Learn about the types of loanwords in Egyptian Arabic
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Intro |
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| Hi everybody! Nora here. Welcome to Ask a Teacher, where I’ll answer some of your most common Arabic questions. |
| The Question |
| The question for this lesson is: What types of loanwords are there in Egyptian Arabic? |
| Explanation |
| I’d like to introduce you to my native dialect, which happens to be one of the most widely understood dialects of Arabic: |
| Egyptian Arabic. |
| Egyptian Arabic is the result of Egypt's diverse history. After all, Egypt is not only the land of the Pharaohs. |
| Egypt was part of many empires, like the Roman empire and the Ottoman empire. Then it was a French colony, then an English colony. There’s no way a country can have such a history without being influenced by all these different cultures and languages. |
| First, here are some words that are used in Egypt on a daily basis that have English, French, Italian, or Latin origins: |
| ديكور |
| dīkor |
| “decor” |
| ريجيم |
| rīǧīm |
| “diet” |
| موبيليا |
| mūbīlyā |
| “furniture” |
| موديل |
| model |
| “model” (usually used for cars) |
| دينامو |
| denamo |
| “dynamo” |
| موتور |
| motor |
| “motor” |
| تاكسي |
| tāksī |
| “taxi” |
| راديو |
| rādyo |
| “radio” |
| تِلِفِزيون |
| tilifizīon |
| “television” |
| تِليفون |
| tilīfūn |
| “telephone” |
| بَلَكونَة |
| balakonah |
| “balcony” |
| كَوافير |
| kawāfīr |
| “hairdresser” |
| بوفيه |
| bofeh |
| “buffet” |
| دُكتور |
| doktor |
| “doctor,” “professor” |
| Egyptian Arabic also borrowed a lot of words from Turkish. Let's take a look at some Turkish loanwords in Egyptian Arabic: |
| أوضَة |
| ʾoḍah |
| “room” |
| دولاب |
| dolāb |
| “closet” |
| شَنطَة |
| šanṭah |
| “bag” |
| جَزمَة |
| ǧazmah |
| “shoes” |
| كوبري |
| kobrī |
| “bridge” |
| أَفَندِم |
| ʾafandem |
| “sir” |
| بَلطَجي |
| baltagī |
| “thug” |
Outro |
| These loanwords came into Egyptian Arabic a long time ago, meaning that both young people and old people use these words. Most people don't even know that they’re originally non-Arabic words! So next time you meet an Egyptian, tell them how much they have borrowed from your language! |
| If you have any more questions, please leave a comment below! |
| Bye! إلى اللقاء (ʾilā al-liqaāʾ) |
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