The Closed-List Classes of Colloquial Egyptian Arabic 9783110907520, 9789027923226

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JANUA LINGUARUM STUDIA

MEMORIAE

N I C O L A I VAN WIJK D E D I C A T A edenda curat C. H. V A N

SCHOONEVELD

Indiana University

Series Practica, 128

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC

by

Z A K I N. A B D E L - M A L E Κ

1972 MOUTON THE HAGUE · PARIS

© Copyright 1972 in The Netherlande Mouton & Co. N.V., Publishers, The Hague. No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any other means, without written permission from the publishers.

Printed in The Netherlands

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am greatly indebted to Dr. Wallace Erwin, Dr. Karl Stowasser, and Dr. Solomon Sara who read the entire manuscript of this work and made many helpful suggestions.

My thanks are also addressed to seven

natives who, often at personal inconvenience, availed themselves for long sessions in which the material was checked and rechecked; they are:

Mrs. Maggie Souryal, Miss Magda Abu-Seif, Mrs. Amira Meleika,

Mr. Shenouda Abdel-Malak, Dr. Safwat Souryal, Dr. Saml Hanna, and Dr. Youssef Saad. This study is humbly dedicated to the memory of Dr. Richard Harrell, as a token of respect for the Oriental scholarship of which he was one of the worthiest, and as an expression of appreciation for his guidance and encouragement during my early years of graduate study. Zaki N. Abdel-Malek

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC

7

CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION

13

Purpose of the study Source material and variety of Arabic studied Previous studies Transcription Stress Morphophonemic notes (1) Consonant clusters (2) Elision (3) Shortening of long vowels (4) Word-initial phonemes (5) Absence of vowel sequences (6) Lengthening or replacing the final vovel of a form before the addition of suffixes (7) Assimilation (8) The construct state Alphabetical order

13 13 14 15 17 17 17 19 19 21 22 26 28 29 30

PART I. DEFINITION OF THE FORM CLASSES O F CEA Chapter I.

CLASS I: 1.1.1 1.1.2 1.1.3 1.1.A

II.

The Definite and the Indefinite Forms of Adjectives The Feminine Singular Forms of Adjectives The Plural Forms of Adjectives Adjectives Identical in Form with Nouns

CLASS II: 1.2.1

THE ADJECTIVE

THE NOUN

The Common Noun

33

33 34 34 36 38 38

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC

8 Chapter

Page 1.2.2

The Proper N o u n

III. CLASS III:

IV.

THE VERB Definition of the Verb

40

1.3.2

1.3.1.1 The first set of verbal contrasts 1.3.1.2 The second set of verbal contrasts 1.3.1.3 The third set of verbal contrasts Auxiliaries

40 42 45 46

CLASS IV FORMS

52

CLASS IV FORMS

NOUN DETERMINERS

57

2.1.1

58 58 58 59 59 60 61 61 61 62 62 63 63 63 65 65 66 67 67 67 68

2.1.2

2.1.3

2.1.A 2.1.5 2.1.6 2.1.7 2.1.8 2.1.9 2.1.10 2.1.11 2.1.12

II.

40

1.3.1

PART II. I.

39

Quantifiers 2.1.1.1 quantifiers of Type 1 2.1.1.2 quantifiers of Type 2 Intensifiers 2.1.2.1 Intensifiers of Type 1 2.1.2.2 Intensifiers of Type 2 Distributors 2.1.3.1 Affirmative distributors 2.1.3.2 Negative distributors The Form /lawla/ /waaw ilHaal/ The question Words /anhu/ and /anhi/ The Dual Suffix /-een/ The Vocative Particle The Relation Indicator The Comparison Particle The Morpheme /fii/ Pointers 2.1.12.1 Pointers of Type 1 2.1.12.2 Pointers of Type 2 2.1.12.3 Pointers of Type 3

PREPOSITIONS

70

2.2.1

71

2.2.2

Simple Prepositions 2.2.1.1 The relative frequency of simple prepositions Compound Prepositions 2.2.2.1 /min/ + a preposition 2.2.2.2 Other combinations of prepositions

79 81 81 82

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC Chapter

Page 2.2.3

Prepositions with Pronominal Suffixes 2.2.3.1 The prepositions /min/ and /9an/ 2.2.3.2 The preposition /Hawaleen/ 2.2.3.3 Prepositions ending in a vowel 2.2.3.4 Prepositions other than /min/, /9an/, /Hawaleen/, and those ending in a vowel

III. CONJUNCTIONS 2.3.1 2.3.2 2.3.3 2.3.4 2.3.5 IV.

V.

82 82 82 83

84 87

Introductory Conjunctions Conjunctions Conjunctions The Relative

Remarks of Type 1 of Type 2 of Type 3 Frequency of Conjunctions

87 89 96 102 104

NOMINALIZERS

106

2.4.1 2.4.2 2.4.3

108 109 109

Class IV Forms Plus /ma/ Nouns Plus /ma/ Class IV Forms Plus /inn/

PREPOSITIONAL CLASSIFIERS 2.5.1 2.5.2 2.5.3 2.5.4 2.5.5 2.5.6 2.5.7

VI.

