6.2 Short Public Notices — Epoché
What you will be able to do Read twelve public notices in unvowelled Arabic. Recognise an imperative on sight, and say which two shapes most of them are on. Tell an order from a statement when the two are written identically. Read a notice that gives a reason, and find the word that gives it. Say why a notice is harder than a sign although it is no longer. Prerequisites : 6.1 and the signs A sign names a thing; a notice tells you to do something. That is the whole difference between this text and the last one, and it makes this one harder in a way worth naming in advance. A sign is a noun and an adjective, and 3.1 handles it. A notice is a verb, and a verb in Arabic carries its person at the front, its tense in its shape and sometimes an object glued to its end. So there is more to unpack in the same number of words, and none of it is visible in the vowel marks, because there are none. The good news is that almost every notice is an imperative, that imperatives come first in their clause, and that there are only a few shapes they can be on. Before you read What an imperative looks like An imperative is the present-tense verb of 3.8 with the prefix removed. Taking the prefix off often leaves a word that cannot be pronounced, because it begins with two consonants, so Arabic puts a helping vowel at the front, written with an alif. That is why so many notices begin with an alif. Verbs of the derived forms behave differently: a form IV verb keeps a hamza at the front, and a form II verb needs no helping vowel at all. In the twelve lines below you will meet all three kinds, and the practice asks you to sort them. An order and a statement can look the same The sixth line is a prohibition of 3.11: the negative particle and a present-tense verb addressed to you. Written without vowel marks it is identical to a statement meaning you do not interfere. Nothing on the page separates them. What separates them is that the line is on a wall. A notice is an instruction because of where it is, and a reader supplies that from the situation rather than from the grammar. This is the first place in the course where the setting rather than the sentence decides the reading, and it will not be the last. Reasons The fourth line gives a reason with the preposition of 4.6 that takes a noun. Look for it in a notice: cancelled because of rain, closed because of repairs, delayed because of weather. Once you can find the reason word you can read half the notices in a railway station without understanding the rest. Glossary Fourteen words, with their vowel marks in the dictionary form only. Eight of the fourteen are verbs, which is what makes a notice a notice. Word (with harakat) Meaning Notes اِحْتَرَسَ ar iḥtarasa he took care, he was on his guard Root ح-ر-س Pattern / form (I–X) iftaala, form VIII Part of speech verb, form VIII How it differs from English its imperative is the standard word for caution on a public notice مُبَللَلَة ar wet, soaked Root ب-ل-ل Pattern / form (I–X) mufaala, form II participle Part of speech adjective How it differs from English a form II done-to shape, so it says the floor has been made wet by somebody أَقْفَلَ ar ʔaqfala he locked Root ق-ف-ل Pattern / form (I–X) afala, form IV Part of speech verb, form IV How it differs from English stronger than the verb for closing; it means with a lock أَلْغَى ar ʔalḡā he cancelled, he annulled Root ل-غ-و Pattern / form (I–X) afala, form IV Part of speech verb, form IV How it differs from English used of meetings, flights and laws alike مَطَر ar maṭara rain Root م-ط-ر Pattern / form (I–X) faal Plural أَمْطَار Part of speech noun, masculine How it differs from English a mass noun; the plural means rainfall over a season أَسْنَان ar teeth Root س-ن-ن Pattern / form (I–X) afaal, broken plural Part of speech noun, plural How it differs from English the singular means a tooth and also the age of a person اِبْتَسَمَ ar ibtasama he smiled Root ب-س-م Pattern / form (I–X) iftaala, form VIII Part of speech verb, form VIII How it differs from English a form VIII verb whose plain form I is not in ordinary use وَاصَلَ ar wāṣala he continued, he kept on Root و-ص-ل Pattern / form (I–X) faaala, form III Part of speech verb, form III How it differs from English form III of the verb for arriving in 3.4, so continuing is keeping the connection أَعَادَ ar ʔaʕāda he brought back, he repeated Root ع-و-د Pattern / form (I–X) afala, form IV Part of speech verb, form IV How it differs from English form IV of the verb for returning in 3.11, so it means to make something return تَدَخَّلَ ar tadaḵḵala he interfered Root د-خ-ل Pattern / form (I–X) tafaala, form V Part of speech verb, form V How it differs from English repeated from 3.11, where it appeared as a prohibition صَابُون ar ṣābūn soap Part of speech noun, masculine How it differs from English repeated from 4.5; a word English and Arabic share وَقَفَ ar waqafa he stopped, he stood Root و-ق-ف Pattern / form (I–X) faala, form I (a) Part of speech verb, form I How it differs from English its form IV, used in the fifth line, means to make something stop دَائِماً ar dāʔiman always Root د-و-م Pattern / form (I–X) faail, adverbial Part of speech adverb How it differs from English repeated from 4.1; it stands at the end of a notice مَدْرَسَة ar madrasa school Root د-ر-س Pattern / form (I–X) mafala, place Plural مَدَارِس Part of speech noun, feminine How it differs from English repeated from 2.2; here in the broken plural of 2.7 Translation As printed English What kind of notice احترس: الأرض مبللة [1] Caution: wet floor a warning on a floor أقفلوا أبوابكم دائما. [2] Always lock your doors. an instruction to residents أعيد فتح المدارس. [3] School reopened. an announcement ألغي اللقاء بسبب المطر. [4] The gathering has been cancelled because of rain. a cancellation with a reason أوقف العمل. [5] Stop working. an order on a site لا تتدخل! [6] Do not interfere! a prohibition أغلق الباب! [7] Close the door! an instruction on a door أقفل