Chatting

Nidalha

hey!!

10:11pm

Me

hey!!

comment vas tu??

10:12pm

Nidalha

whats up?

well thank u

10:12pm

Me

not much

are you in tetouan?

10:12pm

Nidalha

ya

and u?

10:13pm

Me

yeah

we should meet up!

10:13pm

Nidalha

peut etre apre demain je vais voyager a agadir

10:13pm

Me

apres demain!?!

10:13pm

Nidalha

so tomorow if u wante

10:14pm

Me

donc, nous devons rejoindre

oui

je vais manger a la union

a 1.30 ou 2H

ca marche pour toi?

10:15pm

Nidalha

non parce que je serais a inba

4hok?

10:16pm

Me

oui

ou?

10:16pm

Nidalha

ok

cool

10:16pm

Me

donde?

10:16pm

Nidalha

le voyage bien passé?

10:17pm

Me

oui, absolutement

mais 4H demain...fayn?

10:18pm

Nidalha

f cafe paris

10:18pm

Me

bon!

10:18pm

Nidalha

cool

10:18pm

Me

a demain, et je dirai alaina, aussi

10:19pm

Nidalha

ouiiii

c bon

10:19pm

Me

coooool

ciao ciao

10:19pm

Nidalha

bslama

thlay frask

10:20pm

Me

haha

10:20pm

Nidalha

ossalmi 3a alaina

biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiz

#17 of Things I'll Miss About Morocco

Tout le plaisir est pour moi de te revoir, amuse toi bien dans ton voyage...Et c avec joie que je t'attendrai pour boir un thé, gros bisous et bon voyage.

#17: Flowery French texts

Wiki Friday: Quebec French

Standardization:

Although Quebec French constitutes a coherent and standard system, it has no objective norm since the very organization mandated to establish it, the Office québécois de la langue française, believes that objectively standardizing Quebec French would lead to reduced interintelligibility with other French communities around the world, linguistically isolating Quebecers and possibly causing the extinction of the French language in the Americas.

Mutual intelligibility with other varieties of French:

Mutual intelligibility of Quebec French with Metropolitan French is a matter of heated debates among linguists. If a comparison can be made, the differences between both dialects are probably larger than those between standard American and standard British English, but far less than those differences between Brazilian Portuguese and that of Portugal or between standard German and Swiss German. Francophone Canadians abroad have to modify their accent somewhat in order to be easily understood, but very few Francophone Canadians are unable to communicate readily with European Francophones. European pronunciation is not really difficult for Canadians to understand; only differences in vocabulary present any problems. Nevertheless, Quebec French accent is mostly closer to that of Poitoi or of Normandy and also some parts of Wallonia.

In general, European French speakers have no problems understanding Quebec newscasts or other moderately formal Québécois speech. However, they may have some difficulty understanding informal speech, such as the dialogue in a sitcom. This is due more to idioms, slang, vocabulary and use of exclusive cultural references than to accent or pronunciation. However, when speaking to a European French speaker, a French speaker from Quebec is capable of shifting to a slightly more formal, "international" type of speech.

Quebec's culture has only recently gained exposure in Europe, especially since the Quiet Revolution (Révolution tranquille), and the difference in dialects and culture is large enough that Quebec French speakers overwhelmingly prefer their own "home grown" television dramas or sitcoms to shows from Europe. The number of such TV shows from France shown on Quebec television is about the same as the number of British TV shows on American television: they are seldom broadcast except on obscure cable channels.

Thanks, Wikipedia.

And thanks to my friend Steve Faguy, because I stole the photo from his cool blog, which happens to be based on and in Montreal, speaking of Quebec.

Texts from the last month

King will be out walking at 2 we just heard. Where we do not know. I will head to moham V soon to see.

Avatar en español a las 6.30 en avenida? Bghiti?

Yees!ok. bon jeudi viens me chercher au beaux arts 1 heur que tu veus.avec ton usb pour te donner les fotos.bon8. coucou a american spay.lol

Alyawm adars fi 3

Hi mary. Mr hisham said that we will meet tmrw at 4 bcz he will be busy of Friday..have gd dreams.

