Tag Archives: learning

Arabic Words for “Perhaps”

أَمَل root: ء-م-ل / noun / plural: آمال / definition: hope I’ve been feeling a sense of peace recently that had remained elusive for a while. Or maybe I mean a sense of relief. Perhaps it’s to do with the fact that some internal pressure has been lifted, and my mind isn’t beating me upContinue reading “Arabic Words for “Perhaps””

Arabic Observations: Another Collection of Word Twins

مَجْموعة root: ج-م-ع / noun / plural: مَجموعات / definition: collection, group In Akkadian class last week, we learnt that mut (“husband”) plus the possessive pronoun suffix –ša (“her”) join to form mussa, in a phonological process triggered when the š finds itself snuggled up next to a dental or sibilant phoneme. Our teacher alsoContinue reading “Arabic Observations: Another Collection of Word Twins”

Five Dual Nouns Meaning “the Sun and the Moon”

قَمَر root: ق-م-ر / noun / plural: أَقمار / definition: moon, satellite We usually use dual nouns in Arabic to refer to two of the same thing. Like يَومان, “two days”, and مَكتَبَتان, “two libraries”. But sometimes, the dual is used to refer to two things that are usually mentioned together—like the Sun and theContinue reading “Five Dual Nouns Meaning “the Sun and the Moon””

Miscellaneous Advanced Phrases for Arabic Essays

مُتَفَرِّقات root:ف-ر-ق / plural noun / definition: miscellaneous things For the first time since my undergraduate degree and during this break from teaching, I’m really experiencing the full joy of studying again. And that document of notes I mentioned in Night-time Ramblings of an Arabic PhD Student? Well, it’s now got over 20 thousand words andContinue reading “Miscellaneous Advanced Phrases for Arabic Essays”

Night-time Ramblings of an Arabic PhD Student

إنتاجيّة root: ن-ت-ج / noun / definition: productivity Ten thousand words. Of notes. I think it was easier to understand that one A-Level Physics class I had when my teacher was explaining how light moves, yes, in straight lines but, oh no, it actually takes every possible route to reach anything (I still don’t getContinue reading “Night-time Ramblings of an Arabic PhD Student”

Arabic-Akkadian Observations: talmīd, تِلميذ, and a Lost Root

مَهرَقان root: ه-ر-ق / noun / definition: ocean, related to “spill” Yesterday, the two writing prompts my friend messaged me triggered a flood—okay, more like a small spill—of creativity. Inspiration at last! (“This could be a line in a novel,” she said, “Save the sentence”!) And something else, a certain Akkadian word, inspired me recentlyContinue reading “Arabic-Akkadian Observations: talmīd, تِلميذ, and a Lost Root”

The مِـ of Tools

آلة root: ء-و-ل / noun / plural: آلات / definition: tool, instrument, device Last week, we explored ten Arabic words for “refuge” which all followed one of the place and time noun patterns (مَفعَل or مَفعَلة or مَفعِل). Today, I thought we’d cover another group of patterns—this time for nouns referring to tools (collectively: اسمContinue reading “The مِـ of Tools”

Ten Arabic Place Nouns for “Refuge”

لُجوء root: ل-ج-ء / form I verbal noun / definition: refuge It’s the final week of the first semester, which means I’ll soon have five weeks to completely focus on my PhD without thinking about teaching. At the end of the first semester last year, I wrote the post The مَـ of Place and Time,Continue reading “Ten Arabic Place Nouns for “Refuge””

Step-by-Step Arabic Literature Translation #14

دِفْء root: د-ف-ء / noun / definition: warmth December has brazenly blustered in with its frost and chill and here I am, sitting at my desk with my right foot pressed against the radiator beside me, hoping for a semblance of warmth to spread to the rest of my body. I may as well typeContinue reading “Step-by-Step Arabic Literature Translation #14”

Three Ways to Say “There is” in Arabic

ضَوْء root: ض-و-ء / noun / plural: أَضْواء / definition: light I feel like a heavy door has flung open and let light flood in since I wrote about my deepening winter blues two weeks back. Maybe it’s my increased vitamin D dosage. Or maybe entering my twenty-sixth year of life brought with it lotsContinue reading “Three Ways to Say “There is” in Arabic”