Read and Speak Arabic for Beginners with Audio CD, Second Edition (Read and Speak Languages for Beginners) Review

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Read and Speak Arabic for Beginners with Audio CD, Second Edition (Read and Speak Languages for Beginners) ReviewI absolutely LOVE every thing that Jane Whitewick puts out. She makes learning Arabic easy and less stressful; especially the grammar! I had an "aha" moment when just thumbing thru her book BEFORE I even bought it on a Arabic grammar issue I had been trying to figure out for 18 months! I have to admit, that Jane's super strong British accent is kinda a distraction when hearing her speak and Mahmoud sounds kinda bizarre talking like a proper English gent sitting down to tea vs. the Arab he is; but after a while, you get over it. She knows how to rock a language and get you to learn it. She has done a recording for Arabic for the Michel Thomas Method and I have to say, because I found out it was her doing the lessons is why I bought it---she really knows her stuff. If you are desiring to learn Arabic with some ease and less stress, then I recommend you searching Amazon and buy all her books.Read and Speak Arabic for Beginners with Audio CD, Second Edition (Read and Speak Languages for Beginners) Overview
Learn helpful Arabic vocabulary without being intimidated by its non-Roman script!

Your desire to learn Arabic may be twarted by its script; how will you pick up the language if you can't understand its characters? Read and Speak Arabic for Beginners overcomes this obstacle by providing an accessible, entertaining program that will reinforce vocabulary as well as help you create basic structures.

Each of the eight topics develop your communication skills in key areas, and your progress will be reinforced by tests and puzzles. The accompanying 55-minute audio CDcontains all the key words and phrases for you to listen to and repeat. It also features entertaining listening activities and games for additional reinforcement.

Two-color layout and photographs throughout to illustrate key vocabulary.
Proven approach combines games, puzzles, flashcards, and audio to aid language.
Clear explanations of how basic phrases are used for practical communication.
Audio CD/MP3s for correct pronunciation provides speaking and listening practice and audio games; detachable flashcards allow language reinforcement.

Topics include:What is your name?; Where are you from?; What is this?; Where is it?; What's it like?;How do I get there?;Who's this?; What do you do?


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Colloquial Arabic (Levantine) (Colloquial Series) Review

