabic ); for example, the form for 'to be impetuous' is indafaT but not *itdafaT. 3. The first radical of assimilated verbs is totally assimilated to the /t/ of iFtaiaL. Thus Measure VIII from the root wsl is ittasal rather than *iwtasal; from wf?, ittafa? rather than *iwtafa?; and from wzn, ittazan rather than *iwtazan. In contrast, the first radical of assimilated verbs is not assimilated to the /t/ of itFa TaL, e.g., itwasal, itwazan. 4. In the case of most measures, the perfect and the imperfect forms have the same vowel pattern; for example, FaS'iL and yiFaTiL share the vowel pattern a-i. 5. Some derived measures* have two perfect-tense forms : one whose stem vowel is /a/, and another whose stem vowel is /i/; for example, the perfect of Measure II is either FataL of FaViL. The difference between the two forms is usually predictable from the environment : the stem vowel is /a/ if it is adjacent to one of certain segments, and /1/ otherwise. The segments in question are (a) the back consonants /2/, /h/, /f6/, //, /x/, /y/, and (b) the emphatic consonants Is/, /z/, //, /d/, /r/. Examples are wabbax 'to scold', wadda6 'to clarify', lammaT 'to polish', naddaf 'to clean', kassil 'to be lazy', Tayyin 'to appoint'. ________Ii" ~I * Except for the first, all of the measures listed in the chart are "derived". I . EGYPTIAN ARABIC 297 REFERENCE GRAMMAR a 6. In the imperfect tense, Measure I of sound triliterals is yiFiiL U ( i.e., yiFTiL, yiF~aL, or yiFTuL ). It is impossible, given a sound perfect-tense form of the measure FataL, to predict with certainty the imperfect form. Nevertheless, the following rules facilitate prediction in a large number of instances : (a) The stem vowel is /a/ next to a guttural ( i.e., /?/, /h/, /6/, and /T/ ); e.g., yis?al 'he asks', yinhab 'he plunders', yisma6f 'he allows', yilTan 'he curses'. Notice, however, that the stem vowel is not usually /a/ next to a glottal stop which corresponds to /q/ in the Modern Stan- dard Arabic pronunciation of the verb; e.g., yir?ud 'to lie down' (Standard : /yarqud/). (b) The stem vowel is /u/ next to a back consonant which is not a guttural or next to an emphatic consonant, provided that the other adja- cent consonant is not a guttural. The consonants in question are /q/, /k/, /g/, /X/, /Y/ and the emphatic consonants are /s/,, /;/, /t/, /d/, and /r/. Examples are : yisqul 'to burnish', yiskun 'to dwell', yisgud 'to bow down', yidxul 'to enter', yizyud 'to nudge', yiRsud 'to reap', yinzur 'to look, yi9tub 'to cancel', yirfud 'to refuse', yiFifur 'to dig'. The stem vowel is usually /U/ if it is adjacent to a glottal stop which corresponds to a /q/ in the Standard pronunciation; e.g., yir?ud 'to lie down ' (Standard /yarqud/), yis?ub 'to pierce' (Standard : /yaequb/). (c) Otherwise, the stem vowel is /1/; e.g., yiibid 'to worship', yixdim 'to serve', yinsif 'to blow up (something)'. 7. The imperfect of FiTiL is usually yiFiaL; e.g., 'ilim 'to know': ylilam, rikib 'to ride': yirkab, tiwil 'to become tall': yitwal. Some exceptions are Timil 'to do': yiTmil, libis 'to wear': yilbis, nizil 'to descend': yinzil. 8. Given a perfect form of the measure FaaL, it is impossible to fore- cast the imperfect form. Notice that for Measure I of hollow verbs there are three imperfect shapes ( yiFuuL, yiFiiL, and yiFaaL ) but only one perfect shape ( FeaL ). The student is therefore advised to learn the imperfect form of each Measure I hollow verb, and from it to obtain the perfect counterpart. The alternative to this procedure is to learn both the perfect and the imperfect as items. EGVPTIAN ARABI C 298 REFERENCE GRAMMAR %.%off AI A0s% IZT 9 EERm RM A 9. In the case of Measure I defective verbs, the imperfect forms are not totally predictable from the prefect forms. Of the imperfect forms listed, yiFTu and yiFi are relatively rare : (a) The form yiFfu pertains to a few--but not to all-verbs whose last radical is /w/ :I Perfect Imperfect raga 'to implore' (root: rgw) yirgu sama 'to be eminent' (root: smw) yismu data 'to invite' (root: dew) yid-i aka 'to complain about' (root: 9kw) yi ki (b) yiFTi is the imperfect of FiTi in a few instances; in most cases, the imperfect of Fi'i is yiF : I Perfect Imperfect giri 'to run' yigri nisi 'to forget' yinsa li?i 'to find' yi l?a ridi 'to be satisfied' yirda 10. When the second syllable of the imperfect contains /u/ or /uu/, the prefix is yi yU; e.g., y ixrug -yuxrug_ 'to go out', yi6utt yuRutt 'to put', yiruu6 ^1yuruu6 'to go'. 11. The /n/ of Measure VII is usually replaced by /m/ before the labial consonants /b/, /f/, and /m/ :I imbaa? 'to be sold' yimbaa? imfagar 'to explode' yimfigir immaaI 'to vanish' yimm i i 12. Each triliteral measure has more than one shape; in other words, a measure is a class of shapes. For example, Measure IV embraces the shapes aFSaL (sound), aFaSf (doubled), aFaaL (hollow), and aFa (defective). The differences between these shapes are predictable in terms of general phonological rules which hold true throughout the language ( e.g., /awa/ -- /aa/ ). Through the application of the rules in question, the sound shape yields the other shapes ( e.g., FawaL and FayaL become FaL ). For this reason, the sound shape stands for the measure as a whole, and the 3 other shapes are considered variants. *** *** *** EGYPTIAN ARABIC 299 REFERENCE GRAMMAR VERBAL NOUNS : DEFINITENESS An Arabic noun is indefinite when its meaning is ambiguous ( i.e., when it is likely to elicit the question "Which one?" ). It is definite when its meaning is not ambiguous ( i.e., when it does not normally elicit the question "Which one?" ). Abstract verbal nouns ( see Verbal Nouns : Meaning ) have unambiguous designations, and for that reason they are definite in form. Consider, for example, the underlined verbal nouns in the following sentences : 1. ilTilm aFsan min iggahi. 'Education is better than ignorance.' 2. fahm ilmulkila di sa~b. 'Understanding this problem is difficult.' One who hears sentence 1 would not normally ask "Which education?" or "Which ignorance?" because reference is to education and ignorance in general. Likewise, one who hears sentence 2 is not likely to ask "Which understanding?" In other words, il ilm, iqggahi, and fahm ( as used in the above sentences ) are definite in meaning. For this reason, they have definite forms. Notice that the English equivalents are not pre- ceded by the. This fact often misleads students who try to fashion Arabic expressions after English ones. The statement that abstract verbal nouns are definite in form means that such verbal nouns occur (a) with the definite article or (b) as the first term of a construct phrase : ittadriis sa~b. 'Teaching is difficult.' tadriis illIuya I?ingIliziyya 'Teaching English is difficult.' satb. Concrete ( i.e., not abstract ) verbal nouns may be definite or indefi- nite in form : ?areena tta?rirt. 'We read the report.' ?areena ta?riir. 