10 Useful Blogs For Learners Of Arabic Dialects

Although it is common to associate learning a language with native speakers, most language blogs are actually written by non-natives speakers who have reached a decent level of conversational fluency.

Learning from non-natives should not be overlooked as they can sometimes be more effective in explaining concepts or phrases than native speakers.

Fortunately, there are several non-natives Arabic learners who turn to blogging as a way to share their knowledge with the Arabic learning community.

In this post, I will share with you 10 blogs that are useful for learners of various Arabic dialects. These blogs are gems considering that resources catering for learners of Arabic dialects are generally lagging behind.

Most of these blogs lean towards teaching the top two most popular Arabic dialects - Egyptian and Levantine Arabic.

Some of the blogs are no longer active but the accumulated content left behind are nevertheless valuable.

1. The Arabic Student

Website: thearabicstudent.com

Arabic dialect: egyptian Several

While the blog hasn’t been active since 2013, it is still a treasure trove of knowledge for learners of Arabic dialects.

The blogger behind the site is an American man who clearly has studied Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and also been exposed to several Arabic dialects.

Most of his posts are based on short clips taken from drama series where he provides the transcript and elaborates on the important phrases.

Furthermore, the Arabic student has a YouTube channel where he explains the meaning behind useful phrases and sayings found in Spoken Arabic. His videos are great for those who prefer visuals over texts.

Other Arabic students can definitely learn a lot from both his blog posts and videos. His near native-level accent is also something we can all aspire to achieve.

Posts are categorized according to the various Arabic dialects, thus making it easy for other students to sift through the contents.

2. Team Maha

Website: teammaha.com

Arabic dialect: egyptian Egyptian & Levantine

Team Maha is another blog that has been around for several years now. The majority of university students with MSA background should able to relate with the title of the blog.

That is because Maha is an Egyptian girl living in New York who is featured in the Al-Kitaab textbook series. The portrayal of her as a depressing and lonely character has made her a somewhat peculiar and endearing character that has grown on students to the extent of her becoming an inside joke within the community of MSA learners.

Content produced by Team Maha includes Egyptian and Levantine Arabic (the latter forming the bulk of the blog) as well as comparisons between the two dialects and MSA.

This blog is clearly a labor of love.

MSA learners who are interested to learn the Levantine dialect should definitely check out the PDF titled “Team Nisreen’s Fusha to Shami” that has been painstakingly produced by the creators of this blog.

3. TalkInArabic.com

Website: talkinarabic.com/blog

Arabic dialect: egyptian Several

While TalkInArabic.com is a paid resource for students looking for video and audio learning materials in Spoken Arabic, the blog provides free useful articles that aid students in their language journey.

For example, you’re reading this article right here on the TalkInArabic.com’s blog!

Students learning Egyptian and Levantine Arabic especially will find numerous articles about recommended shows, great listening resources as well as language centers located in the capital cities of Egypt and Jordan, just to name a few.

All in all, the blog is a great place to seek out resources that help you to immerse yourself in the language scene beyond textbooks, thus enhancing your language journey.

4. theLevanTongue

Website: thelevantongue.com

Arabic dialect: egyptian Levantine Arabic

theLevanTongue is a relatively new blog started back in January 2018.

The blogger, Harilyn (which is me!), has spent a year in Jordan for an immersion program back in 2015.

Although she started off with MSA, she decided to switch to Jordanian Arabic after realizing that hardly anyone speaks in MSA on a daily basis.

The blog has numerous posts that teach useful short phrases as well as expressions that are commonly found in Spoken Arabic.

In addition, transcripts and English translation of short clips taken from shows are also available on her blog.

Levantine Arabic learners who have been studying the dialect for some time now may want to check out theLevanTongue.

Also, check out Lyn's Talk In Arabic review.

5. Speak Moroccan / Parler L'Arabe Marocain

Website 1: Speak Moroccan (English)

Website 2: Parler L'Arabe Marocain (French)

Arabic dialect: egyptian Moroccan

Speak Moroccan is one of the oldest and longest running blogs specifically aimed at teaching the Moroccan Arabic dialect.

