Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780486148854 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Dover Publications |
| Publication date: | 05/25/2012 |
| Series: | Dover Language Guides Say It Series |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 192 |
| File size: | 3 MB |
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Say It in Arabic
(Egyptian Dialect)
By Farouz El-Baz
Dover Publications, Inc.
Copyright © 1968 Dover Publications, Inc.All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-486-14885-4
INTRODUCTION
Arabic is the language of over eighty million people who inhabit a vast area extending throughout North Africa and the Middle East. The language originated in the Arabian Peninsula and spread north and west with the rise of Islam.
Spoken Arabic has deviated from the original language in most parts of the Arab World. The situation is that of a classical language and various dialects. However, the grammatical rules of spoken Arabic are based largely on those of the classical language. Variations in dialects involve mainly modifications in the pronunciation of a few letters, as well as local preferences for certain terms and expressions, mostly Arabized terms derived from English and the Romance languages.
Spoken Arabic today can be classified into six major divisions:
1. THE CLASSICAL LANGUAGE: Since it originated in the Arabian Peninsula, and has undergone only negligible changes, this language is still the medium of daily expression of all the inhabitants of that region, both nomads and town dwellers. Classical Arabic is also the language of the nomadic communities throughout the Arab World. This means that "corruption" of the language flourished in cities and towns, and therefore dialects are one trait of urbanism in the Arab World.
2. THE MEDITERRANEAN DIALECT: This dialect is spoken in the geographical region which lies to the north of the Arabian Peninsula and includes the modern states of Jordan, Israel, Lebanon and Syria. Apart from some local variations within this region, the basic pattern of the dialect remains the same. Among the varieties of spoken Arabic, it is about the closest to the classical language.
3. THE IRAQI DIALECT: This is a variant of the dialect just mentioned. Its distinguishing feature is the frequent incorporation of Kurdish, Persian and Turkish sounds and expressions.
4. THE NORTHERN NILE VALLEY DIALECT: The widely known "Cairo dialect" is used today in most parts of Lower Egypt. It may be the dialect that has deviated most from the classical language. A unique characteristic of this dialect is the replacement of the th (theh), j (jeem), z (thal) and q (qahf) sounds by s, hard g, d and ', respectively.
5. THE SOUTHERN NILE VALLEY DIALECT: The Arabic spoken in southern Egypt and in the Sudan is similar to the "Cairo dialect" but closer to the classical language. It is unique in the use of a hard g for the q consonant. It is the dialect which is least "contaminated" with foreign terms and expressions.
6. THE NORTH AFRICAN DIALECT: The North African Arabs, living in Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, also have a dialect of their own. Although still based on the classical language, it is distinguished by the incorporation of terms and expressions from the Romance languages, as well as some from the Berber tongues.
This booklet is intended to be of use to Americans visiting or temporarily residing in the Arab World. Therefore, it was important to employ an easy-to-learn but also widely understood dialect. The "Cairo dialect" was chosen for these two reasons. It is the simplest of all the spoken dialects, especially as far as phonetics is concerned. While linguistically "incorrect," its simplicity springs from the tendency to use one sound for more than one letter of the classical alphabet. This fact makes the dialect the easiest for English-speaking people to learn, since the outcome of this tendency is the replacement of some difficult sounds. In addition to this, Cairenes have, more than other Arab speakers, incorporated into their dialect several terms that stem from English and the Romance languages rather than from the classical Arabic. Moreover, Cairo has been and remains one of the most vital cultural centers of the entire area. Its dialect is therefore the most widely understood in the rest of the Arab World.
NOTES ON THE USE OF THIS BOOK
1. The material in this book has been selected chiefly to teach you many essential phrases, sentences and questions for travel. It will serve as a direct and interesting introduction to the spoken language if you are beginning your study. The sentences will be useful to you whether or not you go on to further study. With the aid of a dictionary, many pattern sentences included here will answer innumerable needs, for example: "Is there a [pharmacy] here?" The brackets indicate that substitutions can be made for these words with the use of a bilingual dictionary. In other sentences, for the words in square brackets you can substitute the words immediately following (in the same sentence or in the indented entries below it). For example, the entry
What is the charge [per hour] per day?
provides two sentences: "What is the charge per hour?" and "What is the charge per day?" Three sentences are provided by the entry
I shall take a room [for one night].
