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?
2 comments:
Mmmm... What do you think about Taqbaylit ru7 ad tru7eD and Jijeli Arabic ru7 trewwe7 'go away' ?
Looks like Kupwar-style syntactic convergence to me.
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