Arabic-Akkadian Roots: q-b-l, k-l-m, and m-l-k

كَلام

root: ك-ل-م / noun / definition: speech

Since I stopped attending Akkadian evening classes, I’ve been feeling a little detached from this language I’d started falling in love with. And I miss learning and writing about the connections between Arabic and Akkadian—so here we are today.

I’ve previously explored some lexical similarities between the two languages, but this week I’m reflecting on Semitic roots that Arabic and Akkadian share. In particular: q-b-l, k-l-m, and m-l-k.

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Root Exploration: ء-ر-ب

مُسْتَشْفى

root: ش-ف-ي / form X passive participle / plural: مُستَشفَيات / definition: hospital

Four hours is how long we spent in A&E yesterday. And it’s interesting how the brain keeps itself busy during those drawn-out periods of waiting on seemingly uncomfortable-by-design chairs.

My mind, for example, kept wandering between Subway sandwiches and the spacing of the wall decor while my eyes scanned the ECG results in my hand every now and then, as if anything new would have made its way onto the paper since I’d last checked.

I didn’t get a Subway sandwich in the end, if you were wondering. Nor did I work out why the wall decor was laid out as it was.

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Between Observations and Wishful Thinking

حالِمة

root: ح-ل-م / form I active participle, feminine form / definition: dreamer, dreaming

Maybe, from my writings on this blog, you get the impression that I’m always floating between thoughts. An observation here, a dictionary find there, multiple pivots per post…

And you’d be right to think so, of course. My mind is always laden with: fifteen mental screenshots of dictionary entries; thirty-two unwritten notes for my PhD; two pages of projects I want to launch or pick up again; twenty-four recipes to try; and a long list of extinct languages I’d love to revive.

And that’s before I’ve even rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

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Arabic Observations: ذانِكَ

بُرْهان

root: ب-ر-ه-ن / noun / plural: بَراهين / definition: proof

It seems that I’ve unintentionally created a new series of posts this Ramadan, and now I can’t help but add to it.

We’ve been looking at variations of ذلك/تلك in the Qur’an—specifically, how these demonstratives are modified with pronoun suffixes:

But things don’t end there. Twenty-eight chapters (سُوَر) in, we find another related particle-plus-pronoun-suffix: ذانِكَ.

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Arabic Observations: تِلكَ and تِلكُما and تِلكُم

Artwork by Devrim Erbil, which was displayed at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Azerbaijan

التَّوْطين

root: و-ط-ن / form II verbal noun / definition: to grant citizenship

Ten-thousand-and-something days after my birth, Cyprus has finally acknowledged my existence. I can’t blame them for not granting me citizenship earlier though, as—well, how could they have known me? I was born in a London borough and have, since then, spent a cumulative total of 192 hours in my “homeland”—little enough to invite quotation marks around that term.

But, glad tidings to me: I now have a piece of paper corroborating my Cypriot-ness. My looming late-20s identity crisis can breathe a sigh of relief. (On this front, at least.)

I’ll refrain from browsing suitable frames to display the evidence of my newly-acknowledged existence because, today, I need to fill in some gaps I left open with last week’s post.

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Arabic Observations: ذلكَ and ذلكِ and ذلكُم

مُنْتَشِر

root: ن-ش-ر / form VIII active participle / definition: widespread, ubiquitous

We all know ذٰلِكَ. And how could we not? It’s that ubiquitous demonstrative pronoun meaning “that”.

But have you also heard of ذٰلِكِ and ذٰلِكُمْ? Because those are demonstrative pronouns too—but ubiquitous? Not so much. More like rare, actually.

So, where can we find these other demonstratives? And how do their meanings differ?

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Seven Arabic Terms for “Twilight”

غائِب

root: غ-ي-ب / form I active participle / definition: absent, third person (gramm.)

Writing about yourself in the third person always feels strange. And when I think of “third person”, I always think of Attila İlhan’s poem and then I feel even stranger.

But I had to set that strangeness aside and rewrite my translator bio which, from last summer, had already become outdated… as though I myself had become a stranger—

Okay, I’ll stop now. Let’s get on with the post. And we’re back with the synonyms series.

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Opportunity: Online Literary Translation Summer School

أَدَبيّ

root: ء-د-ب / nisba adjective / definition: literary

I don’t know where the time’s gone, but it’s been about a month since I started my work placement with an Arabic literary magazine, and I’ve just written tomorrow’s piece for their poetry-in-translation newsletter (subscribe to emails here!).

And speaking of literature and translation… someone reached out yesterday to let me know about an online literary translation summer school running for five days this July—and I couldn’t resist sharing with you all what looks like an amazing opportunity.

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Arabic Observations: The Cross-Linguistic-ness of “Eating” a Beating

الضَّرْب

root: ض-ر-ب / form I verbal noun / definition: beating, hitting

I left the house this morning, planning to attend the 10:30am sit-down-and-write session at my university. But after window-(and actual)-shopping in Regent Street, I bought myself a matcha oat latte (why does everything have oats in nowadays?) and decided to work from a café instead.

I was actually very productive at the café, so I don’t regret the change of plans. Nor did I dislike the sociological observation—watching people like me, working independently on their laptops, and some brave eyes trying to make contact with others glued to screens, waiting for the right time to start up a conversation.

Thankfully for my introversion and productivity, no one tried to chat to me. And before I even finished my drink, I’d ticked off the main thing I needed to get done today.

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New Hats, and More Wednesday Writings

Image courtesy of my mum, taken in Tunisia

دَوْر

root: د-و-ر / noun / plural: أَدْوار / definition: role

What’s new? Well, quite a lot.

I’ve found myself, as we tick through month one of twenty-twenty-six, switching between several roles—with my work placement, consultation sessions, study, and new endeavours. (I also keep meaning to set a date for my workshop; let me know if you’d like to join!)

And maybe switching isn’t the right word, because everything—in my head at least—is happening all at once. I occasionally flick open the tab of flights on my browser, tempted by the idea of a weekend of long walks on the beach somewhere warm(er), just to mellow my thoughts.

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