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Colloquial Arabic (Levantine) (Colloquial Series) ReviewI discovered this book (without the cassette) in my public library a few months ago and liked it enough to track down the full boxed book-with-cassette edition and buy it (on Amazon, of course!).
I was pleased with it and learned a lot from it, but I should say, for starters, that I didn't come to either Arabic or language learning as a total beginner. I had studied literary Arabic over twenty years ago and knew a smattering of words and phrases in various dialects (and had also studied a whole slew of other languages and had no fear of grammatical terminology).
The book is useful if you want a brief survey of colloquial Arabic grammar (I had wondered how verb tenses other than the past worked, for instance, and I'm much less mystified now, thanks to McLoughlin's book) and some fairly interesting, lively, accessible sample texts (the usual greetings and polite expressions, a telephone conversation involving a wrong number, a humorous story about an Englishman who couldn't learn Arabic, a collection of proverbs and [mild!] curses...). I thought the story about the Englishman alone worth what I paid for the book and cassette (which was considerably below retail).
On the authenticity of the language used, I'm not really competent to judge, but clearly the target is spoken Lebanese Arabic; for 'what's this?' the author gives the Levantine "shu haada", rather than the literary "maadha haadha?", or forms used in Egypt or Morocco or somewhere else. The only basis for the statement by a previous reviewer that the author mixes modern standard Arabic with Levantine seems to be the slightly conservative spelling: "kayf" instead of "keef" (in the author's transliteration) for 'how', "ma9a salama" instead of "ma9a salame" for 'goodbye', "jadeed" instead of "jdeed" for 'new', etc. (though the speaker on the cassette uses the more colloquial, Lebanese pronunciations I listed second).
Some of the book's shortcomings are the fact that grammatical forms and vocabulary are really not worked with enough to be mastered, and that the transliteration system is a little odd and not conveniently summarized (for some reason, it uses standard Latin values for the short vowels, but flip-flops to a "SEE-it and SAY-it" sytem for the long vowels and diphthongs). The biggest drawback, though, is that the dialogues and story seem to have been an afterthought; there's no attempt to build up the vocabulary or structures needed for them.
So if you're looking for a single, good textbook (and you're a beginner), this isn't it--though you can learn polite phrases and some basic grammatical structures in the first few lessons. This is a book for someone who's "having more than one". Fortunately, my local library also had three other good items for the dialect: Pimmsleur's CD course in "Eastern Arabic" (Syrian dialect, no book), Hugo's "Arabic in Three Months", and "Just Listen and Learn Arabic" (the last two focusing on Jordanian Arabic).Colloquial Arabic (Levantine) (Colloquial Series) OverviewColloquial Arabic (Levantine) offers you a step-by-step approach to the Arabic spoken in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. Levantine Arabic is widely recognized as one of the major languages of Arabic radio and television. Specially written by an international authority on teaching Arabic as a foreign language, Colloquial Arabic (Levantine) is the ideal course for self-study or class use and requires no previous knowledge of the language.What makes Colloquial Arabic (Levantine) your best choice in personal language learning?Interactive- lots of dialogues and exercises for regular practice.Clear - concise grammar notes.Complete - including answer key and dictionary sectionHelpful - provides invaluable guidance on everything related to language in its social, cultural, and religious contexts.Innovative - the course also teaches the skills of reading Arabic script.Accompanying audio material is available to purchase separately on CD/MP3 format, or comes included in the great value Colloquials Pack.

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In-Flight Arabic: Learn Before You Land Review

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In-Flight Arabic: Learn Before You Land ReviewThis CD goes from "hello" straight into "where can I find the passport office?". If you worked at it, you could memorize this mouthful. But you would not have an understanding of what words you just said and you would have no ability to understand the answer that would come next even if you did.
If you want to learn a language, use the Pimsleur CD's. There is no better way to pass through your daily commute.In-Flight Arabic: Learn Before You Land OverviewLiving Language In-Flight Arabic is the perfect boarding pass to learning Arabic before you land.There's no better way to make use of all that spare time on a plane than to master the essentials of a language.This 60-minute program is the simplest way to learn just enough to get by in every situation essential to both the tourist and business traveler.The program covers everything from greetings and polite expressions to asking directions, getting around, checking into a hotel, and going to a restaurant.There are even sections for meeting people and spending a night on the town.Short lessons make In-Flight Arabic easy to use, and a handy pocket-sized insert is included as a cheat sheet for use on the go.

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Arabic-English Dictionary: The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic (English and Arabic Edition) Review

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Arabic-English Dictionary: The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic (English and Arabic Edition) ReviewThis dictionary is monumental in several ways. first, it is invaluable in that it seeks to provide the learner with the means to easily see how more complex words are built from the basic consonantal roots. second, the number and quality of the entries is excellent such that, regardless of what level the Arabic student is at, it won't disappoint. It certainly will be the only one you will ever need unless/until you are doing very specialized work. Thirdly, the fact that it is Arabic to English only is not disadvantageous if the learner approaches the language by learning to read basic stories and other writings once they have completed a basic, intermediate and advanced course and so have a strong foundation for thinking in the language, this dictionary will motivate one to continue learning Arabic through Arabic, where they need translation only to confirm their understanding of the meaning of specific words/phrases.
Moreover, it is one of those dictionaries that motivates you to read it, and it is easy to glean information from it so as to naturally build your vocabulary over time. it is designed by scholars to encourage the student who earnestly wants to learn the language rather than scaring them away.
And so, it is a must-have learning tool and resource (NOT JUST A REFERENCE!!!) for any serious student of Arabic, regardless of their level of specialty. it is essential for building THAT SOLID VOCABULARY one would need into college and graduate level studies.
The only negative thing (AND THIS BY NO MEANS TAKES AWAY ITS 'INVALUABLE/5STAR STATUS) about this 1130 page edition is that the font is no doubt on the small side, but that's what magnifying glasses are for. After living in Asia for a number of years, books are smaller and so one gets used to carrying around a pocket magnifier with them anyway.
Best wishes in your studies. this book will not only give you an intense jumpstart, but will help you stay motivated when you're 'down in the valleys'. Enjoy!!!Arabic-English Dictionary: The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic (English and Arabic Edition) Overview

