So I recently changed my phone's language to Arabic; now I see Arabic numbers like ٧:١٨ for time instead of, well Arabic numbers like 7:18 . One of the most surprising changes, other than the entire layout switching from left-to-right to right-to-left is how often تمّ is used in apps:
Snapchat - sent - تم إرساله
Blogger - published - تم النشر
Google Drive - resolved - تم الحل
Google Drive - accepted suggestion - تم قبول الاقتراح
Just for reference, تَمَّ is a verb that means "to be or become complete", according to the Hans Wehr 4th Edition Dictionary. It's often used as an alternative to the regular Arabic passive when paired with a maSdar (مصدر):
تم الأكل -- he/it was eaten
Some people seem to view the تم construct as less elegant than using the regular passive. Additionally, the regular Arabic passive carries the connotation of the action being performed by an unknown/unmentioned agent.
تم aside, it feels unusual for me, as an Arabic learner, to see a passive construction used so much in apps. I wonder if there is a reason for using the passive over the passive participle. Compare تم إرساله or أُرسِلَ vs مرسَل.
I also found this famous poem composed after the fall of the last Muslim lands in Al-Andalus. It uses تم but not in the passive construct sense. English Translation
Blogger - published - تم النشر
Google Drive - resolved - تم الحل
Google Drive - accepted suggestion - تم قبول الاقتراح
Just for reference, تَمَّ is a verb that means "to be or become complete", according to the Hans Wehr 4th Edition Dictionary. It's often used as an alternative to the regular Arabic passive when paired with a maSdar (مصدر):
تم الأكل -- he/it was eaten
Some people seem to view the تم construct as less elegant than using the regular passive. Additionally, the regular Arabic passive carries the connotation of the action being performed by an unknown/unmentioned agent.
تم aside, it feels unusual for me, as an Arabic learner, to see a passive construction used so much in apps. I wonder if there is a reason for using the passive over the passive participle. Compare تم إرساله or أُرسِلَ vs مرسَل.
I also found this famous poem composed after the fall of the last Muslim lands in Al-Andalus. It uses تم but not in the passive construct sense. English Translation
Don't we do the same, when after sending a message we read "Sent"?
ReplyDeleteNot necessarily.
DeleteFor example, made in China is often translated as hecho en China in Spanish. Hecho is a passive participle in this case.
Similarly, sent can be parsed as a passive participle.