Lesson 80 · B2
Gal, 'al, qal
A Casablancan says qal, “he said”. A farmer from the Chaouia says gal. A woman from old Fes says 'al. All three speak Darija and understand each other easily, like a Glaswegian and a Londoner. Four features will tell you where someone's from.
- Recognise four regional features.
- Convert a regional form into Casablanca Darija.
- Know what Hilali and pre-Hilali mean.
- Read an ary.wikipedia text about Darija itself.
Twenty-four words
Cities, variants and words for talking about accents. The second family is regional forms: don't imitate them, but learn to recognise them.
Where
- كَازَا Kaza Casablanca
- فَاسْ Fas Fes
- تِطْوَانْ Titwan Tetouan
-
وَجْدَة
Wejda
Oujda
In the east, on the Algerian border.
- مْرَّاكْشْ Mrraksh Marrakesh
-
جْبَالَة
Jbala
Jbala
The north-western mountains.
Variants
-
ݣَالْ
gal
he said (rural)
q → g.
- بْݣْرَة begra cow (rural)
-
أَالْ
'al
he said (old Fes)
q → glottal stop, as in Cairo.
-
نْتِي (لْلرَّاجْلْ)
nti (l r-rajel)
you (to a man, north)
The north doesn't mark gender here.
-
دُرْكْ
dork
now (east)
Elsewhere, daba.
- رَانِي rani I am; here I am (east)
Talking about speech
- اللّْهْجَة l-lahja dialect; accent
- الْكْلَامْ l-klam way of speaking
- النُّطْقْ n-nutq pronunciation
-
الْحَسَّانِيَّة
l-7assaniyya
Hassaniya
The Arabic of the Sahara.
- الْعْرُوبِيَّة l-3rubiyya countryside
- الْمْدِينِي l-mdini urban
Understanding each other
- فْهَمْ بْعْضِيَّاتْهُمْ fhem b3diyyathum understand each other
- تّْعْرَفْ مْنْ الْكْلَامْ tt3ref men l-klam to show in one's speech
- تْقَلّْدْ tqelled to imitate
- الْإِعْلَامْ l-i3lam the media
The usual question
- مْنِينْ نْتَا؟ mnin nta? where are you from?
- بَايْنْ عْلِيكْ bayen 3lik it shows
Four compass points
Four sentences from four places. Which word gives each speaker away?
- ݣَالْ لِيَّا خَالِي: الْبْݣْرَة مْرِيضَةgal liyya khali: l-begra mrida
- أَالْ لِيكْ بَّا: أَرَا الْكْتَابْ'al lik bba: 'ra l-ktab
- فِينْ غَادِي نْتِي آ مُحَمَّدْ؟fin ghadi nti a Mu7ammed?
- رَانِي فْالدَّارْ دُرْكْrani f d-dar dork
How does “he said” sound in lines 1 and 2? Who is being called nti in line 3?
The rule
q → g: in the countryside and Atlantic plains (“Hilali” speech, from Bedouin tribes who arrived in the 12th century): gal, begra. You'll hear it in cities too, from people of rural origin.
q → glottal stop: in old Fes: 'al, 'ra.
nti for both genders: in Tetouan, Tangier and Jbala, nti is for men and women.
dork, rani: in the east (Oujda), as in Algeria.
Old cities and northern mountains have older “pre-Hilali” speech. The media norm is Casablanca-Rabat. No variant is a mistake.
Variants and equivalents
| Form | Say it | Means |
|---|---|---|
| قَالْ ← ݣَالْ | qal → gal | he said: centre → countryside |
| بْقْرَة ← بْݣْرَة | beqra → begra | cow: centre → countryside |
| قَالْ ← أَالْ | qal → 'al | he said: centre → old Fes |
| نْتَا / نْتِي ← نْتِي | nta / nti → nti | you (m / f): centre → north |
| دَابَا ← دُرْكْ | daba → dork | now: centre → east |
| أَنَا هْنَا ← رَانِي هْنَا | ana hna → rani hna | I'm here: centre → east |
| كَيْقُولُو ← كِيݣُولُو | kayqulu → kaygulu | they say: centre → countryside |
| مْنِينْ نْتَا؟ بَايْنْ عْلِيكْ فَاسِي | mnin nta? bayen 3lik Fasi | where are you from? you sound like you're from Fes |
Row 7: the ary.wikipedia article itself writes kaygulu, with g.
What English gives you, and what it costs
Free: the attitude. A Scottish accent isn't bad English; gal isn't bad Darija.
Free: northern nti for both genders is what English did long ago with “you”: one form, no confusion.
