Thread: "Eastern Arabic"?

Pimsleur sells a training course for "Eastern Arabic". Which is that likely to be - MSA, or the dialect spoken in the Levant? (I understand that Levantine Arabic is the one considered to be closest to MSA - is that correct?)

That would be Levantine -- al-Mashriq (eastern Arab world) as opposed to al Maghreb (western Arab world/north Africa). Levantine dialects are Jordanian, Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian.

Did you see this thread? http://www.bhuz.com/forum/arabic/486...d-i-learn.html

I was taught that Levantine was closest to MSA, but Mark says that Jordanian Bedouin and Najdi Saudi are, and since his Arabic is better than mine, I'll defer to him. I guess as a general rule of thumb, Levantine and Khaleeji dialects are closer to MSA than Maghrebi (which has a lot of French influence) and Egyptian (they do a lot of their own thing), but there are lots of variations and exceptions. A strong accent with corresponding grammatical idiosyncrasies in one dialect may be difficult for a native of another dialect to understand, so as an adult learner, you're taking a leap of faith no matter which one you pick.

Personally, I find the Berlitz-y approaches frustrating. I don't mind the grammar and feel more comfortable in a structured program, as opposed to just memorizing plug-and-play phrases. Have you looked at any online programs like Arab Academy Learn Arabic Language Online? I asked about them a few years ago here and nobody had tried them, but they have been around a long time, and they seem like they have a pretty comprehensive system. They're not cheap, but you won't get a program that offers transferable college credit for nothing.

Yeah, learn the grammar and you can make up sentences *of your own*!

My bf (and so I) have Eastern Arabic and Egyptian Arabic Pimsleur programs. I wonder is there is an easy way to get you a copy (if you want!)

Egyptians "do their own thing" in that they have influence from French and Indigenous Egyptian/African groups. Maybe even Greek and Latin. At least this is what I gather from what little Egyptian Arabic I know :)

A bit of background about me so you can see where I'm coming from....

I've completed the 30-lesson "Level 1" course of Pimsleur's instruction in the Egyptian dialect of Arabic. My review of it appears here: Book Review: Pimsleur's Egyptian Arabic by Simon and Schuster

I agree, Tourbeau and Zumarrad, that programs which simply teach you to memorize pre-set phrases aren't very valuable. I tried working with TravelTalk (see [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Traveltalk-Egyptian-Arabic/dp/1591253594]Amazon.com: Lonely Planet Traveltalk Egyptian Arabic (Arabic Edition) (9781591253594): Inc. Penton Overseas: Books[/ame] ) and didn't like the audio CD at all. At least the phrasebook that comes with it is excellent, and serves as a valuable companion to the Pimsleur's instruction. I plan to review that one too on my web site at some point.

The thing I liked about Pimsleur's Egyptian dialect instruction was that it did equip me with enough knowledge of vocabulary and grammar to actually speak Arabic at a beginner level when I went to Egypt. For example, I was able to negotiate a cab fare without speaking any English. The bad thing was that now that I've completed 30 lessons, they don't have a "next step" for continued study in Egyptian dialect.

So that's why I'm asking about Pimsleur's Eastern Arabic program. It has a full 90-lesson set available rather than the 30-lesson basic program that is offered for Egyptian dialect. Based on what you've all told me on this thread, that Eastern Arabic is Levantine, I think I'll tackle that next. But as you all know from what I posted on the thread I started about MSA, I do have a concern with getting confused and sounding like I don't know what in the hell I'm doing when I start trying to talk and confuse the different variants.

DancingDeity, thanks for the offer, but I won't need help acquiring a copy of the Eastern Arabic. The folks at Pimsleur have offered me the full 90-lesson set at no charge to review for my web site. They contacted me with the offer after reading the review I posted last week of their Egyptian product. I guess they like my reviewing style!

Cool!

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

Did you see this thread? http://www.bhuz.com/forum/arabic/486...d-i-learn.html

I was taught that Levantine was closest to MSA, but Mark says that Jordanian Bedouin and Najdi Saudi are,

I said that it was Jordanian bedouin and Najdi saudi in that thread because that's what the linguists in the field say.

I've listened to a few of the Pimselur Eastern Arabic lessons out of sheer curiosity and it is indeed Levantine, specifically Syrian. Within Levantine, there are also a many sub-dialects like with every other region. But Syrian is a good standard.

Originally Posted by sharifeh

I said that it was Jordanian bedouin and Najdi saudi in that thread because that's what the linguists in the field say.

Yes, you did. I apologize for the wrong attribution.

I do have a concern with getting confused and sounding like I don't know what in the hell I'm doing when I start trying to talk and confuse the different variants.

I don't think that will cause too much of a problem, really. Nobody's going to mistake you for an Egyptian anyway, and if when you speak you sound like your accent and speech patterns are veering all over the place people will just think it's cute.

I've encountered so many people working in shops who sound American except for when they sound like whatever country they come from, and then farewell you with something like "cheers see you later" sounding like they were born here. I can understand them perfectly well and the variations are just charming to me.