Learn how to express an idea using an "if" clause
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky: Hi everyone, and welcome back to ArabicPod101.com. This is Lower Intermediate Season 1 Lesson 18 - A Heated Arabic Debate. Becky Here. |
| Nora: السلام عليكم. I'm Nora. |
| Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to construct conditional sentences in Egyptian Arabic. This conversation takes place in Mohammed's classroom as he debates environmental policy with his classmates |
| Nora: It's between the teacher, Mohammed, and his classmate Mariam. |
| Becky: The speakers are in school, so they’ll be using informal Egyptian Arabic. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| لمدرس : النهاردة هنعمل مناظرة عن مشاكل البيئة يا طلابى الأعزاء . هنركز على أحد الأسئلة . السؤال هو : " هل الحكومة لازم تحدد للناس كميِة الإستخدام اليومى للمية ؟ " محمد انت ايه رأيك ؟ |
| محمد : اعتقد ان لو الحكومة محددتش استهلاك الميَة , فى احتمال ان الميَة تخلص . لازم كلنا نبقى متساويين فى كمية الميَة اللى بنستهلكها . |
| المدرس : نقطة حلوة جداً. مريم انتى اية رأيك ؟ |
| مريم : نقطة حلوة جداً . بس لو الحكومة حددت استهلاك الميَة , الناس احتمال تشترى أزايز ميَة أكتر. الأزايز البلاستيك ضارة بالبيئة . |
| المدرس : ممكن . شايفين يا طلاب , كل سياسة ليها منافعها و أضرارها . انشاء سياسات طلع شىء مش سهل زى ماحنا كنَا فاكرين . |
| Becky: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| لمدرس : النهاردة هنعمل مناظرة عن مشاكل البيئة يا طلابى الأعزاء . هنركز على أحد الأسئلة . السؤال هو : " هل الحكومة لازم تحدد للناس كميِة الإستخدام اليومى للمية ؟ " محمد انت ايه رأيك ؟ |
| محمد : اعتقد ان لو الحكومة محددتش استهلاك الميَة , فى احتمال ان الميَة تخلص . لازم كلنا نبقى متساويين فى كمية الميَة اللى بنستهلكها . |
| المدرس : نقطة حلوة جداً. مريم انتى اية رأيك ؟ |
| مريم : نقطة حلوة جداً . بس لو الحكومة حددت استهلاك الميَة , الناس احتمال تشترى أزايز ميَة أكتر. الأزايز البلاستيك ضارة بالبيئة . |
| المدرس : ممكن . شايفين يا طلاب , كل سياسة ليها منافعها و أضرارها . انشاء سياسات طلع شىء مش سهل زى ماحنا كنَا فاكرين . |
| Becky: Listen to the conversation with the English translation |
| Teacher: Dear students, today we will have a debate about environmental issues. We will focus on one question. The question is, "Should the government limit how much water people can use daily?" Mohammed, what is your opinion? |
| Mohammed: I think that if the government does not limit water consumption, then we might run out of water. We should all be equal in how much water we use. |
| Teacher: That is a good point. Mariam, what is your opinion? |
| Mariam: That is a good point, but if the government limits water consumption, then people might buy more bottles of water. Plastic bottles are bad for the environment. |
| Teacher: Maybe. You see, students, every policy has pros and cons. Creating policy is not as easy (of a thing) as we think. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: Considering that much of the Arab world has a dry, hot climate, water conservation is very important. |
| Nora: That’s very true. Some areas have instituted policies in which running water is only available during certain hours of the day. It’s also why people are good at conserving water in everyday life. |
| Becky: Some countries in the Arab world also limit usage by building to ensure resource sharing. Nora, can you give us some tips in case any listeners visit an area under this kind of situation? |
| Nora: Well, if you’re visiting major cities, access to running water won’t be an issue, but you should remember that water is a scarce and precious commodity. In rural areas or during the summer months, don’t be surprised if the water pressure is low or the water is turned off at times. Keeping showers short and not leaving the faucet running are good things to do. |
| Becky: This is good practice no matter where you are in the world, but it’s especially important in the dry climate of the Middle East. Do you have a useful expression related to this topic? |
| Nora:An expression that’s used a lot when addressing topics like limiting water or electricity consumption is ترشيد الاستهلاك |
| Becky: Which means "consumption rationing”. Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Becky: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Nora: مناظرة [natural native speed] |
| Becky: debate |
| Nora: مناظرة[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Nora: مناظرة [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have.. |
| Nora: هنركز [natural native speed] |
| Becky: we will focus |
| Nora: هنركز[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Nora: هنركز [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have.. |
| Nora: تحدد [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to set (a limit), to restrict |
| Nora: تحدد[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Nora: تحدد [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have.. |
| Nora: الإستخدام اليومى [natural native speed] |
| Becky: daily use |
| Nora: الإستخدام اليومى[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Nora: الإستخدام اليومى [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have.. |
| Nora: سهل [natural native speed] |
| Becky: easy, simple |
| Nora: سهل[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Nora: سهل [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have.. |
| Nora: نركز على [natural native speed] |
| Becky: we focus on |
| Nora: نركز على[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Nora: نركز على [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have.. |
| Nora: الأزايز البلاستيك [natural native speed] |
| Becky: plastic bottles |
| Nora: الأزايز البلاستيك[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Nora: الأزايز البلاستيك [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have.. |
| Nora: نقطة [natural native speed] |
| Becky: point |
| Nora: نقطة[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Nora: نقطة [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Last we have.. |
