Wiktionary:About Levantine Arabic

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Welcome and thank you for contributing to Levantine Arabic on Wiktionary! There are two Levantine Arabic variants: North Levantine Arabic (mainly Lebanon and Syria) and South Levantine Arabic (mainly Palestine and Jordan).

Creating an entry

A standard entry for South Levantine Arabic should include a certain set of basic information, depending on the type of entry.

Main entry

Preamble

Dividing line. Language name. Root box.

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==South Levantine Arabic==
{{ajp-root|ن و م}}

Alternative Forms

If applicable, describe the setting in which the form occurs (see نضف, عفى, وجه).

===Alternative forms===
* {{alter|ajp|فعل|tr=faʕal||MSA-influenced spelling}}

Etymology

Insert the MSA word to which the term is related, if applicable. Otherwise avoid this section, unless you know what you're doing.

===Etymology===
From {{inh|ajp|ar|فَعَلَ}}.

Optionally the synchronic etymology (derivation within Levantine itself) can be specified by following templates:

Derived from verbs:
{{ajp-etym-ap|فعل|tr=faʕal|t=to do}}  << active participle
{{ajp-etym-pp|فعل|tr=faʕal|t=to do}}  << passive participle
{{ajp-etym-vn|فعل|tr=faʕal|t=to do}}  << verbal noun
{{ajp-etym-intadj|فعل|tr=faʕal|t=to do}}  << intensive adjective (ending in -ān such as عطشان (ʕatšān), حزنان (ḥaznān) etc.)

Derived from nouns:
{{ajp-etym-nisba|اسم|tr=ʔism|t=noun}} << nisba adjective (ending in -i)

Pronunciation

(Mandatory) Insert the transliterated word in the first blank and the phonemic transcription in IPA characters will be automatically generated. (Optional) In the second blank, the phonetic transcription is written; this is where the actual realization of the phonemes is specified. Don't employ this section altogether if you are unsure of the exact realization of the term. If there is just one mainstream realization of the word, no qualifier is needed (the generic Urban dialect of Jerusalem or Amman is assumed). If there is more than one mainstream realization (this is often the case with ق), specify the settings in which each pronunciation is encountered: Urban, Rural, Bedouin & Druze are acceptable qualifiers. (Note that "Bedouin" includes the adopted realization of ق as [ɡ] by men in Urban Jordan.)

===Pronunciation===
* {{ajp-IPA|ʔāl}} << minimum; mandatory
* {{ajp-IPA|ʔāl<p:ʔæːl>}} << optional; caution
* {{ajp-IPA|ṣaḥn<p:sˤʌħ(ɪ)n>}} << epenthetic vowel
* {{ajp-IPA|šōke<p:ˈʃoː.ke><p:-a>}} << slight variants
* {{ajp-IPA|ʔāl<p:ʔæːl><q:Urban>|ɡāl<p:ɡæːl><q:Bedouin>}} << if multiple realizations are possible

Head Word (Verb)

Form, Transliteration, Present Tense (& Transliteration), Active Participle (& Transliteration). Previously we included the Subjunctive (& Transliteration), but this is now being discontinued from the entries; if you see it, remove it.

===Verb===
{{ajp-verb|I|tr=nām|pres=بنام|prestr=binām|ap=نايم|aptr=nāyem}}

Page titles never include diacritics, including shadde. While we don't employ most diacritics for South Levantine entries, we do use shadde. Head words with shadde or other necessary diacritics should be formatted with "head=" (see نضف).

{{ajp-verb|II|head=نضّف|tr=naḍḍaf|pres=بنضّف|prestr=binaḍḍef}}

Sometimes the same term could be conjugated in two different ways; this is one case where diacritics would be used to distinguish between alternatives marked by "head=" (see لبس).

{{ajp-verb|I|head=لَبَس|tr=labas|head2=لِبِس|tr2=libis|pres=بلبس|prestr=bilbis|ap=لابس|aptr=lābes}}

Definition

The actual definition is the bare minimum. However, the following — in this order — can help add detail to the entry: Label (intransitive, transitive, ditransitive, reflexive, reciprocal; formal, informal, slang, vulgar; by extension). DEFINITION. Gloss: further clarifies the definition. Preposition: usually after the definition, but written before if it changes the meaning of the term altogether (see حس). Usage Example. Synonyms & Antonyms.

