Thanks for the welcome, Ogrim (or should I say جاري? since we seem to live in the same region)! I had noticed that the team had been a bit... quiet. Hopefully we can change that! :)
Italian/French might actually be an apt comparison for Moroccan Arabic/MSA, since they have a high lexical similarity. If you go to Morocco speaking MSA, certainly many people will understand you as much media is in MSA. Whether you would understand them is another question. Most of the vocabulary does come from classical Arabic, with additions from French and Spanish (a car can be سيارة or طوموبيل the latter coming from automobile --> at-tomoobiil) and Amazight (بْزاف = a lot, and you will hear this bzaaaf in Morocco (
I'm preeetty sure this is from Amazight, really sorry if I'm wrong on that.)). To learn more about the linguistic history behind طوموبيل there is a great podcast on it (in English)
here. Arabic-Arabic words' vowels often change (short vowels often disappear). For instance, my first time in Morocco, I asked for milk and said حَليب and was quickly corrected that I should say حْليب.
Grammatical numbersThere's (almost) no dual in Moroccan Arabic. It remains, vestigially, for time terms (days, months, years) and body parts that come in twos (ears, eyes, hands, feet).
Phonetic differencesThe "v" and "p" sounds actually exist in Moroccan Arabic, so pizza is pizza and vanilla is vanilla/vanille. Interdentals often disappear: ثbecomesت so 3 is pronounced like tlaata, ذ becomes د so استاذ is sometimes written the same as MSA, but pronounced استاد.
ق and ج can be pronounced like "g" in certain words, some examples:
قالَ is instead pronounced like gal
جَلَسَ is instead pronounced like giliss (or gliss)
Pronouns1st person singular: انا (same)
1st person plural: حنا
2nd person masculine singular: نْتَ (but can be written the same as in MSA)
2nd person feminine singular: نْتِ (but can be written the same as in MSA)
2nd person plural: نْتُما (but can be written with the alif)
3rd person masculine singular: هو (same)
3rd person feminine singular: هي (same)
3rd person plural: هُما
Some verbal differencesHere's a comparison of the "present tense" of in MSA and Moroccan Arabic
ْأَدْخُلُ كَنَدْخُل
انتَ تَدْخُلُ --> كَتَدْخُل
انتِ تَدْخُلينَ >-- كَتَدْخُلي
هو يَدْخُلُ >-- كَيَدْخُل
هي تَدْخُلُ <-- كَتَدْخُل
نحن نَدْخُلُ -- كَنَدْخُلوا
انتم تَدْخُلون -- كَتَدْخُلوا
هم يَدْخُلون -- كَيَدْخُلوا
The present tense may also begin by t- depending on the speaker (تَنَدْخُل rather than كَنَدْخُل). The k/t disappears if the verb is being used after another verb or certain other markers, such as the future marker.
The future marker is "غادي" or "غَ" rather than "سوف" or "س". Like in MSA, these words are applied to the present tense to create the future tense. I will enter is therefore غادي نَدْخُل or غَنَدْخُل.
Question word differences (a couple examples)Instead of "ما", Moroccan Arabic has "آش", "أشْنو", and "شْنو".
Instead of "هل", Moroccan Arabic has "وَاش".
Negation differencesWith verbs, Moroccan Arabic has taken on a French style negation system. ma- precedes the verb and -sh proceeds it.
I do not enter is: مَنَدْخُلْشْ
There's... obviously a lot more. Sorry this is a bit rambly. I'll try to write more about this in my log/here. :) It's a question that interests me and -- as a former linguistics student -- I ought to be a bit more thorough in my analysis.