Mary Copeland

Tag: Darija

  • Typical Greetings, as found in “Sarah entre France et Maroc”

    A major part of speaking any language is knowing the greeting rituals. If you’re just a tourist, just the usual السلام عليكم\و عليكم السلام should be more than sufficient, with perhaps the occasional لا باس (literally “no problems” — it’s used a bit like ça va? in French) thrown in by people excited to hear…

  • Colors

    Moroccan Arabic being “non-standard” and non-standardized has a certain amount of variation in its lexicon. Here you can find a table containing different translations for the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, brown, black, and white from five different Darija books in their masculine, singular form, as well as the MSA (Modern Standard…

  • Even more Darija resources!

    Since I last wrote about what Darija resources I was using, I have added quiiiite a number of new books and sites to my rotation. (You’d think I’d be much further along then, wouldn’t you? But, of course, possessing things is not the same as making use of them.) In any case, here’s a rundown…

  • Listening & Reading Practice: Moroccan Arabic Intermediate Reader

    I recently discovered the Moroccan Arabic Intermediate Reader by Wali A. Alami and published by the Intensive Language Training Center of Indiana University – Bloomington in 1969. It is now provided (for free!) through various government agencies, including through ERIC. The reader comes in two volumes — the first with transcription, the second with (handwritten)…

  • Websites for learning Moroccan Arabic

    To get started, here is a round-up of some of the Moroccan Arabic resources currently available online (both free and paid content). Learning Darija in English: Playaling <– New!! Playaling is a fantastic resource for all Arabic learners! It curates clips in different Arabic dialects and difficulty levels. Every clip is accompanied by transcripts in…