'We read a report.' *** *** *** I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 300 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I VERBAL NOUNS : DERIVATION Listed below are the verbal nouns of the various triliteral verb forms. In each case, the verb form precedes the verbal noun, with a colon sepa- rating the two. Examples are given in parentheses. I I I I I I I I I I U I I I I I I I I I I. I I I I I I Sound Double I Fa'iaL,, FISIL: F8a: (1) FaTT (?add 'tocon' iddsdd tobci (1) Transitive: Fa'?L (akal 'to eat': ski, darab sadd, radd 'toanwr: adIm 'tgtl 'to beat': darb) etc. lamm) (2) Intransitive: (a) Muan. FaT IIiLp especially (2) Less commonly Fu~,Fi fab'olv' from verbs denoting sound (sarax 'to scream': wadd 'to desire' wl) suraax, nabafi 'to bark' : nuba1 za?ar 'to roar': za?llr, ph[ 'to neigh': sahill) (b) FUSTUUL (daxal 'to enter': duxuul, @ to exit': xuruug, rikib 'to ride's rukuub, tIS 'to ascend':s ~u, nizil 'to descend': nuzuul, wI?If 'to stand': wu?uuf) II FaTT L: taFT1IL (~~a 'to fortify': tafislin, FaSTS TS: taFSTIIT (karrar'trea': akl, a darnis 'to teach': tadrils)a sabb Ib.'to cause':tslb III FaaTIL: (1) mufa fLa (?aabll 'to meet': mu~abla, T~amil 'to treat': muTamla) (2) Infrequently, as an alternate of munfa a, FI~aaL (?aatll 'to fight with': ?Iaal, gaa4i± 'to argue with': gidaai) IV aFS~aL: 1FiaaL (a dam 'to execute': ISdam) aFaS'S: lFS~aaT (aS~add 'toprae(smtig' ISdd ag~ 'to admit':sg~a~ V ItFa'I L:- taFaTTUL (Itfassan 'to be fortified': ItFaST T: taFaTSuST (Itkarrr'ob reatd:tkr a_______ Isali 'to receive': tasallum) a ltbaddld 'to bedipre' tbadd VI ItFaaTIL: taFaaSTuL (Itkaatlb 'to correspond with each other': takastub) VII InFaS~aL: InlflFaaL (Insafiab 'to withdraw': Inslftaab) lnFaTT: InFI ~aa (tnga??'tspi: nla? VIII IWtaS~aL: IWtli~aL (I1tarak 'to participate': i1tIrpak) iFta T? : IFliaaT O(fttadd 'obcm nr' ftda ix IFSaLL: IFSLaaL (jjjmar 'to turn red': Ifmlraar) X IstaFi'aL: IstIFSaaL (jtaftba 'to act stupid': IstIS~baat) IstaFaTT: IstiFSaS (stlaSad'ogtrdy:I Sd - - - -- -- m -- m -M -m- iubb, '-4 ni ad) m --- - - - - - - - - - - I-- Hol1l1ow Dfec~rti ve %IP o.16 - FaaL: (1) When medial radical is /w/; FOOL (maat 'to die': moot, naam 'to sleep': noom) etc. (2) When medial radical is /Y/: FeeL (maal 'to be inclined': meal, baaT 'to sell': bees') etc. FCaTa: Fa~y (?ala 'to boil (something)'; ?aly, tw to fold':ta. rama 'to throw away'I: rainy, sara 'to attempt': siy bara 'to sharpen':bay etc. FITl: Fai~ayaan (ir 'to run': garayaan, TIMI 'to become blind': STamaypan, nisi 'to forget': nasayaan) nIl ii Fai 4- TVIL: taFi'IL (STawwar 'to injure': tai~wlir, ayad 'to paint': tabylId, kawwln 'to form': takwiIn, Sayyln 'to appoint': tTy-T~Tn) III FaiL: (1) muFaSTLa (fiaawll 'to try': mufiawla,~~j 'to inspect': mui~ayna) (2) Infrequently, as an alternative of muFaVLa, - Fii~aaL(aal 'to live next door to': g Iwaar) FaQ-Ta: taF 'Iya (rabba 'to rear': tarblya, sanna 'to name': tasmivya) Faaja: muFa'aat (daawa 'to administer medical treat- ment to': mudawaat, saawa 'to treat equally': musawaat) IV aFaaL: IFaaLa (azaal 'to remve': Izaala, aS~aad 'to aFS~a: -IFaa? (ayua 'to entice': Ira.ah t n repeat' : iiaada) (something)': Iflhaa?) V ltFaTTIL: taFaT~SuL (Ittawwar 'to evolve': taawr ItFaSTia; taFai'VI (Itmanna 'to wish':ti$ afi ltiawwld 'to be accustomed': tai~awwud, Itfiayy n 'to take advantage of an opportu- nityl : tafiayyun) Vi ItFaai'IL: taFaaS~uL (It aawin 'to cooperate': ta~'aawunt ltFaa~a: taFta~ (Itfaada 'to avoid':t@ al itfiaayll 'to plead': tafiaayuI) VII InFaaL: InFlyaaL (lnsaab 'to flow': jjsyaa) InFai~a; 1nFI~aa? (Inafia 'to vanish': nmfa) VIII IFtaaL; IFtlyaaL (Ifitaag 'to be in need': Ifitlyaag) IFtai~a: IltISaa? (Intaha 'to end': Intha? Ix IFi~aLL: IFiiLaaL (Iswadd 'to turn black': iswldaad, Ibyadd 'to turn white': j1byjdad) x IstaFaaL: IstaFaaLa (Istagaab 'to respond'# Istigaaba# jlstaFSa: IstlFaa? (Istayla 'to considrsmehn .3 03 LA) Istafaad 'to benefit': I1stlbaada) expensive': Istlylaa?, Istawla 'to take over; to 'seize'; lstlwlaa?) U EGYPTIAN ARABIC 304 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I The following notes pertain to the above chart : 1. Measure I verbs, especially the sound, have unpredictable verbal nouns. The student is therefore advised to learn the verbal noun for each Measure I verb as an item. 2. Measure II verbs ( especially when designating causation or inten- I sification ) usually take the verbal nouns specified for them in the chart. A few, however, take unpredictable shapes of which the most com- mon is Fa~aaL. Examples : darris 'to teach': tadriis, 6addid 'to spe- cify': ta6dilid, tawwar 'to develop, to advance (something)': tatwiir, rabba 'to rear': tarblya, kassar 'to smash': taksiir, ?attil 'to slaugh-j ter': ta?tiil, but kallim 'to talk to (someone)': kalaam. Some derived verbs ( especially those of Measure II which denote causation and those which are associated with Standard Arabic ) take the verbal nouns specified in the chart as well as the verbal nouns of the source verbs ( when such source verbs exist ). Derived verbs I with no corresponding source verbs take the verbal nouns specified in the chart. The specific implications of these general statements are as follows : (a) Verbs of the measure istaFaTaL take the verbal nouns of the cor- responding Measure X verbs ( which explains why the measure istaFaTaL is excluded from the chart ). Thus i starayyaR 'to rest' takes the verbal noun of istaraaf 'to rest', namely, istiraafa. Some verbs of the measure istaFafaL have no source verbs of Measure X; notwithstanding this fact, such verbs take the verbal nouns which would be taken by Measure X verbs I ( e.g., istafammam 'to take a bath': isti6maam ). (b) Derived verbs with it- usually take the verbal nouns of the source verbs : (i) Verbs of the measures itFa iaL almost always take the verbal nouns of the corresponding source verbs ( which explains the exclusion of itFaiaL from the chart ). Examples : itkatab 'to be written': kitaaba, itadd 'to be counted': ?add, itiaal 'to be carried': Meel, itbara 'to be sharpened': bary. (ii) Verbs of Measure V usually take the verbal nouns of the cor- responding Measure II verbs. Some Measure V verbs take the verbal nouns specified for them in the chart. These usually take, in addition, the U EGYPTIAN ARABIC 305 REFERENCE GRAMMAR verbal nouns of the corresponding Measure I and Measure II verbs ( if such Measure I and Measure II verbs exist. ). Examples : itTallim 'to learn': tata1im, itfiaddid 'to be specified': tafidlid, itTawwid 'to be accustomed': tawid, Itrabba 'to be reared': tarbiya, itmarrad 'to rebel': tamarrud, itraddad 'to hesitate': taraddud, itTazzlb 'to suffer': ta'azzub or taziib or Tazaab, iltyayyar 'to change (intransitive)': tayayyu. or tayyiir, itkallim 'to speak': takallum or kalaam. (iii) Verbs of Measure VI usually take the verbal nouns of Measure III. Some Measure VI verbs take the verbal nouns specified for them in the chart; these verbs usually take, in addition, the verbal nouns of the corresponding Measure III verbs ( if such Measure III verbs exist ). Examples : lt?aabil 'to meet each other': mu?abla, itbaara 'to compete with each other': mubaaat, itTaamil 'to deal with each other': muTamla, itdaawa 'to receive medical treatment': mudaweat, itnaazil 'to relinquish': tanaazul, itraakum 'to pile up': taraakum, itmaada 'to go to extremes': tamaadi, itbaadil 'to exchange with each other': tabaadul or mubadla. (c) Other derived verbs usually take the verbal nouns specified for them in the chart; they may also take the verbal nouns of the correspond- ing source verbs ( when such source verbs exost ). Examples : Faakim 'to try (in court)': mufiakma, raasil 'to correspond with': murasia, 6aasib 'to call (someone) to account': mu6asba or fiisaab, gaalis 'to sit with (someone)': mugalsa or guluus, aryam 'to force': iryaam, adrak 'to realize': idraak, anzar 'to threaten': inzaar, askan 'to allocate living quarters to (someone)': iskaan, axrag 'to let out': ixraag or xuruug, insaraf 'to depart': insiraaf, in a?ad '(for a meeting) to be held': inii?aad or Ta?d, inkasar 'to break (intransitive)': inkisaar or kasr, infata6i 'to open (intransitive)': infitaa6 or fat6, intaha 'to end (in- transitive)': intihaa? or nihaaya. The verbal nouns of quadriliteral verbs are as follows : () From Measure I verbs, the verbal noun is FafLaLa; e.g., targim 'to translate': targama, daGirag 'to roll (something)': daraga, marga6 'to swing (someone)': margaa. (2) Measure II verbs take the verbal nouns of the corresponding source ( i.e., Measure I ) verbs; e.g., idda6rag 'to roll (intransitive)': daraga, EGYPTIAN