لهجة قنا

In this third episode dedicated to regional Egyptian accents, I chat with Moustafa Maghraby from the southern Egyptian city of Qena. Qena lies just to the north of Luxor, and as Moustafa explains, both accents are very similar (although the north of Qena bears more resemblance to the city of Sohag). Thank you Moustafa for the informative chat! As with previous chats on regional accents, I have to note that the conversation is conducted between two native speakers in their regular talking speed, so please note that these episodes are, I think, more suited for people who are already quite confident speakers of Egyptian Arabic. Also as before, the overview includes timestamps of the topics and words/ expressions we talk about. I end our conversation with Moustafa's recording of his own poem لحظة التلاقي - the text of which is at the bottom of the overview. Enjoy, and let me know if you have any comments or questions! On an unrelated note: I've been bringing out a bit more episodes than usual since the start of the year - this is to make up for quieter/ busier times past and future - and one such busy time is coming up, from now until the end-ish of June. I may not disappear completely during that time but it will get a bit quieter around here. I have a lot more planned though so watch this space! :D Download file here

Om Podcasten

Bilmasri is a podcast and blog (www.bilmasri.com) dedicated to the Egyptian dialect. It is for learners of Arabic (ideally anywhere between lower intermediate to advanced level) who have so far been focusing on Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), who may or may not have some knowledge of another Arabic dialect, and who would like to understand how the Egyptian dialect works. The starting point of most blog posts and podcast episodes is a text in Modern Standard Arabic – a news story, an excerpt from a work of fiction, or another form of text – which has been adapted into Egyptian Arabic. In the first part of each podcast episode, I will slowly read out the Egyptian version of the text. In the second part, I will take you through (in English) one or more aspects of the language just heard: this could be the pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, idioms, etc., with a particular focus on the differences and similarities between Egyptian and MSA. The blog post will contain both Egyptian Arabic and MSA versions of the text, followed by a brief summary of the podcast discussion. The blog’s tags will help you find any language-related topics you’re looking for, and the episodes they’re discussed in.