9

The The The The The The The

Prepositional Prepositional Prepositional Prepositional Prepositional Prepositional Prepositional

110 Classifier Classifier Classifier Classifier Classifier Classifier Classifier

/been/ /bi-/ /fi/ /li-/ /min/ /9ala/ /9an/

QUESTION WORDS

VII. EXCLAMATIONS

111 112 113 113 114 114 116 117 120

2.7.1

Introductory Remarks

120

2.7.2 2.7.3 2.7.4

Exclamations of Type 1 Exclamations of Type 2 Exclamations of Type 3

121 121 122

VIII.ADVERBS 2.8.1

126 Adverbs That Usually Follow the Head 2.8.1.1 The pointers /da/, /di/=/diyya/= /diyyat/, /dool/, /dukha/ = /dikha/=/dikhat/, /dukhum/ = /dikhum/

126

126

10

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN

ARABIC

Chapter

Page 2.8.1.2

2.8.1.3 2.8.1.4 2.8.1.5

2.8.2

2.8.1.6 Adverbs 2.8.2.1 2.8.2.2 2.8.2.3 2.8.2.4

Forms which, besides indicating that a n u t t e r a n c e is a q u e s t i o n , f u n c t i o n as m o d i f i e r s 127 Some forms i n d i c a t i n g p l a c e 127 Some forms w h i c h i n d i c a t e time 128 Some forms i n d i c a t i n g d e g r e e , q u a n t i t y , or a d d i t i o n 128 Some f o r m s w h i c h i n d i c a t e m a n n e r 129 W h i c h U s u a l l y P r e c e d e the H e a d 129 Some f o r m s that i n d i c a t e d o u b t , p r o b a b i l i t y , w i s h , or h o p e 130 Some f o r m s w h i c h i n d i c a t e approximation 130 Some forms w h i c h i n d i c a t e intensification 131 Some forms w h i c h i n d i c a t e continuation 131

IX.

MODALS

134

X.

REPLACERS

137

2.10.1

2.10.2 2.10.3 XI.

R e p l a c e r s of N o u n s

137

2.10.1.1 2.10.1.2 2.10.1.3 2.10.1.4 2.10.1.5 2.10.1.6

137 142 143 144 144

Personal pronouns Reflexive pronouns Reciprocative pronouns Proper pronouns Indefinite pronouns The d e m o n s t r a t i v e p r o n o u n /zaalik/ R e p l a c e r of N u m e r a l s R e p l a c e r s of C o n s t r u c t i o n s

146 146 146

AFFIXES AND MEASURES

148

2.11.1

148

2.11.2

2.11.3

Introductory Remarks 2.11.1.1 D e f i n i t i o n of " s t e m , " " a f f i x , " and "measure" 2.11.1.2 The use of m e a s u r e s in this s t u d y 2.11.1.3 T y p e s of t r i l i t e r a l r o o t s 2.11.1.4 Measures and measure variants 2.11.1.5 R e l a t i n g o n e m e a s u r e to a n o t h e r A f f i x e s a n d M e a s u r e s A p p l y i n g to A d j e c t i v e s 2.11.2.1 I n f l e c t i o n a l a f f i x e s and m e a s u r e s 2.11.2.2 D e r i v a t i o n a l a f f i x e s and m e a s u r e s A f f i x e s a n d M e a s u r e s A p p l i c a b l e to N o u n s 2.11.3.1 Inflectional affixes and measures 2.11.3.2 Derivational measures

148 154 155 156 159 160 160 161 165 165 174

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC Chapter

?age 2.11.A

2.11.5

Affixes and Measures Applying to Verbs 2.11.4.1 Inflectional affixes and measures 2.11.4.2 Derivational measures Affixes Applying to Class IV Forms

XII. OATH PARTICLES 2.12.1 2.12.2 2.12.3

Simple Oath Particles Discontinuous Oath Particles Nouns and Sequences That Follow Oath Particles

XIII.THE MORPHEMES OF NEGATION 2.13.1 2.13.2 2.13.3 XIV

The Morpheme of Simple Negation The Morpheme /wala/ The Morpheme /balaaá/

ANSWER WORDS 2.14.1 2.14.2 2.14.3 2.14.4

XV.

11

Answer Words That Indicate Affirmative Response to a Question Answer Word That Indicates Negative Response (to a Question or a Request) Answer Words That Indicate Response to a Call Answer Words That Indicate a Request for Repetition

180 180 182 200 202 202 203 203 205 205 207 208 209

209 209 210 210

SEQUENCE SIGNALS

211

2.15.1 2.15.2 2.15.3

211 211 213

Introductory Remarks Sequence Signals of Type 1 Sequence Signals of Type 2 2.15.3.1 Introducers of a n initial statement in a response 2.15.3.2 Introducers of an initial question in a response 2.15.3.3 Sentence includers 2.15.3.4 Sequence signals that occur noninitially in a sentence

XVI. THE DEFINITE ARTICLE AND /waaw izzamaniyya/ 2.16.1 2.16.2

The Definite Article /waaw izzamaniyya/

214 218 220 222 225 225 226

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC

12 Chapter

XVII. CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY

227 111

INTRODUCTION Purpose of the study The writer's purpose is to report all the closed-list items that occurred in the source material, and to define the form classes to which those items belong.

