COLUMN: God Speak
Linguistic Features: God Phrases
To understand any culture, you have to know the language. Countless subtleties are expressed through word choice and sentence formation and Moroccan Arabic is no exception. One large feature of Moroccan Arabic is the use of God’s name in all daily interactions. Upon arrival in country, we had a two hour crash course in survival Moroccan Arabic. Over half of the terms we used included references to Allah.
When someone sneezes, like in English, the common response refers to God- yarhamuk allah or “may God have compassion for you.” Also similar to the Christian tradition, prior to eating thanks are given to God- bismillah or “in the name of God.” However, in my own speech patterns the daily God references stop at these platitudes and some exclamations, “Oh my God!” In Morocco, however, they continue into almost every aspect of daily life.
The greeting is a very important part of Moroccan culture and represents a long string of pleasantries. The American head nod, to be found on all college campuses, is an alarmingly insufficient salutation here. Instead, each meeting is followed by a five minute exchange wherein God is references profusely. When someone asks how you are doing, the proper answer is “very well, thanks be to God” with an emphatic pat on the chest when you mention God. One runs through all the different things that God has blessed them with, “no evil, thanks to God,” “my health is good, thanks to God,” “my family is good, thanks to God.” Should you be speaking to an adult with a child it is important to say “may God make him a good person.” This is a typical exchange that one might run through upwards of twenty times a day.
God phrases also permeate financial transactions. When you buy something you do so “in the name of God.” Upon paying the cashier says, “may God repay you” to which you thank him by saying “may God give blessings upon you” and you both part with “may God help you.”
When beggars approach you for money the answer is not to ignore them or a sharp ‘no’, but rather “may God make it easy for you.” Shocking sights extract a “glory to God!” and achievements are rewarded with “may God preserve you!”
For me, the greatest concept in Moroccan Arabic language is insh’allah, literally translated to mean “God Willing.” It is the standard reply to any question regarding plans. “Are you going out tonight?” “Insh’allah.” “Let’s meet for coffee tomorrow at 10” “Alright, Insh’allah.” It’s a wonderful non-binding phrase that could be an ‘insh’allah yes’ or an ‘insh’allah no’ and takes some delicate listening to determine which. Part of ‘insh’allah’ comes from the idea that you are not the ultimate decision maker concerning your schedule. God might will your bus to be late or God might will something else to come up. Neither of these things are your fault; it’s just God’s will. I find less frustration here when plans fall through, people are late, or mass transportation breaks down… perhaps it is just God’s will and the other parties to whom you are responsible will understand that too.
I’m finding here that the more God phrases I am able to use on a daily basis, the more I fit in. People’s faces light up when you use the phrases that mean so much to them and on many occasions I have noticed an increase in bargaining power that results from purchases that start with God phrases. So far I am able to consistently get lower prices if I start a conversation with a little Allah.
As my language skills develop I hope to someday claim fluency in Moroccan God speak, insh’allah.
To understand any culture, you have to know the language. Countless subtleties are expressed through word choice and sentence formation and Moroccan Arabic is no exception. One large feature of Moroccan Arabic is the use of God’s name in all daily interactions. Upon arrival in country, we had a two hour crash course in survival Moroccan Arabic. Over half of the terms we used included references to Allah.
When someone sneezes, like in English, the common response refers to God- yarhamuk allah or “may God have compassion for you.” Also similar to the Christian tradition, prior to eating thanks are given to God- bismillah or “in the name of God.” However, in my own speech patterns the daily God references stop at these platitudes and some exclamations, “Oh my God!” In Morocco, however, they continue into almost every aspect of daily life.
The greeting is a very important part of Moroccan culture and represents a long string of pleasantries. The American head nod, to be found on all college campuses, is an alarmingly insufficient salutation here. Instead, each meeting is followed by a five minute exchange wherein God is references profusely. When someone asks how you are doing, the proper answer is “very well, thanks be to God” with an emphatic pat on the chest when you mention God. One runs through all the different things that God has blessed them with, “no evil, thanks to God,” “my health is good, thanks to God,” “my family is good, thanks to God.” Should you be speaking to an adult with a child it is important to say “may God make him a good person.” This is a typical exchange that one might run through upwards of twenty times a day.
God phrases also permeate financial transactions. When you buy something you do so “in the name of God.” Upon paying the cashier says, “may God repay you” to which you thank him by saying “may God give blessings upon you” and you both part with “may God help you.”
When beggars approach you for money the answer is not to ignore them or a sharp ‘no’, but rather “may God make it easy for you.” Shocking sights extract a “glory to God!” and achievements are rewarded with “may God preserve you!”
For me, the greatest concept in Moroccan Arabic language is insh’allah, literally translated to mean “God Willing.” It is the standard reply to any question regarding plans. “Are you going out tonight?” “Insh’allah.” “Let’s meet for coffee tomorrow at 10” “Alright, Insh’allah.” It’s a wonderful non-binding phrase that could be an ‘insh’allah yes’ or an ‘insh’allah no’ and takes some delicate listening to determine which. Part of ‘insh’allah’ comes from the idea that you are not the ultimate decision maker concerning your schedule. God might will your bus to be late or God might will something else to come up. Neither of these things are your fault; it’s just God’s will. I find less frustration here when plans fall through, people are late, or mass transportation breaks down… perhaps it is just God’s will and the other parties to whom you are responsible will understand that too.
I’m finding here that the more God phrases I am able to use on a daily basis, the more I fit in. People’s faces light up when you use the phrases that mean so much to them and on many occasions I have noticed an increase in bargaining power that results from purchases that start with God phrases. So far I am able to consistently get lower prices if I start a conversation with a little Allah.
As my language skills develop I hope to someday claim fluency in Moroccan God speak, insh’allah.
posted by Laura | 7:41 PM
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