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 ARABIC
Non-Traditional Format
This is a maymester summer abroad program 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. The course will meet six days a week for two hours over four weeks of the Maymester with an additional twelve hours of contact through language instruction and practice with Moroccans.
Prerequisite
Third-year student standing or permission of department
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The aim of the course is to give students a beginning level facility in the speaking and comprehension dimensions of Moroccan dialectical Arabic. A secondary objective is to introduce students to an in-depth understanding of the essential elements of Moroccan dialectical Arabic: its morphology, syntax and derivation from classical Arabic. The course will present the student with a practical "survival skill" and linguistic etiquette necessary for day to day life in a mainly Arabic speaking environment. For graduate students, the additional objective of the course is to obtain facility in using spoken Moroccan Arabic as a tool for field research. Communicate Effectively through Speech. To strengthen skills in oral expression, analysis, style, and interaction by means such as class reports, class discussion, and oral examinations.
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 - Subject, adjective, and verb: agreement Part 3 : General Usage - A series of visits around Morocco using only arabic - The dialect of Fes: some comments - 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