So you want to learn Arabic, but which Arabic dialect to learn? Did you know there are 8 main dialects of Arabic spoken throughout the Middle East? This can pose a problem as it is impossible to learn all 8 dialects. So which one to choose?
Some people make the mistake of trying to learn Modern Standard Arabic when first studying the language. This is what mainstream language programs often teach, however the name is confusing. Modern Standard Arabic is based on Arabic that is over a thousand years old and it is certainly not the language spoken by most people in the Middle East today. Most people speak only their dialect in their day interactions with each other. Modern Standard Arabic can be useful if you want to give a formal speech or an academic presentation, but if your goal is to be able to have a conversation with the average person Arabic person, learning a dialect will prove much more useful.
The most common dialect of Arabic is Egyptian Arabic. Egypt is the largest country in the Middle East with over 100 million citizens. That means 1 out of every 4 people in the Middle East speaks the Egyptian dialect of Arabic! Not only that but Cairo has long been the literary, educational and entertainment hub of the Middle East, so it is a dialect understood in every country in the Middle East. If you want to be understood in the Middle East, there is simply no substitute for the Egyptian Dialect. Our course will help you master conversational Arabic so that you can have the confidence that you will be understood wherever you are in the Arab world.