Tag Archives: learning

Pins, Needles, and a Pause

تَنْميل root: ن-م-ل / form II verbal noun / definition: pins and needles I never thought I’d have to send a sick leave request with “pins and needles” as the reason—but each season homes realisations of the unexpected, and I submitted my GP note with bated breath and tingling limbs. A four-week PhD pause, onContinue reading “Pins, Needles, and a Pause”

Exploring Time in the Arabic Dictionary: “Season”

هَنْهونة root: ه-ن-ه-ن / noun / definition: lullaby Tuesday’s early-hours London sky boomed and ignited in thunderstorm, and I—with my passionate affection for summer storms—heard the rumbles and roars as cradlesong and slipped effortlessly back into sleep after dawn prayer. I was, however, mildly fearful that the “triangle of death” would fly into my room;Continue reading “Exploring Time in the Arabic Dictionary: “Season””

Same Rule, Another Noun: عِزون

مَعْرَج root: ع-ر-ج / noun of place / plural: مَعارِج / definition: place or route of ascent Over a year ago, in Non-Human Nouns, Human Plurals, we explored some non-human nouns that—unexpectedly—take on sound, masculine plural forms (which are usually reserved for nouns referring to humans). Think: سِنون and عالَمون and أولون. Or, with a differentContinue reading “Same Rule, Another Noun: عِزون”

Four Shared Words for Camels in Arabic and Akkadian

إبِل root: ء-ب-ل / collective noun / definition: camels I learnt a new phrase this weekend, from an Arabic-speaking guy who drove three hours to an underwhelming event and told us: أَكَلْنا خازوق. Basically, as my husband put it, it means he took an L. In other words, “we’ve been done”. Or, in ever-so-slightly-less colloquialContinue reading “Four Shared Words for Camels in Arabic and Akkadian”

Root Exploration: Venus, Mars, and Saturn

كَوْكَب root: ك-و-ك-ب / noun / plural: كَواكِب / definition: planet (compare with the Akkadian) Isn’t it ironic (or maybe just careless of me) that I placed all of my winter boots in storage just before the heavens opened over London last night and left us deluged in a mizzle-to-downpour pendulum. My friend questioned myContinue reading “Root Exploration: Venus, Mars, and Saturn”

The Levantine بِدّي and a Weekly Request

وِدّ root: و-د-د / noun / definition: love, wish, desire Every weekend, my other half hears the same two words from me: بِدّي برغر (I want a burger). I can’t help my weekly craving for a juicy burger, and I think it started when I began travelling abroad regularly a few years back. Sure, I’dContinue reading “The Levantine بِدّي and a Weekly Request”

Dictionary Finds: Zaʿtar, Saʿtar, and Ṣaʿtar

مِسْكين root: م-س-ك-ن / noun / plural: مَساكين / definition: poor thing If you know me in-person, you’ve probably been fortunate enough to be an unwilling spectator and/or listener to my gleeful blabbering about some dictionary find or linguistic observation. This weekend, my husband—yet again, مسكين…—was in the line of fire as I gushed aboutContinue reading “Dictionary Finds: Zaʿtar, Saʿtar, and Ṣaʿtar”

Five Arabic Terms for the Bedouins

وَبَر root: و-ب-ر / noun / plural: أَوْبار / definition: the fur of camels and goats Throughout my twenties, I’ve carried a sort of sign-up-and-see-what-happens attitude. I’ll sign up to lead a workshop or run a marathon or join a summer school abroad, etcetera, and then just follow the path of fate. Sometimes, though, IContinue reading “Five Arabic Terms for the Bedouins”

Arabic-Akkadian Roots: ء-ك-ل ,ع-ل-و, and ب-ك-ي

دَجاج root: د-ج-ج / collective noun / definition: chicken Have you ever roasted a chicken upside down? Well I have. Twice. Well, it was one time—but two chickens. No questions, please. This was a cathartic confession, blurted out in a fluster of shame, and no more than that. Thank God for the antidote of blushing:Continue reading “Arabic-Akkadian Roots: ء-ك-ل ,ع-ل-و, and ب-ك-ي”

Around the Knot in Ten Blinks

غَمْضة root: غ-م-ض / noun / definition: a blink Can you believe it’s been ten years since I enrolled in my Arabic and Linguistics bachelor’s degree? No way! scream the imaginary crowd in my head. But yes, yes indeed. I’d stepped into university, fresh off of A-Level stress, printed timetable in hand—and then, in justContinue reading “Around the Knot in Ten Blinks”