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Confusion over the Arabic language. | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| Fortwenster Diglot Newbie United States Joined 4989 days ago 24 posts - 36 votes Speaks: English*, FrenchC1 Studies: Arabic (Written) | Message 17 of 29 20 October 2011 at 1:02am | IP Logged | ||
I don't honestly agree with that source, since the way it portrays the differences between the dialects and MSA is exaggerated, at least from my experience. It states: MSA = Latin Egyptian = English Maghrebi = German Gulf = Italian As people have already mentioned, the dialects aren't so different that they should be classified/analogized as different languages. English and Italian are not mutually intelligible, though an Egyptian and Gulf person will likely understand each other. They're also not so radically different from MSA to be considered that way -- yes, the differences between the dialects and MSA are important, but not radical or very drastic. Even stating that Maghrebi is like German is a bit far fetched, IMO. A better explanation would be this: http://www.myeasyarabic.com/site/what_is_spoken_arabic.htm Anyways, I thought I'd list a few of my favorite materials: Modern Standard Arabic Modern Standard Arabic A Concise Grammar Brilliant for grammar. Easy Arabic Grammar Good for basic grammar, although that's as far as it goes. The Arabic AlphabetNice for learning how to write in Arabic, probably where you should start. Arabic Verbs and Essentials Whenever you get into grammar, specifically verbs. I have more to share -- for both MSA and dialects, but I thought I'd start off the materials I started using as a beginner, or within my first year. If you have more specific questions about any of them, I'd be glad to answer them. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| liddytime Pentaglot Senior Member United States mainlymagyar.wordpre Joined 6233 days ago 693 posts - 1328 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Galician Studies: Hungarian, Vietnamese, Modern Hebrew, Norwegian, Persian, Arabic (Written) | Message 18 of 29 20 October 2011 at 1:43am | IP Logged | ||
1. Learn the Arabic Script! 2. Learn the Arabic Script! 3. Learn the Arabic Script! and then, 4. Learn the Arabic Script! It is not that hard to learn the script and will enhance your study of Arabic immensely! There are so many variations of transliterations of Arabic that often I will need to see the word in Arabic script to know how it is supposed to be pronounced. There are so many different resources to learn the script. Most people enjoy "Alif Baa" but you can do any of them ; "Teach Yourself", "Living Language ultimate" They will all do the job. I am in an Arabic self-study class right now and to be honest, "Teach Yourself Arabic" does a really good job of teaching the basics. I am hoping to get through the whole book by December ( on Unit 6 now!) The vocabulary is useful and the explanations are easy to follow! 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Humdereel Octoglot Groupie United States Joined 4982 days ago 90 posts - 349 votes Speaks: English, Spanish*, Arabic (Levantine), Arabic (Egyptian), Arabic (Written), Turkish, Persian, Urdu Studies: Russian | Message 19 of 29 20 October 2011 at 2:05am | IP Logged | ||
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I agree with Fortwenster and liddytime. That article is rather exaggerated in its comparison of the dialects and Modern Standard Arabic.
