Reposted by Mark Shockley
Reposted by Mark Shockley
I absolutely keep eating food
November 14, 2025 at 5:11 PM
I absolutely keep eating food
I don't order from Amazon, period, but the wife ordered two things this week—one arrived with a huge hole in the box; then some pills arrived taped in bubble wrap, in the sealed box, with the medicinal seal completely open.
I went to "return/replace" and it says "this item is not eligible"
I went to "return/replace" and it says "this item is not eligible"
November 14, 2025 at 9:42 AM
I don't order from Amazon, period, but the wife ordered two things this week—one arrived with a huge hole in the box; then some pills arrived taped in bubble wrap, in the sealed box, with the medicinal seal completely open.
I went to "return/replace" and it says "this item is not eligible"
I went to "return/replace" and it says "this item is not eligible"
Reposted by Mark Shockley
Oman introduces ‘cultural visa’ 🇴🇲✈️
November 14, 2025 at 6:17 AM
Oman introduces ‘cultural visa’ 🇴🇲✈️
Does every single vowel in Gulf Arabic vary according to position in word/utterance*?
Non-Final / Final
ā / a
ē / ay
ī / ay
ō / aw
ū / aw
a / a ~ ə ~ ɨ
i / ∅
* Qafisheh has final /o/ where I have /ō/ and /ō/ where I have /ō-h/
** The fem. sing. suffix probably is underlyingly /ɨ/ in some ...
Non-Final / Final
ā / a
ē / ay
ī / ay
ō / aw
ū / aw
a / a ~ ə ~ ɨ
i / ∅
* Qafisheh has final /o/ where I have /ō/ and /ō/ where I have /ō-h/
** The fem. sing. suffix probably is underlyingly /ɨ/ in some ...
November 14, 2025 at 6:47 AM
Does every single vowel in Gulf Arabic vary according to position in word/utterance*?
Non-Final / Final
ā / a
ē / ay
ī / ay
ō / aw
ū / aw
a / a ~ ə ~ ɨ
i / ∅
* Qafisheh has final /o/ where I have /ō/ and /ō/ where I have /ō-h/
** The fem. sing. suffix probably is underlyingly /ɨ/ in some ...
Non-Final / Final
ā / a
ē / ay
ī / ay
ō / aw
ū / aw
a / a ~ ə ~ ɨ
i / ∅
* Qafisheh has final /o/ where I have /ō/ and /ō/ where I have /ō-h/
** The fem. sing. suffix probably is underlyingly /ɨ/ in some ...
Cypriot Marionite Arabic (Sanna) word of the day
taxak
‘he laughed; he cheated (someone)’
cf. Cl. Ar. ضَحِكَ
n.b.
It is not yet clear to me whether verb patterns CaCaC and CiCeC in this dialect correspond well to Cl. Ar. CaCaC and CaCiC, but in this case we have CaCiC > CaCaC.
taxak
‘he laughed; he cheated (someone)’
cf. Cl. Ar. ضَحِكَ
n.b.
It is not yet clear to me whether verb patterns CaCaC and CiCeC in this dialect correspond well to Cl. Ar. CaCaC and CaCiC, but in this case we have CaCiC > CaCaC.
November 14, 2025 at 6:24 AM
Cypriot Marionite Arabic (Sanna) word of the day
taxak
‘he laughed; he cheated (someone)’
cf. Cl. Ar. ضَحِكَ
n.b.
It is not yet clear to me whether verb patterns CaCaC and CiCeC in this dialect correspond well to Cl. Ar. CaCaC and CaCiC, but in this case we have CaCiC > CaCaC.
taxak
‘he laughed; he cheated (someone)’
cf. Cl. Ar. ضَحِكَ
n.b.
It is not yet clear to me whether verb patterns CaCaC and CiCeC in this dialect correspond well to Cl. Ar. CaCaC and CaCiC, but in this case we have CaCiC > CaCaC.
Named after Batavia, New York—NOT to be confused with Town of Batavia, New York—which is in turn named after the Batavian Republic
Also, Batavia, Illinois used to be called Big Woods
Also, Batavia, Illinois used to be called Big Woods
November 13, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Named after Batavia, New York—NOT to be confused with Town of Batavia, New York—which is in turn named after the Batavian Republic
Also, Batavia, Illinois used to be called Big Woods
Also, Batavia, Illinois used to be called Big Woods
Hmm, this could also be from ḥanak حنك 'chin', I suppose that is less of a stretch, although l > n is common enough.
