# Egyptian Arabic vs. ?



## travelinhobo (Sep 17, 2010)

I've been seeing the term 'Egyptian Arabic' on some ex-pat sites and would like to know from people who know the difference, how great is the difference between 'regular' Arabic and Egyptian Arabic? Is it similar to the difference of British & Amer. English or as different as Castillian & Mexican Spanish? Also, any good websites to learn it from? Thanks!


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## Tinytraveler (Feb 17, 2010)

Regular Arabic is a myth. That implies that there is one Arabic that is spoken by the majority of Arabic speakers. People from Morocco speak with a lot of French infused into the language and sort of a french accent when they pronounce Arabic words. They are extremely difficult for say Saudi's to understand. Even with in Saudi there are differences between the people of Medina and Jeddah. I think that is more like the difference between the way someone would talk in Boston and someone from Georgia (USA). The difference between Saudis and Egyptians I think is more like the difference between British English and US English. They use some different words for the same item but basically they can understand each other. I think Egyptian Arabic is easier for other Arabs to understand because of the wide spread TV and movie industry of Egypt. Then there is Classical Arabic that...for example the Quran was writen in and is taught in school but most of the day to day dealings and conversations it is not used.


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## Sam (Aug 27, 2009)

travelinhobo said:


> I've been seeing the term 'Egyptian Arabic' on some ex-pat sites and would like to know from people who know the difference, how great is the difference between 'regular' Arabic and Egyptian Arabic? Is it similar to the difference of British & Amer. English or as different as Castillian & Mexican Spanish? Also, any good websites to learn it from? Thanks!


If by "regular" Arabic you mean the Standard Arabic or High Arabic, then yes there is a HUGE difference. I would say more like the differences between the different versions of Spanish. 

High Arabic is a very difficult language, and you'd find that many Egyptians do not know the language well even, particularly when it comes to grammar (almost all should at least understand the spoken language though, even if they cannot speak it well themselves).

There are also a lot of different dialects within Egypt. For example the ج in many parts of Egypt would be pronounced like a g, but in upper Egypt (and also in High Arabic) is pronounced like a j.


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## Beatle (Aug 14, 2009)

I've studied a little bit of both Egyptian Colluqial Arabic (called amaaya) and modern standard arabic (fusha). When you study Arabic outside an arabic speaking country, you are usually taught fusha. It's the language used by the media, in the Quran etc. Most Arabs I've met don't seem to really understand the complex grammar in fusha. 

Studying fusha seemed to be as much use as owning a chocolate teapot when I tried to use it in Cairo however. It's a formal language so either people would literally fall about laughing when I opened my mouth or I hadn't studied the right vocab to get around. I could say thinks like "the President of China received a delegation from the United Nations" but had no idea how to ask for a knife or fork

So I also studied a little ECA. It is much more useful if your intention is to spend time in Egypt. All the dialects differ to some extent. It depends on who you are speaking to as to which dialect is better to study. People say that since the film industry was historically in Egypt, everyone understand Egyptian Arabic. Some Syrians have commented to me that their Arabic is "purer" and closer to Fusha. Others have commented that the film industry is now moving to Dubai and maybe Gulf Arabic will become more popular. From my limited understanding, although Gulf Arabs and Syrians may use different vocab for certain words, they can understand ECA and vice-versa but it's seemingly impossible to understand Moroccan or Algerian Arabic unless you understand their dialect.

As for websites, I believe Michael Thomas has a good learning programme but it isn't cheap! I actually bought an ECA textbook with dvds to study it from


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## NZCowboy (May 11, 2009)

For a bit more background check out wikipeda
Egyptian Arabic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Modern Standard Arabic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
To put it simply Standard Arabic is more formal written/academic verison, and not generally used in day to day conversation.


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## Helen Ellis (Aug 9, 2008)

Beatle said:


> I've studied a little bit of both Egyptian Colluqial Arabic (called amaaya) and modern standard arabic (fusha). When you study Arabic outside an arabic speaking country, you are usually taught fusha. It's the language used by the media, in the Quran etc. Most Arabs I've met don't seem to really understand the complex grammar in fusha.
> 
> Studying fusha seemed to be as much use as owning a chocolate teapot when I tried to use it in Cairo however. It's a formal language so either people would literally fall about laughing when I opened my mouth or I hadn't studied the right vocab to get around. I could say thinks like "the President of China received a delegation from the United Nations" but had no idea how to ask for a knife or fork
> 
> ...


I love the Michel Thomas system and have the Arabic. at the end of it you can, shop,travel and you have a basic working knowledge of Arabic including rudimentary grammar. Yes it is expensive, but it is worth it. I've heard that Pimsleur is good too, but I never got beyond the first 10 mins of it.