Wakha

Maroc Telecom Vous Souhaite Aid Moubarak Said.

They sleep stil, come by here at 11.00

Slt!mais je peu pa anulé les fille ont programé pr ce samedi tu peu faire la féte laprem avk tn ami je compte sur toi a 19h30 ne me laisse pa tombé

Hey can u buy laundry detergent on the way home? Omo kabir.

Shuks bzef!

Ok-Super-On se retrouve a Inba.

Clothes are drying! As for floors, ghadda insha allah…

67cm by 120cm, 5mm thick—Edges rounded. Asap, we need the palette.

Salam.Nous allons au Hamam D hajar vers10Hdemain. Tu viens aussi?

Viaduc!

On Christmas Eve day, I drove with four strangers from Girona to Paris. They laughed at me when we crossed the border from Spain to France, because I reached for my passport. Had I taken the train, I would have been forced to travel at night, and I would have missed the scenery, not to mention the French immersion experience.

un Clio noir (a black Clio)

j'ai decouvert (I discovered)

en trein (in the process of)

rentrer/retourner (to come back)

moins cher (less expensive)

le région (the region)

ça fait trois mois (it's been three months)

en fait (in fact)

bourré (drunk)

prepare-toi (prepare yourself)

trés haut (very high)

viaduc! (viaduct!)

impressionant (impressive)

une falaise (a cliff)

requien (shark)

l'autostop (truck stop)

le trajet (the trip)

un truc (a thing)

dessiner (to draw)

les paroles (the lyrics)

á doite/ á gauche (to the right/ to the left)

putain! (fuck!)

It was all thanks to the French website for carpooling with strangers and some roughly hewn French emails. Language opens doors they say; even car doors. Emmanuelle, the driver, left the first opinion on my website profile:

Joyeux Noel! Super trajet, on a bien rigolé! Mary a plein de choses a raconter ! Yihaaa

Twenty-neuf

Alvaro from Chile had been studying cooking in the north of France for six months when he met me in Barcelona. He opened his mouth to speak English, which he had studied and spoken for years, to find that it was tangled in French. I told him to use whichever word came first. And so he continued.

When I was petit…

Vent frais

Last weekend, we hiked up the mountain Bounan. Pine and mint, donkeys, goats, cows, and a turtle. We ate sandwiches, olives, and homemade cinnamon buns. Eventually we were high enough to see the Strait of Gibraltar and the landmass of Spain. Oriane taught me a nice song.

Vent frais, vent du matin

Vent qui souffle aux sommets des grands pins

Joie du vent qui souffle

Allons dans le grand

Vent frais, vent du matin...

5 a day

français:

pochoir (stencil)

tampon (stamp)

couche (layer)

rapport (rapport)

decouper (carve)

español:

gobierno (government)

ministro (minister)

rey (king)

cuchara (spoon)

cuhchillo (knife)

alarabiya:

muhim (important)

muthir (interesting)

fusul (seasons)

har (hot)

barid (cold)

Türkçe:

almamiş (apparently I took it)

iyimiş (apparently I was good)

tabii (of course)

şişman (fat)

hafif (light)

Fish! Fish!

Samak. Samak.

Mohssin from Bordeaux looks at me in surprise. Fish! I say, happily. Fish!

He looks at Hagar. Elle...? Oui! Elle-- But now he looks back at me. Tu peux lire l'arabe?!

But I am looking at the sign.

Sa... La. Sau... Sou.... Souq. Souq asamak. Fish market.

He has stopped eating. L'accent, c'est bon.

Thanks, Mohssin. As a child in Arabic, it's nice to be around people who don't mind kids.

5 a day

français:

unijambiste (one-legged person)

fin (filler word, like 'so...')

franchement (frankly, basically)

a vrai dire (to be honest)

vachement (really)

español:

rebajas (sales)

joder (fuck)

me cago en la leche (I shit myself in the milk = shoot)

guay (cool)

chulo (pimp/cool)

alarabiya:

musaida (help)

atakalam (I speak)

aqul (I say)

la aarif (I don't know)

ma (water)

türkçe:

acele etmek (to hurry)

şikayet etmek (to complain)

yardım etmek (to help)

fikir (idea)

tatlı rüyalar (sweet dreams)

Small victories

The two hippies from Normandie were so gentle in their French. We were walking in the same direction from the medina, along the cobblestones, in the afternoon sun. The guy began to translate his girlfriend's question, but I had already understood. Deux mois, I answered. Ça va? she asked. Ça va trés bien. Je suis trés contente ici. I led them to a bank where they could change money. Shukran bzef, he said. La shukran. They wished me good travels in France.

