differences are not only between the written and spoken varieties, but also amongst the various regional varieties spoken across the Arab world. For this reason, we have opted in this book to use a simplified standard variety based on Modern Standard Arabic that is very close to all the Arabic dialects spoken across the Middle East and North Africa.
A note on pronunciation
For non-native speakers, some Arabic letters such as glottal fricatives and uvular stops are a little strange and can be challenging to pronounce. Therefore, in this volume every Arabic word or phrase is spelled out the way it should be sounded. We have also included a transliteration in the Roman alphabet based on the conventional transliterating system used by the International Phonetic Association symbols.
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
| Arabic | Transcription | Approximate in English |
| Letter | ||
 | ‘ | a (as in and) |
 | b | b |
 | t | t |
 | th | th (as in three) |
 | j | j (as in jelly) |
 | h | does not exist |
 | kh | doesn’t exist (as in Spanish J) |
 | d | d |
 | dh | th (as in there) |
 | r | r |
 | z | z |
 | s | s |
 | sh | sh (as in shine) |
 | s | doesn’t exist (similar to sun) |
 | d | doesn’t exist (similar to Don) |
 | t | doesn’t exist (similar to Tokyo) |
 | z | doesn’t exist |
 | ` | doesn’t exist |
 | gh | doesn’t exist (similar to French R) |
 | f | f |
 | q | doesn’t exist |
 | k | k |
 | l | l |
 | m | m |
 | n | n |
 | h | h |
 | w | w (as in was) |
 | y | y (as in yellow) |
VOWELS
In standard Arabic, there are three short and three long vowels.
Short Vowels
Short vowels are small signs written above or under the letters indicating the consonants after which they are to be pronounced. In modern written texts most short vowels are not indicated. This means that a thorough knowledge of Arabic vocabulary and grammar is necessary to read “unvocalized” written text. A text in which vowels are marked is called “vocalized” text.
| Vowel | Sign | English equivalent |
| a |  | Amsterdam” |
| i |  | inside” |
| a |  | to go” |
Long Vowels
The three long vowels are:
| Vowel | Sign | English equivalent |
| aa |  | as in “far” |
| ii |  | as in “clean” |
| uu |  | as in “noon” |
PART 1
Lists of Words / Expressions
Peace be upon you.*
as-salaamu `alaykum (assalaamo `alaykom)
(Response to “peace be upon you”)*
wa`alaykum as-salaam (wa`alaykom assalaam)
* Islamic greetings. See 165-169.
Good morning.
sabaahul khayr (sabaahel kheir)
(Response to “good morning”)
sabaahun nuur (sabaahenoor)
Good evening.
masaa’ul khayr
