This Arabic language-learning classic is now enhanced with a bound-in CD of MP3 files. Designed to provide beginners in Arabic with maximum linguistic and cultural exposure in a short period (about 100 hours of contact time), this book consists of sixteen lessons with dialogs and exercises dealing with day-to-day scenarios: greeting people, getting a taxi, making phone calls, asking directions, discussing the weather, and effectively communicating with police and duty officers. The lessons help the reader to navigate situations at gas stations, marketplaces, restaurants, and in their own households.
Formal Spoken Arabic (FSA) is a kind of lingua franca that is more natural than speaking Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), the literary form of the language. FSA uses the shared features of the various urban colloquial dialects, defaulting to Levantive (terms common to Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan) where the spoken dialects diverge. Each lesson includes cultural notes on American-Arab interactions, notes on learner strategies for managing Arabic conversations with a limited amount of language, and grammar explanations in clear, non-technical language. Although the main dialogue for each lesson is presented in Arabic script, transcriptions are used to accelerate spoken performance. The FAST Course includes grammatical explanations, English-Arabic and Arabic-English glossaries, appendices listing common idioms, courtesy expressions and other useful terms, instructor's notes, and drills aided and accompanied by the CD.
Originally created for diplomats, this is an expanded and enhanced edition of a work originally developed by the U.S. State Department as a six-week intensive, or "FAST" (Familiarization and Short-Term) course, and is easily adaptable for students in Middle East area studies. Travelers heading for posts in the Arab world who quickly need to gain a basic ability to converse in day-to-day situations will find Formal Spoken Arabic FAST Course an invaluable companion.
Table of Contents
Preface
Notes for the Instructor
Notes & Introduction for Students
The Arabic Alphabet
Lesson One: Who are You?
Lesson Two: Taxi
Lesson Three: On the Phone
Lesson Four: I Need Help
Lesson Five: At the Gas Station
Lesson Six: At the Market Place
Lesson Seven: At the Restaurant
Lesson Eight: At an Arab Home
Lesson Nine: Before the Party
Lesson Ten: On the Phone
Lesson Eleven: Around the House
Lesson Twelve: The Duty Officer
Lesson Thirteen: Weather and Leisure Time
Lesson Fourteen: Problems with the Police
Appendix I: Names of the Months of the Year
Appendix II: Arabic Names of Government Ministries
Appendix III: Arab Countries and their Capital Cities
Appendix IV: Courtesy Expressions & Idioms of the Arab East
Formal Spoken Arabic FAST Course Glossaries
English / Arabic Glossary
Arabic / English Glossary
