Customer Reviews

A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic (Reference Grammars)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellent reference manual for MSA Arabic. I found it a useful reference for somebody who already has a firm grasp of Arabic and would like to gain a deeper understanding of the language. If you are a beginner, or even intermediate student, this really isn't the right text for you. It is simply too difficult to make sense of without adequate background. I majored in Middle East Studies/Arabic and also lived in the Mid East for a while--and found it just right for me. I selected this book a while after graduating to solidify and deepen my understanding of the extreme complexities of the language. I was not the top student in written Arabic (nor was I the bottom student), so perhaps a more exceptional student academically could make use of it with less experience. Personally, I did much better in spoken Arabic, but less so in written Arabic--so I needed (need) a book like this.

The book does build from chapter to chapter, so skipping right to chapter 11, for instance, may be difficult for the average person. If you skip chapters, it assumes that you understand the previous chapters. The amount of material covered in this book is both its strength and it's weakness: if you are ready for over 700 pgs of complicated Arabic grammar (not a page is wasted), go for it. Again, I don't recommend this for any but the VERY serious intermediate student (any student of Arabic has to be serious--I mean serious even for an Arabic student), or advanced skilled Arabic user.

I think it is best to look elsewhere if you are having trouble with a particular concept at a functional level. However, if you already understand the concept at a fairly functional level, and want to deepen your understanding, this book may be right for you. For example, verbs. If you in general know how to work an Arabic verb but want to know just how hollow verbs or assimilated verbs (/etc.) works beyond a basic recognition/survival ability, than this is a good choice. If you stumble with simple verbs then this is less useful--it will only confuse you with the level of detail.

However, everybody is different--I tend to be much less grammar oriented, and much more "speak to me and I'll speak back--if you look blank I'll try again" type of guy, not the academic guy. I got this book to balance that, and got more than my money's worth. This book is exactly what it says it is, and if that's what you want, get it.

In 39 crisp chapters covering more than 700 pages Ryding organizes both the grand lines and essential details of Arabic language structure and grammar. This is a highly readable, easily searched linguistic reference. The index really does the job and her list of references alone is a significant academic contribution. Finally, this gem will make life easier for both students of Arabic and researchers. All my thumbs are up for this once in a lifetime linguistic treasure.

I have been studying Arabic for two years and this book is MUCH better at explaining Arabic grammar than the Ahlan wa Sahlan series by Mahdi Alosh. Though it is really dry (after all it is a reference guide), Ryding is much more concise and consistent than Alosh. She also presents the material in a sequential order that is more conducive to learning complex Arabic structure. I find this to be the most frustrating aspect of the Ahlan wa Sahlan series. Ryding also provides an excellent guide for Arabic verb structure which is the foundation of the language. Alosh only hits on it occassionally and well after a student of Arabic should be exposed to it.

The reason I am giving it 4 stars, instead of 5 is because she does get a little too technical with the usage of English grammar concepts. However, she does provide a good explanation for why she does this and it does help provide a better understanding of how Arabic relates.

I hightly recommend this guide as a companion to any university Arabic program. Wish I had discovered it two years ago!!

I love, love, love this book, at last all of the mysteries explained. The ista prefix, helping vowels, hamza in detail and a whole page on Waa, all the connectors and more!!!. The downside, it is the size of a phonebook which makes it difficult to handle, I am afraid the binding will break, maybe it should be in two volumns

What makes Arabic hard? This question is one of the fundamental and repeated queries of the Arabic student. Neophytes may think it's the alphabet, others may think it's the vocabulary, but I believe, and I think that many others would agree with me in saying that the most difficult part of Arabic is grammar. Since many grammar rules are never exposed in most verbal or written texts, it is possible for even advanced students of the language to maintain little more than an elementary proficiency in syntax and grammar. I even remember one Saudi student in Spokane telling me it was easier for him to write papers in English than it was for him to write them in Arabic.

So, it became inevitable that I should read a grammar book other than the isolated (although deftly composed) lessons in the Al-Kitaab series. Based on other reviews, I picked up A Reference Grammer of Modern Standard Arabic, by Karin C. Ryding, and I have not been disappointed. Perhaps contrary to the expectations of the author, I read the text straight through and was gratified to see it start from letters and continue on to words, with the most difficult part of verbs and conjugation coming at the end. The mast surprising thin about this book was its accessibility. I read it all in about 4 days, and while it will certainly take me more time to memorize and internalize all the new concepts and words I feel like I have a vastly improved knowledge of Arabic grammar than before I read this book. The most helpful tool for this is the fact that the majority of the 700 pages is devoted to phrase-level and sentence level examples, from form XII verbs to rules governing the seat of Hamza within words. While the book covers all the rules a student would practically want to know, references to other works are made throughout to more detailed analyses. Finally the nearly complete lack of linguistic terminology was a significant boon to my comprehension. In the rare instances that a linguistic term (English) was used, it was always clearly explained before being used by the author.

