Spoken Arabic Summer 2023

Arabic is the language of 22 Member States of UNESCO, a language with more than 422 million speakers in the Arab world (World Arabic Language Day, UNESCO, 18th December 2012).

What is Arabic?

The Arabic language can be divided into three varieties:

• Classical Arabic: considered to be the language of the pre-Islamic and Islamic period.
• Modern Standard Arabic (MSA): derived from Classical Arabic, this is the official Arabic language that is taught in schools, universities, used by the media, etc.
• Spoken Arabic: known also as Dialectal or Colloquial Arabic, constitutes the everyday spoken language with all its regional varieties.

Consequently, the Arabic Language exists in a state of diglossia where its two separate registers (written and spoken) are used in different situations in life.

We offer both Spoken Arabic and MSA courses at Polis.

Why study at Polis?

The Spoken Arabic taught at Polis is the Palestinian Urban Arabic used in the central area of the country (Jerusalem), along with some explanations of dialectal issues and differences. The advantage of the Palestinian dialect is its closeness to formal Arabic in pronunciation and vocabulary, a fact that makes it intelligible in other Arabic-speaking areas.

Why study Spoken Arabic?

A new phenomenon is invading the Arabic Language! Starting recently, Spoken Arabic is being written for the first time, mostly thanks to technological innovations. Until now, Spoken Arabic has been taught using the Latin script. In Polis, however, Spoken Arabic is taught in Arabic and written in Arabic. The first course of Absolute Beginners includes teaching the alphabet, and candidates for other levels are required to know the script, Otherwise, they must study it by themselves or ask for private lessons in order to join the courses. Learning the script facilitates an authentic and direct approach to the language, and is a more natural way of introduction into the MSA.

Where to start: MSA or Spoken Arabic?

The answer depends on the academic or practical needs of the student. Starting with MSA, for instance, won't help the student hold a conversation in the street, but will help the student to read texts in formal Arabic.

In fact, most of our students need Arabic for practical daily use and attend the Spoken Arabic courses.

Registration for both classes is also possible and recommended for students who find themselves able to distinguish and assimilate the differences between the two linguistic varieties and with sufficient time to dedicate to studying both courses.

To be fluent in Arabic you need both!