Postby nooj » Fri Dec 22, 2017 4:59 am
Do you meet Serbian speakers where you live?
My favourite place in Canberra so far is the IGN, to be specific, the vegetable stalls in front. So far I have met a Peruvian couple, the husband works in the Peruvian embassy, and today the best of all. I was picking through the meagre vegetable offers when I notice to my side a woman with two baby strollers, looking after her children and an elderly lady who was doing the shopping, I guessed she was the grandmother. Anyway, I couldn't help but overhear what she was saying to her children, which didn't sound like a language I'd heard before, and judging by her appearance and her children, I would have guessed Greek. My curiosity got the better of me and I asked her what language she was speaking.
This is my favourite question, whenever I hear a language I can't identify, I just have to ask.
She said Arabic, so I asked her what kind, she said from Iraq. Then I started speaking to her in my Moroccan Arabic, which I hadn't touched in 6 months, and we had a great little discussion that I honestly didn't expect.
I'd never heard Iraqi Arabic before but I find it absolutely beautiful, and look I'll be honest, I was lost a lot of the time. But the things I did get, she was from Mosul, she's been here for 1 year and takes English lessons (her English was great, much better than my Moroccan Arabic after 1 year), I think she escaped the war. She talked a bit about how Arabic from the Levant is much easier for her to understand, she understands a bit of Khaleeji, Maghrebi not so much.
She was mixing MSA into her speech as well, I suppose to make it easier for me. What was great that she did not switch to English. She continued to speak Arabic. Again the cult of the native speaker, I wanted to throw myself down and thank her for this.
The grandmother came back and I had to say goodbye, her daughter presented me to her and I saw her wry expression as if to say 'cute, now get out of my way'. I honestly wanted to ask her to teach me Iraqi Arabic (in return for payment of course), but she was a married woman with two kids to look after, I think she would already have enough on her plate than some strange Australian wanting to learn her language.
It revived my interest for Arabic though, which I haven't touched in favour of my other languages. My God what a beautiful language it is!
I can't wait to go back to that market!
4 x
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