( 4 reviews )
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Posted: Apr 17 2008
This was an excellent, well researched book. It was full of history, which added context to the discussion of the dialects, and despite being a speaker, I found it full of new information. Personally, I enjoyed most the parts on the mass bedouin migrations to Egypt and the Maghreb, the story of the Banu Hilal and the Banu Sulaym, and the great amount of information on Bedouin migrations, which help explain how certain characteristics spread. A basic knowledge of Arabic is definitely required, or it will be a tedious book to complete, and I would also say that a knowledge of linguistics would also be helpful, as the book is filled with linguistic terminology such as dipthongs, verbo-nominal compounds, infinitives, suffixes, subjunctives, etc. It would have been useful to have a glossary at the end. The only drawback of the book is that all of the Arabic is transliterated into English. I would have found the book much easier if the words had been left in Arabic. For the next edition, I would recommend keeping the words in Arabic, and adding footnotes to the bottom of the page with the English transliterations for those who need them. All in all, an excellent non-Arab study into the language. A-
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Posted: Mar 27 2008
This is a very detailed and scientific analysis of the evolution of Arabic Language, although it may not be meant for the lay man. Kees Vertsteegh has painstakingly detailed-out the linguistic history of Arabic Language starting from its birth in the History all the way to the current state of the language in different parts of the Arabic world. One point to note though: the book uses a lot of phonetic symbols but does not provide a legend for the same. All in all, a marvelous treatise and a readable book for those interested in 'The Arabic Language'.
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Sep 27 2007
I sought this book to understand how the division arose between spoken Arabic with all its various dialects and standard written Arabic which is known as Fusha. In that regard the book satisfied my interest and gave me an idea of the key differences between the various dialects, but I was left with wanting to know more about how the linguistic division arose. Additionally, the book was too technical in some parts for the layman to comprehend. An elementary grasp of Arabic would suffice. And I would have found it easier if the Arabic quoted in the book was not transliterated in English but left with the Arabic script. All in all, it was a useful book and an eye opener into the complexities of Arabic.