The site creator, being a French speaking Moroccan, has created both an English and French version.

You'll find loads of helpful Moroccan vocabulary and grammar explanations, phrases and resources to help you learn Moroccan.

There's also a very active forum for Moroccan learners that's free to use.

6. The Art of Arabic

Website: zubaidahabduljalil.com

Arabic dialect: egyptian Levantine Arabic (Jordanian)

Zubaidah, who is the writer behind The Art of Arabic, decided to start the blog after an immersive year in Jordan where she picked up colloquial Arabic after realizing that her knowledge of MSA was not helpful in navigating the country.

Although The Art of Arabic is no longer active, the well written articles by Zubaidah are still especially helpful for beginners.

The articles are an enjoyable read as Zubaidah shares her life experience in Jordan and infuses her personality in writing.

MSA learners looking to pick up Jordanian Arabic should definitely check out her blog.

7. Languages of Life

Website: languagesoflife.com

Arabic dialect: egyptian Levantine Arabic

Languages of Life is a blog started by a man named “Rui” back in December 2014.

There is not much information available about him but it seems that his knowledge of South Levantine Arabic comes from his immersion in Jordan.

Although Rui has stopped producing content for his blog, the several articles that he has written are still helpful for independent Levantine Arabic learners.

Learners can pick up useful verbs and phrases that are commonly found in Spoken Arabic, thus expanding their vocabulary.

8. The Armchair Arabist

Website: armchairarabist.blogspot.com

Arabic dialect: egyptian Moroccan Arabic

The Armchair Arabist is a blog by an Arabic student, Matt Schumann, who has spent several years living in the Middle East. Matt has started the blog to share his knowledge of Moroccan Arabic.

The title of the blog is similar to the concept of “armchair travel”. However, instead of being a blog that takes people to faraway places without leaving home, The Armchair Arabist helps students to learn Moroccan Arabic without the need to travel to Morocco.

Besides sharing his insights about all things Morocco and its spoken dialect, Matt also creates Moroccan Arabic lessons.

Most of these lessons consist of videos taken from films and shows, and Matt provides the transcripts, translation and necessary explanations behind vocabulary words.

Although the blog is no longer active, students of Moroccan Arabic should spend time navigating The Armchair Arabist for there is a lot to learn from the posts.

9. Arabic Learning Resources

Website: arabic.desert-sky.net

Arabic dialect: egyptian Egyptian Arabic

This site is created by a non-native speaker originally as a personal vocabulary list for him or her. But the site eventually expanded and became more than just a simple archive of words.

All in all, Arabic Learning Resources provides a good overview of the Egyptian dialect.

The site contains vocabulary lists surrounding various topics as well as grammar lessons that are useful for MSA students wanting to learn Egyptian Arabic.

The contents are organized in such a way that students are able to see the difference between MSA and Egyptian Arabic side by side. Transliterations are also included which can be helpful for beginners.

10. The Arabic Learner

Website: thearabiclearner.com

Arabic dialect: egyptian Egyptian Arabic

The Arabic Learner is a blog that is slightly different from the rest.

The blogger behind the site, Andrew Dempsey, is a Canadian who has lived in Egypt for the greater part of his life.

While other blogs delve straight into the world of Spoken Arabic, Andrew takes a slightly different approach and instead reveals his various learning hacks on how to go about acquiring Egyptian Arabic.

His strategies based on different learning methodologies will help students set learning goals and equip them with the knowledge to tackle the language in the most efficient way.

Considering that Andrew has a vast experience in the Linguistic field combined with the fact that he has successfully reached relative fluency in Egyptian Arabic, Arabic learners should check out his site and put his advice into action right away.

Interested in starting your own blog and sharing your knowledge?

Are you an Arabic language enthusiast?

Why not start a blog and share your knowledge with others?

If you’re inspired by this post and would like further insight on how to start an Arabic language blog, check out this post here written by the founder of TalkInArabic.com and blogger at The Mezzofanti Guild, Donovan Nagel.

Last but not least, if you do know of any blogs relating to Arabic dialects that should be on this list, let us know by leaving a comment below.

This post was contributed by Harilyn Tahir.