Egyptian Arabic

"Masri" redirects here. For other uses, see Masri (disambiguation).
Egyptian Arabic
اللغة المصرية العامية
Pronunciation [elˈloɣæ l.mɑsˤˈɾejjɑ l.ʕæmˈmejjæ]
Native to Egypt Saudi Arabia Oman Iraq
Native speakers
 55 million (2006)[1]
Arabic alphabet
Latin
Official status
Official language in
 (none)
Language codes
ISO 639-3 arz
Glottolog egyp1253[2]

Egyptian Arabic is the language spoken by most contemporary Egyptians. It is more commonly known locally as the Egyptian colloquial language or Egyptian dialect. Look below for local namings.

Egyptian Arabic is a variety of the Arabic languages of the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family. It originated in the Nile Delta in Lower Egypt around the capital Cairo. Descended from the spoken Arabic which was brought to Egypt during the seventh-century AD Muslim conquest, its development was influenced by the indigenous Coptic of pre-Islamic Egypt,[3][4][5] and later by other languages such as Turkish/Ottoman Turkish, Italian, French and English. The 80 million Egyptians speak a continuum of dialects, among which Cairene is the most prominent. It is also understood across most of the Arabic speaking countries due to the predominance of the Egyptian influence on the region as well as the Egyptian media, making it the most widely spoken and one of the most widely studied varieties of Arabic.[6]

While it is essentially a spoken language, it is encountered in written form in novels, plays, poems (vernacular literature), as well as in comics, advertising, some newspapers, and transcriptions of popular songs. In most other written media and in television news reporting, Literary Arabic is used. Literary Arabic is a standardized language based on the language of the Quran, i.e. Classical Arabic. The Egyptian vernacular is almost universally written in the Arabic alphabet for local consumption, although it is commonly transcribed into Latin letters or in the International Phonetic Alphabet in linguistics text and textbooks aimed at teaching non-native learners. Also, it is written in ASCII Latin alphabet mainly online and in SMSs.

Naming

Egyptians know the dialect as the Egyptian colloquial language (اللغة المصرية العامية [elˈloɣæ l.mɑsˤˈɾejjɑ l.ʕæmˈmejjæ][note B]) or Egyptian dialect (اللهجة المصرية [elˈlæhɡæ l.mɑsˤˈɾejjɑ][note C]; abbreviated: مصري‎[7] [ˈmɑsˤɾi] "Egyptian"). However, it is also named the Modern Egyptian Language (اللغة المصرية الحديثة‎,[8] IPA: [elˈloɣæ l.mɑsˤˈɾejjɑ l.ħæˈdiːsæ][note A])

The terms Egyptian Arabic and Masri are usually used synonymously with Cairene Arabic, the dialect of the Egyptian capital. The country's native name, Maṣr, is used locally to refer to the capital Cairo itself. Similar to the role played by Parisian French, Egyptian Arabic is by far the most dominant in all areas of national life.

Geographic distribution

Egyptian Arabic is spoken natively by more than 52 million Egyptians[9] and as a second language by most of the remaining 24 million Egyptians[10] in several regional dialects, as well as by immigrant Egyptian communities in the Middle East, Europe, North America, Latin America, Australia and South East Asia. Among the spoken varieties of Arabic, standard Egyptian Arabic (based on the dialect of the Egyptian capital) is the only one to have become a lingua franca in other parts of the Arabic-speaking world for two main reasons:[11][12] the proliferation and popularity of Egyptian films and other media in the region since the early 20th century; and the great number of Egyptian teachers and professors who were instrumental in setting up the education systems of various countries in the Arabian Peninsula and who also taught there and in other countries such as Algeria and Libya. Also many Lebanese artists choose to sing in Egyptian as well as Lebanese.

History

The Egyptians slowly adopted the Arabic language as a written language following the Arab-Muslim conquest of Egypt in the 7th century AD. Up until then, they were speaking either Greek or Egyptian in its Coptic form. For more than three centuries, there existed a period of Coptic-Arabic bilingualism in Lower Egypt. This trend would last for many more centuries in the south. Arabic may have been already familiar to Egyptians through pre-Islamic trade with Bedouin Arab tribes in the Sinai Peninsula, and the easternmost part of the Nile Delta. Egyptian Arabic seems to have begun taking shape in Fustat, the first Islamic capital of Egypt, and now part of modern-day Cairo.

One of the earliest linguistic sketches of Egyptian Arabic is a 16th-century document entitled Daf` al-'iṣr `an kalām 'ahl Miṣr (دفع الإصر عن كلام أهل مصر, "The Removal of the Burden from the Language of the People of Egypt") by Yūsuf al-Maġribi (يوسف المغربي). It contains key information on early Egyptian Arabic and the language situation in medieval Egypt. The main purpose of the document was to show that while the Egyptians' vernacular contained many critical "errors" vis-à-vis Classical Arabic, according to Maġribi, it was also related to Arabic in other respects. With the ongoing Islamization, and Arabization of the country, Egyptian Arabic slowly supplanted spoken Egyptian. Local chroniclers mention the continued use of Coptic Egyptian as a spoken language until the 17th century AD by peasant women in Upper Egypt. Coptic is still the liturgical language of the Egyptian Coptic Church.

Official status

Egyptian Arabic has no official status, and is not officially recognized as a language. Standard Arabic, a modernized form of Classical Arabic (Koranic Arabic), is the official language of Egypt (see diglossia). Interest in the local vernacular began in the 1800s, as the Egyptian national movement for self-determination was taking shape. Questions about the reform and modernization of Arabic came to the fore, and for many decades to follow they were hotly debated in Egyptian intellectual circles. Proposals ranged from developing neologisms to replace archaic terminology in Standard Arabic; to the simplification of syntactical and morphological rules and the introduction of colloquialisms; to complete "Egyptianization" (tamṣīr) by abandoning the so-called Standard Arabic in favor of Masri or Egyptian Arabic.[13]

Proponents of language reform in Egypt included Qasim Amin, who also wrote the first Egyptian feminist treatise, former President of the Egyptian University, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, and noted intellectual Salama Moussa. They adopted a modernist, secular approach and disagreed with the assumption that Arabic was an immutable language because of its association with the Quran. The first modern Egyptian novel in which the dialogue was written in the vernacular was Muhammad Husayn Haykal's Zaynab in 1913; it wasn't until 1966 that Mustafa Musharafa's Kantara Who Disbelieved was released - the first novel to be written entirely in Egyptian Arabic.[14] Other notable novelists such as Ihsan Abdel Quddous and Yusuf Idris, and poets such as Salah Jaheen, Abnudi and Fagoumi, helped solidify vernacular literature as a distinct literary genre.[13]

Amongst certain groups within Egypt's elite, Egyptian Arabic enjoyed a brief period of rich literary output. This dwindled with the rise of Egyptian Arab nationalism, which had gained wide popularity in Egypt by the final years of the Egyptian and Sudanese monarchy, as demonstrated vividly by Egypt's involvement in the Arab-Israeli War of 1948 under King Farouk. The Egyptian Revolution of 1952, led by Muhammad Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser, further enhanced the significance of Arab nationalism, making it a central element of Egyptian state policy. The importance of Standard Arabic was re-emphasised in the public sphere by the revolutionary government, and efforts to accord any formal language status to the Egyptian vernacular were ignored. Egyptian Arabic was identified as a mere dialect, and one that was not even spoken universally in Egypt itself, with almost all of Upper Egypt speaking the Saidi dialect of Arabic. Though the revolutionary government heavily sponsored the use of the Egyptian vernacular in films, plays, television programmes, and music, the pre-revolution use of Standard Arabic in official publications was retained.

Linguistic commentators have noted the multi-faceted approach of the Egyptian revolutionaries towards the Arabic language. Whereas Egypt's first President Muhammad Naguib exhibited a preference for using Standard Arabic in his public speeches, his successor Gamal Abdel Nasser was renowned for using the vernacular, and punctuating his speeches with traditional Egyptian words, and expressions. Conversely, Standard Arabic was the norm for state news outlets, including newspapers, magazines, television, and radio. This was especially true of Egypt's national broadcasting company, the Arab Radio and Television Union, which was established with the intent of providing content for the entire Arab World, not merely Egypt, hence the need to broadcast in the standard rather than vernacular. The Voice of the Arabs radio station in particular had an audience from across the region, and the use of anything other than Standard Arabic was viewed as eminently incongruous.

