What is MSA: A Crash Course in Dialects and Other Nuances

So you’ve decided to learn Arabic. It's likely that you’ve come across the compelling and challenging decision to either study Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or a specific dialect. Prior to going on my language journey, I knew relatively nothing about the Arabic language and culture. It wasn’t until I took a spontaneous introductory Arabic class my freshman year that I realized that depth of this deep-rooted language.

What is MSA?

Arabic is the official language of 25 countries, stretching from Morocco in North Africa to the United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf. Moreover, the language is spoken by as much as 420 million people around the world.

Map of the MENA region

Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is a term used to refer to the standardized Arabic that developed in the Arab world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. MSA is the most used version of Arabic today in the Arabic-speaking world. It is utilized in media, books, and during political debates and speeches. Most new Arabic students tend to learn MSA, especially if learning in university. Although MSA is understood by most Arabs, it is considered very formal and rarely used on the streets.

In comparison to dialects, MSA differs vastly in terms of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. Arabs learn MSA in school so they can read and write, understand media, and participate in politics. This is because MSA is not a conversational language; it is the modernization of an ancient language full of archaic vocabulary and complex grammar. However, dialects are spoken at home, on the streets, and in regular settings across the Arab world. The spoken dialect varies within countries and across the region.

Something as simple as “How are you” can vary all across the Arabic-speaking world. Here we see a contrast between MSA, the Egyptian dialect, and the Levantine dialect.

People stand on both sides of the dialectal debate. Any person learning Arabic can tell you that they’ve faced the crossroads of either learning a dialect or learning MSA first. While there are many benefits and cons to each, it wasn’t until two years into learning Arabic that I faced my own eye-opening challenge.

Learning to Walk the Walk

Knowing the importance of practice, I decided to hit up one of my close Arabic-speaking friends. My intention was to show off the two years of hard work and effort of learning her native language. However, as soon as she began speaking, my confidence level shot down about 10 notches. I could only pick a few words out of the sentences that she spewed at me. Two years of learning MSA went down the drain almost instantaneously, and I was left as a mumbling heap of embarrassment. She quickly consoled me and explained that she was speaking in her Jordanian dialect. This experience showed me how small nuances in a sentence could make a huge difference to a listener. It also showed me that it was time to buckle up because my Arabic learning journey was far from over.

The quest to learn an Arabic dialect started in my room and led me across the world. Literally. The summer of my sophomore year was when I decided to crack down on intensive language learning. I gathered resources, made new friends, and set a goal for mastering in the Egyptian dialect. Some resources included the Kallimni ‘Arabi workbook series that emphasizes listening and speaking. Additionally, I used a site known as Lingualism, which provides workbooks, flashcards, and situational dialogues for dialect learners.

When I returned to college for the fall semester, my professor commented on my growth in both the dialect and MSA. I attributed my success to practice, motivation and having a sheer interest in the language. Not only did I grow in confidence in my ability to communicate, but learning vocabulary grew into a daily hobby.

The interesting mosaic that culture and language paints began to truly captivate my sense of wonder and wanderlust. This curiosity led to my first experience studying abroad in Cairo, Egypt during the summer of 2019. I attended an 80-hour one-on-one course that focused on dialogues and conversations in colloquial Arabic. I felt incredibly rewarded from my ability to converse with taxi drivers, travel around Egypt, make new friends, and expand my cultural horizons. Moreover, everyone spoke to me in dialect and not MSA.

I was often questioned by native speakers on why I decided to learn the Egyptian dialect. This of course was followed by the inquiry of why I was learning Arabic in the first place.

Are you interested in government work?

No.

Are you on some type of religious quest?

No.

Are you a polyglot?

No.

With each denial came deeper questions that allowed me to build rapport with people. Many times when I was chanced to speak with Egyptian Arabic speakers, they were confounded and impressed. However, my goal was not to showoff, but to engage and practice what I had learned.

I practiced fun phrases, light-hearted jokes, and words that had no translation to English. I found that learning a dialect allowed me to communicate to many hearts. As it is often said, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.”

Pros of Learning MSA

With the challenge not only being unique to Arabic learners, there exists many pros and cons in learning MSA or a dialect.

• Learning it will allow you to understand a variety of Arabic media since it is used in official texts, broadcasts, and political environments.

• Although MSA isn’t widely spoken as a first language, people will certainly understand you.

• There is a plethora of resources available for those learning MSA compared to learning a dialect.

Cons of Learning MSA

• It is not a colloquially spoken language.

• You will not understand people if they reply using a dialect.

• It’s difficult. MSA is very structured and highly dependent on grammatical correctness, verb conjugations and case endings.

Pros of Learning a Dialect

• You will get a better sense of the culture and engage a person’s mother tongue during conversations.

• Many dialect speakers understand one another and have the capability to substitute dialectal nuances. This is very helpful if you choose to learn the Levantine dialect and decide to travel to Egypt.

• Dialects have less grammar and are more colloquial in nature.

Cons of Learning a Dialect

• There are fewer resources available compared to MSA.

• Learning a particular dialect can be useless outside of that country. Some dialects extend so far from MSA that they can be even considered another language. For instance, the Moroccan dialect is well known to stump many native Arabic speakers because of its influence from French colonization, Spanish loan words, and the indigenous Berber language.

• Since most media and books are written in MSA, learning a dialect may not be very helpful.

The decision to learn a dialect or MSA depends solely on the purpose of your language journey. If your interest lies within following politics or professional spheres, then starting with MSA may be your best bet.

However, if your focus is based on wanting to engage with people or move to another country, then learning a dialect will be a great first step.

Popularly Learned Dialects

Some popular Arabic dialects that learners choose to study include the Egyptian, Gulf, and Levantine dialects.

Egyptian

This dialect has well over 55 million speakers and is the most understood in the Arabic world. The Egyptian media industry has a large impact on the film world and was actually the most popular dialect for many international movies to be dubbed into.

Gulf

The Gulf dialect is a collection of many dialects in the region that can be relatively understood within the same groups. However, there can be slight variations in accents and vocabulary. This area includes the Persian Gulf in Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, parts of eastern Saudi Arabia, southern Iraq, southern Iran, and northern Oman. Within this region, there are nearly 36 million native speakers of the Gulf dialect.

Levantine

There are around 33 million speakers of the Levantine vernacular. This region includes Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, and some parts of Israel. It is also referred to as Shami or the Eastern Arabic Dialect.

Time to Talk the Talk

If you’re still deciding on whether you want to focus initial efforts on learning MSA or a dialect, here are some resources and tips from native speakers and Arabic learners.

• Linguamid discusses the benefits of learning both from his experience as a native Egyptian and teacher of MSA.

• ArabicPod101 is an awesome resource that aims to strengthen learners in both Egyptian Arabic and MSA. This video explores the differences that one sentence can contain while contrasting MSA and other popular dialects.

• Arabic Mike is an English born Arabic learner who provides some information about his language journey on YouTube. In this video, he answers the common question of learning a dialect vs. learning MSA. Moreover, he provides his experience from learning MSA first and speaking predominantly in that tongue when conversing.

Now that we’ve established some clarification about dialects and MSA, I leave the choice now to you. The road in learning a language will never be a linear one. There will be days you feel like quitting, taking a hiatus, or even days of success. Remember that your language journey is experientially unique, and at most, an interesting rollercoaster ride. So buckle up, and put on your helmet. You never know where your language journey may take you. If you're lacking inspiration, check out one of the passionate youtubers mentioned above!