ARABIC 306 REFERENCE GRAMMAR ittargim 'to be translated': targama, itmarga6f 'to swing (intransitive)': marga6a. (3) From Measure IV verbs, the verbal noun is iF'iLLaaL ( where the two medial L's stand for different consonants ); e.g., itma?ann 'to be re-assured': itmi?naan, iq aarr 'to shudder': igiTraar. VERBAL NOUNS : DERIVING THE "NOUN OF QUALITY" The ending -iyya is added to certain nouns--many of which are verbal nouns--to produce the form known as "the noun of quality". The noun of quality expresses the designation of the source noun as a general con- cept, a doctrine, a quality, or a totality; the noun of quality is there- fore similar to English nouns which end in -ism or -ity. In the examples below, the source noun precedes the colon : I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 9uyuuT i9tiraak wuguud i nsaan i lmasii15 'spread' 'participation' 'existence' 'human being' 'Christ' uyu?iyya I tirakiyya wugudiyya insaniyya masiRiyya 'communism' 'socialism' 'existentialism' 'humanity' 'Christianity Not all nouns can yield the noun of quality, and no general rule delin- eates the nouns which can. The student must therefore learn the nouns of quality as items. Singular nouns of quality are feminine. VERBAL NOUNS : DERIVING THE NOUN OF SINGLE OCCURRENCE Certain nouns designate an event which has taken place once. is the underlined word in the following sentence : simi t sarxa waraaya. 'I heard a scream behii An example nd me.' I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 307 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Such nouns are formed by adding the feminine suffix -a to verbal nouns. It must be emphasized that not every verbal noun can yield a noun of single occurrence, and that no infallible rule can be given to determine which verbal nouns yield the noun of single occurrence. The following are helpful--though not fool-proof--guidelines : 1. Most nouns of single occurrence are derived from the verbal nouns FaTL and taFSiiL. Examples : ramya 'a throw', taxriima 'a shortcut', taTwiira 'an injury'. 2. Verbal nouns other than FaTL and taFT|iL rarely yield the noun of single occurrence. Some nouns of single occurrence have acquired a semantic extension in addition to the basic designation. Thus akla is not only 'an act of eat- ing' but also 'a meal'; likewise, darba is not only 'an act of striking' but also 'a plague'. All nouns designating a single occurrence form the plural by the addi- tion of -aat. The dual is formed by the addition of -een : Singular Plural Dual ramya 'a throw' ramyaat ramyiteen akla 'a meal' aklaat akliteen taxri ima 'a shortcut' taxrimaat taxrimteen *** *** *** VERBAL NOUNS : GENDER OF THE SINGULAR FORM A singular verbal noun ( whether abstract or concrete ) is usually mas- culine unless it ends in -a. Thus of the following forms, the ones on the left are masculine and the ones on the right are feminine : Tard 'an offer' d i raasa 'an academic discipline' 'amaI 'a task' kitaaba 'a writing' tasriii6 'a permit' mu?abla 'an interview' intiqaad 'a criticism' istigaaba 'a response' darb 'beating' ibaada 'exterminating' *** *** *** EGVPTIAN ARABIC 308 REFERENCE GRAMMAR VERBAL NOUNS : MEANING I A verbal noun names the action designated by the corresponding verb. For example, the verbal noun diraasa 'studying' names the action which is designated by the verb daras 'to study'. Similarly, the verbal noun aki 'eating' names the action which is designated by the verb akaI 'to eat'. The meaning of a verbal noun can be either abstract or concrete, as is I evident from conparing the underlined words in the following sentences : (1) ilkitaab da mit kuwayyis. 'This book is not good.' I (2) il?akl ?abl innoom mubaagaratan 'Eating immediately before sleep- mudirr. ing is harmful.' The noun ilkitaab denotes a discrete object with one unit of lexical meaning; for this reason, (a) it can be counted, and (b) it is equally capable of being definite or indefinite. In this sense, ilkitaab is concrete. That countability is a distinctive characteristic of concrete nouns is self-evident; what may not be self-evident is the fact that un- restricted freedom to occur as either definite or indefinite is also a I distinctive characteristic of concrete nouns. A noun is indefinite if it is ambiguous ( i.e., if it is likely to elicit the question "Which one?" ) and definite if it is unambiguous ( i.e., if it is not likely to elicit the question "Which one?" ). It is about concrete entities that we normally ask the question "Which one?" and it is therefore the nouns designating such entities that may be either definite or indefinite. ( For further comments on the meaning of definiteness, see: Definite I Article : Meaning ). The verbal noun i I?akI has a generic meaning ( 'eating in general' ) I rather than a discrete referent, and for that reason (a) it cannot be counted, and (b) it is usually definite. In this sense ii?akl and verbal nouns like it are abstract. 3 The abstract meaning discussed above constitutes the "basic" designation of verbal nouns. In addition to that meaning, some verbal nouns have acquired concrete meanings; for example, d i rasa can be used with abstract meaning, 'studying', but it can also be used with the concrete meaning I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 309 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 'a discipline'; again, TamalI can be used with the abstract meaning 'work- ing', but it also can be used with the concrete meaning 'a job.' Verbal nouns differ from verbs in that the latter designate tense and aspect while the former do not; this fact is evident from the difference in meaning between the following sentences : libs ilfustaan da 9eeb. innik bitilbisi Ifustaan da Teeb. innik Ratilbisi Ifustaan da Teeb. innik libisti Ifustaan da 'eeb. 'Wearing this dress is shameful.' 'The fact that you wear this dress is shameful.' 'The fact that you will wear this dress is shameful.' 'The fact that you wore this dress is shameful.' *** *** *** VERBAL NOUNS : NUMBER Abstract verbal nouns are not countable : they are considered gramma- tically singular, and-they can be made neither dual nor plural. Concrete verbal nouns, on the other hand, have singular, dual and plural forms. In the first sentence below, the underlined word is an abstract verbal noun; in the other four, the underlined words are concrete verbal nouns : ittaliiim fissiyar zayy inna? Ta I1iagar. kaanu biynaadu b-taTliiim yari ib. kaanu biynaadu b-talimeen mil taliim waahid. kaanu biynaadu b-talat taa I i im. ittaTaliim illi biynaadu bliha yarilba. 'Training (a person) in (his) childhood is similar to engraving on stone.' (i.e., one never for- gets what he learns as a child.) 'They preached a strange doctrine.' 'They preached two doctrines, not one.' 'They preached three doctrines.' 