I can copy the basic pdf transcript as a pdf file, but I can't copy the audio transcript in the same way. To be more precise, I can copy the written, but not the spoken text.

i use adobi reader, it asks if i want to allow the sound , i say yes and then the sound works.

The audio transcript appears - as usual- in a rectangle in the middle of the screen. The words "Adobe Reader" appear above the tool bar. Unfortunately, one of the icons in the top left-hand corner ("Kopie speichern / Save to disc") has been deactivated.

The Audio Transcript works fine for me, both downloading the file, and then listening to the embedded audio.

I've just succeeded in resolving the problem by using another icon.

Can someone please explain the difference between the words "استخدام" and "يستعمل"? Thank you.

@ hexagonmoon

ﺍﺴﺘﺨﺪﺍﻢ (istikhdaam) is the verbal noun of ﺍﺴﺘﺨﺪﺍﻢ (istakhdama). It means “using”. ﻴﺴﺘﻌﻤﻞ (yasta’milu) is the masculine third person singular present indicative active form of ﺍﺴﺘﻌﻤﻞ (ista’mala). It means “he uses”.

Ok, what I meant to ask is what's the difference between the two verbs that mean "use", "يستخدم" and "يستعمل". In this case they both translate to "he uses", right? When would you use one instead of the other?

@ hexagonmoon

So far I haven’t observed any semantic differences between the two verbs under discussion, but there may be subtle nuances which have hitherto escaped my attention. It’s very hard to find reliable information about Arabic synonyms on the Net, and the reference works I’ve consulted are disappointing. Take Dilworth Parkinson’s “Using Arabic Synonyms”, for instance. Parkinson cites thousands of authentic examples, but he doesn’t explain the differences between the words he has recorded. Learners have to sift through the examples and do most of the work themselves.

When I learnt German at school I used Farrell’s “Dictionary of German Synonyms”. Many of the examples cited by Farrell were from nineteenth-century texts, but semantic differences were explained clearly and systematically. I read the book from cover to cover, added my own examples and observations, and it wasn’t long before I was able to write perfectly idiomatic German. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a dictionary of Arabic synonyms which is geared to the needs of beginners. The books I’ve found on the Net are all for very advanced students who are probably more proficient in Arabic than the average native speaker.

My Arabic vocabulary is expanding rapidly, and I now know thousands of synonyms. In many cases, however, I find it hard to detect semantic differences. Take the noun “revolution”, for instance. I know two words for “revolution”: ﺜﻮﺮﺓ and ﺘﻤﺮﺪ. I’m not sure how to use ﺘﻤﺮﺪ, but I know that ﺜﻮﺮﺓ can denote a political revolution. Every time I visit the Arabic website of the BBC I hear ﺜﻮﺮﺓ because everybody is talking about the Jasmine Revolution, and there are lots of new Arabic videos on YouTube – videos showing people talking about the revolution, cursing Ben Ali and his wife, and demonstrating against the Democratic Constitutional Rally (al-tajammu’ al-dustury al-dimuqtaty).

Yes I share your frustration Desmond. Perhaps there is a native speaker out there who can address our question? I know that استخدام has come up more often in Arabicpod lessons. For example, in Take a Shower, that term is said when saying "you can use my bottle." Is this the more frequently used term? Or are they not exactly synonyms?

@ hexagonmoon

It is often necessary to employ relatively subtle elicitation procedures in order to obtain linguistic information from native speakers who are not professional linguists. This is because native speakers do not normally store linguistic information in the form of explicit rules.

Let’s consider an example. If you ask an average native speaker of English about the difference between “small” and “little”, the odds are that the native speaker will reply: “There’s no difference” or “These words are interchangeable”. If, however, you propose an unusual word combination like “a horrible small boy” or “a nice small house”, the native speaker will probably express reservations. He’ll say something like: “I’d say 'a horrible little boy' and 'a nice little house'”. Armed with this information, the non-native speaker can now work out the rules for himself:

Rule 1: “Small” is evaluatively neutral, while “little” has emotional undertones.
Rule 2: When “little” is combined with another attributive adjective, the second adjective must come first.
Rule 3: “Little” is frequently preceded by an adjective which expresses a value judgment (e.g. horrible, nice, delightful).

If we want to elicit information from native speakers of Arabic who are not professional linguists, we shall have to ask questions obliquely. Instead of saying “What is the difference between X and Y?”, we’ll have to say something like “Would you say XYZ?” or “Would it be correct to say XYZ?”

@ Mohamed

I have a question about the word ﻗﺒﻞ (qabl). In the course of the discussion about the Diwani script you said: “sami’atu qabl al-diiwaan al-malakiyy” (I’ve heard “the royal Council of State”), then, after a brief pause, you added “in Saudi Arabia for instance”. ﻗﺒﻞ is often employed as a preposition meaning “before”. In the present instance, however, it has apparently assumed the role of a verbal particle. Did you use ﻗﺒﻞ in order to underline the fact that the action denoted by the verb ﺴﻤﻌﺖ belongs to the past? Could you have used the particle ﻠﻗﺪ (laqad) instead of “qabl”?

I can't identify the bisyllabic word that comes between "qabl" and "al-diiwaan". If that word is an adverb, "qabl" is probably a verbal particle like "laqad", but if the missing word is a noun denoting a temporal concept "qabl" must be a preposition and its English equivalent must be "ago".

@Desmond, I have actually said ‘Same3tu qabl ked’a’

قبل كذا is a colloquial phrase frequently used and often comes after سمعت. All together it means ‘I have heard before’, the classical way of saying it would be ‘same3tu men qabl’ سمعت من قبل

You might here the ked’a part pronounced as keda i.e. كدا. In Egypt for example it’s pronounced like that.

@ Mohamed

Thank you for this very interesting information. I knew “min qabl”, but I didn’t know “qabl kedha”.

In the case under discussion I would leave “qabl kedha” untranslated and simply say: I’ve heard “the royal Council of State”. There is no need to add a time adverbial in order to underline the fact that the actíon denoted by the verb belongs to the past. I’ve often wondered why you constantly use the adverb “before” with past tense English verbs. You evidently think in Arabic, set up one-to-one equivalences, and translate literally into English.

As far as I can see, “min qabl” and “qabl kedha” have four English equivalents: (1) zero, (2) before, (3) already, (4) ever.

(1) “Min qabl” and “qabl kedha” remain untranslated if, like “laqad”, they merely serve to underline the pastness of the action denoted by the verb.

(2) + (3) The adverbials under discussion can be rendered as “before” or “already” if they mean “at least once in the past”. Ex.: I think we’ve met before. / I think we’ve already met.

(4) “Ever” corresponds to “min qabl” in interrogative sentences. Ex: Have you ever lost your keys?

In a comment you posted on 3 December 2010 in the comment section for the podcast entitled “Spare keys”, you wrote: “Did you lose your keys before?” The tense and the adverb are wrong. You should have used the present perfect tense and the adverb “ever”: “Have you ever lost your keys?”

One can draw a distinction between “ever” and “ever” + “before”. “Have you ever lost your keys?” will be used in a situation where the speaker does not know whether his interlocutor has ever lost his keys. By contrast, “Have you ever lost your keys before?” can mean “Is this the first time you have lost your keys?” The speaker has just learnt that his interlocutor has lost his keys, and he wants to know whether this has ever happened before. In this case the Arabic equivalent would probably be “awwal marra” (cf. the video where Ehab is shown walking along Brighton beach).