tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post3936889697344602907..comments2024-03-09T09:19:07.054+01:00Comments on Jabal al-Lughat: Two funny adjectives (?) in Algerian ArabicLameen Souag الأمين سواقhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00773164776222840428noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-91662297688965192322016-10-05T03:59:40.848+02:002016-10-05T03:59:40.848+02:00Thanks, Benjamin, but unlike our earlier example (...Thanks, Benjamin, but unlike our earlier example (where I was wrong), I think "many" can legitimately be regarded as a quantifier, rather than an adjective.petrenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-45405454335442939852016-10-03T04:46:53.816+02:002016-10-03T04:46:53.816+02:00What is Kabyle appositional syntax like? Maybe it ...What is Kabyle appositional syntax like? Maybe it developed from an appositional phrase like "I bought a giant, a book" -> "I bought a giant book"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-71953964572428848122016-10-02T15:19:14.366+02:002016-10-02T15:19:14.366+02:00petre: In Egyptian Arabic, كتير (many) doesn't...petre: In Egyptian Arabic, كتير (many) doesn't agree in gender or number: حاجات كتير (many things).بنجامين گيرhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01514748224616373407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-69516652788237804112016-10-02T14:21:39.995+02:002016-10-02T14:21:39.995+02:00OK not a quantifier, but invariability always make...OK not a quantifier, but invariability always makes me suspicious. Are there invariable adjectives in Arabic?petrenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-16988120577953461122016-09-29T09:23:55.393+02:002016-09-29T09:23:55.393+02:00Abu Ilyas: Actually, an English near-equivalent oc...Abu Ilyas: Actually, an English near-equivalent occurs to me now too: hell of. You can say "I heard a hell of a story", but never *"I heard the hell of the story".<br /><br />Mahammed: Yes (Dellys, in this case), but I think everyone uses kbir whether they also have quja or not!<br /><br />petre: Whatever it is, it isn't a quantifier, since it isn't quantifying anything... but yes, it's invariable.Lameen Souag الأمين سواقhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00773164776222840428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-64848098872130955722016-09-28T21:43:17.212+02:002016-09-28T21:43:17.212+02:00'meskin' is interesting, from which we get...'meskin' is interesting, from which we get the French word 'mesquin'. For the syntax, compare Norman, where we have "lé pouorre homme" for an unfortunate man we sympathize with, but "l'homme paouvre" (a man who has little money). Are they completely different words? You tell me, we don't 'feel' it.petrenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-19853513149512557842016-09-28T21:29:59.408+02:002016-09-28T21:29:59.408+02:00Sounds more like some kind of quantifier than an a...Sounds more like some kind of quantifier than an adjective Is it invariable, or can you decline it to match the following noun?petrenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-49559865697816621762016-09-28T12:37:30.922+02:002016-09-28T12:37:30.922+02:00Anis, quja mainly used in Algiers and around it. I...Anis, quja mainly used in Algiers and around it. I heard it also in Blida. I'm from the East and we never use it. We use كبيرMahammed Bouabdallahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17109457559745052291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-76597367292459737252016-09-28T01:12:08.012+02:002016-09-28T01:12:08.012+02:00Where is quja used? I'm from the East and don&...Where is quja used? I'm from the East and don't think I've ever come across a term like this. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-37465369895563357172016-09-28T00:53:52.021+02:002016-09-28T00:53:52.021+02:00Then you should look into some Moroccan expression...Then you should look into some Moroccan expressions too, like «شريت واحد سيدي الكتاب» (I have bought a "my lord" book).Anís del morohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14234468884505774797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-81579898286046464822016-09-28T00:35:12.162+02:002016-09-28T00:35:12.162+02:00All of this would explain why Abdelkader Alloula&#...All of this would explain why Abdelkader Alloula's original «سكينة المسكينة» in his play الأجواد becomes <a href="https://youtu.be/5QA2mC-c8GM?t=1h31m4s" rel="nofollow">«سكينة المغبونة»</a> on stage, while retaining the word as a noun («الجوهرة تقول المسكينة»).Anís del morohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14234468884505774797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-12589905558682555372016-09-27T23:22:10.601+02:002016-09-27T23:22:10.601+02:00Tim, John: Such structures do offer a kind of prec...Tim, John: Such structures do offer a kind of precedent for prenominal adjectives, but as John points out, they're always definite.