Dialect or MSA
Q: What should I learn first, MSA or an Arabic dialectA: Never start learning Arabic by learning a dialect first if your goal is to be good in the Arabic language as whole.
Students often ask us if the beginners’ course we offer is MSA or a Dialect
When it comes to learning the principles of the Arabic language, there is no difference between MSA and a dialect. The goal of the beginners’ course is for you to be able to speak clearly and be able to read Arabic text so you can build vocabulary on your own and read the course materials and textbooks which are written in Arabic for the dialect courses.
Many beginner students should be aware of this fact: If you want to learn a dialect and you are a heritage speaker or a beginner student you must learn the principles of the Arabic language that the beginners’ course provides to both MSA and Dialect students, you need to learn the Arabic alphabet shapes and sounds; as the same letter can have several shapes as well as several sounds, the vowels; both short and long, and other letters that usually not included in the alphabet such as taa marboutah ة and alif maqsura ى, and their grammatical functions, and other signs that help you to pronounce words correctly such as the shaddah , maddah, sukoon, and tanween, you also need to know the grammatical functions of these signs. All these apply to both MSA and a dialect.
You Also need to know the letters that have meanings, because Arabic alphabet contain letters that have meaning the same way in English the letter (i) has a meaning, if you desire just to learn a dialect you don’t need to know all the meanings of these letters, just what pertain to the dialect of your study. And please remember, when Arabs talk they use a mixture of MSA and a dialect which many of its words come from MSA with different pronunciation or meaning.
MSA: other names: Al-’Arabiyya, Al-Fusha, Literary Arabic, Classical Arabic (Koranic Arabic, Quranic Arabic), Modern Standard Arabic (Modern Literary Arabic), Media Arabic, Preserves the ancient grammar. A member of macrolanguage Arabic.
In most Arab countries only the well-educated have adequate proficiency in Modern Standard Arabic. Education, official purposes, written materials, and formal speeches. Classical Arabic, with archaic vocabulary, is used for religion and ceremonial purposes. Modern Standard Arabic is modernized Classical Arabic.
Colloquial / Spoken Arabic
is spoken at home and between friends in shops and cafes. It is also used when writing informal written communications, such as text messages, emails and personal letters.
Spoken In:
Algeria Bahrain Chad Comoros Djibouti Egypt Eritrea Iraq Israel Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Mauritania Morocco Oman Palestine Qatar Somalia Sudan Syria Tanzania Tunisia United Arab Emirates Western Sahara Yemen
The Arabic spoken by people throughout the Arab world differs in many respects from the Arabic normally taught in university classrooms.
The Arabic that most students learn is known as Modem Standard Arabic. This is the language used in writing, news reporting on television and radio, and on formal occasions. It is closely related to the classical language which is based on the Qur’an and on other classical sources such as the hadith, works on history and law, etc., which were written in the early years of Islam. This classical language is known as الفصحى (short for العربية الفصحى ) meaning the “eloquent” language. Often the term الفصحى is applied to Modern Standard Arabic due to a lack of a better term. The two are not quite the same, but they are close enough that الفصحى has come to represent both.
In daily life in the Arab world, people do not speak الفصحى They speak their own Arabic dialect. The dialects are known collectively as العامية. An individual dialect is called a لَهْجة The individual dialects differ not just from country to country, but from city to city, and village to village. The differences are also based on class, education, and gender. There are also differences based on urban versus rural and on religion.
The dialects are used as the sole means of communication on a daily basis. Thus, in the home, in the market, or anywhere else, the colloquial language is used exclusively when speaking.
The presence of two languages, الفصحى on the one hand, and العامية (referring to all of the dialects collectively) on the other, has caused considerable trouble for both teachers and students of the language. If your personal goal is just to be able to read Arabic, then you do not have to worry about the problem of “diglossia” as this phenomenon is known. But, if you wish to be able to speak colloquial Arabic, then you have entered into a realm of considerable debate.
The Four Noble Truths About Studying Colloquial Arabic
1. Do not study colloquial Arabic until you have a foundation in MSA.
2. Once you begin to learn a dialect continue to study your MSA. Never, ever, abandon your study of MSA.
3. Do not study a dialect before studying MSA.
4. Egyptian (Cairene) colloquial is probably the most widely understood Arabic dialect in the Arab world. That consideration aside, it is irrelevant which dialect you study. So pick a dialect that for some reason or other interests you.