'The doctrines they preach are strange.' Concrete verbal nouns of Measure I triliterals are divisible into two I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 310 REFERENCE GRAMMAR %@-NW- as sp groups :I 1. Those which have sound plurals; most of the singular verbal nouns in this group are feminine forms ending in -a : Singular kitaaba diraasa Plural 'a writing' 'an academic discipline' kitabaat d i rasaat 2. Those which have broken plurals; the broken plurals in question. cannot be predicted with certainty and must therefore be learned as items. It is to be noted, however, that the plural of FaTL is often FuTuuL and that the plural of FataL is often aFaaL : Singular fa rd STa rd Tama I 'an assumption' 'an offer' 'a task, a job' Plural furuud 'uruud a Tmaa I The concrete verbal nouns of derived triliterals are usually formed by adding the sound feminine plural suffix -eat to the singular form : Singular Plural tasrii6 'a permit' tasri6aat taTbiir 'an expression taibiraat taTriif 'a definition' taTrifaat I I I I I U I I I I I I U mu?abla 6iwaar iqraar iyraa? tamanni tatawwur tanaaqud infigaar intiqaad iitiraaf 'an interview' 'a discourse' 'an admission' 'an incitement' 'a wish' 'a development' 'a contradiction' 'an explosion' 'a criticism' 'a confession' mu?ab I aat Riwaraat iqraraat iyra?aat tamann i yyaat tatawwureat tanaqudaat infigaraat intiqadaat i tirafaat I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 311 REFERENCE GRAMMAR &WPT AAI 9 A. R s f A, iC-311 --E-ERE- -E-GRAMMAI ist iTmaalI ist igaaba 'a usage' 'a response' ist iTmalaat istigabaat In addition to the sound plural in -aat, many (though not all) verbal nouns of Measure II triliterals have the broken plural taFaTiiL : Singular tasri iF taTbi ir taTri if Plural 'a permit' 'an expression' 'a definition' tasriRaat taTb iraat taTr ifaat tasari i tafab i i r taTari if The plural in -aat and the plural taFaii L are usually interchangeable; sometimes, however, they occur with different designations : thus t aa I i i m means 'doctrines, teachings' while ta T I imaat means 'instructions'. Some verbal nouns take one plural but not the other; for example, the plural of tanbiih 'admonition' is tanbihaat but not *tanabiih. The dual is formed by adding the suffix -een to the singular form : Singular fard ?ama I kitaaba d i raasa tasriiRf ist i Tmaa I targama etc. Dual 'an assumption' 'a task, a job' 'a writing' 'an academic discip- 'a permit line' 'a usage' 'a translation' fardeen Tamaleen kitabteen dirasteen tasr i feen ist iTmalIeen targamteen Concrete verbal nouns from quadriliteral verbs are rare, and of the ones that do occur FaTLaLa is the most common. The plural of FaTLaLa is Fa'aaLiL; e.g., targama 'a translation' : taraagim. *** *** *** VERBAL NOUNS : SYNTACTIC USAGE Verbal nouns occur in the slots where other nouns occur; thus a verbal I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 312 REFERENCE GRAMMAR noun may be used as subject of an equational sentence, subject of a verb, object of a verb, object of a preposition, predicate of an equational sentence, the first or second term of a construct phrase, etc. I I ilTamaI mi 9eeb. ittafliim yihazzib il?axlaa?. ana miL faahim ittaT'biir da. tifibt min lintizaar . ilwiFda Tibaada. kutr ittikraar yiallim I Rfumaar. 'Work is not shameful.' 'Education refines one' s character. 'I do not understand this expression.' 'I am tired of waiting.' 'Solitude is a form of worship.' 'Much repetition teaches (even) a donkey. ' Verbal Noun as the First Term of a Construct Phrase A verbal noun may occur as the first term of a construct phrase. In this context, the second member may be the subject or the object of the source sentence. Consider the following : 1. su?uut fariid fillimti6aan zaTTaIni. 2. Murb ilIxamra Faraam. 'Farid's failing the test upset me.' 'Drinking wine is unlawful.' U I I I I I I I I I I I In sentence 1., the underlined expression is derived from a sentence whose subject is fariid : fariid sa?at fillimti6aan. 'Farid failed the text.' In sentence 1 , then, the verbal noun su?uut 'failure' is in construct with the subject of the source sentence. In sentence 2 , the underlined expression is derived from a sentence whose direct object is ilxamra : innaas biyigrabu Ixamra. 'People drink wine.' In sentence 2 , then, the verbal noun gurb 'drinking' is in construct with the direct object of the source sentence. The source sentence determines not only the construct phrase but also whether certain elements must co-occur with that phrase : 1. If the source sentence contains no direct object, the verbal noun is in construct with the subject : I I I I EGVPTIAN ARABI C 313 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTiAN ARABIC 313 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Tali nigif. nagaa 'ali farraini. 2. If the source sentence contains a formation is one of the following : (a) Either the subject or the object is not omitted becomes the second term (i) fariida b-tifRtirim Tali. (ii) i6tiraam fariida mig mustayrab. (iii) i6tiraam Tali mig mustayrab. 'Ali succeeded.' 'Ali's success pleased me.' L single direct object, the trans- Sis omitted; the constituent which of the construct phrase. 'Farida respects Ali.' 'Farida's respect is not sur- prising.' 'Respecting Ali is not surprising.' Notice that the construct phrase of (ii) omits the object of the source sentence : i6tiraam far iida 'Farida's respect' does not indicate the recipient of respect; also notice that the construct phrase of (iii) omits the subject of the source sentence : i6t i raam a l i 'respecting Ali' does not indicate who respects Ali. It is clear from comparing (ii) and (iii) that phrases like i 6tiraam far i ida and i6tiraam al i would be ambiguous in the absence of the source sentence. When such phrases occur, the context must be relied on to resolve the ambiguity. (b) Neither the subject nor the object is omitted. The subject becomes the second member of the construct phrase, and the object is optionally preceded by the preposition li- : samiir akal iggibna. 'Samir ate the cheese.' aki samiir iggibna mazaTTalnii. 'Samir's eating the cheese did not upset me.' aki samiir liggibna mazaTfalnii. 'Samir's eating of the cheese did not upset me.' 3. If the source sentence contains two objects, the transformation is one of the following: (a) No omission takes place. The verbal noun is placed in construct with the subject. The preposition l i- is prefixed to the indirect object, and this prepositional phrase is placed after the direct object. EGYPTIAN ARABIC 314 REFERENCE GRAMMAR IRW - . %%W. w . v %wmwg v %OW VI-10'%f %two@-IW Sol% fariid allim ittalamiiz illuya ITarabiyya. tafliim fariid illuya lTarabiyya littalamiiz aaga masimiTti Tanha abadan. 'Farid taught the students the Arabic langauge.' 'Farid's teaching the Arabic lan- guage to the students is some- thing I never heard about.' (b) Omission is applied to the subject, the direct object, the indirect object, or any two of these : (i) If only the subject is omitted, the verbal noun enters into con- struct either with the direct object or with the indirect object. In the first case, the preposition l i- is prefixed to the indirect object. In the second case, IT- is not used at all. iaii Tallim ittalamiiz illuya IT arabiyya. tafliim illuya lTarabiyya littalamiiz gee? kuwayyis. tailiim ittalamiiz illuya I Tarab iyya gee? kuwayyis. 'Ali taught the students the Arabic language.' 'Teaching the Arabic language to the students is a good thing.' 'Teaching the students the Arabic language is a good thing.' I I I I I "1 I I I I I I I I I I (ii) if the subject is retained and only one object is omitted, the verbal noun is placed in construct with the subject. The preposition I I - is optionally added to the retained object ( addition being the norm ). Tali i allim ittalamiiz i lluya I Tarabiyya. tafliim Tali (li-) Illuya ITarabiyya gee? gamiil. tafliim Tali (li-) ttalamiiz gee? gamiil. (iii) If the subject and one of noun is placed in construct with the taliim illuya ITarabiyya saTb. taTilim ittalamiiz sab. 'Ali taught the students the Arabic language.' 'Ali's teaching the Arabic lan- guage is a good thing.' 'Ali's teaching the students is a good thing.' the objects are omitted, the verbal retained object. 'Teaching the Arabic language is difficult.' 'Teaching the students is difficult. *** *** *** I I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 315 REFERENCE GRAMMAR VOCATIVE PARTICLE A particle introducing a noun referring to the person addressed. There is one such particle in Egyptian Arabic : /ya/ ~ /a/ 'hey . . .'. ya mRfammad ya Rabiibi ya ustaaz 'Hey Mohammed!' 'Dear!' 