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Eastern Arabic Phrasebook & Dictionary: For the Spoken Arabic of Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine/Israel and Syria (Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebook) Review

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Eastern Arabic Phrasebook & Dictionary: For the Spoken Arabic of Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine/Israel and Syria (Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebook) ReviewThe Kindle edition of this work suffers two major limitations. First, there is no way of quickly going to the entry of a word in the dictionary. For example, if you want to find out what "Now" is in Arabic, the only way to get to the entry is to use Kindle's Find function, and to skip through every use of the word "now" in the text until you come to the entry. This renders the dictionary impractical in many uses. Secondly, the Arabic is not given in Arabic script, but in transliteration only. This makes it of very limited use if you are learning the Arabic alphabet as part of learning Arabic.Eastern Arabic Phrasebook & Dictionary: For the Spoken Arabic of Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine/Israel and Syria (Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebook) OverviewFor the spoken Arabic of Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine/Israel and Syria. Contains a brief description of Arab grammar and a pronunciation guide. Also includes a basic key vocabulary with an intentionally easy-to-use pronunciation system in English spelling.

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An Introduction to Spoken Standard Arabic: A Conversational Course on DVD, Part 1 (Book & DVD) Review

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An Introduction to Spoken Standard Arabic: A Conversational Course on DVD, Part 1 (Book & DVD) ReviewI've been using this DVD/book package regularly for six months and it has been a great help in improving my speaking ability in Standard Arabic. As an older learner in an intensive Arabic program, I started benefiting a lot from this book once my class got about a third of the way through Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya with DVDs: A Textbook for Beginning Arabic, Part One Second Edition. Al-Kitaab was short on examples of things a learner of Arabic wants to talk about, and this supplement was exactly what I needed. Plus, this DVD is far more fun to watch.
This DVD/book has ten lessons of varying length, for a total of about an hour and a half of dialogue. The first seven lessons each show roughly half a dozen different speakers talking about themselves, their friends and families, their hobbies, and their daily and weekend activities. The speakers are a mix of advanced non-native Arabic speakers (seemingly American teachers of Arabic) and native speakers, all speaking rather naturally but quite understandably in Standard Arabic for students at the second-semester college level or above.
The last three lessons feature the narrator taking the viewer along while running a variety of errands in an Arab country (taking a taxi, checking into a hotel, exchanging money, etc.), plus a visit to a university, and finally a tour of a house, discussing the names of the rooms and the common objects in them.
I found it terrifically useful to see many examples of people talking about things in Arabic that I wanted to be able to talk about also. At first, I needed to use the book quite a bit to figure out unfamiliar words, but with repeated viewings I found I could internalize many phrases and use them with some changes in my own conversations in Standard Arabic.
The DVD is lively and of outstanding production quality. The native Arabic-speaking teacher and narrator who conducts the interviews has an ultra-clear voice, and as I improve in Arabic I notice how much of the grammar I encounter in Arabic class is cleverly woven into her introduction and conclusion of each lesson. The book also includes some exercises and drills.
The book contains all the transcripts from the DVD in a large font in fully-voweled Arabic, but not in English. Arabic-English vocabulary lists are provided at the end of each lesson, and Arabic-English and English-Arabic glossaries are at the end of the book, but on several occasions I couldn't find the translation of a word I was seeking and had to look it up elsewhere or ask my teacher. At first I struggled a bit with the Arabic-only DVD menus, but soon figured them out with a little trial and error.
I also have the same author's Focus on Contemporary Arabic (Conversations with Native Speakers) DVD/book package, but that one is aimed at a considerably more advanced student and doesn't have the presence of a narrator/interviewer who adds a lot to this one.
An Introduction to Spoken Standard Arabic: A Conversational Course on DVD, Part 1 (Book & DVD) OverviewThis text-and-DVD package can be used to improve the conversational skills of second- to third-semester beginning Arabic students. It helps students as they begin to express themselves in the Arabic, guiding them through language functions such as introductions, describing people and places, and discussing typical daily activities.