An Explanation of the Four Noble Truths
It is best to wait to study a dialect until you have a good grasp of the basics of MSA. Look at MSA as the foundation. Once you know its structure, the changes in the dialect you are studying become much more comprehensible and can even be predicted. Furthermore, the vocabulary of MSA and of the dialects overlap tremendously, so the larger your MSA vocabulary, the larger dialect vocabulary you have before you even begin to study a dialect.
Always continue to study MSA. If you stick with a dialect only, you will not maintain the MSA grammar you have learned and you will lose your skills in reading since almost nothing is written in the dialects. Furthermore, unless you are in an Arab country, you will have difficulty studying and practicing colloquial Arabic at home due to the lack of readily available authentic materials (films, TV shows, radio shows, scripts for plays) whereas there is an unlimited amount of written material in MSA. In addition, any new vocabulary you acquire through your continued study of MSA can usually be applied directly in your use of a dialect.
Never study a dialect before you study MSA. This is basically a restatement of Noble Truth number one. The vast majority of Americans who have really learned Arabic started with MSA and then worked on learning a dialect. It does not work the other way around for a number reasons. Students who say “I want to be able to talk to the people” never learn to “talk to the people” and they remain illiterate in Arabic. They fail to learn anything of value. As I said, there are a number of reasons for this fact. Here are some of them:
1. Arabic colloquial textbooks are on the whole very, very poor. Their presentation of grammar is weak so you do not get a good overview of how Arabic works. Furthermore, they usually do not use the Arabic script, opting instead for some system of transliteration. Thus, the switch to MSA is even more difficult and the students cannot see the relationships between colloquial vocabulary and pronunciation on the one hand, and the standard language on the other.
2. Most colloquial textbooks go only so far into the language. Thus, even if you mastered your book, you would only be at a very low level of ability. So then you start the MSA and run into problems discussed in item 1 above.
3. Americans who opt for colloquial first tend not to be as serious about learning the language as those who desire to learn MSA – since they think they are taking the easy way out.
There are other reasons as well, but these three should make the point clear.
As far as deciding what dialect to study goes, you may well be limited by what is available at your school, or what textbooks can be found in your city. Within these limitations, it is best to pick whatever dialect interests you the most. If you have an interest in Lebanon, then go ahead and work on Lebanese colloquial. The only caveat to keep in mind is that Cairene colloquial is certainly the most widely understood of the dialects due to Egypt’s historical, intellectual, and cultural leadership in the Arab world and the sheer number of Egyptians living in other Arab countries. So if it is a toss up between Cairene and another dialect that does not particularly interest you, then go with the Cairene.
One thing you will learn if you have a good base in MSA and begin to study one dialect and then another, is that many of the dialects are really not all that different from one another and that a strong base in MSA makes it easier to learn them. Thus, if your base in MSA is strong and you are studying say a dialect used in Jordan, you will see that a person from Lebanon is relatively easy to understand especially once you learn two or three patterned differences between the Lebanese person’s speech and the dialect you are learning. Those differences are easier to discern if you know the standard language.
For the most part, the dialects are extremely mutually comprehensible even for non-native speakers. If you are strong in MSA you should be able to rapidly get the basics of a number of dialects if you so desire, and you should be able to go as far in any particular dialect as you want to go, provided you have access to the proper materials.
One advantage to knowing at least some colloquial (IN ADDITION TO YOUR FIRM KNOWLEDGE OF MSA) is that there is a sort of middle language which incorporates both MSA and colloquial. This middle language is often used in lectures in the university classroom and in radio and television interviews. An elementary knowledge of the major features of colloquial Arabic is all that is needed to follow what is being said – if your standard is strong.
It should be clear to you that if you have to choose between learning MSA and learning colloquial Arabic, then you should unhesitatingly opt for MSA. It is the universal language and is a must for an educated person.
Always continue to study MSA. If you stick with a dialect only, you will not maintain the MSA grammar you have learned and you will lose your skills in reading since almost nothing is written in the dialects. Furthermore, unless you are in an Arab country, you will have difficulty studying and practicing colloquial Arabic at home due to the lack of readily available authentic materials (films, TV shows, radio shows, scripts for plays) whereas there is an unlimited amount of written material in MSA. In addition, any new vocabulary you acquire through your continued study of MSA can usually be applied directly in your use of a dialect.
