Algerian Arabic is the native dialect of 75% to 80% of Algerians and is mastered by 85% to 100% of them.[9] 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.[10]
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).[11]
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.
Mâqil dialects: spoken in the western part of Oranais (noted for the third singular masculine accusative pronoun h, for example, /ʃʊfteh/ (I saw him), which would be /ʃʊftʊ/ in other dialects).[15]
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:[12][16]
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).
In comparison to other Maghrebi dialects, Algerian Arabic has retained numerous phonetic elements of Classical Arabic lost by its relatives;[17][18] In Algiers dialect, the letters /ðˤ/ظ, /ð/ذ, and ث/θ/ are not used, they are in most cases pronounced as the graphemes ض, د, and ت respectively.[17] This conservatism concerning pronunciation is in contrast to Algerian Arabic grammar which has shifted noticeably.[18] In terms of differences from Classical Arabic, the previous /r/ and /z/ phonemes have developed contrastive glottalized forms and split into /r/ and /rˤ/; and /z/ and /zˤ/. Additionally, /q/ from Classical Arabic has split into /q/ and /ɡ/ in most dialects. The phonemes /v/ and /p/ which are not common in Arabic dialects arise almost exclusively from (predominantly French) loanwords.[17]
^1 The voiceless "Ch" (t͡ʃ) is used in some words in the Algerian dialect like "تشينا" /t͡ʃinaː/ (orange) or "تشاراك" /t͡ʃaːraːk/ (A kind of Algerian sweet) but remains rare.
Dissimilation
A study of Northwestern Algerian Arabic (specifically around Oran) showed that laterals /l/ or /ɫ/ or the nasal consonant /n/ would be dissimilated into either /n/ in the case of /l/ or /ɫ/; or /l/ or /ɫ/ in the case of /n/ when closely preceding a corresponding lateral or nasal consonant.[19] Thus /zəlzla/ (earthquake) has become /zənzla/, conversely /lʁənmi/ "mutton" becomes /lʁəlmi/.[19]
Assimilation
The same study also noted numerous examples of assimilation in Northwestern Algerian Arabic, due to the large consonant clusters created from all of the historical vowel deletion: examples include /dəd͡ʒaːd͡ʒ/ "chicken", becoming /d͡ʒaːd͡ʒ/ and /mliːħ/ "good", becoming /mniːħ/.[19] An example of assimilation that occurs after the short vowel deletion is the historical /dərˤwŭk/ "now" becoming /drˤuːk/ and then being assimilated to /duːk/,[19] illustrating the order in which the rules of Algerian Arabic may operate.
The phonemic vowel inventory of Algerian Arabic consists of three long vowels: /iː/, /uː/, and /aː/ contrasted with two short vowels: /u/ and /ə/.[17][19] Algerian Arabic Vowels retains a great deal of features in relation to Classical Arabic Arabic phonology, namely the continued existence of 3 long vowels: /iː/, /uː/, and /aː/,[18] Algerian Arabic also retains the short close back vowel /u/ in speech, however the short equivalents of /iː/ and /aː/ have fused in modern Algerian Arabic, creating a single phoneme /ə/.[19] Also notable among the differences between Classical Arabic and Algerian Arabic is the deletion of short vowels entirely from open syllables[18] and thus word final positions,[17] which creates a stark distinction between written Classical Arabic, and casually written Algerian Arabic. One point of interest in Algerian Arabic that sets it apart from other conservative Arabic dialects is its preservation of phonemes in (specifically French) loanwords that would otherwise not be found in the language: /ɔ̃/, /y/, and /ɛ/ are all preserved in French loanwords such as /syʁ/ (French: 'sûre', English: 'sure') or /kɔnɛksiɔ̃/ (connection).[17]
Grammar
Nouns and adjectives
English
Algerian Arabic
drink
šrab
sky
sma
water
ma
woman / women
mra / nsa
fire
nar
big
kbir
man / men
rajel / rjal
day
nhar / yum
moon
qmer
night
lil
bread
khubz / kesra
small
ṣγir
Turtle
Fekrun
sand
rmel
winter / rain
šta / mṭar / nu
ball
balun
towel
serbita
toilet / bathroom
bit-el-ma / bit-er-raḥa / Twalat
Conjunctions and prepositions
English
Algerian Arabic
Notes of usage
but
beṣṣaḥ , emeṣṣaḥ
if
ila, ida, lakan, kun, Fihalat
used for impossible conditions and comes just before the verb
if
lukan, kun
for possible conditions, Also used is "ida" and "kan"
so that, that
baš, bah
that
belli
as if
ki šγul, tquši, tqul, tgul
because
xaṭar, xaṭrakeš, εlaxaṭer, εlajal
when
ila / wakta / winta / Ki (used for some cases like: when you come I'll tell you)
before
qbel ma / gbel ma
used before verbs
without
bla ma / blach
used before verbs
whether
kaš ma
used before verbs
under
taḥt
over, on top of
fuq or fug
after
mur / mura / Baεd / wra
before
qbel / gbel
used only for time
next to, beside
quddam or guddam
is also used "ḥda"
at
εend / εla
with
mεa
among, between
bin, binat (plural)
same as, as much as
εla ḥsab, qed, ged, kima
amount
oh, oh so much
ya, ah
Some of them can be attached to the noun, just like in other Arabic dialects. The word for in, "fi", can be attached to a definite noun. For example, the word for a house has a definite form "ed-dar" but with "fi", it becomes "fed-dar".
