The demand for information on learning Arabic has grown spectacularly as English-speaking people have come to realize how much there is yet to know about other parts of the world. It is fitting that this Arabic Language Handbook, complementing Georgetown University Press's exceptional Arabic language textbooks, is the first in a new series: Georgetown Classics in Arabic Language and Linguistics. Sparked by the new demand, this reprint of a genuinely "gold-standard" language volume provides a streamlined reference on the structure of the Arabic language and issues in Arabic...

This new edition, updated and with additional exercises, equips those who work, travel, and study in Arab countries with an educated form of spoken Arabic that functions flexibly in the face of various regional colloquial variants in the Arab world.

Because the Arabic language has a number of very different spoken vernaculars, being able to speak and be understood in all Arab countries has become a challenge for English speakers. Ryding and Mehall have designed a course that teaches a standardized variant of spoken Arabic that is close to, but more natural than, the literary Modern...

A Basic Course in Moroccan Arabic is a textbook in spoken Moroccan Arabic that is written for beginners who are unfamiliar with the Arabic language, alphabet, pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. Written in Latinate transcription it is carefully designed to present these elements in a progressive, user-friendly, step-by-step manner.

Following the initial pronunciation introductions and practice, there are 130 lessons consisting of a text where a small number of phrases and sentences illustrate grammatical points. These sections also contain exercises in new grammar and...

This classic volume presents the core vocabulary of everyday life in Morocco--from the kitchen to the mosque, from the hardware store to the natural world of plants and animals. It contains myriad examples of usage, including formulaic phrases and idiomatic expressions. Understandable throughout the nation, it is based primarily on the standard dialect of Moroccans from the cities of Fez, Rabat, and Casablanca. All Arabic citations are in an English transcription, making it invaluable to English-speaking non-Arabists, travelers, and tourists--as well as being an important resource tool for...

A Dictionary of Syrian Arabic provides Syrian terms for the language spoken in everyday life by Muslims primarily in Damascus, but understandable throughout Syria as well as in the broader linguistic areas of present-day Lebanon, Jordan, and among the Palestinians and the Arabic-speaking population of Israel. Entries include examples, idioms, and common phrases to illustrate usage. The Arabic terms are presented in transcription. It is useful for students of Arabic, scholars wishing to train in the Syrian dialect, and visitors and travelers to Syria and other nations where the...

This Arabic language-learning classic is now enhanced with a bound-in CD of MP3 files. Designed to provide beginners in Arabic with maximum linguistic and cultural exposure in a short period (about 100 hours of contact time), this book consists of sixteen lessons with dialogs and exercises dealing with day-to-day scenarios: greeting people, getting a taxi, making phone calls, asking directions, discussing the weather, and effectively communicating with police and duty officers. The lessons help the reader to navigate situations at gas stations, marketplaces, restaurants, and in their own...

The Modern Arabic Literary Language is a thoughtful examination of the changes that the Arabic language has undergone in its transition from its roots in classical Arabic to a language able to meet the demands of twentieth-century life.

In this volume a respected and masterful scholar of the Arabic language Jaroslav Stetkevych notes the ways that new words have been incorporated into the language, ranging from deriving new terms from existing roots (for example, the word for "newspaper" derives from the word meaning "sheet to write on") to downright assimilation of foreign...

In 1968 Margaret K. Omar (Nydell) spent four months in a small Egyptian village called Sheikh Mubarak. Located in Middle Egypt near Al-Minya, residents of Sheik Mubarak speak in a dialect closer to Sa'eedi, not the dialect spoken in Cairo. Omar spent time there conducting interviews, examinations, and taping sessions with children and families to study primary language acquisition in non-Western languages.

Based on her fieldwork, Omar describes the physical and social environment in which the native language was learned, the development of early communication and speech, and when...

Originally published in 1979, this classic reference work presents definitions of grammatical and linguistic terms for spoken Egyptian Arabic in dictionary form from "active participles" through "writing system." Entries feature definitions and examples of all the grammatical features including phonology, morphology, and syntax. Aimed at the intermediate to advanced student of Egyptian Arabic, this volume presupposes a basic knowledge of Egyptian Arabic. Arabic lexical items are presented in romanized transliteration and are therefore accessible to those who are not familiar with Arabic...