The Arabic problem

Hi, I'd like to study Arabic, but in my city you must study Modern Standard Arabic (similar to classical Arabic adding modern words, like computer, airport, etc). There is not Moroccan Arabic or Egyptian Arabic, for instance.

If I study this language, can I understand people from Egypt, Morocco, etc? I don't know if it is a waste of time or not.


Thanks.

>>If I study this language, can I understand people from Egypt, Morocco, etc?

No, you can't.

If nothing else, many across the Arabic speaking world will be familiar with MSA and it can only make learning whichever regional language you want to speak easier.

<< If I study this language, can I understand people from Egypt, Morocco, etc? >>

Unfortunately as Guest #1 said, you can't.
Yet I read that when you know MSA it'll be much easier to learn a spoken "dialect".

Unfortunately the most that most Arabs see of MSA is that they have to learn it in school. I remember that my grandmother who speaks Moroccan Arabic not understand a bit of Levantine. There is too much French in Moroccan for a Lebanese to really understand. Unfortunately, Arabic is not the same Arabic everywhere just as Chinese is not the same Chinese everywhere.

So is it really legitimate to consider them the same language? They've got to be at least as far apart as say Spanish and Portuguese...

But if MSA is written in the newspapers and magazines and shit won't any old fucker be able to understand it? And who's language is MSA native of? How can there be a language with no native speakers? Like, Esperanto or some shit like that?

<<But if MSA is written in the newspapers and magazines and shit won't any old fucker be able to understand it?>>

They understand it. The problem is they don't speak it. It's kinda similar to Portuguese speakers being able to understand Spanish but not to speak it.

But they must be damn good at using it in written form, at least the educated ones because someone's gotta write the newspapers and shit. Portuguese people on the other hand only occasionally come across shit in Spanish, so we're talking totally different beef here. Every day writing in it at school, reading books in it, studying textbooks, writing manuals, you'd think they'd be able to speak it at least falteringly, if not fluently minus some grammar errors and shit like that.

Arabs are only one of many examples.

There are many people in this world who are used to speak and write very differently.
They are used to use one form in the spoken language and another for the written language.

Some prominent examples in Europe are Switzerland and Norway.

"But if MSA is written in the newspapers and magazines and shit won't any old fucker be able to understand it? And who's language is MSA native of? How can there be a language with no native speakers? Like, Esperanto or some shit like that?"

People need to understand that MSA is not some made up language, it is based heavly on classical arabic (language of the Quran). All arab dialects come from a classical arab root, but as arabic spread to areas where other languages were spoken, this gave rise to the many arab diacelts.

It is a bit like Latin, there are no native speakers of latin, however many languages are derived from it (French, Spanish, Italian etc). atmitely not a good example as Latin is a dead language.


MSA is used by edcatuted arabs, media and is the only one with a standarised written form.

many arab diaclet are mutually inteligable

Levantine diaclets (planestain, syrian, Lebenese, Jordanese)
Iraqi
Gulf (emarti, nejard, yemeni)
Eygptian
Magareb (moroccan, Algerian, Tunsian)

Speakers of Levatine, Gulf and Eygptian can understand each other fairly well. however, will have trouble to understand magareb speakers.

Latin is still the official language at Vatican so, ultimately, it's not... dead.
Guess you haven't heard about the "mass in Latin" controversy.

...and that's one of the reasons why Arabic will never be important.

I agree with the poster before me. Arabic has not been too important worldwide because it has too many variations, variations that ultimately make comprehension between different kinds of speakers too difficult.

With Chinese, there may be many different dialects but Mandarin is spoken and/or understood by almost the entire population of China. There is little variation with Mandarin as well.

Note to Einstein--

If you're not a native speaker, overdoing the curse words does not make you look any more native. It might be okay in very colloquial, informal setting (it sounds like a bad conversation at the local Wal Mart), but in writing, it's over the top.