Cypriot Marionite Arabic (Sanna) word of the day
xank, pl. -at
'mouth'
n.b. ḥalq > xank
1. *ḥ > x unconditionally (said to be velar in this dialect)
2. *q > k unconditionally
3. *l > n for some reason 🤷♂️
4. I guess the broken plural was lost. 😇
xank, pl. -at
'mouth'
n.b. ḥalq > xank
1. *ḥ > x unconditionally (said to be velar in this dialect)
2. *q > k unconditionally
3. *l > n for some reason 🤷♂️
4. I guess the broken plural was lost. 😇
November 13, 2025 at 6:23 AM
Hmm, this could also be from ḥanak حنك 'chin', I suppose that is less of a stretch, although l > n is common enough.
Cypriot Marionite Arabic (Sanna) word of the day
xank, pl. -at
'mouth'
n.b. ḥalq > xank
1. *ḥ > x unconditionally (said to be velar in this dialect)
2. *q > k unconditionally
3. *l > n for some reason 🤷♂️
4. I guess the broken plural was lost. 😇
xank, pl. -at
'mouth'
n.b. ḥalq > xank
1. *ḥ > x unconditionally (said to be velar in this dialect)
2. *q > k unconditionally
3. *l > n for some reason 🤷♂️
4. I guess the broken plural was lost. 😇
November 13, 2025 at 5:58 AM
Cypriot Marionite Arabic (Sanna) word of the day
xank, pl. -at
'mouth'
n.b. ḥalq > xank
1. *ḥ > x unconditionally (said to be velar in this dialect)
2. *q > k unconditionally
3. *l > n for some reason 🤷♂️
4. I guess the broken plural was lost. 😇
xank, pl. -at
'mouth'
n.b. ḥalq > xank
1. *ḥ > x unconditionally (said to be velar in this dialect)
2. *q > k unconditionally
3. *l > n for some reason 🤷♂️
4. I guess the broken plural was lost. 😇
I asked my kid to explain The Game of Life to me—
Q: "What are the colors?"
A: "The pink people are adults, green are kids, and blue are babies."
Q: "What does it mean to get married?"
A: "That means you're growing and then you get tall enough to reach the sugar on the top shelf."
Q: "What are the colors?"
A: "The pink people are adults, green are kids, and blue are babies."
Q: "What does it mean to get married?"
A: "That means you're growing and then you get tall enough to reach the sugar on the top shelf."
November 13, 2025 at 5:48 AM
I asked my kid to explain The Game of Life to me—
Q: "What are the colors?"
A: "The pink people are adults, green are kids, and blue are babies."
Q: "What does it mean to get married?"
A: "That means you're growing and then you get tall enough to reach the sugar on the top shelf."
Q: "What are the colors?"
A: "The pink people are adults, green are kids, and blue are babies."
Q: "What does it mean to get married?"
A: "That means you're growing and then you get tall enough to reach the sugar on the top shelf."
Arabic قاضٍ qāḍin
Persian قاضى qāzī
Urdu قاضِی qāzī (kāzī?)
>
Romanized <KAJI> because [z] ~ [d͡ʒ] in Urdu
Persian قاضى qāzī
Urdu قاضِی qāzī (kāzī?)
>
Romanized <KAJI> because [z] ~ [d͡ʒ] in Urdu
I'm not sure what's going on with Arabic ض as Roman <J> in KAJI ...
November 12, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Arabic قاضٍ qāḍin
Persian قاضى qāzī
Urdu قاضِی qāzī (kāzī?)
>
Romanized <KAJI> because [z] ~ [d͡ʒ] in Urdu
Persian قاضى qāzī
Urdu قاضِی qāzī (kāzī?)
>
Romanized <KAJI> because [z] ~ [d͡ʒ] in Urdu
I'm not sure what's going on with Arabic ض as Roman <J> in KAJI ...
November 12, 2025 at 3:29 PM
I'm not sure what's going on with Arabic ض as Roman <J> in KAJI ...
The Arabic dialects of Oman and the Emirates, including Ruus Al Jibal/Musandam, have tons of words exclusively used in child-directed speech, as we've known since Jayakar (1889, 1904).
Here is a partial list (in a northern Emirati dialect) from Ibn Sandal (2018). 📸
Here is a partial list (in a northern Emirati dialect) from Ibn Sandal (2018). 📸
November 12, 2025 at 11:08 AM
The Arabic dialects of Oman and the Emirates, including Ruus Al Jibal/Musandam, have tons of words exclusively used in child-directed speech, as we've known since Jayakar (1889, 1904).
Here is a partial list (in a northern Emirati dialect) from Ibn Sandal (2018). 📸
Here is a partial list (in a northern Emirati dialect) from Ibn Sandal (2018). 📸
Why, yes, I do consider myself to be a music connoisseur ... Why do you ask?
November 12, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Why, yes, I do consider myself to be a music connoisseur ... Why do you ask?
Emirati Arabic word of the day
فوقه
fōgah
‘a rice dish with the meat and vegetables on top’
n.b.
