Saudi Arabic: Urban Hijazi Dialect, Basic Course (Arabic Edition) [Paperback]

Margaret K. Omar (Author), James R. Frith (Preface)

Product Details

• Paperback: 308 pages
• Publisher: Audio-Forum (January 1, 2000)
• Language: Arabic
• ISBN-10: 0884327396
• ISBN-13: 978-0884327394
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #504,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stands the Test of Time, August 1, 2004

By 

Desert Dweller (Vail, Arizona) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Saudi Arabic: Urban Hijazi Dialect, Basic Course (Arabic Edition) (Paperback)

I have taught languages at the college level for almost 20 years and I hold a PhD in Foreign Language Education. As an instructor at the Air Force Academy, I first used this textbook many years ago to interest my first-year students in the Arabic language, before progressing to formal written Arabic in the second year. I must say that virtually all of my students found this book interesting and immediately usable, mainly due to its being written in Romanized (English) orthography rather than the Arabic script. Later on, because of the requirements of their profession, many of my former students found themselves in Saudi Arabia and were able to immediately communicate with their Saudi counterparts.
Still teaching Arabic in 2004 as a civilian, I have recently used this same textbook to provide communication skills to a wide range of people who may end up in that part of the world in the near future. Again, the response was the same. The book was very practical and immediately useful.
The vocabulary and sentence structures in the book are incrementally paced, beginning with polite social exchanges all the way to complex conversations on politics, history and related topics. Vocabulary lists and short grammatical drills reinforce subject matter without becoming too onerous.
A word to the wise, however. This is not a book that will seamlessly lead you through a course in Standard Arabic. Standard Arabic uses the Arabic writing system and a discernably different linguistic structure. Many of the words are not the same and Standard Arabic places a greater emphasis on grammar than does the spoken language. Nonetheless, I believe that this particular book outshines all other texts for spoken Arabic, regardless of the dialect. Of course, the CD's that accompany this text are indispensable and should be purchased along with the text. Despite its "plain" appearance and lack of any graphic support, this is still the book to get if you want to become proficient in a spoken Arabic dialect. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What you need to talk to the Saudis, January 1, 2001

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Stella Fitzgibbons "language junkie" (The Woodlands, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Saudi Arabic: Urban Hijazi Dialect, Basic Course (Arabic Edition) (Paperback)

This is a reprint of the Foreign Service Institute book used for State Dept. personnel, and offers the advantage of the Saudi dialect--the most complicated phonetically, but if you learn Saudi it's a lot easier to go from it to other dialects than vice versa. It starts properly, with the always-essential politeness phrases that show people you mean well, and has clear explanations of grammar along with a lot of substitution drills. Unfortunately it is intended to be used with a native speaker (who need not have any special training), so you will need a saparate audio course--"Vocabulearn" uses Saudi pronunciation and is a good suggestion.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FSI makes great language learning materials, June 8, 2007

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S.A.S. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saudi Arabic: Urban Hijazi Dialect, Basic Course (Arabic Edition) (Paperback)

FSI produced many excellent tools to help people learn languages that are better than many of the flashy ones put out today. These books and accompanying materials are actually in the public domain, so you can find some of them online. It is much easier to have the book to work with than to use a pdf so I would recommend buying the book, but you can find the pdf and accompanying cd tracks (cost hundreds of dollars otherwise) here, http://www.fsi-language-courses.com/Arabic.aspx The audio material for this product is at the bottom section.