Algerian Arabic should not be confused with Algerian Saharan Arabic.
States: | Algeria |
Speakers: | L1 million |
Date: | 2022 |
Ref: | e27 |
Speakers2: | L2 million (2022) |
Speakers Label: | Speakers |
Familycolor: | Afro-Asiatic |
Fam2: | Semitic |
Fam3: | West Semitic |
Fam4: | Central Semitic |
Fam5: | Arabic |
Fam6: | Maghrebi |
Script: | Arabic script |
Iso3: | arq |
Notice: | IPA |
Glotto: | alge1239 |
Glottorefname: | Algerian Arabic |
Region: | Central Maghreb |
Ethnicity: | Algerian Arabs, also used as a second language by other ethnic groups in Algeria |
Dia1: | Western Algerian Arabic |
Dia2: | Eastern Algerian Arabic |
Algerian Arabic | |
Also Known As: | Darja, Derja, Dziria |
Algerian Arabic (Arabic: الدارجة الجزائرية, romanized: Arabic: ad-Dārja al-Jazairia), natively known as Dziria, Darja or Derja, is a variety of Arabic spoken in Algeria. It belongs to the Maghrebi Arabic dialect continuum and is mostly intelligible with the Tunisian and Moroccan dialects.[1] Darja (الدارجة) means "everyday/colloquial dialect".[2]
Like other varieties of Maghrebi Arabic, Algerian Arabic has a mostly Semitic vocabulary.[3] It contains Berber, Punic, and African Romance[4] influences and has some loanwords from French, Andalusi Arabic, Ottoman Turkish and Spanish. Berber loanwords represent 8% to 9% of its vocabulary.[5]
Algerian Arabic is the native dialect of 75% to 80% of Algerians and is mastered by 85% to 100% of them.[6] It is a spoken language used in daily communication and entertainment, while Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is generally reserved for official use and education. As in the rest of the Arab world, this linguistic situation has been described as diglossia: MSA is nobody's first acquired language; it is learned through formal instruction rather than transmission from parent to child.[7]
Besides informal communication, Algerian Arabic is rarely written. In 2008, The Little Prince was translated in Algerian Arabic. The first novel written in Algerian Arabic is published by Rabeh Sebaa in 2021 and is entitled Fahla (in Latin script and Arabic characters).[8]
The classification of dialects in algeria is made particularly difficult due to the geography of Algeria, allowing pockets of isolated speakers to form, as well as the mixing of dialects in urban centers, creating a "koine" for each city.
However, the arab dialects can still be divided into two genetically different groups: pre-Hilalian and Hilalian dialects.
Hilalian dialects of Algeria belong to three linguistic groups:[9]
Modern koine languages, urban and national, are based mainly on Hilalian dialects.
Pre-Hilalian Arabic dialects are generally classified into three types: Urban, "Village" Sedentary, and Jewish dialects. Several Pre-Hilalian dialects are spoken in Algeria:[13]
Labial | Dental/Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Glottal | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
plain | emphatic | plain | emphatic | ||||||||
Nasal | pronounced as /link/ | (pronounced as /link/) | pronounced as /link/ | (pronounced as /link/) | |||||||
Occlusive | voiceless | (pronounced as /link/) | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | (pronounced as /link/) | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | (pronounced as /link/) | |||
voiced | pronounced as /link/ | (pronounced as /link/) | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||||
Fricative | voiceless | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||
voiced | (pronounced as /link/) | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||||
Trill | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||||||||
Approximant | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ |
The voiceless "Ch" (t͡ʃ) is used in some words in the Algerian dialect like "تشينا" pronounced as //t͡ʃinaː// (orange) or "تشاراك" pronounced as //t͡ʃaːraːk// (A kind of Algerian sweet) but remains rare.
A study of Northwestern Algerian Arabic (specifically around Oran) showed that laterals pronounced as /link/ or pronounced as /link/ or the nasal consonant pronounced as /link/ would be dissimilated into either pronounced as /link/ in the case of pronounced as /link/ or pronounced as /link/; or pronounced as /link/ or pronounced as /link/ in the case of pronounced as /link/ when closely preceding a corresponding lateral or nasal consonant. Thus pronounced as //zəlzla// (earthquake) has become pronounced as //zənzla//, conversely pronounced as //lʁənmi// "mutton" becomes pronounced as //lʁəlmi//.
