Since returning from Syria/Yemen and joining the Australian workforce again I have been making concerted efforts to continue at least with sustaining my Arabic level and probably trying in vain to make improvements. I believe I've certainly lost fluency since not being able to take part in Arabic conversations everyday as I did in Yemen, however, I think my reading abilities (i.e. in recognising meaning) has improved.
While in Brisbane I continued studies with an Egyptian teacher who introduced me to alif ba' ta' way back in the beginning (something like 5 years ago) and I made some decent progress with her. Since then though, my 'career' led to me to relocate to WA at a location with no chance of getting tuitition with a native speaker. I'm saving money quickly here and hoping to visit the Middle East at the completion of my time here. I'm hoping to return to Syria to complete all the levels at the University of Damacus.
I've been splashing money out on Arabic materials which I have not been making proper time to study. Actually I've been accumulating materials faster than I can study them ever since I read a motivational book on learning foreign languages probably about 4 years ago. I have approximately 20 kgs of materials in Yemen - including the full 1001 Arabian Nights, (~3 kgs) and plenty more. I had hoped to ship them back to Australia before I left Yemen but ran out of time to do so. Travelling light/not nesting/accumulating and studying lots of books seems to be a major conflict in my life.
Anyway, the recent additions to my collection are
ACE my language ARABIC 9780976840411
This book is basically a Defence Force language exam. 200 pages of half page Arabic texts with mutiple choice answers about the texts. It comes with a CD with all the texts read out-loud.
Focus on Contemporary Arabic 9780300109481
I haven't fully got my teeth into this text yet but it seems to be really useful. Finally a book with the MSA that is actually spoken between Arab speakers. It's much simpler than the language used in Al-Kitaab or on the News. All of the conversations are provided in the form of video interviews with no prepared responses to the questions, complete transcripts which include the mistakes and the ums and ahhs.
al-Kitaab Supplement 9781591095651
Just a supplement for Book 1. I might get into this to strengthen up my grammar but otherwise Book 1 Al-Kitaab is too easy for me now.
Advanced Media Arabic 9780748632732
I eagerly awaited the release of this book. News articles are available for free download from the publishers website. I haven't yet really looked at this book as my teacher advised me it was difficult and I focused on a simpler media Arabic book first.
Media Arabic 9789774161087
This book seems great and I've studied a couple of chapters so far. Lots of good stuff seems to be coming from AUC including this book, Contemporary Arabic (mentioned above), an Arabic/English reader and lots of other things.
My problem seems to be I'm more interested in studying the living language i.e. finding sources online and translating them as I find them. I'm sure though that returning to book study would be a great benefit to me.
Lastly, the following little gem I've resisted buying because it was published back in 1951 and the price seems quite steep. Instead I borrowed it for free through my state library.
Writing Arabic T.F. Mitchell 197135668
This book will be of great benefit to anyone intending to write a lot less like a foreigner. I find I cannot read standard handwriting a.k.a. the ruqu'ah taught in this book. The author rightly states that generally learners of a language ignore learning to write as a native and in the case of Arabic, most learners learn to write the type written form (naskh). If nothing else I hope to vastly improve my handwriting recognition and maybe learn a faster and less foreign handwriting style. I remember the Taiwanese students at my high school always had an obvious foreign look to their handwriting. I must admit it was easy to read however I'd gladly trade ease of reading for writing like a native in which case natives can read what I write too.
I've raved a number of times about my BAS-1595. I use it everyday. I resisted getting a BAS-1875 because there were no real feature benefits in getting one. Now I've noticed there is now a PMA-5000 Colour Almawrid, made by Adawliah just like the others. Most likely it still has the exact same content and lacking what I'd really like to have i.e. Arabic plurals, Arabic pronunciation and Arabic/Arabic dictionary. Still, it does look like a snazzy bit of gear and the keyboard on my BAS-1595 is getting a little stiff.
This book is basically a Defence Force language exam. 200 pages of half page Arabic texts with mutiple choice answers about the texts. It comes with a CD with all the texts read out-loud.
Focus on Contemporary Arabic 9780300109481
I haven't fully got my teeth into this text yet but it seems to be really useful. Finally a book with the MSA that is actually spoken between Arab speakers. It's much simpler than the language used in Al-Kitaab or on the News. All of the conversations are provided in the form of video interviews with no prepared responses to the questions, complete transcripts which include the mistakes and the ums and ahhs.
al-Kitaab Supplement 9781591095651
Just a supplement for Book 1. I might get into this to strengthen up my grammar but otherwise Book 1 Al-Kitaab is too easy for me now.
Advanced Media Arabic 9780748632732
I eagerly awaited the release of this book. News articles are available for free download from the publishers website. I haven't yet really looked at this book as my teacher advised me it was difficult and I focused on a simpler media Arabic book first.
Media Arabic 9789774161087
This book seems great and I've studied a couple of chapters so far. Lots of good stuff seems to be coming from AUC including this book, Contemporary Arabic (mentioned above), an Arabic/English reader and lots of other things.
My problem seems to be I'm more interested in studying the living language i.e. finding sources online and translating them as I find them. I'm sure though that returning to book study would be a great benefit to me.
Lastly, the following little gem I've resisted buying because it was published back in 1951 and the price seems quite steep. Instead I borrowed it for free through my state library.
Writing Arabic T.F. Mitchell 197135668
This book will be of great benefit to anyone intending to write a lot less like a foreigner. I find I cannot read standard handwriting a.k.a. the ruqu'ah taught in this book. The author rightly states that generally learners of a language ignore learning to write as a native and in the case of Arabic, most learners learn to write the type written form (naskh). If nothing else I hope to vastly improve my handwriting recognition and maybe learn a faster and less foreign handwriting style. I remember the Taiwanese students at my high school always had an obvious foreign look to their handwriting. I must admit it was easy to read however I'd gladly trade ease of reading for writing like a native in which case natives can read what I write too.
I've raved a number of times about my BAS-1595. I use it everyday. I resisted getting a BAS-1875 because there were no real feature benefits in getting one. Now I've noticed there is now a PMA-5000 Colour Almawrid, made by Adawliah just like the others. Most likely it still has the exact same content and lacking what I'd really like to have i.e. Arabic plurals, Arabic pronunciation and Arabic/Arabic dictionary. Still, it does look like a snazzy bit of gear and the keyboard on my BAS-1595 is getting a little stiff.
IBM are doing some research into Arabic Text to Speech (TTS) which would be great to have an electronic dictionary one day. Here's a sample
Discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter, the tomb of Tutankhamun contained the most extensive royal treasure of ancient Egypt. The collection consisted of over 3850 artifacts including everything from toys and games for the young king to furniture, weapons, chariots, a golden mask and a golden sarcophagus. Many statues and symbols of deities to protect and help the king in the afterlife were also found in the tomb.
http://www.research.ibm.com/tts/samples/arabic/ar_male.wav
http://www.research.ibm.com/tts/samples/arabic/ar_female.wav