'Mr.!' *** *** *** VOICING Refers to the vibration of the vocal cords or lack thereof during the production of a sound. A voiced consonant is one which is accompanied by vibration of the vocal cords, for example, /v/ in the English word "vine". A voiceless consonant is one which is produced without any accompanying vibration of the vocal cords, for example, /f/ in the Eng- lish word "fine". The difference between voicing and voicelessness can be felt strongly if one covers one's ears with one's hands, then pronounces English "fine" and "vine", paying attention to the /f/ and /V/. EA Voiceless Consonants EA Voiced Counterparts k q ? f s x g I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 316 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I Voiced consonants / m n I [r r rw y /. *** *** *** I VOWELS A vowel is a sound produced by unobstructed air passage through the oral cavity. I To produce a vowel sound, the tongue is arched High, Mid or Low in the mouth. The arching of the tongue is either toward the Front of the palate or the Back. Thus, we describe the vowels in terms of these parameters. We can, for example, say that // is a high front- vowe. The position of the lips, whether unrounded as in /i ,a/ or rounded as in /u,o/ is also important in describing vowel sounds. Vowels are voiced; that is, vowels are produced with vibration of the vocal cords. Egyptian Arabic Vowels I Short Long Front Back Front Back High I u i uu Mid e o ee 00oo Low a aa Arabic vowels present few difficulties to the learner. They are similar to the English vowels. The short vowels /i,u/ are like English 'hit' and 'put'. /8/ is the vowel of 'cot' next to emphatic consonants, and some- what like the [a] of 'fat' elsewhere. /e, 0/ are not very common. /e/ is pronounced almost like the vowel of English 'bet' and /0/ almost like that of English 'soap'. When short /e,o/ occur, it is sometimes difficult for a non-native speaker to distinguish them from short /i ,u/ respectively, particularly in rapid speech; e.g. : b4tna 'our house' brtna 'we spent the night' ?6tti 'my room' ?utti 'my cat (m)' U I I I I I I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 317 REFERENCE GRAMMAR T .A.O AIPC1RF.RNEGRMA Fortunately, the occurrence of short /e,o/ is not common in Egyptian Arabic. The long vowels /ii,uu,oo,ee/ are like those in English "feet", "food", "boat" and "bait", respectively. It must be mentioned that long vowels in Arabic are not glided. A glide is a transitional sound produced when the vocal organs shift from the articulation of one sound to the articu- lation of another sound. Notes on EA Vowels : a) In EA, words or utterances never begin with long. In all cases where a student hears what vowel, it is always /?/ + vowel. b) Short vowels occur stressed and unstressed, c) Long vowels occur only stressed. d) EA does not permit more than one long vowel two long vowels ( resulting from morphological a vowel, whether short or he thinks is an initial medially and finally. in a word; in the case of suffixation ), the first vowel is shortened and stress shifts to the second; e.g. : /96alu/ 'they carried' + /-u/ 'it (m)' ---) /galuu/ -- /gaIdu/ 'they carried it (m)' *** *** *** VOWELS : -a/ + /-eaat/ /-een/ Some feminine singular nouns end in /-eat/ is added, the /-a/ in question /-een/ is added, the /-a/ in question of three consonants would result ( in mudarr isa mudarrisaat muddrristeen nazra nazraat nazr i teen a's /-a/. When the sound plural suffix is deleted. When the dual suffix is replaced by /-t/ unless a sequence which case replacement is by /-it/ ) : 'a teacher (f)' 'teachers (f)' 'two teachers (f)' 'a principal (f)' 'principals (f)' 'two principals (f)' *** *** *** I I EGY1PTIAN ARABIC 318 REFERENCE GRAMMAR VOWELS : CONTRACTION I Note the difference between the masculine and feminine forms of the ad- jective aatir, gatra - atriln 'clever'. This difference is the result_ of the operation of two phonological rules in EA. The first rule states that an unstressed /1/ is elided if it precedes a consonant which is fol- lowed by a vowel which may or may not be across a word boundary (symbolized by #) or a morpheme boundary (symbolized +). Another way of stating the Vowel Elision rule is : , I This rule is applied when the feminine morpheme /-a/ is added to the mas- culine form of the adjective as follows : aatir + -a ---) aatra A second rule must now be applied in order to produce the feminine form of the adjective as it is actually pronounced. This rule states that a long vowel is shortened if it precedes two consonants, or if it is un- stressed. Another way of stating the Vowel Shortening rule is : VV -- v cc When the Vowel Shortening rule is applied to the output of the Elision rule the result is the feminine form of the adjective as it is actually pronounced : atraara aat ra -4 a ra Other instances of the application of these rules can be seen in the following paradigms : I I I I I FGVMAM ARMI C -119 REFERENCE GRAMMAR IV I AAR( .1 EFREC GAMA /b ita V in comibination with ronomiLnal suffixes bltaaV bitaaT bitaaV b itaV I ak 1 k bita~t bite Vt b i ta~t b ita~t ak 1 k u bituuV bituuV bituuV bit uuV ak 1 k u MY your (in) your Mf his 41 1~ 4 - bltaV bitaV bite V bitaV ha na kum hum bita~it bita~it bita~lt bita~it ha na kum hum bituV b ituV bituT bituV ha na kum hum her our your (P) their Notice the elision of /1 / in /b 1taa Vit/ before pronoinal suffixes begin'- ning with a vowel-. Also note the instances of vowel shortening. conjugation of /Vaa§/ (1) 'to live': huwwa h I yya humma i nta 1 nt 1 ntu ana i F6na Perfect Taal Taal it Taaiu VTil V il V I t U T ilt V i na Imperfect, biy~i il b it T i i 9 biy~i igu bit~i ig b it Ti i 9i bit~i igu bail ig bin~i ig Imperative Ti i Tiii T! 1g1 Notice that /Taal-/ is the form used for the third person mns, fs and p in the perfect. /TVi i J-/ is used with all other persons in the perfect; / 4?i ig/ in imperfect and iprative forms. Also notice the shortening of / ii / when a suffix beginning with a consonant is added. When two long vowels occur in the same word as a result of suffixation, stress is shifted to the final long vowel, and then the Vowel Shortening rule is applied to the first long vowel: ?Aalu 'they said' + -uh 'it (mn)'l-~ ?aalduh *** *** *** I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 320 REFERENCE GRAMMAR I VOWELS ELISION AT WORD 80UNDARIES TO AVOID VOWEL SEQUENCES Vowel sequences do not occur in EA.* When deletion of an elidible glottal stop (q.v.) would otherwise result in a sequence of two short vowels, one at the beginning of a word and the other at the end of the I preceding word, elision takes place in the manner specified below : 1. The final vowel of the first word is elided if it is /1/. 2. Otherwise, the initial vowel of the second word is elided. I /nifsi/ + /?aruuf/ = [nifsi] + [aruuf] = [nifs aruu6] 'I long to go.' /maTa/ + /?ibni/ = [maTa] + [ibni] = [maTa bni] 'with my son'I When the deletion of an elidible glottal stop would otherwise result in two adjacent vowels of which one is long and the other is short, the short vowel is elided : I /gafuu/ + /?imbaarifi/ = [afuu] + [imbaari6] = [gafuu mbaariR] 'they saw him yesterday' /$ufnaa/ + /?imbaariR/ = [ufnaa] + [imbaari] = [gufnaa mbaari] i 'we saw him yesterday' /guftii/ + /?imbaari5/ = [guftii] + [imbaariR] = [uftii mbaariFi] 'you (fs) saw him yesterday' * In this book, each of the symbols aa, ii and uu stands for a single long vowel rather than a sequence of vowels. ( Other systems of trans- cription use a, T and U to represent the long vowels of EA. ) *** *** *** VOWELS : ELISION OF /i/ AND /u/ FROM WORD-FINAL -ci If unstressed, the vowel of the word-final sequence -CC is elided in u/ two situations : 1. When the sequence is pronounced in close associaiton with a follow- ing word which begins with a vowel :I /madaaris/ + /iliukuuma/ = [madars iI6ukuuma] 'public schools' 2. When the sequence is followed by a prefix which begins with or con- I I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 321 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIN ARA-. 