Project: Learn Arabic

Summary: Learn Arabic as efficiently and effectively as possible using all means of new technology. Modern Standard Arabic only.


Learning Arabic!

I have decide to learn Arabic. This is the language of much of the Middle East and North Africa and I believe that being able to read it and understand it will help me understand the people of this part of the world.


Colloquial Arabic

The Arabic spoken in different countries is very different. For example Arabic in Egypt is very different from that spoken in Morocco or Saudi Arabic - in fact they are almost like learn different languages.

The main branches of Arabic and where they are spoken:

• Egyptian Arabic - Egypt
  
• Gulf Arabic - Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabia
• Iraqi Arabic - Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey
• Levantine Arabic - Israel, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus, Turkey
• Maghrebi Arabic - Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libiya, Western Sahara, Niger

Modern Standard Arabic

Fortunately there is a standard across the whole language called Modern Standard Arabic (also just to confuse you it's also called Literary Arabic). This can be called the lingua franca of the Arabic world. Although it is not often spoken in conversation, everybody can understand it and it is the form used in Television News, Newspapers and Books. This is what I will be learning.


Learning and Blogging

I will be blogging for the following key reasons:

1. By writing down what I learn as I learn it I will improve my study skills and help my review process
2. Readers and friends can help improve my Arabic, correct my mistakes and make recommendations on how to improve.
3. People interested in learning Arabic can read along to help their studies and learn from my mistakes.

This will be a complete history of how I will go from knowing absolute NOTHING about the Arabic language to my ultimate goal: being able to speak Arabic fluently.