marHaba: A Course in Levantine Arabic - Lebanese Dialect

"This book is a basic, direct and self-guided handbook to learn Levantine dialect. It is a simple, easy to use textbook for both the motivated student and teacher alike. It is useful for beginners with no knowledge of Arabic and for those who have had about a semester or two of either dialect or MSA. It is particularly helpful for people who are going to travel to the Levant for the first time or those who have lived there for a while and need to master and reinforce what they have learned. The book is designed for foreign students who have little or no knowledge of Arabic, formal or informal. It can be used by students themselves on their own, or with the help of an instructor or a tutor. Basically every word is introduced in three forms: Arabic form, transliteration form and English meaning. A beginner non-native who only desires to speak and communicate orally can rely on transliteration and English, while a more experienced student, a heritage student or a non-native with a year of exposure to Arabic who can read and has learned some basic survival vocabulary, may also benefit from the Arabic script and the grammatical notes available in the book. Even if you are well versed in MSA, you still need to have this book. You may already be able to read the newspaper headlines or listen to the news and read a street sign, but it will sound very awkward to use MSA when you meet and greet someone, need a taxi, ask for directions, bargain and negotiate, open a bank account, order a meal or a sandwich, chat with someone in the street or in a café, enter a supermarket or a store, ask for the time, or make an appointment and get to know someone on a personal or even professional level, etc." --