Algerian Arabic

thumb|Reda speaking Algerian Arabic.

Algerian Arabic (), natively known as , or , is a variety of Arabic spoken in Algeria. It belongs to the Maghrebi Arabic dialect continuum and is mostly intelligible with the Tunisian and Moroccan dialects. Darja () means 'everyday/colloquial dialect'.

Like other varieties of Maghrebi Arabic, Algerian Arabic has a mostly Semitic vocabulary. 20% of Algerian Arabic words are from Arabic and 34% of Algerian words are inspired from it. It contains Berber, Punic, and African Romance influences and has some loanwords from French, Andalusi Arabic, Ottoman Turkish and Spanish. Berber loanwords represent 8% to 9% of its vocabulary.

Use

Algerian Arabic is the native dialect of 75% to 80% of Algerians and is mastered by 85% to 100% of them. It is a spoken language used in daily communication and entertainment, while Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is generally reserved for official use and education. As in the rest of the Arab world, this linguistic situation has been described as diglossia: MSA is nobody's first acquired language; it is learned through formal instruction rather than transmission from parent to child.

Besides informal communication, Algerian Arabic is rarely written. In 2008, The Little Prince was translated in Algerian Arabic. The first novel written in Algerian Arabic is published by Rabeh Sebaa in 2021 and is entitled Fahla (in Latin script and Arabic characters).

Dialects

The classification of dialects in Algeria is made particularly difficult due to the geography of Algeria, allowing pockets of isolated speakers to form, as well as the mixing of dialects in urban centers, creating a "koine" for each city.

However, the Arabic dialects can still be divided into two genetically different groups: pre-Hilalian and Hilalian dialects.

Hilalian dialects

Hilalian dialects of Algeria belong to three linguistic groups:

Eastern Hilal dialects: includes three main groups: Sétif-Batna, Mila-Skikda (includes Constantine), and Annaba-Tébessa-Biskra.
Central Hilal dialects: of central and southern Algeria, includes two clusters: Chlef-Médéa and Tipaza-Boumerdès (includes Algiers).
Mâqil dialects: spoken in the western part of Oranais (noted for the third singular masculine accusative pronoun h, for example, (I saw him), which would be in other dialects).

Modern koine languages, urban and national, are based mainly on Hilalian dialects.

Pre-Hilalian dialects

Pre-Hilalian Arabic dialects are generally classified into three types: Urban, "Village" Sedentary, and Jewish dialects. Several Pre-Hilalian dialects are spoken in Algeria:

Urban dialects can be found in all of Algeria's big cities. Urban dialects were formerly also spoken in other cities, such as Azemmour and Mascara, Algeria, where they are no longer used.
The Jijel Arabic (or Jijeli Dialect) is spoken in the triangular area north of Constantine, including Collo and Jijel (it is noteworthy for its pronunciation of [q] as [k] and [t] as [ts] and characterized, such as other Eastern pre-Hilalian dialects, by the preservation of the three short vowels).
The traras-Msirda dialect is spoken in the area north of Tlemcen, including the eastern Traras, Rachgoun and Honaine (it is noted for its pronunciation of [q] as [k]);
Judeo-Algerian Arabic is no longer spoken after Algerian Jews left Algeria in 1962.

Phonology

Consonants

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+Consonant phonemes of Algerian Arabic

! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |

! colspan="2" |Labial

! colspan="2" |Dental/Alveolar

! rowspan="2" |Palatal

! rowspan="2" |Velar

! rowspan="2" |Uvular

! rowspan="2" |Pharyngeal

! rowspan="2" |Glottal

|- style="font-size: 80%;"

! plain

!emphatic

! plain 

!emphatic

! colspan="2" style="text-align: left;" |Nasal

| ()

! rowspan="2" style="text-align: left;" |Occlusive

! style="text-align: left; font-size: 80%;" |voiceless

|()

| ()

! style="text-align: left; font-size: 80%;" |voiced

| ()

! rowspan="2" style="text-align: left;" |Fricative

! style="text-align: left; font-size: 80%;" |voiceless

! style="text-align: left; font-size: 80%;" |voiced

|()

! colspan="2" style="text-align: left;" |Trill

! colspan="2" style="text-align: left;" |Approximant

In comparison to other Maghrebi dialects, Algerian Arabic has retained numerous phonetic elements of Classical Arabic lost by its relatives; Algerian Arabic Vowels retains a great deal of features in relation to Classical Arabic Arabic phonology, namely the continued existence of 3 long vowels: , , and , Algerian Arabic also retains the short close back vowel in speech, however the short equivalents of and have fused in modern Algerian Arabic, creating a single phoneme /ə/.

{| class="wikitable"

! Buzelluf

! Sheep Head

| Waħed en-nhar, jħa med-lu baba-h frank, baş yeşri buzelluf. Şra-h, w kla gagħ leħm-u. Bqa ğir legħdem, jab-u l baba-h. Ki şaf-u qal-lu: "waş hada?" Qal-lu: "buzelluf".

-A şmata, win rahi wedn-u?

:-Kan tgħreş.

-Win rahum għini-h?

:-Kan għma.

-Win rah lsan-u?

:-Kan bekkuş.

- U el-jelda tagħ ras-u, win rahi?

:-Kan fertgħas.

| One day, Jha's father gave him one cent so he buys a sheep head. He bought it and ate all of its meat. Only an empty carcass was left. He brought it to his father. Then, when he saw it, he said: "what is that?" Jehha said: "a sheep head".

-You vile, where are its ears?

:-It was deaf.

-Where are its eyes?

:-It was blind.

-Where is its tongue?

:-It was mute.

-And the skin of its head, where is it?

:-It was bald.

French loanwords

Algerian Arabic contains numerous French loanwords.

{| class="wikitable"

! Algerian Arabic

! French loanword

! English meaning

! Algerian Arabic

! French loanword

! English meaning

! feršiṭa

| fourchette

| fork

! por

| port

! friza

| fraises

| strawberries

! otel

| hôtel

| hotel

! nurmalmu

| normalement

| normally

! frijider

| frigidaire

| refrigerator

! karṭa

| carte

| card

! bumba

| bombe

| bomb

! buja (v)

| bouger (v)

| move (v)

! atay

| thé

| tea

! farina

| farine

| flour

! duntist

| dentiste

| dentist

! tilifun

| téléphone

| phone

! šufur

| chauffeur

| driver (chauffeur)

! valiza

| valise

| suitcase

! paṣpur

| passport

! trunspur

| transport

| transportation

! tunubil

| automobile

| car

! kazirna

| caserne

| barracks

! couzina

| cuisine

| kitchen

! fermli

| infirmier

| (male) nurse

! blaṣa/plaṣa

| place

| place/seat

! pyasa/byasa

| pièce

| piece

! šarji (v)

| charger (v)

| load/charge (v)

! karti

| quartier

| district

! jerda

| jardin

| garden

! girra

| guerre

| war

! riska (v)

| risquer (v)

| risk (v)

! (g)kravaṭa

| cravate

| tie

! zigu

| égout

| sewer

! mikru

| micro-ordinateur

| computer

! kadre

| cadre

| frame

! riẓu

| réseau

| network

! ridu

| rideau

| curtain

! ṭabla

| table

! biyyi

| billet

| ticket

! vista

| veste

| jacket

! bulisiyya

| police

!kaskiṭa

|casquette

|cap

!balona

|ballon

|ball

!makiyaj

|maquillage

|makeup

!āntik

|antique

|Good

(v)=verb

Algerian Arabic

Use

Dialects

Hilalian dialects

Pre-Hilalian dialects

Phonology

Consonants

French loanwords

See also

References