Colloquial Arabic (Levantine)

The Complete Course for Beginners

Mohammad Al-Masri

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781138380585
• eBook ISBN: 9781317306870
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Languages
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Colloquial Arabic (Levantine) provides a step-by-step course in Levantine Arabic as it is used today. Combining a user-friendly approach with a thorough treatment of the language, it equips learners with the essential skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively in Levantine Arabic in a broad range of situations. No prior knowledge of the language is required.

Key features include:

• progressive coverage of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills
• structured, jargon-free explanations of grammar
• an extensive range of focused and stimulating exercises
• realistic and entertaining dialogues covering a broad variety of scenarios
• useful vocabulary lists throughout the text
• additional resources available at the back of the book, including a full answer key and bilingual glossaries.

Balanced, comprehensive and rewarding, Colloquial Arabic (Levantine) is an indispensable resource both for independent learners and students taking courses in Levantine Arabic.

Colloquials are now supported by FREE AUDIO available online. All audio tracks referenced within the text are free to stream or download from www.routledge.com/cw/colloquials. Recorded by native speakers, the audio complements the book and will help enhance learners' listening and speaking skills.

By the end of this course, you will be at Level B1 of the Common European Framework for Languages and at the Intermediate-Low on the ACTFL proficiency scales.

Unit One
أهلاً و سهلاً
ahlan wa sahlan

Welcome!

In this unit, you will learn about:

• Introductions and greetings
• Leave-taking
• Cultural awareness
• Grammar
• Pronouns
• The definite article /il/

Language points

Introductions and greetings

When meeting people for the first time, you would usually introduce yourself. If there is a mutual friend of two or more people who do not know each other, s/he would be responsible for introducing people to each other. It is polite to introduce yourself to people you talk to for the first time. Greetings are part of introductions. They are common in all languages and cultures. Arab culture is in general full of greeting terminology. Historically, Arab culture placed a great importance on greetings. The Muslim tradition stipulates that "if you were greeted, reply with a better greeting." The social strata remain intact in most Arab communities. These strata have to be recognized and respected. Greetings can vary based on different social relations, most prominently including gender and age differences. Other factors that come into play include the time of day or night, level of endearment, formality, and whether one of the interlocutors has been absent for some time. Politeness is best expressed by the type of greeting one decides to use.

Greetings are conducted using one or more greeting expressions and a handshake. This is almost standard if one is introduced to someone else for the first time. To express a higher level of intimacy or if the two people are older friends, one additional gesture might be used: either exchanging a couple of air kisses while leaning towards the cheeks, or a hug on the right and left shoulders. The hugging gesture might be accompanied with a short light pat on the shoulder. In most communities, this is equally applicable within the same gender. Across-gender relations are different and can vary based on social class. Not observing gender differences in greetings might cause embarrassment or miscommunication. Across genders, women might choose to shake hands or might refuse to do so. So, a man being introduced to a woman for the first time should greet her and see if she extends her hand for a handshake. If she does, politeness dictates that the man should not decline the handshake. If she does not, it is polite on the part of the man not to initiate a handshake gesture. If the woman does not want to shake hands, she will either nod with a smile and verbal greeting or put her palm on her chest and extend only a verbal greeting, or use all of these gestures together. Often women choose to do so due to a religious belief, fostered by cultural practices, that shaking hands with a foreigner (anyone who's not a relative) is Haraam (forbidden from a religious point of view).

Table 1.1 below shows introductions and common greetings in LA and their possible responses, each separated by a semicolon, along with their closest translations and explanations where necessary. Possessive pronouns, which will be introduced shortly, are underlined for clarity.

Table 1.1 Introductions and greetings (Audio 1.6)

Dialogue 1 (Audio 1.7; 1.14–1.15)

Two friends: Ahmed and Laila are meeting. Ahmed introduces his new friend, Salma.

M1: asa`laamu 3a`laykum.

F1: wa a`laykum assa`laam, `ahlan wa `sahlan.

M1: `kiif `Haalik, leyla?

F1: ta`maam, al`Hamdu lil`laah; intah `kiifak?

M1: al`Hamdu lil`laah, ana `kwayyis.

F2: `marHaba, `ana salma.

F1: ahleyn, `tsharrafna, w `ana leyla.

F2: `ahlan aaniseh leyla.

F1: `ahlan biiki.

AHMED: Peace be upon you!

LAILA: And peace be upon you, too. You're welcome.

AHMAD: How are you, Laila?

LAILA: Great, praise be to God. How are you?

AHMAD: Praise be to God. I'm good.

SALMA: Hello, I'm Salma.

LAILA: Hello, we're honored. I'm Laila.

SALMA: Welcome, Ms. Laila.

LAILA: Welcome to you.

Vocabulary

ya	hey; a particle used to get someone’s attention
aaniseh (a+n+s)	Ms. (honorific term used for single women)
biiki	with you

Exercise 1

Match the following greetings with the suitable response. Feel free to match more responses to one greeting if you think it is appropriate.

	Greetings		Responses	Answers
1	asa`laamu 3a`laykum	a	`ana min lubnaan	1...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Transliteration key
• Introduction
• 1 أهلاً و سهلاً ahlan wa sahlan Welcome!
• 2 هذا العالم haadha il3aalam This world
• 3 عيلتي 3eylti My family
• 4 مش عارِف mish 3aarif I do not know!
• 5 فلافل و كباب falaafil wa kabaab Falafel and kebab
• 6 في بيتنا fii beytna At our home
• 7 وين نروح؟ weyn nruuH? Where shall we go?
• 8 حياة الجامعة Hayaat iljaam3ah University life
• 9 في السوق fi issuug At the market
• 10 المدينة العربية ilmadiinih il3arabiyyih The Arab town
• 11 شو مالك؟ shuu maalak? What's wrong with you?
• 12 الجو iljaw The weather
• 13 كرة القدم kurat ilqadam Football (soccer)
• Arabic glossary
• English glossary
• Answer key
• Audio track listing