32 vEFEENCErraMMA-o-3Rs, sists of a vowel : /waa?if/ + /-in/ = [wa?fiin] 'standing (p)' /faahim/ + /-8/ = [fahma] 'understands (fs) The elision in question does not take place when it would result in a cluster of three consonants ( such a cluster is not permissible in EA ) : /yimsik/ + /ilkitaab/ = [yimsik ilkitaab] 'he holds the book' /yimsik/ + /-u/ = [yimsiku] 'he holds it (m)' *** *** *** VOWELS : ELISION OF /i/ AND /u/ FROM WORD-INITIAL c i c- If unstressed, the vowel of the word-initial sequence C C- is elided in U two situations : 1. When the sequence is pronounced in close association with a preceding word which ends in a vowel : /inta/ + /bitidris/ = [inta btidris] 'you (ms) study' 2. When the sequence is preceded by a prefix which ends in a vowel : /6a-/ + /tikallimu/ = [(atkallimu] 'she will talk to him' The elision in question does not take place if it would result in a cluster of three consonants ( such a cluster is not permissible in EA ): /inta/ + /bitruuf/ = [inta bitruu6] 'you (ms) go' /fa-/ + /tiktibu/ = [6atiktibu] 'she will write it (m)' VOW EL* *E* VOWELS: EXTRA Consonant clusters in EA comprise no more than two segments. When a sequence of three consonants would otherwise occur, a vowel is added be- tween the second and the third consonants; this is true not only in the individual word, but across word boundaries as well. 1. When, in a sequence of two words, the first word ends in two consonants EGVPTIAN ARABIC 322 REFERENCE GRAMMAR and the second begins with a consonant, a vowel is added to the end of the first word; the vowel is a variant of /i/ which is usually shorter and more lax than the other variants. In the following example, the extra vowel is represented by a raised I : /uft/ /raagi I/ [Euft raagil] 'I saw' I 'a man' 'I saw a man.' Notice the difference in pronunciation between [guft raagil] 'I saw a man' and [Iufti raagil] 'You (fs) saw a man': the final vowel of [tuft ] is pronounced as a shorter and more lax sound than the final vowel of [(uft i]. The raised I is often referred to as the helping vowel. Since its graphic representation is totally redundant, the helping vowel is not, as a rule, indicated by the script. 2. When the addition of a suffix to a word would otherwise result in a sequence of more than two consonants, a vowel is inserted between the second and the third consonants. The vowel in question is /u/ before /-hum/ 'them' and /-kum/ 'you (p)', /a/ before /-ha/ 'her', and /1/ other- wise. This extra vowel is stressed if required by the stress rules. Illustrations : U I I I U I /ka I b/ [ka lbIbhum] [kalb ikum] [ka lb Aha] [kal brna] 'dog' 'their dog' 'your (p) dog' 'her dog' 'our dog' /gi bt/ [gibti~hum] [gibtdkum] [gibtaha] [gibtflu] 'I brought' 'I brought them' 'I brought you (p)' 'I brought her' 'I brought (something) for him' /ka It/ [ma-ka It i-] 'I ate' 'I did not eat' /Tadd/ 'he counted' [ma-?addi-9] 'he did not count' U I I I I I I Statement 2. above has the following exception : when a suffix which begins with or consists of a consonant and which marks agreement with the subject is added to a doubled verb stem, /ee/ is inserted before the suffix : /sabb/ /sabbeet/ /sabbeena/ 'he cursed' 'I cursed' 'we cursed' *** *** *** I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 323 REFERENCE GRAMMAR VOWELS LENGTHENING OF SHORT VOWELS The final vowel of a form is lengthened when that form receives a suffix beginning with or consisting of a consonant : istanna istannaani 'he waited' 'he waited for me' fi fi ik in' 'in you' maTna ma Tnaaha 'meaning' 'its meaning' daTa 'he invited' madaTaa 'he did not invite' The major exceptions to this rule are listed below : 1. Feminine singular nouns ending in /8/ when they enter into construct with a pronominal suffix. In this context, the /a/ is replaced by /-it/. madrasa madrasit-na 'school' 'our school' 2. The preposition ?ala 'on' when combined with any pronominal suffix : ?a Ilay-ya ?al Iee-na Ta lee-k ?alee-ki Ta I ee-kum a lee-h ?alee-ha Ta I ee-hum 'on me' 'on us 'on you (ms)' 'on you (fs)' 'on you (p)' 'on him' 'on her' 'on them' 3. Prepositions ending in /1/ when combined with the pronominal suffix ya 'me'; e.g., the prepositions fi 'in', bi- 'by means of' and I i- 'for' are combined with ya in the following manner : f iy-ya biy-ya liy-ya EGVPTIAN ARABIC 324 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 4. Verb forms ending in / i/ or /a/ when combined with an agreement suf- fix. In this context, a verb-final /1/ is either lengthened or replaced by /ee/, while a verb-final /a/ is replaced by /ee/. The verbs nisi 'to forget' and data 'to invite' may be used as examples : (ana) (i frna) (inta) (inti) nis i-t nisi i-na nisi i-t ni si i-t i n i see-t n i see-na n i see-t nisee-ti da Tee-t daTee-na daTee-t da Tee-t i *** *** *** VOWELS : REPLACEMENrT OF -a IN N'OUN CONSTRUCTS Many feminine singular nouns end in -a. When such nouns enter into construct with a following form, the final -a is replaced by -t unless a sequence of three consonants would result ( in which case replacement is by -it ) : ma ktaba maktabt iggamTa maktabit gam'itna saaia sait i saTitna saafit al i ' a library ' 'the university library' 'our university library' 'a watch' 'my watch' 'our watch' 'Ali's watch' I I I I I I I I I U U U *** *** *** VOWELS : SHORTENING OF LONG VOWELS In general, a long vowel does not occur (a) before two consonants which are not separated or preceded by a break in speech, (b) prior to another long vowel in the same word, or (c) unstressed. Therefore, /11/ and /ee/ are replaced by /i/, /uu/ and /oo/ are replaced by /u/, and /aa/ is replaced by /a/ in the following situations : I EGVPTIAN ARABIC 325 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 1. When the addition of a suffix would cause the long vowel in question to occur before a cluster of two consonants : /yigi ib/ [yigibha] /beet/ [bitha] /Tuyuun/ [Suyunhum] /foo?/ [fu?na] /gaab/ [gabni] 'he brings' 'he brings her' 'house' 'her house' 'eyes' 'their eyes' 'above' 'above us' 'he brought' 'he brought me' 2. When two consecutive words are pronounced in close association, pro- vided that (a) the first word ends in -VVC and the second word begins with C-, or provided that (b) the first word ends in -VV and the second word begins with CC- : /mari id/ [marid xaalis] /sateerin/ [sa'tin wi nuss] /magnuun/ [magniun rasmi] /koom/ [kum basal] /igtimaa/ [igtimaT muhimm] /Rayibni i/ [fayibni fmasr] /rig lee/ [rigl, btirtiTg] 'sick' very sick' 'two hours' 'two hours and a half' 'crazy' 'unquestionably crazy' 'a pile' 'a pile of onions' 'a meeting' 'an important meeting' 'he will build it' 'He will build it in Egypt.' 'his legs' 'His legs are shaking.' EGYPTIAN ARABIC 326 REFERENCE GRAMMAR . -- . - - - v - %F w wlff W-05-90 Ike I% /6attuu/ [(attu fdurg] /banaa/ [bana mbaarif]l 'they put it' 'They put it in a drawer.' 'he built it' 'He built it yesterday.' 