All dialects: to sit

[Hemza]

Hello,

How is "to sit" expressed across the dialects? In Morocco, there is:

جلس (always prononounced with a g, originally used in pre hilalian/urban dialects but now, seems to be the mainstream verb)
قعد (mainly used in rural dialects, pronounced with a g as well)
برك (this verb is definitely the symbol, the emblem of the rural world ). I read somewhere that some Omanis also use it.
ريّح (I think this one is rural as well)

Thank you.

Ps: I feel like there is an already existing thread about this verb though I can't find it...

 

[djara]

Tunisia
قعد is by far the most common. Depending on the region, the ق is pronounced q or g.
ڤعمز is also used in certain contexts, the ق is always pronounced g.
I heard برك used regionally, but always in the imperative.
ريّح is also sometimes used (jocularly) in the imperative.
An expression used jocularly, but quite frequently is رتّح فخّار ربّي ! (literally: let god's earthenware rest)

 

[bearded]

جلس (always prononounced with a g)

Oh so far I thought that such a feature (pronouncing ج as /g/) was only to be found in Egyptian or Yemenite dialects. Is it widespread in Morocco?

 

[tounsi51]

Tunisia
قعد is by far the most common. Depending on the region, the ق is pronounced q or g.
ڤعمز is also used in certain contexts, the ق is always pronounced g.
I heard برك used regionally, but always in the imperative.
ريّح is also sometimes used (jocularly) in the imperative.
An expression used jocularly, but quite frequently is رتّح فخّار ربّي ! (literally: let god's earthenware rest)

Also تْرَصْ in the imperative (forceful)

 

[fenakhay]

Oh so far I thought that such a feature (pronouncing ج as /g/) was only to be found in Egyptian or Yemenite dialects. Is it widespread in Morocco?

ج is pronounced /g/ before alveolar sibilant fricatives (/s/, /z/)

جلس - glas (to sit)
جبس - gabs (gypsum)
جزار - gazzār (butcher)
جنس - gans (people)
جاز - gāz (to pass by)

It is a historical shift and it is no longer productive. It was probably due to non-tolerance of /ɟ/ before /s/, /z/.

 

[raamez]

Using برك is a shibboleth of northwestern Syria (i.e. Aleppo and Idlib).
قعد is otherwise by far the most common word for to sit.
جلّس to sit someone/yourself up

 

[bearded]

ج is pronounced /g/ before alveolar sibilant fricatives (/s/, /z/)

You certainly mean in Morocco (not in MSA), don't you? Thanks for the information.

 

[fenakhay]

Yeah? That's the scope of your question. The east of Morocco pronounces it as /ʒ/ though, regardless of its position.

 

[Hemza]

Using برك is a shibboleth of northwestern Syria (i.e. Aleppo and Idlib).

I wasn't expecting to find this verb used in Syria .

 

[Hemza]

Oh so far I thought that such a feature (pronouncing ج as /g/) was only to be found in Egyptian or Yemenite dialects. Is it widespread in Morocco?

I cannot assert it but I think that it was an urban (pre hilalian) feature which extended to the rest of the country under the influence of the "prestigious" urban speech. In the rural West of Morocco where hilalian dialects are traditionally spoken, the ج sound (j) becomes a د (d) following the same pattern with the "g" sound for ج. Hence, you can (in theory) hear دلس for جلس or دبس for جبس or the well spread (today) داز instead of جاز. It's interesting to know that in some Egyptian areas (Southward of Cairo), the exact same shift occurs but for all ج. I remember once meeting an Egyptian who told me that his wife name was خديدة (he meant خديجة of course).

It is a historical shift and it is no longer productive. It was probably due to non-tolerance of /ɟ/ before /s/, /z/.

The same shift occurs in Eastern Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Western Egypt but instead, you will hear ز. Only Eastern Moroccan, Western and Central Algerian dialects don't know such shift and keep the ج as in Standard Arabic.

 

[Ali Smith]

Also, وَثَبَ, which also means 'to leap', means 'to sit (down)' in at least one dialect.

 

[djara]

means 'to sit (down)' in at least one dialect.

Which dialect, please?

 

[raamez]

Also, وَثَبَ, which also means 'to leap', means 'to sit (down)' in at least one dialect.

In classical dictionaries it says clearly that this is a usage only to be found in the dialect of Hymrite Arab speakers, so Yemenis to say. So I wonder if modern Yemenis still use it this way. This would be amazing, indeed.