In my earlier post, I mentioned my Syrian tutor, Lama. I like her a lot. She explains concepts very well and she is fun to talk with. My class from 8:30-1 is mostly, at least for now, learning the written Modern Standard Arabic. But when I go to Lama, I practice spoken Arabic. At the moment, she is teaching me greetings. It is not enough to just say "Hello, how are you?" A convers
ation of greetings that would last perhaps a minute in America can take five times as long in an Arab country. Arabs like to talk. The questions and conversations go on and on. So how are Westerners going to converse with Arabs in Arabic? It would seem that learning Modern Standard Arabic would solve this dilemma. The problem is that while you can speak Modern Standard Arabic, the average Arab will laugh in your face if you speak it. You see, every Arab region has a different colloquial dialect. For example, there's the Levant (Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria), Eastern/Gulf (Iraq, Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia), North African (Morocco, A
lgeria, Tunisia) and Egyptian. Egyptian dialect is the most commonly known because Egypt is the entertainment capital of the Middle East. After Egyptian dialect, the most common is the Levant, particularly Syrian. From what I have been told by Lama, Syrians take great pride in the Arabic language. Lama told me that Syrians study Arabic from elementary all the way through college and it is compulsory. Syrians take so much pride in their language, that to become an Arabic calligrapher in Syria is a very respected occupation. On this post, I've put some pictures of Syrian calligraphy. These are not just beautiful pictures, but are actual words. Because of the intricate details, this makes calligraphy one of the highest art forms not only in Syria, but the Arab world.
ation of greetings that would last perhaps a minute in America can take five times as long in an Arab country. Arabs like to talk. The questions and conversations go on and on. So how are Westerners going to converse with Arabs in Arabic? It would seem that learning Modern Standard Arabic would solve this dilemma. The problem is that while you can speak Modern Standard Arabic, the average Arab will laugh in your face if you speak it. You see, every Arab region has a different colloquial dialect. For example, there's the Levant (Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria), Eastern/Gulf (Iraq, Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia), North African (Morocco, A
lgeria, Tunisia) and Egyptian. Egyptian dialect is the most commonly known because Egypt is the entertainment capital of the Middle East. After Egyptian dialect, the most common is the Levant, particularly Syrian. From what I have been told by Lama, Syrians take great pride in the Arabic language. Lama told me that Syrians study Arabic from elementary all the way through college and it is compulsory. Syrians take so much pride in their language, that to become an Arabic calligrapher in Syria is a very respected occupation. On this post, I've put some pictures of Syrian calligraphy. These are not just beautiful pictures, but are actual words. Because of the intricate details, this makes calligraphy one of the highest art forms not only in Syria, but the Arab world. 
