This post is about a high-frequency structure that you’re unlikely to learn in your 3aammiyye classes but which is, conveniently, the title of an El Morabba3 song: ليكون laykuun.

Dialects

In all Levantine dialects ليكون can be used as an invariable expression. Historically, however, it is a contraction of لا يكون laa ykuun ‘let it not be‘ – that is, a negative subjunctive form of the verb كان. In North Levantine, conjugated forms sometimes appear in the same meaning: لا تكون راجع لهون laa tkuun raaje3 lahoon ‘I hope you’re not coming back here’. In the rest of this post for the purposes of simplicity I’ll only be using laykuun.

Use

Laykuun can be translated a number of ways. Its basic function is to introduce conjectures with a distinctly negative connotation. Let’s begin with a fairly dramatic example. Take for example the المربع song I mentioned in the beginning. Like a lot of alternative music its lyrics are not the most transparent meaning-wise but it’s fairly obvious from these two couplets that he’s remonstrating with an ex:

ليكون زعلتي زعلك مش مفهوم فجأة بلمتي كأنك درس تعلمتي
laykuun z3ilti, za3lek mish mafhuum, faj2a ballamti, ka2innek dars t3allamti
Don’t tell me you’re upset?  It’s impossible to understand – you went silent suddenly, as if you’d learnt a lesson

ليكون اندمتي ندمك مش مدروس انتي اللي اخترتي انتي اللي احترتي
laykuun ndimti, nadamek mish madruus, inti lli khtirti inti lli 7tirti
Don’t tell me you’re regretful? Your regret doesn’t make sense – it was you who chose, it was you who got coonfused

Here the connotation is that if this is the explanation for your behaviour, it’s pretty unreasonable. Incidentally, whoever (and I’m guessing it was a native speaker of Arabic) translated these lyrics on YouTube used ‘could it be…?’ to translate laykuun. This obviously reflects the conjecture meaning I mentioned earlier.

Here’s another example. A dad might say affectionately to his son:

شبك سرحان متل المسطل؟ ليكون عشقان لك أزعر؟
shəbak sar7aan mətl l@msaTTel? laykuun 3ash2aan lak 2az3ar?
What’s up with all this staring into space? Don’t tell me you’re in love, you reprobate?
[What’s wrong with you staring into space like a stoned person?]

Here the negative connotation is gentler and more comical. Your friend might say this to you if you can’t find the street you’re looking for:

ليكون خربطنا بالطريق؟
laykuun kharbaTna biTTarii2?
You don’t think we might have gone the wrong way?

 ليكون بدك تتحالف معهم ضدي
 laykuun biddak tit7aalaf ma3hom DiDDi
Surely you’re not going to make an alliance with them against me?

Note that you can also use laykuun to be polite. For example:

ليكون ضايقناك بس؟
laykuun daaya2naak bass?
I just hope we haven’t bothered you?

This sentence could of course also be sarcastic depending on intonation.