——for a week or so.
——for two persons.
As your Arabic vocabulary grows, you will find that you can express an increasingly wide range of thoughts by the proper substitution of words in these model sentences.
2. In Arabic there are many more gender changes than there are in English. This is particularly true of verb and adjective forms, although gender affects pronouns and other parts of speech as well. The rules of gender are complex, and Say It in Arabic does not attempt to explain these rules and their use. To avoid ambiguity and error, all appropriate sentences are followed by these abbreviations to indicate clearly the correct gender:
(M.) male speaking to anyone
(F.) female speaking to anyone
(TO M.) anyone speaking to a male
(TO F.) anyone speaking to a female
(M. TO M.) male speaking to male
(F. TO F.) female speaking to female
Wherever advisable, we have given full sentences in two forms (male and female speaking, or else male and female addressed). Where no gender is indicated the statement may be considered general; that is, it may be spoken by male or female to male or female.
Other abbreviations used are:
(TO GR.) anyone speaking to a group
(MASC.) masculine
(FEM.) feminine
(LIT.) literally
(SING.) singular
(PL.) plural
3. You will find the extensive index at the end of the book especially helpful. Capitalized items in the index refer to section headings and give the number of the page on which the section begins. All other numbers refer to entry numbers. All the entries in the book are numbered consecutively.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Say It in Arabic by Farouz El-Baz. Copyright © 1968 Dover Publications, Inc.. Excerpted by permission of Dover Publications, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
LISTEN & LEARN CASSETTES,Title Page,
Copyright Page,
INTRODUCTION,
PRONUNCIATION,
PERSONAL PRONOUNS,
GENERAL EXPRESSIONS,
YOURSELF,
SOCIAL CONVERSATION,
TO BE UNDERSTOOD,
DIFFICULTIES,
CUSTOMS,
BAGGAGE,
TRAVEL DIRECTIONS,
TICKETS,
TRAVEL BY PLANE,
TRAVEL BY BOAT,
TRAVEL BY TRAIN,
TRAVEL BY BUS AND STREETCAR,
TRAVEL BY TAXI,
TRAVEL BY AUTOMOBILE,
HELP ON THE ROAD,
PARTS OF THE CAR,
TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT,
MAIL,
TELEGRAM,
TELEPHONE,
HOTEL,
CHAMBERMAID,
APARTMENT,
CAFÉ,
RESTAURANT,
FOOD LIST,
BREAKFAST FOODS,
APPETIZERS AND HORS D'ŒUVRES,
RICE, MACARONI AND CHEESES,
MEAT AND POULTRY,
SEAFOOD,
VEGETABLES,
FRUITS,
DESSERTS AND NUTS,
BEVERAGES,
SIGHTSEEING,
A TRIP UP THE NILE,
THE CHURCH,
THE MOSQUE,
AMUSEMENTS,
SPORTS,
BANK AND MONEY,
SHOPPING,
MEASUREMENTS,
COLORS,
STORES,
CLOTHING STORE,
DRY GOODS STORE,
DRUG STORE OR PHARMACY,
CIGAR STORE,
BOOKSHOP AND STATIONER,
BARBER SHOP,
BEAUTY PARLOR,
CAMERA SHOP AND PHOTOS,
LAUNDRY AND DRY CLEANING,
REPAIRS,
HEALTH AND ILLNESS,
DENTIST,
ACCIDENTS,
PARTS OF THE BODY,
TIME,
WEATHER,
DAYS OF THE WEEK,
HOLIDAYS,
MONTHS AND SEASONS,
USEFUL ARTICLES,
NUMBERS: CARDINALS,
NUMBERS: ORDINALS,
APPENDIX A - IMPORTANT ARAB COUNTRIES AND CITIES,
APPENDIX B - THE ARABIC ALPHABET,
APPENDIX C - PRESENT TENSE FORMS OF COMMONLY,
INDEX,
PUBLIC NOTICES,
ROAD SIGNS,