Never study a dialect before you study MSA. This is basically a restatement of Noble Truth number one. The vast majority of Americans who have really learned Arabic started with MSA and then worked on learning a dialect. It does not work the other way around for a number reasons. Students who say “I want to be able to talk to the people” never learn to “talk to the people” and they remain illiterate in Arabic. They fail to learn anything of value. As I said, there are a number of reasons for this fact. Here are some of them:
1. Arabic colloquial textbooks are on the whole very, very poor. Their presentation of grammar is weak so you do not get a good overview of how Arabic works. Furthermore, they usually do not use the Arabic script, opting instead for some system of transliteration. Thus, the switch to MSA is even more difficult and the students cannot see the relationships between colloquial vocabulary and pronunciation on the one hand, and the standard language on the other.
2. Most colloquial textbooks go only so far into the language. Thus, even if you mastered your book, you would only be at a very low level of ability. So then you start the MSA and run into problems discussed in item 1 above.
3. Americans who opt for colloquial first tend not to be as serious about learning the language as those who desire to learn MSA – since they think they are taking the easy way out.
There are other reasons as well, but these three should make the point clear.
As far as deciding what dialect to study goes, you may well be limited by what is available at your school, or what textbooks can be found in your city. Within these limitations, it is best to pick whatever dialect interests you the most. If you have an interest in Lebanon, then go ahead and work on Lebanese colloquial. The only caveat to keep in mind is that Cairene colloquial is certainly the most widely understood of the dialects due to Egypt’s historical, intellectual, and cultural leadership in the Arab world and the sheer number of Egyptians living in other Arab countries. So if it is a toss up between Cairene and another dialect that does not particularly interest you, then go with the Cairene.
One thing you will learn if you have a good base in MSA and begin to study one dialect and then another, is that many of the dialects are really not all that different from one another and that a strong base in MSA makes it easier to learn them. Thus, if your base in MSA is strong and you are studying say a dialect used in Jordan, you will see that a person from Lebanon is relatively easy to understand especially once you learn two or three patterned differences between the Lebanese person’s speech and the dialect you are learning. Those differences are easier to discern if you know the standard language.
For the most part, the dialects are extremely mutually comprehensible even for non-native speakers. If you are strong in MSA you should be able to rapidly get the basics of a number of dialects if you so desire, and you should be able to go as far in any particular dialect as you want to go, provided you have access to the proper materials.
One advantage to knowing at least some colloquial (IN ADDITION TO YOUR FIRM KNOWLEDGE OF MSA) is that there is a sort of middle language which incorporates both MSA and colloquial. This middle language is often used in lectures in the university classroom and in radio and television interviews. An elementary knowledge of the major features of colloquial Arabic is all that is needed to follow what is being said – if your standard is strong.
It should be clear to you that if you have to choose between learning MSA and learning colloquial Arabic, then you should unhesitatingly opt for MSA. It is the universal language and is a must for an educated person.
If you are not an advanced
Arabic student and want to study Arabic abroad, think again
We genuinely believe that going to the country is not necessary if you want to learn the language.
Frankly, we don't recommend going abroad to an Arabic-speaking country to learn Arabic. If you open any newspaper, you can see that the turmoil within the region has recently ballooned, making the Middle East a dangerous place for foreigners to travel. Many traditional destinations for American students seeking Arabic education, such as Syria, Yemen, and Egypt, are now no longer safe. Part of this is danger to your physical safety. We also find that the quality of Arabic teachers in many Arab countries are mediocre. They also tend to lack the English language skills needed to explain difficult concepts to Westerners. These students primarily teach formal Arabic to other Arabs, and their techniques may not suit Western students. Therefore, we recommend that you learn Arabic in our school.
In the West, you can learn Arabic either at a language school or a college. Many language schools employ low-quality teachers who are working there just to supplement their income. Many of them don't have enough knowledge of the Arabic language to teach it, let alone a way to communicate it to students. As for college courses, you may encounter the same problems or your teacher may be a PhD student who is not a native speaker. Many people who study Arabic at the college level have large gaps in their knowledge.
