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Title: Teach Yourself Beginner's Arabic Script by John Mace ISBN: 0-07-141982-9 Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books Pub. Date: 06 June, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.55 (11 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Great beginner's book
Comment: Learning Arabic presents several diffculties for the non-native, the first of which is the alphabet, or more accurately, script. This is because, unlike English and other European languages, there is no true printed form for the language, being a true script. The main problem with it is that the letters change their form depending on the context.
At 155 pages, this is almost a mini-course on Arabic, not just on the script, but the overall focus is on teaching you the script, and for that it serves very well. But for someone who doesn't want to have a lot of extra vocabulary or grammar piled on initially, I would recommend the Nicholas Awde and Putros Samano book, The Arabic Alphabet, instead.
I have a slight personal preference for that book over this one, as it focuses more on the script and doesn't worry about the more advanced grammatical topics, which really require a separate volume. As a result, it's shorter and to the point and is only 100 pages long. But both books are excellent and do their job very well. I just think this one would better suited someone who enjoys learning languages and already has skills or training in that area.
If that sounds like you, then this book will give you a little more basic Arabic vocabulary and grammar in the process of teaching you the script than the Awde book, and the author does a fine job of explaining all the concepts clearly and concisely. There are sections on verbs, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and how they are formed, as well as other aspects of the grammar.
The author also discusses basic phonetics and phonology, and how the vowels and consonants of Arabic differ from English. One odd aspect of the phonetic notation is the number "9" is used for the Arabic glottal stop. I've seen this in one other Arabic beginner's book. It's not standard notation but it's okay for a beginner's book, as long as you know what it means. The author defines it, but I missed that somehow and kept seeing these 9's all over the place, and I finally figured out what it was.
As both books point out, the main problem in learning the Arabic script is the letters change their form depending on their position in the word, in other words, on whether they're at the beginning, middle, or end of the word. Then there is the infamous "Hamzah," or diacritical mark, which can appear over various letters in the word, and can float around a lot. The rules for this get very complicated, and most Arabic speakers don't even know all of them, but the basic principles aren't hard to learn. This makes it very similar in English to the apostrophe, which causes problems for English speakers also. Just these two things can make the alphabet a trying experience to learn initially for the foreign-language speaker.
Both the Awde and Samanos or this book are excellent and will help you clear that initial hurdle of learning the alphabet that must be overcome before you can really embark on a serious study of Arabic grammar and language. If you're flush I'd say buy both books, since they complement and reinforce each other, and they're not that expensive to begin with.
Despite the difficulty with the alphabet/script, Arabic has very regular verb constructions, and dictionaries in fact can refer to them by numbers I-X. The three cases Arabic posseses, the nominative, accusative, and jussive, are really no longer used in actual conservation, and you're only likely to find them in scholarly discourse or in the Koran. This makes the case system no more complex than Spanish or English or French, which is a big help there. In contrast, Russian still has six cases and German technically has four.
Overall, a fine beginner's book that is almost an essential supplement to any course in Arabic, especially if you're going the self-study route (as I am).
Rating: 5
Summary: A Great Companion to Any Arabic Course
Comment: This book should be first on your shopping list when you begin to study Arabic.
Most Arabic textbooks are written by native Arabic-speakers, who often don't anticipate the degree of difficulty that English-speakers will have with the Arabic alphabet. Although the Arabic alphabet is not as difficult as written Chinese or Japanese, Arabic script is definitely more difficult to master than the Russian or Greek alphabets. (For my money, Arabic writing is even more difficult for beginners than Korean or Hindi script.)
The problem for English-speakers has a number of aspects. First of all, Arabic is written in a cursive form, in which all the letters seem to run together. Second, each Arabic letter can be written in multiple forms, depending on its relationship to other letters. Third, although Arabic script is phonetic, words are often written without vowel markers, so the reader has to sound out the vowel based on his or her grasp of the context.
Lastly, the script is the easy part of learning the language; Arabic grammar will seem extremely difficult if you've never learned a non-European tongue. (This is not meant to discourage you from learning Arabic - Arabic is also one of the most fascinating languages on the planet!)
"Teach Yourself Beginner's Arabic Script" is especially helpful because it delves into the Arabic writing system as no standard textbook can. The book first explains the forms and pronunciation of each letter in the Arabic alphabet, and then how each letter interacts with other letters. Along the way, you'll pick up a generous portion of grammar and vocabulary; but as the title indicates, the focus of this book is the writing system.
If the Arabic writing system is keeping you up late at night and you don't mind spending a few more dollars on supplemental texts, here are a few other books that you should consider in addition to this one:
"The Arabic Alphabet: How to Read & Write It"(ISBN: 0818404302). This book is older and shorter than the Mace book, but still quite good.
"Alif Baa: Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds" (ISBN: 087840273X) This book is somewhat unorganized, but it has audio recordings.
I can only think of one improvement for "Teach Yourself Beginner's Arabic Script." This book would rate six or seven stars if the publishers had included audio CDs. Nonetheless, this is a very handy and effective volume for the price.
Review by Edward Trimnell, author of "Why You Need a Foreign Language and How to Learn One" (2003)
Rating: 4
Summary: great little book
Comment: Like most of the other reviewers, I have to say that I am enjoying this little book. It stays true to its title, and focuses on the script, both printed and written. I also have the Awde book, which gives more complete stroke direction, but it's short on actual handwriting. Mace's book is full of examples of real handwriting, which I think is great, especially for those trying to learn without a teacher.
I think it's a great idea to introduce rudiments of grammar, so that you're not just stuck on the alphabet all the time. The grammar also helps shed light on the script and pronunciation (e.g., the one-letter prepositions that are tacked onto the start of the words they govern).
My only disappointment with the book is that it's full of words like engineer, ministry, passport, permit, representative - not the kind of words typically associated with a learner's book. What about 'table', 'door', 'hand'? Still, I understand that his target audience is people who find themselves in an Arab country, and need to read road signs, newspaper headlines, maybe fill out paperwork. They're likely to be engineers, I guess, so it makes sense. But for those of us who are just curious, it makes it a little more boring.
Overall, I've found it useful and engaging.
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Title: The Arabic Alphabet: How to Read & Write It by Nicholas Awde, Putros Samano ISBN: 0818404302 Publisher: Lyle Stuart Hardcover Pub. Date: June, 1987 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: Your First 100 Words in Arabic : Beginner's Quick & Easy Guide to Demystifying Non-Roman Scripts by Jane Wightwick, Mahmoud Gaafar, NTC Publishing Group, NTC ISBN: 0844223956 Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 1999 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: Arabic Verbs and Essentials of Grammar: A Practical Guide to the Mastery of Arabic by Jane Wightwick, Mahmoud Gaafar ISBN: 0844246050 Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books Pub. Date: 11 August, 1997 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Teach Yourself Arabic Complete Course by Jack Smart, Frances Altorfer ISBN: 0658015877 Publisher: McGraw-Hill Pub. Date: 08 January, 2002 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Arabic-English Dictionary: The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic by Hans Wehr, J. Milton Cowan ISBN: 0879500034 Publisher: Spoken Language Services Pub. Date: 01 May, 1993 List Price(USD): $45.00 |
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