Course Description
Provides a basic capacity for "survival" Moroccan Arabic through the study of essential vocabulary and communication skills. Emphasizes the use of day to day language necessary for student researchers of Moroccan culture by utilizing classroom training, "homestays" with Moroccan families, and interactions with Moroccans.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
In addition to the undergraduate level work in the course,
graduate students, in order to learn Moroccan Arabic by
engaging in professional level activity, will be involved in
three interrelated graduate level activities (assisted by their
teacher and home-stay families): a) developing an
anthropological linguistic questionnaire in Arabic, b)
conducting recorded interviews in Arabic, and, c) compiling the
data from the interviews.
Athena Title
Moroccan Dialectical Arabic
Non-Traditional Format
This class is part of a Maymester study abroad and will thus entail extensive travel throughout Morocco and homestays with Moroccan families, where the student will learn to use the skills acquired in class in real-life situations. The educational experience of this course will be of an on-going "linguistic immersion" type.
Prerequisite
Second-year student standing or permission of department
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
- By the end of this course, students will be able to speak and comprehend Moroccan dialectical Arabic at a new beginner level.
- By the end of this course, students will have an introductory-level overview of key elements of Moroccan dialectical Arabic: its morphology, syntax, and derivation from classical Arabic.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to engage in "survival skill" Moroccan Arabic and the linguistic etiquette necessary for day-to-day life in a mainly Arabic speaking environment.
Topical Outline
- Part 1: Orientation and Introduction Moroccan Arabic
- Marrakesh: common place names
- Orientation: walk around town, banks, post office, introductions, and basic etiquette
- Phonology of Moroccan Arabic, phonetic script
- Basic greetings
- Part 2: Basic Grammatical Structures - The Nominal Phrase
- Nouns, their states, pronouns
- Nominal sentences
- Nominal sentences and adjectives
- Negation of the nominal sentence
- Place and personal names
- Cafe life, buying basic necessities
- Interrogative sentences and short responses
- Key terms for Islam and Islamic culture in Morocco
- Islamic institutions - masjid (mosque), madrasa (Qur'anic school), qasr (palace), malik (king), qadi (judge), manzil (home), souq (urban market), bazaar (urban market), qala’(fort) (jihad), medina (old city), daarih (saint’s tomb), salih (saint), zawiya (brotherhoods), and qabr (tomb)
- Part 3: Basic Grammatical Structures – Verbs
- Introduction to the verb in the perfect tense
- Conjugation of perfect
- Subject, adjective, and verb: agreement
- Interrogative form of the perfect tense
- Negative form of the perfect tense
- Introduction to the imperfect tense
- Conjugation of imperfect
- Part 4: General Usage
- A series of visits around Morocco using only Arabic
- Review of verbs and basic structures
- General usage and review work - talk about yourself
- General practical practice
- The bazaar: a guided visit in Moroccan Arabic
- Student presentations: "introduce yourself"
- Student presentations: role play - the cafe, the restaurant
- Moroccan jokes