As the status of Egyptian Arabic vis-à-vis Classical Arabic can have such political and religious implications in Egypt, the question of whether Egyptian Arabic should be considered a "dialect" or "language" can be a source of debate. In sociolinguistics, Egyptian Arabic can be seen as one of many distinct varieties which, despite arguably being languages on abstand grounds, are united by a common dachsprache in Literary Arabic (MSA).

Spoken varieties in Egypt

Saidi Arabic (Upper Egyptian) is a separate variety in Ethnologue.com and ISO 639-3 as well as in other sources,[15] and the two varieties have limited mutual intelligibility. It carries little prestige nationally but continues to be widely spoken (19,000,000 speakers)[16] including in the north by rural migrants who have adapted partially to Egyptian Arabic. For example, the Saidi genitive exponent is usually replaced with Egyptian bitāʿ , but the realization of /ʔ/ as [ɡ] is retained. Second and third-generation migrants are monolingual in the Cairene variety, but maintain cultural and familial ties to the south.

The traditional division between Lower and Upper Egypt and their respective differences go back to ancient times. Egyptians today commonly refer to the people of the north as baḥarwa ([bɑˈħɑɾwɑ]) and to those of the south as ṣaʿayda ([sˤɑˈʕɑjdɑ]). The differences throughout Egypt, however, are more wide ranging and do not neatly correspond to this simple division. There is a linguistic shift from the eastern to the western parts of the delta, and the varieties spoken from Gizah to el Minya are further grouped into a Middle Egypt cluster. Despite these differences, there are features distinguishing all the Egyptian Arabic varieties of the Nile Valley from any other Arabic variety. Such features include reduction of long vowels in open and unstressed syllables, the postposition of demonstratives and interrogatives, the modal meaning of the imperfect, and the integration of the participle.[17]

The Western Egyptian Bedawi Arabic variety[18] of the western desert differs from all other Arabic varieties in Egypt in that it linguistically forms part of the Maghrebi group of varieties.[19] The same was formerly true of the Egyptian form of Judaeo-Arabic. Eastern Egyptian Bedawi Arabic is also distinct from Egyptian Arabic.[20]

Phonology

The phonology of Egyptian Arabic (or Cairene) differs slightly from that of other varieties of the Arabic languages and has its own unique consonant and vowel inventories.

Morphology

Nouns

In contrast to CA and MSA, nouns are not inflected for case and lack nunation (with the exception of certain fixed phrases in the accusative case, such as شكراً [ˈʃokɾɑn], "thank you"). As all nouns take their pausal forms, singular words and broken plurals simply lose their case endings. In sound plurals and dual forms, where, in MSA, difference in case is present even in pausal forms, the genitive/accusative form is the one preserved. Fixed expressions in the construct state beginning in abu, often geographic names, retain their -u in all cases.[21]

Plurals

Most common broken plural patterns
Singular Plural Notes Examples
CVCCVC(a) CaCaaCiC any four-character root with short second vowel maktab, makaatib "desk, office"; markib, maraakib "boat"; maṭbax, maṭaabix "kitchen"; masʔala, masaaʔil "matter"; maṭṛaḥ, maṭaaṛiḥ "place"; masṛaḥ, masaaṛiḥ "theater"; tazkaṛa, tazaakir "ticket"; ʔiswira, ʔasaawir "bracelet"; muʃkila, maʃaakil "problem"; muulid, mawaalid "(holy) birthday"
CVCCVVC(a) CaCaCiiC any four-character root with long second vowel fustaan, fasatiin "dress"; guṛnaal, gaṛaniil "newspaper"; muftaaḥ, mafatiiḥ "key"; fingaan, fanagiin "cup"; sikkiina, sakakiin "knife"; tamriin, tamariin "exercise"; siggaada, sagagiid "carpet"; magmuuʕ, magamiiʕ "total"; maṣruuf, maṣaṛiif "expense"; maskiin, masakiin "poor, pitiable"
CaC(i)C, CiCC, CeeC (< *CayC) CuCuuC very common for three-character roots dars, duruus "lesson"; daxl, duxuul "income"; daʔn, duʔuun "chin"; ḍeef, ḍuyuuf "guest"; ḍirṣ, ḍuruuṣ "molar tooth"; fann, funuun "art"; farʔ, furuuʔ "difference"; faṣl, fuṣuul "class, chapter"; geeb, guyuub "pocket"; geeʃ, guyuuʃ "army"; gild, guluud "leather"; ḥall, ḥuluul "solution"; ḥarb, ḥuruub "war"; ḥaʔʔ, ḥuʔuuʔ "right"; malik, muluuk "king"
CaC(a)C, CiCC, CuCC, CooC (< *CawC) ʔaCCaaC very common for three-character roots durg, ʔadṛaag "drawer"; duʃʃ, ʔadʃaaʃ "shower"; film, ʔaflaam "film"; miʃṭ, ʔamʃaaṭ "comb"; mitr, ʔamtaaṛ "meter"; gism, ʔagsaam; guzʔ, ʔagzaaʔ "part"; muxx, ʔamxaax "brain"; nahṛ, ʔanhaaṛ "river"; door, ʔadwaaṛ "(one's) turn, floor (of building)"; nooʕ, ʔanwaaʕ "kind, sort"; yoom, ʔayyaam "day"; nuṣṣ, ʔanṣaaṣ "half"; qism, ʔaqṣaam "division"; waʔt, ʔawʔaat "time"; faṛaḥ, ʔafṛaaḥ "joy, wedding"; gaṛas, ʔagṛaas "bell"; maṭaṛ, ʔamṭaaṛ "rain"; taman, ʔatmaan "price"; walad, ʔawlaad "boy"
CaaC, CuuC ʔaCwaaC variant of previous ḥaal, ʔaḥwaal "state, condition"; nuur, ʔanwaaṛ "light"
CaCCa, CooCa (< *CawCa) CiCaC, CuCaC CaCCa < Classical CaCCa (not CaaCiCa) gazma, gizam "shoe"; dawla, duwal "state, country"; ḥalla, ḥilal "pot"; ʃooka, ʃuwak "fork"; taxta, tuxat "blackboard"
CiCCa CiCaC ḥiṣṣa, ḥiṣaṣ "allotment"; ḥiṭṭa, ḥiṭaṭ "piece"; minḥa, minaḥ "scholarship"; nimra, nimar "number"; qiṣṣa, qiṣaṣ "story"
CuCCa CuCaC fuṛma, fuṛam "shape, form"; fuṛṣa, fuṛaṣ "chance"; fusḥa, fusaḥ "excursion"; fuuṭa, fuwaṭ "towel"; nukta, nukat "joke"; ʔuṭṭa, ʔuṭaṭ "cat"; mudda, mudad "period (of time)"
CVCVVC(a) CaCaayiC three-character roots with long second vowel sigaaṛa, sagaayir "cigarette"; gariida, gaṛaayid "newspaper"; gimiil, gamaayil "favor"; ḥabiib, ḥabaayib "lover"; ḥariiʔa, ḥaraayiʔ "destructive fire"; ḥaʔiiʔa, ḥaʔaayiʔ "fact, truth"; natiiga, nataayig "result"; xaṛiiṭa, xaṛaayiṭ "map"; zibuun, zabaayin "customer"
CaaCiC, CaCCa CawaaCiC CaCCa < Classical CaaCiCa (not CaCCa) ḥaamil, ḥawaamil "pregnant"; haanim, hawaanim "lady"; gaamiʕ, gawaamiʕ "mosque"; maaniʕ, mawaaniʕ "obstacle"; fakha, fawaakih "fruit"; ḥadsa, ḥawaadis "accident"; fayda, fawaayid "benefit"; ʃaariʕ, ʃawaariʕ "street"; xaatim, xawaatim "ring"
CaaCiC CuCCaaC mostly occupational nouns kaatib, kuttaab "writer"; saakin, sukkaan "inhabitant"; saayiḥ, suwwaaḥ "tourist";
CaCiiC CuCaCa adjectives and occupational nouns faʔiir, fuʔaṛa "poor"; nabiih, nubaha "intelligent"; naʃiiṭ, nuʃaṭa "active"; raʔiis, ruʔasa "president"; safiir, sufaṛa "ambassador"; waziir, wuzaṛa "minister"; xabiir, xubaṛa "expert"; ṭaalib, ṭalaba "student"
CaCiiC/CiCiiC CuCaaC adjectives gamiil, gumaal "beautiful"; naʃiiṭ, nuʃaaṭ "active"; niḍiif, nuḍaaf "clean"; tixiin, tuxaan "fat"
Secondary broken plural patterns
Singular Plural Notes Examples
CVCCVVC CaCaCCa occupational nouns tilmiiz, talamza "student"; ʔustaaz, ʔasatza "teacher"; simsaaṛ, samasṛa "broker"; duktoor, dakatra "doctor"
CaCVVC CawaaCiiC qamuus, qawamiis "dictionary"; maʕaad, mawaʕiid "appointment"; ṭabuuṛ, ṭawabiiṛ "line, queue"; meʃwar, maʃaweer "Walk, Appointment"
CaCaC CiCaaC gamal, gimaal "camel"; gabal, gibaal "mountain, hill"
CaCC ʔaCCuC ʃahṛ, ʔaʃhur "month"
CiCaaC, CaCiiC(a) CuCuC kitaab, kutub "book"; madiina, mudun "city"
CaCC(a) CaCaaCi maʕna, maʕaani "meaning"; makwa, makaawi "iron"; ʔahwa, ʔahaawi "coffee"; ʔaṛḍ, ʔaṛaaḍi "ground, land"
CaaCa, CaaCi, CaCya CawaaCi ḥaaṛa, ḥawaaṛi "alley"; naadi, nawaadi "club"; naḥya, nawaaḥi "side"
CaCaC, CiCaaC ʔaCCiCa/ʔiCCiCa ḥizaam, ʔaḥzima "belt"; masal, ʔamsila "example"; sabat, ʔisbita "basket"
CiCiyya CaCaaya hidiyya, hadaaya "gift"
CaaC CiCaaC faaṛ, firaan "mouse"; gaaṛ, giraan "neighbor"; xaal, xilaan "maternal uncle"

