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The Great MSA/Dialect Debate | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Advice Center |  | |
| ericblair Senior Member United States Joined 4646 days ago 480 posts - 700 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 17 of 21 31 March 2015 at 11:37pm | IP Logged | ||
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What a cool map. I find it interesting how much of an impact the Koran has had to keep
things so close over time. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Luso Hexaglot Senior Member Portugal Joined 5996 days ago 819 posts - 1812 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, French, EnglishC2, GermanB1, Italian, Spanish Studies: Sanskrit, Arabic (classical) | Message 18 of 21 02 April 2015 at 3:55am | IP Logged | ||
Yes. In some regions of the Levant, it's even more complicated. Since you brought up Yemen, you have different realities: - Sana'a and its region - Coastal Red Sea (more like Egyptian) - Aden (more like Somali) - Hadhramaut (closer to Dhofari) - Dhofar 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| A Callidryas Newbie United States Joined 3521 days ago 7 posts - 20 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Persian | Message 19 of 21 06 April 2015 at 4:24am | IP Logged | ||
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Hi Eric
Since you are learning Arabic for business, I would suggest that you begin by learning MSA. Then try to find out if you are likely to be assigned to a specific region, and if so, start learning basic conversational phrases in that dialect. In the Arab world, even a modest attempt at several basic phrases is appreciated. Then, if your Arabic is not up to scratch, the conversation will be quickly switched to English. If you are not going to be assigned to a specific region and still want to learn some basic conversational stuff, probably go with urban Egyptian or Levantine. These two dialects are most widely understood both because of TV/films etc., and also because of the large number of Egyptians, Palestinians and Syrians who have worked in other Arab countries over the last several decades. But be warned that many business/government people will prefer MSA to a nonlocal dialect (especially if you are not fluent in that dialect). At any rate, if you know MSA, you can quickly learn ten to fifteen phrases in a dialect just before going to a region where it is spoken, I would also imagine that any formal business correspondence, bulletins, notices, etc. and business-related books or textbooks would be written in some form of MSA. Here is a list of what would probably be in MSA: - news programs (radio and TV) - most podcasts - documentaries - historical films - most programs related to business/economy/politics/science/religion - any educational/informational/public information program aimed an a pan-Arabic audience - business publications - newspapers and current event magazines - most nonfiction books - textbooks - legal publications - government publications/notices - any email/memo from a person who is aware that you don't know the dialect - in fact these would probably most often be written in English Here is what would be in a dialect: - many novels - any manga/pictorial type literature - popular culture - films, music, TV series, comedy - casual conversation - household conversation - shopping For an idea of what B1 in MSA is, go to GLOSS https://gloss.dliflc.edu/ and have a look at the materials for 1+ and maybe 2. The site has materials for both MSA and dialects when you reach that stage. Another good site for dialects is this: http://langmedia.fivecolleges.edu/culturetalk.html Is Arabic hard? It's a state of mind. Good luck. Edited by A Callidryas on 06 April 2015 at 4:29am 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| ericblair Senior Member United States Joined 4646 days ago 480 posts - 700 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 20 of 21 06 April 2015 at 10:58pm | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks for the great post! I notice you study Persian. How are you liking it? Have you
found it particularly challenging to get underway in learning? Friends in the past who have started it often mention the dearth of materials. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| A Callidryas Newbie United States Joined 3521 days ago 7 posts - 20 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Persian | Message 21 of 21 07 April 2015 at 5:30am | IP Logged | ||
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Hi again.
Here are four websites for beginners that you might find useful: arabicpod101 on youtube https://www.youtube.com/user/arabicpod101/playlists This is all free. If you like what you see, you could go to their website for a subscription. arabicpod http://www.arabicpod.net/ This site has lots of podcasts done by a couple of Arabs living in England. They are definitely not language specialists and sometimes give peculiar explanations, but if you are building a basis in grammar with something else, this site is definitely worth the time (but it might be an idea to wait several months before you start using it). You have to pay to get transcripts, which might be a good idea for someone just starting out. read Arabic http://readarabic.nflc.org/ From the University of Maryland, this site has beginner and intermediate reading/listening in MSA. langmedia http://langmedia.fivecolleges.edu/arabic/msa/dialogues/index .html This is the same site that has culturetalk, but this page has some beginner level conversations in MSA with transcripts. A good book is Practice Makes Perfect: Arabic Verb Tenses. No tapes but very clear and methodical, with lots of exercises. And you really need to learn verbs well because in a way they are the key to learning Arabic. In the beginning, it is hard for some people to get their heads around Arabic, so I wouldn't spread myself too thin, but the arabicpod101 and University of Maryland sites might be a good supplement right from the start. As for Farsi, I have been learning at a snail's pace for almost a year, getting in a bit of study when I find the time. I started off great guns, but......Anyway, I like it a lot, and hope to pick up the pace before too long. There aren't many books out there, but you don't need many because the internet is packed with great stuff for learning Farsi. Now, if I can just get around to using more of it. 4 persons have voted this message useful |
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