Algerian Arabic Explained

Algerian Arabic should not be confused with Algerian Saharan Arabic.

States:Algeria
Speakers:L1

million

Date:2022
Ref:e27
Speakers2:L2

million (2022)
Total: 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]

Use

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]

Dialects

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

Hilalian dialects of Algeria belong to three linguistic groups:[9]

Modern koine languages, urban and national, are based mainly on Hilalian dialects.

Pre-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]

Phonology

Consonants

! colspan="2"
LabialDental/AlveolarPalatalVelarUvularPharyngealGlottal
plainemphatic plain emphatic
Nasalpronounced as /link/(pronounced as /link/)pronounced as /link/(pronounced as /link/)
Occlusivevoiceless(pronounced as /link/)pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/(pronounced as /link/) pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/(pronounced as /link/)
voicedpronounced as /link/(pronounced as /link/)pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Fricativevoicelesspronounced 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/
Trillpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Approximantpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
In comparison to other Maghrebi dialects, Algerian Arabic has retained numerous phonetic elements of Classical Arabic lost by its relatives; In Algiers dialect, the letters pronounced as /link/ ظ, pronounced as /link/ ذ, and ث pronounced as /link/ are not used, they are in most cases pronounced as the graphemes ض, د, and ت respectively. This conservatism concerning pronunciation is in contrast to Algerian Arabic grammar which has shifted noticeably. In terms of differences from Classical Arabic, the previous pronounced as /link/ and pronounced as /link/ phonemes have developed contrastive glottalized forms and split into pronounced as /link/ and pronounced as /link/; and pronounced as /link/ and pronounced as /link/. Additionally, pronounced as /link/ from Classical Arabic has split into pronounced as /link/ and pronounced as /link/ in most dialects. The phonemes pronounced as /link/ and pronounced as /link/ which are not common in Arabic dialects arise almost exclusively from (predominantly French) loanwords.

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.

Dissimilation

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//.

Assimilation

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.

Vowels

! colspan="3"
ShortLong
FrontCentralBackFrontBack
Closeəpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Mid
Openpronounced as /link/
The phonemic vowel inventory of Algerian Arabic consists of three long vowels: pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/, and pronounced as /link/ contrasted with two short vowels: pronounced as /link/ and /ə/.[14] Algerian Arabic Vowels retains a great deal of features in relation to Classical Arabic Arabic phonology, namely the continued existence of 3 long vowels: pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/, and pronounced as /link/,[15] Algerian Arabic also retains the short close back vowel pronounced as /link/ in speech, however the short equivalents of pronounced as /link/ and pronounced as /link/ have fused in modern Algerian Arabic, creating a single phoneme /ə/. Also notable among the differences between Classical Arabic and Algerian Arabic is the deletion of short vowels entirely from open syllables and thus word final positions, which creates a stark distinction between written Classical Arabic, and casually written Algerian Arabic. One point of interest in Algerian Arabic that sets it apart from other conservative Arabic dialects is its preservation of phonemes in (specifically French) loanwords that would otherwise not be found in the language: pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/, and pronounced as /link/ are all preserved in French loanwords such as pronounced as //syʁ// (French: 'sûre', English: 'sure') or /kɔnɛksiɔ̃/ (connection).

Grammar

Nouns and adjectives

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

Conjunctions and prepositions

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".

Gender

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:

Pluralisation

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.

Article

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

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.