Closed-list items are very few in

number, and yet they constitute over two-thirds of Colloquial Egyptian Arabic (henceforth designated by the abbreviation CEA) conversations; a list of these items is therefore essential for the preparation of teaching materials. Partly because they are open-list classes and therefore do not fall within the scope of this study, and partly because they have been discussed adequately in other studies (see Previous studies below), adjectives, nouns, and verbs receive no more attention here than a structural definition which sets them apart from closed-list classes. The study is intended for linguists and teachers who are interested in the preparation of materials for teaching CEA to American students. Source material and variety of Arabic studied This study is based on the following four books: al-Khöli, Lutfi. Ahwit il-Mulük. Press, 1956. c

Ashur, Ni C män. il-Näs illi Taht. Press, 1958. . 1958.

il-Näs illi F5'.

Cairo: Cairo:

Cairo:

al-Där al-Misriyya al-Dar al-Misriyya

al-Dar al-Misriyya Press,

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC

14

— c al-Sa dani, Mahmud. Press, 1961.

c

—

Izbit Banayoti.

1st ed.

Cairo:

— — Dar al-Hamami

Each of the books consists of a play written for the stage.

It is

the judgment of the writer (who was born and educated in Cairo) and of the native informants whose names appear on page ii that the variety of Arabic used in the four books is that spoken by the people of Cairo, and that the material in the books represents strictly natural conversations. For the purposes of this study, the material examined (over 450,000 words) represents an adequate sample of CEA, since closed-list forms in CEA are a few items that have a high rate of recurrence; as w i l l be seen in Chapter IV of Part I, all of the closed-list forms reported in this study occurred in the first 12,000 words of the source material, and 84 per cent of them occurred in the first 3,000 words. Previous studies This study was inspired by Fries' Structure of English.

In the interest

of contrastive analysis, the observations on pages 39 and 40 of this study are stated in almost the same expressions used by Fries. None of the works cited in the bibliography is entirely devoted to the study of the form classes of CEA.

Consequently, the authors of those w o r k s —

w i t h the exception of Gamal-Eldin, Hanna, and A b o u l - F e t o u h — m a k e no attempt to give a definition of each form class on a strictly structural basis, or to list exhaustively and classify adequately the function forms.

Besides,

the function forms that those works do mention are, in most cases, discussed in a very sketchy manner. In his Lessons, Harrell discusses adequately, though briefly, most of the measures and affixes presented in Chapter XI (Part II) of this study.

The affixes and measures of Standard Arabic discussed in Wright's

Grammar closely parallel the affixes and measures of CEA discussed in this study. As was mentioned before, adjectives, nouns, and verbs are discussed rather briefly in the present study since they are discussed adequately and at length in other studies (e.g., Aboul-Fetouh's A Morphological Study of Egyptian Colloquial Arabic, Gamal-Eldin's A Syntactic Study

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC of Egyptian Colloquial Arabic, and Hanna's The Phrase Structure of Egyptian Colloquial Arabic).

Unfortunately, Aboul-Fetouh, Gamal-

Eldin, and Hanna are extremely sketchy and, in many cases, inaccurate in their treatment of CEA form classes other than adjectives, nouns, and verbs. The writer of this study knows of no complete, systematic study of the form classes of CEA where all, or even most, of the closed-list forms of that dialect are reported. Transcription The consonant symbols used in this study are shown in the

Pharyngeal I

Laryngeal

Uvular 1 ! i

Velar

Palatal

VV\ \

Dental

% Bilabial

N A

Labio-dental

table below.

Stops Voiceless Voiced

b

t

k

d

g

' (4)1

q

Fricatives Voiceless

f

Voiced

s

á

é,^ ζ

Trill

r

Lateral

1

Nasals

m

Semivowels

w

η y

χ

Η

έ

9

h

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC

16

The vowel symbols used in this study are the following:

Short Vowels i

High front unrounded

a

Low, central, or back unrounded

u

High back rounded Long Vowels

ii

High front unrounded

ee

Mid front unrounded

aa

Low front, central, or back unrounded

oo

M i d back rounded

uu

High back rounded

In this study emphasis is regarded as a function of the syllable (i.e., the whole syllable is either emphatic or plain), and is indicated by a broken underscore; e.g., talab, iHtifaaz, The following additional symbols are used: / / '

1

Slant lines enclosing phoneme symbols and CEA utterances Single quotes enclosing English glosses Hyphen separating base and certain affixes

/ . /

Period inside slant lines indicating a falling terminal juncture

/ ? /

Question mark inside slant lines indicating a rising terminal juncture

/ , /

Comma inside slant lines indicating a sustained terminal juncture

C

Representing any consonant

V

Representing any vowel

=

Indicating free variation

Words are separated from each other by spaces

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC Stress Although phonemic, stress in Colloquial Egyptian Arabic is almost entirely predictable. Usually every word has only one major stress. 4 exceptions,

With very few

the following rules govern the position of the major

stress in the word: (1)

The last syllable is stressed if (a) it has a long or

a shortened vowel,^ or (b) it ends in two consonants. /áafuu/

'they saw him'

/áufnaak/

'we saw you (msc. sing.)'

