msa-ca

13 | From MSA to CA: A Beginner’s guide for transitioning into Colloquial Arabic One final feature is having hyperlinks to resources, including more information about cultural items and songs. For songs in particular, I am not expecting the students to fully understand what is being said, but the exposure to the language can gradually lead to fluency, increase interest in the Arabic culture, and provide chances to listen to different speakers’ intonation and terminology. Since I grew up in Cairo, this book introduces the Cairene Egyptian dialect; however, it also explains commonly used expressions in the Levant (Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Israel). The goal is to introduce students to more varieties, allowing them to choose which dialect to specialize in and still be able to communicate with Arabic speakers. Although this book does not introduce Gulf dialects, many of the expressions and terms are frequently used in most of the Arab world, and many are derived from MSA. I sincerely hope that this book will benefit students of Arabic at PSU and elsewhere, reduce their textbook expenses, and help them improve their CA speaking. I also hope that the dialogues (recorded by PSU students of Arabic) will be enjoyable for learners and provide successful examples for others to follow. This book will be used in classes and the wider online audience. I welcome suggestions and comments to improve the content and format in future editions. Learning outcomes: On completion of this book, the students will be able to: • Differentiate between MSA and CA (particularly Egyptian) • Navigate predictable social situations in CA including: 1. Greetings in formal and informal settings 2. Asking questions and making requests 3. Expressing themselves in the present, future and past in CA 4. Using negation in the present 5. Accepting and rejecting invitations