PersonPastPresent
SingularPluralSingularPlural
1st- t- nan -n(e) - u
2nd (m)- t- tut -t - u
2nd (f)- ti- tut - it - u
3rd (m)-- ui/y(e) -i/y(e) - u
3rd (f)- t- ut(e) -i/y(e) - u
PersonPastPresent
SingularPluralSingularPlural
1st (m)ktebtktebnanektebnekketbu
2nd (m)ktebtktebtutektebtekketbu
2nd (f)ktebtiktebtutekketbitekketbu
3rd (m)ktebketbuyektebyekketbu
3rd (f)ketbetketbutektebyekketbu
PersonPastPresentFuturePresent continuous
SingularPluralSingularPluralSingularPluralSingularPlural
1st (m)ktebtktebnanektebnekketbuRayenektebRayḥin nekketbuRani nektebRana nekketbu
1st (f)ktebtktebnanektebnekketbuRayḥa nektebRayḥin nekketbuRani nektebRana nekketbu
2nd (m)ketbtktebtutektebtekketbuRayetektebRayḥin tekketbuRak tektebRakum tekketbu
2nd (f)ktebtiktebtutekketbitekketbuRayḥa tekketbiRayḥin tekketbuRaki tekketbiRakum tekketbu
3rd (m)ktebketbuyektebyekketbuRayeyektebRayḥin yekketbuRah yektebRahum yekketbu
3rd (f)ketbetketbutektebyekketbuRayḥa tektebRayḥin yekketbuRaha tektebRahum yekketbu

Future tense

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".

Negation

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//):

PersonPastPresentFuturePresent continuous
SingularPluralSingularPluralSingularPluralSingularPlural
1st (m)ma ktebtma ktebnama nekteb-šma nekketbuma Rayeḥ-š nektebma Rayḥin-š nekketbuma Rani-š nektebma Rana-š nekketbu
2nd (f)ma ktebtma ktebnama nekteb-šma nekketbuma Rayḥanektebma Rayḥin-š nekketbuma Rani-š nektebma Rana-š nekketbu
2nd (m)ma ketbtma ktebtuma tekteb-šma tekketbuma Rayeḥ-š tektebma Rayḥin-š tekketbuma Rak-š tektebma Rakum-š tekketbu
2nd (f)ma ktebtima ktebtuma tekketbima tekketbuma Rayḥatekketbima Rayḥin-š tekketbuma Raki-š tekketbima Rakum-š tekketbu
3rd (m)ma kteb-šma ketbuma yekteb-šma yekketbuma Rayeḥ-š yektebma Rayḥin-š yekketbuma Rah-š yektebma Rahum-š yekketbu
3rd (f)ma ketbetma ketbuma tekteb-šma yekketbuma Rayḥatektebma Rayḥin-š yekketbuma Raha-š tektebma 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

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".

The adverbs of location

Things could be in three places hnaya (right here), hna (here) or el-hih (there).

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

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.

PersonSingularPlural
1stanaḥna
2nd (m)n'tan'tuma
2nd (f)n'tin'tuma
3rd (m)huwwahuma
3rd (f)hiyyahuma

Example: « ḥatta ana/ana tani. » — "Me too."

PersonAlgerian Arabic
I amrani
You are (m)rak
You are (f)raki
He israh or Rahu
She isRahi or Raha
We arerana
You or Y'all areraku or rakum (m)and (f)
They arerahum (m)and (f)

Example: « Rani hna. » — "I'm here." and « Waš rak. » "How are you." to both males and females.

Possessive pronouns

Dar means house.

PersonSingularPlural
1sti (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'.

Interrogative pronouns

InterrogativesAlgerian 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 ?

Verbal pronouns

PersonSingularPlural
1stnina
2nd (m)(e)kkum
3rd (m)u (after a consonant) / h (after a vowel)
/ hu (before an indirect object pronoun)
hum
3rd (f)hahum

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)

Demonstratives

Unlike Classical Arabic, Algerian Arabic has no dual and uses the plural instead. The demonstrative (Hadi) is also used for "it is".

InterrogativesAlgerian ArabicEmphasized
Thishad (m), hadi (f)hada, hadaya (m), hadiyya (f)
Thatdak (m), dik (f)hadak (m), hadik (f)
Thesehaduhaduma
Thosedukhaduk

Sample text

Auguste Moulieras's Les fourberies de si Djeh'a. The text below was translated from Kabyle language.[16]

French loanwords

Algerian Arabic contains numerous French loanwords.

