How You Can Learn About Arabic Dialects in an Easy Way
Arabic dialects are generally used in the daily conversations, songs, movies and occasions. In simple words, the dialects used within a country are closer than the ones between several countries. So, if you speak and learn Syrian Arabic, chances are you will understand the language easily and make yourself understood in the entire Syria. There are some country-dialects that are close to each other. For example, Syrian, Jordanian Arabic, Lebanese and Palestinian create the group of Levantine Arabic or Eastern Arabic and these countries share most of their linguistic characteristics.
How many different Arabic dialects are there?
If you want to learn Arabic online for free, then it is important to know about its different kinds. Arabic dialects can be generally categorized into the following groups:
- North African Arabic(Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia)
- Egyptian Arabic
- Hassaniya Arabic(Mauritania)
- Levantine Arabic(Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria)
- Gulf Arabic(Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the U.A.E.)
- Hejazi Arabic(Western Saudi Arabia)
- Najdi Arabic(Central Saudi Arabia)
- Iraqi Arabic
- Yemeni Arabic(Yemen & southwestern Saudi Arabia).
What are the differences between Arabic dialects?
- Differences between dialects of the Middle East such as – Egypt, the Gulf, Iraq and the Levant are small to enable Arabs of different nationalities to know each other well.
- North African dialects are exclusive in their vocabulary and structure. They are a big challenge to face and understand for the Arabs of the Middle East.
- Regional sub-dialects are there within the main dialect group. There are some differences between provincial dialects and city language in different parts of the world.
- The most common dialects are Levantine Arabic and Egyptian. The Egyptian media sector has an important role in the Arab world. There are a wide number of comedies, cinema productions and television dramas that have made the Arab audiences popular with Egyptian dialect.
- With satellite television channels, it has become easy for the other dialects to reach out to more audiences. Some popular programs have Lebanese hosts which has made Lebanese dialect to be a fashionable status.
What kind of Arabic dialect you should learn?
- If your interest is not restricted to a specific country, you should select Modern Standard Arabic. After you get basic knowledge on Modern Standard Arabic, it becomes quite easy to learn a dialect.
- It is important to learn to read, write and then speak Modern Standard Arabic. At the same time, you can learn Arabic dialects online later, which is the correct route to get more knowledge on it.
- The educated Arabs, who belong to the middle class group and upwards, find it easy to speak in Modern Standard Arabic.
- The choice of language usually depends on the kind of education the person has obtained.
- If you are planning to spend some time in an Arab country, it is important to learn and know about the basics of the main dialect of the country. This will enable to manage daily routines though it will not make you understand anything written.
Lastly, if you are aware about Algerian Arabic or Moroccan, it is not possible to use it in the Middle East or east of Libya as no one will understand what you are actually saying.