Arabic for Dummies?

Has anyone picked up a copy of Arabic for Dummies? I saw an interview with the author on BookTV and I'm curious to know if anyone has it or knows if it would be worth a try. I'm still learning the alphabet, so anything at a really basic level is good for me right now. Thanks!

I've actually never heard anything about that book. Maybe someone else here has seen it?

I think my library has a copy; I'll take a look at it.

There are a lot of books out there geared towards beginners, but probably only a few that are good for self-study.

My money, literally, is on al-kitaab, Kristen Brustad. This is the text out of GU which most beginner courses in Modern Standard Arabic (formal, or literary Arabic) use. MSA is the language novels and newspapers are written in. It is most likely what you will hear on Al-Jazeera. For dialect - Arabic as it is spoken throughout the Arab world - the best text I have found is Formal Spoken Arabic, by Karin C. Ryding. Good luck.

An edit to add that these texts come with cds (or dvds now, I hear). As with any foreign language, it is essential to get the pronunciation down.

Most university Arabic classes now are using al-kitaab now, apparently. I have heard many good things about it as well. However, I am not really too familiar with it; is it appropriate for someone just now learning the alphabet?

Alif baa is the book in that series that introduces the alphabet and sounds, with its own DVDs (of signs and native speakers). Apparently the authors realized that the traditional approach of giving the alphabet and phonemes as the first lesson and then assuming it from the second one on does not work in all circumstances. The necessary facility with it can be acquired as fast or as slowly as necessary.

For the bare basics, I have used and would recommend alif baa. There are several books you can buy on getting the penmanship down. Another good one is Your first 100 words in Arabic, which comes with a page or so devoted to the alphabet.

Thanks! I have al-kitaab and alif baa on my Amazon.com Wishlist...along with a number of other books in the same genre...but I wasn't sure which ones to start with. I hadn't heard anything about Formal Spoken Arabic, so that's great info as well. My husband is trying to teach me some, but I seem to be teaching him more words in English than I am learning in Arabic right now...;-)...alhamdoulillah, he is very, very patient! Thanks, again!

For someone who knows the basic alphabet and how to read fairly well, I really liked Introducing Arabic by Michael Mumisa.

It takes a classical approach to classical Arabic, but I guess it really depends on what your goals are.

Also, for writing, at least to learn ruq'ah script, is Writing Arabic A Practical Introduction to Ruq'ah Script by T.F. Mitchell.

edit: the touchstones are linking to the wrong works/authors. They're in my catalog if anyone is interested.

Can someone please advise whether Karin Ryding's book uses Arabic, or a phonetic English system, for the Arabic vocab and lessons? I have an earlier book by Ryding that is very good, but I am not keen on the Georgetown University usage of phonetic English. To my way of thinking, learning to read Arabic script is the easiest part of studying Arabic - and once you have learnt it, using the phonetic versions simply slows you down and is very frustrating.

By the way, for those commencing Arabic study who can read and speak a little - and even for those who have intermediate skills - I would highly recommend you purchase the Arabic in a Flash box of flash cards by Fethi Mansouri. I have intermediate fluency and finally bought these - they are an excellent tool for expanding your vocabulary.

If you mean Formal Spoken Arabic, dialogues, lessons and vocabulary are in Arabic, with English translation. I believe the new edition comes with a cd (dvd?).

Thank you for the Mansouri lead!

Thanks benwaugh - so you're saying the Arabic is in Arabic script? (I don't mean to be difficult, just want to be sure I understand).

Hope the flash cards are helpful to you (I think they are excellent). If you are at an intermediate level, you should also consider purchasing Shukri Abed's book, Focus on Contemporary Arabic (Conversations with Native Speakers). This terrific book features 'to-camera' monologues (on a supplied DVD) by native Arabic speakers at various levels of dialect (formal, colloquial), various speeds and on a range of subjects arranged by chapter. The speakers discuss issues from education to Islam, the family, the media, women in the ME, Islamic clothing, ME food, the issue of Palestine, bedouins (actual bedouin from Petra are interviewed) and so on. The book features full transcripts (in Arabic text) of every interview plus glossaries of unusual vocab and indications of what is fousah and what is ameer. If you go to the Yale site you can download Arabic-English and English-Arabic glossaries related to the book.

I really think that this book is representative of the new standard of modern learning tools being developed for Arabic - extremely useful and accessible. I was blown away when I happened upon this book at a store recently - a true jowhara for the keen student.

Mushkalji

Laa shukr 'ala waajib Mushkalji. Yes, it spoken Arabic rendered in Arabic script. The only Roman chracters you will see are those composing the English translation of dialogues, vocabulary lists, etc.

Your recommendations, by the way, are marvelous. I have been using the same professor for awhile as a tutor, and we are using the same book. Great and knowledgeable guy, but it is good to find fresh sources. Thank you!

Ana mabsout itha astatee'a an uwaffirak musa'adat. (See? I have no idea if that's right in terms of transliteration. Wish I could find my Arabic keyboard... lol). Anyway, glad to help, and I'm equally looking forward to reading more views from other participants.

I have just recently returned from a period of work and study in the ME and spent some time last night going through the packed boxes of books in my garage. Lo and behold I found Karin C. Ryding's Formal Spoken Arabic: basic course. This is the 1990 edition that has a plain blue cover with white font. Flicking through it, I recall that when I first received it from Amazon (half way into my time in the ME) I thought that the dialogues and vocab would have been incredibly useful prior to my arrival. The book doesn't cover grammar in any detail, but the point is to get people communicating and using the language within a short time frame. I had done all of my study prior to landing in the ME with the orange books from Michigan which had a diametric problem: too much impenetrable linguistic detail married to dialogues that didn't quite hit the mark for immediate utility in a real situation.

I intend to purchase the updated Ryding book (I'm a bibliophile and completist when it comes to Arabic, lol) and perhaps I'll post comments if there are important differences.

Mushkalji

the al-kitaab series is somewhat challenging for a self-study course, I think. The answer keys are available which provides some help for simple exercises, but many of the exercises contained therein involve writing dialogues or mini-essays about topics using the new vocabulary, so if you don't have someone who can review your work you are kind of stuck for those.

Also, the series operates on the assumption that you learn things in context, so the instructions for exercises are generally in Arabic and many of the words contained in the instructions and the exercises are not introduced as formal vocabulary. This can be challenging and annoying even for someone who is working with a teacher.

However, since you appear to have access to a native speaker, these things might not be issues for you. Best of luck!