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In a previous post, we learnt about one feature that makes Arabic one of the few, most efficient languages in the world, and that feature is derivation: its productivity in terms of word formation.<\/p>\n
In today’s post, we’re looking at a specific aspect of this derivation process, and that aspect is the formation of place names from the basic morpheme or the root\u0627\u0644\u062c\u0650\u0630\u0652\u0631\u0652 \u00a0Al-jethr, which is usually the three consonants that make up most words in Arabic. These three consonants together with their vocalic melody (vowels) represent what is called a template. It’s through making changes to these vocalic melodies that new words are formed.<\/p>\n
Today, we’re going to learn how to form a place nouns with the vocalic melody of either 1- (a – a<\/strong>) or 2- (a\u00a0 – i<\/strong>)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n How does this formation process work?<\/strong><\/p>\n The majority of place nouns in Arabic starts with ‘ma’ \u0645\u064e\u0640 so an obvious thing to do is to add ‘ma’ to the beginning of the past tense of a verb (it’s usually the root of any Arabic word), but<\/em> you need to make changes to the template first><\/p>\n <\/p>\n For example, the template of the past tense form of the verb ‘prostrates’<\/strong> is:<\/p>\n S<\/em>a<\/em><\/strong>j<\/em>a<\/em><\/strong>da<\/strong> <\/em>\u0633\u064e\u062c\u064e\u062f\u064e<\/p>\n ***Now, to generate the place noun, you need to:<\/p>\n 1- remove the first and the final vowels from the verb template: sajada \u0633\u064e\u062c\u064e\u062f\u064e > sjad <\/strong>\u0633\u0652\u062c\u064e\u062f\u0652<\/strong><\/p>\n 2- Now add ma <\/strong>\u0645\u064e\u0640\u0640\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0to the beginning: sjad> masjad \u0645\u064e\u0633\u0652\u062c\u064e\u062f\u0652<\/p>\n 3- You need to either change the vowel in ‘sjad’ into (i) or keep it as it is. In this case, it needs to be changed to (i), so masjad> masjid \u0645\u064e\u0633\u0652\u062c\u0650\u062f\u0652<\/p>\n So here a mosque is a place where people pray and prostrate, which is a part of any prayer in Islam.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n How to know whether a place noun is (a- a) <\/strong>or (a – i)?<\/strong><\/p>\n You can check by turning the verb in the past tense to the present tense. If the second vowel (sa.ja<\/strong>.da) is (i) as in (yas.ji<\/strong>d) \u064a\u064e\u0633\u0652\u062c\u0650\u062f\u0652 , then the template of that place noun is (a- i) >> Masji<\/strong>d.<\/p>\n Another example of a place noun with the vocalic melody of (a-a) is:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u0645\u064e\u062c\u0652\u0644\u0650\u0633\u0652<\/p>\n Maj.li<\/strong>s<\/p>\n (Assembly)<\/p>\n Here, the root (past tense) of majlis is ja<\/strong>la<\/strong>sa, so the place noun would be:<\/strong><\/p>\n jalasa> majlis<\/strong><\/p>\n and not<\/u> ‘majlas’ because the present tense is ‘yajlis’ \u064a\u064e\u062c\u0652\u0644\u0650\u0633\u0652 \u00a0with (i).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n However, if the second vowel in the present tense is ‘a’ or ‘u’, then the rhythm of the place noun would be (a – a<\/strong>).<\/p>\n For example, the template of the past tense form of the verb ‘sowed’<\/strong> is:<\/p>\n Za<\/strong>ra<\/strong><\/em>\u0295a <\/strong><\/em>\u0632\u064e\u0631\u064e\u0639\u064e<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n To enerate the place noun>><\/p>\n 1- zara\u0295a \u0632\u064e\u0631\u064e\u0639\u064e > zra<\/strong>\u0295 \u0632\u0652\u0631\u064e\u0639\u064e<\/p>\n 2- zra\u0295> mazra\u0295 \u0645\u064e\u0632\u0652\u0631\u064e\u0639\u0652<\/p>\n 3- In this case, keep the vowel as it is because it is also ‘a’: ‘yazra<\/strong>\u0295’ \u064a\u064e\u0632\u0652\u0631\u064e\u0639\u0652 \u00a0in the present tense. So the place noun is mazra\u0295 \u0645\u064e\u0632\u0652\u0631\u0639\u0652<\/p>\n BUT<\/strong>! a farm is a feminine name in Arabic, so you just need to add the feminine marker ‘a’ \u0640\u0647 to the end of the noun to become> \u0645\u064e\u0632\u0652\u0631\u064e\u0639\u064e\u0647 \u00a0ma<\/strong>zra<\/strong>\u0295a<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Another (simple) example is:<\/p>\n la<\/em>\u0295iba \u0644\u0640\u064e\u0639\u0650\u0640\u0628\u064e<\/p>\n (played)<\/p>\n > \u0645\u064e\u0640\u0644\u0652\u0640\u0639\u064e\u0640\u0628\u0652 \u00a0Ma<\/strong>l\u0295a<\/strong><\/em>b<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0(Playground) – masculine noun.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n More Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u0645\u064e\u0646\u0652\u0632\u0650\u0644\u0652 –<\/strong><\/p>\n Man.zi<\/strong>l<\/p>\n \u00a0(House)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u0645\u064e\u0635\u0652\u0646\u064e\u0639\u0652 –<\/strong><\/p>\n Mas.na<\/p>\n (Factory)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u0645\u064e\u062f\u0652\u062e\u064e\u0644\u0652\u00a0 –<\/strong><\/p>\n Madkhal<\/p>\n (Entrance)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u0645\u064e\u062f\u0652\u0631\u064e\u0633\u064e\u0647\u00a0 – \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Madrasah<\/p>\n (School)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a previous post, we learnt about one feature that makes Arabic one of the few, most efficient languages in the world, and that feature is derivation: its productivity in terms of word formation. In today’s post, we’re looking at a specific aspect of this derivation process, and that aspect is the formation of place…<\/p>\n