Color/defect nouns

Examples of "color and defect" nouns
Meaning (template) green blue black white deaf blind one-eyed
Masculine ʔaCCaC ʔaxḍaṛ ʔazraʔ ʔiswid ʔabyaḍ ʔaṭṛaʃ ʔaʕma ʔaʕwaṛ
Feminine CaCCa xaḍṛa zarʔa sooda beeḍa ṭaṛʃa ʕamya ʕooṛa
Plural CuCC xuḍr zurʔ suud biiḍ ṭurʃ ʕumy ʕuur

A common set of nouns referring to colors, as well as a number of nouns referring to physical defects of various sorts (ʔaṣlaʕ "bald"; ʔaṭṛaʃ "deaf"; ʔaxṛas "dumb"), take a special inflectional pattern, as shown in the table. Note that only a small number of common colors inflect this way: ʔaḥmaṛ "red"; ʔazraʔ "blue"; ʔaxḍaṛ "green"; ʔaṣfaṛ "yellow"; ʔabyaḍ "white"; ʔiswid "black"; ʔasmaṛ "brown-skinned, brunette"; ʔaʃʔaṛ "blond(e)". The remaining colors are invariable, and mostly so-called nisba adjectives derived from colored objects: bunni "brown" (< bunn "coffee powder"); ṛamaadi "gray" (< ṛamaad "ashes"); banafsigi "purple" (< banafsig "violet"); burtuʔaani "orange" (< burtuʔaan "oranges"); zibiibi "maroon" (< zibiib "raisins"); etc., or of foreign origin: beeع "beige" from the French; bamba "pink" from Turkish pembe.[22]

Pronouns

Forms of the independent and clitic pronouns
Meaning Subject Direct object/Possessive Indirect object
After vowel After 1 cons. After 2 cons. After vowel After 1 cons. After 2 cons.
Normal + ʃ + l- Normal + ʃ + l- Normal + ʃ + l- Normal + ʃ Normal + ʃ Normal + ʃ
"my" (nominal) — - ́ya -i —
"I/me" (verbal) ána - ́ni -íni - ́li -íli
"you(r) (masc.)" ínta - ́k -ak - ́lak -ílak
"you(r) (fem.)" ínti - ́ki -ik -ki -ik -iki - ́lik -lkí -lik -likí -ílik -ilkí
"he/him/his" huwwa - ́ -hu -u -hu -u -uhu - ́lu -ílu
"she/her" hiyya - ́ha -áha - ́lha -láha -ílha
"we/us/our" íḥna - ́na -ína - ́lna -lína -ílna
"you(r) (pl.)" íntu - ́ku -úku - ́lku -lúku -ílku
"they/them/their" humma - ́hum -úhum - ́lhum -lúhum -ílhum
Examples of possessive constructs
Base Word béet
"house" 		biyúut
"houses" 		bánk
"bank" 		sikkíina
"knife" 		máṛa
"wife" 		ʔább
"father" 		ʔidéen
"hands"
Construct Base béet- biyúut- bánk- sikkíin(i)t- miṛáat- ʔabúu- ʔidée-
"my ..." béet-i biyúut-i bánk-i sikkínt-i miṛáat-i ʔabúu-ya ʔidáy-ya
"your (masc.) ..." béet-ak biyúut-ak bánk-ak sikkínt-ak miṛáat-ak ʔabúu-k ʔidée-k
"your (fem.) ..." béet-ik biyúut-ik bánk-ik sikkínt-ik miṛáat-ik ʔabúu-ki ʔidée-ki
"his ..." béet-u biyúut-u bánk-u sikkínt-u miṛáat-u ʔabúu-(h) ʔidée-(h)
"her ..." bét-ha biyút-ha bank-áha sikkinít-ha miṛát-ha ʔabúu-ha ʔidée-ha
"our ..." bét-na biyút-na bank-ína sikkinít-na miṛát-na ʔabúu-na ʔidée-na
"your (pl.) ..." bét-ku biyút-ku bank-úku sikkinít-ku miṛát-ku ʔabúu-ku ʔidée-ku
"their ..." bét-hum biyút-hum bank-úhum sikkinít-hum miṛát-hum ʔabúu-hum ʔidée-hum
Suffixed prepositions
Base Word fi
"in" 		bi
"by, in, with" 		li
"to" 		wayya
"with" 		ʕala
"on" 		ʕand
"in the
possession of,
to have" 		min
"from"
"... me" fíy-ya bíy-ya líy-ya wayyáa-ya ʕaláy-ya ʕánd-i mínn-i
"... you (masc.)" fíi-k bíi-k líi-k, l-ak wayyáa-k ʕalée-k ʕánd-ak mínn-ak
"... you (fem.)" fíi-ki bíi-ki líi-ki, li-ki wayyáa-ki ʕalée-ki ʕánd-ik mínn-ik
"... him" fíi-(h) bíi-(h) líi-(h), l-u(h) wayyáa-(h) ʕalée-(h) ʕánd-u mínn-u
"... her" fíi-ha bíi-ha líi-ha, la-ha wayyáa-ha ʕalée-ha ʕand-áha minn-áha, mín-ha
"... us" fíi-na bíi-na líi-na, li-na wayyáa-na ʕalée-na ʕand-ína minn-ína
"... you (pl.)" fíi-ku bíi-ku líi-ku, li-ku wayyáa-ku ʕalée-ku ʕand-úku minn-úku, mín-ku
"... them" fíi-hum bíi-hum líi-hum, li-hum wayyáa-hum ʕalée-hum ʕand-úhum minn-úhum, mín-hum

Egyptian Arabic object pronouns are clitics, in that they attach to the end of a noun, verb or preposition, with the result forming a single phonological word rather than separate words. Clitics can be attached to the following types of words:

With verbs, indirect object clitic pronouns can be formed using the preposition li- plus a clitic. Both direct and indirect object clitic pronouns can be attached to a single verb: agíib "I bring", agíb-hu "I bring it", agib-húu-lik "I bring it to you", m-agib-hu-lkíi-ʃ "I do not bring it to you".

Verbs

Verbs in Arabic are based on a stem made up of three or four consonants. The set of consonants communicates the basic meaning of a verb. Changes to the vowels in between the consonants, along with prefixes and/or suffixes, specify grammatical functions such as tense, person and number, in addition to changes in the meaning of the verb that embody grammatical concepts such as causative, intensive, passive or reflexive.