# {{lb|ajp|transitive}} to [[do]] {{gloss|...}} {{ajp-cprep|...}}
#: {{ux|ajp|example|tr=transcription|t=translation|lit=literally (only if substantially different from the notional translation)}}
#: {{uxi|...}} << if you want the example in a single line
#: {{syn|ajp|فعل|tr=faʕal}}
#: {{ant|ajp|فعل|tr=faʕal}}

Post-Definition

All optional, except for conjugations in the case of verbs. Write in this order: Usage Notes; Conjugation(s) (see لبس); Derived Terms, Related Terms.

====Usage notes====
* If you want to mention any other Arabic term, always use {{m|ajp|فعل|tr=faʕal}}. If you're mentioning the headword itself, use {{m-self|ajp|فعل|tr=faʕal}}.

====Conjugation====
{{ajp-conj/A1|ل|ب|س|l|b|s}}
{{ajp-conj/Ai|ل|ب|س|l|b|s}}

====Related terms====
* {{l|ajp|فعل|tr=faʕal}}

Alternative Forms

Alternative forms ideally should have their own entries, but the information they should contain is more limited, since most of the information should be supplied by the main entry. They should include: Pronunciation; Head Word; Definition (see below); Conjugation. See the following example, from نظف.

==South Levantine Arabic==

===Pronunciation===
* {{ajp-IPA|...}}

===Verb===
{{ajp-verb|II|head=نظّف|tr=naḍḍaf|pres=بنظّف|prestr=binaḍḍef}}

# {{alternative spelling of|ajp|نضّف|tr=naḍḍaf}} << if it's just a different spelling
# {{alternative form of|ajp|...|tr=...}} << if it's a variation of the word (e.g. zawwaj vs. jawwaz are variations of the same word)

====Conjugation====
{{ajp-conj/2A|ن|ظ|ف|n|ḍ|f|}}

Active Participles

==South Levantine Arabic==
{{ajp-root|ن و م}}

===Etymology===
From {{inh|ajp|ar|نَائِم}}.

===Pronunciation===
* {{ajp-IPA|nāyim<p:ˈnæː.jɪm>}}

===Participle===
{{ajp-act-participle|tr=nāyem|f=نايمة|ftr=nāyme|cpl=نايمين|cpltr=nāymīn}}

# {{active participle of|ajp|نام|tr=nām|t=to sleep}}

Phrasal Verbs

Rare, but should be formatted according to this template:

==South Levantine Arabic==

===Etymology===
From {{l|ajp|...|t=...}} + {{l|ajp|...|t=...}}; literally, "...".

===Verb===
{{head|ajp|phrase|head=[[...]] [[...]]|tr=... ...}} << make sure each individual term links to its main entry

# to [[...]]
#: {{ux|ajp|...|tr=...|t=...}}
#: {{syn|ajp|...|tr=...}}

{{cln|ajp|verbs}} << this ensures the entry is categorized with other verbs despite using the ajp|phrase tag.

Other Types of Entries (Adjectives, Nouns, etc.)

Using the Verb format above, creating other types of entries is even simpler. In addition to the minimum (the Etymology, if known; the Pronunciation; the Definition), the only difference is the documentation for the head word itself. Here are the most common ones:

Adjective

==South Levantine Arabic==
{{ajp-root|X X X}}

===Etymology===
From {{inh|ajp|ar|...}}.

===Pronunciation===
* {{ajp-IPA|...}}
* {{audio|ajp|...|Audio (...)}}

===Adjective===
{{ajp-adj|tr=mnīḥ|f=منيحة|ftr=mnīḥa|cpl=مناح|cpltr=mnāḥ|el=أحسن|eltr=ʔaḥsan}} (f=feminine form; cpl=plural form; el=comparative form)

# [[definition]]

Singular Noun

==South Levantine Arabic==
{{ajp-root|X X X}}

===Etymology===
From {{inh|ajp|ar|...}}.