3. When an affix containing a long vowel is added, usually pronounced with one and only one long vowel : since an EA word is /mi i l/ [mi leen] /beet/ [biteen] 'a mile' 'two miles' 'a house' 'two houses' 'crazy (ms)' 'crazy (p) ' 'a pile' 'two piles' I I I I U I I I I I I, I /magnuu n/ [magnun in] /koom/ [kumeen] 4. When the addition of a suffix shifts the stress vowel in question : away from the long /fil a/ [Ai I ftha] /beeda/ [bid ftha] / ura/ [surftna] /k6ora/ [kurfthum] /diyaana/ [diyanfthum] 'a trick' 'her trick' 'an egg 'her egg' 'a picture 'our picture' 'a ball' 'their ball' 'a religion' 'their religion' I I I I I, Standard Arabic has a sound system which differs in many ways from the sound system of EA. Consequently, many Standard Arabic words do not con- form to the above rules. When such words are borrowed into EA, their Standard pronunciation may be altered to achieve conformity with the EA rules. Alternatively, those words may retain the Standard pronunciation I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 327 REFERENCE-GRAMMAR in spite of the EA rules. The first option is commonly exercised in in- formal situations, while the second is commonly exercised in formal or semiformal situations. The following are some examples : Informal Pronunciation Formal or Semiformal Pronunciation xassa isa?aat niqabaat isa?ft hum 'special (f)' 'insults' 'unions' 'their insult' xaassa isaa?aat n iqaabaat isaa?fthum Since it is completely predictable, the shortening discussed above does not have to be indicated in the script. *** *** *** I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I EG AN ARABI C 129lf 1=%A,.FERENCE GRAMMAR EGYP - A- RABIC- -Q RE-ERENEjGRAMMA WORD STRUCTURE The Arab grammarians use the root /F'L/ Jm. 'to do' to describe the various noun or verb patterns (q.v.). This designation and symbolization of word structure is followed in every grammar of Classical or Modern Standard Arabic. In applying this to Egyptian Arabic it is seen that the active participle ( See: Participles ) of the Measure I (q.v.) verb /katab/ 'to write' which is /kaatib/ 'writer, writing' is said to be of the /FaatiL/ pattern. Likewise, the verbal noun (q.v.) of the Measure II (q.v.) verb /baddal/ 'to change' is /tabdiil/ 'changing' which is said to be of the /taFi i iL/ pattern. *** *** *** WRITING SYSTEM Standard Arabic is written and read from right to left. There are twenty-eight letters ( or twenty-nine if we count the hamzah /,/, glottal stop ) in the alphabet, of which three are used for the vowels, /a,u, i/. The unconnected letters differ in form from the connected ones which, in turn, may vary in form, depending on whether they are initial, medial or final. Arabic dialects ( whether Eastern, e.g., Egyptian and Lebanese, or Western, e.g., Moroccan ) may be written in this alphabet. It should be noted that the written script differs to some extent from the printed. There is a substantial difference between the Western and EGYPTIAN ARABIC I OA 0 REFERENCE GRAMMAR Eastern handwriting which makes it somewhat difficult for some Eastern Arabs to read Western manuscripts. There used to be slight differences between the Eastern and Western printed forms, e.g., the place and number of the dots in the letters that represent /f/ and /q/, e.g., Written and printed Eastern Arabic have :I Written and printed Western Arabic had :I j j .. ff1j O j /qI/ Now, however, both Eastern and Western Arabic printers use the same letter type for the printing of Modern Standard Arabic. Also, Western handwriting I is tending towards a greater conformity with the Eastern style. I I I .I I I I I I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 331 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABIC 331 REFERENCE GRAM WIZ INDEX active participles: definiteness, 3 derivation, 4-6 gender of singular, 6-7 meaning, 7-10 number, 11-14 syntactic usage, 14-15 adjectival phrase introduced by bitaaT, 15-19 adjectival use of participles, 19-21 adjective, 21 agreement with nouns, 21-22 attributive construction (or noun-adjective phrases), 22-25 comparative and superlative, 25-26 functioning as predicate, 26-27 gender, 27 inflection for number and gen- der, 28-29 joined by coordinating conjunc- tions, 29-30 number and demonstratives, 30 relative (see: nisba adjective) relative clauses, 30-31 adverb, 31 adverbs, 32-34 manner, of, 34 affix, 35 agreement in construct phrases, 35 allomorph, 35-36 allophone, 36 alveolar, 36 ridge, 36 alveopalatal, 37 anaptyctic vowel (see: vowels, extra) anaptyxis, 37 antecedent, 37-38 Arabic, 38-39 article, variation of definite (see: definite article, form; definite article, meaning) articulation, 39-41 aspectual-temporal forms (see: verb, aspect; verb, tense) aspiration, 41 assimilation, 41-42 /-I-/ of definite article, 42-43 obstruents, of, 43-44 auxiliary (see: verb, auxiliaries) back vowel, 45 bilabial, 45 clause, relative (see: relative clauses with i I i) clause, structure with demonstratives, 47 cognate accusative construction, 48 collective nouns, 49 conditional sentences, 49-58 conjoining, 58-59 conjunctions, 59-74 consonant, 74 clear /I/ versus dark /1/, 75 distribution, 75 doubled, 76 emphatic (=--velarized, =pharyn- gealized, =flat), 76-77 plain, 77 pronunciation, 77-79 voiced / voiceless, 79 construct phrase, 79-80 construct state of nouns (see also: construct phrase), 80-81 count plural nouns (see: collective nouns) I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 332 REFERENCE GRAMMAR definite article: form, 83-84 meaning, 84-85 definite phrase (see: phrase ver- sus sentence) definiteness (see: agreement in construct phrases; definite article, form; definite ar- ticle, meaning) demonstratives, 86 dental, 86 discontinuous morpheme, 87 dropping of vowels (see: vowels, contraction) dual nouns, 87-88 durative form (see: frequentative form) elision (see: vowels, contraction) ellipsis, 89-93 embedding, 93-94 emphasis (see: consonant, emphatic) exclamations and oaths /itta aggub wililfaan/, 94-95 exhortative particle, 95 feminine noun in construct, 97 flap, 97 form versus function, 98 frequentative form, 98 frequentative particle, 99 fricative, 99 front vowel, 99 gender (see also: agreement in con- struct phrase; demonstratives; nisba adjectives; plural), 101 presentational particles, 102 glide, 102 glottal, 102 glottal stop, 102-104 grapheme, 104 haal (.aa), 105-106 hard palate, 106 helping vowel, (see: vowels, extra) high vowel, 106 hollow verb (see: verb, classifica- tion by root type) imperative formation, 107-109 forms in verb sequence, 109-112 negative, 112-114 responses, 114 social usage, 115-116 supplementary notes, 116-118 indefinite phrase (see: phrase versus sentence) indefinite subject, 118-120 independent personal pronouns (see: pronoun, personal) indicative mood, 120-121 intensifier, 121 interrogative (see: questions, alter- native; questions, information; questions, tags; questions, yes-or-no) interrogatives, 122 labiodental, 123 lateral, 123 lexeme, 123 lexicon, 123 linkage, 124 long vowel (see: vowels) low vowel, 124 manner adverbs (see: adverbs, manner) masdar, 125 measures definition, 125-127 intuitional reality of, 127-128 mid vowel, 128 minimal pair (see: phoneme) modals, 128-130 modifier, 130-131 morpheme, 131 morphophoneme, 131 nasal, 133 nasal cavity, 133 negation ma-, ma-.. ,-, and mii-mug, 133-137 negating a verbal noun, 138 negating a verbal sequence, 138-139 negating conditional sentences, 139 negating the sequence modal + verb, 140 the form balaag, 140-141 the form wala (see: conjunctions) negative imperative (see: impera- tive, negative) negative particles (see: negation: ma-, ma.,e4, and mig-mu ) nisba adjectives, 141-143 nominalization: definition, 143-145 without nominalizers: imperatives, 145-146 without nominalizers: questions, 146-148 I I I I I I I I I I I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 333 REFERENCE GRAMMAR EGYPTIAN ARABIC 333 REFERENCE GRAMMAR nominalized sentences, possibility of replacing certain constitu- ents by a noun, 148-149 nominalizer inn, 149-151 Isa 151-152 R, 152-155 noun (see also: collective nouns; dual nouns; gender; plural; verbal nouns), 155-156 basic, 156 human and non-human, 156-157 character, of, 158 instrument, of, 158 profession or occupation, of, 158-159 noun replacer ma difference from nominalizers, 159-160 function, 160+162 meaning, 