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Formal Spoken Arabic Basic Course (Georgetown Classics in Arabic Language and Linguistics) Review

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Formal Spoken Arabic Basic Course (Georgetown Classics in Arabic Language and Linguistics) ReviewThis is a great course. The dialogs in this course are interesting and sound similar to modern standard Arabic yet they have a more authentic feel. That seems to be the intent of the authors in their using an educated form of spoken Arabic. It is not as dialectal as pure amiyya, and it is not as formal as modern standard Arabic.
After learning a dialog one can go back and listen to it in its entirety without having to listen to one sentence spoken in Arabic and the next sentence in English and then back and forth in this manner. This a big plus for me. (There is only a little bit of recorded translation in the opening of the book.)
The lessons are very explanitive. The basic dialouges have detailed commentaries. Besides the audio, there is the text written in Arabic (no transliteration into English is found anywhere in the book), a detailed list of vocabulary, and sometimes the audio is given a second time at a slower pace so that one can repeat after the speaker.
The matrix dialouge is not explained at all, but it is made easier in that the subject matter is very similar to the basic dialouge's material. It is supposed to be hard, and it forces you to stretch out your ears a bit to try to catch all of the phrases. I found that the matrix dialouge is much easier after completing the unit that it is in, and it often contains the most natural sounding material.
There are also drills and grammar explanations. There are no answer keys for the drills, but they should be beneficial anyways.
Overall, this is arguably one of the best books for learning Arabic. One should have a fairly decent command of modern standard or classical Arabic before starting the course. (Don't attempt this book if you are a beginner.) It is good for building upon the knowledge of a literay form of Arabic in order to learn a spoken form. It doesn't teach any dialect of Arabic in particular. It is suppossed to be a somewhat neutral/educated form of speaking Arabic, but it does have somewhat of a Levantine feel to it at times.
Formal Spoken Arabic Basic Course (Georgetown Classics in Arabic Language and Linguistics) OverviewThis 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 Standard Arabic. With a non-grammar-based approach, this book fosters communicative competence in Arabic on all levels and develops speaking proficiency without abandoning Arabic script. It has proven to be clear, effective, and relevant to the needs of Americans living and working in the Arab East.Task-based lessons feature basic dialogues between Americans and Arabs, explanations of new structures, vocabulary expansion, and exercises; and provide gradual access to the sounds and script of Arabic by emphasizing listening and reading comprehension first, then slowly adding oral exercises and activities until the student has achieved basic proficiency. Not intended for self-instruction for beginners, "Formal Spoken Arabic Basic Course with MP3 Files" assumes some previous knowledge of Modern Standard Arabic, Arabic script and phonology, and previous or simultaneous instruction in orthography. This new edition includes a CD of MP3 audio exercises that are keyed to the text and drill students on listening and speaking. Lessons cover topics including: Heads of State; Cities and Countries; Official Titles; Geography; Systems of Government; Lost Luggage; Getting Acquainted; Establishing Common Ground; Seeking and Giving Information; Personal Needs and Family; Handling Problems; Eating Out; and, Bargaining and Buying.