| Nora: شيء [natural native speed] |
| Becky: thing |
| Nora: شيء[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Nora: شيء [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Becky: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Nora: مناظرة |
| Becky: meaning "debate" |
| Nora: This word means "debate" as in a discussion involving opposing perspectives on a topic. It comes from the root نظر which is the verb that means "to look" or "to consider." |
| Becky: This word is used to describe a conversation, usually formal, in which people are expressing different sides of an issue or topic. Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Nora: Sure. For example, you can say.. اتفرجت على المناظرة إمبارح؟ |
| Becky: ..which means "Did you watch the debate yesterday?" Okay, what's the next word? |
| Nora: نركز على |
| Becky: meaning "we focus on" |
| Nora: The first word in this phrase is the verb "to focus" conjugated in the plural form "we focus." The simple form of the verb is ركز. The second word على is the preposition that means "on" or "over." |
| Becky: This is a useful phrase to use in conversation or in writing to describe what the topic will be of a conversation, speech, or piece of writing. Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Nora: Sure. For example, you can say.. خلونا نركز على الإيجابيات, مش السلبيات! |
| Becky: .. which means "Let's focus on the positive things, not the negative ones!" |
| Nora: If you change the preposition to في, this word can be used in many more contexts, and in that case it will mean "to concentrate". For example أركز في الشغل which means "I concentrate on work". |
| Becky: Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Nora: الأزايز البلاستيك |
| Becky: meaning "plastic bottles" |
| Nora: the word azayez أزايز" is the plural form of the word ezaaza إزازة meaning “bottle.” This word only exists in Egyptian Arabic and Levantine Arabic. Then we have the word "plastic” بلاستيك which is used as an adjective describing the bottle. |
| Becky: Listeners, note how the adjective form of this word is just like its noun form, and that's also unique to Egyptian Arabic and Levantine Arabic. |
| Nora: In standard Arabic, the word "plastic" will have to take its adjective form which is blastikiyyah بلاستيكية. So the phrase "plastic bottle" in Standard Arabic would be "زجاجة بلاستيكية" |
| Becky: Can you give us an example using the entire phrase in Egyptian Arabic? |
| Nora: Sure. For example, you can say.. الأزايز البلاستيك بيتعملّها إعادة تدوير في مصر. |
| Becky: .. which means "Plastic bottles are recycled in Egypt." Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn how to express an idea using an “if” clause. How do if clauses work in Arabic? |
| Nora: In Arabic, there are conditional sentences that use the word لو (lao) or "if." These sentences are made up of two clauses. The first clause, the “if” part of the sentence, opens with لو (lao) and is followed by a full phrase in present or future tense. |
| Becky: Be careful, because in the second clause, which is the “then” part of the sentence in English, there’s no word inserted for “then.” It’s implied, so you simply connect the second phrase of the sentence in the present or future tense. |
| Nora: In speech, you might pause between the two parts of the sentence, while in writing you might insert a comma. In the example sentence from the dialogue, Mohammed begins with لو (lao) or "if" and then he says, الحكومة محددتش استهلاك الميَة, |
| Becky: which is translated as, "if the government does not limit water use...” |
| Nora: The second clause in Mohammed's sentence is فى احتمال ان الميَة تخلص, |
| Becky: which is translated as, "there is a possibility that water will run out." |
| Nora: The next sentence that uses لو (lao) is:لو الحكومة حددت استهلاك الميَة , الناس احتمال تشترى أزايز ميَة أكتر |
| Becky: “If the government limits water consumption, then people might buy more bottles of water.” |
| Nora: Mariam begins this sentence in the same way, with لو (lao) and a phrase in the present tense. In the second clause, she uses a construction that starts with the subject followed by the verb in the present tense, followed by the object. |
| Becky: In both sentences, the subject comes first in the sentence... |
| Nora: Right, and note that in both sentences using لو,. for this sentence construction, both clauses are structured with the subject first, although in Arabic you can also begin with the verb first. Another example could be لو ماما إتصلت, قوللها إني خرجت. |
| Becky: meaning “If mum calls, tell her I’m out.” |
| Nora: The subject can be left out sometimes if it’s implied from the context, though, which makes the sentence look like it starts with the verb. |
| Becky: So basically if the verb comes first, it means that the subject is left out? |
| Nora: Yes, for example:لو عرفت هتتقابلو إمتى ,قوللي. |
| Becky: “Tell me if you know when you’re all meeting up.” |
| Nora: Here the subject “you” إنت is implied from the context and also from the conjugation, so you can just leave it out. Another pattern is changing the order of the sentence, making the lao part come after the result part, like for example: إبقوا قولولي لو هتروحو! |
| Becky: meaning “Tell me if you’re going to go!” |
| Nora: In this case, you don’t need a pause or a comma. Becky: There are many ways to structure this sentence, and there isn’t much of a difference in meaning between all three structures. So feel free to choose the one you’re most comfortable with! Let’s give another couple of examples. |
| Nora: لَوْ محَمَّد أِتكَلِّم في المَوْضوع دَه تاني, هَزعَل بِجَد. |
| Becky: "If Mohammed talks about this topic again, I will really get mad." |
| Nora: تَعالو عَندي لَوْ حَبّيتو. |
| Becky: "Come over if you'd like." |
Outro |
| Becky: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Nora: مع السلامة |
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