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## travelinhobo (Sep 17, 2010)

*Thanks for the info!*

Thanks to all who answered. Very informative and helpful! When I was referring to "regular" Arabic, I meant what a person learns when they want to learn a language (before going to a country). For ex. you can learn English, Spanish, French, etc. Until you decide which to learn, there aren't specifics on the language. I'm thinking about my next country of venture, and Egypt is one of them. Thus the question. (And I'm too cheap to pay to learn a language - I meant free websites/info.)


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## Beatle (Aug 14, 2009)

travelinhobo said:


> Thanks to all who answered. Very informative and helpful! When I was referring to "regular" Arabic, I meant what a person learns when they want to learn a language (before going to a country).  For ex. you can learn English, Spanish, French, etc. Until you decide which to learn, there aren't specifics on the language. I'm thinking about my next country of venture, and Egypt is one of them. Thus the question. (And I'm too cheap to pay to learn a language - I meant free websites/info.)


As far as I am aware you can usually only study MSA abroad (if you take classes) - there's rarely the option of studying a particular dialect. If you are studying from a website, I think you can study ECA. El Rasho sent me some links recently for websites to study Arabic - I will see if they can dig them out.


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## travelinhobo (Sep 17, 2010)

*What I found*

I came upon the following on another website. This is what you guys said and what I wanted to know. I'd prefer to learn the 'correct' Arabic, and certainly to read! But if it's a toss between the 2, I'm guessing the coloquial Arabic is better to go with so I can communicate.?

_Language

Arabic is the official language of Egypt. However the Arabic spoken on the streets differs greatly from the standard Classical Arabic written in newspapers, spoken on the radio or recited in prayers at the mosque all throughout the Arab world. Egyptian Colloquial Arabic is a dialect of Arabic, but so different in many respects to Classical Arabic as to be virtually another language._


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## Beatle (Aug 14, 2009)

travelinhobo said:


> I came upon the following on another website. This is what you guys said and what I wanted to know. I'd prefer to learn the 'correct' Arabic, and certainly to read! But if it's a toss between the 2, I'm guessing the coloquial Arabic is better to go with so I can communicate.?
> 
> _Language
> 
> Arabic is the official language of Egypt. However the Arabic spoken on the streets differs greatly from the standard Classical Arabic written in newspapers, spoken on the radio or recited in prayers at the mosque all throughout the Arab world. Egyptian Colloquial Arabic is a dialect of Arabic, but so different in many respects to Classical Arabic as to be virtually another language._


You can "read" Egyptian Colloquial Arabic - it's not merely a spoken language in that sense. The alphabet for both ECA and MSA is virtually the same, it's just pronunciation of a couple of letters that differs. 

It depends on what your priority is - if you are intending to move between different Arabic speaking countries and you have the time, then you may want to study fusha - I met officers from the British and US military in Cairo and they seem to start off by learning fusha, presumably to give them a basis from which to pick up dialects. If you study MSA it gives you a basis to pick up most of the dialects. It's easier to pick up ECA if you have studied MSA - some words are the same - others are completely different. Sometimes the only difference is pronunciation.

However, progress in MSA is much slower - there is a lot of emphasis on grammar and I find it a little boring at times. I took some courses in Egypt as well which has a much more "traditional" approach to learning than I was use to - lots of chanting verbs. If you study ECA, the emphasis is on being able to communicate. The ECA textbook I use is written entirely in ECA though so you need to be able to read it to follow some courses. However, with courses like Michael Thomas, the emphasis is on speaking not reading.


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## Sam (Aug 27, 2009)

Beatle said:


> The ECA textbook I use is written entirely in ECA though so you need to be able to read it to follow some courses. However, with courses like Michael Thomas, the emphasis is on speaking not reading.


Which textbook do you use?

I've never studied Arabic, just took the approach of learning as I go. But my daughter is really getting very advanced in the language now and I'm feeling I need to start to actively study it to keep up with her!!!


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## Beatle (Aug 14, 2009)

Sam said:


> Which textbook do you use?
> 
> I've never studied Arabic, just took the approach of learning as I go. But my daughter is really getting very advanced in the language now and I'm feeling I need to start to actively study it to keep up with her!!!


Apparently there aren't many textbooks for ECA. I use Kallimni Arabi by Samia Louis. It's published by the AUC. I bought mine in Cairo but you can get them on Amazon. There is a range of books by this author according to which level you are. They come with CDs as well. It's entirely in arabic though unlike my MSA book!


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