One of the best ways to learn a language is by studying the media that native speakers themselves listen to and read, and popular songs can also reveal much about the culture and traditions of an area where the language is spoken. Following on the success of his Kilma Hilwa: Egyptian Arabic through Popular Songs (AUC Press, 2015), Cairo-based Arabic teacher Bahaa Ed-Din Ossama now brings together twenty songs in Modern Standard Arabic performed by popular singers of the Arab world from Abd al-Halim Hafez to Fairouz and builds a variety of language lessons around them, with notes on vocabulary, grammar, and usage, and communicative exercises in listening, reading, and speaking. The songs are graded from easiest to most difficult, and each lesson includes a link to a performance of the song on YouTube, the lyrics of the song, and notes on the writer, the composer, and the singer. Illustrations by calligrapher Hatem Arafa accompany each song. Students using this unique book will not only improve their Arabic skills but will also gain an insight into the cultural landscape of the Arab world. The book can be used in the classroom or for self-study. Includes songs by: Abd al-Halim Hafez, Fairouz, Fuad Abd al-Magid, Karem Mahmoud, Kazem al-Saher, Muhammad Abd al-Wahab, Nagat al-Saghira, Rima Khashish, and Umm Kulthum.
Musiqa al-Kalimat
Modern Standard Arabic through Popular Songs: Intermediate to Advanced
Bahaa Ed-Din Ossama
Illustrations byHatem Arafa
15 June 2017
312 pp.
15X23cm
ISBN 9789774167959
For sale worldwide
$24.95
Related products
Contrastive Rhetoric
Issues, Insights, and Pedagogy
Edited by Nagwa KassabgyZeinab Ibrahim
Sabiha Aydelott
The essays in this volume explore the field of contrastive rhetoric—the study of how a person’s first language (L1) and culture influence the acquisition of another language. Contrastive rhetoric encourages inquiry into various levels of discourse and text, examining the conventions and rhetorical structures of L1 and their influence on the use of another language. It also studies the cognitive dimensions of transfer in relation to both writing and speech. The four sections of this volume—focusing on writing and translation, diglossia, second language acquisition, and pragmatics—cover a broad spectrum of studies in the field of contrastive rhetoric, with essays by some of its leading scholars from Cyprus, Egypt, Hong Kong, Jordan, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The collection will be invaluable to language teachers, students of applied linguistics, and anyone interested in second language acquisition and related issues. Contributors: Nahwat El Arousy, Reem Bassiouney, Ulla Connor, Mohammed Farghal, Ola Hafez, Martin Harfmann, Julide Inozu, Georgette Ioup, Mona Kamel Hassan, Miranda Lee, Zuhal Okan, Mona Osman, Andreas Papapavlou, Paul Stevens, Hulya Yumru, Izzedin al-Zou’bi.
...read more
Paperback
288 pp.4 color illus.
15X23cm
$29.50
Building Arabic Vocabulary through Reading
For Advanced Students of MSA
Nariman Naili Al-WarrakiNadia Harb
Advanced and High Intermediate Arabic learners can benefit greatly from reading texts that cover a broad range of different themes, to build their vocabulary and attain a higher proficiency level. The authors of this textbook have carefully selected a lively variety of texts that cover controversial issues and current events, which are likely to arouse students’ attention and interest. In the course of reading to learn, students will not only practice strategies (skimming, scanning, careful reading, and guessing for vocabulary recognition), but they will also engage more deeply in the material as informative of Arab and Egyptian society, politics, and culture. Another important objective is to direct the attention of the student to MSA connectors, which are essential for comprehension. Readers will begin to notice high-frequency words and idiomatic expressions in multiple contexts, reinforcing their retention and ability to then use them in discussion. The grammatical structures of MSA styles occurring in the texts can be reviewed and reinforced. The texts appear in order from least to greatest linguistic complexity, and to a certain extent, by the topic which they tackle. This makes it easy for instructors to choose the most level-appropriate material to present to their classes. An experimental copy of the book has been piloted over the last four years at the Arabic Language Institute at the American University in Cairo, with the result that the first 15 lessons have been deemed correct for the high intermediate level and the remaining lessons for advanced students. The book includes exercises after every five lessons, and all the drills are gathered in an appendix following the text, as well as a glossary for all vocabulary items.
...read more
25 April 2014
Paperback
320 pp.17X24cm
$45.00
A Dictionary of Idiomatic Expressions in Written Arabic
For the Reader of Classical and Modern Texts
Mahmoud Sami MoussaHow would you ever know that “to lose a baby ostrich” means to rush into something without thinking? Or that “what can the wind take from the pavement?” is said when someone has nothing left to lose? This comprehensive guide to idiomatic expressions in literary Arabic, the first of its kind, will inform, amuse, and entertain, through more than 8500 entries found in texts from the Qur’an to today’s newspapers. With explanations in Arabic and English, it is an essential resource for both students of Arabic and native speakers. Reaching into the great wealth of this complex and intriguing language, the dictionary draws on and reveals the rich cultural and religious traditions of Arabic-speaking communities that have informed its idioms. Expressions of condolence, astonishment, and hardship, alongside sayings about friendship, miserliness, and reconciliation are collected and made accessible here, while glimpses are provided into history through phrases tied to important events and figures—from the ancient Egyptians to Saddam Hussein. Altogether this book allows a fascinating insight into Arabic’s many quirks and intricacies.
...read more
27 March 2015
Hardbound
550 pp.17X24cm
$69.95
Kallimni ‘Arabi Aktar
An Upper Intermediate Course in Spoken Egyptian Arabic 3
Samia LouisAimed at the growing number of students studying Arabic worldwide, Kallimni ‘Arabi Aktar takes an innovative, functional approach to the study of Egyptian colloquial Arabic—the spoken dialect most frequently studied and most widely understood in the Arab world. Picking up where the previous title in this series, Kallimni ‘Arabi, leaves off, this volume is designed for adult students at the high-intermediate/low-advanced levels of language proficiency. Drawing on her years of experience as an Arabic instructor, author Samia Louis has developed a course rich in everyday cultural content and real-life functional language as well as comprehensive grammar. Written in accordance with the ACTFL guidelines for teaching Arabic as a foreign language, this highly structured course trains students in the crucial skills, with emphasis on listening and speaking.
Each chapter includes a conversation unit that enables students to improve their communication skills and allows for progressive acquisition of vocabulary and grammar through interactive classroom tasks and everyday situations, from expressing personal likes and dislikes to initiating conversations and describing events and experiences. The associated audio files carry recordings of each chapter’s dialogues and exercises, made by native Egyptian speakers to enrich the student’s exposure to the spoken language in its natural context and speed. Click here to listen to the modules on Soundcloud.
30 May 2008
Paperback
336 pp.Illustrated
17X24cm
$29.95