A Guide to Your Pre-Departure Survival Darija

The linguistic landscape in Morocco is very diverse, with languages ranging from various Tamazight and Arabic dialects, as well as the colonial languages, French and Spanish, and a recent introduction of English into the school curriculum. However, 슬롯머신슬롯사이트�s programming predominantly focuses on Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Darija, Morocco슬롯사이트�s colloquial Arabic dialect. In cities, students will mostly encounter Darija in day-to-day interactions, so we provide survival phrases in the language as part of the pre-arrival materials. While these phrases come with the homestay assignment, students looking to learn earlier need look no further than this post as we discuss some of the more important phrases students have recommended we teach as early as possible:

To say hello in Darija, we say 슬롯사이트�Salam,슬롯사이트� which literally means peace, and then ask 슬롯사이트�labas?,슬롯사이트� which roughly translates to 슬롯사이트�no bad?슬롯사이트� 

A note on script: As a dialect, Darija doesn슬롯사이트�t have a standardized written form in Latin or Arabic script, so when multiple options are possible, just opt for consistency!

To say fine, Darija speakers will often respond to the initial question in echoing 슬롯사이트�labas슬롯사이트� and then say lhamdullah, which means 슬롯사이트�praise be to God" and is common phrase in many different contexts.

The word for 슬롯사이트�name슬롯사이트� in Darija is 슬롯사이트�smiya슬롯사이트� [ سمية ], and those familiar with Arabic grammar can modify possession using MSA슬롯사이트�s possessive pronouns.

While you might want to avoid asking this question to people you don슬롯사이트�t know well, as age can be a sensitive topic like in the U.S., the question is nevertheless a great conversation starter, especially with young host siblings!

Literally translating to 슬롯사이트�in me is hunger,슬롯사이트� the first phrase will let your family know you need some food. Just be careful, though, because our host families have some of the best food in Morocco and will make sure you get your fill!

During your stay in Morocco, you will also encounter the spice red Moroccan sauce, harissa, which is definitely worth a try, but if you슬롯사이트�re not into spicy foods, the second phrase should come in handy.

Also important host family Darija, this phrase is crucial after a long day of Arabic study and cultural excursions with 슬롯머신!

A common response to both sorry and thank you, mashi mushkil pops up everywhere in a Darija, so much so that one of our former students wrote a whole blog post about the phrase!

In wrapping up this post, as with anything in Morocco, I thought I슬롯사이트�d leave you in saying 슬롯사이트�with peace,슬롯사이트� or 슬롯사이트�bslama!슬롯사이트�

Author: Charlie Johnson