مَثَل root: م-ث-ل / noun / plural: أَمْثال / definition: proverb I almost completed writing an entirely different post to publish today, but it just didn’t feel like the right day to post it. That happens sometimes when I write posts, and I then store them in my drafts to publish another week, or IContinue reading “Some Arabic Proverbs from the Hans Wehr Dictionary”
Tag Archives: foreign language
The Archaic Particle لاتَ
زِفاف root: ز-ف-ف / noun / definition: wedding After 24 hours of travel (each way), I’ve returned (very jetlagged) from a blissful week in Malaysia where I got to celebrate my friend’s wedding after not having seen her for eight whole years! Ah, the lush tropical greenery juxtaposed with glass skyscrapers… and the awe-inspiring viewsContinue reading “The Archaic Particle لاتَ”
Dictionary Finds: ء-ل-ك and Angels
مَلَك root: م-ل-ك or ل-ء-ك or ء-ل-ك… / noun / plural: مَلائِكة / definition: angel I had a conversation with my teacher about the Akkadian root ʔ-l-k (the equivalent of ء-ل-ك) which carries the general meaning of “to go” and, discussing one of his theories, he mentioned that he wasn’t sure whether this ancient SemiticContinue reading “Dictionary Finds: ء-ل-ك and Angels”
Searching for Meaning in Language
بَحْث root: ب-ح-ث / form I verbal noun / definition: searching, looking It’s Thursday and we’ve been busy translating clauses from Hittite laws in class and for homework. And my mind, exhausted but enriched from a second intense week of ancient language learning, can’t stop running. As well as concreting my love for dictionaries (orderContinue reading “Searching for Meaning in Language”
Some Arabic-Akkadian Lexical Observations
أَكّادي root: ء-ك-د / nisba adjective, noun / definition: Akkadian For the past week, I’ve been intensively studying Akkadian as part of the three-week Ancient Languages of Anatolia program, run by the Koç University Research Center for Anatolian Civilisations (ANAMED). And when I say intensively, I mean it: I feel like I’ve studied the equivalentContinue reading “Some Arabic-Akkadian Lexical Observations”
Reading Arabic Literature: Vocabulary That Caught My Eye
إطْلاق root: ط-ل-ق / form IV verbal noun / definition: launch I quietly launched The Arabic Pages shop a few days ago, with the first designs inspired by the uncommon Arabic word for “moonlessness” that we explored in Wehr Wednesdays #175. (You might say it’s slightly ironic, then, that the design features an undeniably-present illustrationContinue reading “Reading Arabic Literature: Vocabulary That Caught My Eye”
Dictionary Finds: the Curious Case of the Question Mark
اِستِفهام root: ف-ه-م / form X verbal noun / definition: inquiry, question For me, this week has been characterised by a lovely long chat in a cosy café, arranging a flurry of travel vaccinations, and adding some fresh ideas to my growing list of side hustles. I don’t remember what I was doing, however, whenContinue reading “Dictionary Finds: the Curious Case of the Question Mark”
Arabic Observations: the True Meanings of Poetry
اِرتِباط root: ر-ب-ط / form VIII verbal noun / plural: اِرتِباطات / definition: connection, link During one of your sessions journeying through an Arabic dictionary, you might have stumbled upon the entry for شِعْر, and maybe you also noticed how it has two primary meanings: knowledge and poetry. (You’ll find quite a nice phrase underContinue reading “Arabic Observations: the True Meanings of Poetry”
Strangeness and a Summer of Reading
غَريب root: غ-ر-ب / adjective / definition: strange Orhan Pamuk’s A Strangeness in My Mind has been sitting on the tiny, just-enough-space-for-tea-and-a-book shelf beside my bed, having remained unopened for far too long after I’d got into it and read a decent amount. I’m not sure why it’s hard for me to pick it backContinue reading “Strangeness and a Summer of Reading”
Dictionary Finds: Collocations of شقّ
جَوّ root: ج-و-و / noun / plural: أَجْواء / definition: air, atmosphere I try to evoke, in my physical spaces, an air of refreshing minimalism. My bedroom walls, for example, are washed in white and bare, save the two (white) floating shelves and narrow (white) floating desk that quite subtly jut out along one side.Continue reading “Dictionary Finds: Collocations of شقّ”