Each particular lexical verb is specified by two stems, one used for the past tense and one used for non-past tenses along with as subjunctive and imperative moods. To the former stem, suffixes are added to mark the verb for person, number and gender, while to the latter stem, a combination of prefixes and suffixes are added. (Very approximately, the prefixes specify the person and the suffixes indicate number and gender.) The third person masculine singular past tense form serves as the "dictionary form" used to identify a verb, similar to the infinitive in English. (Arabic has no infinitive.) For example, the verb meaning "write" is often specified as kátab, which actually means "he wrote". In the paradigms below, a verb will be specified as kátab/yíktib (where kátab means "he wrote" and yíktib means "he writes"), indicating the past stem (katab-) and non-past stem (-ktib-, obtained by removing the prefix yi-).

The verb classes in Arabic are formed along two axes. One axis (described as "form I", "form II", etc.) is used to specify grammatical concepts such as causative, intensive, passive or reflexive, and involves varying the stem form. For example, from the root K-T-B "write" is derived form I kátab/yíktib "write", form II káttib/yikáttib "cause to write", form III ká:tib/yiká:tib "correspond", etc. The other axis is determined by the particular consonants making up the root. For example, defective verbs have a W or Y as the last root consonant, which is often reflected in paradigms with an extra final vowel in the stem (e.g. ráma/yírmi "throw" from R-M-Y); meanwhile, hollow verbs have a W or Y as the middle root consonant, and the stems of such verbs appear to have only two consonants (e.g. gá:b/yigí:b "bring" from G-Y-B).

Strong verbs

Strong verbs are those that have no "weakness" (e.g. W or Y) in the root consonants. Each verb has a given vowel pattern for Past (a or i) and Present (a or i or u). Combinations of each exist.

Regular verbs, form I

Form I verbs have a given vowel pattern for past (a or i) and present (a, i or u). Combinations of each exist:

Vowel patterns Example
Past Present
a a ḍárab - yíḍrab to beat
a i kátab - yíktib to write
a u ṭálab - yíṭlub~yúṭlub to order, to demand
i a fíhim - yífham to understand
i i misik - yímsik to hold, to touch
i u sikit - yískut~yúskut to be silent, to shut up
Regular verb, form I, fáʕal/yífʕil

Example: kátab/yíktib "write"

Tense/Mood Past Present Subjunctive Present Indicative Future Imperative
Person Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st katáb-t katáb-na á-ktib ní-ktib bá-ktib bi-ní-ktib ḥá-ktib ḥá-ní-ktib
2nd masculine katáb-t katáb-tu tí-ktib ti-ktíb-u bi-tí-ktib bi-ti-ktíb-u ḥa-tí-ktib ḥa-ti-ktíb-u í-ktib i-ktíb-u
feminine katáb-ti ti-ktíb-i bi-ti-ktíb-i ḥa-ti-ktíb-i i-ktíb-i
3rd masculine kátab kátab-u yí-ktib yi-ktíb-u bi-yí-ktib bi-yi-ktíb-u ḥa-yí-ktib ḥa-yi-ktíb-u
feminine kátab-it tí-ktib bi-tí-ktib ḥa-tí-ktib

Note that, in general, the present indicative is formed from the subjunctive by the addition of bi- (bi-a- is elided to ba-). Similarly, the future is formed from the subjunctive by the addition of ḥa- (ḥa-a- is elided to ḥa-). The i in bi- or in the following prefix will be deleted according to the regular rules of vowel syncope:

Example: kátab/yíktib "write": non-finite forms

Number/Gender Active Participle Passive Participle Verbal Noun
Masc. Sg. ká:tib maktú:b kitá:ba
Fem. Sg. kátb-a maktú:b-a
Pl. katb-í:n maktub-í:n
Regular verb, form I, fíʕil/yífʕal

Example: fíhim/yífham "understand"

Tense/Mood Past Present Subjunctive Present Indicative Future Imperative
Person Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st fihím-t fihím-na á-fham ní-fham bá-fham bi-ní-fham ḥá-fham ḥá-ní-fham
2nd masculine fihím-t fihím-tu tí-fham ti-fhám-u bi-tí-fham bi-ti-fhám-u ḥa-tí-fham ḥa-ti-fhám-u í-fham i-fhám-u
feminine fihím-ti ti-fhám-i bi-ti-fhám-i ḥa-ti-fhám-i i-fhám-i
3rd masculine fíhim fíhm-u yí-fham yi-fhám-u bi-yí-fham bi-yi-fhám-u ḥa-yí-fham ḥa-yi-fhám-u
feminine fíhm-it tí-fham bi-tí-fham ḥa-tí-fham

Boldfaced forms fíhm-it and fíhm-u differ from the corresponding forms of katab (kátab-it and kátab-u due to vowel syncope). Note also the syncope in ána fhím-t "I understood".

Regular verb, form II, fáʕʕil/yifáʕʕil

Example: dárris/yidárris "teach"

Tense/Mood Past Present Subjunctive Present Indicative Future Imperative
Person Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st darrís-t darrís-na a-dárris ni-dárris ba-dárris bi-n-dárris ḥa-dárris ḥa-n-dárris
2nd masculine darrís-t darrís-tu ti-dárris ti-darrís-u bi-t-dárris bi-t-darrís-u ḥa-t-dárris ḥa-t-darrís-u dárris darrís-u
feminine darrís-ti ti-darrís-i bi-t-darrís-i ḥa-t-darrís-i darrís-i
3rd masculine dárris darrís-u yi-dárris yi-darrís-u bi-y-dárris bi-y-darrís-u ḥa-y-dárris ḥa-y-darrís-u
feminine darrís-it ti-dárris bi-t-dárris ḥa-t-dárris

Boldfaced forms indicate the primary differences from the corresponding forms of katab:

Regular verb, form III, fá:ʕil/yifá:ʕil

Example: sá:fir/yisá:fir "travel"

Tense/Mood Past Present Subjunctive Present Indicative Future Imperative
Person Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st safír-t safír-na a-sá:fir ni-sá:fir ba-sá:fir bi-n-sá:fir ḥa-sá:fir ḥa-n-sá:fir
2nd masculine safír-t safír-tu ti-sá:fir ti-sáfr-u bi-t-sá:fir bi-t-sáfr-u ḥa-t-sá:fir ḥa-t-sáfr-u sá:fir sáfr-u
feminine safír-ti ti-sáfr-i bi-t-sáfr-i ḥa-t-sáfr-i sáfr-i
3rd masculine sá:fir sáfr-u yi-sá:fir yi-sáfr-u bi-y-sá:fir bi-y-sáfr-u ḥa-y-sá:fir ḥa-y-sáfr-u
feminine sáfr-it ti-sá:fir bi-t-sá:fir ḥa-t-sá:fir

The primary differences from the corresponding forms of darris (shown in boldface) are:

Defective verbs

Defective verbs have a W or Y as the last root consonant.

Defective verb, form I, fáʕa/yífʕi

Example: ráma/yírmi "throw away" (i.e. trash, etc.)

Tense/Mood Past Present Subjunctive Present Indicative Future Imperative
Person Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st ramé:-t ramé:-na á-rmi ní-rmi bá-rmi bi-ní-rmi ḥá-rmi ḥa-ní-rmi
2nd masculine ramé:-t ramé:-tu tí-rmi tí-rm-u bi-tí-rmi bi-tí-rm-u ḥa-tí-rmi ḥa-tí-rm-u í-rmi í-rm-u
feminine ramé:-ti tí-rm-i bi-tí-rm-i ḥa-tí-rm-i í-rm-i
3rd masculine ráma rám-u yí-rmi yí-rm-u bi-yí-rmi bi-yí-rm-u ḥa-yí-rmi ḥa-yí-rm-u
feminine rám-it tí-rmi bi-tí-rmi ḥa-tí-rmi

The primary differences from the corresponding forms of katab (shown in boldface) are:

Defective verb, form I, fíʕi/yífʕa

Example: nísi/yínsa "forget"

Tense/Mood Past Present Subjunctive Present Indicative Future Imperative
Person Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st nisí:-t nisí:-na á-nsa ní-nsa bá-nsa bi-ní-nsa ḥá-nsa ḥa-ní-nsa
2nd masculine nisí:-t nisí:-tu tí-nsa tí-ns-u bi-tí-nsa bi-tí-ns-u ḥa-tí-nsa ḥa-tí-ns-u í-nsa í-ns-u
feminine nisí:-ti tí-ns-i bi-tí-ns-i ḥa-tí-ns-i í-ns-i
3rd masculine nísi nísy-u yí-nsa yí-ns-u bi-yí-nsa bi-yí-ns-u ḥa-yí-nsa ḥa-yí-ns-u
feminine nísy-it tí-nsa bi-tí-nsa ḥa-tí-nsa

This verb type is quite similar to the defective verb type ráma/yírmi. The primary differences are:

Note that some other verbs have different stem variations, e.g. míʃi/yímʃi "walk" (with i in both stems) and báʔa/yíbʔa "become, remain" (with a in both stems). The verb láʔa/yilá:ʔi "find" is unusual in having a mixture of a form I past and form III present (note also the variations líʔi/yílʔa and láʔa/yílʔa).

