Hello to all my Arabic speaking friends and everybody else!
I am often adviced by Arabic speakers to not learn slang or an accent and focus on Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or classical Quranic Arabic which is fine but today I would like to briefly tell you the difference between accent, dialect and slang!!!
Arabic has many varieties and these are called dialects. A dialect is the non-standard form of a language which is used by a region or social group. It can differ from the standard form of a language by its grammar, words, pronunciation etc. That's why for example Lebanese is different from Egyptian Arabic. They are different dialects.
An accent is only related to pronunciation. 2 friends from the same country and area will have the same dialect but can have different accents. Eg. They pronounce the same words differently but use the same grammar and words (vocabulary).
Slang is usually informal words or phrases usually not written and used on the streets, amongst friends, by the youth etc.
To conclude, the Arabic language has many dialects NOT accents. Speakers of each dialect can have different accents. And every language and dialect has different slang words/phrases.
So my friends, Egyptian, Saudi, Lebanese, Sudanese, Yemeni, Syrian, etc are all different DIALECTS of Arabic.
Thank you for explaining this.
Understanding this distinction is also very useful for Arabic-speaking learners of English who mistakenly believe that English is divided into regional dialects in the same way that Arabic is.
Many presume that British and American English are separate dialects, or that there must be some other 'standard' non-regional English that needs to be learnt. It is very common for Arabic-speaking learners to ask questions like 'Which is better? American or British?'.
I have even come across one very confused soul who asked the baffling question 'Which is more important? Grammar or slang?'. This student was under the impression that the standard English he was taught in class was called 'grammar' (the equivalent of MSA) , while we native speakers were all out in the real world speaking a completely different version of the language called 'slang'.
The more we understand about each others' languages the better.
Yes I also recommend learn standard Arabic too, and the reasons behind that is:
1- The standard Arabic is the mother Language which can tell you all the information and skills you would like to encounter.
2- All other dialects don't have grammatical rules which can only be spoken.
3- If you choose to learn one of the dialects, you will probably depend on your memory to remember Arabic phrases and you may find yourself deeply frustrated.
4- If you choose a dialect you will depend on writing Arabic with English letters that could have turn worthless.
Yes Su. Ki that is good, but the most imprtant thing when it comes to Arabic is that Arabic slangs don't follow grammarical rules, unlike English such as "Know Your Onions" here you follow a rule by way or another
thank you
I believe in Arabic we all speak correct grammar, the difference lies in which form we choose adapting to.
The above classification does exist in Arabic I believe because the variations are so evident sometimes you'd tell the dilect/accent by a single word.
In Saudi Arabia, sometimes for some people, you'd be able to guess their surnames by their accent.
"Slang is usually informal words or phrases usually not written and used on the streets, amongst friends, by the youth etc. "
Aaaahhhhhhhh!!!!
TayTay,
"informal"
"usually not written"
"used on the streets"
What is that kids? At least I think, now it is clear that the question fo defining these things is not easy:))