162-163 noun, singular count (see: nume- rals: singular count nouns) numerals cardinal hundreds, indefinite construction, 163-164 cardinal millions and billions, indefinite construction, 164 cardinal 'one', indefinite construction, 164-165 cardinal numeral 'two', in- definite construction, ' 166-167 cardinals 3-10, indefinite construction, 167-168 cardinals 11-19, indefinite construction, 168 cardinals 20,30, 40...90, indefinite construction, 169 cardinal thousands, indefinite construction, 169-170 combinations of 1-99 with the cardinal hundreds, inde- finite construction, 170-171 combinations of (1) the cardi- nal millions with numerals below one million and of (2) the cardinal billions with numerals below one billion, indefinite con- struction, 171-172 numerals (cont'd.) combinations of the cardinal thou- sands with numerals below one thousand, indefinite construc- tion, 172-173 combinations of units with the cardinal tens above 19, inde- finite construction, 173 conjunction wi 'and' in numerical expressions, 173-174 definite cardinal constructions, 176-178 fractions, 178-180 ordinals 1-10, 180-182 ordinals above 10, 183-184 singular count nouns (SCN), 184 oath (see: exclamations and oaths) obstruents, 185 omission of vowels (see: vowels, con- traction) optative structures, 185-186 oral cavity, 186 organs of speech, 186-187 palatal, 189 particle, 189 passive meaning, 189-190 passivizable verbs, 190-192 syntax, 193-194 verb formation, 194-195 passive participles definiteness, 195 derivation, 196-199 gender of singular, 199-200 meaning, 200-202 number, 203-205 preceded by kaan, 206 syntactic usage, 206-208 pattern with roots, 208-209 pharyngeal, 209 pharynx, 209 phoneme, 210 phrase versus sentence, 210 plural, 210-211 possession, 211-213 prefix, 213 futurity, of, 213 preposition, 213-214 presentational particle (see also: adjectival phrase introduced by bitaa; possession), 214-215 pronominal suffixes with certain par- ticles, 215 EGVYPTIAN ARABIC 334 REFERENCE GRAMMAR pronoun, 216-217 personal, 217 relative (see: relative clauses with i II I) separation, of, 218 suffixes with auxiliaries, 219 suffixes with verbs, 219-220 qaaf (see: glottal stop) quadriliteral (= quadriradical verb, 221 questions alternative questions, 221-222 information questions, 222-228 tags, 228-230 yes-or-no questions, 230-231 radicals, types, 233 reduplicative verb, 233 relative adjective (see: nisba adjectives) relative clauses with ii , 234-235 relative pronoun i11 .i (see: adjec- tive: relative clauses; rela- tive clauses with i1 1 ) resonance cavities, 236 root, 236-237 script, 239-240 Semitic, 240 semi-vowel, 241 sentence, equational (see: phrase versus sentence) sentence structure, 241-252 separation, pronoun of (see: pronoun of separation) sequence of verbs, 252 shortening of vowels (see: vowels, contraction; vowels, shortening of long vowels) short vowels (see: vowels) slot, 253 stem, 253 stop, 254 stress, 254-255 suffix (see also: possession; pro- noun, personal; pronoun, suf- fixes with auxiliaries; pronoun, suffixes with particles), 255 /-a/--change in form to /-it/, 255 syllables, 255-256 tap, 257 tenseness, 257 triliteral roots, types, 258 unit nouns (see: collective nouns) uvular, 259 velar, 261 velum, 261 verb: agreement with the subject, 261-268 aspect, 268-269 auxiliaries, 269-275 bare form, 275 citation form, 275-276 classification by root type, 276- 277 kaan, 277-279 measuress meanings of derived verbal measures, 279-287 measures: primary and derived; 287 quadriliterals classified by stem measure, 288 subjunctive, 289-291 tense, 291-292 triliterals classified by stem measure, 292-298 verbal nouns: definiteness, 299 derivation, 300-306 deriving the "noun of quality" from, 306 deriving the noun of single occur- rence from, 306-307 gender of the singular form, 307 meaning, 308-309 number, 309-311 syntactic usage, 311-314 vocative particle, 315 voicing, 315-316 vowels, 316-317 /-a/ + /-aat/ /-een/, 317 contraction, 318-319 elision at word boundaries to avoid vowel sequences, 320 elision of 1/ and /u/ from word- final CuC, 320-321 elision of /i/ and /u/ from word- initial CuC-, 321 extra, 321-322 lengthening of short vowels, 323-324 replacement of /-a/ in noun constructs, 324 shortening of long vowels, 324-327 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I EGYPTIAN ARABIC 335 REFERENCE GRAMMAR word structure, 3 29 writing system, 329-330 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I U I I I Irl ^a I drovodv A I I A 4% 1 dr% or 10% EGYPTIAN ARABIC 337 REFERENCE GRAMMAR BIBLIOGRAPHY Abdel-Malek, Zaki N. The Closed-List Classes of Colloquial Egyptian Arabic, The Hague:' Mouton, 1972. Abdel-Malek, Zaki N. Numerals in Colloquial Egyptian Arabic, unpub. M.A. thesis, Georgetown University, 1964. Abdel-Massih, Ernest T. Advanced Moroccan Arabic, Center for Near Eastern and North African Studies, University of Michigan, 1974. Abdel-Massih, Ernest T. An Introduction to Egyptian Arabic, Center for Near Eastern and North African Studies, University of Michigan, 1975. Abdel-Massih, Ernest T. An Introduction to Moroccan Arabic, Center for Near Eastern and North African Studies, University of Michigan, 1973 Harrell, Richard S., Laila Y. Tewfik and George D. Selim. Lessons in Collo- quial Egyptian Arabic, Revised Edition, Georgetown University, 1963. Mitchell, T. F. Colloquial Arabic: The Living Language of Egypt, London, 1962. Wise, Hilary. A Transformational Grammar of Spoken Egyptian Arabic, Oxford, 1975. Wright, William (trans.). A Grammar of the Arabic Language, Cambridge, 1964. I I I I It I U I I I I I I I I I I I I B Publications of the Center for Near Eastern and North African Studies "University of Michigan BERBER (TAMAZIGHT) A COURSE IN SPOKEN TAMAZIGHT: MIDDLE ATLAS BERBER By ERNEST T. ABDEL-MASSIH. 1971. A REFERENCE GRAMMAR OF TAMAZIGHT: MIDDLE ATLAS BERBER By ERNEST T. ABDEL-MASSIH. 1971. A COMPUTERIZED LEXICON OF TAMAZIGHT (BERBER DIALECT OF AYT SEGEROUCHEN)A By ERNEST T. ABDEL-MASSIH. 1971. MOROCCAN ARABIC A COURSE IN MOROCCAN ARABIC By ERNEST T. ABDEL-MASSIH. 1970. AN INTRODUCTION TO MOROCCAN ARABIC By ERNEST T. ABDEL-MASSIH. 1973. ADVANCED MOROCCAN ARABIC By ERNEST T. ABDEL-MASSIH. 1974. EGYPTIAN. ARABIC AN INTRODUCTION TO EGYPTIAN ARABIC By ERNEST T. ABDEL-MASSIH. 1975. (Fourth Edition 1979) A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF EGYPTIAN ARABIC, Volume I: Conversations, Cultural Texts, Sociolinguistic Notes. By ERNEST T. ABDEL-MASSIH, A. FATHY BAHIG, EL-SAID BADAWI and CAROLYN KILLEAN. 1976. (Second Revised Edition 1978). 'I 'I EGYPTIAN ARABIC (CONTINUED) A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF EGYPTIAN ARABIC, Volume II: Proverbs and Metaphoric Expressions By ERNEST T. ABDEL-MASSIH, EL-SAID BADAWI, ZAKI N. ABDEL-MALEK and ERNEST N. McCARUS. 1978 (Preliminary Edition). A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF EGYPTIAN ARABIC, Volume III: A Reference Grammar of Egyptian Arabic By ERNEST T. ABDEL-MASSIH, ZAKI N. ABDEL-MALEK, EL-SAID BADAWI and ERNEST N. McCARUS. 1979 (Preliminary Edition). A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF EGYPTIAN ARABIC, Volume IV: Lexicon. Part I: Egyptian Arabic - English; Part II: English - Egyptian Arabic By ERNEST T. ABDEL-MASSIH, EL-SAID M. BADAWI, ZAKI N. ABDEL-MALEK and ERNEST N. McCARUS. 1979 (Preliminary Edition). PAN-ARABIC I A SAMPLE LEXICON OF PAN-ARABIC By ERNEST T. ABDEL-MASSIH. 1975. GENERAL NEAR EAST REFORMED ADMINISTRATION IN LEBANON By GEORGE GRASSMUCK and KAMAL SALIBI. 1964. AFGHANISTAN: SOME NEW APPROACHES Edited by GEORGE GRASSMUCK and LUDWIG W. ADAMEC with FRANCES IRWIN. 1969. PRELIMINARY INDEX OF SHAH-NAMEH ILLUSTRATIONS Compiled by JILL NORGREN and EDWARD DAVIS, with an Introduction by OLEG GRABAR. 1969. I I I I 3l10woT 0'3127 667 I