Beginner - The meaning of

ﺴﺒﻴﻞ is quite a difficult word. The problems associated with this noun may be brought under three heads: (1) polysemy, (2) morphology and (3) valency.

Polysemy
ﺴﺒﻴﻞ has a wide range of meanings. It may denote almost any kind of path (e.g. a track, an avenue or a channel), and like Engl. “way”, it is often used figuratively as a synonym of “means”.

Morphology
ﺴﺒﻴﻞ has a broken plural: ﺴﺒﻞ.

Valency
If we want to say something like “ways to generate new sources of energy” we have to render “generate” by a noun meaning “generation or production” (ﺇﻴﺠﺎﺪ) because Arabic verbs have no infinitive, and the words meaning “ways” and “generation” have to be linked by the definite article. A good example may be found in the first sentence of the text presented in the podcast about global warming. In this text ﺍﻠﺴﺒﻞ is followed by ﻹﻴﺠﺎﺪ.

I can hear something slightly different that what is written in the transcription. When you say مدرّس in the first sentance, i hear something like مدرّسٌ (mudarrisun). Can you explain the usage of the ٌ? (I'm not sure if the vowel symbols I've typed will show up on the website)

It is just because when you pause after the word (مدرّس) you don't pronounce the tanween, but if you progress then say the tanween.
That actually implies on all the harakaat, if you pause or stop on a word then you don't pronounce the last harakah.

Arabic syntax is evidently very flexible. Let us consider a few examples. In the podcast entitled “The meaning of” two verbs (ﺴﺄﻞ and ﺃﺠﺎﺐ) have been fronted. In “The Pencil and the Eraser” the same device can be observed in the final segment of the opening sentence, where the verb ﺪﺍﺮ is placed before the subject (ﺤﻮﺍﺮ). In the “Weather Forecast”, by contrast, the verb ﺘﻨﺨﻔﺾ has been placed after its subject (darajaat (ﺪﺮﺠﺎﺖ) al-haraara (ﺍﻠﺤﺮﺍﺮﺓ)).

Clauses with fronted verbs are called VSO clauses, while clauses where the verb follows the subject are called SVO clauses. Both clause types are very ancient. VSO clauses are frequent in Sanskrit and SVO clauses are common in Latin (e.g. amor vincit omnia). (Vergil used a third pattern (OVS) and wrote “omnia vincit amor”.)

It is not surprising that both clause types coexist in Arabic, but it is not always easy to explain why one type is used in preference to another. I suspect that two factors may play a role here: (1) the length of the sentence subject, (2) thematic organisation (i.e. information management at text level). If a subject is very long, it will be convenient to move it to the end of the clause in order to conform to the principle of end-weight, and it may be necessary to front a verb in order to establish a close link between two successive sentences.

In the course of my peregrinations through cyberspace I have discovered a certain number of Arabic texts consisting of brief dialogues. In such texts the verbs ﺴﺄﻞ and ﺃﺠﺎﺐ are regularly fronted. Ehab probably had this text type in mind when he concocted the dialogue presented in the podcast entitled “The meaning of”. When he was a small child he probably listened to dozens of texts constructed on this pattern (jokes, anecdotes, fables, etc.), so the fronting of the verbs in Ehab’s text was probably a semi-conscious imitatation of a rhythmical or textual pattern (ﻮﺰﻦ) which he learnt more or less unconsciously at a very early stage in the language acquisition process.

Ehab will probably smile when he reads this. I wonder if he will confirm my hypotheses.

I have to admit that I did smile :). To be honest, the issue of rhythmical patterns (أوزان) has been part of my life since I started writing poetry, which was around 15 years ago, and if one knows about Arabic poetry, one would know the necessity to be fully in control of those patterns in order to produce a poem. Now it goes naturally after all these years, this makes me feel old.
Probably it is the time where we should go for a lesson to introduce some rhythmical patterns of Arabic poetry.

Yes, Ehab, I agree. Why don't you present one of your own Arabic texts (e.g. a short poem or a couple of paragraphs from a short story)? Mohamed could ask you questions about your linguistic choices.

Since I'm also a professional writer (I write in three languages), I'm very conscious of the importance of rhythm. People who have read my books and articles often comment on my style.