/áafu hnaak/

'They saw him there'

/áufnak maaéi/'We saw you (msc. sing.) walking' /katabt/ (2)

Ί

wrote'

The antepenult is stressed in words whose last three

syllables are of the structure CVCVCV(C), provided the preantepenult is not CV.

(3)

/áafaija/

'sympathy'

/muxtalifa/

'different'

/sabatak/

'your (msc. sing.) basket'

The penult is stressed in circumstances not included

in the two conditions above. /katabitu/

'she wrote it (msc.)'

/yiktibu/

'they write'

/katabti/

'you (fem. sing.) wrote'

/madrasa/

'school'

/¿aari9/

'street'

Morphophonemic notes (1)

Consonant clusters:

do not occur in CEA. (a)

Sequences of more than two consonants

This has three results:

When a word ending in two consonants is followed by

18

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC

a w o r d beginning w i t h a consonant, a helping vowel is inserted between the two words.

The helping vowel is pronounced as an /i/

which is lower, more lax, less voiced, and shorter than the other varieties of /i/.

It is represented in this study by a raised

/katabt 1 ktaaab/ /gamb (b)

1

9ali/

Ί

wrote a book'

'beside Ali'

Whenever a base ending in a double consonant is

combined with a suffix beginning with the same consonant (or same except for emphasis), the resultant sequence is a double consonant only.

(c)

/sitt/

'six'

/sittaaèar/

'sixteen'

Inserting a vowel before a suffix:

When a suffix

consisting of or beginning with a consonant is added to a form ending in two different consonants, a vowel is inserted between the form and the suffix.

The inserted vowel is /u/ before /-hum/ or

/-kum/, /a/ before /-ha/, and /i/ before other suffixes: /gamb/

'beside'

/gambu-hum/

'beside them'

/gambu-kum/

'beside you (pi.)'

/gamba-ha/

'beside her'

/gambi-na/

'beside us'

/gibti-lu/

Ί

brought for him'

A n exception to the above rules is the case where a verb ending in a double consonant precedes a suffix w h i c h consists of or begins with a consonant and which marks concord with the subject.

In this case, /ee/ is inserted between the verb and

the suffix: /Habb/

'he loved'

/Habbee-t/

Ί

loved'

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC

(2)

/Habbee-ti/

'you (fem. sing.)

/Habbee-tu/

'you (pi.) loved'

/Habbee-na/

'we loved'

Elision:

Under certain conditions the phonemes /i/ and

lui in given positions are dropped out. phenomenon as "elision." (a)

loved'

We shall refer to the

The two most common cases are the following

A n unstressed /i/ or /u/ in the last syllable of a

w o r d before a final consonant is dropped w h e n an ending consisting of or beginning with a vowel is added.

(b)

/yaakul/

he eats'

/yaklu/^

they eat'

/áirib/

he drank'

/¿irbit/

she drank'

/laabis/

wearing (msc. sing.)'

/labsiin/

wearing

(pi.)'

Elision also occurs w h e n the first unstressed

open syllable of a w o r d has /i/ or /u/ and is pronounced in close association with a preceding w o r d that ends in a vowel.

(3)

/kitaab/

'book'

/9andaha ktaab/

'She has a book'

/su|a2£ar/

'young, small'

/huwwa_s¿ayyar/

'He is young (or small) '

Shortening of long vowels:

Long vowels do not occur

(a) unstressed, (b) before a consonant cluster, or (c) in any syllable preceding a long vowel.

Thus the long vowels /ii/, /aa/,

and /uu/ are replaced by the corresponding short vowels, /ee/ by 111, and loo I by lui under the following conditions: (a)

When an ending is added that w o u l d shift the stress

20

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC

away from a long vowel.

(b)

/áaafit/

'she saw'

/áafitu/

'she saw him'

When an ending is added that results in a cluster

of two consonants following the vowel in question.

(c)

/iid/

'hand'

/idha/

'her hand'

/beet/

'a house'

/bitna/

'our house'

W h e n an ending containing a long vowel is added,

since there can be only one long vowel in a word.

(d)

/Huut/

'a whale'

/Huteen/

'two whales'

/toor/

'a bull'

/tureen/

'two bulls'

When a w o r d ending in - V V is followed by a w o r d

beginning with CC-, or w h e n a word ending in - W C is followed by a word beginning with C-, provided the two words are pronounced in close association.

In precise pronunciation (e.g., for emphasis

or to contrast utterances) a plus juncture always occurs between the two words, and the long vowels are therefore not shortened. When the long vowel in question is either /ee/ or /oo/, close pronunciation of the two w o r d s — a n d therefore the shortening of the long v o w e l — i s

optional.