Algerian ArabicFrench loanwordEnglish meaningAlgerian ArabicFrench loanwordEnglish meaning
feršiṭafourchetteforkporportport
frizafraisesstrawberriesotelhôtelhotel
nurmalmunormalementnormallyfrijiderfrigidairerefrigerator
karṭacartecardbumbabombebomb
buja (v)bouger (v)move (v)ataythétea
farinafarineflourduntistdentistedentist
tilifuntéléphonephonešufurchauffeurdriver (chauffeur)
valizavalisesuitcasepaṣpurpassportpassport
trunspurtransporttransportationtunubilautomobilecar
kazirnacasernebarrackscouzinacuisine kitchen
fermliinfirmier (male) nurseblaṣa/plaṣaplaceplace/seat
pyasa/byasapiècepiecešarji (v)charger (v)load/charge (v)
kartiquartierdistrictjerdajardingarden
girraguerrewarriska (v)risquer (v)risk (v)
(g)kravaṭacravatetieziguégoutsewer
mikrumicro-ordinateurcomputerkadrecadreframe
riẓuréseaunetworkridurideaucurtain
ṭablatabletablebiyyibillet ticket
vistavestejacketbulisiyyapolicepolice
kaskiṭacasquettecapbalonaballonball
makiyajmaquillagemakeupāntikantiqueGood
(v)=verb

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Algeria - Languages Britannica . 2023-04-12 . www.britannica.com . en.
  2. Book: Wehr, Hans . A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic . 2011.
    Book: Harrell, Richard S. . Dictionary of Moroccan Arabic . 1966.
  3. Book: Du Punique au Maghribi : Trajectoires d'une langue sémito-méditerranéenne . Abdou . Elimam . Synergies Tunisie . 2009 .
  4. Book: Martin Haspelmath. Uri Tadmor. Loanwords in the World's Languages: A Comparative Handbook. 22 December 2009. Walter de Gruyter. 978-3-11-021844-2. 195.
  5. Book: Wexler, Paul . The Non-Jewish Origins of the Sephardic Jews . 2012-02-01 . State University of New York Press . 978-1-4384-2393-7 . en.
  6. Web site: Arabic, Algerian Spoken. Ethnologue. 2016-02-25.
  7. Book: 10.1002/9781118827628.ch32 . Dialects of Arabic . The Handbook of Dialectology . 2017 . Al‐Wer . Enam . Jong . Rudolf . 525 . 978-1-118-82755-0 . Wiley. Charles. Boberg. Charles Boberg. John. Nerbonne. John Nerbonne. Dominic. Watt. 989950951 .
  8. Web site: Rabeh Sbaa : " L'algérien n'est pas un dialecte, c'est une langue à part entière " . 2022-11-26 . Middle East Eye édition française . fr.
  9. K. Versteegh, Dialects of Arabic: Maghreb Dialects, hteachmideast.org
  10. The dialects of El Oued and El Taref are very close to Tunisian Arabic.
  11. The Central Hilal also includes Algerian Saharan Arabic.
  12. The Mâqil family of dialects also includes Moroccan Bedouin Arabic dialects and Hassaniya. Those of the Oranais are similar to those of eastern Morocco (Oujda area)
  13. D. Caubet, Questionnaire de dialectologie du Maghreb, in: EDNA vol.5 (2000-2001), pp.73-92
  14. A Phonetical Sketch of The Arabic Dialect Spoken in Oran (Northwestern Algeria). Guerrero. Jairo. 2014-01-01. Academia. 2020-02-13.
  15. Web site: Description of Algerian Arabic. Souag. Lameen. 2020-01-29. Rosetta Project. 2020-01-29.
  16. Bellagh . M. A. . 1987 . Auguste Moulieras, Les fourberies de Si Djeh fa (Contes Kabyles) . Horizons Maghrébins - Le droit à la mémoire . 11 . 1 . 102–103.