Verbs other than form I have consistent stem vowels. All such verbs have a in the past (hence form stems with -é:-, not -í:-). Forms V, VI, X and IIq have a in the present (indicated by boldface below); others have i; forms VII, VIIt, and VIII have i in both vowels of the stem (indicated by italics below); form IX verbs, including "defective" verbs, behave as regular doubled verbs:

Hollow verbs

Hollow have a W or Y as the middle root consonant. Note that for some forms (e.g. form II and form III), hollow verbs are conjugated as strong verbs (e.g. form II ʕáyyin/yiʕáyyin "appoint" from ʕ-Y-N, form III gá:wib/yigá:wib "answer" from G-W-B).

Hollow verb, form I, fá:l/yifí:l

Example: gá:b/yigí:b "bring"

Tense/mood Past Present subjunctive Present indicative Future Imperative
Person Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st gíb-t gíb-na a-gí:b ni-gí:b ba-gí:b bi-n-gí:b ḥa-gí:b ḥa-n-gí:b
2nd masculine gíb-t gíb-tu ti-gí:b ti-gí:b-u bi-t-gí:b bi-t-gí:b-u ḥa-t-gí:b ḥa-t-gí:b-u gí:b gí:b-u
feminine gíb-ti ti-gí:b-i bi-t-gí:b-i ḥa-t-gí:b-i gí:b-i
3rd masculine gá:b gá:b-u yi-gí:b yi-gí:b-u bi-y-gí:b bi-y-gí:b-u ḥa-y-gí:b ḥa-y-gí:b-u
feminine gá:b-it ti-gí:b bi-t-gí:b ḥa-t-gí:b

This verb works much like dárris/yidárris "teach". Like all verbs whose stem begins with a single consonant, the prefixes differ in the following way from those of regular and defective form I verbs:

In addition, the past tense has two stems: gíb- before consonant-initial suffixes (first and second person) and gá:b- elsewhere (third person).

Hollow verb, form I, fá:l/yifú:l

Example: ʃá:f/yiʃú:f "see"

Tense/Mood Past Present Subjunctive Present Indicative Future Imperative
Person Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st ʃúf-t ʃúf-na a-ʃú:f ni-ʃú:f ba-ʃú:f bi-n-ʃú:f ḥa-ʃú:f ḥa-n-ʃú:f
2nd masculine ʃúf-t ʃúf-tu ti-ʃú:f ti-ʃú:f-u bi-t-ʃú:f bi-t-ʃú:f-u ḥa-t-ʃú:f ḥa-t-ʃú:f-u ʃú:f ʃú:f-u
feminine ʃúf-ti ti-ʃú:f-i bi-t-ʃú:f-i ḥa-t-ʃú:f-i ʃú:f-i
3rd masculine ʃá:f ʃá:f-u yi-ʃú:f yi-ʃú:f-u bi-y-ʃú:f bi-y-ʃú:f-u ḥa-y-ʃú:f ḥa-y-ʃú:f-u
feminine ʃá:f-it ti-ʃú:f bi-t-ʃú:f ḥa-t-ʃú:f

This verb class is identical to verbs such as gá:b/yigí:b except in having stem vowel u in place of i.

Doubled verbs

Doubled verbs have the same consonant as middle and last root consonant, e.g. ḥább/yiḥíbb "love" from Ḥ-B-B.

Doubled verb, form I, fáʕʕ/yifíʕʕ

Example: ḥább/yiḥíbb "love"

Tense/Mood Past Present Subjunctive Present Indicative Future Imperative
Person Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st ḥabbé:-t ḥabbé:-na a-ḥíbb ni-ḥíbb ba-ḥíbb bi-n-ḥíbb ḥa-ḥíbb ḥa-n-ḥíbb
2nd masculine ḥabbé:-t ḥabbé:-tu ti-ḥíbb ti-ḥíbb-u bi-t-ḥíbb bi-t-ḥíbb-u ḥa-t-ḥíbb ḥa-t-ḥíbb-u ḥíbb ḥíbb-u
feminine ḥabbé:-ti ti-ḥíbb-i bi-t-ḥíbb-i ḥa-t-ḥíbb-i ḥíbb-i
3rd masculine ḥább ḥább-u yi-ḥíbb yi-ḥíbb-u bi-y-ḥíbb bi-y-ḥíbb-u ḥa-y-ḥíbb ḥa-y-ḥíbb-u
feminine ḥább-it ti-ḥíbb bi-t-ḥíbb ḥa-t-ḥíbb

This verb works much like gá:b/yigí:b "bring". Like that class, it has two stems in the past, which are ḥabbé:- before consonant-initial suffixes (first and second person) and ḥább- elsewhere (third person). Note that é:- was borrowed from the defective verbs; the Classical Arabic equivalent form would be *ḥabáb-, e.g. *ḥabáb-t.

Other verbs have u or a in the present stem: baṣṣ/yibúṣṣ "to look", ṣaḥḥ/yiṣáḥḥ "be right, be proper".

As for the other forms:

Assimilated verbs

Assimilated verbs have W or Y as the first root consonant. Most of these verbs have been regularized in Egyptian Arabic, e.g. wázan/yíwzin "to weigh" or wíṣíl/yíwṣal "to arrive". Only a couple of irregular verbs remain, e.g. wíʔif/yúʔaf "stop" and wíʔiʕ/yúʔaʕ "fall" (see below).

Doubly weak verbs

"Doubly weak" verbs have more than one "weakness", typically a W or Y as both the second and third consonants. This term is in fact a misnomer, as such verbs actually behave as normal defective verbs (e.g. káwa/yíkwi "iron (clothes)" from K-W-Y, ʔáwwa/yiʔáwwi "strengthen" from ʔ-W-Y, dá:wa/yidá:wi "treat, cure" from D-W-Y).

Irregular verbs

The irregular verbs are as follows:

Tense/Mood Past Present Subjunctive Imperative
Person Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st gé:-t or gí:-t gé:-na or gí:-na á:-gi ní:-gi
2nd masculine gé:-t or gí:-t gé:-tu or gí:-tu tí:-gi tí:-g-u taʕá:l taʕá:l-u
feminine gé:-ti or gí:-ti tí:-g-i taʕá:l-i
3rd masculine gé or gá (also ʔíga)
  gá:-ni (or -li)

  "he came to me"

  but not *gé:-ni
 gum
  but gú:-ni (or -li)

  "they came to me" and
  magú:-ʃ "they didn't come"
 yí:-gi yí:-g-u
feminine gat (also ʔígat) tí:-gi

Example: gé/yí:gi "come": non-finite forms

Number/Gender Active Participle Verbal Noun
Masc. Sg. gayy migíyy
Fem. Sg. gáyy-a
Pl. gayy-í:n

Table of verb forms

In this section all verb classes and their corresponding stems are listed, excluding the small number of irregular verbs described above. Verb roots are indicated schematically using capital letters to stand for consonants in the root:

Hence, the root F-M-L stands for all three-consonant roots, and F-S-T-L stands for all four-consonant roots. (Traditional Arabic grammar uses F-ʕ-L and F-ʕ-L-L, respectively, but the system used here appears in a number of grammars of spoken Arabic dialects and is probably less confusing for English speakers, since the forms are easier to pronounce than those involving ʕ.)