Arabic Observations: “Seeking” in Arabic and Turkish
لُغَويّ root: ل-غ-و / nisba adjective / definition: linguistic I’ve been toying with the idea of writing this Arabic Observations post for a while, but I was unsure whether it’s too small of an observation to be added to this series. I’ve since concluded, however, that no linguistic observation is too small to be noted.Continue reading “Arabic Observations: “Seeking” in Arabic and Turkish”
The End, the Middle, and the Beginning
أُفُق root: ء-ف-ق / noun / plural: آفاق / definition: horizon Today, I was conducting the Arabic oral exams for my second-year students and it became apparent that I have some residual anxiety from my undergraduate days as I felt nervous for them. They seemed chilled in comparison, which I’m happy about. This sort ofContinue reading “The End, the Middle, and the Beginning”
Unearthed Vocabulary
مَهجور root: ه-ج-ر / passive participle of form I / definition: abandoned Anyone who’s visited the Vocabulary page on this blog recently may have found themselves feeling as though they’d stumbled upon a long-abandoned site, with the ominously-hopeful message “More vocabulary lists coming soon!” an echo of a curious past that makes you wonder whatContinue reading “Unearthed Vocabulary”
The Wind, and a Wandering Mind
ريح root: ر-و-ح / noun / plural: رِياح / definition: wind I was watching an episode of Karadayı last week, my favourite Turkish series, and two phrases related to the wind came up in quick succession: In these sayings, the wind—whether rüzgâr (a word derived from Persian) or yel (a Turkic word)—appears as an activeContinue reading “The Wind, and a Wandering Mind”
Quinquiliteral Arabic Roots
خُماسيّ root: خ-م-س / adjective / definition: consisting of five consonants I have just a matter of hours before I’m due to catch a flight, and an unexpected nap earlier means that I’m now two to-dos behind on my to-do list, with writing this post being in prime position. Anyhow, you’ve read about my obsessionContinue reading “Quinquiliteral Arabic Roots”
Dictionary Finds: جِفتلِك
نَفَس root: ن-ف-س / noun / plural: أَنْفاس / definition: breath For the first time in a while, I feel like I can take a breath. And I can feel my creativity, whose absence I’ve been mourning for the past few weeks, rushing back as though floodgates have suddenly been lifted. What a relief!
Dictionary Finds: ماخِرة
عام root: ع-و-م / noun / plural: أَعْوام / definition: year We’re some days into 2023 now, around the time where resolutions begin to break down and the glossy new year starts to feel like any other. Except, of course, for those who didn’t bother with resolutions, determined to avoid failure at all costs. ButContinue reading “Dictionary Finds: ماخِرة”
Morocco, Darija, and Tifinagh
الدّارِجة root: د-ر-ج / noun / definition: colloquial language spoken in North Africa I’ve just returned from my one-week holiday in Agadir, and I’m slowly and reluctantly adjusting to the notable lack of heat and sunshine in London, with my already-fading tan and henna sweet reminders of my Moroccan stay. While I managed to tickContinue reading “Morocco, Darija, and Tifinagh”
Reading Arabic Literature: An Interesting (?) Structure
تَرْكيب root: ر-ك-ب / verbal noun of form II / plural: تَراكيب / definition: (grammatical) construction If it seems like the last post in the Reading Arabic Literature series was almost a year ago… that’s because it was, unfortunately. (January, apparently?!) And this doesn’t mean I haven’t been reading any Arabic literature—because as you mightContinue reading “Reading Arabic Literature: An Interesting (?) Structure”
Resource: Arabic Literature Podcast
حَلْقة root: ح-ل-ق / noun / plural: حَلَقات / definition: episode I’m rushed off my feet this week and to top it off, I have an important deadline lying menacingly in wait on the footstep of Friday evening when it will, assuredly, catch me off-guard and drag me into the lair of panic that I’veContinue reading “Resource: Arabic Literature Podcast”
The Arabic Pages 