The same study also noted numerous examples of assimilation in Northwestern Algerian Arabic, due to the large consonant clusters created from all of the historical vowel deletion: examples include pronounced as //dəd͡ʒaːd͡ʒ// "chicken", becoming pronounced as //d͡ʒaːd͡ʒ// and pronounced as //mliːħ// "good", becoming pronounced as //mniːħ//. An example of assimilation that occurs after the short vowel deletion is the historical /pronounced as /dərˤwŭk// "now" becoming pronounced as //drˤuːk// and then being assimilated to pronounced as //duːk//, illustrating the order in which the rules of Algerian Arabic may operate.
Short | Long | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front | Central | Back | Front | Back | |
Close | ə | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |
Mid | |||||
Open | pronounced as /link/ |
English | Algerian Arabic | |
---|---|---|
drink | šrab | |
sky | sma | |
water | ma | |
woman / women | mra / nsa | |
fire | nar | |
big | kbir | |
man / men | rajel / rjal | |
day | nhar / yum | |
moon | qmer | |
night | lil | |
bread | khubz / kesra | |
small | ṣγir | |
Turtle | Fekrun | |
sand | rmel | |
winter / rain | šta / mṭar / nu | |
ball | balun | |
towel | serbita | |
toilet / bathroom | bit-el-ma / bit-er-raḥa / Twalat |
English | Algerian Arabic | Notes of usage | |
---|---|---|---|
but | beṣṣaḥ | ||
if | ila, ida, lakan, kun, Fihalat | used for impossible conditions and comes just before the verb | |
if | lukan, kun | for possible conditions, Also used is "ida" and "kan" | |
so that, that | baš, bah | ||
that | belli | ||
as if | ki šγul, tquši, tqul, tgul | ||
because | xaṭar, xaṭrakeš, εlaxaṭer, εlajal | ||
when | ila / wakta / winta / Ki (used for some cases like : when you come I'll tell you) | ||
before | qbel ma / gbel ma | used before verbs | |
without | bla ma / blach | used before verbs | |
whether | kaš ma | used before verbs | |
under | taḥt | ||
over, on top of | fuq or fug | ||
after | mur / mura / Baεd / wra | ||
before | qbel / gbel | used only for time | |
next to, beside | quddam or guddam | is also used "ḥda" | |
at | εend / εla | ||
with | mεa | ||
among, between | bin, binat (plural) | ||
same as, as much as | εla ḥsab, qed, ged, kima | amount | |
oh, oh so much | ya, ah |
Some of them can be attached to the noun, just like in other Arabic dialects. The word for in, "fi", can be attached to a definite noun. For example, the word for a house has a definite form "ed-dar" but with "fi", it becomes "fed-dar".
Algerian Arabic uses two genders for words: masculine and feminine. Masculine nouns and adjectives generally end with a consonant while the feminine nouns generally end with an a.
Examples:
Hilalian dialects, on which the modern koine is based, often use regular plural while the wider use of the broken plural is characteristic to pre-Hilalian dialects.
The regular masculine plural is formed with the suffix -in, which derives from the Classical Arabic genitive and accusative ending -īna rather than the nominative -ūna:
mumen (believer) → mumnin For feminine nouns, the regular plural is obtained by suffixing -at:
Classical Arabic: bint (girl) → banat
Algerian Arabic: bent → bnat
The broken plural can be found for some plurals in Hilalian dialects, but it is mainly used, for the same words, in pre-Hilalian dialects:
Broken plural: ṭabla → ṭwabəl.
The article el is indeclinable and expresses a definite state of a noun of any gender and number. It is also prefixed to each of that noun's modifying adjectives.
It follows the sun and moon letters rules of Classical Arabic: if the word starts with one of these consonants, el is assimilated and replaced by the first consonant:
,,,,,,,,,, .
Examples:
rajel → er-rajel "man" (assimilation)
qeṭṭ → el-qeṭṭ "cat" (no assimilation)
Important Notes:
Examples:
qmer → le-qmer "moon"
ḥjer → le-ḥjer "stone"
Examples:
alf → el-alf "thousand"
Verbs are conjugated by adding affixes (prefixes, postfixes, both or none) that change according to the tense.
In all Algerian Arabic dialects, there is no gender differentiation of the second and third person in the plural forms, nor is there gender differentiation of the second person in the singular form in pre-Hilalian dialects. Hilalian dialects preserve the gender differentiation of the singular second person.