<br /><br />Y: Quja can't be used predicatively at all, and məskin sounds kind of odd in predicative contexts (I have trouble imagining ?huwwa məskin, for instance).<br /><br />Abu Ilyás: That's a perfect comparison; I'll have to look into what syntacticians have had to say about Spanish señor! That Lili Boniche song is an interesting counterexample. It sounds pretty classicized to me (سقطت for "fall", for instance), and I doubt that a phrase like that would come naturally in ordinary speech. But if you did, that particular context does seem to force an article somehow, maybe because of the relative clause following it.<br /><br />Benjamin: I'll have to think about possible counterexamples, but some such explanation might be feasible - in Kabyle this word actually got borrowed as a strictly predicative adjective...Lameen Souag الأمين سواقhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00773164776222840428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-72240153134642889882016-09-27T22:52:59.941+02:002016-09-27T22:52:59.941+02:00However, Lili Boniche used to sing «أنا الورقة الم...However, Lili Boniche used to sing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D39tE-OEIRg" rel="nofollow">«أنا الورقة المسكينة»</a>...Anís del morohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14234468884505774797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-32941972955794505042016-09-27T21:19:09.013+02:002016-09-27T21:19:09.013+02:00It is indeed odd that مسكين has to be indefinite i...It is indeed odd that مسكين has to be indefinite in Algerian Arabic, because it can be definite in other dialects and in MSA. Could بوعلام مسكين ماقدرش يجي actually be two sentences, a nominal sentence (بوعلام مسكين) and a verbal sentence (ماقدرش يجي)?بنجامين گيرhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01514748224616373407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-43320609645033613832016-09-27T21:02:52.249+02:002016-09-27T21:02:52.249+02:00Actually, شريت قوجا كتاب rather equals "me he...Actually, شريت قوجا كتاب rather equals "me he comprado un señor libro" in Spanish (I have bought a "master" —lordly?— book).Anís del morohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14234468884505774797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-19733573324680665432016-09-27T21:00:43.437+02:002016-09-27T21:00:43.437+02:00Tim: Superlatives are unavoidably definite, which...Tim: Superlatives are unavoidably definite, which is why the Romance languages can use a definite article plus a comparative to express them.John Cowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452247999156925669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-65626881164639458452016-09-27T20:55:35.422+02:002016-09-27T20:55:35.422+02:00This reminds me of the Spanish colloquial adjectiv...This reminds me of the Spanish colloquial adjectives "un señor" (a master) / "una señora" (a mistress) which always precede the nouns they modify ("una señora herida" —a huge wound— but never "una herida señora") and cannot be definite ("un señor banquete" —a huge feast— but never "el señor banquete").Anís del morohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14234468884505774797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-38672602756990387002016-09-27T20:15:19.775+02:002016-09-27T20:15:19.775+02:00Is there anything remarkable about the syntax of t...Is there anything remarkable about the syntax of the two when used as predicates?Ynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-64822762851248111962016-09-27T19:53:09.752+02:002016-09-27T19:53:09.752+02:00I can't speak to what is going on with maskin,...I can't speak to what is going on with maskin, but the syntax of quja reminds me of the indefinite iDaafa used in superlative structures: in Syrian, for example, aTwal waa7ed 'the tallest one'. They're not exactly the same, but I note the combination of preposition + indefinite. (Of course, in the case of the superlative, there is also the marked structure of il-waa7ed il-aTwal.)Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01133229503925031268noreply@blogger.com