notverypolite
On Arabic variants

I'd like to learn Arabic, but I have no idea which variant should I learn first.

 

Conventional wisdom seems to be to learn Modern Standard Arabic and
then move on to a dialect or vice-verse.

 

Are there any people here who are/have studied this and want to chime in? Any teachers?

 

Should I just learn the alphabet and dive straight into a dialect?

 

I am a bit confused on the diglossal thing. All written forms of Arabic I'd see in a
newspaper or book or whatever is considered MSA, right? If that is the case,
considering my long-term goals (reading, speaking, writing), it seems like I'd either have to go with:

MSA to aim for any combo of reading/speaking/listening or a dialect to aim for just speaking/listening. Or am I misunderstanding something?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Mar 30, 2015 1:59 AM
Comments · 4
1

Thanks for your responses. 

March 31, 2015
1

I'd recommend you start with MSA, and aim for just understanding in other dialects (starting with those that interest you). You may want to learn speaking some dialect later.

 

The reasoning behind this is that virtually every Arab is able to understand standard Arabic (even though they may not speak it). And not all can understand a dialect.

 

March 30, 2015
1

You have mentioned your goal which is reading, understanding books, so only MSA is able to help you, as for speaking and writing (informally with friends etc..) you can pick up a dialect. You may ask which dialect should I learn ? I tell you it all depends on your goal, which country you'd like to visit and interact with its people. But Egyptian and Levantine are commonly known in the Arab world (doesn't mean everyone speak them). If you learn the MSA you'll be able to communicate with everyone from anywhere. And to make it simple, it's always a good way to start with MSA and then pick up a dialect, because a dialect doesn't have many rules to follow, and MSA will make it easier to understand.

I hope I cleared it up even a little.

March 30, 2015
1

If you learn the Modern Standard Arabic you can communicate with any educated Arab regardless of his/her local dialect, and it doesn’t always work the other way around, so your safest bet is to kick start with Standard Arabic. and we are here to help you InShaAllah. 

March 30, 2015