Salam to you all 
I study Arabic language in the university in Sofia, Bulgaria and came to this wonderful site while searching for information for my assignment in “Arabic dialectology” - I have to write about darija.
So I hope that someone will be able to help me out now, cause otherwise I’m in trouble…
That’s pretty much everything. Greetings to you all:)
Alaykum Salam.
You will find some good information here, just search through the forums and ask questions.
Shukran, I was just about to do that
Wa 3alaykom ssalam :).
Yay, I always like it to have people join from new countries. And pleased to see Darija studied around the world.
You won’t be in trouble, feel relieved. Inshallah it will be alright.
See you around.
And may I add, Ultramarine, that you will actually be able to understand ‘Darija’ a lot sooner than you will be able to produce it yourself. Understanding precedes production, always. Why, may I ask, have you chosen to concentrate on the dialect of North Africa in particular? Were you assigned to the region? Do you have friends whose dialects you feel motivated to learn? Were the Middle Eastern dialects less challenging? Have you already mastered MSA?
I am asking you these questions because I, too, am a non-Arab by ethnicity who chose to study Arabic at University, and I find it interesting to meet others who are following similar trajectories. The year I graduated, there were (their were, perhaps?) (just joking; you will have to examine the forum to understand the joke…) …there were exactly two graduates who had majored in Arabic; myself, and an ethnic Pakistani woman who had grown up in the USA. The University I attended, I might add, is no small time institution; there are upwards of 50,000 students enrolled. I graduated in 1995, and, for obvious reasons, interest in Arabic has skyrocketed since then, but the first Gulf War had already taken place by then. In fact, I decided to start wearing hijab almost exactly prior to the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. I found out about the invasion while at a restaurant. I was sitting there, nervous in my new garb, with a friend of mine when the men at the table behind us began an unnecessarily loud discussion of what Saddam Hussain was up to now. They wound up asking me why I was wearing a table cloth on my head. That was in my first days with the scarf, and I must say that I can not think of any incidents which came later on which rivaled it in terms of sheer direct insult aimed specifically at me by another person in regards to my clothing…
But I digress.
Welcome to the forum!!!
mr7ba bik ultramarine !
:welcome:
Mer7ba bik Utlramarine!
Glad to have u among us!
u just have to ask questions!
see u around!
Shukran, all of you
Hello, ummaryam99, sorry to answer so late, (forgot to subscribe to that topic)…
You’re totally correct about understanding and production… But I’ll actually study Arabic dialects next year, for now we were only getting introduced into the matter for now… I chose North African Dialects because… my affection for North Africa, basically:) Sadly, I don’t have friends in any of those countries (or any native speaker friends, form any part of the Middle East), but I sure hope some day I’ll find. And I’m not assigned to the religion either (is that bad?). And about MSA… mastering would be a mighty overstatement, but with patience and a good dictionary, I “read around” (Just keep in mind that my poor level is not typical).
Thank you for sharing your story.
I really do have to find more time to spend here.
Did everyone notice that she just disregarded us and considered that she has no friends from North Africa? :fouet: (Joke!)
Hats off, and be sure that we’ll be glad to help you with your dialectal studies :).
:oops: sorry…
:mdr: You should get used to the Moroccan sense of humor. It wasn’t meant to embarrass you, at all. Don’t worry ;).
WOW ultramarine, are you originally bulgarian ? and do you know what they say about Bulgars and Turks :hap: I might not mention it because i don’t know how you’ll react 
Anyway i envy you for being able to study Arabic at university, good on you! 
salam
yep, i’m bulgarian 
what do they say 'bout Bulgars & Turks? (please, mention it, now i’m curious )
Ahaha, weeell they say we are related, both from the ‘turkic’ race, ya3ni COUSINSSSS i once told this to a Bulgarian girl and she almost bit my head off 
lol
I’m sure you’re not violent though
Take care
haha, sure i’m not. we’re neighbours. and cousins today i read about a genetic survey that says bulgarians are 40% Thracian, 20-30% Slav, 15 % Turk… something like that…
nice signature you have
Coolies, so we are cousins after all
Thanks by the way,
see you around (hopefully often)!
Ciao