Arabic
Ahlan wa sahlan!
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A souk in Marrakech
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This page provides information about classes on offer, about the Arabic language, and useful links to online resources relating to Arabic culture and language learning. Please use the links below to find out more about:
- Arabic courses in Autumn 2009
- Arabic courses in Spring 2010
- Arabic courses in Summer 2010
- Staff
- FAQ
- Introduction to Arabic
- Online resources
For general information about the Lifelong Learning Programme please refer to the links on the left.
Staff
Holger Laux, Co-ordinator for Arabic
E-mail: Holger.Laux@bris.ac.uk
Phone 0117 3310868
Grace Lanman
E-mail: G.Lanman@bristol.ac.uk
Phone 0117 3310868
Najiba Keane
E-mail: Najiba.Keane@bristol.ac.uk
Phone 0117 3310868
Altahair Attia
E-mail: mlaaa@bristol.ac.uk
Phone 0117 3310868
Introduction to Arabic
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According to Ethnologue there are more than 206 million native speakers of all Arabic varieties worldwide and 246 million people speak Arabic as a second language. It is the national or official language of Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian West Bank and Gaza, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen and official regional language in many other countries in the Middle East, North Africa and other Muslim countries. Standard Arabic is understood by all Arabic speakers but most of them speak a colloquial dialect. In most Arab countries only the well educated have adequate proficiency in Standard Arabic. The Arabic script consists of 28 basic letters and is written from right to left.
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Online resources
Please note that we do not hold responsibility for the content of external sites.
Language learning websites
For beginners
This website is run by volunteers and offers free courses, forums, games and a dictionary.
http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/hist455/
Free interactive listening and reading exercises.
Arabic radio and television
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/arabic/news/
BBC news and audio in Arabic.
http://www.aljazeera.net/channel/livestreaming/
International Arabic-language news channel.
Arabic press
Here is a selection of Arabic language newspapers and news channels available online:
http://www.elkhabar.com/accueil/
Al Khabar - Algerian independent daily newspaper.
Dar Al-Hayat - Lebanon newspaper covering news from the Middle East and Arab world.
Al Quds - Palestinian daily newspaper.
Al-Watan - Arabic daily newspaper from Kuwait.
Al Jazeera - website of the international Arabic-language news channel.