/ma9aa/

'with him'

/ma9a ktaab/

'He has a book'

/¿afuu/

'they saw him'

/¿afu hnaak/

'They saw him there'

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC

(4)

/raaH/

'he went'

/raH yidris/

'He went to study'

/biir/

'a well'

/bir ¿awiit/

'a deep well'

/biir ¿awiit/

'a deep well'

/qaarin, biir ¿awiit, w i birka ¿awiita/

'Compare: "a deep well" with "a deep lake'"

/beet/

'a house'

/beet kibiir/ = /bit kibiir/

'a big house'

/loon/

'color'

/loon ¿aami$/ = /lun ¿aami^/

'a dark color'

Word-initial phonemes:

w i t h a single consonant.

In isolation, all words begin

Morphophonemically, there are two w o r d -

initial glottal stops gwhich cannot be distinguished on purely phonological grounds;

in this study they are referred to as the

"droppable glottal stop" and the "non-droppable glottal stop." The first is dropped (a) in combination with a preceding particle (such as the definite article) in close transition, or (b) w h e n the word in which it occurs is pronounced in close association with a preceding word; it is not dropped in slow or emphatic speech.

The second is never dropped.

A CEA w o r d whose initial phoneme is a non-droppable

glottal

stop corresponds to a Modern Standard Arabic word whose initial phoneme is /q/.

Thus, in this study, a word-initial

non-droppable

glottal stop is represented by ^ (see footnote 1). Initially in 9 the macrosegment the droppable glottal stop is not represented;

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC

22

elsewhere, when not dropped, it is represented by an apostrophe.

(5) in CEA.

/ill-awlaad/

the boys'

/il-^alam/

the pencil1

/feen ibnu?/

Where is his son?'

/feen (Jalbak?/

Where is your (msc. sing.) heart?'

/9aawiz ayy^ tilmiiz?/

Which student do you (msc. sing.) want?'

/aaxud 'ayy^ ktaab?/

Shall I take any book?'

Absence of vowel sequences:

There are no vowel sequences

This has the four results discussed below. (a)

Whenever a word ending in a vowel is followed by

a word beginning with a vowel (i.e., a word which in isolation would begin with a droppable glottal stop), the final vowel of the first word is dropped if it is an /i/; otherwise the initial vowel of the second word is dropped. 'chair'

/kursi/

/kurs abuuk/

'your (msc. sing.) father's chair'

/kurs uxtak/

'your (msc. sing.) sister's chair'

/abuu/

'his father'

/radyu buu/

'his father's radio'

/ingiliizi/

'English'

/radyu ngiliizi/

'an English radio'

/uxti/

'my sister'

/9asa_xti/

'my sister's stick'

'my son'

/9asa bni/

'my son's stick'

/ibni/ (b)

When a suffix consisting of or beginning with a vowel

is added to a form ending in a vowel, /w/, /yy/, or /y/ is inserted between the form and the suffix as specified below:

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC /w/ is inserted w h e n the form ends in /u/:

(i)

/baltu/

'topcoat 1

/baltuw-een/

'two topcoats'

/banyu/

'bathtub'

/banyuw-een/

' two bathtubs'

(ii)

/yy/ is inserted w h e n the form ends in /i/

and is not of the shape CaaCi: /masri/

'Egyptian'

/masri^y-iin/

'Egyptians'

/turki/

'Turk (msc. sing.)'

/turkiyy-a/

'Turk (fem. sing.)'

/kursi/

'chair'

/kurs iyy-een/

'two chairs'

(iii)

/y/ is inserted when the form is of the shape

CaaCi, or w h e n the form is not feminine and ends in /a/: /maaái/

walking (msc. sing.)'

/maáy-lin/

walking

/faadi/

empty (msc. sing.)'

/fad^-a/

empty (fem. sing.)'

(pi.)'

/mabna/

a building'

/mabnay-een/

two buildings'

/magra/

channel'

/magray-een/

two channeIs'

24

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC Two exceptions to the above rules are (i) the case where

the suffix /—i/ is added to a noun ending in a vowel to produce a relative adjective,^ and (ii) the case where a verb form ending in a vowel precedes a suffix which consists of or begins with a vowel and which marks concord with the subject. (c)

When the suffix /—±/ is added to a noun ending

in a vowel to produce a relative adjective, the morphophonemic alternations that take place are not completely predictable.

The

following statements apply to many cases, but it must be emphasized that there are numerous exceptions : (i)

If the noun is feminine and ends in /a/ = / a a ' / , ^

the final /a/ = /aa'/ is replaced by /aaw/ when the suffix /-i/ is added: /sama/ = /samaa'/

'heaven'

/samaaw-i/

'heavenly'

/saHara/ = /ffHaraaV

'desert'

/saHaraaw-i/

'pertaining to the desert' 12

(ii)

If the noun is masculine and ends in /a/ = /aa'/,

the base to which /—1/ is added ends in /aa'/: /¿iza/ = /¿izaa'/ food' /¿izaa'-i/ nutritional' /èina/ = /¿inaa'/ /¿inaa'-i/

singing'

/masa/ = /masaa'/

pertaining to singing'

