However, I have made a lot of interesting sociolinguistic observations since my Arabic courses have begun. There are SO MANY allophones in Arabic, meaning that they hear the vowels in bed, bad, bid, and bod, as the same vowel. They also hear the vowels in bit and beat as the same vowel. It makes for a very confusing experience for a linguist attempting to take notes in phonetics.
There are no commas in Arabic. You just have to list items with "u" which means "and". So I went to the gym and school and the hammam and a friends house and the store today. Talk about cumbersome.
Another interesting fact: they always present the infinitive of a verb in the male third person singular tense. Hence, the verb "to study" is presented in its infinitive form as "he studied". So I guess I have "he studied". Just kidding. That was a linguistics joke for all of you non-linguists. It wasn't funny to linguists either.
A final fact is that Berber is apparently an offensive term. I haven't had the time to look into it, but according to our Moroccan Culture professor it is better to call the culture and language Amazigh.
Today I went to my first hammam and let me just say, what are Americans so scared of? It was amazing. It was absolutely beautiful. I feel wonderful. Ask me again in a few hours after I sleep this one off. I will probably still love it. Imagine going to a spa for only $1.50 and then bathing in a primal fury. You are overwhelmed at first with the sizes and shapes of all the naked beasts around you, but then you realize that you are just like them and suddenly you relax. No one is ashamed. It is pure freedom. And it is hot and relaxing. You leave behind your dead skin and worries. I love the hammam, and I bet if you tried it you would love it to. Bslama!
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