غَضَب root: غ-ض-ب / noun / definition: anger My mind feels switched off today, and I think it’s because I poured out all of my thoughts into the other post. I talked about the word عدن, my PhD status upgrade, and my search for olive leaves to burn. My friend said she liked that metaphor—aboutContinue reading “Seven Phrases of Rage in Arabic”
Tag Archives: foreign language
Arabic Observations: Returning to مُحيط
إعادة root: ع-و-د / form IV verbal noun / definition: return, re- In the past few days, I reconnected with someone I haven’t seen in eleven years. And it made me reflect on the reasons why we return to our past—or why it returns to us. And in terms of ideas, one theme I keepContinue reading “Arabic Observations: Returning to مُحيط”
Dictionary Finds: بقيت دار لقمان على حالها
دار root: د-و-ر / noun / plural: دِيار / definition: home I had this idea a few days ago to vlog a week in my life as a PhD student. And now, every action poses a conundrum. Like, do I record the aftermath of my disastrous attempt to bake a sugar-free brownie without a recipeContinue reading “Dictionary Finds: بقيت دار لقمان على حالها”
A De-Forgotten Song, an Antidote, a Last Post
أَخير root: ء-خ-ر / adjective / definition: last Something usually goes wrong in the first few days of me living alone. This time? I almost got locked out of the house, thanks to a jammed lock (remedied with olive oil, what else?)—oh, and I almost poisoned myself. After messaging my sister to make sure sheContinue reading “A De-Forgotten Song, an Antidote, a Last Post”
Arabic Diptotes: الممنوع من الصرف
اِنْتِظار root: ن-ظ-ر / form VIII verbal noun / definition: waiting Time and tide wait for no man. Yesterday was the first day I came across this English proverb. Its meaning resonated, but what really drew me to this phrase was the word “tide”. You see, I’ve been thinking about the sea a lot lately.Continue reading “Arabic Diptotes: الممنوع من الصرف”
The Taste of Language
لِسان root: ل-س-ن / noun / plural: أَلسِنة، أَلسُن / definition: tongue, language I’m on day 3 of a five-day run of meetings and meet-ups. TfL continues to fleece me, my average step count continues to rise, and I continue to wonder what kind of rehab my introverted self will need after this. Popping intoContinue reading “The Taste of Language”
Academic Arabic: Bridging, Framing, and Projecting
صَباح root: ص-ب-ح / noun / definition: morning Today, I woke up busy. I spent all my morning hours—and half of my afternoon ones—on my rocking chair with laptop in lap, steadily ticking through my checklist. I’ll become a morning person by force at this rate. Yet, don’t fret, nothing can distract me from writingContinue reading “Academic Arabic: Bridging, Framing, and Projecting”
إيمان: Form IV Verbal Nouns of Hamza-Initial Roots
صُداع root: ص-د-ع / noun / definition: headache I keep forgetting I’m 27. In my head, I’m already 28, and I’m not sure why. It’s slightly ironic that I can’t digest the number 27; it seems I recognise 27 in everything but myself. (I wonder if I lost a year in the time difference betweenContinue reading “إيمان: Form IV Verbal Nouns of Hamza-Initial Roots”
Writer’s Grief and Closing a Chapter
كاتِبة root: ك-ت-ب / form I active participle, feminine form / definition: writing, a writer I get emotionally attached to plans. I’ve been gathering quotes, ideas, and notes for months—only to realise there’s not enough word count (or time) to include everything in the chapter I’m writing. So I save bullet points of brain clutterContinue reading “Writer’s Grief and Closing a Chapter”
Exploring Time in the Arabic Dictionary: “Hour”
سائِع root: س-و-ع / form I active participle / definition: abandoned Do you remember, back in January, when we explored why سنة is longer than عام? Well, we’re back with the Exploring Time series—and this time we’re taking a deep dive into the Arabic word for “hour”. And it’s more interesting than you might expect…
Hidden Form V Verbs in the Qur’an