===Pronunciation===
* {{ajp-IPA|...}}
* {{audio|ajp|...|Audio (...)}}

===Noun===
{{ajp-noun|g=X|tr=...|pl=...|pltr=...}} (g=gender, m/f; pl=plural)
OR: {{ajp-sing-noun|tr=bēḍa|coll=بيض|colltr=bēḍ|pl=بيضات|pltr=bēḍāt}} (Singulative)
OR: {{ajp-coll-noun|tr=bēḍ|sing=بيضة|singtr=bēḍa|pauc=بيضات|pauctr=bēḍāt}} (Collective)

# [[definition]]

See {{ajp-noun}} for more complex cases.

Plural Noun

==South Levantine Arabic==
{{ajp-root|X X X}}

===Etymology===
From {{inh|ajp|ar|...}}.

===Pronunciation===
* {{ajp-IPA|...}}
* {{audio|ajp|...|Audio (...)}}

===Noun===
{{head|ajp|noun plural form|g=p|tr=...}}
# {{plural of|ajp|...|tr=...|t=...}} < if the meaning of the plural is the exact same as the singular
# {{plural of|ajp|...|tr=...}}: [[...]] < if the meaning of the plural is derived from the singular, but the English translation is another word

or

===Noun===
{{ajp-noun|g=p|tr=...}}
# {{plural of|ajp|...|tr=...|t=...}}
# [[definition]]

Roots

==South Levantine Arabic==

===Root===
{{ajp-root|غ ي ر}}

# Related to difference or change

====Derived terms====

=====Verbs and verb forms=====
* Form I: {{l|ajp|غار|tr=ḡār|t=to be jealous}}
* Form II: {{l|ajp|غيّر|tr=ḡayyar|t=to change something}}
** Verbal Noun: {{l|ajp|تغيير|tr=taḡyīr|t=change}}
* Form V: {{l|ajp|تغيّر|tr=tḡayyar|t=to change}}
** Verbal Noun: {{l|ajp|تغيّر|tr=tḡayyor|t=change}}

=====Adjectives=====
* {{l|ajp|غيران|tr=ḡērān|t=jealous}}

=====Prepositions=====
* {{l|ajp|غير|tr=ḡēr|t=other; different}}

Multi-term entries

Some pages will have more than one term for South Levantine Arabic, namely when they are spelled the same without diacritics. Here is the correct hierarchy of entries:

# Function Word (Preposition, Conjunction, Determiner, Particle, Pronoun, Suffix)
# Verb << Form 1 first, Form 2 second, etc.
# Active Participle
# Passive Participle
# Noun << whether it may be an AP, PP or VN etymologically, if it's classified as a noun it should be here.
# Adjective << same thing.
# Interjection

When you want to link to an entry on a page with more than one entry, it will be necessary to link the correct entry by marking the target as follows:

ON TARGET PAGE:
{{etymid|ajp|v2}}
===Etymology 2=== << TARGET ENTRY

ON ORIGIN PAGE:
{{syn|ajp|عرّف|tr=ʕarraf|id=v2|بلّغ|tr2=ballaḡ}} << you can add id= virtually anywhere to link to the correct target.

VALID IDs:
v1 = Form 1
v2 = Form 2
...
v10 = Form 10
ap = Active Participle
pp = Passive Participle
adj = Adjective
noun = Noun << basically use the template name for the remaining parts of speech.
—> if the existence of more than one headword is a matter of diacritics, you can id them according to their transliteration (e.g. id=mara for the headword meaning "woman" vs. id=marra for the headword meaning "instance")

Orthography

There is no standard for the orthography of Spoken Arabic. On Wiktionary, we try to represent widespread forms. Sometimes this means opting for phonetic spellings, while at other times it means opting for the MSA-influenced orthography that native speakers commonly use. For instance, it is rare for ق to be pronounced /q/, yet the letter tends to be written as such. On the other hand, ث is usually pronounced and written as ت. Again, what it important is that we use the most widespread and commonly-used forms.

Transcription

Transcription is the means by which we indicate the pronunciation of a term in the Latin script. It is not the same as transliteration, which indicates the orthographic value of a letter. For instance, a transliteration of قال would be "qāl"; however, the correct transcription is "ʔāl" because this is the mainstream pronunciation of this letter. While there is no single normative pronunciation of many different terms and letters in Levantine Arabic, the Wiktionary entries for South Levantine Arabic are featuring the mainstream urban dialect of Jerusalem, which is largely equivalent to that of Amman as well. On the other hand, several IPA transcriptions of a single term are permissible; here is where we can feature variations in pronunciation.

