Teach Yourself Gulf Arabic

This book will teach you how to speak and understand the spoken Arabic of the Gulf region. It is not a manual of standard, or literary, Arabic, which is not a spoken language - for that use "Teach Yourself Arabic." However, so that you will be able to read road signs, shop names etc, there is a simple guide to the Arabic alphabet. In the first ten units of the book, you will find all the important information that you will need for good communication in Gulf Arabic. The last four units refer to specific situations in which you might find yourself if you are visiting or living in the region, and build on the words and grammar you have already learned. Each unit contains several dialogues which introduce the new language in a realistic context. The new words and phrases are given in both Arabic script and English transliteration. The grammar points are fully explained and illustrated and gradually build up to provide you with all you need to understand and speak Gulf Arabic. There are plenty of exercises to check your progress and the answers for these are at the back of the book or on the recording. The final section of each unit contains the Arabic script which gradually takes you through the Arabic alphabet so that by the end you will be able to recognise simple road signs and so on. The accompanying double cassette provides listening material. The book (0 340 868015) and cassette (0 340 86803 1) can also be purchased separately.