مَخْفيّ root: خ-ف-ي / adjective / definition: hidden, concealed Last week, I attended an online talk about developing a writing system for Cypriot Arabic. As a Cypriot linguist who’s studying Arabic, I kind of couldn’t miss it. I hadn’t realised, though, that it was a “camera-on” event—so I quickly threw on a headscarf and smoothedContinue reading “Hidden Form V Verbs in the Qur’an”
10:27, Baghdad, Page 63
مَقْهًى root: ق-ه-و /noun / plural: مَقاهٍ / definition: café I can’t help but notice that, beyond my screen, my تبغدد top is drying on the heater upside down. . I’m normally the most unobservant person—my friends can tell you that. But there are some things, especially in times of stress, that I’ll notice toContinue reading “10:27, Baghdad, Page 63”
Non-Human Nouns, Human Plurals
إنْسان root: ء-ن-س / noun / definition: a human I was thinking about the root of the word إنْسان (“human”)—how ء-ن-س is associated with friendliness and familiarity, and how even the dictionary knows that humanity can be lost and corrupted if you muddle its origin (see ء-س-ن). And the humanness of language is very muchContinue reading “Non-Human Nouns, Human Plurals”
Dictionary Finds: رَحَموت
الرَّحْمة root: ر-ح-م / noun / definition: mercy I can summarise my PhD progress today by saying that I eventually won the wrestle with page numbers on my running thesis draft. Of course the developers had to make that difficult, because God forbid someone would want the numbering to start on page 3 rather thanContinue reading “Dictionary Finds: رَحَموت”
Prepositional Interrogatives: When Does عَمّا Become عَمَّ?
بَوصَلة root: ب-و-ص-ل / noun / plural: بَوصَلات / definition: a compass I wonder if it means anything that “time” is ud in Sumerian and öd in Göktürkçe. Then I think back to my friend telling me that the ancient Egyptians associated east with this life and west with the afterlife; and language and cultureContinue reading “Prepositional Interrogatives: When Does عَمّا Become عَمَّ?”
Cairene Bookshops and Un-Expectations
القاهِرة root: ق-ه-ر / proper noun, feminine form I active participle / definition: Cairo A few days ago, I was taking refuge from a chilly Cairene night in the warmth of a tiny bookshop when I got to chatting with the two men working there. One of them kindly gifted me a book he guessedContinue reading “Cairene Bookshops and Un-Expectations”
Arabic Observations: Retracing and Narrating
بُقْعة root: ب-ق-ع / noun / plural: بُقَع / definition: stain Someone noted last night that I often wear white. And a matter of minutes later, sat in that Uyghur restaurant in Central London, an orange stain of noodle sauce had menacingly bloomed on the referred-to dress, front and centre. It was tempting—in that moment—toContinue reading “Arabic Observations: Retracing and Narrating”
Four Arabic Phrases Meaning “Unable to Speak”
الاِنجِذاب root: ج-ذ-ب / form VII verbal noun / definition: gravitation (towards, إلى) Since late 2019, I’ve been writing two posts a week on this blog—one of which is always an addition to the Wehr Wednesdays series. Every Wednesday, or just before it, I pick a random word or phrase from my list of “coolContinue reading “Four Arabic Phrases Meaning “Unable to Speak””
Resource: Free Arabic e-Books
مَجّانًا root: م-ج-ن / adverb / definition: for free, without charge Saying I had “errands to run” this morning feels very grown-up. Then I remember I’m 27, and I am a grown-up. I somehow feel like my twenties are round-two of being a toddler: here I am, bobbing about, experiencing every new first with pitifulContinue reading “Resource: Free Arabic e-Books”
Arabic Epiphanies in Akkadian Class: خلق, the Rule of 12, and 19 Verb Forms
خَلَقَ root: خ-ل-ق / form I verb / definition: to create I’ve taken on a few new projects recently which have made for an exciting–albeit very busy—week. My tranquil Monday mood helped me to take everything in my stride… and the giant pizza over a business dinner didn’t hurt mood-wise either. But in between reviewingContinue reading “Arabic Epiphanies in Akkadian Class: خلق, the Rule of 12, and 19 Verb Forms”
The Arabic Pages 