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P I M S L E U R®

L A N G U A G E P R O G R A M S

EGYPTIAN ARABIC

S U P P L E M E N T A L R E A D I N G B O O K L E T

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3The Arabic Alphabet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5Diacritical Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Lesson 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13Lesson 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14Lesson 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Lesson 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Lesson 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17Lesson 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Lesson 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19Lesson 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Lesson 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21Lesson 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22Lesson 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23Lesson 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24Lesson 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25Lesson 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26Lesson 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27Lesson 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28Lesson 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29Lesson 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

TABLE OF CONTENTSReading Lessons

3

Reading can be defined as “the act of decodinggraphic material in order to determine its message.”To put it another way , reading consists of comingback to speech through its graphic symbols. Inshort, meanings reside in the sounds of the spokenlanguage. Speaking a language is the necessary firststep to acquiring the ability to read a language withmeaning.

Arabic is written in the Arabic alphabet whichdates back to pre-Islamic periods. It is used todayin any country where Arabic is spoken. It has alsobeen adopted by neighboring countries whoselanguage is not Arabic, such as Iran, Afghanistan,and Pakistan. Although Arabic dialects dif fer, theyare all written using the same alphabet.

Acomplete listing of the Arabic alphabet has beenincluded for your reference, beginning on page 8. Itis shown in a 2-page spread, reading right to left.This is to be used only as a guide since all of thenecessary information for beginning to read inArabic will be given in the audio portion of thereadings. In the reading lessons for this course, youwill practice recognition and pronunciation ofArabic letters and combination of letters, as well astheir use in different words and contexts.

Egyptian Arabic

Introduction

4

The recorded portion of the reading materials forEgyptian Arabic will be found at the end of theprogram. You can do the readings as it is most con-venient for you. They can be done individually afterevery other unit or so, or done entirely aftercompleting the full 30 units. Instructions on how toproceed with the readings are contained on Cassette/ CD Sixteen.

Egyptian Arabic

Introduction (continued)

5

The Arabic writing system is easy to learn andmaster because the Arabic alphabet has a high cor-respondence b etween s ound a nd s ymbol. Thismeans that a letter is pronounced almost the same inevery word position.

The Arabic alphabet contains 28 letters inaddition to the hamza (glottal stop) and two variantsof existing letters (alif and ta). A number of dia-critical marks complement the alphabet. These aresigns written above or below the letters; they arelisted on page 12. Each letter has four dif ferentrepresentations, depending on its position within aword. There is an independent form, as well as abeginning, a middle, and an end form.

Arabic is written cursively, reading from right toleft, with the letters connected to one another .However, some letters connect only to precedingletters, or from the right side. These are known asone-way connectors. The other group is called two-way connectors as they connect to other lettersfrom both sides.

The alphabet contains three long vowels: alif(aa), waw (uu), and ya (ii). The latter two functionalso as semi-vowels, as in “wet” and “yes.” Thereare three short counterparts of these vowels repre-

Egyptian Arabic

The Arabic Alphabet

6

sented by diacritical marks: the fatha (a), the damma(u), and the kasra (i). They are about half as long. Atiny circle written above a consonant is called sukunand represents the absence of a vowel.

The mark that resembles a tiny w is called“shadda.” It signifies a doubled consonant. Forexample, this mark over the letter t in the word for“six” makes the word pronounced /sit-tah/ ratherthan /sitah/ if it were not there.

If you are not familiar with the Arabic alphabet,you may at first find that it takes some time toassociate the appropriate sounds with each letterand/or group of letters. Therefore, we recommendthat you take the Reading Lessons at your own pace,repeating each until you feel comfortableproceeding to the next. With a little ef fort, you willbe astonished at how quickly you are readingArabic.

Egyptian Arabic

The Arabic Alphabet (continued)

7

Egyptian Arabic

The Arabic Alphabet (continued)

8

Egyptian Arabic

The Arabic Alphabet

9

Egyptian Arabic

The Arabic Alphabet (continued)

10

Egyptian Arabic

The Arabic Alphabet (continued)

11

Egyptian Arabic

Diacritical Marks

mwf

Callout

Page 12 is intentionally blank.

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Egyptian Arabic

Lesson 1

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Egyptian Arabic

Lesson 2

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Egyptian Arabic

Lesson 3

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Egyptian Arabic

Lesson 4

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Egyptian Arabic

Lesson 5

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Egyptian Arabic

Lesson 6

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Egyptian Arabic

Lesson 7

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Egyptian Arabic

Lesson 8

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Egyptian Arabic

Lesson 9

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Egyptian Arabic

Lesson 10

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Egyptian Arabic

Lesson 11

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Egyptian Arabic

Lesson 12

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Egyptian Arabic

Lesson13

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Egyptian Arabic

Lesson 14

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Egyptian Arabic

Lesson 15

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Egyptian Arabic

Lesson 16

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Egyptian Arabic

Lesson 17

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Egyptian Arabic

Lesson 18

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