And yesterday my Arabic teacher elicited my most meaningful thought in Arabic so far. Well, it came out of a conversation as I was packing up my things.

Me: Al-an mada? (Now what? as in, What are you doing now?)

Fatima: Alan-an, dars. (Now, a lesson)

Me: Ma man? (With whom?)

Fatima: … something... (Two Spanish people)

Me: Limada yadrus alarabiya? (Why are they studying Arabic?)

Fatima: Liana …something... yaskununa fi Ceuta wa…something...  Maghrebi. (Because they live in Ceuta and interact with Moroccan people)

Me: Oh.

Fatima: Maryam, limada anti tadrusina alarabiya? (Mary, why are you studying Arabic?)

Me: Liana...ana... uridu an aamal ma ashkhaz… [here Fatima filled in ‘Arab world’] fi medinati fi Canada. (Because I want to work with people from the Arab world in my city in Canada).

:)

5 a day

français:

deranger (to bother)

bruillante (noisy)

centre-ville (downtown)

a mon avis (in my opinion)

je vous suis (I follow you)

español:

un sello (a stamp)

una carta (a letter)

el correo (the post office)

un paquete (a package)

estuve contenta (I was happy)

alarabiya:

awal (first)

thani (second)

thalith (third)

rabiaa (fourth)

khamiss (fifth)

türkçe:

basit (simple)

zor (difficult)

bu kadar (this much)

futbol seven (soccer fan)

hepimiz (all of us)

5 a day

español:

puente (bridge)

orilla (banks)

escultura (sculpture)

maestría (masters degree)

pensamiento (thought)

français:

manquer (to miss)

pont (bridge)

pensée (thought)

sculpture (sculpture)

maîtrise (masters degree)

Türkçe:

ev arkadas (roommate)

haberler almak (to get news)

mulakat (interview)

kabul etmek (to accept)

kusura bakma (sorry/no offense)

Alarabiya:

ashkhaz (people)

eshya (things)

mustaida (ready)

qisa (story)

fulus (money)

Tu me manques

= I miss you. French is weird like that.

Je pense que...tu me manques.

Friday couscous

"Mary, why do you guys keep saying l'avion? Doesn't that mean airplane?"

"La viande! Meat!"

"Ohhh."

Moi y my new French friend, we text

Mary: Salut, Oriane! How was the art institute? Did you find any classes? I hope you are well. Best, mary.

Oriane: Buenas tarde. Me parece que la clase de arte sera muy interesante pero, para la gente exterior, deberia ouvrir una classe pero no es muy seguro. Te deciria mas cuando se encontramos. Que tal con este nuevo trabajo y la langua maroquis? Hasta pronto. Oriane.

Mary: Gracias por el mensaje! Quieres venir a la casa manana y tomar un te? Yo se que es tarde, pero podemos encontramos en frente de l’institut francais a las 10 por la noche.

Oriane: It would be pleasur, but in this time I live in Martile. 10pm will be difficult after with taxi but we can it something for the lunch if you have some time.

Mary: Ah, je vois! Veux-tu manger avec nous a 1 heure, a la restaurant la union? Si non, nous pouvons rencontrer a l’institut francais a 2 heures, avant de ma classe a 3.

Oriane: Merci. Je ne sais pas encore comment les choses s’organisent-Je te dis vers 12H.

Mary: Bueno :)

The next day

Oriane: OK-Pour 2H-A l’institut de langue? Ou l’institut francais?

Mary: De francais. see you at 2!

Mary: 2.15 svp!

The next day

Mary: Hey oriane, quieres ver una pelicula al instituto cervantes esta tarde a las 5? Se llama los ladrones. Cleo puede venir tambien, peut-etre.