An Arabic teacher becomes an Arabic teacher after many years of arduous study, preparation and experience, as the teacher must be able to straddle the line between Arabic and English to effectively communicate information to students. Therefore, we are confident in our ability to teach any student the Arabic they want to know. Look under the "Evaluations" heading to see what people are saying about us!
Varieties Of Arabic:
Arabic writing is the second most broadly-used script in the world, after the Latin alphabet. It descended from the Nabataean abjad, itself a descendant of the Phoenician script, and has been used since the 4th century for writing the Arabic language. Since the words of the Prophet Muhammed can only be written in Arabic, the Arabic script has traveled far and wide with the spread of Islam and came to be used for a number of languages throughout Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Many of these are non-Semitic languages, so employ very different sound systems from spoken Arabic, and as a result the script has had to be adapted and is used slightly differently by speakers of different languages. Many African languages use an Arabic-based transcription system called Ajami, which is different from the original Arabic script. Romance languages such as Mozarabic or Ladino are also sometimes written in a modified Arabic script, called Aljamiado.
Many variations on the script have developed over time and space, but these can be broadly classified into two groups; an angular kufic style which was originally used for stone inscriptions and which commonly employs no diacritics, and the naskh style which is more commonly used, more rounded in form, and governed by a set of principles regulating the proportions between the letters. There are a number of variant styles included in this group, including those used in Arabic calligraphy.
Arabic letters are read from right to left. The script is an abjad; only the consonants are required to be written. The basic set of letters consists of twenty-eight consonants, although some languages use many more letters than this. Some letters can represent a consonant or a long vowel, depending on the context. An additional set of diacritics exists for writing short vowels, but its use is optional. Conventionally, for writing the Arabic language, long vowels are written and short vowels are omitted. Where a vowel is not written, readers of the script must use their knowledge of the language and its phonology to insert the appropriate vowel sound. Diacritics also exist for marking gemination (consonant lengthening).
Arabic is a unicameral script; there is no upper and lower case. It is also obligatorily cursive, that is, all the letters in a word must be connected wherever possible. Some letters ([a] ا, [d] ﺩ, [ð] ﺫ, [r] ﺭ, [z] ﺯ and [w] ﻭ) cannot always be joined. Each letter has three contextual forms depending on whether it appears at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a word, as well as a basic stand-alone shape which is used when it appears at the end of a word and is preceded by one of the letters listed above which cannot join on the left side. Many letters look broadly similar to one another, differing only in the placement of one or more dots above or below the letter. For example, the letters representing [ħ], [g] and [x] are all the same, except that [ħ] is unmarked, [g] has a dot in the loop of the letter and [x] has a dot above it. These dots are called i'jam and form an integral part of the letter.
A number of ligatures are used in handwriting, but only one [l] + [a] is compulsory ﻻ. A ligature is commonly used for writing the word Allah 'God' .ﷲ
Latin punctuation is commonly used, with a few exceptions. The Arabic comma, question mark, and percent sign are script-specific, and there is also an Arabic triple-dot mark. In addition, there are script-specific honorific marks which may be placed above a person's name in order to confer honor or a blessing upon them. There are also Koranic annotation signs, mostly to provide guidance in chanting and singing sacred text.
The Arabic script employs two sets of numbers, Standard and Eastern Arabic. Latin numbers, which derive from a medieval set of Arabic numbers, are also used, particularly in North Africa. Like Arabic letters, numbers are written from right to left, but with the highest value on the left, as with Latin numbers, so they must be read from left to right. There is also a numeral system known as abjad numerals, in which each of the 28 letters of the Arabic abjad is assigned a numeric value of units, tens or hundreds. These are combined to create larger numbers.
Includes:
Arabic:
Other names: Al-’Arabiyya, Al-Fusha, Literary Arabic
Classical Arabic (Koranic Arabic, Quranic Arabic), Modern Standard Arabic (Modern Literary Arabic). Preserves the ancient grammar. A member of macrolanguage Arabic.
In most Arab countries only the well-educated have adequate proficiency in Modern Standard Arabic. Education, official purposes, written materials, and formal speeches. Classical Arabic, with archaic vocabulary, is used for religion and ceremonial purposes.Modern Standard Arabic is modernized Classical Arabic.