Person | Past | Present | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | ||
1st | - t | - na | n - | n(e) - u | |
2nd (m) | - t | - tu | t - | t - u | |
2nd (f) | - ti | - tu | t - i | t - u | |
3rd (m) | - | - u | i/y(e) - | i/y(e) - u | |
3rd (f) | - t | - u | t(e) - | i/y(e) - u |
Person | Past | Present | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | ||
1st (m) | ktebt | ktebna | nekteb | nekketbu | |
2nd (m) | ktebt | ktebtu | tekteb | tekketbu | |
2nd (f) | ktebti | ktebtu | tekketbi | tekketbu | |
3rd (m) | kteb | ketbu | yekteb | yekketbu | |
3rd (f) | ketbet | ketbu | tekteb | yekketbu |
Person | Past | Present | Future | Present continuous | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | ||
1st (m) | ktebt | ktebna | nekteb | nekketbu | Rayeḥ nekteb | Rayḥin nekketbu | Rani nekteb | Rana nekketbu | |
1st (f) | ktebt | ktebna | nekteb | nekketbu | Rayḥa nekteb | Rayḥin nekketbu | Rani nekteb | Rana nekketbu | |
2nd (m) | ketbt | ktebtu | tekteb | tekketbu | Rayeḥ tekteb | Rayḥin tekketbu | Rak tekteb | Rakum tekketbu | |
2nd (f) | ktebti | ktebtu | tekketbi | tekketbu | Rayḥa tekketbi | Rayḥin tekketbu | Raki tekketbi | Rakum tekketbu | |
3rd (m) | kteb | ketbu | yekteb | yekketbu | Rayeḥ yekteb | Rayḥin yekketbu | Rah yekteb | Rahum yekketbu | |
3rd (f) | ketbet | ketbu | tekteb | yekketbu | Rayḥa tekteb | Rayḥin yekketbu | Raha tekteb | Rahum yekketbu |
Speakers generally do not use the future tense above. Used instead is the present tense or present continuous.
Also, as is used in all of the other Arabic dialects, there is another way of showing active tense. The form changes the root verb into an adjective. For example, "kteb" he wrote becomes "kateb".
See main article: Negation in Arabic. Like all North African Arabic varieties (including Egyptian Arabic) along with some Levantine Arabic varieties, verbal expressions are negated by enclosing the verb with all its affixes, along with any adjacent pronoun-suffixed preposition, within the circumfix ma ...-š (pronounced as //ʃ//):
Person | Past | Present | Future | Present continuous | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | ||
1st (m) | ma ktebt-š | ma ktebna-š | ma nekteb-š | ma nekketbu-š | ma Rayeḥ-š nekteb | ma Rayḥin-š nekketbu | ma Rani-š nekteb | ma Rana-š nekketbu | |
2nd (f) | ma ktebt-š | ma ktebna-š | ma nekteb-š | ma nekketbu-š | ma Rayḥa-š nekteb | ma Rayḥin-š nekketbu | ma Rani-š nekteb | ma Rana-š nekketbu | |
2nd (m) | ma ketbt-š | ma ktebtu-š | ma tekteb-š | ma tekketbu-š | ma Rayeḥ-š tekteb | ma Rayḥin-š tekketbu | ma Rak-š tekteb | ma Rakum-š tekketbu | |
2nd (f) | ma ktebti-š | ma ktebtu-š | ma tekketbi-š | ma tekketbu-š | ma Rayḥa-š tekketbi | ma Rayḥin-š tekketbu | ma Raki-š tekketbi | ma Rakum-š tekketbu | |
3rd (m) | ma kteb-š | ma ketbu-š | ma yekteb-š | ma yekketbu-š | ma Rayeḥ-š yekteb | ma Rayḥin-š yekketbu | ma Rah-š yekteb | ma Rahum-š yekketbu | |
3rd (f) | ma ketbet-š | ma ketbu-š | ma tekteb-š | ma yekketbu-š | ma Rayḥa-š tekteb | ma Rayḥin-š yekketbu | ma Raha-š tekteb | ma Rahum-š yekketbu |
Other negative words (walu, etc.) are used in combination with ma to express more complex types of negation.pronounced as /ʃ/ is not used when other negative words are used
or when two verbs are consecutively in the negative
Verb derivation is done by adding affixes or by doubling consonants, there are two types of derivation forms: causative, passive.
xrej "to go out" → xerrej "to make to go out"
dxel "to enter" → "to make to enter, to introduce".
qtel "to kill" → tneqtel "to be killed"
šreb "to drink" → tnešreb "to be drunk".
Things could be in three places hnaya (right here), hna (here) or el-hih (there).
Most Algerian Arabic dialects have eight personal pronouns since they no longer have gender differentiation of the second and third person in the plural forms. However, pre-Hilalian dialects retain seven personal pronouns since gender differentiation of the second person in the singular form is absent as well.
Person | Singular | Plural | |
---|---|---|---|
1st | ana | ḥna | |
2nd (m) | n'ta | n'tuma | |
2nd (f) | n'ti | n'tuma | |
3rd (m) | huwwa | huma | |
3rd (f) | hiyya | huma |
Example: « ḥatta ana/ana tani. » — "Me too."