Many of our linguistic choices are made at a subconscious or semi-conscious level, and the things we say are determined to a large extent by the language we use. When I write in French or German, for instance, I often say things I would never have said in English. The rhythmical patterns of French and German are quite different from those of English, and French and German words have different associations from their English counterparts. In many cases they have no English counterparts at all.

Since you are thoroughly steeped in Arabic culture you probably have a lot of ideas that would never occur to a European writer, and it would probably be difficult to express some of these ideas in a European language. Many Arabic words have no exact counterparts in European languages, and the peculiarities of Arabic syntax pose delicate problems.

Take the fronting of the verb, for instance. If you place a verb at the beginning of a sentence you can expand the sentence subject without infringing the principle of end-weight, but you are obliged to use short sentence subjects in a language where fronted verbs are rare or exceptional. This is one of the topics you might explore when you discuss your own texts.

what is the meaning of bel? and of lil? بال و لل

does any one know which arabic dialect this website teaches in.

Dear Vegas_201,

I assume you are referring to the prepositions ﺐ (bi) and ﻞ (li). Both these prepositions are proclitic, i.e. they are written together with the following words.

but how am i supposed to know when to use what? what do bi and li mean? when do i use be? its indeed very confusing...

Dear Vegas_201,

The prepositions ﺐ (bi) and ﻞ (li) have so many meanings and functions that it is impossible to deal exhaustively with them here. I’ll just give you a few examples and put the Arabic words in brackets in order to keep them in place.

ﺐ (bi) can be rendered as “with” when it is followed by a noun denoting something that can be added to food or drinks. Example: ﺒﺎﻠﺤﻠﻴﺐ (bi-al-haliib): with milk.

The same preposition is used in set phrases such as “bi-al-sahha (ﺒﺎﻠﺼﺤﺔ) wa al-'aafiia (ﻮﺍﻠﻌﺎﻓﻴﺔ)” or “biqadr (ﺒﻗﺪﺮ) al-mustataa' (ﺍﻠﻤﺴﺘﻁﺎﻉ)”. The first phrase has no equivalent in English. It is a polite expression used by people who are serving or offering food. A literal translation would be “with health and well-being”, but a native speaker of English would never say this. The second expression can often be rendered by “as far as possible”. The first noun (ﻗﺪﺮ) means “extent”, and the second one is a substantivised adjective meaning “feasible”.

The preposition ﻞ (li) can often be rendered as “for” or “to”, but it has to be translated as a verb (“have”) when it is combined with a pronominal suffix. Example: la-hu (ﻠﻪ) mu'allim (ﻤﻌﻠﻡ). He has a teacher.

When used with a noun denoting a person or a deity, ﻞ (li) may express directionality, proximity or benefactive or dative relationships. Example: al hamd-u (ﺍﻠﺤﻤﺪ) li-llaah-i (ﻠﻠﻪ). Praise be to God.

ﻞ (li) is used in many set phrases. Examples:

li-l'asaf (ﻠﻸﺴﻑ): regrettably, unfortunately
li-l-bay' (ﻠﻠﺑﻴﻊ): for sale
li-l-iijaar (ﻠﻼﻴﺠﺎﺭ): to rent

It remains to add that ﻞ (li) is also employed in exclamatory formulae. The pattern is ya + li + DEFINITE ARTICLE + NOUN IN THE GENITIVE CASE. Example:

ya (ﻴﺎ) li-l-meskiin-i (ﻠﻠﻤﺴﻜﻴﻦ) ! Oh the poor man! (In this sentence the noun is a substantivised adjective meaning “unfortunate”.)

If you want to use Arabic prepositions correctly you have to analyse Arabic texts carefully. Typical examples have to be collected, classified and learnt by heart.

Salaam! This is my first time posting and registering. Fantastic site, I find it really easy and fun to learn arabic here. You have in the dialogue 'fa2ajaab nafs attelmeed' for the sentence 'the same student'. Im a little confused, wouldn't it be 'attelmeed annafs' for 'the same student'? Aren't adjectives after the noun? Thanks :)

Dear ImanAllSmiles,

When I started learning Arabic I was also puzzled by this construction and I had to hunt through a grammar book to find a suitable explanation. ﻨﻓﺲ isn’t an adjective at all. It’s a noun that means “soul” (“appetitive soul”, to be more precise). That’s why it hasn’t been placed after the word for “student”. The English pattern “the + same + NOUN” corresponds in Arabic to ﻨﻓﺲ + DEFINITE ARTICLE + NOUN.