Ur as zmireɣ, ur iffiɣ felli.
NEG 3SG.DAT be.able.NEG.PFV-1SG, NEG 3MSG-go.out.NEG.PFV on-1SG
Literally:
I can't handle it, it doesn't suit me.
This translates perfectly into (north-central) Algerian Arabic:
ما قدرتلو، ما خرج عليّا.
Ma qdertlu, ma xrej 3liyya.
NEG be.able.PFV-1SG-3SG.DAT, NEG 3MSG-go.out.PFV on-1SG
Literally: I can't to it, it doesn't go out on me.
I can't handle it, it doesn't suit me.
In languages further removed from the area, however, a literal translation would be comically nonsensical:
- EN: *I can't to it, it doesn't go out on me.
- FR: *Je ne lui peux, il ne sort pas sur moi.
Another case was highlighted on Twitter by Noureddine Chikh: the use in both languages of "where do I know?" for "how would I know?" The latter proved to have some near-parallels elsewhere (with "Whence do I know?"), but no perfect ones were reported. How about this one? Can you think of any other idiomatic phrases that translate literally across the two languages?
Mmmm... What do you think about Taqbaylit ru7 ad tru7eD and Jijeli Arabic ru7 trewwe7 'go away' ?
ReplyDeleteLooks like Kupwar-style syntactic convergence to me.
ReplyDelete