There were three drawbacks to the book, none of which were particularly troublesome . First Ryding has a troubling tendency to state when patterns can be used, not when they cannot. For example in her explanation on adverbs, she say the phase bi-shakal can be used in some cases, and in some cases the adjective in mansoob alone suffices. I still have no clear idea when I should use one over the other. Even explaining the use as idiomatic or that it is difficult to discern would have been more helpful. Also, many rules are repeated through different section of the book, without the addition of any real new information. Finally, the placement of Verbs at the end of the book and the organization of dividing based on pattern (I-XV) rather than verb type, such as hollow or weak, would have been extraordinarily confusing were I not already familiar with the rules via Al-Kitaab.


As a reference book or grammar study guide, this book is far more useful than Al-Kitaab, Arabic Grammar by W. Wright, or any of the paperback sized books that cover the main rules but do not give the depth of analysis or the myriad of examples given by a serious reference work like this.

after experimenting with a lot of arabic grammar books I have finally met the most engaging one.I can not imagine the right words to give sufficient definition of the capabilities of this breath-taking book.every sentence is supplied with full transliteration.extensive,exhausive but not exhaushing.it is a must to buy book.

It is extremely difficult finding clear texts on Grammar let alone Modern Standard Arabic Grammar. This Book is well organized and clearly written.I truly wish all grammar books were written like this. Simply a breath of fresh air.

This is a nice big book, I didn't expect it to be so big like half the size of a phone book, but it just makes it that much better. Now I know a lot of people like to write "Not for beginners", "Advanced linguists", and so on, I tend to see that as rather cocky, but I will say the terminology used in the book isn't for a novice, not to say a beginner cannot pick up the book and learn a whole lot but rather it will take some getting used to. Now, like others said I will reiterate, you cannot 'learn Arabic' from this book, it's a reference guide, meaning you should be learning Arabic (i.e., Vocab, Numbers, Oral Communication, Culture) elsewhere, and using this to reinforce and answer a lot of the questions you'll probably have regarding the peculiarities of Arabic. I haven't gotten through the whole book, I'm over 100 pages in and Already learned a lot in sections I thought I know a lot about like Nouns, there's a lot of nitty gritty other books wont tell you that this one does. The book covers basically all the fundamentals of Arabic speech, from Nouns, Adverbs, Adjectives, Verbs, and a lot more, and it'll keep you busy for a long time.

The most important thing to state with this book is, don't make it your ONLY book. It's long, detailed, but will not give you fluency, it's meant to explain the everyday things in Arabic speech. The first 200 pages are going to be rough since the book is so big, that you need to hold it open or else it will shut, but when you get to the middle of the book it'll hold itself open, over 700 pages is a lot plus it's measurements are pretty big too so keep that in mind.

All in all, perfect solution for grammar, you wont need much else, as long as you're following some kind of language learning system be it at school or self teaching this will boost your knowledge of FusHa al Asr 100x.

Professor Ryding's master piece is best appreciated when used daily. The "Contents" comprises nine pages of jam-packed easy to use reference material. The seven "Index" pages provide additional verbiage in English as well in transliterated Arabic. The arrangement of the topics in the Index provides additional details that augment the Table of Contents section of this superb Reference. This book, I believe, was not intended as an English Grammar Guide. However, this is a unintended bonus but a bonus none the less.
This book comes in handy when explaining Arabic syntax to my English speaking colleagues. It helps to use the precise English term that best conveys the Arabic meaning. In any language this would not an easy task. To do so in Arabic is a daunting endeavor. Dr. Ryding, however, makes this task look simple and pithy. Any user of this Reference Guide will find just such a word every time.
As a Reference Guide you may go to any chapter to review the topic of your choice without the need to study the previous chapters or the following chapters. The topics addressed in each chapter are considered to be an integral part of the whole volume, yet at the same time these topics may be made use of without relying on the remaining chapters.
The section on "How to use An Arabic Dictionary" is very useful, see appendix I.
The "Glossary of English grammatical terms", starts on Page 686 of my copy of the book, hence the Bonus.
I highly recommend that the "Preface" and "Chapter 1" be read in their entirety, at least once.
This Reference Guide not only supports a student's textbook, but also assists the user of Arabic in a professional milieu.

If you are taking university Arabic courses and the points of grammar are not fully explained, this is an excellent reference as there are plenty of examples. The only thing it is missing for the student is the I'raab. The inflections are missing in the examples, but made up for in the transliterations.

If you've never explored a grammar book before, Ryding does a good job of reiterating how the Arabic language works to form structure, the grammar terms will become familiar over time as you gain experience using the book. Don't be intimidated. The table of contents is clear and straightforward following all major forms that you'd be familiar with: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and then breaks them down into their respective parts.

Again, this is a reference, if you use it as such, it will a great aid.