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Arabic-English Dictionary: The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic Review

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Arabic-English Dictionary: The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic ReviewFirst, I must say this is the only Modern Written Arabic (MWA) - English dictionary that the student of Arabic has to have. Others, Al-Mawrid, for example, are useful as supplements, and contain new vocabulary, and there is a more recent German edition (5th edition) of Wehr published by Harrassowitz, but this book has a standard of scholarship unrivalled by any other MWA-English dictionary. Middle Eastern published MWA-English dictionaries like Mawrid, for example, don't give the grammatical information learners of Arabic need, such as broken plurals, verbal vowelling, verbal nouns (masdars), let alone how verbs are used with prepositions, all of which Wehr tells the user.
Words are in root order, so maktaba (desk) [mktbh] and kaatib (writer) [k'tb] both are found under the verb kataba (to write) [ktb]. This really is the most useful way of ordering Arabic dictionaries for someone who's mastered the basics of Arabic grammar, though an alphabetic order dictionary is a help when you're starting and occasionally even when you're expert.
This dictionary is NOT a dictionary of Classical Arabic (although Beeston in his anthology of Bassar bin Burd reckoned that Wehr covered the vast majority of the vocabulary of this poet of the 8th Century AD). For Classical Arabic, Lane (perhaps supplemented by Hava's much more affordable al-Fara'id) is essential. But Lane is useless for modern Arabic. And if you're reading mediaeval Arabic, you will find Wehr fills in some of the gaps in Lane.
This dictionary is NOT a dialect dictionary, though it contains many dialect words that have found their way into the written Arabic of Egypt, Iraq, etc. Arabs don't write colloquial Arabic (at least not in formal contexts) and dialect dictionaries are specialized (colloquial Arabic-English dictionaries are usually written in a phonetic transcription rather than in the Arabic script). If you need a dialect dictionary, get one. This isn't one.
Other reviewers have rightly commented on the size of this dictionary, but some have confused editions. The 3rd (SLS paperback) edition was 114 x 162 x 45mm (4.5" x 6.4" x 1.75") in size, weighed 0.65 kg and had tiny 5.5 pt print. The 4th (SLS paperback) edition is larger: 216 x 130 x 40mm (5.2" x 8.5" x 1.5"), weighs 0.8 kg and has 7.5 pt print. This makes the SLS 4th edition's print much more readable than the SLS 3rd edition's.
The 4th edition, which is sewn-bound, is also more robust than the 3rd edition, which was perfect-bound - I'm on my 3rd copy of the 3rd edition while my 4th edition soldiers on after 8 years. However, the book is not really pocket sized any more (I still keep using my last copy of the 3rd edition as a pocket copy).
The 4th edition isn't cheap (it costs much more in England than in the US, though). If you're in the Middle East, you can pick up Librarie du Liban hardback copies of the 3rd edition (it has larger print than either of the two paperbacks - about 8 pt, the size of the original Brill 3rd edition - and is very clear) for a little less. There's also a hardback reprint of the pocket-sized 3rd edition available in the UK, which has rather unclear script. It's a straight copy of the SLS 3rd edition, and is Indian. It's usable, but is the least satisfactory version yet. But I'd advise students to get the SLS 4th edition if they can afford it. If you've lots of money, perhaps get the Harrassowitz hardback - I've not done so. And if you've money and German, get the 5th Harrassowitz edition (Arabisches Wörterbuch fur die Schriftsprache der Gegenwart).
[I have now bought the 4th Harassowitz English edition. The text is slightly crisper and half a point to a point larger, about 8 pt. The paper is less over-bleached, which makes it a bit easier on the eyes too. J.L.]Arabic-English Dictionary: The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic OverviewIts scholarship, accuracy and reliability make it one of the most significant contributions to Arabic lexicography. It is hoped that this masterpiece will point the way ot wider use of modern lexicographical principles in the compilation of dictionaries for earlier periods of the Arabic language.

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