Oriane: Muchas gracias pero estoy trabajando para la exposicion en la medina. Cleo tambien. El vernisage sera manana en 4H. Bienvenida. Buena pelicula.

Oriane: Demain, vers midi? Dans le jardin de l’institut francais?

Mary: C’est possible a 10? Si non, a 3.30? la chose est que je dois faire quelque chose a midi.

Oriane: Alors peut etre apres demain? C’est possible pour toi?

Mary: Oui, d’accord. Mercredi, entonces. Sabes tu horario?

Oriane: J’ai juste en cour de 10 a 12 – on peut se retrouver avant pour petit dej ou apres.

Mary: Hmm…como es 1-3 manana? Je vais manger dej avec une amie, mais apres ca marche.

Oriane: Ouja. Mzien bzef.

The next day, in the evening

Oriane: Bonsoir. Eric, n’etait pas a l’exposition. Je peux tout de meme venir te chercher demain.-Dis moi-Bises.

Mary: Je voudrais tout la meme. A quelle heure veux-tu meet ici? Et merci!

Oriane: Ok. Vers 9H 45.

Mary: Parfait, see you then.

Where do you want to take my sheep?

There's a French Institute directly behind my apartment. Classes don't start for another two weeks, but I have access to the médiathèque. I went there and read Le Petit Prince with a dictionary. Two poignant lines from the poignant story:

Où veux-tu empoter mon mouton?

Where do you want to take my sheep?

C'est triste d'oublier un ami.

It's sad to forget a friend.

Every day's a one-act play

Scene: a school supply store in Tetouan, Morocco

Characters: 

Mary (our protagonist; she seeks to buy a pencil sharpener)

Woman (she stands behind the counter; pretty, wears a head scarf)

Mary: Bonjour

Woman: Bonjour [smiles warmly]

[Mary rummages in her purse until she extracts a pencil]

Mary: Je cherche...[acts out pencil sharpening]

[Woman nods. She goes to the other end of the counter and returns with two different models of sharpeners. Mary selects one.]

Mary: C'est parfait! Sha-khal?

Woman: Cinqo

[Mary pays the woman with a five dirham coin]

Mary: Gracias

Woman: De nada

Mary: Que tenga un buen dia.

[They smile warmly at each other]

[End scene]

"You're such an expat!"

Yeah, Mom, I know. But to be fair, Fatima only comes once a week, and it's not like she's making my bed. She just does the laundry. And the floors. And if my bed happens to be un-made when she comes...just kidding. Plus, she forces me to speak French. Know how to say underwear in French? "Culottes."

The funniest thing about Fatima is that she forgets who speaks which language. Sometimes she tries Arabic with me or she explains her schedule to Alaina in French. Sometimes she mixes the two and confuses us both simultaneously.

I am grateful in these moments to have Alaina, my new but dear roomie and colleague. Alaina speaks Spanish, Japanese, and Arabic. When we're not eating chocolate pudding, we're talking about language. She blogs, too.

Buenos dias, Bonjour, Sabah al-khir

Northern Morocco is a riot of language.

People assume I am Spanish, so if they can, they ask me lo que quiero. The fruit-seller at the souk: Manzanas diez dirhams, la granada tres dirhams. The waitors: Un sanduche de queso y un batido mixto, si? Agua con gas o sin gas?

This was a pleasant surprise, because it means I can navigate the city without feeling completely lost. Not everyone speaks Spanish, though. It seems to be limited to tourism-related folks, which makes sense, since they serve the Spaniards who come across the water on holiday.

When people shake their heads at Spanish, they usually offer French. The woman charging my phone card: Combien est-ce que vous voulez? The landlord’s wife: Si vous voudrez quelque chose… French is taught in school, so only the uneducated don’t speak it.

Of course, with each other, Moroccans usually speak Darija (unless they are Berber, but let’s hold off on that). They might greet each other with Ca va? but Lebes? is more common. They can switch between Darija and French in the same sentence, and I understand there are a lot of loanwards in Darija itself.

Conclusions:

I need to learn French (again)

And Spanish (more)

And if I want to be like the cool kids:

Arabic (Darija)

And if I want to read and write:

Arabic (Standard)