1. The name literally means ‘on top of it’.
2. It's mačbūs in Bahrain 🇧🇭 & Qatar 🇶🇦 and that is the name I have called it for years. I will have to change my ways!
فوقه
fōgah
‘a rice dish with the meat and vegetables on top’
n.b.
1. The name literally means ‘on top of it’.
2. It's mačbūs in Bahrain 🇧🇭 & Qatar 🇶🇦 and that is the name I have called it for years. I will have to change my ways!
November 12, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Emirati Arabic word of the day
فوقه
fōgah
‘a rice dish with the meat and vegetables on top’
n.b.
1. The name literally means ‘on top of it’.
2. It's mačbūs in Bahrain 🇧🇭 & Qatar 🇶🇦 and that is the name I have called it for years. I will have to change my ways!
فوقه
fōgah
‘a rice dish with the meat and vegetables on top’
n.b.
1. The name literally means ‘on top of it’.
2. It's mačbūs in Bahrain 🇧🇭 & Qatar 🇶🇦 and that is the name I have called it for years. I will have to change my ways!
A new app, called Cyprusays, was just launched to teach Cypriot Greek—this is the first language learning app for Cypriot Greek and it is free.
November 11, 2025 at 5:56 PM
A new app, called Cyprusays, was just launched to teach Cypriot Greek—this is the first language learning app for Cypriot Greek and it is free.
Reposted by Mark Shockley
Postdoctoral Researcher in Linguistics at the Center for the Human Past, "historical linguistics pertaining to one or more language families of Africa, Oceania, and Eurasia" desired: www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
Postdoctoral Researcher in Linguistics at the Center for the Human Past - Uppsala University
Postdoctoral Researcher in Linguistics at the Center for the Human Past, Department of Linguistics and Philology, Uppsala University
www.uu.se
November 10, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Postdoctoral Researcher in Linguistics at the Center for the Human Past, "historical linguistics pertaining to one or more language families of Africa, Oceania, and Eurasia" desired: www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
Dora never stopped to think that calling him "Swiper" identified the criminal with his crime. Like what if his real name is just Larry
November 10, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Dora never stopped to think that calling him "Swiper" identified the criminal with his crime. Like what if his real name is just Larry
Sharjah today, Abu Dhabi tomorrow, Dubai on Friday, Fujairah on Saturday, Ras Al Khaimah on Sunday. 🤩
Now I just need to squeeze in a day each in Ajman and Umm Al Quwain, and my week is booked.
Now I just need to squeeze in a day each in Ajman and Umm Al Quwain, and my week is booked.
November 10, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Sharjah today, Abu Dhabi tomorrow, Dubai on Friday, Fujairah on Saturday, Ras Al Khaimah on Sunday. 🤩
Now I just need to squeeze in a day each in Ajman and Umm Al Quwain, and my week is booked.
Now I just need to squeeze in a day each in Ajman and Umm Al Quwain, and my week is booked.
FYI there is a functioning dam near where this photo was taken
November 10, 2025 at 8:27 AM
FYI there is a functioning dam near where this photo was taken
Q: "How do puppies usually get super powers?"
A: "I saw the city movie [Mighty Pups] on the airplane, and they usually get their powers from crystals in meteors."
(Of course)
A: "I saw the city movie [Mighty Pups] on the airplane, and they usually get their powers from crystals in meteors."
(Of course)
November 10, 2025 at 6:02 AM
Q: "How do puppies usually get super powers?"
A: "I saw the city movie [Mighty Pups] on the airplane, and they usually get their powers from crystals in meteors."
(Of course)
A: "I saw the city movie [Mighty Pups] on the airplane, and they usually get their powers from crystals in meteors."
(Of course)
Reposted by Mark Shockley
is there any variety of Arabic that handles relative clauses ("the man who went to Damascus") and content clauses ("i thought he was drunk") the same way? iirc the division between the two is fuzzy in Hebrew and Aramaic
the word اللي lli, usually a relativizer (الزلمة اللي هون l-zalame lli hōn "the man that's here"), has a weird alternate usage: منيح اللي جيت mnīḥ lli jīt "good that you came"
i was proud of the og idea in the 2nd pic - BUT what prob actually happened (3rd pic) is so cool
(forgive clunky writing!)
i was proud of the og idea in the 2nd pic - BUT what prob actually happened (3rd pic) is so cool
(forgive clunky writing!)
