ARAB 310 - Egyptian Colloquial Arabic

Credits: 4

This course is an introduction to the vernacular of Arabic used in Egypt, for students who have completed at least three semesters of training in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (ECA) is not only the native language of over 92 million people, it is also the most widely understood spoken variety of Arabic, due in large measure to Egypt’s geographic location, its social and political influence, and the proliferation and popularity of Egyptian cinema, music and literature throughout the Arab world since the early part of the twentieth century. Students will acquire basic conversational skills in the Cairene dialect of ECA, with an eye to future travel to Egypt. By the end of the course, students will be able to greet others and initiate conversations; introduce and speak about themselves, their lives, their daily routines and their environments in general terms; express their likes and dislikes and their plans for the future; and understand aspects of Egyptian culture connected to daily life, including culturally significant idioms, adjectives and proverbs used among friends and acquaintances. Significant attention will be directed to highlighting and exploring phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic differences and similarities between MSA and ECA. Prerequisite: successful completion of ARAB 101, 102 and 203, or the equivalent level of proficiency as determined in advance by the instructor.