Talk:Arabic phrasebook

"It has a different alphabet than most European languages." I don't know of any European languages written in the Arabic alphabet. Turkish used to be written in it, but isn't now, and Maltese, which is closely related to Arabic, is written in the Latin alphabet. There are Indo-European languages, such as Farsi and Urdu, writte in the Arabic alphabet, but they aren't European. -(WT-en) phma 16:31, 2 Feb 2004 (EST)


 * Good point! I changed the wording to say that Arabic's alphabet is different from the Roman alphabet used for English (which is probably the most cogent point). We could spend an awful long time enumerating all the languages Arabic's alphabet is different from. B-)


 * It's also different from the Cyrillic alphabet, which is used in Europe, but not for the Cyrillic language :)


 * On another point: is there another word for this alphabet besides "Arabic"? "Arabic uses the Arabic alphabet" sounds tautological. (Of course, it's not: for example, Arabic doesn't use what we call "Arabic numerals.") --(WT-en) Evan 16:58, 2 Feb 2004 (EST)


 * Arabic uses Arabic numerals, it just writes them differently (see the Hindi phrasebook). And other languages use the Arabic alphabet. -(WT-en) phma 00:30, 3 Feb 2004 (EST)


 * Doesn't look like it-- Omniglot just calls it "Arabic." I think that Language + "Alphabet" is more common than say, names like "Devanāgarī"  User:(WT-en) Maj

Dialect discussion
Which Arabic dialect or language does this phrasebook describe? I know abit of Palestinian Arabic, and the expressions do not seem to match. I also have an Iraqi friend, who says that Egyptian Arabic is not comprehensible for her, even in everyday things sometimes. Shouldn't there be seperate phrasebooks?

As a Wikipedian and Traveller (in multiple senses), I would say that we necessitate multiple dialectal versions. "Slang" Arabic is completely different from the written norm. Additionally, we should explain voicing and include the vowel markers for clarity.


 * Looks like Modern Standard Arabic to me. This is the closest there is to a standard in the Arab world, but yes, the differences between the dialects should be emphasized. (WT-en) Jpatokal 01:41, 5 Nov 2004 (EST)


 * It's definately not Palestinian/Jordanian dialect. - (WT-en) Cybjorg 12:17, 13 Feb 2006 (EST)
 * If I had to wager a guess, I would say that this phrasebook incorporates an Egyptian dialect. - (WT-en) Cybjorg 04:28, 17 Feb 2006 (EST)

I think that it should be made seperate. Jay Jay Marcus Keize13 (talk) 13:01, 16 July 2017 (UTC)

Alternate Arabic dialect phrasebooks
I know that there was a discussion months ago about having different phrasebooks for different dialects, but I couldn't find any (I was looking for Lebanese Arabic). So I've plunged forward and started creating a Lebanese Arabic phrasebook. More info on Talk:Lebanese Arabic phrasebook.


 * I'll probably follow your cue and start a Jordanian Arabic phrasebook as soon as I get a chance. - (WT-en) Cybjorg 12:38, 13 Feb 2006 (EST)
 * I have started the Jordanian Arabic phrasebook, which should cover both Palestine and Jordan (with only slight differences). It is a work in progress and I should be able to finish up within the next couple of weeks. - (WT-en) Cybjorg 04:24, 17 Feb 2006 (EST)

thanx guys very much!! waiting for more!! also other dialects would be interesting! (gulf, maghreb)

Convert everything to fousha?
With a levantine phrasebook and a Jordanian, I see no need for lebanese glossary in this one. Shouldn't we just convert everything to Modern Standard Arabic? I don't really know how useful that is for travellers though? (WT-en) Lakerhaug
 * No one in North Africa or West Asia speaks Literary Arabic or replies in it. It is mostly written, not spoken :) --(WT-en) MKM 06:29, 23 July 2011 (EDT)

dialect
I like how this claims to be MSA, but what is written with roman characters (often not matching up to the Arabic script right next to it) is obviously dialect! Good to see that as always, any article describing anything other than major sports teams in the United States on a website starting with "wiki-" is garbage unfit for human consumption!
 * Could you please sign your contributions? Hobbitschuster (talk) 18:18, 16 July 2017 (UTC)