Modern Arabic (advanced level)

Language

Arab

Main themes

This is an advanced course in Standard Arabic in its modern variety, which is the language of the media and all official communication all over the Arab world today. In an aim to address linguistic reality in the Arab world, the course also includes Arabic dialects (specially Egyptian and Moroccan) and the phenomenon of diglossia (code-switching and code-mixing between the various language levels).
It aims at reading, understanding, grammatical analysis and (occasionally) translation of texts on a variety of various topics (cultural, literary, political, religious, pertaining to daily life), in Standard Arabic as well in one of the Arabic dialects (Egyptian or Moroccan, depending on the student's previous training).
The course includes pronunciation and conversation drills, exercises in vocalisation, substitution and reading and writing, in Standard and colloquial Arabic.
The course covers the following aspects of learning the Arabic language:

• advanced pronunciation drills aiming at maximum authenticity, in Standard and colloquial Arabic, and at correct vocalisation and interpretation of unvocalized script;
• rapid and cursory reading of relatively complex texts;
• familiarity with the main widely used styles of  calligraphy (naskhî, ruq'a, kufic, dîwânî, ta'lîq), with a focus on active and passive use of cursive writing (ruq'a);
• consolidation and expansion of vocabulary that is characteristic of modern daily life in its multiple aspects, with increased awareness of the semantic developments and subtleties between the Classical, Modern Standard and colloquial varieties of the Arabic language.

Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

By the end of the course, the student should have acquired: strong familiarity with the Arabic grammar an enlarged vocabulary in Standard and colloquial Arabic the skill to find any given Standard or Standard Arabic word in an Arabic-French (or Arabic-English) dictionary the cognitive strategies needed to independently understand complex written texts and oral expressions in Modern Standard as well as in colloquial Arabic The skill to construct and apply a large number of complex current expression in Modern Standard and colloquial Arabic, with or without the help of a French-Arabic dictionary

Content

This is an advanced course of Standard Arabic in its modern variety, which is the language of the media and all official communication all over the Arab world today. Occasionally, the course also touches upon Arabic dialects. It is therefore strongly recommended to also follow  colloquial Arabic course (LARAB1302 or LARAB1303).
It emphasizes advanced acquisition of immediately applicable vocabulary, as well as the main mechanisms of the language, through the study of morphology and syntax.
This entire process should result in a proficiency level that compares to levels B1 (for the active aspects) and B2 (for passive aspects) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Note: the Arabic language has a range of characteristics that make their acquisition notoriously hard for French-speaking learners. They have a set of consonants that do not exist in French, a distinct right-to-left script, and a complex grammar with declensions, with stronger gender marking than in French, and with a system of number distinction that goes beyond our mere distinction between singular and plural. Additionally, Arabic vocabulary shares few elements with French or other languages usually known to students. Thus, it is difficult, at least with respect to the first year, to apply the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages to the Arabic language acquisition.

Teaching methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.

This course includes classroom instruction sustained by the Moodle virtual teaching environment. It requires active involvement, with text preparation for each class, as well as oral and written exercises to be carried out in class.

Evaluation methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.

1. Continuous assessment of quality of participation in class (in the case of a second inscription: to be replaced by an assignment). Proportion: 30%.
2. Partial oral exam (January session). Proportion: 30%.
3. Final oral exam (June session). Proportion: 40 %.

Note : students who have failed to sufficiently attend the course and to carry out the exercises (more than 3 absences per term) may be excluded from the exam, as per recommendation by the jury.

Other information

While French is the language of instruction, Arabic will be used to some extent, particularly for pronunciation and conversation drills.

Online resources

Moodle course LARAB2500 - Arabe moderne : niveau supérieur

Bibliography

• Portefeuille de lectures/textes

• Textes imprimés, textes en photocopies, documents présentés sous forme numérique, support sonore.
• Inscription obligatoire sur Moodle.
• Manuel de référence :
  Herman Talloen & Abied Alsulaiman, Manuel d'arabe standard moderne, Anvers-Apeldoorn: Garant, 2007.

Teaching materials

• Portefeuille de lectures/textes

Faculty or entity

ILV