# leh kol shewaya betkool le habibi....



## Pivra

I got another message  

leh kol shewaya betkool le habibi, inta mesh men el blad el sham 3lash tkool kedda, belmonasba how inta/inte ragel walla seet. L33T Arabic.


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## elroy

Why do you keep saying "habibi" to me?  You're not from the Levant/Syria, so why do you say that?  By the way, are you a man or a woman?

I don't know what "L33T" is supposed to mean.


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## Pivra

This guy uses so many weird transliteration it confuses me. like "regel" thing for example, I'd type "rajul".


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## elroy

He's not speaking in fus7a.  And it's "ragel."


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## Pivra

Balad is Blad in spoken language as well???? Mon Dieu..


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## elroy

"Blad" (pronounced "blaad") is plural.  The standard equivalent is "bilaad."


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## Pivra

Thank You El Roi, I have many things yet to be learned from your language


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## Xence

elroy said:


> "Blad" (pronounced "blaad") is plural. The standard equivalent is "bilaad."


In the Maghreb "blaad" is singular.


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## clevermizo

In spoken Arabic I've used blaad as singular for country, with the plural buldaan. Balad (the true singular of blaad) I've found to mean either town, city, or country depending on context. I don't know if this is representative of use in Palestinian.

In the expression Blaad (Bilaad) ish-shaam, however, blaad can only be plural.


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## elroy

clevermizo said:


> In spoken Arabic I've used blaad as singular for country, with the plural buldaan.


 Can you give an example?   "Blaad" is definitely plural (in Palestinian Arabic, and I assume in other Levantine dialects as well).  "Buldaan" is another plural variant.  Only "balad" is singular.

You can't say "bladeen," for example.

I would imagine that "blaad" is singular in the Maghreb because it is actually a phonologically alterred form of "balad."  North Africans are notorious  for either dropping vowels or lengthening them, which is part of what makes their dialects so difficult to understand.


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## clevermizo

elroy said:


> Can you give an example?   "Blaad" is definitely plural (in Palestinian Arabic, and I assume in other Levantine dialects as well).  "Buldaan" is another plural variant.  Only "balad" is singular.



Well there is that song, come to think of it, by the Palestinian rap group DAM called "_Ghariib fi blaadi_" which I've always understood to mean "A stranger in my country."

My Syrian dictionary claims _blaad _can be used for singular and plural and gives the following sentences:

I've visited many countries.
_zərt blaad ktiire.

_In my country it often rains for weeks.
_b-blaadi bətmaTTer a7yaanan məddet asabii3 3at-tawaali._

That's beautiful country around there.
_l-blaad 7əlwe b-haadiik in-nawaa7i._

I've never been out of the country.
_b-7ayaati ma Tlə3t barraat l-blaad_.

When I live in Amman, I remember _balad_ used primarily with reference to the city, and specifically _wasT il-balad_ referring to downtown Amman.


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## elroy

I had a feeling that's what you were thinking of.   Yes, in specific contexts _blaad_ can *refer* to a single country, but it's still a plural *form*, and _buldaan_ is certainly not the plural of _blaad_.


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## clevermizo

Are there specific contexts in which _blaad_ is more appropriate than _balad_ or v.v.? Or are they mostly in free variation, and the sentence itself determines whether _blaad_ is singular or plural? I think that _buldaan_ can only refer to the plural; is that the case?

Also, do you use _balad_ to refer to towns/cities?


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## elroy

They are definitely not used in free variation; in fact, I would say they're mutually exclusive!  I think you need to detach yourself from the idea that _blaad_ can be singular.  Let me explain: As you can see in your examples, when _blaad_ is used to refer to one country, it refers to the speaker's own country.  Remember that _balad_ can also mean "town," and it's also used to refer to villages and cities (so that answers your last question).  So when you say _blaadi_, you're referring to the group of towns/villages/cities that make up your country.  It's a sentimental way to refer to your country.  It's no coincidence that you would never use _blaadi_ to refer to your town/village/city (you would say _baladi_).  The same sort of analysis can be applied to the example with "beautiful country."  Most likely, the area referred to consists of several towns/villages (probably not cities, since it's "country").  If you were referring to just one town, you would not say _blaad_.

Yes, _buldaan_ is always plural, and in my opinion so is _blaad_, even though it can refer to a single geographic or political entity.


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## Xence

elroy said:


> I would imagine that "blaad" is singular in the Maghreb because it is actually a phonologically alterred form of "balad." North Africans are notorious  for either dropping vowels or lengthening them, which is part of what makes their dialects so difficult to understand.


That's your personal opinion. Still it doesn't change the fact that "_blaad_" is a singular in spoken Arabic, here in the Maghreb's _buldaan_ !


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## elroy

I wasn't saying that it was not.  I was simply conjecturing that the reason may be phonological.


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