Alif and Hamza Posted by aziza on Apr 15, 2009
Some grammarians regard alif (ا) and hamza (ء) as two distinct letters, while others regards them as two realizations of the same letter. They are a problematic aspect of Arabic writing and are often confusing to native and non-native speakers alike. In this posting, I hope to summarize some of the rules related to writing…
Happy Easter! Posted by aziza on Apr 12, 2009
Easter is a very special occasion for Christians and non-Christians alike in Egypt. For Christians, it celebrates Jesus Christ’s resurrection (عيد القيامة). It comes at the end of a 50-days fasting for Eastern Christians. Celebrating Easter typically lasts for a whole week, i.e. the last week of fasting, including celebrating Good Friday (الجمعة الحزينة), Ash…
Idafa Construction in Arabic Posted by aziza on Apr 9, 2009
Idafa construction (الإضافة) is a construction of 2 nouns. The first noun is indefinite, e.g. (كتاب) “book”, and the second noun is usually definite, e.g. (الطالب) “the student”. The meaning of both words become related with the relationship of ‘of’, i.e. the first noun is presented as one that belongs to or that is specific…
Negation of Arabic Sentences Posted by aziza on Apr 3, 2009
There are different particles used for negation in Arabic. (لا) is used to negate present tense verbs. It must be used immediately before the verb, e.g. لا أذهب إلى عملي بالسيارة. “I do not go to my work by car.” أصدقائي لا يحبون السفر معي. “My friends do not like travelling with me.” (ما) is…
Egyptian Arabic Proverbs Posted by aziza on Mar 27, 2009
Proverbs (الأمثال الشعبية) are an integral and a very prominent aspect of Arab culture. Each country has its own proverbs which reflect people’s nature and their beliefs. Proverbs are related to people’s everyday life and reflect their distinctive way of thinking about various situations. They have an important role in passing wisdom from one generation…
Colloquial poetry Posted by aziza on Mar 24, 2009
Arabic poetry is not only written in standard Arabic, but also in colloquial dialects. Colloquial poetry sometimes becomes songs. I believe that it is a very interesting genre, as it is closer to people’s lives, worries, dreams and trouble than Standard poetry, at least for me. In Egypt, colloquial poetry has been an integral part…
Expressing Future Actions in Arabic Posted by aziza on Mar 24, 2009
In Arabic, the future is not considered a tense of its own accord, but rather one of the modes of the present. It is formed by placing the word (سوف) before the present verb or by using the prefix (س) before the present forms of the verb. سوف أدرس اللغة العربية. “I will study Arabic.”…