Preferred romanization for Levantine Arabic on the English Wiktionary

Letter	Rom.	IPA	Notes
ا	ā a i	æː~ɑː a~ɑ ɪ	- default value - word final (vowel shortened) - as prothetic vowel
أ, إ, ؤ, ئ, ء	ʔ	ʔ	seat of hamza follows the same rules as in MSA
آ	ʔā	ʔæː~ʔɑː	ligature of أ and ا
ب	b	b
پ	p	p
ت	t	t
ٹ	ť	ʈ
ث	s, ṯ	s, θ	in learned borrowings; respelled and pronounced as ت (t) in inherited words
ج	j	ʒ, d͡ʒ
چ	c	ʃ, t͡ʃ
ح	ḥ	ħ
خ	ḵ	x
د	d	d
ڈ	ḋ	ɖ
ذ	z, ḏ	z, ð	in learned borrowings; respelled and pronounced as د (d) in inherited words
ر	r	r
ڑ	ř	ɽ
ز	z	z
ژ	ž	ʒ
س	s	s
ش	š	ʃ
ص	ṣ	sˁ
ض	ḍ	dˁ	might be pronounced [d] in urban and [ðˁ] in rural accents
ط	ṭ	tˁ
ظ	ẓ	zˁ	in learned borrowings; respelled and pronounced as ض (ḍ) in inherited words
ع	ʕ	ʕ
غ	ḡ	ɣ
ف	f	f
ق	ʔ	ʔ, g	transcribed according to mainstream urban pronunciation
	q	q	in learned borrowings
ك	k	k
گ	g	ɡ
ل	l	l
لا	lā	læː~lɑː	ligature of ل and ا
م	m	m
ن	n	n
ه	h o	h o	- default value - word final as enclitic pronoun his/him
ھ	ʰ ʱ	ʰ ʱ
و	w ō, ū u	w oː, uː uː	- as consonant - as vowel - word final (vowel shortended)
ي	y ē, ī i	j eː, iː i	- as consonant - as vowel - word final (vowel shortended)
ے	e	e
ى	a	a	only used in final position
ة	e a et, at	e~ɛ a~ɑ et~ɛt, at~ɑt	- default value - after emphatic and guttural consonants - in the construct state (إِضَافَة (ʔiḍāfa))
اة	ā āt	æː~ɑː æːt~ɑːt	- default value - in the construct state (إِضَافَة (ʔiḍāfa))

Guidelines

Type	MSA	AJP	Right	Wrong	Notes
Nisba Adjective	رسميّ	رسمي	rasmi	rasmy, rasmiy, rasmiyy	However, the feminine is still "rasmiyye".
Qaaf	ق	ق	ʔ	q	Transcribed according to mainstream urban pronunciation.
Long Vowel	سيّارات	سيّارات	sayyarāt	sayyārāt	In AJP there is usually only one long vowel per word; long vowels in unstressed syllables are shortened.
Epenthic Vowel	شغل	شغل	šuḡl	šuḡul, šuḡol	In the single word شغل a small "o" may be added to ease pronunciation, but it is not really a part of the word; you can test this by adding a suffix: شغله is šuḡ.lo, not šu.ḡu.lo or šu.ḡo.lo. Contrast that with the word كتب (kutub); the second vowel is part of the lexeme, so with a suffix it becomes ku.tu.bo, not kut.bo (at least technically).
Short Vowel (I)	N/A	بحبّ & بردّ	biḥebb & birodd	biḥibb & birudd	Although [i]/[e] & [u]/[o] are allophones, vowel quality becomes more open before geminates, so we follow this convention for transcription purposes. In other cases, as in šuḡl & wijh, we use "i" & "u".
Affixes	N/A	السيارة / بوجهه / قلتلّه	is-sayyāra / bi-wijho / ʔult-illo	issayyara / biwijho / ʔultillo	Morphemes affixed to a noun, verb, etc. (mainly prepositions & the article) should be separated with a hyphen.
Enclitic Pronouns	N/A	بيتي / شفته	bēti / shufto	bēt-i / shuft-o	Enclitic pronouns (mainly used to indicate a direct object or possession) should *not* be separated with a hyphen.