Algerian Saharan Spoken Arabic (Algeria),
Algerian Spoken Arabic (Algeria),
Babalia Creole Arabic (Chad),
Baharna Spoken Arabic (Bahrain),
Chadian Spoken Arabic (Chad),
Cypriot Spoken Arabic (Cyprus),
Dhofari Spoken Arabic (Oman),
Eastern Egyptian Bedawi Spoken Arabic (Egypt),
Mainly Bedouin regions in Sinai, Janub Sina’ and Shamal Sina’ governorates; parts of Red Sea coast, almost to south border, east bank, Bur Sa’id, Al Isma’iliyah, As Suways, and Al Bahr al Ahmar governorates.
Egyptian Spoken Arabic (Egypt),
Cairene Arabic, North Delta Arabic, South Central Delta Arabic. Egyptian Spoken Arabic, based on Cairo speech (Cairene) is the most widely understood variety used for media, both in Egypt and throughout the non-nomadic Arab world. It is an amalgam of Delta Arabic and Middle Egypt Arabic, with borrowings from literary Arabic. A member of macrolanguage Arabic
Gulf Spoken Arabic (Kuwait),
Hadrami Spoken Arabic (Yemen)
Hadramawt and Shabwah governorates.
Hijazi Spoken Arabic
Libyan Spoken Arabic (Libya),
Mesopotamian Spoken Arabic (Iraq)
North central concentration,Tigris and Euphrates valleys north of Baghdad, Salah ad Din, Al Anbar, Diyala, At Ta’mim, Ninawa, Arbil, and As Sulaymaniyah governorates; south enclave, northeast of An-Najaf, shared borders of An Najaf, Al Qadisiyah, and Babil governorates.
Moroccan Spoken Arabic (Morocco),
Najdi Spoken Arabic
Central Najdi (’Ajmaan, Al-Qasiim, ’Awaazim, Biishah, Haayil, Hofuf, Mutair, Najraan, Rashaayda, Riyadh, Rwala, Sudair, ’Utaiba, Wild ’Ali), North Najdi (Bani Khaalid, Dafiir, Shammari), South Anjdi (Aal Murrah, Najran). Some dialects spoken by Bedouins. A member of macrolanguage Arabic
North Levantine Spoken Arabic (Syria),
North Mesopotamian Spoken Arabic (Iraq),
Omani Spoken Arabic (Oman)
Widespread, mainly in Hajar mountain highlands and a few coastal regions.
Sa’idi Spoken Arabic (Egypt)
Middle Egypt Arabic, Upper Egypt Arabic. Reportedly similar to Sudanese Arabic , especially in the south, but heavily influenced by Cairene Arabic (Cairo speech). A member of macrolanguage Arabic. Speakers of Cairene (dialect of Egyptian Spoken Arabic) do not understand Sa’idi, but speakers of Sa’idi understand Cairene
Sanaani Spoken Arabic (Yemen)
Widespread.
Shihhi Spoken Arabic (United Arab Emirates),
South Levantine Spoken Arabic (Jordan),
Arabic, Levantine Arabic, Palestinian-Jordanian, South Levantine Arabic.
Fellahi, Madani. Village to village difference of which speakers are aware. Newly emerging urban standard dialect based on Amman. A member of macrolanguage Arabic
Standard Arabic
Sudanese Creole Arabic (South Sudan),
Sudanese Spoken Arabic (Sudan),
All domains except written. All ages. Positive attitudes. Used as L2 by Acheron, Adamawa Fulfulde, Afitti , Aka , Andaandi , Bedawiyet, Dagik , Dair , Dar Fur Daju , Dilling , Domari , El Hugeirat , Fur , Gaam , Ghulfan , Gula , Heiban , Kanga , Karko , Katcha-Kadugli-Miri , Keiga, Koalib , Krongo , Laro , Logorik , Lumun , Masalit , Molo , Nding , Nobiin , Otoro , Shwai , Tese, Tulishi , Yulu, Zaghawa .
Ta’izzi-Adeni Spoken Arabic (Yemen),
Tajiki Spoken Arabic (Tajikistan),
Tunisian Spoken Arabic (Tunisia)
North-Western Tunisian, Sahil, Sfax, South-Eastern Tunisian, South-Western Tunisian, Tunis. Reportedly similar to Eastern Algerian Arabic , but clearly distinct. Tunis dialect used in media and language textbooks for foreigners. Southern dialects structurally similar to those in Libya. A member of macrolanguage Arabic
Uzbeki Spoken Arabic (Uzbekistan).