![screenshot of the following wiktionary etymology with a mythbusters sorta "BUSTED" stamp overlaid on top:
Etymology 2:
Difficult to understand as an extension of the above [i.e. the relativizer اللي] due to the differences in syntax. Instead, perhaps a construction like *مْلِيح إِن (*mlīḥ ʔin, literally “good that”) underwent assimilation to become *مْلِيح ال (*mlīḥ (ʔ)il, “good that”), where the resulting *ال (*(ʔ)il) was reanalyzed as اللي (lli)'s byform ال (l-). This reanalysis would have allowed all other byforms, including اللي (lli) itself, to be used in this construction. Only later would the construction have spread to allow for adjectives other than مْلِيح (mlīḥ, “good”) as described in the usage note below.
Both terms of the proposed original *مْلِيح إِن (*mlīḥ ʔin, literally “good that”) are now unorthodox: مْلِيح (mlīḥ) is an archaic or rural form of what is now predominantly مْنِيح (mnīḥ, “good”), and a bare إِنْ (ʔin, “that”, complementizer) is absent from most Levantine varieties today in favor of a form with a fused expletive pronoun, إِنُّو (ʔinno). This reanalysis would have occurred before both of these terms fell from prominence. (Note, however, that Henri Fleisch recorded multiple Lebanese varieties that retained forms like إِنْ (ʔin) in his 1946–1974 studies of Lebanese Arabic.)
An alternative possibility is that the original phrase was already *مْنِيح إِن (*mnīḥ ʔin, literally “good that”) and that it shifted to *مْنِيح ال (*mnīḥ (ʔ)il, “good that”) in the process of dissimilation rather than assimilation.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5gvygd24ilrqmbgsii2zzp3v/bafkreigj6t6uuvdk2jm2olanmr53vjuxusde2y4uy3iql4rtz23qy6d6sa@jpeg)
![screenshot of wiktionary quotation. the words اللي and illi are highlighted and bolded:
1902, Henry Minor Huxley, “Syrian Songs, Proverbs, and Stories: Collected, Translated, and Annotated”, in Journal of the American Oriental Society[1], volume 23 (overall work in English), Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts: American Oriental Society, passage #103, pages 242–244:
الوزير علّم مرة حتّى توقف على الدرب وصارت تسبّ وتقول الحمد للّه اللي مات الشيخ الفاخوري يخرب بيته اللّه يغمّق له عمره ما يرجع. قال لها لو كنت مش ميّت كنت بقوم ليكي.
l-wazīr ʕallam mara ḥatta tūʔaf ʕala d-darb w ṣārit tasibb w tʔūl l-ḥumdilla illi māt š-šayḵ l-fāḵūri yaḵrub baytu ʔaḷḷa yiḡammiʔlu ʕomru ma yərjaʕ. ʔallha law kunt muš mayyit kunt baʔūm layki.
[original: il-wezîr 3allem mara ḥɒtta tûʾaf 3ala'd-derb ū-ṣârit tesibb witʾûl il-ḥomd ílla illī mä̂t iš-šêḫ il-fāḫûrī yaḫrub bêtu ɒlla yiǧɒmmíʾlū 3omrū ma yörja3. ʾallha lau kunt muš mêyit kunt beʾ̂ūm lêki.]
The vizîr instructed a woman to stand on the road; she began to curse and say, "Praise be to God that he who has died is the jar-maker, (who was) an elder. May his house be destroyed; may God make his grave deep, and may his life not return." The jar-maker replied, "Were I not dead, I would rise against you!"
The given English translation is Huxley's. He somewhat misunderstands the expression عُمْرُه مَا يِرْجَع (ʕumro ma yirjaʕ, “may he never return for his entire life”, used this way even though the sheikh is allegedly already dead). It is unknown whether he similarly misunderstood the expression with اللي (lli), which in modern times would be understood as الحمدالله اللي مات الشيخ (l-ḥamdilla lli māt š-šayḵ, “thank God that the sheikh died”), or if it had indeed not yet undergone the reanalysis in question in 1902.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5gvygd24ilrqmbgsii2zzp3v/bafkreihjnaws7q4u5yskyfed7pkq62ns3yh5qd57mvde6ghn4tq2clkv6q@jpeg)
November 9, 2025 at 10:31 PM
is there any variety of Arabic that handles relative clauses ("the man who went to Damascus") and content clauses ("i thought he was drunk") the same way? iirc the division between the two is fuzzy in Hebrew and Aramaic
> Women are hiding their boyfriends online
I read this headline as: "women are trapping their boyfriends in the Internet"
I read this headline as: "women are trapping their boyfriends in the Internet"
November 10, 2025 at 1:10 AM
> Women are hiding their boyfriends online
I read this headline as: "women are trapping their boyfriends in the Internet"
I read this headline as: "women are trapping their boyfriends in the Internet"
Reposted by Mark Shockley
You forgot the part about “or has something to do with a camel”.
November 9, 2025 at 9:11 PM
You forgot the part about “or has something to do with a camel”.