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Modern Standard Arabic worth studying? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| sharon212 Diglot Newbie United States Joined 6206 days ago 7 posts - 7 votes Speaks: French, Spanish Studies: Arabic (Written) | Message 9 of 27 02 December 2007 at 11:02pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I've been using Rosetta Stone for Arabic. I am used to Pimsleur-type methods, so I find it very slow and tedious. Plus it requires you to learn both the written and spoken forms at the same time (though there may be a phonetic option, I'm not 100% sure).
As to which version of Arabic to learn... I am married to a Moroccan, so I think I'm less biased than the Egyptian member :p but I agree, Egyptian Arabic is probably the way to go, based on speaking with multiple people from different Arab countries. Just about everyone will understand it (since many of the popular TV shows and movies shown throughout the Arab-speaking world are Egyptian), and it offers a more conversational style than standard Arabic. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Sulpicius Diglot Groupie United States Joined 6028 days ago 89 posts - 91 votes  Speaks: English*, Latin Studies: French, Arabic (Written) | Message 10 of 27 04 June 2008 at 11:21am | IP Logged | |||||
I'd be careful learning Kurmanji since Turkey has the largest speakers, and you may get deported from Turkey if you speak it openly in public. Same with Syria, they ban publications in Kurdish. Perhaps you may be interested in Sorani, since that's legal in the KRG, or Bedihnan, which is essentialy Kurmanji but spoken in areas of the KRG close to Turkey, like Dohuk. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Sulpicius Diglot Groupie United States Joined 6028 days ago 89 posts - 91 votes Speaks: English*, Latin Studies: French, Arabic (Written) | Message 11 of 27 04 June 2008 at 11:24am | IP Logged | |||||
Gulf Arabic (Iraqi) is closest to Classical and MSA: "Gulf dialect is the closest to Classical or Modern Standard Arabic. " http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/e/languages/arabic/inde x.html 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| JamesBates Bilingual Triglot Newbie Pakistan Joined 6191 days ago 27 posts - 28 votes Speaks: English*, Hindi*, Arabic (Written) Studies: Persian, German | Message 12 of 27 05 June 2008 at 7:53pm | IP Logged | |||||
Before you delve into Arabic, know that there is only one form of Arabic that is uniform throughout the Arab world: Modern Standard Arabic. It is also the only kind of Arabic that is usually written. The dialects, on the other hand, are rarely written outside of comic strips and vary from city to city. Unless you plan on eavesdropping on your Arab hosts or communicating with uneducated Arabs, you will not need to be able to understand any city's dialect, as Arabs will reciprocate when you speak to them in MSA. However, if you plan on working with uneducated Arabs you will need to be able to understand their dialect, as they may not be able to reply to you in MSA. You should also know that you will never need to be able to speak a dialect, as MSA is understood throughout the Arab world. To sum it up, learn only MSA. If you plan on travelling to the Arab world and know your exact destination and plan on speaking to less educated Arabs, then it would certainly be a good idea to be able to understand that city's dialect, but you need never waste time learning to speak it. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| ABOUJAD Triglot Newbie France myspace.com/chajaloRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5853 days ago 5 posts - 5 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish Studies: Arabic (Written) | Message 13 of 27 18 November 2008 at 4:57pm | IP Logged | |||||
Hi. I find this statement very "broad" and I think that the individual learner should take into consideration his particular circumstances and motives for learning Arabic. While it is true that educated Arabs from all countries should understand MSA and would most likely respond to you in MSA, it is also true that NO arab speaks MSA in every day life. Both educated and uneducated Arabs speak their local dialects, and by learning only MSA you will be cutting yourself off from absolutely everyting that is said around you that is not directed expressly to you. To give you a comparison: Imagine that when you speak in everyday life, you speak English, but that whenever you wanted to read or write you had to use Latin. Now imagine that someone comes to your country with no concept of English whatsoever, but they could speak Latin. OK, you would be able to speak to them and respond to their questions, but if you wanted them to feel included (in social situations, for example) you would have to revert to speaking Latin (you and everyone else in the group) in every situation 24/7. Otherwise your guest would be totally oblivious to what you were speaking about and feel left out. You might be willing to do this for a visiting business associate, etc. for the time of a meal or an evening out, but you could imagine forming a friendship with someone with whom you and everyone else around felt forced to speak Latin all the time so they weren't left out ? It would feel very unnatural and akward, right ? Well, that's how unnatural it would feel for an Arab (not only uneducated people, but ANY arab) to speak MSA in everyday life, and most would not be willing to do it for an extended period of time. This is not to say that "everyone" should learn dialect. My point is that each learner should think about his final goal, why he wants to learn arabic and how he plans to use it. So, if you only wish to be able to communicate "when necessary", then sure MSA will suffice. But if you hope to form friendships, reach the hearts of people and be feel included in their every day lives, then I don't think that learning the spoken dialect could be considered a "waste of time". At any rate, whatever you choose, I wish you much luck. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| jody Senior Member United States Joined 6239 days ago 242 posts - 252 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Russian, Bulgarian | Message 14 of 27 19 November 2008 at 9:26am | IP Logged | |||||
Agreed. Good luck in your decision. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| multilingual Bilingual Diglot Newbie Canada Joined 5841 days ago 28 posts - 29 votes Speaks: French*, English* Studies: German Studies: Russian, Portuguese | Message 15 of 27 29 December 2008 at 11:36pm | IP Logged | |||||
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So far, it has been established that both MSA and dialects are important for their own special reasons. However, this thread has yet to cover is the following question : Is it easier/more useful to first learn MSA and then dialects or the opposite? I would like to hear your insights. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| multilingual Bilingual Diglot Newbie Canada Joined 5841 days ago 28 posts - 29 votes Speaks: French*, English* Studies: German Studies: Russian, Portuguese | Message 16 of 27 29 December 2008 at 11:46pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Sorry for the double post, but I got to thinking. Shouldn't one simply learn to speak MSA and simply understand various dialects? Wouldn't this open one up the the most communication options?
I say this because others have stated that the vast majority of arabs understand MSA. Nobody forces them to answer in MSA if they know you will understand their dialect. At my university there are lots of arabs from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. Together they all speak Arabic. I highly doubt they speak in the same dialect. They just understand each other. In this way Arabic must be different from the English/Latin example given earlier. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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