The following table lists the prefixes and suffixes to be added to mark tense, person, number and gender, and the stem form to which they are added. The forms involving a vowel-initial suffix, and corresponding stem PAv or NPv, are highlighted in silver. The forms involving a consonant-initial suffix, and corresponding stem PAc, are highlighted in gold. The forms involving a no suffix, and corresponding stem PA0 or NP0, are unhighlighted.

Tense/Mood Past Non-Past
Person Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st PAc-t PAc-na a-NP0 ni-NP0
2nd masculine PAc-t PAc-tu ti-NP0 ti-NPv-u
feminine PAc-ti ti-NPv-i
3rd masculine PA0 PAv-u yi-NP0 yi-NPv-u
feminine PAv-it ti-NP0

The following table lists the verb classes along with the form of the past and non-past stems, active and passive participles, and verbal noun, in addition to an example verb for each class.

Notes:

Form Root Type Stem Participle Verbal Noun Example
Past Non-Past Active Passive
Person of Suffix 1st/2nd 3rd
Suffix Type Cons-Initial None Vowel-Initial None Vowel-Initial
Suffix Name PAc PA0 PAv NP0 NPv
I Strong FaMaL FMaL Fá:MiL maFMú:L (varies, e.g.
FaML, FiML)		 fátaḥ/yíftaḥ "open"
FMiL kátab/yíktib "write"
FMuL dáxal/yúdxul "enter"
FiMiL FiML FMaL fíhim/yífham "understand"
FMiL mísik/yímsik "hold, catch"
FMuL síkin/yúskun "reside"
I Defective FaMé: FáMa FaM FMa FM Fá:Mi máFMi (varies, e.g.
FaMy, máFMa)		 báʔa/yíbʔa "remain"
FMi FM ráma/yírmi "throw"
FiMí: FíMi FíMy FMa FM nísi/yínsa "forget"
FMi FM míʃi/yímʃi "walk"
I Hollow FíL Fá:L Fí:L Fá:yiL (mitFá:L, properly
Form VIIt)		 (varies, e.g.
Fe:L, Fo:L)		 ga:b/yigí:b "bring"
FúL Fú:L ʃa:f/yiʃú:f "see"
FíL Fá:L na:m/yiná:m "sleep"
FúL xa:f/yixá:f "fear"
I Doubled FaMMé: FáMM FíMM Fá:MiM maFMú:M (varies, e.g.
FaMM, FuMM)		 ḥabb/yiḥíbb "love"
FúMM ḥaṭṭ/yiḥúṭṭ "put"
II Strong FaMMaL miFáMMaL taFMí:L ɣáyyaṛ/yiɣáyyaṛ "change"
FaMMiL miFáMMiL dárris/yidárris "teach"
II Defective FaMMé: FáMMa FáMM FáMMi FáMM miFáMMi taFMíya wárra/yiwárri "show"
III Strong FaMíL Fá:MiL FáML Fá:MiL FáML miFá:MiL miFáMLa zá:kir/yizá:kir "study"
III Defective FaMé: Fá:Ma Fá:M Fá:Mi Fá:M miFá:Mi miFáMya ná:da/yiná:di "call"
IV Strong ʔáFMaL FMiL míFMiL iFMá:L ʔáḍṛab/yíḍrib "go on strike"
IV Defective ʔaFMé: ʔáFMa ʔáFM FMi FM míFMi (uncommon) ʔáṛḍa/yíṛḍi "please"
IV Hollow ʔaFáL ʔaFá:L Fí:L miFí:L ʔiFá:La ʔafá:d/yifí:d "inform"
IV Doubled ʔaFaMMé: ʔaFáMM FíMM miFíMM iFMá:M ???
V Strong itFaMMaL tFaMMaL mitFáMMaL taFáMMuL (or Form II) itmáṛṛan/yitmáṛṛan "practice"
itFaMMiL tFaMMiL mitFáMMiL itkállim/yitkállim "speak"
V Defective itFaMMé: itFáMMa itFáMM tFáMMa tFáMM mitFáMMi (use Form II) itʔáwwa/yitʔáwwa "become strong"
VI Strong itFaMíL itFá:MiL itFáML tFá:MiL tFáML mitFá:MiL taFá:MuL (or Form III) itʕá:win/yitʕá:win "cooperate"
VI Defective itFaMé: itFá:Ma itFá:M tFá:Ma tFá:M mitFá:Mi (use Form III) iddá:wa/yiddá:wa "be treated, be cured"
VIIn Strong inFáMaL nFíMiL nFíML minFíMiL inFiMá:L (or Form I) inbáṣaṭ/yinbíṣiṭ "enjoy oneself"
VIIn Defective inFaMé: inFáMa inFáM nFíMi nFíM minFíMi (use Form I) inḥáka/yinḥíki "be told"
VIIn Hollow inFáL inFá:L nFá:L minFá:L inFiyá:L (or Form I) inbá:ʕ/yinbá:ʕ "be sold"
VIIn Doubled inFaMMé: inFáMM nFáMM minFáMM inFiMá:M (or Form I) inbáll/yinbáll "be wetted"
VIIt Strong itFáMaL tFíMiL tFíML mitFíMiL itFiMá:L (or Form I) itwágad/yitwígid "be found"
VIIt Defective itFaMé: itFáMa itFáM tFíMi tFíM mitFíMi (use Form I) itnása/yitnísi "be forgotten"
VIIt Hollow itFáL itFá:L tFá:L mitFá:L itFiyá:L (or Form I) itbá:ʕ/yitbá:ʕ "be sold"
VIIt Doubled itFaMMé: itFáMM tFáMM mitFáMM itFiMá:M (or Form I) itʕádd/yitʕádd "be counted"
VIII Strong iFtáMaL FtíMiL FtíML miFtíMiL, muFtáMiL (classicized) muFtáMaL (classicized) iFtiMá:L (or Form I) istálam/yistílim "receive"
VIII Defective iFtaMé: iFtáMa iFtáM FtíMi FtíM miFtíMi, muFtáMi (classicized) (use Form I) iʃtára/yiʃtíri "buy"
VIII Hollow iFtáL iFtá:L Ftá:L miFtá:L, muFtá:L (classicized) iFtiyá:L (or Form I) ixtá:ṛ/yixtá:ṛ "choose"
VIII Doubled iFtaMMé: iFtáMM FtáMM miFtáMM, muFtáMM (classicized) iFtiMá:M (or Form I) ihtámm/yihtámm "be interested (in)"
IX Strong iFMaLLé: iFMáLL FMáLL miFMíLL iFMiLá:L iḥmáṛṛ/yiḥmáṛṛ "be red, blush"
X Strong istáFMaL stáFMaL mistáFMaL, mustáFMaL (classicized) istiFMá:L istáɣṛab/yistáɣṛab "be surprised"
istáFMiL stáFMiL mistáFMiL, mustáFMiL (classicized) mustáFMaL (classicized) istáʕmil/yistáʕmil "use"
X Defective istaFMé: istáFMa istáFM stáFMa stáFM mistáFMi, mustáFMi (classicized) (uncommon) istákfa/yistákfa "be enough"
X Hollow istaFáL istaFá:L staFí:L mistaFí:L, mistaFí:L (classicized) istiFá:L a istaʔá:l/yistaʔí:l "resign"
X Doubled istaFaMMé: istaFáMM staFáMM mistaFáMM, mustaFáMM (classicized) istiFMá:M istaḥáʔʔ/yistaḥáʔʔ "deserve"
staFíMM mistaFíMM, mustaFíMM (classicized) istamáṛṛ/yistamírr "continue"
Iq Strong FaSTaL miFáSTaL FaSTáLa láxbaṭ/yiláxbaṭ "confuse"
FaSTiL miFáSTiL xárbiʃ/yixárbiʃ "scratch"
Iq Defective FaSTé: FáSTa FáST FáSTi FáST miFáSTi (uncommon) ???
IIq Strong itFaSTaL tFaSTaL mitFáSTaL itFaSTáLa itláxbaṭ/yitláxbaṭ "be confused"
itFaSTiL tFaSTiL mitFáSTiL itʃáʕlil/yitʃáʕlil "flare up"
IIq Defective itFaSTé: itFáSTa itFáST tFáSTa tFáST mitFáSTi (uncommon) ???