From Fortwenster's list, I can recommend Modern Standard Arabic: A Concise Grammar and Arabic Verb Essentials. However, for the script, many resources can make it well, as liddytime stated. Once you learn the Arabic script, it'll be easier to study grammar without transliteration. Depending on transliteration is ineffective beyond the earliest beginner stage, IME. Sorry for having not listed my recommended books and websites yet, I am going through them all to make sure I make it detailed. Any of the ones liddytime and Fortwenster listed are good for getting through the basics. It's important to make sure you don't try to overwhelm yourself. Tackle the language step by step if you're still interested. EDIT: As for how long it took me to get to basic conversation, I'm not sure what your idea of it is. Do you mean knowing "survival" Arabic to the point where I don't have to think much to communicate or understand? Edited by Humdereel on 20 October 2011 at 2:17am 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| kanewai Triglot Senior Member United States justpaste.it/kanewai Joined 4893 days ago 1386 posts - 3054 votes Speaks: English*, French, Marshallese Studies: Italian, Spanish | Message 20 of 29 20 October 2011 at 2:47am | IP Logged | ||
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If I may add one more:
5. Learn the Arabic Script! Seriously. Listen to Liddytime here. Really learn how to read (and write) well. You can learn to recognize the print letters with a bit of hard work, and that will help immensely, but you will hit a wall very quickly in your studies. I think you need to study the script enough so that it's completely internalized to make solid progress. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Humdereel Octoglot Groupie United States Joined 4982 days ago 90 posts - 349 votes Speaks: English, Spanish*, Arabic (Levantine), Arabic (Egyptian), Arabic (Written), Turkish, Persian, Urdu Studies: Russian | Message 21 of 29 22 October 2011 at 12:30am | IP Logged | ||
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Alright, here are some resources I recommend:
Modern Standard Arabic An Introduction to Modern Literary Arabic I found this book to be excellent for working in MSA. I started it after I got comfortable with the Arabic script and it was a great help in terms of grammar and understanding. I great stepping stone. The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic As you progress, in order to truly get a grasp of the language you'll have to get comfortable with its root system, and this dictionary proves to be the most useful for it and is organized more extensively than any other one I've used for Arabic. Arabic Verbs and Essentials I believe an earlier poster mentioned this, and it is indeed a great resource for getting into the verbs. Read and Speak Arabic for Beginners A nice, quick course for beginners. But that's as far as it'll take you, as the title suggests. Mastering Arabic Contrary to what the title suggests, this book won't get you to "master" the language, but it's a solid introductory course. Let's Talk Arabic Another great introductory course. Take note that these are not all the great resources I used, but I just thought I'd list beginner-intermediate courses first, since you're not sure if it's the language for you. Egyptian Arabic Kalaam Gamiil This is not a book I'd recommend for a beginner, but I wanted to mention a few Egyptian resources nonetheless. Having a foundation in MSA will make this course easier, in fact without one it would be very difficult to operate with it. However, it is useful for what it is for. Kallimni Arabi Also great for the dialect when you have a foundation in MSA. I also have materials for the rest of the notable dialects, but I thought I'd focus on MSA and Egyptian for this post. EDIT: Forgot to list "Let's Talk Arabic" earlier. Edited by Humdereel on 22 October 2011 at 12:34am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| stelingo Hexaglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5836 days ago 722 posts - 1076 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian Studies: Russian, Czech, Polish, Greek, Mandarin | Message 22 of 29 23 October 2011 at 1:19pm | IP Logged | ||
Just wanted to add that there is now a beginner's book to Kallimni Arabi:Kallimni Arabi Bishweesh It starts with the very basics and it also teaches the alphabet. They do provide transliteration of the dialogues and an incomplete glossary for each chapter. However I wouldn't recommend it for complete beginners as all the instructions are in Arabic, and I did find it a bit confusing to use at first, until I got into it. I have a couple of questions: What does the title of the book 'Kallimni 'Arabi Bishweesh' actually mean? And secondly, does the second volume also provide a glossary and transcriptions of the dialogues? I would also recommend 'Colloquial Arabic of Egypt', especially if you are a complete beginner. Edited by stelingo on 23 October 2011 at 1:22pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| jed Newbie United States Joined 4820 days ago 12 posts - 33 votes Speaks: English* | Message 23 of 29 24 October 2011 at 7:50pm | IP Logged | ||
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kallimni arabi = "talk/say/speak to me"
bishweesh = literally "slowly", but can also be used to mean something like "just a bit" o "not much" The other books in the series are something along the lines of the following: kallimni arabi aktar = talk to me more arabic kallimni arabi mazboot = talk to me correct/really good arabic kallimni arabi fi kuul haaga = talk to me arabic full out With any luck, a native speaker will see this and give better translations. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| stelingo Hexaglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5836 days ago 722 posts - 1076 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian Studies: Russian, Czech, Polish, Greek, Mandarin | Message 24 of 29 25 October 2011 at 2:39am | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks Jed.
1 person has voted this message useful |
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