/masaa'-i/ evening' pertaining to a the (iii) If the noun is feminine, has longevening' penult or 13 a long antepenult, and ends in an /a/ that is not preceded by /w/

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC or /y/, the final /a/ is dropped

(iv)

en the suffix /-i/ is added:

/istiwaana/

' cylinder'

/istiwaan—1/

'cylindrical'

/diraasa/

'study'

/diraas-i/

'academic'

/dawla/

'nation'

/dawl-i/

'national'

/garra/

' continent'

/qarr-i/

' continental'

/madrasa/

'school'

/madras-i/

'scholastic'

If the noun is feminine, has /aa/ in its penultimate

syllable, and ends in /ya/ or /wa/

the final /ya/ or /wa/ is replaced by

/'/ w h e n the suffix /—i/ is added:

(v)

25

/nihaaya/

'end'

/nihaa'-i/

'final'

/9adaawa/

'enmity'

/9adaa'-i/

'belligerent'

If the noun ends in /i/,

the final /i/ is

replaced by /aw/ w h e n the suffix /—i/ is added: /nabi/

'prophet'

/nabaw-i/

'prophetic'

/9ali/

'Ali'

/9alaw-i/

'a follower of Ali'

26

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC (d)

When a suffix which marks concord with the subject

and which consists of or begins with a vowel is added to a past tense verb form ending in Iii, dropped or replaced by lyl;

the final HI

of the verb is either

when such a suffix is added to a past

tense verb form ending in a vowel other than /il,

or to a present

tense form ending in a vowel, the final vowel of the verb is dropped: /ridi/

he agreed'

/rid-it/=/ridy-it/

she agreed 1

/rid-u/=/rid^-u/

they agreed'

/rama/

he threw'

/ram-it/

she threw'

/ram-u/

they threw'

/yirgu/

he implores'

/yirg-u/

they implore'

/tirg-i/

y o u (fem. sing.) implore'

/tirg-u/

y o u (pi.) implore'

/yirda/

he agrees'

/^ird z u/

they agree'

/tird = i/

y o u (fem. sing.) agree'

/tird-u/

you (pi.) agree'

/yirmi/

he throws'

/yirm-u/

they throw'

/tirm-i/

y o u (fem. sing.) throw'

/tirm-u/

you (pi.) throw'

(6) Lengthening or the addition of suffixes:

replacing the final vowel of a form before W h e n a suffix beginning w i t h or consisting

of a consonant is added to a form w h i c h ends in a vowel, the final

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC vowel of the form is either lengthened or replaced by a long vowel as specified below: (a)

The final vowel is lengthened when the suffix is

not one that marks a verb for concord with the subject: /ma9a/

'with'

/ma9aa-na/

'with us'

/wara/

'behind'

/waraa-ha/

'behind her'

/mabna/

'building'

/mabnaa-hum/

'their building'

/bana/

'he built'

/banaa-lu/

'he built for him'

Two exceptions to this rule are (i) the preposition /9ala/ with all pronominal suffixes, and (ii) prepositions ending in /i/ with the first person singular pronominal suffix.'''"' (b)

A verb-final /!/ is either lengthened or replaced by

/ee/ w h e n a suffix that marks concord with the subject is added:

(c)

/giri/

'he ran 1

/girii-na/=/giree-na/

'we ran'

/ridi/

'he agreed'

/ridii-t/=/ridee-t/

Ί

agreed'

A verb-final /a/ is replaced by /ee/ w h e n a suffix

that marks concord with the subject is added: /rama/

'he threw'

/ramee-na/

'we threw'

/ixtafa/

'he disappeared'

/ixtafee-t/

Ί

disappeared'

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC

28 (7)

Assimilation:

Three cases of assimilation are discussed

below. (a)

Voicing and voicelessness:

At normal conversational

speed the members of a consonant cluster are either both voiced or both voiceless; this is true within words as w e l l as across word boundaries. When two consonants are brought together into a cluster, the second consonant is the factor that determines whether the cluster is voiced or voiceless. 'to wash

1

For example, the present tense form of /¿asal/

is /yi^sil/ where the form of the word brings together

/έ/ and /s/.

Since, however, the second consonant is voiceless, the

cluster at normal conversational speed is voiceless; thus /¿/ is replaced by its voiceless counterpart /x/, and so the actual pronunciation is /yixsil/ although /¿/ is used in the transcription to show the original root consonant. of /xadt/ Ί

Similarly, the pronunciation

took* at normal conversational speed is /xatt/.

In this

study, assimilations of this kind are not usually shown in the spelling. (b)

Assimilations resulting in a double consonant:

No

cluster consisting of two of the sibilants /z/, /s/, and Ikl occurs in CEA, and w h e n such a cluster w o u l d otherwise occur, the first member of the cluster is replaced to match the second.

The following

are some examples: /mafis sitta/ (/mafiié/ + /sitta/)

'There aren't six'

/mafiz zeet/ (/mafiiè/ + /zeet/)

'There isn't any oil'

/madarass/ (/madaras-/ + /-à/)

'He did not study'

When the suffixes /-ha/ and /-hum/ are added to forms ending in /χ/, /¿/, /H/ or /9/, the result is always a voiceless double consonant.

