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Dialects of Arabic | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| Ayazid Newbie Czech Republic Joined 5577 days ago 14 posts - 33 votes Speaks: Czech* | Message 17 of 69 21 February 2010 at 9:07pm | IP Logged | |||||
You think that certain Arabic dialects are as different as Spanish and Romanian? Are you kidding?? Such a comparision is extremely exaggerated. The differences between various Arabic dialects are mainly phonetic and to a certain degree lexical and grammatical, but altogether they are quite similar and I would say that even the most remote ones (for example Mauretanian and Iraqi) are partially intelligible. I have seen Arabic speakers from all parts of the Arab world being able to converse fluently with each other just after some exposure to the other dialect and slowing down them their speech + using less specific words which could be difficult to understand. Such a thing would be impossible among Romanian and Spanish speakers, you can understand some words here and there, especially in written language, but that's all, otherwise, they are simple unintelligible to each other. Edited by Ayazid on 21 February 2010 at 9:07pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| chucknorrisman Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5448 days ago 321 posts - 435 votes  Speaks: Korean*, English, Spanish Studies: Russian, Mandarin, Lithuanian, French | Message 18 of 69 21 February 2010 at 10:28pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I see... Well, I certainly hope they aren't as distant as Spanish and Romanian.
What do people here think of learning a spoken dialect first then MSA? Many say to learn MSA first, but then Arabs always learn dialects first then MSA... It seems that the spoken dialects are a bit easier, so learning that then going into MSA wouldn't be a bad idea either. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Saif Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5612 days ago 122 posts - 208 votes Speaks: English*, Arabic (Levantine)*, French | Message 19 of 69 22 February 2010 at 12:05am | IP Logged | |||||
I think you should learn a dialect first and then the formal MSA for these reasons. 1. Learning a dialect first is funner. You feel like you're more connected to the culture and people this way. 2. MSA Arabic writing and grammar can be frustrating, it may turn off students in the beginning. Starting with a dialect first serves as a motivation factor to continue learning Arabic. 3. The grammar of the spoken language is easier than MSA, so it gives you a good foundation to tackle MSA later. 4. You can practice with native speakers from the beginning. You may get funny looks if you try speaking in MSA to native Arabs. 5. It's a more intuitive and independent approach suited for self-learners. The MSA --> Dialect approach is the formal college approach and may be boring for a lot of people. That's not the case for everyone, there are advantages to learning MSA first. I would generally say that the MSA --> dialect approach is for sequential learners and the dialect --> MSA approach is for global learners. You have to choose the approach that suits your learning style and purposes. If you're only interested in reading and listening to the Arabic press, then start with MSA. If you're interested in traveling and interacting with the locals, I would start with a dialect. 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| chucknorrisman Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5448 days ago 321 posts - 435 votes Speaks: Korean*, English, Spanish Studies: Russian, Mandarin, Lithuanian, French | Message 20 of 69 22 February 2010 at 12:36am | IP Logged | |||||
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Thank you, Saif. By the way, what are some features of grammar that were simplified in the spoken dialects?
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| Saif Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5612 days ago 122 posts - 208 votes Speaks: English*, Arabic (Levantine)*, French | Message 21 of 69 22 February 2010 at 12:41am | IP Logged | |||||
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To the extent of Arabic dialect differences, it depends on the language pair. Some are
totally different. The Yemeni dialect is like another language for me. It has a different vocabulary and phonology from my native tongue. It even varies within Yemen. However, Egyptian Arabic, due to the popularity of Egyptian entertainment and politics in the heyday of Egypt, is understood by many Arabs, especially Levantine speakers. So you will see some Arabs use a combination of their native tongue, MSA, and Egyptian to communicate. Edited by Saif on 12 March 2010 at 4:00am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Paskwc Pentaglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5677 days ago 450 posts - 624 votes Speaks: Hindi, Urdu*, Arabic (Levantine), French, English Studies: Persian, Spanish | Message 22 of 69 22 February 2010 at 12:53am | IP Logged | |||||
Kidding? Not quite. Hyperbole? Maybe. You may have noted that I used double qualifiers in my assertion. However, in all sincerity, I still insist that if you were to take a speaker of the Yemeni dialect and a speaker of the Maghrebi dialect, they would find communication virtually impossible. They might resort to MSA, but that doesn't change the fact that some dialects are extremely isolated from each other and do not allow for any real standard of intelligibility. What's more, within dialects, there are subdialects. Depending on where you are, the Maghrebi dialect could be influenced by Italian, Spanish, or French. Edited by Paskwc on 22 February 2010 at 1:05am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| chucknorrisman Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5448 days ago 321 posts - 435 votes Speaks: Korean*, English, Spanish Studies: Russian, Mandarin, Lithuanian, French | Message 23 of 69 22 February 2010 at 12:55am | IP Logged | |||||
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I see. I was thinking that if I did Arabic, then I would do Egyptian.
What are some specific grammatical differences between Egyptian and MSA, if you happen to know? 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| aquablue Senior Member United States Joined 6382 days ago 150 posts - 172 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, Mandarin | Message 24 of 69 22 February 2010 at 1:50am | IP Logged | |||||
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Sorry to butt in. However, I wish to ask a question which is related to the topic.
If one were interested in the Gulf Region (Dubai, AD, Quatar, Kuwait) and inteded to perhaps live or work in this area, would it be advisable to learn the Gulf dialect even though it is not widely known? Or is Egyptian/Levantine still the best dialect to learn? I would be concerned that learning Gulf Arabic/MSA would prove to be too limiting regarding travel to other parts of the arab world. Is this a correct assumption? In brief, is it worth learning Egyption or Levantine if one is going to be spending most of ones time in the Gulf but is still interested in communicating with many people from the arabic world? Thanks Aqua yet also wished to travel to Lebanon, Egypt, etc. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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