Negation

One characteristic of Egyptian syntax which it shares with other North African varieties as well as some southern Levantine dialect areas is in the two-part negative verbal circumfix /ma-...-ʃ(i)/

/ma-/ comes from the Classical Arabic negator /maː/. /-ʃ(i)/ is a development of Classical /ʃajʔ/ "thing". This negating circumfix is similar in function to the French circumfix ne ... pas.

The structure can end in a consonant /ʃ/ or in a vowel /i/, varying according to the individual or region. The fuller ending /ʃi/ is considered rural, and nowadays Cairene speakers usually use the shorter /ʃ/. However, /ʃi/ was more common in the past, as attested in old films.

The negative circumfix often surrounds the entire verbal composite including direct and indirect object pronouns:

However, verbs in the future tense typically instead use the prefix /miʃ/:

Interrogative sentences can be formed by adding the negation clitic "(miʃ)" before the verb:

Addition of the circumfix can cause complex changes to the verbal cluster, due to the application of the rules of vowel syncope, shortening, lengthening, insertion and elision described above:

In addition, certain other morphological changes occur:

Syntax

In contrast with Classical Arabic, but much like the other varieties of Arabic, Egyptian Arabic prefers subject–verb–object (SVO) word order; CA and to a lesser extent MSA prefer verb–subject–object (VSO). For example, in MSA "Adel read the book" would be قرأَ عادل الكتاب Qaraʾa ʿĀdil ul-kitāb IPA: [ˈqɑɾɑʔɑ ˈʕæːdel ol keˈtæːb] whereas EA would say عادل قرا الكتاب ʕādil ʔara l-kitāb IPA: [ˈʕæːdel ˈʔɑɾɑ lkeˈtæːb].

Also in common with other Arabic varieties is the loss of unique agreement in the dual form: while the dual remains productive to some degree in nouns, dual nouns are analyzed as plural for the purpose of agreement with verbs, demonstratives, and adjectives. Thus "These two Syrian professors are walking to the university" in MSA (in an SVO sentence for ease of comparison) would be "هذان الأستاذان السوريان يمشيان إلى الجامعة" Haḏān al-ʾustāḏān as-Sūriyyān yamšiyān ʾilā l-ǧāmiʿah IPA: [hæːˈzæːn æl ʔostæːˈzæːn as suːrejˈjæːn jæmʃeˈjæːn ˈʔelæ lɡæːˈmeʕæ], which becomes in EA "الأستاذين السوريين دول بيمشو للجامعة" il-ʔustazēn il-Suriyyīn dōl biyimʃu lil-gamʕa, IPA: [el ʔostæˈzeːn el soɾejˈjiːn ˈdoːl beˈjemʃo lelˈɡæmʕæ].

Unlike most other forms of Arabic, however, Egyptian prefers final placement of question words in interrogative sentences. This is a feature characteristic of the Coptic substratum of Egyptian Arabic.

Coptic substratum

Egyptian Arabic appears to have retained a significant Coptic substratum in its lexicon, phonology, and syntax. Coptic was the latest stage of the indigenous Egyptian language spoken until the mid-17th century when it was finally completely supplanted by Egyptian Arabic. Some features that Egyptian Arabic shares with the original ancient Egyptian language include certain prefix and suffix verbal conjugations, certain emphatic and glottalized consonants, as well as a large number of biliteral and triliteral lexical correspondences.

Two syntactic features that are particular to Egyptian Arabic inherited from Coptic[23] are:

Examples: /ir-rˤaːɡil da/ "this man" (lit. "the man this"; in Literary Arabic /haːðaː r-raɡul/) and /il-bitt di/ "this girl" (lit. "the girl this"; in Literary Arabic /haːðihi l-bint/).
Examples:
The same sentences in Literary Arabic (with all the question words (wh-words) in the beginning of the sentence) would be:

Also since Coptic, like other North African languages, lacked interdental consonants it could possibly have influenced the manifestation of their occurrences in Classical Arabic /θ/ /ð/ /ðˤ/ as their dental counterparts /t/ /d/ and the emphatic dental /dˤ/ respectively. (see consonants)

Sociolinguistic features

Egyptian Arabic is used in most social situations, with Modern Standard and Classical Arabic generally only being used in writing and in highly religious and/or formal situations. However, within Egyptian Arabic, there is a wide range of variation. El-Said Badawi identifies three distinct levels of Egyptian Arabic based chiefly on the quantity of non-Arabic lexical items in the vocabulary: `Āmmiyyat al-Musaqqafīn (Cultured Colloquial or Formal Spoken Arabic), `Āmmiyyat al-Mutanawwirīn (Enlightened or Literate Colloquial), and `Āmmiyyat al-'Ummiyīn (Illiterate Colloquial).[24] Cultured Colloquial/Formal Spoken Arabic is characteristic of the educated classes and is the language of discussion of high-level subjects, but it is nevertheless Egyptian Arabic; it is characterized by use of technical terms imported from foreign languages and MSA, as well as closer attention to the pronunciation of certain letters (particularly qāf). It is relatively standardized and, being closer to the standard, is understood fairly well across the Arab world.[24] On the opposite end of the spectrum, Illiterate Colloquial, common to rural areas and to working-class neighborhoods in the cities, has an almost exclusively Arabic vocabulary; loanwords are generally either very old borrowings (e.g. جمبرى gambari, [ɡæmˈbæɾi] "shrimp," from Italian gambari, "shrimp" (pl.)) or refer to technological items that find no or poor equivalents in Arabic (e.g. تلفزيون til(i)vizyōn/til(i)fezyōn [tel(e)vezˈjoːn, tel(e)fezˈjoːn], television).[24] Enlightened Colloquial (`Āmmiyyat al-Mutanawwirīn) is the language of those who have had some schooling and are relatively affluent; loanwords tend to refer to pop-cultural items, consumer products, and fashions. It is also understood widely in the Arab world, as it is the lingua franca of Egyptian film and television.[24]

In contrast to MSA and most other varieties of Arabic, Egyptian Arabic has a form of the T-V distinction. In the singular, انت inta/inti is acceptable in most situations, but when addressing clear social superiors (e.g. persons older than oneself, superiors at work, certain government officials), the form حضرتك ḥaḍritak/ḥaḍritik, meaning "Your Grace" is preferred (c.f. Spanish usted).

This use of ḥaḍritak/ḥaḍritik is linked to the system of honorifics in daily Egyptian speech. The honorific taken by a given person is determined by their relationship to the speaker and their occupation.

Examples of Egyptian honorifics
Honorific IPA Origin/meaning Usage and notes
siyadtak [seˈjættæk,
seˈjædtæk]		 Standard Arabic siyādatuka, "Your Lordship" Persons with a far higher social standing than the speaker, particularly at work. Also applied to high government officials, including the President. Equivalent in practical terms to "Your Excellency" or "The Most Honourable."
sa`adtak [sæˈʕættæk,
sæˈʕædtæk]		 Standard Arabic sa`ādatuka, "Your Happiness" Government officials and others with significantly higher social standing. Equivalent in governmental contexts "Your Excellency," or "Your Honor" when addressing a judge.
ma`alīk [mæʕæˈliːk] Standard Arabic ma`ālīka, "Your Highness" Government ministers. Equivalent in practical terms to "Your Excellency" or "The Right Honourable."
ḥagg/ḥagga [ˈħæɡ(ɡ)]/[ˈħæɡɡæ] Standard Arabic ḥāǧ Traditionally, any Muslim who has made the Hajj, or any Christian who has made pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Currently also used as a general term of respect for all elderly.
bāsha [ˈbæːʃæ] Ottoman Turkish pasha Informal address to a male of equal or lesser social status. Roughly equivalent to "man" or "dude" in informal English speech.
bēh [beː] Ottoman Turkish bey Informal address to a male of equal or lesser social status. Essentially equivalent to but less current than bāsha.
afandi [æˈfændi] Ottoman Turkish efendi (Archaic); address to a male of a less social standard than bēh and bāsha.
hānim [ˈhæːnem] Ottoman Turkish hanım/khanum, "Lady" Address to a woman of high social standing, or esteemed as such by the speaker. Somewhat archaic.
sitt [ˈset(t)] Standard Arabic sayyida(t) "mistress" and/or Ancient Egyptian set "woman" The usual word for "woman." When used as a term of address, it conveys a modicum of respect.
madām [mæˈdæːm] French madame Respectful term of address for an older or married woman.
ānisa [ʔæˈnesæ] Standard Arabic ānisah, "young lady" Semi-formal address to an unmarried young woman.
ustāz [ʔosˈtæːz] Standard Arabic ustādh, "professor", "gentleman" Besides actual university professors and schoolteachers, used for experts in certain fields. May also be used as a generic informal reference, as bēh or bāsha.
usṭa/asṭa [ˈostˤɑ]/[ˈɑstˤɑ] Turkish usta, "master" Drivers and also skilled laborers.
rayyis [ˈɾɑjjes] Standard Arabic ra`īs, "chief" Skilled laborers. The term predates the use of the same word to mean "president", and traditionally referred to the chief of a village.
bash muhandis [bæʃmoˈhændes] Ottoman Turkish baş mühendis, "chief engineer" Certain types of highly skilled laborers (e.g. electricians).
mi`allim [meˈʕællem] Standard Arabic mu`allim, "teacher" Most working class men, particularly semi-skilled and unskilled laborers.
`amm [ˈʕæm(m)] Standard Arabic `amm, "paternal uncle" Older male servants or social subordinates with whom the speaker has a close relationship. It can also be used as a familiar term of address, much like basha. The use of the word in its original meaning is also current, for third-person reference. The second-person term of address to a paternal uncle is `ammo [ˈʕæmmo]; onkel [ˈʔonkel], from French oncle, may also be used, particularly for uncles unrelated by blood.
dāda [ˈdæːdæ] From Coptic language Older female servants or social subordinates with whom the speaker has a close relationship.
abē [ʔæˈbeː] Ottoman Turkish abi/ağabey, "elder brother" Male relatives older than the speaker by about 10–15 years. Upper-class, and somewhat archaic.
abla [ˈʔɑblɑ] Ottoman Turkish abla, "elder sister" Female relatives older than the speaker by about 10–15 years.