Costly: the sounds. The q/g/glottal-stop split has no English parallel. Train your ear on minimal pairs: qal / gal / 'al.
Your mistake, not someone else's
You hear gal and think the speaker got it wrong. It's another variety, just as correct as yours.
×ݣَالْ غَلْطْ، الصّْحِيحْ قَالْ“Gal is wrong; the right form is qal”.
✓ݣَالْ وْ قَالْ جُوجْ صْحَاحْ، مْنْ جْهَاتْ“Gal and qal are both right: they're from different places”.
What does sound odd is a foreigner saying 'al without being from Fes.
Darija describes itself
Real extracts from the Darija Wikipedia article “داريجة”. Look at the last line: the article itself writes kaygulu, with g, a regional feature in the spelling.
كَايْنْ بْزَّافْ دْيَالْ لْهَجَاتْ فْ دَارْجَة، وْ كُلّْهُمْ تَيْفْهْمُو بْعْضِيَّاتْهُمْ مْزْيَانْ.
لْهَجَاتْ دْيَالْ الدَّارْ الْبِيضَا وْ الرّْبَاطْ وْ فَاسْ هُومَا لِي مَعْرُوفِينْ بْزَّافْ، وْكَايْتّْسْتَعْمْلُو فْوَسَائِلْ لْإِعْلَامْ كْتَرْ مْنْ لَاخْرِينْ بْحَالْ دْيَالْ طَنْجَة وْ وَجْدَة.
تْكُونَاتْ لُوغَة لْمْغْرِيبِيَّة مْنْ بْزَّافْ دْيَالْ لّْهَجَاتْ لِي جَاوْ مْنْ جُوجْ دْيَالْ لْمَجْمُوعَاتْ مْخْتَالْفِينْ وْرَاتِيًّا، لّْي هُومَا: لْقَبْلْهِيلَالِيَّة ؤْ لْهِيلَالِيَّة.
لّْهَجَاتْ دْ لْمْدُونْ لْقْدَامْ تْأَتْرَاتْ بْ صّْبْلْيُونِيَّة، حِيتَاشْ سْكْنُو فِيهَا بْزَّافْ دْ نّْاسْ دْيَالْ لَانْدَالُوسْ ؤْ لْمُورِيسْكِيِّينْ.
فْ التّْخْدَامْ لْعَامْ كِيݣُولُو النَّاسْ بْلِّي كِيهْضْرُو «الدَّارِيجَة»، ؤُلَا بْلِّي كِيهْضْرُو «لْعَرْبِيَّة».
«داريجة», Wikipedia en darija (ary.wikipedia.org), autores de Wikipedia. Extractos; vocalización de Learning Darija · CC BY-SA 4.0
Did you follow?
Do the dialects understand each other?
Show answers
Yes, well.
Which are best known and most used in the media?
Show answers
Casablanca, Rabat and Fes.
Which two groups do the dialects come from?
Show answers
Pre-Hilali and Hilali.
Why do the old cities show Spanish influence?
Show answers
Many Andalusians and Moriscos settled there.
Check
Two here, three more in the B2 book.
Exercises 1 and 2 are here, with answers. Exercises 3 to 5 are in the B2 book, the PDF this site lives on: you can see the first item of each below.
1Match
Variant to region.
| 1 | ݣَالْ | a | تِطْوَانْ وْ طَنْجَة |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | أَالْ | b | الْعْرُوبِيَّة وْ السّْهُولْ |
| 3 | نْتِي لْلرَّاجْلْ | c | وَجْدَة |
| 4 | دُرْكْ | d | فَاسْ الْقْدِيمَة |
2Into central Darija
Turn each regional form into Casablanca Darija.
- ݣَالْ لِيَّا
- أَالْ لِيكْ
- رَانِي عْيَانْ
- جِي دُرْكْ
3True or false?
According to the article.
- The dialects understand each other well.
4Sort
Central or regional?
قَالْ
Central
Regional
5Accents
In six sentences, describe how someone from another region you know speaks.
اللّْهْجَةكَيْقُولُومْنِينْبَايْنْفْهَمْ
The rest is in the B2 book
The B2 bookShow answers
| 1. Match | 1-b, 2-d, 3-a, 4-c |
|---|---|
| 2. Into central Darija | قَالْ لِيَّا · قَالْ لِيكْ · أَنَا عْيَانْ · أَجِي دَابَا |
The B2 book: In preparation
Write and I will tell you the day it is out. One email, no list.
I can now
- Recognise gal, 'al, nti and dork.
- Turn a variant into central Darija.
- Explain Hilali and pre-Hilali.
- Talk about accents without judging them.