Gender
Algerian Arabic uses two genders for words: masculine and feminine. Masculine nouns and adjectives generally end with a consonant while the feminine nouns generally end with an a.
Examples:
[rɑfiːqchbab] "Rafik is beautiful(male)", [zɑjnɑbchabba] "Zeyneb is beautiful(female)".
Pluralisation
Hilalian dialects, on which the modern koine is based, often use regular plural while the wider use of the broken plural is characteristic to pre-Hilalian dialects.
The regular masculine plural is formed with the suffix -in, which derives from the Classical Arabic genitive and accusative ending -īna rather than the nominative -ūna:
mumen (believer) → mumnin
For feminine nouns, the regular plural is obtained by suffixing -at:
Classical Arabic: bint (girl) → banat
Algerian Arabic: bent → bnat
The broken plural can be found for some plurals in Hilalian dialects, but it is mainly used, for the same words, in pre-Hilalian dialects:
Broken plural: ṭabla → ṭwabəl.
Article
The article el is indeclinable and expresses a definite state of a noun of any gender and number. It is also prefixed to each of that noun's modifying adjectives.
It follows the sun and moon letters rules of Classical Arabic: if the word starts with one of these consonants, el is assimilated and replaced by the first consonant:
t, d, r, z, s, š, ṣ, ḍ, ṭ, l, n.
Examples:
rajel → er-rajel "man" (assimilation)
qeṭṭ → el-qeṭṭ "cat" (no assimilation)
Important Notes:
When it is after lunar letters consonant we add the article le-.
Examples:
qmer → le-qmer "moon"
ḥjer → le-ḥjer "stone"
We always use the article el with the words that begin with vowels.
Examples:
alf → el-alf "thousand"
Verbs
Verbs are conjugated by adding affixes (prefixes, postfixes, both or none) that change according to the tense.
In all Algerian Arabic dialects, there is no gender differentiation of the second and third person in the plural forms, nor is there gender differentiation of the second person in the singular form in pre-Hilalian dialects. Hilalian dialects preserve the gender differentiation of the singular second person.
Also, as is used in all of the other Arabic dialects, there is another way of showing active tense. The form changes the root verb into an adjective. For example, "kteb" he wrote becomes "kateb".
Like all North African Arabic varieties (including Egyptian Arabic) along with some Levantine Arabic varieties, verbal expressions are negated by enclosing the verb with all its affixes, along with any adjacent pronoun-suffixed preposition, within the circumfixma ...-š (/ʃ/):
«ma yṭawlu-l-ek-š hadu le-qraεi» ("Those bottles won't last you long")
«ma sibt-š plaṣa» ("I couldn't get a seat / parking place")
Person
Past
Present
Future
Present continuous
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
1st (m)
ma ktebt-š
ma ktebna-š
ma nekteb-š
ma nekketbu-š
ma Rayeḥ-š nekteb
ma Rayḥin-š nekketbu
ma Rani-š nekteb
ma Rana-š nekketbu
2nd (f)
ma ktebt-š
ma ktebna-š
ma nekteb-š
ma nekketbu-š
ma Rayḥa-š nekteb
ma Rayḥin-š nekketbu
ma Rani-š nekteb
ma Rana-š nekketbu
2nd (m)
ma ketbt-š
ma ktebtu-š
ma tekteb-š
ma tekketbu-š
ma Rayeḥ-š tekteb
ma Rayḥin-š tekketbu
ma Rak-š tekteb
ma Rakum-š tekketbu
2nd (f)
ma ktebti-š
ma ktebtu-š
ma tekketbi-š
ma tekketbu-š
ma Rayḥa-š tekketbi
ma Rayḥin-š tekketbu
ma Raki-š tekketbi
ma Rakum-š tekketbu
3rd (m)
ma kteb-š
ma ketbu-š
ma yekteb-š
ma yekketbu-š
ma Rayeḥ-š yekteb
ma Rayḥin-š yekketbu
ma Rah-š yekteb
ma Rahum-š yekketbu
3rd (f)
ma ketbet-š
ma ketbu-š
ma tekteb-š
ma yekketbu-š
ma Rayḥa-š tekteb
ma Rayḥin-š yekketbu
ma Raha-š tekteb
ma Rahum-š yekketbu
Other negative words (walu, etc.) are used in combination with ma to express more complex types of negation. ʃ is not used when other negative words are used
ma qult walu ("I didn't say anything")
ma šuft tta waḥed ("I didn't see anyone")
or when two verbs are consecutively in the negative
ma šuft ma smeεt ("I neither saw nor did I hear").
