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Showing posts from June, 2014

I and Us in Algerian Derja

“We” are interrupted You might have noticed that in the Algerian language, to conjugate a verb in the first person singular (in the present-future), you prefix it with noon : n ften , n ro7 , n 'bghi . This noon is also found in the conjugation of the first person plural verb (in the present-future), with the addition of the plural marker waw : n b'dl o , n tlaqa w , n 7ebb o .    noon is part of what makes "us" and "I".  “We”, in Algerian, is grammatically built on part of the identity of "I". “We” is a continuation of “I” grammatically speaking. "I" s are linked by their plurality, the waw plural marker says as much. "We" is a plurality ( waw ) based on singularities ( noon ).  In Algerian, “we” is a group of individuals ( I ) linked by their singular state ( noon ). "We" is a group tied by their individualities - their differences, not by their similarities. waw is also used elsewhere in gra...

"Writers of the World" exhibition in the metro stations of Algiers - FELIV

The International Festival of Literature and Young people's Literature ( FELIV ) opened in Algiers on 11 June and will close on 20 June. Publishers, authors and the public are meeting to browse, discuss and debate literature produced around the world, its place and its future.  Many authors were invited and many are to be found having chatting around the esplanade of Riadh El Feth, signing copies for readers, and posing with them for photos. Books presented by publishing houses are in French and Arabic. Debates are held in French. As part of the Festival, photographer Francesco Gattoni put together an exhibition of his photographs of "Authors Around the World". 50 writers' portraits are to be found in three stations of Algiers' metro: Tafourah, Les Jardins d'Essai and Les Fusilés. Next to each portrait, a presentation of the author and a text in French and Arabic speaks of the author, presents excerpts of an author's work or lets the author speak. ...