Other honorifics also exist.

In usage, honorifics are used in the second and third person.

Regional variation

Egyptian Arabic varies regionally across its sprachraum, with certain characteristics being noted as typical of the speech of certain regions.

Alexandria

Alexandria's dialect (west Delta) is noted for certain shibboleths separating its speech from that of Cairo (south Delta). The ones most frequently commented on in popular discourse are the use of the word falafel as opposed to ṭa`meyya for the fava-bean fritters common across the country, and the pronunciation of the word for the Egyptian pound as [ˈɡeni], rather than the Cairene [ɡeˈneː] (closer to the pronunciation of the origin of the term, the British guinea). The speech of the older Alexandrian families is also noted for use of the plural in the first person even when speaking in the singular.

Port Said

Port Said's dialect (east Delta) is noted for a "heavier," more guttural sound than other regions of the country.

Studying Egyptian Arabic

Egyptian Arabic has been a subject of study by scholars and laypersons in the past and the present for many reasons, including personal interest, egyptomania, business, news reporting, and diplomatic and political interactions. Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (ECA) is now a field of study in both graduate and undergraduate levels in many higher education institutions and universities in the world. When added to academic instruction, Arabic language schools and university programs provide Egyptian Arabic courses in a classroom fashion, while others facilitate classes for online study.

Text example

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Egyptian/Masri (Arabic script; spelling isn't unified):

الاعلان العالمى لحقوق الانسان, البند الاولانى
البنى ادمين كلهم مولودين حرّين و متساويين فى الكرامه و الحقوق. اتوهبلهم العقل و الضمير, و المفروض يعاملو بعضيهم بروح الاخويه.

Franco/Arabic Chat Alphabet (has no strict standard):

el e3lan el 3alami le 72u2 el ensan, el band el awalani
el bani2admin kollohom mawlodin 7orrin we metsawyin fel karama wel 7o2u2. Etwahablohom el 3a2l wel damir, wel mafrud ye3amlo ba3dihom be ro7 el akhaweya.

IPA Phonemic transcription (for comparison with Literary Arabic):

/il ʔiʕˈlaːn il ʕaːˈlami li ħˈʔuːʔ il ʔinˈsaːn   il ˈband il ʔawwaˈlaːni/
/il bani ʔadˈmiːn kulˈluhum mawluˈdiːn ħurˈriːn wi mitsawˈjiːn fil kaˈrˤaːma wil ħuˈʔuːʔ   ʔitwahabˈluhum ilˈʕaʔle wi ddˤaˈmiːr wil mafˈruːdˤ jiˈʕamlu baʕˈdˤiːhum biˈroːħ il ʔaxaˈwijja/

IPA Phonemic transcription (for a general demonstration of Egyptian phonology):

/el ʔeʕˈlaːn el ʕaːˈlami le ħˈʔuːʔ el ʔenˈsaːn   el ˈband el ʔawwaˈlaːni/
/el bani ʔadˈmiːn kolˈlohom mawloˈdiːn ħorˈriːn we metsawˈjiːn fel kaˈrˤaːma wel ħoˈʔuːʔ   ʔetwahabˈlohom elˈʕaʔle we ddˤaˈmiːr wel mafˈruːdˤ jeˈʕamlu baʕˈdˤiːhom beˈroːħ el ʔaxaˈwejja/

IPA Phonetic transcription morphologically (in fast speech, long vowels are half-long or without distinctive length):

[el ʔeʕˈlæːn el ʕæˈlæmi le ħˈʔuːʔ el ʔenˈsæːn   el ˈbænd el ʔæwwæˈlæːni]
[el bæniʔædˈmiːn kolˈlohom mæwlʊˈdiːn ħʊrˈriːn we metsæwˈjiːn fel kɑˈɾɑːmɑ wel ħʊˈʔuːʔ   ʔetwæhæbˈlohom elˈʕæʔle we ddɑˈmiːɾ wel mɑfˈɾuːd jeˈʕæmlu bɑʕˈdiːhom beˈɾoːħ el ʔæxæˈwejjæ]

English:

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in the spirit of brotherhood.

Characteristic words and sentences in Egyptian Arabic

See also

Egyptian Arabic edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Notes

  1. ↑ Egyptian Arabic at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Egyptian Arabic". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
  3. ↑ Nishio, Tetsuo. "Word order and word order change of wh-questions in Egyptian Arabic: The Coptic substratum reconsidered". Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of L'Association Internationale pour la Dialectologie Arabe. Cambridge: University of Cambridge. 1996, pp. 171-179
  4. ↑ Bishai, Wilson B. "Coptic grammatical influence on Egyptian Arabic". Journal of the American Oriental Society. No.82, pp. 285-289.
  5. ↑ Youssef (2003), below.
  6. ↑ http://tbsjournal.arabmediasociety.com/Archives/Fall05/Dick.html
  7. ↑ Islam online on Mahmoud Timor Archived July 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ Present Culture in Egypt (Arabic) and (Egyptian Spoken Arabic) (PDF) by Bayoumi Andil.
  9. ↑ Ethnologue.com
  10. ↑ UCLA.edu
  11. ↑ Haeri (2003)
  12. ↑ Jenkins, Siona. Egyptian Arabic Phrasebook. Lonely Planet Publications, 2001. p. 205
  13. 1 2 Gershoni, I., J. Jankowski. (1987). Egypt, Islam, and the Arabs. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  14. ↑ http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/18/62/50815/Books/Review/Book-Review-First-novel-written-in-colloquial-Arab.aspx
  15. ↑ David Dalby, 1999/2000, The Linguasphere Register, The Linguasphere Observatory
    William Bright, 1992, The International Encyclopedia of Linguistics, Oxford.
  16. ↑ Ethnologue.com
  17. ↑ Versteegh, p. 162
  18. ↑ Ethnologue.com
  19. ↑ David Dalby, 1999/2000, The Linguasphere Register, The Linguasphere Observatory
  20. ↑ Ethnologue.com
  21. ↑ See e.g. Behnstedt & Woidich (2005)
  22. ↑ Hinds, Martin (1986). A Dictionary of Egyptian Arabic. Beirut: Librairie du Liban. p. 104.
  23. ↑ Nishio, 1996
  24. 1 2 3 4 Badawi, El-Said; Hinds, Martin (1986). A Dictionary of Egyptian Arabic. Libraire du Liban. pp. VII–X. ISBN 9781853410031.

References

Further reading

External links

Egyptian Arabic edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Egyptian Arabic phrasebook.
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