Verb derivation
Verb derivation is done by adding affixes or by doubling consonants, there are two types of derivation forms: causative, passive.
Causative: is obtained by doubling consonants:
xrej "to go out" → xerrej "to make to go out"
dxel "to enter" → dexxel "to make to enter, to introduce".
Passive:It is obtained by prefixing the verb with t- / tt- / tn- / n-:
qtel "to kill" → tneqtel "to be killed"
šreb "to drink" → tnešreb "to be drunk".
The adverbs of location
Things could be in three places hnaya (right here), hna (here) or el-hih (there).
Pronouns
Personal pronouns
Most Algerian Arabic dialects have eight personal pronouns since they no longer have gender differentiation of the second and third person in the plural forms. However, pre-Hilalian dialects retain seven personal pronouns since gender differentiation of the second person in the singular form is absent as well.
Person
Singular
Plural
1st
ana
ḥna
2nd (m)
n'ta
n'tuma
2nd (f)
n'ti
n'tuma
3rd (m)
huwwa
huma
3rd (f)
hiyya
huma
Example: «ḥatta ana/ana tani.» — "Me too."
Person
Algerian Arabic
I am
rani
You are (m)
rak
You are (f)
raki
He is
rah or Rahu
She is
Rahi or Raha
We are
rana
You or Y'all are
raku or rakum (m)and (f)
They are
rahum (m)and (f)
Example: «Rani hna.» — "I'm here." and «Waš rak.» "How are you." to both males and females.
Possessive pronouns
Dar means house.
Person
Singular
Plural
1st
i (Dari)
na (Darna)
2nd
(e)k (Dar(e)k)
kum (Darkum)
3rd (m)
u (Daru)
(h)um (Dar(h)um)
3rd (f)
ha (Darha)
(hum) (Dar(h)um)
Example: «dar-na.» — "Our house" (House-our) Possessives are frequently combined with taε "of, property": dar taε-na — "Our house.", dar taε-kum ...etc.
Singular:
taε-i = my or mine
taε-ek = your or yours (m, f)
taε-u = his
taε-ha = hers
Plural:
taε-na = our or ours
taε-kum = your or yours (m, f)
taε-hum = their or theirs (m, f)
"Our house" can be Darna or Dar taε-na, which is more like saying 'house of ours'. Taε can be used in other ways just like in English in Spanish. You can say Dar taε khuya, which means 'house of my brother' or directly Dar khuya 'my brother's house'.
Interrogative pronouns
Interrogatives
Algerian Arabic
What?
waš?
When?
waqtaš? / wektaš? / wektah? / wekket?
Why?
3lah? / 3laš? / llah?
Which?
waš-men? / aš-men? / ama?
Where?
win?
Who?
škun? / menhu?
How?
kifaš? / kifah? / ki?
How many?
šḥal? / qeddaš? / gueddaš? / gueddah?
Whose?
taε-men?
Verbal pronouns
Person
Singular
Plural
1st
ni
na
2nd (m)
(e)k
kum
3rd (m)
u (after a consonant) / h (after a vowel) / hu (before an indirect object pronoun)
hum
3rd (f)
ha
hum
Examples:
«šuft-ni.» — "You saw me." (You.saw-me)
«qetl-u.» — "He killed him." (He.killed-him)
«kla-h.» — "He ate it." (He.ate-it)
Demonstratives
Unlike Classical Arabic, Algerian Arabic has no dual and uses the plural instead. The demonstrative (Hadi) is also used for "it is".
Interrogatives
Algerian Arabic
Emphasized
This
had (m), hadi (f)
hada, hadaya (m), hadiyya (f)
That
dak (m), dik (f)
hadak (m), hadik (f)
These
hadu
haduma
Those
duk
haduk
Sample text
Auguste Moulieras's Les fourberies de si Djeh'a. The text below was translated from Kabyle language.[20]
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.
↑ The Mâqil family of dialects also includes Moroccan Bedouin Arabic dialects and Hassaniya. Those of the Oranais are similar to those of eastern Morocco (Oujda area).
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