The double consonant is /xx/ w h e n the suffixes are

added to forms ending in /x/ or /¿/, and /HH/ when the suffixes

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC are added to forms ending in /H/ or /9/.

The following are examples

/tabaxxa/ (/tabax/ + /-ha/)

'he cooked it (fem.)'

/balaxxum/

'their declaration'

(/balaa¿/ + /-hum/)

/ribiHHa/ (/ribiH/ + /-ha/)

'he w o n her'

/simiHHa/ (simi9/ + /-ha/)

'he heard her'

(c)

Emphasis:

A plain phoneme or a plain sequence is

replaced by its emphatic counterpart w h e n combined into one syllable with the final emphatic phoneme(s) of the previous form. true within words as well as across word boundaries.

This is

The following

are examples: /feESàì'

my purpose

+ /"i/)

she requested' /wara 1-baab/ (/wara/ + ~7lïbâab/)

behind the door'

/raH_imbaariH/ (/raaH/ + 7lmbaariH/)

He went yesterday'

/ba9d_awlaadi/ 7awlaadi/)

some of my children'

(/ba9d/ +

/xalat_ill-itneen/ /ill-itneen/)

(/xalat/ + 'He mixed the two'

A plain prefix is replaced by its emphatic counterpart when added to a form whose initial syllable is emphatic:

(8)

/b-aruuH/ (/bi-/ + /aruuH/)

Ί

go'

/ill-araadi/ /araadi.7)

'the lands'

(/ill-/ +

The construct state:

The construct state consists of

(a) a noun w h i c h will be referred to as the first element, and (b) an immediately following noun or pronominal suffix w h i c h will be referred to as the second element. If

the first element is a feminine noun ending in /a/, the

final /a/ is replaced by /t/ or /it/.

The replacement by /t/ occurs

if (a) the final /a/ of the first element is preceded by a single consonant, and (b) the second element consists of or begins with a vowel; otherwise the replacement is by /it/.

Some examples are

30

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC

the following: /madrasa/

school1

/áanta/

suitcase'

/madrast illu¿aat/

the School of Languages

/madrast-i/

my school1

/madrasit banha/

Benha School1

/¿antit ibni/

my son's suitcase

/¿antit-hum/

their suitcase'

/áantit samya/

Samia's suitcase'

Alphabetical order In this study items are usually arranged in alphabetical order. For the CEA symbols which exist in the English alphabet, the alphabetical order used is that of the English alphabet (emphasis being disregarded); the symbol ¿ follows c^; the remaining CEA symbols follow z_ in the following order:

é_,

¿, H, 9_, \

FAßT I.

DEFINITION OF THE FORM CLASSES OF CEA

CHAPTER I

CLASS I:

THE ADJECTIVE

A n adjective is a word which shows (a) inflectional contrast between definite and indefinite, and (b) inflectional contrast for number between singular (masculine and feminine) and plural only. 1.1.1

The Definite and the Indefinite Forms of Adjectives Definite"^ adjectives are those preceded by the definite article.

The allomorphs of the definite article prefixed to adjectives are listed below w i t h brief statements on their distribution. /it-/

occurs before the phoneme /t/, as /it-ta^i/ 'godly'

/id-/

occurs before the phoneme /d/, as /id-dawli/ 'international'

/is-/

occurs before the phoneme /s/, as /is-sarii9/ 'fast'

/iá-/

occurs before the phoneme /έ/, as /i¿-áidiid/ 'strong'

/iz-/

occurs before the phoneme /z/, as /iz-za91aan/ 'angry'

/ir-/

occurs before the phoneme /r/, as /ir-riifi/ 'rural'

/in-/

occurs before the phoneme /η/, as /in-nifiis/ 'precious'

/ik-/ = /il-/

occurs before the phoneme /k/, as /ik-kibiir/ = /il-kibiir/ 'big'

/ig-/ = /il-/

occurs before the phoneme /g/, as /ig-gamiil/ = /il-gamiil/ 'beautiful'

34

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC /il-/

occurs before all other consonants, as /il-¿ani/ 'rich 1 , /il-9aali/ 'high', /il-^awi/ 'strong', etc.

/I—/ = /ill-/

occurs before a vowel w h e n the preceding word ends in a single consonant, as /ilkitab 1-aswad/ = /ilkitab ill-aswad/ 'the black book'

/ill-/

occurs elsewhere before a vowel as /ilkalb ill-aswad/ 'the black dog', /ilmabna 11-aswad/ 'the black building 1

The following examples illustrate the replacement of the whole definite article prefix or part of it by an emphatic counterpart because of assimilation:

1.1.2

/it-tawiil/

'tall'

/il¿arad_il-kuwayyis/

'the good purpose'

/iááatta_l-Harraaiia/

'the hot pepper'

/ba9d_ill-ingiliiz/

'some Englishmen'

The Feminine Singular Form of Adjectives The feminine singular form of adjectives ends in /-a/.

