Learn Arabic from Native Speakers

Learn Saudi Arabic Basics

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The Saudi Arabic Basics contains Units 1-50 on 15 CD's and a 305 page textbook or 1 DVD with audio converted to MP3 and the textbook converted to a PDF file.

Of the three major dialects in Saudi Arabic - Hijazi, Najidi, and Shargi - Hijazi is used throughout the country for the government and commercial purposes, and has become the most widely understood dialect in the Arabian peninsula. Even so, there is no 'standard' Hijazi dialect, but the basis for the Saudi Arabic basic course is 'urban' Hijazi, to distinguish it from the bedouin dialects also native to the region. The aim of the course is 'working' proficiency in the language. The course enables you to speak and understand Saudi Arabic speech at a normal rate in a variety of social and business contexts.

There are three major groups of dialects in Saudi Arabia--Hijazi, spoken on the western coast, in Jidda, Taif, and the holy cities of Mecca and Medina; Najdi, spoken in and around Riyadh, in the north central part of the country; and Shargi, spoken in the oil-rich eastern region. While the Najdi dialect enjoys prestige by virtue of its conservatism and relative closeness to Classical Arabic and the fact that it is the dialect of the royal family, the Hijazi dialect is used throughout the country for government and commercial purposes, and has ~ecome the most widely-understood dialect in the Arabian Peninsula. The Hijazi dialect is not "pure" Saudi Arabic, and reflects recent borrowings from other dialects, especially Egyptian, Jordanian and Palestinian; for this reason, sometimes one word or expression was selected from several which may be heard, and sometimes alternative expressions are introduced, since two or even three forms may be in frequent use.

Since there is no "standard" Hijazi dialect, this book reflects the dialect as spoken in Jidda. Whenever forced to choose between language usage in the other Hijazi cities and that of Jidda, the Jidda usage was given preference. A few of the most common words from Najdi and from other cities are introduced for recognition and identified as such. There has also been a preference for "modern" words and structures, despite the fact that this sometimes means rejecting an older, more "Saudi" usage. This dialect has been designated "urban" Hijazi to distinguish it from Bedouin dialects also native to the Hijaz region.

The pronunciation of some sounds in Hijazi is variable. There are three interdental consonants (variations of 'th') which may be pronounced as they are in Classical Arabic and in Najdi, as for example in /thalaatha/, or as they are in Egyptian and Palestinian, which would be /talaata/.Since the latter type of pronunciation is more common in Jidda, it will be presented. This is discussed further in the Pronunciation section.

The book is divided into 50 lessons. Each lesson (beginning with Lesson 4) has the following parts:

The dialogues have been kept short and were designed to be practical and worth memorizing. Each dialogue should be· memorized for recitation and practice among the students.

Structure Sentences. In each lesson, certain words and grammatical structures are presented. Structures which did not appear in the dialogue will be illustrated in these sentences. Structure sentences serve the purpose of linking the dialogue sentence&, which are necessarily limited in type, with the grammatical explanations coming up in the Grammatical Notes. They contain examples of new structures used in a sentence context.

Grammatical Notes. New structures are presented and explained, with examples.

Vocabulary Notes. Included in this section are only the new words which need the 1llustrat10n of additional forms (for example, the present tense of a verb, or the plural of a noun). Words which are clear from their presentation elsewhere in the lesson will not be repeated here. The student is held responsible for all new vocabulary regardless of where it appears in a lesson, although it is recognized that some words are more essential for the students' own production than others. The instructor will determine which words should be learned for production and which are sufficient for the student to recognize passively.

Situations. These are typical situations, with the sentences given in English, which the student should be able to say in Arabic after he has mastered the lesson. This section may be used as a self-test at the end of every lesson.

Cultural Notes. Where appropriate, comments on speech attitudes, situational behav10r, or social etiquette are presented.

Every tenth lesson is a review lesson.

In addition to the 50 lessons, the book contains a series of appendices dealing with specialized vocabulary, social expressions, gestures, and Saudi names. There is also a glossary and an index of grammatical structures.