Moroccan Arabic: Lonely Planet Phrasebook [Paperback]

Dan Bacon (Author), Bichr Andjar (Author), Abdennabi Benchehda (Author), Lonely Planet Phrasebooks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2008

Useful phrases to help navigate beaches and cities, trek in the Rif or Atlas mountains, or explore the Sahara.

Editorial Reviews

Review

National Geographic Traveler, September 2006
'Lonely Planet Phrasebooks. Portable, pocket-size, cheap, and available for almost any country you might want to visit...'

Language Notes

Text: English, Arabic --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet; 3 edition (January 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1740591879
• ISBN-13: 978-1740591874
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 3.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #93,459 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Arabic
  • #8 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Arabic
  • #10 in Books > Travel > Africa > Morocco

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well, it sure impressed my Moroccan HUSBAND!, January 24, 2001

By 

S. Azzouz (Tetouan, Morocco) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lonely Planet Moroccan Arabic Phrasebook (Lonely Planet Phrasebook: Moroccan Arabic) (Paperback)

My husband and I have both gone over the book and were quite suprised and pleased at the accuracy. Moroccan arabic is a VERY different dialect from the traditional and Egyptian arabic, so if you are hoping to use this book to communicate with other arabic speakers that are NOT from Morocco, forget it. They will not understand you(although, some Algerians and Tunisians might as many Moroccans live there and the language is a little similar), so don't buy it if you want to communicate with non-Moroccans. I bought the travel pack which included the book, audio cassette and a little lesson book, that doubles as the cassettes's cover. Although, it is true: it is not for conversations or to learn the actual language from; it is mainly travel dialog and gettin' around stuff to say but I have in a pinch been able to use it on my husband with fantastic results. NOTE: this dialect is not spoken all through Morocco. There are several dialects of arabic spoken there. This particular dialect is spoken in Casablanca, Agadir and around there-'bouts. Different regions speak different dialects but most Moroccans should be able to understand you, from what my hubby says. I did have a couple of disappointments though; for one, the book's transliteration is a little strange on some of the words but nothing crucial, you will still be understood. I read arabic and some pages includes the arabic script of the sentences, so I could read that and understand more. Secondly, I wish there was MORE dialog or a part 2!! Third, if you buy the cassette with it, sadly, it does NOT cover anything in the book. My husband and I agree that it is an excellent book and well worth the price but if it is too hard for you to learn it and you are going to Morocco: learn Spanish or French. At least 95% of the population knows them as they are considered the main 4 languages of the land: Arabic, French, Spanish(Spain dialect-not Mexican Spanish), and Berber. If you are getting it to learn for a Moroccan husband or boyfriend, it will slightly help but you will not learn the language or how to speak to him from this book but it's a good reference to have on hand anyway! It has helped me! (get the cassette, too!)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A little disappointing, July 6, 2009

By 

Morocco fan (Roseburg, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moroccan Arabic: Lonely Planet Phrasebook (Paperback)

This is a fairly good learning tool - it comes with a book and a CD. I would have liked more on the CD (Not many of the phrases in the book are on the CD). One problem is that the CD is not aligned with the material in the book, so you can't follow the CD as you look at the book. Another problem is that the transliteration in the book doesn't always look like the way it is pronounced on the CD. For example, a word on the CD might have more than one syllable, but the book only shows one. The word for "some" is one example. One gripe I have is that the CD has many phrases using "or." For example "hot or cold." It is difficult to tell where the word "hot" ends and where the word "cold" begins.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Missing CD, May 5, 2011

By 

rph333 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Moroccan Arabic: Lonely Planet Phrasebook (Paperback)

I was under the impression that a CD is included but I never received any CD, among the reviews, there is mentioned of a CD?

Why they missed it, even I sent them a complaint?

My wife is Moroccan and I will write a complete review after I analysed it and use it for a while.