Arabic dialect or Standard Arabic: what to choose for learning?

In general, we can define 3 directions of language study. They are formal or informal Arabic and the specific for Quran reading rules. Let’s talk about each way in details.

3 Arabic learning ways you may start with

1. Arabic informal (dialect)

You may already know that in everyday communication, Arabs speak variations of the Arabic language (dialects). What makes dialects special and what difference from the Standard Arabic?

• Phonetic differences. Some letters are pronounced not like in the Standard Arabic.
• Grammar differences. Many words, phrases and sentences have a simplified structure.
• Lexical differences. Some words are specific to a certain dialect and don’t occur in the Standard Arabic. The good news is that the number of such words is not large and most of them is the same in the Standard Arabic.

How many dialects Arabic has?

The exact number of dialects can be debatable. Arabic language researchers may talk about different numbers, depending on the methods of their scientific researches. After all, even a small town or village can have its own specific dialect, and the question arises whether to include it in the total number or attribute it to a larger regional dialect? This is a question of the scientific approach of professional linguists, but for us it is better to focus on the main groups of dialects.

Gulf dialect – common in the Arabian Peninsula, so it is spoken by residents of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE. These countries are located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, so the name of the dialect is appropriate.

Egyptian dialect is the most popular for learning and is understandable by Arabs from different countries. It is because of the Egyptian cinema, that was the first in Arab world.

Levantine dialect or the dialect of the countries of Sham (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan).

Iraqi dialect is outstanding because of specific lexics and pronounciation by influence of Persian and Kurdish languages.

Maghreb dialects. “Maghreb” is a common name for the Arab countries of North Africa: Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco. It is the name of group of dialects, but here we can determin separate dialects such as Libian, Algerian, Amazighi and etc.

The main reason for the large number of Arabic dialects is the historical numerous cultural interactions of Arabs with other non-Arabic-speaking people. As a result, the influence of different languages ​​on local Arabic language in each Arab country has brought changes.

What Arabic dialect to choose for learning?

First of all, you should think about your goal in learning Arabic or what location you are going to live or work. If you’re going to work or live in Oman or Qatar, it is better for you to learn the Gulf dialect.

If you don’t planning residence in a certain Arabic state or you would like to know an universal informal Arabic communication language, then the most universal and understandable to all Arabs is Egyptian dialect.

2. Modern Standard Arabic (fus’ha)

Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is the language of official communication in Arab countries and abroad (for example, in the United Nations, standard Arabic is one of the 6 main working languages). Most of the media in the region broadcast in Modern Standard Arabic. It is the language of official documents, the language of business communication and literature.

3. Tajweed and Arabic language of Quran

Tajwid is a set of rules on how to pronounce sounds, their combinations, for the canonical correct reading of the Quran recitation. It comes from the Arabic word (تَجْوِيدْ‎) which linguistically means enhancement or making something outstanding.

Each Arabic letter has a Makhraj (an exit or articulation point from which it originates) and Sifaat (attributes or characteristics). Knowing the Makhraj and Sifaat of each letter is an important part of Tajweed. Sometimes two letters have very similar exits, which makes mixing them up easy. The right pronounce of letters is very important and helps to prevent the meaning change of the words in Quran recitation.

The language of the Quran is very similar to Standard Arabic, but in the language grammar there are some additional verb types, that you can study easily, if you have learnt Standard Arabic. In addition, the Quran contains specific vocabulary related to historical events and religious issues, so Muslim scholars from different eras wrote explanations and interpretations for the Quran, called Tafsirs.

How to choose what to study?

From what you read above, you may already guessed that you need to learn the dialect if your goal is only communication in informal cases. The Egyptian dialect is best known for cinema and is understood by Arabs from various countries. If you would like to learn the dialect, but have not decided on the choice (what country you would go for work or smth else), it is better to start with the Egyptian dialect.

If you would like to learn Arabic at a professional level, have a good knowledge of grammar, morphology, to understand documents and media, then your choice should be Modern Standard Arabic. This is a more difficult path, but more advantageous in the long run.

To make it easier, let’s look at a table with the pros and cons of your choice.

Start with Tajweed

This option will only allow you to read the Quran according to the canonical rules with the correct pronunciation and some other rules related to the reading of the Quran. To understand the meaning of the read text, it is necessary to study the MSA grammar and some additional rules, as well as study Tafseers to clarify many questions and meanings.

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