Person | Algerian Arabic | |
---|---|---|
I am | rani | |
You are (m) | rak | |
You are (f) | raki | |
He is | rah or Rahu | |
She is | Rahi or Raha | |
We are | rana | |
You or Y'all are | raku or rakum (m)and (f) | |
They are | rahum (m)and (f) |
Example: « Rani hna. » — "I'm here." and « Waš rak. » "How are you." to both males and females.
Dar means house.
Person | Singular | Plural | |
---|---|---|---|
1st | i (Dari) | na (Darna) | |
2nd | (e)k (Dar(e)k) | kum (Darkum) | |
3rd (m) | u (Daru) | (h)um (Dar(h)um) | |
3rd (f) | ha (Darha) | (hum) (Dar(h)um) |
Example :« dar-na. » — "Our house" (House-our) Possessives are frequently combined with taε "of, property" : dar taε-na — "Our house.", dar taε-kum ...etc.
Singular:
taε-i = my or mine
taε-ek = your or yours (m, f)
taε-u = his taε-ha = hers
Plural:
taε-na = our or ours
taε-kum = your or yours (m, f)
taε-hum = their or theirs (m, f)
"Our house" can be Darna or Dar taε-na, which is more like saying 'house of ours'. Taε can be used in other ways just like in English in Spanish. You can say Dar taε khuya, which means 'house of my brother' or 'my brother's house'.
Interrogatives | Algerian Arabic | |
---|---|---|
What ? | waš ? | |
When ? | waqtaš ? / wektaš ? / wektah ? / wekket ? | |
Why? | 3lah ? / 3laš ? / llah ? | |
Which ? | waš-men ? / aš-men ? / ama ? | |
Where ? | win ? | |
Who ? | škun ? / menhu ? | |
How ? | kifaš ? / kifah ? / ki ? | |
How many ? | šḥal ? / qeddaš ? / gueddaš ? / gueddah ? | |
Whose ? | taε-men ? |
Person | Singular | Plural | |
---|---|---|---|
1st | ni | na | |
2nd (m) | (e)k | kum | |
3rd (m) | u (after a consonant) / h (after a vowel) / hu (before an indirect object pronoun) | hum | |
3rd (f) | ha | hum |
Examples:
« šuft-ni. » — "You saw me." (You.saw-me)
« qetl-u. » — "He killed him." (He.killed-him)
« kla-h. » — "He ate it." (He.ate-it)
Unlike Classical Arabic, Algerian Arabic has no dual and uses the plural instead. The demonstrative (Hadi) is also used for "it is".
Interrogatives | Algerian Arabic | Emphasized | |
---|---|---|---|
This | had (m), hadi (f) | hada, hadaya (m), hadiyya (f) | |
That | dak (m), dik (f) | hadak (m), hadik (f) | |
These | hadu | haduma | |
Those | duk | haduk |
Auguste Moulieras's Les fourberies de si Djeh'a. The text below was translated from Kabyle language.[16]
Algerian Arabic contains numerous French loanwords.
Algerian Arabic | French loanword | English meaning | Algerian Arabic | French loanword | English meaning | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
feršiṭa | fourchette | fork | por | port | port | |
friza | fraises | strawberries | otel | hôtel | hotel | |
nurmalmu | normalement | normally | frijider | frigidaire | refrigerator | |
karṭa | carte | card | bumba | bombe | bomb | |
buja (v) | bouger (v) | move (v) | atay | thé | tea | |
farina | farine | flour | duntist | dentiste | dentist | |
tilifun | téléphone | phone | šufur | chauffeur | driver (chauffeur) | |
valiza | valise | suitcase | paṣpur | passport | passport | |
trunspur | transport | transportation | tunubil | automobile | car | |
kazirna | caserne | barracks | couzina | cuisine | kitchen | |
fermli | infirmier | (male) nurse | blaṣa/plaṣa | place | place/seat | |
pyasa/byasa | pièce | piece | šarji (v) | charger (v) | load/charge (v) | |
karti | quartier | district | jerda | jardin | garden | |
girra | guerre | war | riska (v) | risquer (v) | risk (v) | |
(g)kravaṭa | cravate | tie | zigu | égout | sewer | |
mikru | micro-ordinateur | computer | kadre | cadre | frame | |
riẓu | réseau | network | ridu | rideau | curtain | |
ṭabla | table | table | biyyi | billet | ticket | |
vista | veste | jacket | bulisiyya | police | police | |
kaskiṭa | casquette | cap | balona | ballon | ball | |
makiyaj | maquillage | makeup | āntik | antique | Good |