Arabic For Dummies (For Dummies (Language & Literature)) | 
|  | | | Title: | Arabic For Dummies (For Dummies (Language & Literature)) | | Author: | Amine Bouchentouf | | Publisher: | For Dummies | | Type: | Book / Paperback | | Publication Date: | 01 May, 2006 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0471772704 / 9780471772705 | | List Price: | $24.99 | | You Save: | $8.50 | | Amazon Price: | $16.49 | |
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Product Description
Regarded as one of the most difficult languages to learn for native English speakers by the U.S. State Department, Arabic is gaining both prominence and importance in America. Recent world events have brought more and more Americans and other English speakers into contact with Arabic-speaking populations, and governments and businesses are increasingly aware of the importance of basic Arabic language skills. Arabic for Dummies provides you with a painless and fun way to start communicating in Arabic. Why should you learn Arabic? Well, besides the fact that over 200 million people in more than 22 nations use it to communicate, there are tons of reasons to get up to speed this 1,400 year old language, including: - Nearly all of the Middle-East speaks Arabic or one of its dialects
- Basic Arabic skills are extremely useful for anyone traveling to, doing business in, or serving in the Middle East
- It is the language in which the Koran is written
- There is a rich, centuries-old literary tradition in Arabic
Arabic For Dummies presents the language in the classic, laid-back For Dummies style. Taking a relaxed approach to this difficult language, it’s packed with practice dialogues and communication tips that will have you talking the talk in no time. You’ll get the scoop on: - The Arabic alphabet, pronunciation, basic grammar, and the rules of transliteration
- The history of the language and information on classical Arabic and its dialects
- How to make small talk and make yourself understood when dining, shopping, or traveling around town
- How to communicate on the phone and in business conversations
- Handy words and phrases for dealing with money, directions, hotels, transportation, and emergencies
- Arabic culture and etiquette, including ten things you should never do in Arabic countries
The book also includes an Arabic-English dictionary, verb tables, and an audio CD with dialogues from the book to help you perfect your pronunciation. Written by a native Arabic speaker who helped start a year-round Arabic department at Middlebury College, Arabic For Dummies is just what you need to start making yourself understood in Arabic. Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.
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Customer Reviews:
• Excellent Complement To Other Learning Materials 17 November, 2007
This is an excellent complement to my other Arabic language learning materials. The fact that it uses transliterated Arabic is not an issue for me; what is more important is that it explains grammar clearly and provides information and explanations in very easy to understand language. I have already learned the Arabic alphabet and their equivalent letters in the alphabet we use for English, so it does not matter that the Arabic in this book is transliterated. In fact, in some respects it is an advantage as I can read through the material more quickly to better focus on the grammar points I am trying to learn and understand. I test myself by transliterating the transliterated Arabic back into Arabic script so the book serves two functions.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A38Q50IM2TX7DI
• Good Reference Manaual 02 January, 2008
I have used the "for dummies" books in other subjects before and they are great tools, especially the pictures & tips. The DVD is a great added supplement. It is better to hear natives speak to train your ear for the different dialects when studying languages. I have been studying Arabic for a long time, I also tutor Arabic speakers(in English). I mainly purchased this book for a reference source, as it contains a lot of reminders that are very useful and helpful especially the grammatical rules I had forgotten since my first class.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2TXTDA77AUM7P
• Not Recommended For True Learners 25 October, 2007
I bought this book the summer before I took my first Arabic class. When I started Arabic class, I found out how useless this book is (by comparison with Arabic in Ten Minutes a Day). Why? Although they cover the same material, Arabic for Dummies contains no Arabic script. Because there is no standard transliteration system for Arabic, learning Arabic in transliteration is like learning no Arabic at all.
When I learned the actual alphabet in class, including the letters, I learned the different sounds Arabic has, including two different types of D, S, H, K and T. The transliteration attempted to express this with capital and lower-case letters, but that doesn't help the mind see the difference as much as two completely different characters does. I can also now read my album covers (of music) and will be able to read street signs and menus when I visit Egypt. Now I'm disappointed in my Arabic for Dummies book because none of the vocabulary is given in the Arabic alphabet. It is not appropriate for supplementing my education because I am trying to learn to read Arabic as well as speak it, and when I speak the words, I want to be imagining the script in my head, not Latin approximations.
Another thing - this book focuses on the religious greetings and doesn't give many alternatives. I learned in my Arabic class that using the religious greetings may offend some non-Muslim Egyptians, and we learned alternative phrases that do not indicate a particular religious standing, such as Merhaba vs. Salaam Aleikum.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2OG83SEU9HL6D
• It's Truly For Complete Dummies 09 February, 2008
The book is friendly, but it has no arabic script at all! I was very surprised at how a language can be taught without first studying the alphabet and then some words, and the trying to write it all down... but this book just doesn't cover the script (which is so beautiful %)). It just tells you how to pronounce words and what they mean, but you will never learn how to read and write in Arabic with this book. I decided it's a worthless way of learning.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2HY80RS5JL7RK
• Poor Audio Correlation With Text 18 January, 2008
As a high-intermediate learner of Arabic, I found that the quality of arabic spoken on the audio cd included was very poor. It sounded as if a group of beginning students and native speakers with poor enunciation of modern standard arabic were carrying out the conversation. This sort of quality may get past the likely beginners who buy this book, but it is poor arabic audio learning material. Furthermore, there was poor correlation of the audio with the english-translation text and the translitered text, thus totally destroying the purpose of having a text to follow the audio (especially if you are a beginner- you would likely be more confused!) Finally, modern standard arabic and spoken arabic are mixed so freely and without any consistency that it serves horribly as any sort of academic text. This is a book that probably would have made a DUMMY feel more likely a DUMMY. I felt lucky that I was able to borrow this at my library rather than shell out even $5 for this book in order to realize that not only was it nowhere near my level, but that it was just a bad arabic audio and text in general! For beginner's, I would recommend LIVING LANGUAGE, ULTIMATE ARABIC (beginning-intermediate).
- Reviewed by customer ID: A27WWTWCESJX4A
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