For

adjectives of the measure aF9aL,'^ the stem of the feminine singular form is of the measure Fa9L—.

The following are some examples:

Masculine singular

1.1.3

Feminine

singular

/kibiir/

/kibiira/

'big'

/aHmar/

/Hamra/

'red'

/a9rag/

/9arga/

'lame'

The Plural Forms of Adjectives The plural form of most adjectives ends in the suffix /-iin/.

The following are some examples:

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC Masculine singular

Plural

/kuwayyis/

/kuwayyisiin/

'good'

/maaèi/

/malyiin/

'walking'

/mit9allim/

/mit9allimiin/

'educated'

/masri/

/masri^^íiB/

'Egyptian'

The majority of adjectives whose plural form does not end in /-iin/ fall into the following (1)

categories:

Adjectives of the measures Fa9iiL and Fi9iiL:

The plural

form for these adjectives is usually of the measure Fi9aaL = Fu9aaL or Fu9aLa.

There is no way to predict from the singular form which

plural it will have; however, it is to be noted that while the singular of Fi9aaL = Fu9aaL may be either Fi9iiL or Fa9iiL, the singular of Fu9aLa is usually Fa9iiL. Masculine singular

Plural

/ tawi.il/

=

/kibiir/

/kibaar/ = /kubaar/

'big'

/baliid/

/bulada/

'lazy'

'tall'

/baxiil/

/buxala/

'stingy'

/amiin/

/umana/

'honest'

(2)

Adjectives of the measure aF9aL:

The plural form for these

adjectives is usually of the measure Fu9L. Masculine singular

Plural

/aHmar/

/Humr/

'red'

/

/?ϋ£§/

'lame'

(3)

Adjectives of the form Fa9i:

The plural form for these

adjectives is usually aF9iLa or Fu9aaL where L^ stands for the consonant /y/; there is no w a y to predict which of the two plurals a given singular form w i l l have.

35

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC

36

Masculine singular

Plural

/ta^i/

/atijiya/

'godly'

/tari/

/turaay/

'soft 1

For some adjectives of the form Fa9i the plural is aF9iLa = Fu9aaL where L^ stands for the consonant /y/.

Some examples are:

Masculine singular

Plural

/¿ani/

/a¿niya/=/¿unaay/

'rich'

/&a\±J

/aá4iya/=/áu¿[aay/

'naughty'

(4)

Adjectives of the rare measure Fa9aaL:

The plural form for

these adjectives is usually of the measure Fu9aLa. Masculine singular

Plural

/gabaan/

/gubana/

(5)

Adjectives of the rare measure Fu9aaL:

'cowardly' The plural form for

these adjectives is usually of the measure Fu9Laan. Masculine singular

Plural

/áugaa9/

/âug9aan/

'brave'

A sub-class of adjectives are those which are inflected for degree; the so-called "comparative" form of those adjectives is of the measure aF9aL, as /akbar/ 'bigger, biggest', /a£la/

'more expensive,

most expensive', etc. 1.1.4

Adjectives Identical in Form with Nouns Some adjectives are identical in form with nouns:

18 for example,

the form /magnuun/ in the first set of sentences below is a noun with inflectional number contrasts for singular, dual, and plural; in the second set of sentences the form /magnuun/ is an adjective with inflectional number contrasts only for singular and plural.

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC (1)

(2)

/ilmagnuun feen?/

Where is the fool (msc.)?'

/ilmagnuuna feen?/

Where is the fool (fem.)?'

/ilmagnuneen feen?/

Where are the two fools?T

/ilmaganiin feen?/

Where are the fools?'

/raagil magnuun/

a foolish man'

/bint

1

magnuuna/

a foolish girl'

/ragleen magnuniin/

two foolish men'

/binteen magnuniin/

two foolish girls'

/riggaala magnuniin/

foolish men'

/banaat magnuniin/

foolish girls'

37

CHAPTER II

CLASS II:

There are two kinds of nouns:

1.2.1

THE NOUN

common and proper.

The Common N o u n

A common noun is a w o r d , other than an adjective, that shows inflectional contrast between definite and indefinite.

A common

noun may show other inflectional contrasts, but the contrast between definite and indefinite is alone sufficient to identify the members of this sub-class. A definite common noun is one to w h i c h the definite article is prefixed; an indefinite common noun is one to w h i c h the definite article is not prefixed.

The allomorphs of the definite article

prefixed to common nouns are the same as those listed under 1.1.1. The following are some examples of common nouns:

/tilmiiz/

'a student'

/it-tilmiiz/

'the student'

/tilmizeen/

'two students'

/it-tilmizeen/

'the two students'

/talamiiz/

'students'

/it-talamiiz/

'the students'

THE CLOSED-LIST CLASSES OF COLLOQUIAL EGYPTIAN ARABIC /burtu^aana/

an orange

/il-burtu^aana/

the orange'

anteen/

1.2.2

two oranges'

/il-burtunanteen/

the two oranges'

/burtu^anaat/

oranges (pi.)1

/il-burtu^anaat/

the oranges (pi.)'

/burtu